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BDCorno

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Everything posted by BDCorno

  1. Well thanks, and thanks! Did you ever hear the alumni french horn octet recordings we made?
  2. I think The Unanswered Question might be received like the proverbial Baby Ruth in the punch bowl. I'm kind of partial to Hindemith's "Mathis der Maler"...lots of good material there...both accessible and modern without straying too far. Hope SCV does that one. I'd be interested to hear "1812 Overture" with synthesized cannons. Now THAT would be interesting!
  3. Conversely, if they toss and catch, or perform any other difficult move - is the credit doubled?
  4. I'd call it a tie. Both groups influenced the activity heavily, and had quite similar success the past ten years. Just curious, what exactly how did the Cavs "lay the groundwork" for BD's success? A laughable comment if I've ever heard one. You couldn't find two corps or approaches more diametrically opposed! If it was by winning a bunch of titles in a short period of time, the BD laid that groundwork for the Cavs way back in the 1970s. Give both corps credit - they've created their own success, and should be lauded for it!
  5. You'll never know unless you try. When I was 16, I didn't necessarily think Blue Devils would take me on but they did...I am forever glad that I made the effort. It was a life-changing experience!
  6. Trust me, I understand all the reasons why not, but in this economy they'd have been better off. Maybe giving Indy a cut of the PPV gate would be an idea. I'd much rather see it live than on TV or in a theater, but even in the best of times I'd not attend more than every couple of years. Why should DCI forfeit potential revenue like that? In addition, the blatant refusal to move finals around makes it even more costly for fans to come out. All those people from PA, MI, IN, IL and adjoining areas get a fairly cheap trip. Us west coasters (there are LOTS of us...anyone check the crowd at the Rose Bowl?) are expected to either sit home or pony up huge money EVERY year to attend? Same goes for a lot of other areas of the country not easily accessible. Families are busy, and perhaps can't make a four or five day trip out to Indy either. Chalk up thousands of other potential paying customers that DCI won't be getting a penny from tonight. The whole equation doesn't work, and makes some type of PPV or theater broadcast a must for DCI to survive financially. You didn't have me, and a lot of others, at finals this year. We'd have been happy to give DCI $49.95 or more to see it...I guess "forcing" us to come to Indy didn't work out so well now did it? It's high time something is done!
  7. My understanding is that ESPN bought (I guess they would have paid) rights to broadcast finals, but don't. It might cost a year's worth of PPV revenue to get back the rights, but I'd think it's worth it. In these tough times, DCI needs all the revenue streams it can get - this would be a first step back to health.
  8. This is like waiting for Apollo 13 to come out of the radio blackout in reentry! #1 priority for DCI in the offseason is to fix this. I realize what they're up against, but you can't tell me it couldn't be remedied with a bit of effort. Forfeiting a potential revenue stream like finals is just mindboggling!
  9. Well, we may not need to worry about that "marching band" problem much longer if they bring in woodwinds, now would we?
  10. Well, let's just hope everyone does their best. As I'm sure you know, "I'm sick of seeing ____ on top" is not really a valid reason for a different group winning. Many corps have gone through this, like BD in the late 70s, Cadets in the 80s, your Cavs in the late 90s-early 00s, and now back to BD. Were you complaining when Cavs were winning all the time?....never mind! ;-) It's just a fantastic bunch of groups this year. I enjoy almost all of the top 12...good to see Blue Stars and Madison being successful again, and for such a diverse group of shows among the top 12. We will see what happens - this might be one of the last times we'll see DCI like this, if some of the G7 comes to pass. Enjoy it while you can! Hey, I'm rooting for my alma mater, best of luck to the Cavs but remember: no corps has ever won DCI doing pushups in their show! Maybe this will be the year pushups make a breakthrough! ;-)
  11. But wouldn't the BD haters just criticize the streaker's um..."package" as just another prop? Just sayin'!
  12. ding ding ding....we have a winner! Turn of all the low end claptrap, let's hear everyone's entire book (not just a 30 second feature here or there) and I'll get back to you.
  13. At least here in California, we are in the midst of band camp, and some of the schools are already in session to some extent. Add in the early start, it probably held down the attendance from the younger crowd. All that said, I'd say our theater was about 50/50 young to old. I don't think the hefty ticket price helps the younger crowd out, though I wonder how many bought cheap tickets to other films and walked into this show. Our theater was about 1/3 full.
  14. Thanks, Jeff. Couldn't have said it better myself!
  15. The tick system would have slowed down the rapid escalation of "design" shows, as corps would not have been able to try some of the things they do now. Better yet, a 90 would still mean something. Don't get me wrong...the corps are great, but the scores are out of whack. Sorry to break it to those who think some of the breakneck drills in the top 4-5 are so darn clean...they are dirty as sin! You almost couldn't keep track of the amount of dirty forms, bad intervals and such on display. Many forms out there could have been hit with .2 or more in ticks if I was doing field M&M. Extrapolate that over ten minutes, and I think you'd have very few corps scoring over 12.0 in a 15 point caption (even with fairly generous tolerance). That's just in one execution caption. Add in brass and percussion, you wouldn't see too many 95+ scores out there. One major corps had a drill move go so bad that a mellophone got squeezed out of a form as it developed. To their credit, they smoothly corrected it by the end of the move, but you'd think at quarters you'd be marching at a higher level than that. Don't get started on the "difficulty" excuse...if you don't have the ability to perform it, don't write it!
  16. BDB is not undefeated. Vanguard Cadets beat them the last weekend before they left for Nats.
  17. Good points, though I don't necessarily agree with your second point re/ROI. With all the bluster re/"entertainment" of the audience as the seemingly sole reason why DCI is struggling, why don't we look at some of the "elephants in the room"? Corps numbered in the hundreds back when DCI got started. Now we're down to less than 50. DCI crowds have always been primarily centered around families, friends and alumni of the corps competing. The more people involved, the more people became involved. As drum corps have dried up over the years (cost and rise of competitive youth sports as the main culprits, I'd surmise), so have the amount of potential customers. IMHO, shrinkage of the activity has led to the smaller crowds, not some "lack of entertainment" from the groups themselves. I just watched the theater show last nite, and was entertained by EVERY CORPS ON THE BROADCAST. Some more than others? Sure! I shudder to think if all the corps were clones of each other (though the drills are looking pretty similar among at least 50%)...variety makes for a good show, not some "Bb" approach. It's apparent to me the "G7" have decided that the rest of the activity is a drag on their ability to grow and prosper. What they don't believe is that them helping to grow the activity...seeding new corps, sharing secrets of success and business acumen, not taking on 'title hunters' who marched with other corps, etc...is in their best interest (or less difficult to just move on). Woe to the non-G7 corps - don't look for help growing your groups from the G7. It's every man for himself! I don't think it's a nefarious plot to intentionally inflict damage to the activity, it's just business people who have decided that responsibility to their own "companies" is more important than growing their trade.
  18. EVERYONE NEEDS TO HEED THE ABOVE. PASS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE...AND HERE IT IS!
  19. Sorry to hear the sound sucked at your venue. We had that problem initially, but after my "discussion" with the theater manager they somehow got the surround working and it was quite nice.
  20. Yep, Vanguard did it way back in the 1970s... I don't think it's an advantage at all. Logistically, you waste much more time transporting the corps back and forth to rehearsal, assuming the hotel doesn't have their own stadium! Um...besides that, who cares? Does anyone find a school with a little hotter showers or non-low flush toilets an "unfair" advantage? Just have to laugh!
  21. Everyone? Everyone? I like all the corps and wouldn't want any scenario in which one is removed, no matter who. Presumptuous, aren't you?
  22. I think Cavs/Bluecoats, Cadets/Crown, Phantom/SCV/Blue Stars and Madison/Blue Knights/Glassmen are all potential ties. I'd be surprised if we saw more than one actually happen, though.
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