Stryfe

The hat that bass 3 is wearing was the bass hat in '09 and '10, and it may still be, but I would guess not because the bass section leader (bass 4) is wearing the umbrella hat. So, in conclusion, I think the umbrella hats are the (sub)section hats. Also, I don't geek out over drum colors unless they don't work, but I haven't been disappointed by any of these yet. I like all of them. Obviously I need to know Crown's uniform to know if it will clash, though. Also, not sure about SCV based on the already mentioned complaint of the brightness.

I love DCI because, from a performer's standpoint, it showcases the almost religious ability to subject oneself to discomforts and trials and thereby increase exponentially every shred of joy one receives. It's the thrill of anticipation, stretched out over three months. Also as a performer, there's no better feeling than getting a crowd on their feet. And as a viewer, it's interesting most to me as a challenge of composition/arrangement. Twelve minutes to make the most entertaining show possible with this specific instrumentation, twelve minutes to actually attempt to say something with 150 people on a football field.

*Chris

I have as very little to go off of as everyone else in this thread, so I won't even try to justify anything -- the list is composed half of desires and half of realism. I would say that 1-5 are stupid close, so don't peg me for a "this has to be the year BD falls!" type. My wishlist looks something like 1. Cavaliers 2. Cadets 3. Blue Devils 4. Bluecoats 5. Carolina Crown 6. Santa Clara Vanguard 7. Blue Stars 8. Phantom Regiment/Madison Scouts 9. Phantom Regiment/Madison Scouts 10. Blue Knights 11. Boston Crusaders 12. Glassmen 13. Academy 14. Crossmen 15. Troopers 16. Colts 17. Spirit Beyond here, clueless... hopefully Teal Sound higher than lower.

Scouts and SCV -- Getting to sit in the middle of these two hornlines playing our/their corps songs for one another after Allentown '09 was one of the most touching things I've experienced. Scouts pit and everybody, when it rains -- in '09 we spent some quality time hiding from the rain at a show with the Blue Stars. Next summer we shared a similar experience with the Spirit frontline. Small details of intercorps fraternity like that really leave a lasting impression on me, even if it's just hanging out in someone's trailer, trading stories and maybe bus snacks. As far as being on the receiving end of good relationships, our pit had a gong malfunction midseason and ended up borrowing a gong at shows from Spirit and Crown. [joke about Scouts and Crossmen... really, that hatchet was pretty well buried last year, I feel. I don't think the pits of either group ever really cared about it anyway]

I marched Scouts for a lot of different reasons. In 07, I saw one of my first shows, and my love for Phantom was reinforced by seeing them live, but the Scouts also blew me away. I still remember my brother, who knew nothing about DCI, complaining about how low they placed at the end of the day, and I knew enough DCI to know they didn't care about placements. In 08, I tried out for Phantom just to "test the waters;" I wanted to end up there. I was told to audition that year for another corps, even though I hadn't really intended on marching. I tried out for the corps he recommended me to -- Blue Stars -- and just about had a spot, but backed out of it. In 09, I tried again for Blue Stars but there weren't enough positions this time. Frustrated, I remembered my love for Scouts and emailed the pit caption head, who still had a spot open. True story: The only person I knew in the corps at that time was the person who posted previously. Marching there redefined me as a person and gave me great insights into performance, endurance, and brotherhood. The staff change inbetween '09 and '10 made me not reaudition at first, but I'm now extremely glad I did. I wanted to march this summer but the funds weren't there, and I am steadfast about marching my ageout next summer. I don't want to go anywhere else -- getting crowds on their feet is the best feeling in the world to me, and that's why I'm a Madison Scout.

Another tally in support of Academy's new threads. I think from a distance it will reveal not being too "busy" at all. The only part that I wish were different were the tie -- solid black or white, or perhaps red. Otherwise I think it's great. Reminds me a fusion between a tuxedo and some sort of cyberpunk trenchcoat. The headgear will make quite a bit of difference, though. Black with a white plume seems obvious and maybe some silver details and would work pretty well.

Timpani are one of the instruments in the percussion family that is definitely highest on the list of "instruments you should never take outside." Being a timpani player in today's drum corps is a challenge many people willingly take, but the space in the truck as well as the sheer amount of time the timpani player wastes tuning, retuning and clearing the heads -every day- to respond to the changing environment is not ideal. I think corps should be able to remove the timpani if they don't fit in their show very well, or include them if they do. The situation is kind of funny in that most indoor drumlines don't have the space to lug around timpani while corps do, even though playing timpani in a mostly-indoors environment makes a lot more sense logistically. Because synthetic timpani sound as inauthentic as synthetic brass.

I went from the front page of this to page 8 and can only say that it doesn't surprise me that what little substance there was to this topic has devolved to whatever this nonsense is.

Sure. I only found it moderately recently in terms of how long it's been out, which is apparently quite a while, and was disappointed no one had shown me first.

Colts - That says "Relámpago" to me far more than it says anything about jagged edges. I just think the symbolism is telling everyone "lightning bolt" more than "jagged edge," probably due to the way it comes to a point. The red plume is okay, but I think it makes the overall shako unit pretty bland to look at. Cascades - I dig it. I'm not sure if all the stripes are necessary, but I think I need to see it in person first. Troopers corps - I like it a LOT more than last year. I still prefer the older uniform but after last year, this is a warmly welcome compromise between new and old. Troopers guard - Mediocre... doesn't really stand out very well. It is a good observation, however, that it will complement the corps proper's uniform quite nicely. Phantom corps - Not so mindlessly hyped as everyone else. I love the general appeal of it and the contrast and bringing black the white/black contrast not seen since 2006, but I think the crest in the middle is going to be impossible to see up top, and not sure how I feel about the plume/chicken but pretty sure I miss the white. Might be convinced otherwise. Phantom guard - Good. Portrays the theme excellently. Academy - :( meanies. If you want me to see your show, come to the midwest! Jersey Surf - glad they're staying. To be honest I don't know a lot about Surf, but these uniforms made me start paying attention last season (as much attention as I could inbetween playing shows). They're classy, snazzy and well-designed. To respond to the whole Madison Scouts thing, I believe that they are making alterations to the uniforms to fit the show as that is what they were told would be the future intent when the uniform was premiered last year. I also agree with pretty much all the suggestions I've seen here (forest green harnesses, longer sash, some red on the uniforms) although I think last year's was a perfect homage to the uniform it was based on.

I never rate threads but I'll rate this one, as I'm guaranteed to keep coming back to it. Great work, Chris Rohn. More musical Chatroulette shenanigans if anyone hasn't seen this:

Also, having just seen Blue Stars' show trailer, I'll probably throw them on the "Dark" list.

Out of those shows for which we know (mostly) the full program - title and repertoire - my educated guess using my definition of dark would be: Dark: Bloo (dystopian novel for title), Cascades ("dark" gift), Phantom (I don't know if you've read what happens to Juliet), SCV (...hell), Teal Sound (deadly sins) Not so dark: Academy, BD, BK, Crown (it might get heavy, but that's not really dark), Cavies, Crossmen, Scouts, Pio, Troopers Too vague/could go either way: Boston, Cadets, Mandarins, Pacific Crest I think if people are more careful with how they use "dark" and distinguish it from the quality of a sound being "dark" (which is pretty meaningless), then it's not that confusing or vague. There's a certain margin of opinion around the middle, but most people can agree that Cavies '10 (Mad World) is a dark show and that Scouts '99 (Jesus Christ Superstar) is not a dark show. Both have their relative high and low points of emotional stability and more dissonant harmonies, but overall the feel of the shows is distinguished in a way that is worth recording.

I think it may depend on which browser you use. For a while, I could not get the Fan Network to work in Chrome and had to open Firefox to run it -- recently I tried again in Chrome and at least it works, but it's kind of buggy. Either way, I wish it wouldn't switch between resolutions/audio qualities randomly. I know it does this to other people, too (and my internet is terribly good, so there's no reason) -- it will go between a very high definition and clear sound to a blurry resolution and compressed sound.

Quoted for a healthy dose of realism, including only a modest gain for my team, which everyone else thinks is going to break into the top 6 somehow. A couple of adjustments for my predictions, which I won't complete just yet: 1. Cavies 2. Bloo 3. BD 4. Cadets 5. SCV 6. Carolina Crown 7. Blue Stars 8. Madison Scouts 9. Phantom Regiment 10. Boston Crusaders 11. Blue Knights 12. Glassmen I heard the exact opposite, but it's the percussion program I heard about, so perhaps you mean the brass/guard?

delete this post, I can't brain

I'm going to try to average personal enjoyment of shows and performance level in a really unscientific way that will usually prefer the former element, but generally keeps everyone in their "zones." As far as just the latter element is concerned, I think the judges were right. Top 6 is really weird area for me. It's all huddled together pretty close; as someone said, the top 6 didn't really produce any clearly great programs. 1. The Cavaliers - My favorite Cavies show in a while -- a very cohesive, consistent, and thought-provoking design with a lot of good playing. 2. Bluecoats - A killer show from all sections, but like someone said before, kind of an inconsistent approach and vague program. It tried to be edgy and never really came across that way. 2. Carolina Crown - A better show design than Bluecoats, but performed worse. 4. Phantom Regiment - I might be a biased percussionist with no ear for brass techniques, but the faster parts of this show were incredible, as was the climax. The pacing was a bit strange, and obviously there were huge problems in the other captions. 4. Blue Devils - Can't make up my mind again -- I don't hate it by any means and I actually completely love the front ensemble [go to 9:10, achieve Nirvana in those runs]. But the battery was not as good, and the overall show design is obviously just a bit choppy. 6. The Cadets - I loved the source music and a lot of what was going on at individual moments in this show, but the pacing was weird, and the percussion is still growing. Also the battery feature. The "lower half" is a bit more clear-cut for me. 7. Madison Scouts - ...honk 8. Santa Clara Vanguard - I'm a composition major, so of course I love all of this weird music. I really enjoy listening to it. But 7-8 is around the area where there are front-to-back issues noticeable in the recording. 9. Blue Stars - One of my favorite openers of the year, but I felt like the show was pancakes. Delicious at the beginning, but just about halfway through I was entirely uninterested. 10. Blue Knights - Classy and powerful as usual. 11. Glassmen - It's grown on me. I appreciate their excellent percussion programs/books from year to year, but the overall design doesn't move me much. 12. Boston Crusaders - Purely out of apathy for the show are they down here. Weakness in the front hurt the percussion, which was good on the field, but more than that I don't know how they made me not care about Shostakovich's 10th. I will give them one of my favorite ballad moments of the year, though. 13. Academy 14. Colts - It pains me, since I have friends there and wish them the best personally, but there seemed to be constant problems in brass/vis/guard, though I commend them for another late-season-jump-to-top-of-Semis. Their front was aces, and the battery was not so shabby either -- unfortunately with the staff change and very low vet retention that could be in jeopardy for them in the future. 15. Teal Sound - Mostly out of personal enjoyment of the music and their performance style -- an excellent addition to World Class. 16. Crossmen 17. Mandarins 18. Spirit 19. Troopers ...haven't really listened to anybody else yet.

I'm sure someone's said this but I did not read all 22 pages. It's obvious to me, but I know that people can often get lost in acronyms and initialisms and forget what they stand for. Youth Education in the Arts

"New York Morning" isn't a show title? Now I'm confused.

Who do I want to be a new champion next? Bluecoats - it could happen this year, based on what I'm hearing from the organization Who do I think will be a new champion next? Bluecoats or Crown, possibly Blue Stars in a pretty distant future

From a pit/percussion standpoint: - 3-5 shirts - 3-5 shorts, all section shorts if your corps uses those - all-in-one washer/dryer sheets - ~1 full set of free day clothes; no one wants to be walking around the sweet parts of Denver in rehearsal clothes - endless socks - flip-flops - shoes that may have to be replaced by a family member mid-season - some kind of hat with a brim in the front and back but not the sides (to hear clearly) - sunscreen, SPF 35 did me alright but my skin's pretty tough - bug spray, but don't expect it to ever work - athletic tape to wrap blisters that may pop and/or become too painful to play on For the bus: - bungie cords, aforementioned - window cling boxes, even if it's illegal to obscure your windows in many states - large tupperware box to put munchies in under your seat - a large (2 gallon) jug that does not spill water easily (NOT Bubba Keg... or any other jug I've tried)... don't be the guy whose water jug is getting everyone's stuff wet - a moderate amount of entertainment... you won't always feel like talking to other people or watching Jurassic Park 3 that someone decided to put in the DVD player. My first summer, it was books and my DS, and my second summer was my DS and my cellphone [which wasn't even a smartphone]. And take a cue from Zombieland and be very sure to "enjoy the little things." As you'll find out, after tour, the things you remember most are the fun times you had growing closer to your new family and becoming a better person, so never dwell on bad things and take it all in. Also, don't scoremonger, because scores aren't for you to worry about -- as long as you're doing your personal best 24/7 and performing your ### off for the audience, you're doing it right.

I think Glassmen and Cascades have the only posters that I don't think are good. I don't even usually like Crossmen posters, but theirs is very bold and well-composed. Phantom's is worlds better than whatever Papyrus nonsense we got last year and very striking, SCV's is also very striking and a brilliant use of contrast, Teal Sound's is killer, and Troopers' is pretty well done too, though I have to wonder where the painting came from and how much effort it took them to slap their name under a couple clouds and add a circular shadow effect. In contrast, Glassmen's is blurry, the font is overly hard to read, and the color of the font as well as the position all add to the show title being very hard to read, and the words under it become an annoying distraction at such a small focus. The figure itself is pretty effective, but there's not enough contrast or detail to make anything about the poster stand out.

First off, I think it's kind of funny that a "know-it-all" insisted it was a trumpet. What? But, having played pin chimes in drum corps, and owning a small set of pin chimes, I can guarantee those are pin chimes. Pin chimes are kind of cool in about 5 second uses like that but having to hear them any longer than that drives me crazy! :P

Some random stranger once told me that the policy for Scouts wasn't set in stone -- contracts happened in the preceding winter, member jackets happened during the middle of move-ins, nails happened within a week of Champs, and that whether or not someone is your valued brother isn't changed by whether or not he irreversibly injured his knee or had a family crisis.