Stryfe

A few shows I see in this thread that I actually enjoyed quite a bit: Phantom 04 (Delicious Piazzolla. Guard was kind of a mess but Oblivion sounds great and the percussion parts are great) Cadets 06, BD 05 (and 04, but I think whoever put that down had the wrong year in mind) Crown 06 (one of my favorite Crown shows from a design standpoint -- I wouldn't ever say a show was horrible just because it wasn't performed well) My actual questionable shows: Blue Stars 09 (least favorite Stars show since their re-entry into WC) Crossmen 08 and 09 Bluecoats 10 (least favorite Bluecoats show since before 05, just didn't dig the treatment of Asphalt Cocktail) Cadets 08, 12 (I honestly gave 2012 a chance this summer with a very open mind but it just didn't work for me, plus the religious message near the end was a great way to lose me) Cavies 07 Scouts 05 (It's not that I didn't like it, it's just that my regard for this show is grossly below everyone else's, especially compared to shows like 06 and 03)

The "survival" aspect of the show refers to surviving in the context of being at war. "Corps of Brothers" in the title refers both to the Madison Scouts and to a unit in a military.

I think it's a perfectly fine place to ask. People get drumset spots by auditioning as if it were any other spot. Generally, you show up, get behind the set and help keep time for exercises, then probably do a one-on-one with the staff; having a solo prepared is a good idea. If you're male, the Madison Scouts drumset/rack player aged out, I know there's a spot there. It's not always guaranteed which corps will have a spot, so you'll have to do a bit of research. Scouts have had a drumset player for the last three years, as have Cavaliers. But Crown, for example, had one in 2011 but not one in 2012, and Crossmen had more of a rack in 2011 and a real drumset this past year (same player, different equipment setup). Again, just look into it beforehand; don't be afraid to shoot the corps an email asking about it. Good luck! [Also consider trying out for Gateway Indoor, we need a drumset player this upcoming season also :)]

I count 38 for Scouts off the pre-season roster, but our lineup changed pretty heavily. I'm pretty sure we ended up with more ageouts than that.

I didn't really care for BK's show but I think their guard outfits were fine.

He's talking about Evan Van Doren.

Thread's too long, not reading at all. This just replies to the original post. I think it depends on your style of parenting. Your child will become much more mature, reliable, efficient, fit, and musically talented. S/he will also become slightly more gruff, exposed to the "real world", and there's a small possibility of developing an injury. You can limit the risks by starting them off in a corps with younger people and less demand. In a liberal style of parenting, I'd go for it. If you're conservative and want to mold your child's life until you feel they've become an adult, feel free to keep them away. Personally, I'd leave it up to your child, but I'm not the parent.

Yep, not long at all. http://www.madisonscouts.org/blog/?p=873 Can't copy and paste on my phone, but the title is "Corps of Brothers - 75 Years of Survival". Music includes Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain" and "You'll Never Walk Alone." In 2013, the Madison Scouts go to war.

Don't get too anxious about the show announcement. It won't be long at all until the world knows. :) (possibly even today)

1. 2006 Phantom Regiment 2. 1998 Cadets 3. 2004 Cavaliers 4. 2003 Madison Scouts 5. 1999 SCV 6. 1993 Star 7. 1996 Blue Devils 8. 2005 Bluecoats 9. 2007 Carolina Crown 10. 1992 Crossmen 11. 1992 VK Can only think of 11.

Ah. Entirely possible, since I only know pit people from gmen.

Not sure on details, but Crossmen get cross necklaces, Music City gets stars, Glassmen get shields, Colts get triangles.

Winning guard alone wouldn't necessarily take them to a new ordinal, but one also has to account that visual and visual ge scores would also improve. Besides, it's all kind of moot anyway. Regardless of whether or not they would move up, one 14th place caption in a sea of 6-8th places can certainly be said to be a weakness.

I'm just going to reinforce the fact that corps members receive entrance bracelets and are just eager to watch their peers. This feels greatly like another "back in my day" thread. Very overblown. Booing is uncalled for. Getting in to watch shows and accidentally choosing a taken seat is not.

bah nevermind

Moyer and McNutt left Scouts after 2006, not 2007. I don't know if they went to Cadets in 2007 but they definitely weren't at Scouts.

3rd place just is not my cup of tea, it seems. Just personal taste, but a lot of these shows are a bit lackluster to me ("look, it's a Scheherazade-hater, throw rocks at him!" ). 2003 Cadets is an exception. One of my favorite Cadets shows, and tied for my favorite Malaguena. My other vote went to 2009 HNC, which is also ballin', and probably a bit underappreciated. But I would say that; I voted for it. I won't mind if Scheherazade/Metropolis/Rhapsody win, but the way I think about "best" seems to preclude shows where adjacent years were more entertaining to me (SoundShapeColor/Imagine/Faust). Edit: 2007 Cavies with exactly 0 votes. Wow. I didn't vote for it either, but I liked this show a bit more than most of 2007. Bummer. :P

Yeah, I definitely have to fall on the more lenient or moderate side of this issue. My philosophy is pretty much just holding the staff members to the same standard I hold everyone else to, though. I think A) Regulations should be up to the corps individually and tied to their reputation. B) Staff and experienced but unaffiliated drum corps curmudgeons alike should keep their negative/constructive opinions in their heads -- or at least to a whisper to the one person whom they want to share it with. (This is the standard I hold myself to. If I'm with a friend and I just have to share the experience of watching someone fall with someone else, I'll take it to whispers.) Positive opinions are alright, but excessive talking is also not desirable by /anybody/ C) Staff and alumni alike should keep grotesquely exaggerated applause and shouting to themselves. Yelling isn't a sin in itself unless it's not warranted or it's not something any person in the audience might yell at that moment [note that "go sabers" arguably breaks those rules, thus is bad]. Why is it more distracting coming from a staff member than a local bando? I've never been the yelling type but I know of a lot more normal audience members of that kind than staff members at the shows I've been to. Sure, staff aren't paying to watch the show, but if they didn't exist, neither would the drum corps. I say as long as they're not being distracting, it's fine. "Drum corps as a concert hall" as a concept has never seen much appreciation, for good reason.

I was shocked at the results before I learned the poll was originally made as a single-choice-only poll. Anyway, I chose 1989 through 2004. As per the question asked (not necessarily win, just be in contention, which generally means top 2-5 ish), I think that all of these shows would still stack up just fine. I think prior to 89, shows would still place highly, but more in the not-quite-contending range, especially as drill demand will eventually get less hard. Otherwise, I think we've seen a good amount of evidence that some evolutions in the activity -- synths, narration, dramatic and prominent show themes -- can be ignored or de-emphasized without affecting placement, despite some argument to the contrary ("nowadays you just CAN'T compete unless you have a synth solo/have narration/have a really blatant show theme!"). One problem older shows will have is that late 80s and 90s front ensemble was embarrassing, frankly. I really don't mean to offend anyone, but it seems to be a prevailing opinion among modern front ensemblers (including people involved during those years) so I feel like it probably won't be perceived as hate. But as we all know, front ensemble composes like 5% of the Percussion scores anyway so it won't hurt them too much.

I think that Momentum out of Missouri is a very good program in the making. Also a very good name for a drum corps (especially if you're familiar with Missouri's state code abbreviation - MO). Programs like Gateway Indoor, V.I.P., and, to an extent, Freedom Percussion are already setting good standards for percussion education in the St. Louis area, but otherwise, I think the musical scene in Missouri could only be helped by a stronger presence of marching music. It might help if Prairie Sound were a bit more... substantive. At least we have our shows back! (The Missouri shows, mind you, both ironically take place outside of state lines. Olathe, KS is the KC, MO show while the Lebanon, IL show is the StL, MO show. Geeze!)

Shoot, 07 Bloo, 08 SCV... two great shows. I'm going to have to go with 07 Bloo as more of a political gesture, although symbolically I give my vote to 08 SCV since no one's voting for it '09 Boston is still overshadowed by '08 Boston. '10 SCV gets points for being somewhat authentic.

2003 Madison has to take it for me, since it's one of my all-time favorite shows. Second to that comes 2006 Crown. I think 2010 Blue Stars come next, followed by 2008 Blue Stars. I don't like either of those shows as much as 2011 Blue Stars, though. 05 Vanguard is in there somewhere, mostly for Russian Christmas Music. Edit: Shoot! 07 BK too!

I don't think OP was nearly as confrontational or conspiratorial as any of you are making him out to be. He was just bringing up the topic. A lot of you seem to be fighting straw men. None of the Scouts fans are freaking out about this, and you're just using this opportunity to express your frustrations at the larger group. :P Right thing to do: "Contact" link at the bottom of dci.org, send a report about a factual error.

The first way in which it came to my head was a reversal of the way you posed it; I think since DCI is and always will be an activity that is meant to be experienced live, corps should view media reproduction rights as not unimportant, but still not as important as putting on a good show for the fans who paid to see it. I.E. I'd rather see ESoM live and deal with it being censored on the recordings than to have the corps scramble mid-season to try to replace their closer just to appeal to people who aren't going to see it live.

I can't share the details of my bus experience, but I can give a general classification that the Madison Scouts do not do the read/siesta/meditate on the way to the show thing, it's much more of an energetic hype playlist with singing, jumping, and general shenanigans. It's one of my favorite parts of tour, so I'd be pretty disappointed to go somewhere else and be missing out on that. In my opinion, there's plenty of time to get your head centered while you're actually unloading the truck and hacking, whereas a overcooled mental state can result in a kind of blueness that can and has really produced some nasty show funk for me.