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I realize this is all speculation at this point, but... Crown's uniform was designed to look like a horse. I feel that it's pretty obvious those uniforms won't be around next year, but will they go back to the 03-06 ones, or something new? Bluecoats...they love their new image, and the new uniforms have grown on me. That said, they did tease us with the old school uniform on finals night, and the uniform they have now is designed to look more like a police officer, which was what their was about and again that show is over. Madison has had 4 different uniforms in the last five years...seems that they just enjoy changing things around lately. Blue Devils have now had this uniform as long as the 04-05 uniform (which was my favorite), so I'm just wondering about that. Either way, they need to bring back the silver "check." Blue Stars, while I love the uniform, I just didn't think their visual program was strong enough for it this year. Do you think they realized it too and might change something a bit? And just to mention, I have heard rumors about a certain other blue corps that might be getting something new... Thoughts? Comments? Oh, and while we're on the subject, in my opinion one of the best uniform artists out there has most of his work here... http://becorps.deviantart.com/ I just love his work and love sharing it.

If you could that would be what I would do! Burn your own DVD or not, I would definitly buy the high cam VPDs. I actually find I watch the clips on the corps pages on dci.org a lot because they are all high cam.

Well, you admit that people will buy it. I just wish we had the option...a lot of people, and not all but a lot seem to agree that box angle is the way to see a show, and that means shows are just sort of lost forever to those people once a season is over

Wasn't there a mace in BD's 1980 show? I heard that somewhere and can't recall it but can't remember either. The problem with batons is that you really just can't see it. I think they could be done well in WGI, but batons and I feel that eventually sabers are going to leave the football field someday. They are awesome, I just don't feel they add enough visually. And I people seem to boo far more when a baton drops instead of a rifle or saber. Does anyone remember the big "ooohhhh" sounds on semis night in 04 during Cadets?

Ok, this is where I take my foot out of my mouth and apologize. Ya, he's right...where the heck did I get Bob Evans from? I knew it was a B and looked it up too quickly. The sweet tea is there though! Bill Millers I mean. Traditions....before drum corps shows I make it a habit to go see my old corps rehearse, I realize that since I now have to wear t-shirts during the summer that a corps jacket probably isn't a good idea, but wear it anyways, usually I get a ton of junk food either before or after the show, because it reminds me that I used to be able to eat that stuff and not gain a single pound, and I usually buy a few drum corps products in the shops.

Well, double production cost, true.....but then again editing wouldn't be needed for the additional camera angle. And if it were the only camera angle option for these corps, it would actually be cheaper to produce. And if it were just a camera angle option on the disk, then it's not really double as much as it is uploading 12-15 more files onto the same disk, which costs X more and therefore costs us X more to purchase

bump...I'm curious what other people think!

The right answer to the question is that they need to march better and play better than they did this year. They also need to have a lot more finalized by move in, so they aern't playing catch up (on a personal note...I thought the Madison Scouts of 07 were just as good as the past few Madison Scouts...they just seemed about 3 weeks behind, and I think we've discussed why that is). The simplist way to get back in, I say, would be to make a show that bleeds crowd appeal! Drum Corps Fans Dream Part Tres would be amazing, half of the show needs to be company front rotations and the other half needs to be fleur de lis, the last note needs to be about 45 minutes, the drum major needs to hold up a pirate flag and take a picture, cymbals need to come back, the entire show needs to be a combination of Latin music and Double C's, and for GE purposes I think they just need to sacrifice a goat or something. Ok, maybe the goat is a bit out there, but if the equivical name for the show was: "Everything you've ever loved about the Madison Scouts crammed into one show so we can get back into finals and everyone will fall completely in love with us all over again, including the people who are still in love with us." I truly believe they'd have no problem. I will say that DCI plays to the crowd a bit, and this would be the epitimy of manipulating that fact. Ya know what, I don't really care if Scouts make it to finals or not (well, I want them back)....I just want to see this show now!

Ok, how cool would this be? Hold auditions for a brand new Division 1 drum corps in November, like always, but set it up like a reality TV show. Every camp is a different episode for the first 7 episodes, and America can watch, and then when it's time for the tour season to start, we make it more like a documentary. The first half of the show would be like a cross between American Idol and Survivor, and the second half would be like that reality show that I can't think of the name where they actually create a real band and teach them to be the next big pop stars. This idea would have been a lot better if I knew the name of that show. I think it used to be on WB.

Bob Evans. Somehow I never knew about that place when I marched. I only found out about it when I flew out to Texas and demanded some BBQ during the break, and my BK buddies said "well, we're getting sweet tea at the BBQ place like always." Ya, great sweet tea. The trick, by the way, is to buy the bucket (which is literally a bucket) of tea at lunch. They run out of buckets usually by the end of lunch....then you come back with your bucket for another gallon of sweet tea, and it ends up being $4 for two gallons of sweet tea for the day! I don't know about drum corps, but at least in marching band (college!) it was all about the Vadorade! (I'll give you a few minutes to figure out what ingrediants go in that!)

Steph you took my two! Doesn't Crown sing "Carolina in My Heart"? and I think BD sings "Smoke Two Joints"? :P

Ya! Even if they just sold it as an option....like have an actual seperate DVD to buy that had just box angle for those corps, that is the one that I would buy.

So I saw somewhere in the post about whether the right top 12 made the cut that the other corps feel gyped because they don't get the press box cam on the DVD. I don't have the exact quote, and I am positive whoever said it was either just joking or realized that there's more to the Saturday show than just having a box cam on your DVD, but it got me thinking... Why aern't there camera angles for the other corps? I realize that the commentary and everything is a pretty special deal, but box angle... I have this theory that a show is designed for one person...the person who has the highest, most centered seat on the field. That said, the DVDs didn't even have box angle as an option until either 2002 or 2003 (can't remember if 02 had them or not), and even then and now the 13th+ corps from those years don't have the box angle. So in my mind, if that is where a show is designed to, and we cannot see that after the season is over for many corps, it just feels to me like that show is completely lost and can never been seen the way it was meant to be seen again. In 04 we had two really great drill moves in the opener that I always wanted to see, but because the DVD didn't get that shot, it's lost forever. I like multi cam, but press box is who a show is meant for. I just don't see it making sense why I am being denied something that I worked so hard for becausse we didn't make top 12 that year. (Not looking for sympathy by the way...just expressing a point for a discussion)

When I drive to LA to see the drum corps shows, I always stop for a shake in Hesperia. Best chocolate shake in the world! But I kind of do that anyways... I wear my corps jacket at shows. Does that count?

Not sure if I am allowed to mention it, so sorry mods if I am breaking a rule, but Blue Knights Winter Brass is similar to that. Check it out on youtube. The way winterguard/drumlines are set up, I don't think it would work just because members would basically have to choose. But if there was a seperate winter brass category that had competitions the same way same time as winterguard/drumline shows, and then have everyone come together for drum corps season. That to me seems the most plausible

Personally I think Academy is sometimes a bit over rated on this site. Not always, but sometimes. I have seen them every year since 04, and believe me I love their shows! I think they definitly know what they are doing and are on the right track. But the problem is, while they may strive to get better and better, the fact of the matter is that with the exception of 8 corps, every drum corps strives and strives to get better and simply has not won. Some corps don't get better the following year, true, but many do, and it just doesn't work out for them. That said, Academy very well could be a huge surprise to me and just go nuts. But with that same logic, they could just pull a 180 and not make semis in 2008 (and before you shake your head, I am not trying to attack...just stating that anything can happen between one year and another. Madison and Magic are prime examples of that) But if you're talking about top 5, the top 5 may be getting harder and harder to get into, but if you just get that show and that staff and that weather and that group of kids that just clicks, well, anything is really possible too. Boston in 1998 took 13th and had never made finals in DCI history. In 1999 they took 9th and in 2000 they took 5th. That's just one example, but clearly it can happen. Again, the top 5, 8, 12, etc. have gotten much more competitive, but it really comes down to a huge chunk of luck that Academy may just be blessed with. So really we can think what we want, but I really think the best way to predict whether or not they'll make top 5 in the next five years is to leave this post open, bump it every few hours, and wait for the next 5 years until someone gets on and shouts "Ha, I was right!"

It was their entire closer! The part where they put on the full white with the helments and jazz ran around the entire field. That was Blue Devils, right?

Somewhere midseason at PC in 04, I was talking to a guy (who was a rookie) about a knee brace he had on. He said he screwed his knee up the year before at PC about midseason. I didn't know until then that he had marched for a little of 03, and said "So you're a vet?" and he looked at me and simply said "No, I am not a vet. I didn't march the last show. I am a rookie." He said it with such conviction and it was very clearly what he believed, and that has been my philosphy. If you don't march any shows, don't even try to talk. If you marched and quit midseason, don't try to talk. If you marched and were hurt and had to leave, you're answer is now "I marched half a season and then I got hurt." (yes, you're answer is significantly longer, but that's how it goes.) As far as camps go, in my mind the whole deal starts at all days. That part, I'll admit, could be me though, but if you didn't go to any camps and came in during all days, you're still good. My question is, what does everyone think of someone who fills a hole midseason? I stand by the rule that if they marched the last show, they marched that year, but I do realize there is a bit of hypocrisy in there that I can't get my head around completely. Thoughts?

It's early, so this is short. Go Spirit! Ya, that''s what I've got, but it was better than writing "bump"

To get ready for any euph season, I would (obviously) hold up a euph, but I'd wear ankle weights, either one on my horn or two on my wrists. The best thing to do is try to hold it up for 30 seconds longer each day until you can get up to 20....and then keep going longer. And above all else, do not hold it wrong when you are doing it. I made the mistake of half assing it in 04 during my practice time, and once we got on tour I had to hold it differently than the way I was, so I completely let the muscles I should have used deteriorate. That, and do wall stretches. Hold your arm flat against a wall for about 25 seconds in different varitations of 45 degree angles (like straight up, back up right, etc.) so you feel it pulling out of the socket almost. Do it long enough and you can actually make your arms almost two inches longer (if you don't believe me, try stretching an arm for about fifteen minutes and then compare it to the other arm). A lot of pushups too. Yay euph!

Well, this topic got a little raunchy. I marched with one of the Crown ponies at PC by the way. I saw the numbers and the corps....and did I see the Crown horse win the race? Kind of a bold statement

My favorite memory, and I have absolutely no clue where we were, but in 05 we wern't allowed to purchase anything at gas stations because it really takes a lot of time up waiting for people to buy things. Well, it turned out our housing site wouldn't be ready a few hours (still not sure why) and we were about an hour away, so the bus pulled into a gas station somewhere and the staff got on and said "alright, we are letting you buy things here." Oh man, five minutes later this place was cleaned out! Every bottle of gatorade, every candy bar, every bag of chips and beef jerky. They didn't want the line going outside since we all had stuff in our hands so it literalyl snaked through this entire place, which of course made us buy even more stuff waiting in the aisles. No one slept that night, we all just pigged out on our wealth of purchases, and that place looked like a hurricane swept through it!

For some reason all I can think of is this opposite of the topic. Like Glassmen 04 really was just not as good as Star 93, or the other one that I was thinking about when I hit "add reply" that I can't think of now. Or any Boston show AFTER 2000 that tried to do anything like 2000. Red rocked by the way!

I agree with what you're saying to a point. The shows designed the Cavaliers staff, on a large scale, have differed greatly from the standards of drum corps shows past. I believe that once we as an art abandoned the symmetrical drill and went into the mid 80s and 90s the art became more and more abstract, the point where many shows either focused completely on an idea or focused simply on an interpreation of music, and these Cavaliers shows have taken that same motif but tied it back into something much more tangible. If drum corps shows were paintings, I think shows were getting closer and closer to Jackson Polleck and Cavaliers brought it back into something more direct (I believe that's what you're saying). However, I don't believe Cavaliers have started a movement in the sense you are talking. Rather, I think that Cavaliers shows are going their own route, just like SCV and BD are. Well, BD in my opinion has stayed on the same route, but all of the drum corps are starting to solidify their styles of everything in their shows more and more, to the point where every drum corps show is completely unique from eachother in musical and visual interpretation. I was tired of seeing half of the corps put together geometric shows based on a theme while the others put together spin art drill with fast fun music and it all really just seemed like drum corps, but not any particular corps (minus a few). As shows become more and more sophisticated, the activity is truly defining itself more as an art competition, where one would walk through a gallery and see completely different styles competiting against one another, and can only be judged against each other based on appeal and performance, rather than design because the designs are practically uncomparable. I very much enjoy where the activity is heading.

DCI had a chili cook off?