pvt_cairns

Yeah I gotta agree, I was wearing a thin corps jacket and it wasn't a problem. It was unusually cool, but not overly so. I guess you could use it as an excuse if it were in Arizona os something, but NY is a bit more used to cooler weather. I think it might have something to do with the falling number of fans from year to year. Less people, less noise. Just a thought

Yeah I gotta agree with this, I used to be a proponent of the "when you go on matters" theroy. I was proven waaaaaaay wrong this year. I really dug MBI's show, Wasn't a fan of Buccs DCI show, BUT, they were better. Not much better, but a win is a win. Even if MBI had won prelims, if they would have played the same quality show they played in finals, they still would have fallen short. I don't see why this is even an issue.

Man, if Alliance played better in prelims, I'm annoyed I missed them, cause they were pretty smokin in finals. I wouldn't worry about placement too much. I don't think DCA's got it right from a fans point of view for a long time, but that's why they're judges. There were corps that were placed very low that I really liked, and there were corps that were placed really high that I didn't. And everything inbetween. My only complaint on the year is the constant re mixing of old DCI shows. A song, maybe 2, make your own, that's cool. Note for note, you'd better have your ducks in a row, or it's going to seem 2nd class, and I saw a bit of that this weekend. Loved Alliances show though, first or last I would have still jump out of my seat at the end.

That might be true, however I'm pretty sure they had the product seeing as their directors only been doing it for 30-40 years or so, successfully. CV did the same thing everyone else is doing, and re-hashed old DCI shows, having marched the Cadets show they played, I was more then a little offended. And agreeing with DCA judges isn't a "hard dose of reality". I've seen more then a few of your "I'm smarter then you, my "harsh" opinion means more then yours". Self important tripe posts. You are not smarter then anyone, your opinions are not facts, your record shows yo've marched no where, which means A, you're a bitter old man who no longer feels relevant, and uses that to troll the products and opinions of others, or you've just never marched anywhere, and like to annoy people that do. I'm all for harsh realities etc, and honest opionions. Yes Gades deserved 10th if that, yes Kilties didn't have the demand for finals, but to insinuate that any corps didn't take the time to put together a program or that the members didn't perform it is niave or stupid. Pick one.

Wow, you're like the definition of D-bag aren't you?

So there I was, in NY at 6 am leaving for the great state of WI. So we set off with a 1990 yelloe van that's seen better days, and a box truck towning a trailer. About an hour down the I recieve a call saying that our van blew a tire, but they had no tools, the equitment truck needed to turn around to bring them the tools that were on our truck So as toll roads usually go, you've gotta go up 10 miles, back the other way for 13, and turn around again to actually get back to the van. We get the truck turned around and pass the van in the other direction. Suddenly we hear something clanging around. Now if you've ever driven an equitment truck, you know that's not really that abnormal to hear. Unfortunatly it was followed but the battery light comming on, and the check breaks light. So with no breaks and a truck that is sounding like it wants to poop its engine on the interstate we pull off. No sooner do we pull off and a HUGE plume of sweet smelling smoke comes roiling out from under the hood. Awesome. After a bit of concern for fire, we realized something in the engine had failed causing the belt to fall off, and thus it overheated. Awesome. A state trooper was called, and a wrecker was on the way. Mean while back at the van they've managed to get the tire changed after a few Kilties driving themselves stop to help. Keep in mind our van, aptly named "squeeky" contains: Scott Stewart our director, his wife and member Junko, Mike one of our drum majors who is also horn/visual staff, Mindy visual staff, and David colorguard member/staff. Meanwhile back at the truck, Pat (who had originally stopped to help the van) carts Mike to the equiptment truck to see whats going on. Pat sees that he will be able to tow the trailer if we switch trailer hitches. So that's accomplished with more then a bit of fighting. A few people manage to get the belt back on the truck, enough so that we can roll the thing forward to get Pat's truck in front of the trailer. Everything gets hooked up, we're ready to go. It's been decided that Jay, and Jimmy will stay with the truck, and I will ride with Pat so I can drive Pats truck in shifts since the other 2 members he was taking had no experiance pulling a trailer. We meet up with the van, stop shortly after to switch a few people around to different vehicals as some people are going different places, and away we go. A little while later we recieve news that Govies big green bus decided to blow a tire near the Dells in WI, and had to wait 4+ hrs to get it fixed, and their other bus was stranded in NY with no breaks. Awesome. After a bit of driving in our strange little 2 car convoy we come to the great state of Indiana. Our truck is running pretty close to running out of gas, so we finally stop about 150 miles east of Chicago to stop, fuel up, eat, for what is likley the last time this season. I go inside to eat my over priced under cooked KFC, when Mike our drum major comes up to me with a look on his face that mixes confusion and concern. He says he was backing out of the fuels island and the wheel wouldn't turn. He pulled a bit more, and he heard a snap, but could steer.....kind of. First of you've got to understand that "squeeky" has about 6 inches of play in the wheel where it wont turn, and as far as I can tell the only person who can keep it consistantly on the road is Scott's wife Junko. so this was already an issue. So being the only one with any mechanical experiance I finish my gross chicken and climb under the front of the van with Mike. I look at the usual suspects, steering box, tie rod ends etc, and see nothing out of order. so I grab the anto sway bar and give it a jiggle. The entire suspension moves, bars, drag link tie rods etc, for those of you who don't know this is a bad thing. After looking closer I determine that the bolt that holds the drag link in place is gone. To put it into laymens terms. We've all seen those shopping carts that have the one wheel in front thats going all wonky right? That's what would have happened with both front wheels, on the interstant, at 65mph, you don't stand much of a chance. So after I had to ruin Scott's day with more bad news, we got rides and made some phone calls to get everyone home. The only corps piece of equiptment that made it home was the trailer. At about 10pm we arrived in racine to end a trip that took around 16, but should have taken about 11. Also I understand MBI had some trouble with their equiptment truck prior to comming out to DCA. Which brings me to only one conclusion.....It's a conspiracy. It's not enough we don't get enough shows, or get scored badly at DCA.......now they're trying to kill us. You couldn't make our story up yesterday. One thing after another, after another. This weekend in general was a strange combo for the Kilties. Bad luck, good luck, bad karma, good karma. didn't make finals, but had a great show, truck breaks down, but at exactly at the right time to be rescued by other members, van suspension breaks, but on a fuels island so no one was hurt. It was an amazing weekend. I could say that I would have rather flown home, but I'm not really sure that's true. I don't think I would have liked missing that experiance. Here's to getting home safe after one of the best drum corps years in recent history, hope all of your travels were safe. WWBD

Actually it pretty much is the only loud weekend a year. The soccer tam that once used the field didn't pay it's bills. Thus the city took it over and the facility is used very little. The lack of concerts sticks, but as it always goes it only takes a few people to screw it up forevery one else. Rochester just took it to a new level.

I haven't been around DCA all that long. But I thought with The Kidsgrove Scouts being from the UK they would be considered a different class,(International?) leaving 11 corps to play at finals. I'm most likley mistaken, but it would make sense.

There are still corps that haven't seen a DCA judge. The Kilties, and I think the MN corps have yet to play in font of a DCA panal. That should all change this weekend in WI, as the midwest corps start their "DCA tour". Not to mention it really makes no difference for the non east coast corps until NY anyway. Speculation is always wrong.

First off I don't represent anyone but myself, I am biased as I marched in the show, and I'm an alum of 2 of the other corps. so take it for what it's worth. I was pretty concerned about the weekend to begin with since rain was forcast and MN got hammered the day before. But none of that was to be had at Rockford. Hot day, with a nice breeze, or wind (that gave our guard some havoc during rehersal) but a beautiful day, couldn't ask for better weather. Kilties: Can't give a review as I was on the field. But it was fun, felt much tighter then our previous performance, and I enjoyed the fans and the field. Racine: Definatly the best corps I've seen from them in years. Bigger, better, not so much louder, but definatly better. I marched with the group back in the late 90's and we had an ok year or 2, but for the most part not so much. It was a teaching corps. I'm happy to see they keep that mentality, but have improved leaps and bounds from then. Their staff have it together, and it shows. Drumline is smokin in parts, but still some popcorn to clean. The bassline is flat out good, and though the battery is about the size of the hornline, they balance pretty well. The hornline has got a hard book, and they perform it well, but it's timid at times. I'd like to see them let loose a bit more. And I think they will when they're a bit more comfortable. The Guard is small, and I think they're addin people so it might explain some of the confusion. Pioneer: It's nice to see a bigger group on the field then in years past. Their hornline is much improved, and is playing some really tough stuff at times. Not as visually demanding as I'd hoped, but still very readable. The guard in their new uniforms seemed to have improved as well, though I'm not really a guard guy so unless it's amazing or aweful I tend not to notice as much. The one spot that suprised me was the drumline. Usually a strong point in the corps it seemed to be lacking. Lots of dirt in the snare line. Bassline didn't really project, not a bad show, maybe just a weaker showing? But all in all I really enjoyed the show. Lots of power from the hornline. Definatly diggin it. SCV: Never seen them this season. Personally not a fan of Bartok. However visually the show is stunning. SCV cymbals always a favorite of mine, and they don't issapoint this year. The hornline is great whan they play. Which isn't really that often. But great timing, and demanding music. The drumline is good, but I've come to expect a bit more from SCV, but I honestly didn't watch them that much as there is so much visual going on all of the time. The guards flag work was unacceptably bad, but their weapon work was intense and outstanding. Very very good. It's a neat show all in all, but even if it were perfect it's not a top 3 in my opinion. Visualy awesome, musically forgettable. Cadets: Again I'm biased, but this corps is outstanding! The visual aspects of this show make no mistaking what they're about. It's the most demanding show of the the night by leaps and bounds. The drill is not perfect yet, but even the very difficult and new portions are readable. The drumline is smokin! Though I will say their feature has been cleaner in the past, but over all jaw dropping beats. The horline is as good as you expect them to be. The guard wearing the corps uniform is great, and it's just a fun show IMO. I know a lot of people will complain that it's cheezy or a gimmic. But it works for my money. Great stuff, and a definate contender. Phantom Regiment: Great hornline as always, not perfect, but very, very good. I don't get the concept of the show, but it didn't make it any less enjoyable. Guard was good, but forgettable (for a guy that doesn't pay much attention to guards) The drumline shocked me with their beats of deliciousness. The feature was great, tenors threw down, snares were clean and the bass line cut threw everything. Not the best line of the night, but close IMO. Not as demanding as the Cadets. All good stuff though. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the soloist that just stood in the back corner. To the soloist FYI your F was sharp all nght. Just sayin. Great show all around All in all a great weekend of drumcorps. Great stuff from everyone. There wasn't a boring or distracting group all night. Best of luck in IN to all! Once again my opinion are my own, and represent me and me alone. If you're unhappy with something I wrote, my intention is not to offend, and I hope you don't take it that way.

For the record the Kiltie tenor line is keyed in C flat Major.

Ahh but that's exactly what's been done. I realize that the scoring system is what it is. I also realize that it's probably better then the tick system. Not logicaly or mathmatically, but add the human element in and all sorts of other issues and the achivment system looks like gold. However it is far from perfect. The tick system (and I'm guessing here) was done away with because either enough people wanted it changed, or a vastly improved system was available or perhaps a combination of both. DCA runs on a slightly different scale then DCI which is different then BOA etc. And at some point someone will come up with a better scoring system and that will be used. In my opinion (as insignificant as it is) the judges got the rankings right. And now I understand why perfect scores are given. I just don't agree with it. I just don't like putting a cap on a score when the highest number dosen't equal a control for perfect. One: because corps may not be fully awarded for their performance, and Two; that perfect 10 should mean something more then you were just better then that corps that night. But then again as Tom so insightfully pointed out. I'm not a judge. And unless I slip into an alternet universe, or someone at DCA bumps their heads very hard I won't ever be. But to simply say "it is what it is" won't accomplish anything, and perhaps I will talk to my local corps director, maybe he's got some great idea for how to fix the few inequalities that our current system has. Maybe not, but if it's never discussed nothing will change. Thanks Tom for your insight and experiance and efforts to get the system to where it is today.

If a 10 or 100 is has "nothing to do with being perfect" then the answer is very simple. Don't limit the scores at 100. To place a limitation on a score sheet, and then proceed to complain that A) the best score that you can be given is a 10, but it doesn’t mean you were perfect" and B) Corps are being short changed due to the limitation of the score" is silly, and more then slightly stupid. With a tick system a limiting score of 100 worked because they took points off for error. With the Achievement system you get points added on for what you've done. Hence a limiting score of 100 doesn’t work. This leaves too much room for bs like "slotting". A judge has to leave room at the top because he/she is limited in the score that they can give for a corps given achievement. Without limitation of numbers judges could properly place corps and give ample credit for a given corps achievement without having to worry about how to jam in the last 3-4 corps. Mathematically if you put a limitation on a number for something like this it does represent a control for perfection. I do realize these points to all sorts of other issues, like box scoring etc. However if corps are not getting credit for the their performance based on your system, then your system on a competitive level is ridiculously flawed. It makes everything arbitrary, and hence in the world of competition fundamentally unfair.

I've always had issues with corps that have taken a box, or sub box with perfect scores. Well, not the corps, but the judges that give them. i know, I know this isn't a tick system it's an achievment system blah, blah, blah. Point is Bucc's while very very good for a DCA corps are a looooooooooong way from perfect. Good? Yes. The best this year? Definatly (though I do tend to root for MBI). The best in DCA history? it's beginning to look like it. Perfect..Not even close. Humans make errors, errors should not be rewarded with perfection. It's that thing that you should try to attain even though it's not possable. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to take anything away from them, they've been the best corps on the field for 5 straight years. They practice twice as much as any other corps and it pays off. It's just not perfect IMO.

I agree with most of what's been said. Govies are always a blast, but seemed to have some trouble with the arrangments. Kilties move more, just not as spread as last year. There's a few spots where the drill seperates the drumline from each other and with such a small battery it hurts them. The hornline is lights out better then last year (not that they were bad last year) Gone are the sops blowing their brains out, gone for the most part is over playing. They are just as talanted as last year, but it seems they've finally found a balance. Baritone line...I bow to your majesticness. Absoultly wonderful. The battery tries, but they're trying to play over 40 horns. it's difficult to play that high, that hard, and be clean. But it's getting there. and the marching is waaaay better. However, there are still people who don't know when to start and stop. But overall loved the show, it's more visual then I've ever seen the Kilts, and it works for me. MBI is on a different plane. Drill is getting there, fairly clean, but some muddled parts. I like the arrangments, the hornline is excellent (as always). the battery is playing some really hard stuff, and they're doing it cleanly for the most part. There were some phazing issues through out the show. Just a tad here and there, but these guys are spread way the hack out. Again, they've got more then enough time to clean up the little stuff. And it'll be interesting in NY. these guys are playing for keeps. I love the new darker side of MBI, it's paying off great! My only issue is soloists that don't march. I love Grupp, and he's what trupmet players aspire to be, but it becomes a bit of a distraction, and it's really not nessecary. They don't need that screming solo in this show. That being said, he still makes my jaw hit the floor every time he puts the horn to his lips. By far in my opinion still the best in DCA. Can't wait to see what happens out east. If other corps aren't looking over their shoulders...they should be.

This is just the review of a fan, so take it for what it's worth. First off Greendale HS seems it was made to host small corps, awesome seating, the consessions wern't insanly over priced (and lets face it, they usually are), and the weather held out to make it a beautiful night to watch drum corps. As usual for an open class show there was a fairly small but extreamly supportive crowd. I urge all of you that wait for the World class shows to get off of your collective butts and go to an open class show. These were all quality groups, and more entertaining then the norm of what world class is these days. So that being said off we go. First to play were Blue Saints. and welcome back to the world of drum corps. A very young group as is the norm. No contras (tubas whatever), but a decent hornline never the less. They played like a young group would, a little flat, but the kids loved it and the show was fun. Again welcome back, and always more then glad to go see a show. Next came one of the bigger suprises of the night in Memphis Sound. Small compact corps, but it goes to show that good things come in small packages. Absolutly loved the show, loved the music, big sound form such a small corps. Drumline....amazing. the bass line is one of the best in open class, they split everything, and whoever tunes them needs to win a medal. Geat line, wonderfull balance, and a decent guard. All around I thought they should be beating corps much bigger then them. VK. What can I say about VK, always fun, always entertaining, and more then a little cheesy, but in a good way. Drumline seemed a little on the tame side from years past. Not bad, and the drum breaks were many, and awesome, just a little more laid back. It's a good thing, they played very well together. Loved the Tuba soloist. Again a very gimmicky show, but as they always do VK left everyone wanting more. Oh....and there's a shark. for that reason alone you should go see them. Colt Cadets. Yet another small corps taking huge leaps and bounds in the right direction. Cute show, Horns were a bit out of tune, but the weather was changing (getting colder as it always does in WI). I think that had alot to do with it, not a big distraction, just came through in solos. The guard performed very well, and the drumline had some great writing. Pee Wee's theme song, and Hall of the mountan king were amazing. They did have some phazing issues as the drill was a bit spreadbetween the hornline, and drums. Buy a quick recovery left everyone enjoying the show. Kudos to a huge jump. SCVC. I'll say this and probably get flammed for it, but oh well. SCV needs to take a class from their little brothers and sisters. Their presance was palpable. You could tell as soon as they walked out of the gate exactly who was on the field. The show was great. Very controlled sound, very interesting show. See you can play an entertaining show, and get credit for it. Drums, guard, and horns all out did themselves. The corps is a tad on the small side for what I expected, but it wasn't a dissapointment to say the least. Oregon Crusaders. I've been a fan of this corps since I saw them in 03 and they rocked my socks off. There show was...different. I just wasn't a huge fan of the music. however to give credit where it's due, the corps played very well. They've always seemed to have very good musicians, and this year is no different. Teal sound. By far my favorite group of the night. I will admitt when I saw that they had a rock band with them, I was a bit leary. I though for sure it was going to distract from the show. I'm not a fan of narration, or the rest of it, but I figured I'd give it a chance. Playing a show called "The velvet ropes" they had a bunch of velvet ropes, like a lot of them that formed an arc for a good portion of the field. Befre the corps started the band played while the corps was setting up. Different, but pretty cool. After the corps started playing you forgot that the band shouldn't be there. They fit in with the corps seamlessly. And sheer power from the rather large hornline. I know Teal has always been accused of playing loud noise. In my opinion this year they are playing loud music. Rock shows have been tried before, and they've failed miserably. this was different. "I feel love" probably peeled the paint off of houses in Milwaukee. Just afun overall show, and I thought they should have scored a bit higher. Revolution. I've always been a fan of revo's drumline, and this year they don't dissapoint. Their show ElementALL did an ok job of bringing the theme across, the hornline was good, the guard was better and their drumline was awesome. just wasn't a fan of the material. Left me a bit flat. But they played and marched the heck out of it. Racine Scouts. By far the biggest suprise of the night. I'll be honest and say I marched with Racine in the 90's. And we were bad lol. I wouldn't trade my experiance there for the world, but we wern't exactly competitive. So I am a bit biased. However I wasn't expecting much as revo had just played. I was wrong. This group is making leaps and bounds in the right direction. Gone are the cheesy gimmicks that never came across, gone is the easy music, and easier drill. This is a group that deserves to be right in the race for semi's. the show "New York" is well written, and directed. The corps only fielded 12-13 horns, but sounded like 30. There is real talent in their soloists, and for the first time since 00 they've fielded a real battery, and a faily good one. Sporting brand new Yamaha drums (put shell protectors on the bottom of the tenors!!!!!! you'll thank me later) the battery played very well together for such a young line. there were no real phazing issues, and the show was done without the typical "stop a song start a song" feel that they've had in the past. Great drill, and faily difficult at that. The guard was pretty much dead on, and the pit definatly stood out as a strong spot for the group. The only issues were tone quality in the hornline, might have been the weather, but I think it might have just a bit of nerves. All around a very entertaining show that brough a new quality to the group. It left the crowd happily shocked. Overall it was a great night of drum corps. Racine did a great job of putting together a quality line up, and the orginization from a fan stand point was great! and Greendale HS did a great job of hosting. Thanks again for a great night!

Awesome, still bitter?

This attitude is the reason DCA has not, and will not grow. This garbage toward non EC corps and "oh well" who cares how much they have to drive, and how much more of a cost is put on corps that get fewer DCA shows, lower placements in prelims and finals because of it, thus making it more difficult for mid west and west coast corps to compete and be succsesfull blah blah blah. But yeah screw them. Now I'm gonna get chewed, but before I do let me say that I love finals in NY. Rochester has done absolutly perfect for the last 2 year. No issues what so ever. My only gripe is the field, which apparently has been complaint for like the last 10 years wherever it goes. Number one, it's a bit on the smallish side, and two if your a member and go on before 7pm you are absolutly blind. I just hate the drive/flight, and extra cost that comes with it. 13 hours on a bus is not something I look forward to anymore. But once again I guess I'm beating a dead horse as DCA refuses to change this, and for good reason. Move west and DCA may die alltogether, who knows if anyone will show up? Stay out East, stay small, curb growth, but stay above water. Rock meet hard place. It looks like we're getting a few more corps comming up, we need another west coast, a few southern corps, and 1-2 more mid west corps, and presto! we have legitimate circuts nation wide, and can have finals wherever we want. Unfortunatly that's more then a few years away, so till then I'll gripe and chew on my knees for 13 hours on my way to ny.

My hero, and too true. Just look at the past few years, or even last vs. 2007. While I enjoyed Gades 07 show, last year was a marked improvement in all captions. It's always nice to see the left coast getting bigger better louder.

Just my biased opinion. 1. MBI, sorry their one of the only groups that looked better then they did in prelims. 2. Empire, dirty but always my favorite 3. Hurcs, Cleaner then just about everyone else. 4 Bucs, their battery stunk and they knew it. Not an all year thing, but something broke at finals. insane pit. 5 Buswackers, I'm a drummer, but their gaurd was mesmorizing, and I liked the show 6 Cabs, Same thing every year, awesome people, just not a fan of the show. Lotsa dirt, not as good as prelims. 7-9 ?? 10 Cru?? Really that was a finals show? Saw them earlier, and was impressed, but what happened? No forms at all. Like ever. hornline sounded tired. What happened at finals? Really. No one seemed to show up like they did the night before. The bottom end of open class, was.....well screwed up, everyone got a bit screwed even the ones that made finals. And no on other than Empire, and MBI really seemed to come to play. Like there was no pressure to perform, so they didn't. Buc's obviously thought they had first locked up again, and they did. See what happens when you take 2-3 DCI shows that have already been done? Just didn't feel as exciting as I thought it would be.

Bottom line, you don't get what you pay for. If you have to pay an insanly high price, you should get an insanly good product. You don't. If the whole package cost 50 bucks, I wouldn't complain, but 100+ is stupid. If it was DCI or BSA or even WGI quality, then yeah I can see spending the money. We get Bob's home made video. My thought is have a bunch of people pitch in and then just make copies, yeah it's probibly illegal, but the price they charge is also a crime, because the Youtube videos look better.....no really they do. My question is why haven't we changed companies? I realize that there's economics and a bunch of other numbers I just don't understand involved. But is DCA even looking? I refuse to think that this is the best quality we can get at the lowest price. Who's cousin works at BVP and DCA? It's got to be a resposibility of someone in DCA to ensure the fans and members aren't getting screwed, but we have been, for years, and years. Somethings gotta give. DCI charges around the same price for way better quality. Does the company that does DCI really charge that much more? There has to be another outlet for this, and until one is found both BVP and DCA are failing in this aspect. Just my opinion, I'm just tired of shelling out more and more money, for a product that gets worse, and worse.

I wouldn't really call the show "controversial" 5 years ago they were controversial. Now it sounds like the same basic theme as last year, and the year before that. And I'm still gonna like it. Best of luck, hope you continue the upward swing.

The DVD quality the last few years has been atrocious. Novice camera work at best, consistantly bad sound to the point last year they had to send out another DVD because the sound was off on the second disk by over a second. However as it's been explained to me in the past it's what we've gotta work with. I could deal with all of that (and I have purchased the last 2 years dvds). My only major gripe is the price, you definatly aren't getting what you pay for. Unfortunatly it's the least expensive for DCA. The almighty dollar wins again, too bad it's our dollars paying for a subpar product.

The way I heard it 88M was being fazed out, they figured a driver was a driver I guess. They were still telling us they were getting rid of the mos in 05. I heard something about mechanics and drivers being merged. Then again it is the Army, they've been fazing out the m-60 since Vietnam.

US Army 1999-2005 99-01 801st Combat Support Hospital, 88th RSC Ft Sheridon 01-03 528 Qm Co, 593rd Crops Support Group Ft Lewis 03-05 296 INF Ft Benning Deployed to Afghanistan, and Falluja Iraq.