silvertrombone

I know, I'm going to get blasted...so be it. Webby, I just don't buy it. If your brass caption head gave this kind of review of the situation in that caption he wouldn't make it to San Antonio. Let's see...Blue Knights, Troopers, Cascades, Academy and Mandarins out west. Spirit and Crossmen down south. Jersey and...CADETS!?!...I mean...THE...Cadets??...out east. Glassmen and...MADISON!?!...in the Midwest. ALL OF YOU ARE BEING SCHOOLED BY PACIFIC CREST!!! Toss Teal in with Cadets and Surf. Toss Revo and Mempho in with Crossmen and Spirit. Etc. Put together 3 corps and get a cheap-Oh intern with some video interest/experience. Get them a laptop, a vid camera, a tri pod, and an air mattress. Have them travel with the corps. Schedule it such that this intern is with a corps that performs that night...as few "off" days as possible. Interviews. Sectionals. Ensemble. Off days at the beach, etc. Performances. Put it all together...warm-up in the lot...march in...lemons/"California Girls"/feathers up--those pre-show things corps do...and put out a vid for any particular corps EVERY THREE DAYS AT MOST. I know corps have a pretty rotten record of working together on collaborative projects, and all, but...come...on. That was a pathetic excuse for an excuse, Webby. <retreats to his bomb-proof shelter and dons flame-proof suit>

Good perspective for, oh...1984. Maybe even 2005. Not today. Crown and Blue Stars seem to have something going. Boston, too. And its not like every single corps has about a gazillion alum who are web expert-geeks. So draft someone for the summer...pay them a pittance to do nothing but vids and get whatever simple $500 laptop and $300 video camera it takes. It doesn't take much. Zero videos??? Really??? Contrast the "Video Top 3" with, well, the Pioneers. Sorry. I wish that were a bad analogy but the numbers YELL it. Heck...how 'bout 2-3 corps go in together? The vid guy (or gal) spends a day with each corps, rotating. One really well-done video each day equals, what...July 12th...20+ days on tour...7 +/- really well-done vids each? "Get off the couch and do it yourself" is, forgive me for this rut-roh...I actually don't mean to be calling you out, sincerely..., but this attitude is pervasive in the activity and going forward the attitude needs to be that this type of outreach to potential new fans and feeding the frenzy that we die-hard's have should be priority #1. Think about it...3 shows / day = 15,000-30,000 max live, in-person at performances...versus POTENTIALLY a couple hundred thousand a day?? I mean...are you serious?? "Get off the couch and do something" doesn't cut it. I work. So do you. We have to. And the corps have to start making this stuff a priority right up there with fueling up and feeding the kids. Cuz the dollars we are talking about could REALLY supplement the activity nicely. And with the economy looking pretty poopy through next season, every penny is important. So a BIG, "Top 3" hats off to Boston , Crown and Blue Stars for their efforts. The rest of you have some work to do.

I reserve the right to override this thread until after the Dallas-Houston Two-Step. While at this point I see it being BD-Crown in that order (1.7 up on HRC and accelerating...beat everyone else EARLY), you've got to let them have their head-to-head's and see if BD can hang on. It seems like BD comes out guns-a-blazin' every year, then get popped in the jaw, sometimes they hold on, sometimes you execute someone Finals night and the other guys squeek by...just sayin'...it literally ain't over til the fat lady sings... ...and she's still on the beach in Bermuda. Don't hold your breath or whip out yer stogies just yet, pops.

2...COOL...INT! ROFLMAO! I did want to know where INT is stepping off in relation to the other corps? Blue Knights, Bluecoats and Blue Stars...going on before or after INT?? In big shows with more top corps, is that bumping INT down further or are they holding their own?

Love it! When I saw Crown top EVERYONE in Illinois, my jaw dropped, I pee'd a little and let out words my mother would blush at... ...then I laughed and cheered OUT LOUD!! This thread is so funny...following the previous one, of course. A rivalry is born, eh? Love it! And I thought Phantom was going to be the big rivals with Crown, given their mid-season records the last couple years.

I respect the heck out of Hop, and always like his take on things. I disagree like heck with some of the off-the-field stuff that has been well discussed and can now go without mentioning here. Great post, Hop! Biased? Sure. I wouldn't expect anything less. And if Cadets end up second to or lower than Crown on Saturday night, I know the HRC will march off the field with pride knowing that they were bested by a really good corps. Class organization. The only thing I would add is that Crown has a PHENOMENAL staff and membership...there's no longer just one beast out east...and that truly excites me! Star did the same thing when...pretty much the same thing happened there. They slowly improved their product until one day...BOOM!...they were scored above the rest. Slowly climbed the rankings until top 3 was the standard and 3rd was considered disappointing. Same thing has happened in the Carolinas...and I'm JAZZED about it! Yeah, yeah...honks have seen it coming for years...me, too. Yeah, yeah...honks have been blaring it for years...I know. Crown may not walk out with the trophy this year, but they certainly have taken the next step this year. OK. This isn't a Crown thread...not exactly...so I'll get back to Cadets. Hop said it best, and since I haven't seen/heard his guys yet, I'll just assume that past results are indicative of this year's results...Cadets are good! They certainly have the vehicle, and WSS has served them well in the past. Heck, they beat ME with it! Never did beat Cadets. What's going on?? DCI is going on. And the East Coast has an official rivalry for the first time in forever. And I couldn't be more thrilled about it! Go Cadets!! Go Crown!! Go everybody else!! Should be really interesting when BD gets tossed into this mix, eh? How would you like to be THOSE 5 judges?? Yikes! Talk about blogs, DCP and rants!! Maroon, Cream and Blue uniform parts all over the place. Hmm...that would certainly make a pretty retreat arc somewhere, wouldn't it?? Lookin' forward to it!

2nded. Did I miss something?? Have I been wrong forever?? I always thought that we were referring to the high school band geeks...not dumb drum corps shows. And for the record, I was King Band-O in high school. The idiot jocks (our school had a really BAD football team, ironically!) referred to us as a little worse. But when we got our names in the paper it wasn't for losing to BERKNER. Well, actually, Berkner's band was better than ours, too...but that's not the point! And I used the term "Corps Rats" to describe corps members a while back...something that didn't stick apparently! Maybe I'm just mistaken. Wouldn't be the first time.

Shoot, man--when you leave the shoes on the field, all you have is your opinion! You earn your stripes in your teens/20's, then get to spend the rest of your life telling everyone how great you were. DCP and the Internet just provided an audience of 53 to actually read some of it!

Smokin hot, IMHO, equates to beating someone who actually made Finals in the present decade. 3+ points back of Blue Knights does not qualify. That said, I loved last year's show and would LOVE to see another corps challenging for that 12 spot.

Much LOVE to BK for their movement...truly one of the innovators in the activity in that area! I've got some thoughts/proposals on movement that I would love to see a corps like that play with...REAL stuff...not that "I'm gonna hang my leg out there and wiggle it a little bit" movement that seems so pervasive... ...but now I'm REALLY off-topic! Sorry, all.

Is it bitterness?? I thought it was that idiotic attitude of, "I have an opinion, I have an account, and I post RIGHT NEXT TO EVERYONE ELSE...so...LOOK AT ME...I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!" That gets as old as fast as the "This Ain't Drum Corps..." crowd. Although I will at least put up with the older crowd. Those you are referring to need to go march Pioneer...or go find MBP...speak of something which they know, ya know?

I haven't been on the Planet as much this year...probably something to do with Mafia Wars?? So I haven't seen your posts. But I did a thread that, I think, 3 people read before the season got under way discussing technology at the shows, facebook and other posts live, and video stuff. Thanks for your efforts! As for the boo-birds, they've been around forever...don't stop posting like corps did several years ago...just...*POOF!!*...no more corps posting on DCP. Due to their critics. Morons. PLEASE keep up your tech efforts to update live when you can! I'll catch you at some point, and I'll love it from afar...maybe even get you to call me sometime when THE corps is on so I can take a listen in on the going's on! :-)

Oh come on...I'm ALWAYS initiating Dublin Dr Pepper bets that go unanswered!!

You know, my jaw dropped a couple times the last three or so days...both times Crown did it--BRAVO, corps, BRAVO!! Seeing them on top of both Phantom AND Cavies the other night was pretty huge. But after all the "Not this year" commentary we heard week one re: the possibility of defeating Cadets, their victory last night over HRC was just...WOW!! Now, remember...I'm totally a Phantom honk. I'll tell you I don't think Crown should have beaten PR at SA in 07 just as quickly as I'll say I'm proud the corps won last year with the crowd reaction of all crowd reactions! And just as assuredly, I will tell you that I'm glad PR got their solo championship before Crown has won. Just me. That being said, now I'm game for new blood, and Crown is the closest to supplying that. I'm a sold-out fan of Donnie Van Doren and Company, and their record wherever they go speaks for itself. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the concept of Crown Tickets and think the entire activity should jump on that bandwagon...no pun intended! And I have really enjoyed noticing the improvements in this organization on the field since coming back into the activity in 2004...one of the stories of the last decade! I have also noticed that Crown has its (more than?) fair share of honks around here, for whatever reason. Whether there are just a lot of Crown alum and fmr parents online, or whether there are a bunch of fmr Star members who have adopted this as "their" corps, and they're just enjoying paying back the PR phans and Cavies fans with what they dished out on Star back in the day, or whatever...Crown is generally well-represented around here! But I truly fear Crown honks (of which, despite my comments, I do not qualify myself as) becoming as miserable and obstinately UGLY as fans of pretty much every other top organization in the activity's history...that would TRULY disappoint me! Let's try to keep this corps as the one (for now...hopefully more to follow!) that bucks the "THIS AIN'T DRUM CORPS" and "BACK IN THE DAY..." crowd that the rest of us has known the ENTIRE time we've known the activity. Let's have just ONE group whose audience and fans are POSITIVE, and who are ambassadors for the ENTIRE activity as a result. I truly believe that if an audience...a fan base...within the activity began behaving properly towards other fans and non-fans alike, this would catch on with the "Old School" crowd, if for no other reason than eventually they would be outnumbered! So, Crown Honks, congratulations on your recent results, but don't get ahead of yourselves...Crown beat Phantom in 07 and 08 as well, and look at how THOSE turned out! Crown still hasn't accomplished anything yet, in my book, but I am certainly cheering for them to do so in the near future. Just...PLEASE...PUHLEASE!!!...behave better than phans of "my" corps have. The treatment Star received from Rockford and Rosemont, specifically, should work to keep your ranks humble. Be the example in the stands that the corps is quickly becoming on the field. Ignore the B.S. attitudes that have been the problems, and instill the positive love for the activity that needs to become more prevalent. God only knows we have enough voices of dissention on DCP...we don't need another organization full of them running around looking like fools...'nuf of that already. GO CROWN!! Keep it up! May you never earn the title "Best Corps to Never Win DCI!!" But may you..AND your fans...be the example in victory that Star of Indiana was many years ago. Be classy...you already have the "classical" part down...perhaps that will make it even easier. And Go Phantom--don't give it up easy, guys!! :-P

You know, I was going to say, "We grew up." But then I noticed that the years you marched were over a decade after I did, so maybe "we" (my generation) didn't do too much growing up after all, if the next generation still says/believes/acts the same way. No offense...not attacking you...that's more on my gen and folks older than us. It just occurred to some of us one day that... 1.) Taking offense to WHAT you call it is pretty childish; 2.) Chowing down on some noob's arse cuz they call it a "band" instead of a "corps" tends to drive off more people than what it brings in; 3.) The activity has run off too many fans, volunteers, members, corps, etc due to various issues, and maybe--just maybe...and maybe I'm wrong, too--but just maybe... ...we realized that it was time to reach out to people who didn't use the same terminology that we "music educated" types do. Ya know? In short, we... ...GOT OVER OURSELVES!! And this is totally a criticism of my peers and our seniors, not the younger crowd...we are OBVIOUSLY still failing miserably at that little tiny detail. Be able to laugh at yourselves, people...because most of the time we have more of a tendency to pay ourselves too much nevermind and think that we're more than we are. Be able to have a CONVERSATION with a person about drum corps, or as they're likely to put it, MARCHING BAND!! And if the first thing out of your mouth is something like, "It's not a..." then please, please, please re-read the "laugh at yourself" part...and GET OVER IT!!! It IS a band. Look up the definition if you're that dense. The correct adjective to place in front of the 'band' part would NOT be concert or jazz...it WOULD be 'marching.' So technically speaking, we're pretty small-minded when we take up the 1950's crowd's attitude and perpetuate it another generation. Now, being one of the "initiated" types, I KNOW IT'S NOT "JUST" A MARCHING BAND!! But if the only way you can state it is, "It's not a marching band," you're pretty much in need of reading some good books, elevating your general level of intelligence and expanding your overall vocabulary. And I'm happy to suggest a few dozen to start with. How about, "Try marching band on STEROIDS!!" And then tell them the awesome things that distinguish DCI from ANYTHING else! The rehearsals, the performances, the gym floors, etc, etc. Hype it...don't diss on the MB's, cuz most of us have been in or are in one of those at present anyways! In short, make the activity look GOOD...don't detract from either one, thus making them BOTH look bad. NOBODY WINS WHEN EVERYBODY LOSES!!

Whoa...that's a great big phat AND PHANTOM REGIMENT as well. 76.7 Crown 76.1 Cavies 75.5 Phantom Relying on memory...sorry if off a tenth or so. BIG surprise...LOVE surprises...too long since we had some of those in DCI!

Whoa--really?? That's gonna be interesting. Dang...that's EARLY to be kicking them down already. Wow! Potential top 3...maybe 2nd? Way to go, cream! (or did they change colors?)

Hey, OP--tell us how DRUM scores are looking after...what?...two shows?? I'm guessing BD alum, 22-25 years old, blah-blah-blah'ing about BD in June.

I can think of 80,000 people in maroon who couldn't disagree with you more when UT Austin comes to town wearing burnt orange, and vice versa. Or Crimson and Gold when they play the Gold and Baby Blue in LA. Or red in Fayetteville when the cajuns come to town. Or that hideous orange at Neeley Stadium when anyone else in the SEC comes to town. Or...or...or... If NCAA rivals can show each other respect in the others' home and vice versa, then certainly we in DCI can as well. I've been a very vocal supporter of getting rid of some attitudes in DCI since coming onto DCP a couple years back. If there's one thing I know, it is that we are niche partly due to the attitude. People like cowtown, bozzly and one or more of the Mikes--amid a couple dozen more of you on here--not to mention many thousands more out at every show in the nation--need to lose some of this attitude. I refer to the attitude of "my corps' better than yours"...or perhaps you like the "we're alum of XYZ corps...and you're NOT"...or the slightly more common "this ain't drum corps"! Sadly, it goes by several names, and its not always the young hatin' on the old, as that last one indicates. After all, hate has to be taught, and many of us learned it well, and it has taken years to shun its negative effects in favor of respect for ALL in the activity. I hate to lecture, so I'll just close with...we could ALL do a better job at getting that message out there. And I would think Colts folks would be grateful that a Blue Stars fan would be in there buying tickets. When last I heard, those drummers ate a snack after the show because of the money folks like you paid for tix. Be nice. If you can't be nice, please excuse yourself. Thx.

So, Hop is giving facebook updates as corps perform. Kevin Gamin is doing the same thing. PR has PHINALLY put out some decent video and posts about what's going on. Granted, this is the first year facebook has been big, but youtube has been around a couple years now, so its good to finally see the activity jump on board...even if not everyone is there yet. It occurs to me that the Internet (fb/yt/twitter/etc) is the perfect opportunity for "lower" corps to really establish themselves and build a fan base. After all, if, say, Teal put about an hour a day of video on the web from various section and ensemble rehearsals, they'd be (I believe) putting out more content than ANY of the elites. Correct me if that is wrong. I mentioned this topic a week or so ago and it was kind of pooh-pooh'ed. Specifically, I asked when cell phones and maybe videos would begin popping up from local shows. OK, maybe the technology doesn't yet exist for that. But the twitter-style updates are pretty decent, and its not like DCI fans don't read, enjoy, keep up with and LOVE those simple, 144-character tweets. I'm not connected to all of the corps out there, so feel free to give updates on what the various corps are doing. In absence of seeing the corps live every day, seeing Troopers, Crossmen, Blue Knights and Teal online every day is the next best thing...and something tells me most of us would enjoy / are enjoying the use of technology. Keep it up, corps! Actually--STEP IT UP!! You're doing good...now do more...for all us obsessed Phans out in the nether regions! :-P

Two thumbs enthusiastically up! Nominated for DCP Post of the Millenium...Post of the Year...Best Poster...Best Supporting Post...Best Cinematography...and if we could kill the G vs Bb debate, it would be nominated for Best Film Score, too! "Get over ourselves"--GREAT statement! I wholeheartedly agree. I wonder how many people over the years have been run off by some overzealous fan and former marching member with the "not marching band" attitude. I mean...geez, how obtuse can we possibly be? "Keep it a niche activity--we don't want more fans competing for our seats!!" Nice.

Oh, vw--you're far too young to develop that attitude. Don't walk towards the light...stay with us a while longer! The whole "this is drum corps and YOU'RE NOT" attitude that permeates the whole activity...and seems to have since before DCI was even thought of...is old. It was old when I was a marching member. It's stale...really, really stale. It's the attitude that drove Star from the activity. It's the attitude that causes the whole "it's not a marching band" thing to keep the activity as a niche thing at best. Let's get over ourselves, shall we?? It's a friggin trumpet, OK? A TRUMPET!! Bugles are archaic artifacts of the Battle of Little Bighorn and should be allowed to stay buried in their shallow grave. They haven't even been used in wars in...what??--80 years?? WWII used radios...amazing invention that they are/were! They used encrypted stuff now to ensure that we don't "telegraph" signals to the enemy. Bugles...umm...no. Just...no. Sorry. Ironic, isn't it, that we sit here debating BUGLES in a forum on the INTERNET!?! I mean...how much more of a contrast can you pull up? Time to move on. I mean, really, the musicians today are about twice what we were in the 90's. The corps are about twice as fit and perform at about twice the level we did. And the instruments themselves are INFINITELY better than the P&R's you guys swear by...again, battlefield relics. Yet Bb's are supposed to be inferior just because we played on G's?? C'mon guys...they proved the world round about a million years ago. Catch up.

[/thread] Beat me to it. End of discussion...the 70's sucked and they're dead. Welcome to the 21st Century.

Edited for lack of sense of humor.

Oh I dunno, with as spread out as things are in the early season, maybe it won't be that big of an effect? I mean, the top corps are at the four corners so they can all be in the same 72 to 74 point range and it not matter terribly until they all come together before the Texas swing. And its not like the judges aren't qualified. Biased, yes--that's always been my charge. But unqualified? They'll probably do for not. Besides, I'll guarantee their blackberries have been busy and will be tomorrow filling their colleagues in on what they saw / heard. But I get your point.