27SOA

Speechless is a good way to describe my demeanor, as well.

Scouts "uniforms" debut tonight. Fasten your seatbelts! The hubbub over SCV 'costumes' will become minor.

Got a look at the Scouts' new "uniforms". Prepare for the sonic boom. It'll kick the discussion over SCV's new 'costumes' to the curb.

Update: Ryan went to Spring Training and began the long demanding days. I volunteered with the food crew (my God, what it takes to feed 150+ kids 4 times a day!) over the weekend so I was near. He jumped right in and kept up with drill and brass demands. I noticed as the days went on that he looked troubled. Most rookies don't have a clue how demanding Spring Training is...until they're in it. My son was learning THAT fact, as well as two new things to address.... new dietary concepts, and new physical demand concepts. He began to question his ability to put a long term effort into it at 16. Managing Type 1 (notice I didn't say "control", since it is impossible!) is a daily challenge, when circumstances aren't further challenged with intense physical demands and meals that one isn't used to. After much soul searching, he came to the conclusion that it just isn't the right time for him (luckily there was a Euphonium alternate, although not on lead, like my son). Emotionally ready, physically ready, but not MEDICALLY ready for such an undertaking...yet. With six opportunities to march, he decided that waiting a couple of years might be best (he graduates high school in 2 years). I'd like to add that the Chris Moore and Andy Poor (both friends of mine from the 80's) could not have been more caring and helpful, AND understanding that Ryan just can not safely take on the role this year. I'm so proud that my former corps is in such good hands!! Thanks to all of you who wished Ryan well. He's not marching a summer of drum corps THIS year, but simply will have a "dream delayed".

Are you saying 18 members from Crown '16 have gone to Boston???

Soooooo.... 8 months later. Ryan is marching Euphonium with the Spirit of Atlanta this summer. It appeared he had tabled the thought of marching 2017, but when a spot opened up at Spirit (where both his father and I marched in the 80's) last weekend, he wanted an opportunity to audition for the spot. And now it's happening. I marched with the current Director and Asst. Director and they want to do all they can to welcome my son, even with the special concerns. A great medical staff has me feeling like this can work. Does it mean I'm not going to worry? I'm a Mom. I don't think it's possible! My wish is to come back on here in mid-August and report that it was an awesome summer for him with little incident! btw, I'm not sure I had read the 2009 posts on this thread until today.... THANKS to all you who shared your experiences!!

What is this, Ticketmaster? You can order tickets to Allentown on dci.org now.... I feel like I'm going to a Stones concert or Yankees game!!!

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Agreed flamaflam5. Don't let the negative comments get to you.....you worked hard and did your best! Sometimes you just can't control those things out of your control. Staff issues are what they are. My first year in drum corps, my section had for an instructor an age-out from the year before, who just happened to follow a DCI Hall of Fame member. This instructor was not prepared to write, clean, or lead the group that she had just marched with the previous season. BUT, that did not diminish the fact that I worked the hardest of my three years that year! Were we great? No. Did we work hard and have a reason to be proud? Indeed. Best wishes to the Crown percussion as they work with a new regime. Best wishes to their departing staff.

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Are you saying you NEVER sell tickets for more than the face value?

Why would Scott Chandler leave the GREAT gig he's got going in sunny California for Madison, Wisconsin? Of course, if he likes a challenge.........

As for NightBEAT, it is a terrific venue and crowd every year!! Kudos to the committee for bringing the U. S. Marine Drum and Bugle Corps...always entertaining. Looking forward to hearing them again in Madison. And if you haven't been to the Sunset Parade at the Iwo Jima Memorial in D. C. (Tuesday nights each summer), you're missing out. BUT, even more exciting was the U. S. Marine Silent Drill Platoon who performed after Crown and before scores. I didn't think 7,000 fans would be silent for their performance, but you could hear a pin drop! DCI doesn't even feature these guys!! http://nightbeat.carolinacrown.org/ Great job NightBEAT!

"There is no excuse for DCI not to have every corps a housing sight before now. None. Period." Being involved in show promotion for many years, I can affirm that lack of housing is a MAJOR problem. I assure you....unless you have been involved in hearing the NO's from school after school, you can not say that there is no excuse. Remember, you must have a willing band director (not hard at all), a willing principal (can be hard), a willing Athletic Director (very hard....he's trying to protect his facilities and doesn't want interference with his practice schedules), and a willing school system (the hardest....these groups have lawyers). What must happen must happen at the top. Mr. Acheson MUST insist that corps have enforcable codes of conduct of their staffs/members or be penalized (monetarily or with eligibility to perform). Also, DCI must be wise in its decisions as to where to hold Finals. We all know that Indianapolis is vying for Finals on a semi-permanent, rotating basis. Well....are the folks doing the courting promising that the schools within the area will cooperate 100%?????? DCI should not award Finals to any city that doesn't come through with numerous, open facilities for housing!!

Wrong. weather.com has the chance of precipitation over the DCI-3-days as 20% each day. accuweather.com shows the same. (these two sites are the only ones with more than a 5- or 7-day forecast) WEATHER WILL BE PERFECT.

I look at it this way. This is America. We have a free enterprise system. If you want to buy a ticket to something you want to see bad enough, you will. If it's too much for the wallet, don't go. Also, there are price points for all 3 Crown shows for all wallets. No one is forced to pay for the premium tickets only.

Um, CrownTickets supports the care and feeding of a competitive Division I drum corps. Salem does not.

The simple fact is, you cannot find drum corps on DirectTV or HBO, it is a very individual form of entertainment. If you want to see it live, then buy your ticket and complain not. At least your ticket dollar isn't going into a Steinbrenner-type FOR PROFIT pocket. It's going to further the activity (when a corps benefits), or a music program (like a high school band). I think some people just can't get that $15 Finals ticket price from 1980 (I'm just guessing from memory) out of their head. It takes a helluva lot of money to field a corps these days.....thus why we don't have as many as we had 25 years ago!

Marrying another drum corps vet helps!

"mentally slotted" You hit the nail on the head.

As a performer, I marched in falling rain, wet flags and all. This was in 82, 84, and 85, when the velocity of marching was much less than today. As someone involved with show promotion, there is nothing more agonizing than the weather playing into a show. NO ONE wins when a competition is rained out! The corps miss a valuable opportunity to be scored. The souvenir operations surely do not sell as much. The fans miss an opportunity to be entertained with a marching show. Now, the standstill. Usually when the weather has been consistently bad for a long period of time (Benson, NC, probably Chesapeake, VA), the field, if not a well-draining field, will hold too much water for marching safety. Sure, you the fan want to see the show on the field, but is it worth it to see a member slip, fall, break a limb and miss the remainder of the season? (this happened at NightBEAT several years ago... the young lady had one week left before finals and she spent it on crutches) From what I understand, the show promoters, the DCI representative, and the directors of the participating corps gather on the field to assess the situation. It has been my observation that the DCI rep and the directors carry the most weight. The show promoter can beg and plead (as he will be the one to catch the most heat when the corps directors and the DCI rep are well out of town), but may still be only able to offer a "musical program only" performance to the fans. This is better than NOTHING. Albeit, not a marched, scored show. Believe me, it is much easier for the corps to simply pack their trucks and move on to their next show site, and some have lobbied to do so. I've heard a show promoter really have to press the point that he needed to give his paying fans SOMETHING for their ticket dollar. Now let's get to the dollars. The corps get paid whether they march or not. There is a contract to be paid to DCI by the show promoter, that then gets distributed to the corps. Things that do not get waived just because a show becomes a standstill: stadium rental fees, security fees, EMT fees, all promotion expenses. Just because a show is rained out doesn't mean those debts disappear. These kids that march drum corps sometimes invest thousands of dollars each season to march. When you break down the number of judged performances they are involved in, I would venture to say that a kid marching paid MORE to be in that show than you, the ticket buyer, paid to be there to watch him/her. Are you taking a risk when you purchase a ticket to an outdoor event? Yes. Sporting events can be rescheduled. The drum corps season is planned and locked in before it even begins. If you are unwilling to risk being disappointed when the weather ruins a marching competition, then don't take the risk by buying a ticket. I am most certain that most policies involving drum corps show tickets state NO REFUNDS. I believe the reason why shows are delayed or rescheduled at the DCI Finals sites is because the corps have no other shows to get to afterward.