Harvey

I agree with your silly opinions .

Wow, that long? Sorry, couldn't resist. No malice intended. Just sounds funny at my age.

Probably the same that has come of 95% of the corps websites that have been started in the last 8-10 years. ZIP. Remember: Magic of Mobile? Hypnotix? The new corps in OK? The new Salina Silver Sabres? Sorry, but these websites do not excite me anymore. A website is easy to write. Convincing "five of the biggest names in the Drum Corps activity today" to quit their day jobs for a new, riksy venture? A little harder. (BTW: Notice they do not say five of the biggest name drum corps, just five of the biggest names in the DC activity. Maybe Smith, Johnson, Williams, Brown and Jones?? Those are the most common surnames in the US ).

Percussion is the toughest section to make in almost every corps. I would strongly recommend trying out for corps at several different levels in both DCI and DCA. The corps at the top of World Class (like The Cadets) can get over 100 people trying out for just the snare line, and most are people that have marched in the top HS and University bands, as well as other top corps, for many, many years. But, there are many corps at the lower levels of DCI and DCA that could teach you everything you need to know about corps, plus they offer a great experience. One more suggestion: Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, and, once your hands are ready to fall off your arms, practice some more. Also, peruse all of the corps' websites for audition music, technique manuals, videos, etc., etc.

I apologize. I thought, by the way you "spoke", that you were a male. Being from the generation I am, I am not used to true ladies speaking with such vehemence!

Hmmmmm. Sounds like someone has a real axe to grind. Instead of doing it here, why don't you do it face-to-face with these people? BE A MAN! (PS: I have nothing to do with either of these groups. Just tired of seeing people mouth off about corps on here and not actually being man enough to actually do something about it. Guess us oldtimers did things differently.......)

Those ticket prices are incredibly low for a show of this magnitude. I wish I didn't live so far away .

The highlighted part blows my mind. You have to wonder how many drummers were cut from both Crossmen and Revolution that could really benefit from a year in DCA. There must be dozens or more that could march a year at Stars and be much more competitive next year in those DCI corps' tryouts.

I had friends that sent for information to run an OC show last summer. They were told that the DCI fee was for judges, administration, etc. and that the corps do not receive any fees anymore.

He did get to see drum corps. There were two in his Inauguration Parade, which I was very pleased to see that he and his wife stayed through the whole thing. THAT was a truly classy move on their part. It's just a shame that Cadets and Colts could not do a short "show" like corps/bands do at the Macy's parade.

[sARCASM] What?? Those guys don't know how to win! What has Aungst done lately? Or Van Doren and Sullivan? [/sARCASM] Actually, I think you may be on to something.........................

BTW, I also think the meeting thing is a good idea, but where do you draw the line? Are the Little League world champs going to meet with him too? How about the BOA champs? Cheerleaders? Unicyclists? Underwater basket weavers? Who determines the groups that are "impostant enough" to take up the President's time? There is a very large number of worthwhile activities that are much more popular than drum corps.

Try to leave CA occassionally. In the northeast and upper midwest, I have heard of corps getting paid as much as $4,000 for a single parade appearance. Drum corps have to do many different things to raise money outside of CA, such as having members work stadium concessions, stand on street corners and collect money, doing drum-a-thons and march-a-thons, etc. Outside of CA, bingo has been a minor (at best) money maker for years, so these other corps have been forced to to many different things to raise money to survive. And, BTW, is having people work at a bingo game (G-A-M-B-L-I-N-G) more ethical than playing a horn for twenty minutes?

Until there is a major changeover in the judging ranks over a relatively short period of time, there will not be a new champion. Too many of the judges now judging have been doing so for too many years, and any entity ruled by a small group people over a long period of time usually stagnates. And, in terms of the competitive aspects of the activity, that is exactly what the judges do, they rule over it. A complete overhaul of the current judging community, with an influx of people not already ingrained in the mindset of "there's BD, the Cavies and the Cadets, with an occassional sprinkle of PR", is the only hope for a new champion.

IMHO, way too small for a DCI regional. Only 30,000 total seats, including standing room. The big factor for regionals is how many seats between the goal lines on the "home" side. I do not think this would have enough. Maybe for one of those early season Saturday shows with 30-40% of the WC corps, but not a regional.

Why is the drum major sitting?

I liked the parts they played. But, I am also a little confused. This was their Spring Preview and I only counted 5 snares and 6 tubas. Were there many members not there due to school commitments or something? Seems like the guard is strong again.

Just started 1980 Bridgemen video too. No issues. Are you all logged in correctly?

Just watched all four of the latest Blue Stars video. Only took a second or two to load. Not sure why others are having problems.

Not sure if my old heart could take that....

You forgot #3a: Strategically place an ice pick at the base of their spine and push. jk

Actually. most of the shows on the DCA schedule are sponsored by the corps themselves. So, if the corps and fans in the south want more shows in the south, then the corps need to each sponsor a show. Music City Legend and CorpsVets are doing their part, how about the rest?

What, they didn't have the entire show on the field, including guard????? Sounds like trouble in Dubuque!!! jk Go Colts!!!

There is not an "official" all-age division of DCI, but you can find the shows that the all-age corps are participating in by going to the link below and then going all the way to the bottom of the "select a corps" drop down menu for the all-age corps. http://www.dci.org/schedule/?mode=corps

I think the OP's point was that they need to have EVERYTHING ready: not just members, but money, staff, volunteers, transportation, food, etc., etc. No offense to anyone, but members are sometimes the easiest part. Getting the $$$ always seems to be the hard part.