MicroMan Bari

Kay, if you would be so kind as to pass on my condolences to Jimmy and Dale I would REALLY appreciate it. I will not be able to make it out there although I would like them to know that those of us who always enjoyed watching Jimmy's antics on the podium are there for them. Rest in Peace Patrick..... :(

Lisa sweety, if you need ANYTHING, and I do mean ANYTHING, you know that I am always around for you. I am sure that can be said for most of the other "regulars" around here as well. Please know that you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. And seriously, if you need ANYTHING, even just to talk, remember many of us are around for you at ANY time. :(

Holly, just remember, once in the blood, ALWAYS in the blood. Take it from me. My 6 1/2 year old can't WAIT to march "kookoo music" as he calls it.... :D

To my MANY friends in the Kilties Family, While I have probably never met or marched with or against most of you, I consider you part of my own family. And believe me, I understand what the rollercoaster emotions that you speak about are. The day before I was scheduled to leave for tour in 86 my grandfather (probably the most influential person in my life to that point) passed on. And I remember performing in Pittsburgh (our first show that year) and playing the best show I think any of us had ever been through. Joel, you got your wish: Your passing was during something that you so obviously loved. To his family, friends, and the Kilties, may his passing not be a constant pain in your hearts. May it be the glue that will bind you together forever and become the basis of the resolve for your family to move on in the work that Joel started. RIP Joel.....hopefully we will all get together in the "Heaven Couldn't Wait" Drum Corps in the future. Because that is gonna be one HELLUVA CORPS!!!!!!!

OK guys...I usually don't chime in on things like this one but here it goes: First, I sort of agree with George that the title of the thread left a bad taste in my mouth originally. Lots of people have different feelings on the whole thing. When I marched Jrs almost 20 years ago, the "real" changes were just beginning and there were still easily 100 corps in competition during finals week (including the D1, D2 and D3 (then known as Open, Class A and Class A/60). Only a year or so prior to that there was also a Class "C" for those of you old enough in the activity to remember it for All-Girl corps (I started out with the Co-ed group that came from one of the most competitive of these Class C corps "The St. Ignatius Girls" from Hicksville, NY later known as New Image and a few other names as the years have evolved). Back when I first started in the activity in 1974 (age 3 mind you!) there were corps EVERYWHERE! In fact, in my home town in Queens, NY there were no less than 5 corps within a 15 mile radius. When I started competitively in the early 80s there were still 8 corps in the Long Island, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx areas on NY. Well, when I left Jrs in 1989 there were only 2 left of these and NONE went to championships week. That to me is a SCARY thought. Why would so many units die in such a short time? One answer is bad management. Another answer is lack of interest. A third possible answer is the loss of the "attitude" for the activity. When I came home from school on a rehearsal night, I couldn't get the questions about what we were going to do for that evening out of my head till AFTER practice and thought about them until the next practice. Nowadays, as some have said, we have "All-Star" mindsets where the kids come together for a few weekends in the winter, a week or 2 before tour starts, and then say their goodbyes hours after Finals (or wherever the corps finally drops out of the season's competitions). We were together for 11 months of the year (essentially very similar to DCA corps of today). Friendships that I made as a Jr are still alive and very active. I love getting to see some of my old pals. In fact, I was just put back in touch with a friend from my marching days just a few short weeks ago at the Copiague DCA show. I haven't seen this guy in 20 years. But when we got together (for me at least) all the memories of the bus trips and the "tour" (a week of travel to, during and from Finals) rushed back into the brain cells (which by now have calcified quite a lot comparatively!). Is DCA the savior of the activity? No. I don't think there CAN be a "savior" of the activity. Both groups have vastly different experiences to offer. The Jr corps today offer the chance at life changing experiences. I know had I not marched Jrs I would NEVER have gotten the chance to do some of the things I did or to see some of the things I saw or to meet MOST of the people I met (and become long time friends with). The Sr/All Age/DCA corps offer something VERY different. They compete on weekends so people (even teens and 20-somethings) can hold down solid full time or part time jobs. They get together 2 or 3 or 4 times a week even during the "off-season". They do parades where they get to meet and greet the community. Their dues are MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE (in most cases) than the Jrs which makes them much more accessible to the young member. The fact is that DCI is in many MEASURABLE ways dying. Is it dead? NO! Will it die? Maybe. Will the rules changes cause the ultimate death? IMHO probably. Why? Because most corps today are becoming more and more financially strapped for operating capital. With the rules changes and the "new designs" available, more are purchasing or leasing big ticket cost items for their shows. Meaning less available capital for the organization. Now...where does this money come from? Member fees generally. Therefore, the costs will become more prohibitive. Then add in the cost of gas at >$2/gallon and the fact that most D1 corps travel with 3 or 4 busses, a chuck wagon, an equipment truck, and most of these items are "gas guzzlers" and you have more cost to put on the membership. I am not really all that surprised that more corps are disappearing then are (re)appearing in the Jr circuit. As for the fact that there are contests almost daily in the Jrs that is PART of the problem. (See my prior statement about cost to members). Sorry, DCA is not the savior but DCI is not an expanding entity either. As many have said, DCI is cutting its own throat with rules changes and with the continual act of ignoring the D2 and D3 corps since this is where most people first hear about the activity. If DCA takes advantage of the differences, I see DCA continuing to grow and expand while I continue to see the DCI corps slowly start to head toward where DCA was 5 years ago with a "Finals week" of 15-20 corps.

Hi guys. I am from Long Island NY and haven't (for VARIOUS reasons) been able to get to DCAs since probably 1997. I would probably be MORE inclined to go to either Syracuse (5 hours) or Hershey (4-5 hours) just simply because I have a 6 year old son who LOVES HIS KOOKOO MUSIC (sorry, some of you probably have heard the story, but it is an insider joke). Would I go to W-S? I might...it would depend a lot on what sort of scheduling arrangement(s) I could make with my job since I am the only one in the department at the current time. Is W-S a good choice? I think it is (so long as it is accessible to the corps and fans....i.e., Jeff's comment above)

Duke: This is really great to hear. And believe me, I KNOW what you are going through trying to get this started. I am part of an organization attempting to field a corps from Long Island in the foreseeable future in DCI. Lots of logistics. Lots of insanity. But ALL for the better. Believe me, if the organization is there and set up, the kids WILL come. So will the instructors, techs and staffs of the schools (for an all-age this is even MORE important since if THE STAFF marches, the STUDENTS are more likely to march!). Again, congrats. I am glad to see we on Long Island are not the only ones thinking of the future of drum corps in the US! :D Best of luck. And if I can be of service by sharing some of my personal experience on this road, PLEASE feel free to contact me at any point! :D

Brian: I would suggest changing the name of this thread. It more properly should read "WE HAVE A CLASS ACT DRUM CORPS!!" Thanks again for all the work you and your guys did helping bring a contest back to Long Island. And, as I said in the Long Island thread, I am happy to say that I have several new FRIENDS from the Crusaders to add to my list of FRIENDS that I have through Drum Corps. Great show guys. AND CLEAN IT UP!!!! (OR ELSE!) :D (Sorry, just had to add that line in....tooo tempting!) But seriously, glad to see you guys are alive and well and showing what Drum Corps REALLY is about...ambition, determination, and resilience...... from a former marcher, avid fan, and (hopefully) member of the resurrection committee for drum corps on Long Island, THANKS! You guys are really one of the organizations that many should strive to be like.

George: The problem is that most people do not understand the base difference between bugles and trumpets......the tubing style and architecture. That is why everyone assumes that "Gs" are bugles since they are keyed differently from the Bb Trumpets (which are by far the most common used in the educational systems today. Therefore, most people see Bb and think "Trumpet" and anything else is "Bugle". Just my thoughts.

OK....most of you know that I am personally not a fan of the 3 valve instruments but let me just point something out that Wolf kinda brushed around that really needs to be said: If an arrangement is done properly for the key of the instruments involved then you should NOT be able to tell what "key" the instruments are in because the arranger should ensure that the harmonic key chosen is the correct key for the piece! Now, as for G defining corps--George you and I agree on this one. Anyone who knows what the activity was like at its origins (and I am only 31 but have studied the activity since I started in it at age 4 and studied the history along with the current "theories") knows and would have to agree that G didn't define the activity. As for the sound of horn lines since 2000 I have to agree...that third valve and the attitudes and abilities of the performers have improved light years. But I also think that the third valve has taken some of the difficulty out of the arrangements since the hornline does not have to figure out the line as much since they don't have to avoid some of the "impossible" notes to play on the horn (without lipping it of course). Just my opinions, but I think they at least make sense this time (I hope I didn't ramble too much here).

One person who has an entire library of music he would probably sell you at a great deal is John Arietano. He's written for all levels of corps, from small parade-style corps through great competitive corps, not to mention too many bands to count (including the one I work with). If you are interested, let me know and I'll hook you up with him. Mike Hey Mike! Great idea. Someone who I should have thought of off the top of my head! Actually you can hook up with him through Skyliners website (I think he has a link there.....I know he is with their Brass caption....head possibly? And I also think he is doing their arrangements....)

I could try to give you some help with warm-ups and some nice "lip builders" I learned and really seem to work......If you are interested please let me know.