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Randy Salas

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  • Your Drum Corps Experience
    Suncoast Sound 1983, 1985; Minnesota Brass, 2011-12 performer, 2013-14 hornline staff
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    Male

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  1. I wrote the article. FWIW, that video is what DCI puts out as its sole explainer about the activity. It's featured prominently on the About page on the DCI website, and it's pinned to the top of its YouTube channel. People who know the activity intimately understand that the video has some out-of-date info. But for the uninitiated -- the overwhelming number of people reading an article like this from a major daily newspaper -- the video still has a wealth of info for those who never knew the activity existed.
  2. Is the fulfillment process different this year now that DCA is taking the orders? Last year, the earlier you ordered the discs, the later they were shipped. I ordered mine the day after finals and finally got them after Christmas -- and there were quality issues. Meanwhile, people who ordered them in mid-December got them a week later.
  3. Minnesota Brass at DCI Minnesota: http://bcove.me/7pzrl4nh Govenaires at DCI Minnesota: http://bcove.me/ra116fzo These are officially released viral videos from DCI.
  4. The MBI car is painted a bright tan. It might look like unfinished wood because of the quality of the webcast, but that is the color that pops on the field. (The original Bonnie & Clyde car was gray/olive drab.)
  5. FWIW, MBI made no significant drill changes in the show since July. Just some fine tuning for routing and the like. The only changes to visual were some body movement in the horns, but those were just a few counts and some were on the move. The biggest changes visually were in the guard, but again, most of it was set by July -- a lot of emphasis on performance, though, in conveyng the Valhalla theme.
  6. It's pretty easy to see MBI's entire show. DCI posted the whole thing free on the Fan Network: http://dci.thefannetwork.org/?vod_id=770ad2d9-4a94-4c91-b4dc-849c78a30431&mode=viral It's early in the season (July 17), missing about 15 people (most of them horns) and later visuals/music, but it still shows that the corps rarely stands still and is often booking when it's on the move.
  7. I'm hoping there will be even more people than expected at DCI Minnesota. I wrote a few general-audience articles about the show, which should attract some casual fans as well as bring out hardcore fans from the woodwork, in today's Minneapolis Star Tribune. The online versions are here: Top drum corps march into town: An unprecedented 23 marching-and-music ensembles are competing Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium as part of a national tour Made in Minnesota: Homegrown drum corps have members of all ages You be the judge: 5 things to look for at Saturday's show I make no excuses for the online editor who "corrected" "corps" to "corp." ;-)
  8. FWIW, Suncoast also had a baton twirler in 1985, as part of Florida Suite. It was supposed to be part of the shtick that paid tribute to the Florida A&M marching band, I think, but I never quite got it. The corps simply had a guy in the color guard who was a champion twirler and worked it into the show.
  9. At the risk of reraising the wrath of DCP members, here is a link to the article I wrote in today's edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune about electronics in drum corps: www.startribune.com/lifestyle/19985444.html In case it's not clear from the online presentation, the article is actually my weekly Technobabble column, which covers tech issues in our world. A sidebar lists the three upcoming shows here in Minnesota (Stillwater, Mankato, Coon Rapids), as well as DCI Madison. The photos, which were provided by DCI, that ran in the paper are not online. The one on the cover of our feature section showed microphones around the timpanis of the Blue Stars (the closest World Class corps to the Twin Cities). The one on the jump page was a spectacular image of the Phantom horn line. If anyone wants PDFs of the published pages (two files totaling about 2MB), please email me at rasalas@startribune.com, and I'd be happy to reply with them. Thanks again to the moderators and Minnesota-based DCP members who took the time to email me and share their opinions. Randy Edited to add: For some reason, the online presentation doesn't have my byline, but it's by me, Randy A. Salas.
  10. I've received all the comments I need, so consider my request closed. Thanks to the people who took the time to contact me. Randy
  11. Wow, everyone. That was an unexpected response. In case you missed it, I'm one of you. I've worked many times to get coverage for drum corps and marching bands in the Star Tribune that would have never run if I hadn't been at the paper to be their advocate. That includes a cover story on last year's Drum Beauty contest in Stillwater, MN, including a side story on a day in the life of the Madison Scouts on tour, and news articles about the Metrodome marching band championship (where I also volunteer). The reality is that I write a weekly column called Technobabble. It's about tech issues. It usually covers things like video games, DVDs and the Internet, but writing about drum corps' tech issues is my way of getting coverage of the activity in the newspaper when other editors don't want "another cover story about Drum Beauty." That's what I'm dealing with. So that makes you angry because I found a way to discuss a real issue in the drum corps community? You'd rather that we just run nothing in one of the 20 largest daily newspapers in the country? Unreal. Thanks, Brent, for the props. And thanks to the few people who have sent me emails or plan to do so. I appreciate it.
  12. Hi, everyone. I am Randy Salas, a drum corps alum (Suncoast Sound, '83 & '85) and a features editor/writer at the Minneapolis Star Tribune daily newspaper. I'm working on an article about the drum corps/electronics controversy in advance of the upcoming shows in Minnesota. I'm looking for Twin Cities/Minnesota fans to contribute their opinions on the issue. If you want to be part of the article and live in Minnesota, please contact me at your earliest convenience at rasalas@startribune.com. In the email, please include your comments, your full name, your age, where you live and how long you've been following the activity. Please share this request with others if you aren't from Minnesota but have drum corps friends who are. I'd like to make sure I have all views covered. Thanks so much -- and thanks to MikeN and DCP for allowing me to post this request. Randy
  13. It is that good. It is a pity that it's not a part of the show that's being judged. I understand the Scouts' intent to make entering/exiting the field and warm-ups "part of the show," but I think they should yank out something from the show proper (to create the required time) and make the entrance/exit part of the judged portion so they can get some points for it.
  14. Thanks. That's a problem for the Strib online department when they post a story the day before it appears in the paper but don't change the wording. In other words, the story was written for Saturday publication, so "tonight" means Saturday. When they post it online a day early and don't fix that wording, it creates confusion. I appreciate your taking the time to call. Thanks to all for the kind words about my article.
  15. That was intentional. I didn't want to confuse mainstream readers by introducing a new acronym (DCI vs. DCA). I did note in the article that the all-ages corps have their own world championships (listed the city and date) and left it at that--good enough for neophytes. Also, I had much more info to include in the article, but I had to cut it short because of space limitations in the physical newspaper. I am not related to Sal Salas. I did play lead baritone with Suncoast Sound in 1983 and 1985 (two of the greatest horn lines those years), so this probably marks the rare time when someone who is "one of you" has written an article about drum corps for the mainstream media. If you read the article, be sure to click on the link for the sidebar, "On the road again," in which I talked to the Scouts about what a typical day on tour is like, which I hope was illuminating for readers who don't know much about the activity. Thanks to everyone for all the kind words. Interest in the article has made it one of the top 5-emailed stories on the Star Tribune's website. Randy
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