ST_Lawson

4th largest city in Iowa. Bigger than Dubuque. Not big by California standards, but around here, that's a good sized city.

Greg is from Decorah, IA if I remember correctly (anyone remember the Decorah Kilties?) That was my guess...he was a band director in Gowrie, IA early in his career.

People keep talking about the G7 corps leaving and starting their own circuit. I'd be more worried that they'll leave, go back to their "roots" in many cases, and start their own military units... http://pictureisunrelated.memebase.com/201...-inconspicuous/ (and begin old contra jokes......now)

Agreed. I was lucky enough to have had 4 years with Chuck and Dean ("Better teaching through sarcasm") in the late '90s with the Colts. I'm glad to hear that Chuck is going to be arranging for the Crossmen. I've always enjoyed their shows in the past, and can't wait to hear what he's working on for them this year.

Just wanted to toss out a quick update/clarification. Some of you may have thought that I was going to have the guard members watch drum corps and learn how to do it from that. I was actually looking more for inspiration for the people instructing and writing work for the guard. Generally, the person teaching the guard/writing the work is a recent alumni or upperclassman, and may not have any idea of what's going on with modern guards. They just teach the same thing they learned, and the style hasn't really been updated/addressed in the last 20 years or so. I'm hoping that they can take a look at what some of the best guards are doing and maybe start to integrate a few of the more basic concepts into the stuff they are writing. Thanks for the help, and I apologize for starting a whole "Phantom's guard sucks" vs "no they don't" argument.

I think it's really more about how to integrate a little more movement into the work that they're doing, not so much of the full-on dance routines. The band director is amazing and has been there for something like 25-30 years, but his style is very "traditional". The guard members pretty much stand straight up and spin/move the flags. Just trying to get some inspiration to help update their style a little.

Hi everyone. My high school marching band has decided that their guard needs to start including more dance in the shows, however, they've never really done much in the way of dance before. Being a brass guy, I don't really have a good idea of what makes a good color guard. I'm wondering if anyone can offer recommendations on corps that have had good dancing color guards, specifically, years and/or specific songs. Just something to give an idea of how dance can be well integrated into a show. For exampe: Santa Clara 200X, or Blue Devils 199X (third song/ballad). Thanks in advance for your help.

Colts - 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2007

At Colts, I think we did the '96 Montreal show, but '98 was the most memorable. We were involved in a bus accident on the way to the show and ended up not performing that night. Nobody was seriously hurt, but I think all 3 of our buses were "totaled".

I'm @ST_Lawson on twitter. Also tweets about the Colts are frequently tagged as #redteam

I just got back from his memorial service and realized that this hadn't been posted here. From his obituary: "Brett started his teaching career in Sigourney. He was the Director of Bands at Knoxville High School and Newton High School. Brett continued to contribute his time, talents and instruction to Skyryders and the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps from 1986-2002. He was most recently employed at Childserve in Johnston. Brett influenced and encouraged a plethora of musical students throughout his life." For more information, you can read the article here: http://www.colts.org/news/news.cfm?news_id=444 (apologies for not getting this posted before the memorial service was held)

I did my best to respond to the poll, although the structure made it confusing for someone who marched Div. III from '94-'95, corps folded, then marched '96-'00 with a Div. I corps.

Since I marched '94-'00, I'm going to list the shows that I didn't march in. The vast majority of my experiences, I wouldn't trade for anything, so this is purely hypothetical (obviously). 1990 - Santa Clara Vanguard; Carmen 1991 - Santa Clara Vanguard; Miss Saigon 1992 - Blue Devils; Big, Bad and Blue (can't beat "When A Man Loves a Woman") 1993 - Colts; The Four Seasons (First year in finals, and from what I heard, one of those "magical" fun seasons) 1994 - Blue Devils; My Spanish Heart 1995 - Madison Scouts; A Drum Corps Fan's Dream: A Day in the Life of a Bullfighter 1996 - Phantom Regiment; Defiant Heart 1997 - Madison Scouts; Pirates of Lake Mendota (just one heck of a fun show) 1998 - Blue Devils; One Hand, One Heart: Romeo & Juliet/West Side Story 1999 - Madison Scouts: Jesus Christ Superstar (I've always loved Superstar)

That's hilarious. It's probably from around '89-'90, since they moved from Geneseo to the Quad Cities in '89, and they did rock from the '70s and 80's from '87-'90.

That makes the most sense to me, but I didn't want to tell other people who they should be voting for. For those that don't already know: All of the organizations in the top 100 received $25K (so that includes the four corps listed). Of the top 100, the organization with the most votes after the second round of voting gets $1MM, and 5 runner-ups get $100K. So it's possible that one corps could get the $1MM, with the other three corps, and two other organizations getting the $100K each.

Just remember, this poll and thread is great, but it doesn't actually do anything to get the money to the organizations. Starting this Friday (the 15th) through next Friday (the 22nd), be sure to go to the corp(s) that you want to vote for (you get 5 votes, but can only vote for each organization once). Colts (listed as Legion Aires) http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiv...harities/818143 Carolina Crown http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiv...harities/633737 Cavaliers http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiv...harities/988781 Phantom Regiment http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiv...arities/1139541

Phantom Regiment The Issue Our community, which is among the nation’s worst in unemployment, struggles to fund the arts. With so many challenges to face, the arts are not a priority in our schools. Budget cuts have limited the access children have to music and other arts and, in many cases, those classes have been deemed extracurricular, forcing students to make choices among clubs, sports and arts. Studies have shown that students who participate in music excel in core academics. A 2001 analysis by the College Entrance Examination Board showed that students with courses in music appreciation scored an average of 63 points higher on the verbal and 44 points higher on the math portions of the SAT than students without a music background. Allowing young minds the creativity and discipline they obtain from the arts opens up a new world for them, and we believe it’s important to provide students a well-balanced curriculum that encourages them to consider myriad careers, such as science, medicine, law – and music. The Plan Phantom Regiment wants to make sure every child in the Rockford area gets introduced to music, including the mentally or physically challenged. Among the programs we’d like to provide: 1) Hands-on intro to music instruments in elementary schools; 2) Expand our summer camps to include general music and dance instruction as well as day camps for children; 3) Summer band for teenagers; 4) Private lessons for those desiring advanced instruction; 5) Partner with an organization such as Special Olympics to offer music and dance. Since many children in our community have parents who are struggling financially, we want to offer scholarships for those in need. In addition, we would use the organization’s world-renowned drum and bugle corps as an example of how rewarding music and dance can be, encouraging more students to participate in their school programs. Once these programs are established, we believe the obvious benefits will allow the programs to be funded by traditional means. The Outcome The effects of increasing arts offerings would do wonders not only for the community as a whole but also for the students individually. While studies have proven that music enhances our intellectual abilities, successful people note the real-world importance of music to our lives: “Music has a great power for bringing people together. With so many forces in this world acting to drive wedges between people, it's important to preserve those things that help us experience our common humanity,” said Ted Turner, founder of CNN. Bill Clinton said, “Music is about communication, creativity and cooperation and, by studying music in school, students have the opportunity to build on these skills, enrich their lives and experience the world from a new perspective.” In the end, we want to be able to provide opportunities as well as raise the awareness for how important the arts are to the growth and development of our young people. These are programs that we want to implement immediately.

Cavaliers The Issue Dedication. Creativity. Discipline. Teamwork. The foundation for individual excellence and organizational success is built on these traits, skills learned by young people who are dedicated to excellence in sport, dance, and the performing arts. Yet in this day of shrinking community and family budgets, access to professional instruction is endangered, particularly for young performers in high-risk households. They have potential and desire; what they need are committed instructors and an organizational framework that encourages - and demands - individual excellence and team leadership. And few organizations have a better track record of providing that direction than The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps. Since founding in 1948, this 23-time national champion organization has taken thousands of young people and developed them into champions, both on the field of competition and in their careers, from education to entertainment, engineering to business, medicine to the US military. The Plan The Cavaliers recently expanded their music and leadership program to include a program for teen percussionists wanting to learn “the Cavalier way.” This ensemble performs at clinics and in competitions across the Midwest, instructed by some of the best young teachers in the area, many of them alumni of The Cavaliers. With the Chase grant, we would expand this program to include brass players and dancers/color guard, more than TRIPLING the number of area students in the training program. We would also invite area educators to learn from our professional staff, teaching them the methods that built The Cavaliers success. The grant would increase financial aid for low-income students, and increase the number of instructional/inspirational clinics performed for Chicago-area students. Members would be recruited from throughout the area, with special recruiting efforts aimed at students from economically disadvantaged areas, students without access to professional arts instruction. The Outcome The expanded Green Thunder Program will allow us to increase the annual number of participants in The Cavaliers programs to up to 300 students per year, put special emphasis on recruiting from areas of Chicago that have been hard hit by arts education cutbacks, expand our operation to include many new participants from our region, increase opportunities for professional development of our instructional team and Chicago-area educators who work with us, greatly increase the number of school students impacted by our clinics, and increase the potential for Green Thunder members to successfully audition for our national touring corps. As with The Cavaliers themselves, participants in Green Thunder will be learning from some of the best music, arts, and movement instructors in the business, learning not just how to play their instruments, but learning how to LEARN, how to TEACH, and how to LEAD, the core skills members of The Cavaliers have been learning – and teaching – for over 60 years.

The other three corps plans are as follows (from their facebook pages, for people who can't access facebook): Carolina Crown The Issue Performing arts programs are being cut in our area and they only survive because of parent organizations raising money for their essential needs. Carolina Crown wants to help young people achieve even more! Why is Music Education Important? Did you know? Music Education is Associated with Higher Education: 65% of those with a HS education or less participated in performing arts; 81% with some college participated; 86% with a college undergraduate degree participated; and 88% with a post graduate degree participated. Did you know? Fortune 1000 CEO’s Success Tied to Music Education. Harris Interactive has released a poll analyzing the effects of music education on top Fortune 1000 company executives: 73% of the executives were involved in a music program; 77% recommend their children get involved in music education; 47% support music education by donating money. Cumulatively, the longer that executives participated in music programs, the more successful they became in life. The Plan “The Carolina Crown Performing Arts Training Center” - Build a training facility for young performers of all ages, ethnicities and economic backgrounds to attend and receive the highest possible education. - Provide individual lessons to nurture and advance their abilities. - Provide the best instruments and equipment available for them to use. - Have the ability to educate, feed and house all in one building. - Give individuals, schools and national touring companies the ability to use state of the art multi-purpose rehearsal space. - Have a theater large enough to hold concerts and recitals. $1MM would make this dream come true, not only for Carolina Crown, but for the many young people that will excel in all aspects of their lives through our programs. The Outcome We would use the grant from Chase as seed money to build: “The Carolina Crown Performing Arts Training Center” - Create a new performance group that could tour internationally and get more young people involved. - Realize additional new programs we cannot afford to start. - Create greater depth of our current programs within our region. - Attract more corporate funding to reach more young people. - Most importantly, create more opportunities for young people to succeed in life, based on the facts provided in the “Music for All/Harris Interactive” poll by helping more young people further their education and achieve at a higher level in life! With $1MM we can easily achieve this outcome and give countless young people the chance to develop lifelong excellence through a superior and challenging arts education experience.

Colts Plan, from their Facebook page: "Our big idea has two parts: expand our music education programs to serve more young people and provide mobile kitchens and support vehicles that we will share with the American Red Cross. Part One - We create an Endowment Fund that will allow us to never charge fees to any student in our ensembles for disadvantaged youth and to provide scholarships for needy students to allow them to participate in our intensive summer ensembles. It will also allow us to fund new after school and summer teaching positions and programs to ensure that music education is always available for at-risk and disadvantaged kids. Part Two - We will purchase two new, fully outfitted mobile kitchens each capable of serving over 5,000 meals per day. Our touring youth ensembles will use these vehicles for 10 weeks each summer. During the remainder of the year these mobile kitchens will be made available to the Red Cross at no cost to them to use, operate or transport to aid in disaster response anywhere in the US." (me speaking now) So, part 1 doesn't actually have anything to do with the World Class corps, it's helping the smaller, more community focused ensembles. Part 2 technically is helping the main corps, but for most of the year, the new cooktrucks will be used by the Red Cross to feed people in disaster/needy situations. They're not buying new horns, buses, uniforms, etc.

1994 - 2000, two different corps

Not a bad idea, although it could take a while to do. Some of us did one at a laundry day one year ('99 or '00, I think). After 45 minutes, I had to stop because the bus was leaving. I'm sure there are people out there who could go longer than that.

just to make sure we have all areas of the corps covered maybe mid-'90s Nite Express, I think she could be pretty loud when she wanted to be.

Crown also did Sansemaya which was Cavies opener in '94.

The years that I marched and didn't make finals ('97 & '00) we would generally stay up late, talking with friends, sleep in a little the next morning and just kinda relax. Then we'd pack up and head to the stadium to watch finals. I think in '97 (Finals was in Orlando, and we were staying near the coast), some of us got up really early and watched the sunrise on the beach. It was a different experience than making finals, it was nice being able to relax and still be around your corps family, but it was kinda bittersweet knowing that a point or two different and we'd be practicing that morning for the big show that night (we were 13th in '97, 14th in '00). Looking back now, it was kinda nice getting both experiences (3 years in finals, 2 years out of finals).