Tekneek

I thought the footage was of The Cadets, which I would consider an "upper echelon" corps. It just makes it even more obvious how they didn't bother to educate themselves about the story they were running. The activity is so under-exposed that nobody will harp on this, but it reveals more about how our "journalists" and news media are running stories they know almost nothing about. They shouldn't be reporting what they think it is, they should be reporting the facts about what it is after learning from an authority.

I still say soprano and contra bass.

That is too bad. I knew with the posted time that there was no way they were even trying to show everybody. I will try to get in as early as I can, though, just in case. :)

I'm confused as to why they would call it a "high school drum corps." Are there really a lot of those around? Is there any upper echelon drum corps that has 50% or more of its membership in high school?

That is a good point. I have actually encountered people who believed they had seen the entire performances. Needless to say, they were quite confused. I used to run into people back when the old PBS highlights show existed that were confused about it as well, despite the show clearly explaining these were the highlights. Maybe there is no way to keep people from being confused without a constant ticker at the bottom of the screen.

If any drum corps, or the whole activity itself, responds the way the domestic auto industry has, DCI will be on the verge of insolvency before the course is corrected.

Boston wins prelims with an 84.4, leading Spirit (83.1), Dutch Boy (82.3), and Blue Knights (82.1). The next day at Quarters, Spirit pulls down an 85.9 and is 11th. Blue Knights go to 85.7 and 12th. Dutch Boy is in 13th with an 84.8 and Boston is actually in 15th with an 84.0. At Semifinals, BK drops back to 13th and Dutch Boy makes it to Saturday night. Boston stays in 15th. Did Dutch Boy, BK, and Spirit just have a bad day on Wednesday at Prelims? It just seems like an amazing amount of movement amongst those corps. Aside from the questions about those events, I wish there were still enough corps out there to have Prelims on Wednesdays. 1990 was the last year for them. I wasn't as connected in 1990/1991 as I became later. Was it a reduction in the number of corps that caused the dropping of Prelims, or was it something else?

It is easy to believe that judges want to turn every show into Star's 1993 show, one way or another. Star fed the judges exactly what they were asking for from 1991-1993. The fans blasted them for the same things that they praise corps for today. All along, judges were loving every second of it.

I was totally against amps until DCI Atlanta. I do think it allows the pit instruments to sound better than ever. I do think they should ban the use of amplification for any sort of vocal use. If you can't project your speaking or singing part without amplification, it shouldn't be in the show. This isn't show choir, so it isn't about making the best presentation for vocals and never should be. I don't agree that corps can simply choose to use/not use amplification now. There is no doubt in my mind that a corps without them would suffer a lower percussion score, with all other things equal. If they are playing with the same technique as an amped pit, they won't hear it in the box and they will be hit. If they are pounding on them, like the pre-amp days, they will get hurt on technique compared to the other corps. This was my first show with amplification, so maybe I am wrong and history can already show that my claim is wrong. If that is so, I welcome someone demonstrating it to me. It seemed impossible, last Saturday night, for any such thing to happen. The difference between the two was demonstrated clearly when CorpsVets and Jubal went on, neither of which were amped.

Because the rules and laws of their current location trump being "left to their own devices." In some areas nobody knows what drum corps is and in others it has a bad reputation. It only takes one corps staff breaking the rules to get the entire activity a blackmark.

Then you can't do it. I said if you can, within the rules and the law, then good for you. If you can't do it within the rules as well as the law, then it's a no go. It was about whether you are allowed to go or not. Ethically, I don't see a problem with staff going off for a meal and having a drink or two with it. I do have some problem with them coming back to the housing site drunk, though. The year I marched, we placed 17th and were 'effectively' dismissed the afternoon of Finals. Even if we were riding a corps bus back to Atlanta, the season was effectively over and we were on our own. Up to that point, the only time you might have been able to fudge the rules on this would be when we were in town for all-days and you were sent 'home' each day. Still, I can't imagine being able to drink heavily and not dehydrate yourself for the next day. I barely had a soda all tour, and that was only a Sprite every now and then when I had a sore throat from the bus.

I don't think the problem is staff members going out to a restaurant to eat and having a beer or two while there. It's staff members curling up with a rum bottle inside the school and leaving it there for the school administration to find. Those are two completely different things. For that matter, any corps member of legal drinking age should be able to do whatever they legally can do where they can legally do it. In other words, not drinking on school property or when involved with corps activity. However, when dismissed for the day, if you can within the rules and laws get to a restaurant and have a drink with a meal, good for you.

All of this aside, I would probably really enjoy this year's Cadets if they drop the use of amplification for anything besides the pit instruments and didn't have quite so many props in the show. I say I would probably enjoy it, because I cannot be so certain after being so distracted by all the props and amped vocals that I wasn't able to focus on the real drum corps stuff that may have been happening underneath. I loved Cadets in 2000, at the last show I had attended prior to last weekend's DCI show in Atlanta. I knew when I saw them the first time that they were likely to win it all with that show and I still enjoy it today. What I saw Saturday night was drum corps overload. I do feel bad for the kids. They deserve more, but I believe they are fighting an uphill battle because of design decisions (and perhaps agendas) that the staff of the corps put on them.

So, since the judges aren't perfect, I guess we don't really know who the best corps was each year. That sucks.

I know that is the way those bureaucrats think, but I wonder if anyone could produce one single lawsuit that has emerged against a host school by a drum corps or its members.

Now that I have thought about it, I think the lack of precision can be directly linked to the build-up system of scoring. The more difficult the show, the more potential points you have to earn. So shows are so difficult they will never really be clean and they just hope to be slightly cleaner in a more demanding show than everyone else.

I thought that way until the summer I marched. I was really surprised at the number of members that smoked on tour. It wasn't a whole lot of them, but it was more than I would have ever expected. Virtually of them were vets, at least I recall.

I'm sure they felt he was willing to do anything for the corps and would lay it all on the line for them. All I was saying was that a corps, at this point in the season, is probably not going to take just anybody who says they can do it. They will want to have a good idea that they really can do it before taking them on.

You would think that with fuel being so expensive, they wouldn't dare screw up the one thing that isn't expensive yet is fundamental to every corps. It only takes 1 or 2 bad apples to ruin the entire crop and some people seem content to just #### it all away.

How about just showing respect for the rules and the property of others? That's the simple lesson that would have prevented any problems. It didn't happen because they weren't sneaky enough. It happened because they didn't care about the school's property.

I can see that being an issue. I could even say I've seen that happening. And those are all things that could have easily been prevented. I sure hope that particular corps has been informed about the long-term, possibly even permanent, damage they have done to the activity and its reputation. That corps director should be willing to try and make it right with that school to repair the situation as best as possible, instead of leaving the rest of the activity holding the bag for them.

More than inexcusable, it's time to find a replacement.

Why is it so hard to get housing? Has it always been difficult, or is it getting worse?

I wonder if Crown is peaking already and BK won't be the only corps to pass them on the way to Madison.

I thought that as well, and then I saw Crossmen try to take that title from them.