kyushujet

That is awesome. But a couple of questions from a newbie... 1. How did you get the logos on their helmets and banners? Did you just download from your hard drive? 2. How in the heck do you do pictures in your post? Do you click on the "insert image" tab above? If that's how you do it, then what? It wants a URL. Do you need a website to insert a pic? Thanks for taking the time to explain.

Thanks Xsabers! You do have a point about the top 4 back in '86. But I was actually looking at the bottom end of the rankings that year and you'll find some surprising folks back then. In Qtrs, you had Glassmen in 19th with a 62.9. In Semis, you had Crossmen in 21st, Colts in 20th, BAC in 16th and Bluecoats in 15th. So, if all these corps could make leaps and bounds in 20+ years, then why not Capital Regiment, Mandarins, and Teal Sound? I'm just having fun with it anyway. I always root for the underdog. In 2030, the top 4 probably will be: 1. BD 2. SCV 3. Cavies 4. Cadets How many titles will that make for BD? 18? 20? Not wishing ill on the top 4, but just would like to see some new folks at the top. Go Lone Star!

Will Art still be USC's band director in 2030? By then, it could be some young prodigy that just aged-out that isn't even born yet. (Mine perhaps??)

Thanks for the well wishes. Yes, born in '67. Thanks for keeping drum corps alive so I could march. Here's to the drum corps Vets from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. And I thought about putting Dutch Boy in my top 12, but had to go with Connexion Canada. They are a powerhouse Canadian corps drawing members from all provinces and territories and even some US defectors. Scott from Bluecoats - we marched the same years. We probably crossed paths many times. So, you were part of that massive snare line during the drum feature ('86?) Very cool. Ah, you assume I meant Southern Cal. But where is Crown in my prediction? Maybe I meant the Trojans of Univ. of South Carolina? (You're right though, I did mean SoCal) I was also trying to get the "Marriott Marauders" in the mix. They stay at Marriott hotels during tour (sweet). What's funny is I can't remember for the life of me any Marauders shows when I marched. I can't even remember what they looked like. I suspect they did their show either right before or right after we did, so I never got to see them. Or maybe I'm just getting old. Someone help! Did they wear black?

I aged out in 1988. Next year's age-outs will have been born my age-out year! Ugh! But I heard of a study that said most men, no matter what age they are, consider themselves to be around 31. And I tend to agree with that study. So, no I'm not feeling old...yet. But I do have a baby on the way, due in Jan next year. So, my baby's age out year will be 2030! (Maybe then I'll feel old). So, keeping with DCP's tradition of making predictions, here's my top 12 for 2030: 1. Lone Star Regiment 98.9 2. Capital Regiment 3. Blast! 4. SCV 4. Troopers (Gotta have a tie) 6. Mandarins 7. Teal Sound 8. Connexion Canada 9. Colts 10. Trojans of USC 11. Cavaliers 12. Phantom Regiment 92.4 And just missing Finals, in 13th Blue Devils, also with a 92.4 but a .10 timing penalty for not getting all their 250 members off the field. Congrats Lone Star Regiment on your third title in a row, sweeping all captions, including director of the year, Mark Chambers. Note to Moderators: Can we keep this thread alive unti 2030 to see if my predictions come true?

(Sigh) No love for 2002? I loved that show, especially the running notes in the bass drum line and the hammer and sickle props in the guard. And here's a humorous moment from that year that happened in Casper, Wy. During retreat, the Troopers had the honor to lead America the Beautiful/O Canada. So the Trooper drum major is in the stands and counts off to lead only the Troopers in the opening statement. Well, on his downbeat, only a few horns play, so he cuts everybody off and tries again. On the second try, more horns are playing, but very badly and very weakly. So, all us Trooper fans are squirming in our seats. Then the part where the music transitions from America the Beautiful to O Canada and all the corps on the field play arrives and Phantom is in the block right next to Troopers. The WALL of SOUND that emanated from Phantom was hair-raising, made more so by the weak attempt from the Troopers. (Obviously Troop hadn't worked on retreat music much at that point in the season) Other memorable Phantom moments that stick out in my mind were the end of the opening statement in 1989 as the guard does a spin with their flags while doing a leg kick and grabbing their feet with their free hand. (Not really spectacular, but I always thought that was so cool) Toward the end of the ballad in 2000; the long, sustained note. Absolutely beautiful and for awhile brought tears to my eyes when I would listen to the CD recording from San Antonio in the off season.

And thanks to those that posted a comment about my post. I appreciate you making the effort to do that.

I dislike narration, mics, etc because I lean toward the traditional side. But I couldn't come up with a decent enough reason for my dislike until I came up with my "Top 10 Shows" response . If you remember back in 1984, Suncoast's Vietnam show, where the girl with the balloon dances along the makeshift Vietnam Memorial? Do you remember her doing sign language and "talking"(mouthing) to the crowd? Did that ruin it for everyone that no one knew what she was saying? But did we all still get the meaning of the show and did we all enjoy the show immensely? Now fast forward to today with that same show. Now the girl has a mic and we can hear what she's saying and it goes something like this... "I lost my father in that war...." or "So many people died needlessly..." or "War is hell..." You see how narration limits us and our thoughts and imagination? That show has a different meaning for all who saw it. Without narration it allows each individual fan to take from the show whatever meaning perceived at that particular moment. What a great gift to all of us. If we did hear her words, then some might say, "Ah...too political" or "That hits too close to home and offends me" and on and on. Let the fan take from the show what he or she observes. Don't baby us with mics and storytelling.

1. 2001 Cavies - I saw this show many times during live performances and in rehearsals, so I kept getting different perspectives on it. A complete and total package. This show had everything. 2. 1988 Scouts - 1988 was my age out year (with Troop), so very special to me. Not the strongest championship show, but every time I watch/hear Malaguena, I cry my eyes out. This song is the epitome of what drum corps is and should be. If you want to introduce drum corps to a newbie, show them this song. 3. 1980 Scouts - My introduction to drum corps via VHS tape. I fell in love with this show and my love for drum corps. Another stirring rendention of Malaguena. 4. 1991 Star - My first time seeing this show live in Midland, TX and I couldn't believe my eyes or ears. It was a jaw-dropping moment. At the time I thought only the Cadets could do the impossible on the field. Saw Star at Finals in Dallas and they were so far ahead of everyone else, no one could touch them. 5. 1988 SCV - A good friend from Troop "defected" to SCV and I was happy for him to be marching in a championship caliber corps the past two years. It was hard on him in 87 losing to Garfield. So, when I saw in person SCV's Finals performance in Kansas City, and they did that last powerful, slanted company front toward the end of their show, I was crying like a baby because I had thought he and SCV had just won the championship. 6. 1987 Cadets - While on tour with Troop, we didn't see Cadets ALL YEAR (strange quirk in the scheduling) So, at Semi-Finals (I believe) we sat down in the stands and once again, this was another jaw-dropping moment. I couldn't believe all the ballet moves in the horn line and the ballet soloist was just incredible. I kept thinking during the show, "How can they do that?? Nobody's that good." 7. Suncoast Sound 1984 - My first ever DCI show to attend in person was in Dallas that year. At the time I didn't realize how ground breaking this show was. I thoroughly enjoyed all the corps that night. But after repeated viewings of this show on VHS, I fell in love with this show. The music was entertaining and the best moment was the girl crying after releasing the balloons at the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Wall ingeniously made by the color guard flags. 8. 1995 Scouts - Saw them for the first time live in Houston that year. I believe they went on last, and for the most part, I was sitting on my hands for most of the evening. Then they came on the field and I was totally blown away. Pure drum corps. 9. 1980 27th Lancers - I love this show. Very powerful and when you think of old time, east coast corps, you have to think about 27th. I loved BD's show that year too. BD's hornline was just too much for Lancers to overcome to win. 10. 1988 BD - Saw a lot of this corps on tour. Often did retreat next to each other so we got to know their drum line. They were often complimentary of us and I thought, "Blue Devils drum line is complimenting us??" Another Troop "defected" to BD and was one of the 4 soloists for them. An all around fun show to see and listen to. Probably a blast to have marched with them that year. Shows I left out but love almost as much are: 89 PR 87 SCV 84 Troopers - first live viewing in Dallas 84 Cadets 02 PR - the most underrated corps of all time? 00 PR - "Transfigured Night" makes me cry 04 Cavies 07 Crown If you are wondering, "Dude, you left out ____ from 19XX or 20XX?" Well, I have not seen every show since 1950~. There are even some shows this past year I didn't get to see (Cadets, BS). If you had to put a numerical value on my top 10, I would say they are all within hundredths of each other.

Bad Spellers of the World - UNTIE!

Might want to give Brian Regan a dollar too.

I always wondered how she got the job in the first place. Was she a journalism major in college? Did she know someone at DCI? Was it because she marched with a championship corps? Or did she apply for the job along with a hundred others and nailed the interview and on camera try out?

Yes, this one! I'm surprised more people haven't mentioned this. Those tight, white tops on the guard, going through the brass line during warmup. The brass guys all at attention and the guard doing sultry things to them. Some of the guard being very "bosomy." ($1 to George Costanza) I had been out of the country for a year and when I came back I saw this and thought, "Holy cow, what happened to drum corps??" Honorable mention goes to Blue Knights color guard (not sure of the year, 2000?) where there's one lone male guard member (he reminded me of Leonardo DiCaprio for some reason) and the rest of the female guard in tight white tops (is that a theme for sexy?) For most of the season that guy was without a shirt. Then about 1/2 way through the season, he dons a white tank top. Too sexy for the judges perhaps?

I remember when you said "band" instead of "drum corps" you would have your head handed to you. Kinda like if you broke a corps' ranks. But in defense of the guy, don't we now march 3v Bb trumpets instead of 2v G soprano bugles? And march tubas instead of contras? And march 150 instead of 127? More and more like "band", wouldn't you say? If you think about it, shouldn't it be called "Drum and Brass Corps" instead of "Drum and Bugle Corps?" One last tidbit about bugles: The bugle developed from early musical or communication instruments made of animal horns,[1] with the word "bugle" itself coming from "buculus", Latin for bullock (castrated bull).

No need to get your feathers all ruffled. I wasn't sure if the OP was stating an opinion or fact, that's all. I didn't know DCI awarded such things officially. I wonder how close Fred Morris was in winning the title for bringing the Troopers from inactive in 2006 to semis in 2008. (Or did he win it last year?)

True. I thought the same thing at the 2000 Sydney Olympics during their closing ceremonies. All those millions of dollars wasted on fireworks?? But you can claim the same thing in this country with rich people building 56,000 sq ft homes for a family of 3 (Spelling Manor) or Tom Perkins building the most expensive sail boat, the "Maltese Falcon" at around $133M. Even Tom said he was embarrassed about it in his 60 Minutes interview saying, "There's the homeless and charity and there's lots of things you could do with that money that would improve the world, right?" Or you could even claim people that buy Corvettes could be driving Priuses. Hmmm, how about this thought. All the millions of dollars wasted on transporting kids across the country every summer so they can perform a drum corps show? I would think we could feed a lot of people with all the money that goes into DCI every year.

Really? Under what competition? Or is that just your personal opinion? Chambers is a classmate of mine.

I'd give it 4 stars or two enthusiatic thumbs up But I've noticed a lot of people here have mention 1980 as one of their favorite years and I wholeheartedly agree. But why is that? For me, it was my introduction to DCI via VHS tapes by my high school band directors. It seemed like every show that year had something that was musically compelling or visually stunning. But did that have a lot to do with the direction of the PBS broadcast? (complete and unedited showings of each corps' performances and intelligent commentary?) I long for those days...

Nuts...I started a similar thread cause I didn't see this one, sorry. Perhaps we can merge the threads? (Moderators?) Here's my thread: http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/inde...howtopic=117021 Anyway, with regard to the above quoted statement, I taught English in Japan for a few years, and some of the teachers would take advantage of the close proximity of China to Japan and go for a visit. There was one story floating amongst the teachers (read: not sure if true) that a teacher was traveling on a crowded train of mostly peasants and fell asleep. When he awoke, his wallet was missing. So, he told one of the train conductors and the train was immediately stopped. The car he was riding in was searched while everyone was ordered to disembark. His wallet was found and the owner of the bag was located. Then two People's Liberation Army soldiers took this guy in full view of everyone and executed him. The sad part about that was perhaps the real theif knew what was going down when the train stopped in the middle of nowhere and snuck the teacher's wallet in that guy's bag. The teacher was horrified at what happened and would have kept his mouth shut had he known what was going to happen. Which reminds me of the book "Art of War" by Sun Tzu where one passage talks about the general training the emperor's concubines by having them all line up in a block and practice military moves with weapons. He puts the head concubine in charge of the block of women and when he shouts commands at them, they all look at each other and just laugh. The general tells the head concubine that she is ultimately responsible for the training of the women, and if they don't follow his commands, he'll punish her. So, the general gives them one more chance and shouts out commands and again they all stand there and laugh. So, in front of the emperor, he beheads the head concubine. He then shouts commands to the block of women and this time they are all in sync. Sorry about getting off topic here, but one last comment about the opening ceremonies and some people's disdain for the Army guys carrying the olympic flag. During that moment in the ceremony, Bob Costas mentions how important the military is to the Chinese people and how for many past generations, China had been under numerous foreign occupations, some of them brutally (i.e. Japan) The whole opening ceremonies was symbolic throughout, and this symbolism showed how the military was the protectorate of the Chinese people and their way of life. I didn't have a problem with that.

I know a lot of you were at Semi-Finals during the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics, but if you can scrounge up a recording of it, it is totally mind-blowing! The whole time I was watching it I was thinking, "this is so drum corps." The opening act was an incredible 2,008 man formation of drummers (all male), whose individual drum would light up when played. They synchronized their playing and made designs, Chinese characters, and numbers. Very precise ala drum corps. The other incredible moment was a 2,008 person group whose costumes lit up. But the incredible thing about them was their circular formations. There were no hash marks to go by, only the distance from each other. And they made perfect circles in the center of the 91,000 seat stadium, sometimes without any stadium lights. Absolutely incredible. I think this performance took High Visual, High GE, and perhaps High Drums and Music. But when you have a $300,000,000 budget (yes, 10X the budget for the $30M Athens opening ceremonies) and 8 months to rehearse with 15,000 participants, you might be able to pull off a show like that (argument for increasing the corps limit even further?) Imagine if Mandarins were sponsored by the Chinese government... "And in first place, with a perfect score of 100.00, Mandarins!" I'm wondering how many ideas will be taken from this show and incorporated into drum corps 2009?

Perhaps. Moderators? In before the lock....

Why is this thread stupid? I'm not arguing that Phantom didn't win outright and I know .025 is greater than .000. What I'm saying is .025 is so small, that to me it's like a virtual tie because we are judging each corps' artistry and assigning a numerical value based on an impartial interpretation. If you had both corps run around the football field and PR ran a 47.000 and BD ran a 47.025, then you would have a clear cut winner. Or if you had PR swim 100M in 47.000 and BD swam a 47.025, you would have a clear cut winner (can you tell I'm watching the Olympics?) But when you have judges interpreting art, and the difference is .025, you could argue there's room for debate IMO. Yes, PR won. My OP was just asking how you would have felt if they tied, that's all.

Well, perhaps. But when I was up in Denver for DATR, I went to my first NHRA race at Bandimere Speedway and believe me, you could have 3 or 4 cars within thousandths of a second of each other. That's why you even keep count of the thousandths place. And I did say "can" be considerable.

I hate ties as much as the next person, but coming within .025 of a title? That's virtually a tie IMO. What if the difference was .001? See what I'm getting at? When you are talking about timed races (track, swim, auto, dragster) .025 can be considerable. When you are talking about artistic differences, not so much. Everyone is talking about how great the 2008 season was. If there had been a tie, would that have diminished it? Do you think people would have booed last night? I loved PR this year and thought they deserved the title (amazing horns and drums). But it seems a shame that BD lost on the last day (repeat of 1988 season almost).

Thank goodness JJ marched both PR AND BD. (That drum corps hopper). So, there shouldn't be any conspiracies. So...where did the brass and color guard judges march?