OldTwo

I am not affiliated with Bushwackers, and have never before started a DCP topic. I read some of the previous debate about the Bushwackers' desperate need for donations to satisfy a creditor so their stuff doesn't get auctioned off. Come ON people. If drum corps made financial sense we would all be better off. I don't disagree that corps admins should be responsible, etc, etc, but there are risks in most ventures. Sometimes, for the things about which we have a real passion, our risk tolerance is a little higher and we go out on a limb. Or two. Bottom line: according to their FaceBook page they have raised $8,000 of the $12,000 they need. They have until Wednesday, which is three days away. Don't let a drum corps suffer this devastating, probably lethal, blow. I don't know if they were responsible or not, and I don't have enough money that I can just pour it down a rathole, but this is a drum corps in need here. Time to leave the debate called "Will drum corps survive?" and make a difference. I just donated something, and hope you will too.

Chase is giving away HUGE grants and several drum corps are in the running. This could be a real game-changer for any one of them. The Academy has been in the number one spot by a slim margin all week; Crossmen and others are in the top 100. Others are hovering just outside the top 100 and need just a few votes to put them into the money. No matter who you vote for, don't let your ten votes go unused when you have an opportunity to do so much good for our activity. Don't have a FaceBook account? Open one! Right now! It's so easy and it costs you nothing. If they closed the voting right now, every person who voted for The Academy would have earned them a donation of $115 at no cost to themselves. That's a lot of good for very little effort on your part. The power of giving is in your hands. Vote here. Vote now.

"You cannot deduct contributions to specific individuals, including the following. • Contributions to fraternal societies made for the purpose of paying medical or burial expenses of deceased members. • Contributions to individuals who are needy or worthy. This includes contributions to a qualified organization if you indicate that your contribution is for a specific person. But you can deduct a contribution that you give to a qualified organization that in turn helps needy or worthy individuals if you do not indicate that your contribution is for a specific person. Example. You can deduct contributions for flood relief, hurricane relief, or other disaster relief to a qualified organization. However, you cannot deduct contributions earmarked for relief of a particular individual or family." ----IRS Publication 526 Charitable Contributions "Generally, if a debt you owe is canceled or forgiven, other than as a gift or bequest, you must include the canceled amount in your income. You have no income from the canceled debt if it is intended as a gift to you. A debt includes any indebtedness for which you are liable or which attaches to property you hold." ---IRS Publication 525 Taxable and Nontaxable Income The burden is on the taxpayer, not the organization, to determine what is deductible and what is taxable income.

Tell potential sponsors they can make checks payable to the corps, not to you. They will be more likely to be able to claim the tax deduction for a charitable donation. Agreed, you should go to people/businesses who know you even if only by sight and/or association. For example, the corner grocery where you stop for coffee every morning, or employers of your parents or other family members. Going in person with well-written letter in hand is far superior to sending one by mail. Ideally it should be addressed uniquely to the recipient, even if you don't know the name, as in "Dear Qwiky-Mart Manager" rather than "Dear Potential Sponsor". Fervent thank you's are a must if you plan to ask for another donation next year. A second follow up thank you after the season is over paves the way for next year. People find it hard to throw away photographs. Attach a photo of yourself in uniform from last season. Not a copy/paste into the letter, but an actual separate photograph printed on photo paper, the old school way. Yes. It's a lot of work. But ... you'd have to work a lot of hours to earn $2,000 at a job too.

Get in shape, stay in shape. Run. Every day. Push yourself. Can't emphasize it enough. It will make camp a much happier and productive experience for you. Be early. On time is almost acceptable, late is unacceptable. Pay attention to suggestions for improvement and work on them, even, or especially, if you don't agree with them/haven't ever done it that way. In many corps, your willingness to listen, work independently and improve/conform is at least as important as your ability. Good shoes with arch support that fit. Not brand new and not worn out. Not those fat skater shoes. Wear socks (low, white and without holes or other irritating features). Cover blisters with something sterile as soon as they appear. Gauze pads held on with gauze strips will stay on. Band-aids will not. Don't intentionally break blisters. A hat. A water jug at least 1 gallon that you can drink from directly without getting soaked. Many favor the Rubbermaid 2 gallon with fold-in spout. Try to live without ice. You won't have ice on tour. EMPTY and CLEAN it between camps (or every 2 or 3 days). It will grow nasty inside and could easily make you sick if you don't keep it clean. Do not think Gatorade or any other more tasty drink can substitute for water. Sugary/carbonated/caffeinated drinks actually increase your need for hydration. Drink all the water you can hold several times in the 24 hours BEFORE you get to camp and at every opportunity throughout camp, even if you don't feel thirsty. Dehydration and heat stroke are quite literally deadly and can happen unbelievably quickly, even when it's not that hot. Trust me. You don't want it to happen to you. Backpack to keep your cell phone, car keys, sun screen, whatever, together on the sidelines. IMHO you should not attempt to carry this stuff in your pockets during rehearsal, although I'm sure many people do. Something to moisturize your lips (even if you're not a horn player). Sun screen, the water proof or "sport" variety. Opinions differ on spray vs. lotion and all that, but find the one you like and use it. Reapply at meal times. Sun screen is essential even when it's not summer or hot. Sun screen often expands and leaks/breaks/explodes in a backpack left in the sun. Take precautionary measures, whatever works for you. Keeping it in a zip lock bag is a pain but may save your cell phone, camera, or whatever else is in your bag.

Long time fan and active volunteer, here. Went on tour this summer for the first time, driving the truck that pulled the trailer with the ATV. Here's what I learned, and it's a biggie: I CAN DO ANYTHING! And I no longer have to be told to "just figure it out!" first. I CAN unload my stuff, inflate an air mattress and be fast asleep in ten minutes. I CAN make a satisfying meal of lukewarm rice, served in a plastic cup, eaten on a curb with a plastic spoon if I show up late at the food truck. I CAN find the Super Wal-Mart in any town in America, run daily errands, and keep the money straight. I CAN buy 80 pounds of bananas at said Wal-Mart without feeling compelled to explain to the cashier and everyone around me in the check out line. I CAN ask to see the manager of said Wal-Mart and persuade him to override the "Limit 3" policy so I can buy 28 copies of the new Harry Potter on release day. I CAN take a shower, including hair washing, in under two minutes if the water is cold enough. I CAN wrap a kid twice around with duct tape to hold his uniform pants up if his zipper breaks ten minutes before warm-ups. I CAN back a trailer around a corner without hitting anything or killing anyone. I CAN survive any assault of flying crickets/other insects/bats so I can sit high on the bleachers, under the lights. I CAN greet my own kid, when our paths cross, the same way I greet any of the corps kids, resisting the urge to pinch Sonny's cheeks and give him a big mama's hug and a noisy wet kiss. I CAN cheer as loudly for other kids and other corps as I do for "my corps", even though I harbor a secret bias. I'm an old one. Touring isn't for everyone my age, clearly, but I loved every minute of it. Hope I'll be able to do it again next year.

Having just read a series of essays on "Competition" on another web site, I'm struck by the different attitude toward "winning" in drum corps as a whole, and by The Academy in particular. Check it out. This prayer was included in the program for The Academy's home show, as part of the message from the Executive Director, Mark Richardson: Dear God, In this battle that goes on through life I ask for a field that is fair, With a chance that is equal to all in the strife, and the courage to do and to dare, If I should win, let it be by the code, with my faith and honor held high. If I should lose, let me stand by the road, and cheer as the winners go by. If the members of The Academy embrace the guiding principles of this organization, they will leave the field for the last time in Pasadena as winners in the finest sense of the word, whether it be on Thursday, Friday or Saturday. As a person of (ahem) mature years, I am heartened to know that through drum corps, thousands of young(er) people will return to normal life in the fall as better people, great people in fact, whether they bring back a medal, or a ring, or not. It may even be that those who "stood by the road and cheered" will have benefited the most, when all is said and done.

Hey, I was there too. Saw the same corps. Really hot.

In sports, the game is the same from year to year and team to team, so the team rosters, skill & fitness of the players and the quality of coaching/training are the big variables. In DC, all those things are factors, but there is another major variable as well: the show design (which is in turn inclusive of many different sub-factors working together ... or, not ....). It would be hard to throw that one into the mix and make any valid predictions pre-season, even if you had all kinds of data about the other variables.

Allow me to add a bit of wisdom given me in my first year of corps parent-dom, by another, more seasoned, corps parent: Don't let your feelings get hurt when you take half a day off, drive two hours and spend a sizable chunk of your discretionary income to attend a show where your kid is performing, only to find that your kid appears to barely recognize you, doesn't necessarily want to sit with you in the stands and has no inclination whatsoever to leave with you for a "real meal", "real bed" or private shower with hot and cold running water. All kids are different, of course, but we parents need to remember that while we've been missing that kid all summer, he/she has been growing intensely close to the other members of his/her corps. They have become a new family, which is as it should be. Just as importantly, understand that your kid is FOCUSED on the corp's show, also as it should be. Sadly, for us, we are a distraction. The closer it is to Finals Week, the truer this will be. This doesn't mean we shouldn't attend drum corps shows!! On the contrary, when the season is over, our loving children will gradually start to notice us again, and we will share many memories of the season past, if we were there to enjoy and be part of it as it happened. Again, every kid, every corps, every family is different so maybe this doesn't apply to all. Just be sensitive to the issue, let your kid set his/her limits, and don't be hurt if that means all you get for now is a quick smile and a wave. It will all come back to you when the season is over.

So how are fans who are relative newcomers supposed to even see older shows??? Our options, it seems to me, are to spend very big bucks on DCI CD's/DVD's, find bootlegs on the internet or know somebody with recordings of these shows. I'm not inclined to part with $40 for the 1977 Championships DVD, but there have been plenty of times I'd have spent $5 to $10 for a video recording of a single show. I'd even begin by spendng the money for Season Pass, if that's what it took. Ideally, I'd like a downloadable file, but I'd even be satisfied with access to view my "Purchases" on line. Is there a reason DCI is so reluctant to make individual shows available for us to buy?