OperationTaps

And... we're always looking for anyone with the EARLY videos.

OT That was 1979 - the underwear situation was in Toronto (CNE)

Man, this thread has taken on a life of it's own. I think (it seems so long ago now) that Wishbonecav's point was... If DCI used more of a DCA model, one that allows a corps to spend most of June and July doing shows within a smaller geographical area.... AND THEN spend two weeks in August making their way toward the DCI host city..... The RESULT would be MORE DCI corps in the various regions of the country. Oh sure, let's say you come in 4th in US Open prelims... and then you DON'T accept a show in Nebraska ... you may end up in 22nd place in Denver - behind 8 corps that you beat a week ago (not that I'm bitter about the 1978 Greece Cadets or anything).

Naaaah.... Timmy's more of modern style marcher. His influences were tall, thin Eastridge Lancer types like Pete Blake and Ryan Gravelle (the Tap Dance Kid).... The rest of the Allens use more of a Thick Ankle Approach to marching. The "George Jefferson Strut" is a more natural movement to us.

You know... since we're on the topic of Jim Allen's Statesmen Street Cred ... Let me just say this: If you would have been with the us in the Empire Statesmen all those years, you'd be in the Hall of Fame by now. Just sayin'

Jimmy Allen's an Emerald Statesmen Alumnus. Maybe if he can get Stevie Gadd to join him, we'll let him in... but Billy McGrath gets the final vote.

Ya know, come to think of it, it's more likely that we'll have a Tsunami of Stiff Necks, and an Avalanche of Arthritis, treatable only by a SuperTanker of Ointment

Before you get all "kickin' it old testament" about having ALL the Allens play ... Just realize that the Earth's Delicate Balance will have its hands full with Jimmy Steele AND Dave Seeley COMBINED with any number of Allens. And we haven't even factored in Mark Sinden (Canadian Mellophone) and Freddie Beckwith (Erie Mellophone)... yet. There are A LOT of play-ahs on that list who are every bit as dangerous as the Allens. We might just have a Tsunami of Swagger and an Avalanche of Attitude created by the SuperDelegates of Sound

In case you missed it in the other thread... Welcome to the Manchester, NH Muchachos / Amoskeag Sound. This outstanding MCA and DCA mini-corps participant is doing great things in their community. Check out the 100 Nights of Remberance site! These guys are the REAL New England Patriots.

Welcome to the Manchester, NH Muchachos / Amoskeag Sound. This outstanding MCA and DCA mini-corps participant is doing great things in their community. Check out the 100 Nights of Remberance site! These guys are the REAL New England Patriots.

Yes. I'd love to have the CorpsVets involved! When I started this, I emailed a bunch of corps directors to let them know what we're doing. It's very casual, very friendly. But to a lot of us, very important. The point is to see who's doing what in the All-Age drum corps community; celebrate the ones doing great things, and provide ideas and encouragement to those who want to do more. It's different from Bugles Across America (although many of us members of that as well) in that as organizations, we are proactively letting our communities know we're available.

There are a variety of State ordinances that will keep that from happening. You'd need a letter from Governor Spritzer.

Only if that Alumnus WANTS to join. The Alumni, or 25th Anniversary events, are NOT part of a recruiting program. I certainly don't see it that way, nor does David, or Allen, or Jimmy Steele. That said, I know that "The Itch" is one of the most powerful forces in the universe. I just wouldn't want any old members avoid these events. Former Statesmen know what it's like to commit to the Statesmen; it's like dog years compared to every other corps. My 63 years with the corps were special, and these upcoming events are a celebration of the entire history of the corps. Plus, I hear you're about full.

Keith, Just download the flyer from the site. Go to funeral homes and Veterans organizations - like all the American Legion and VFW Posts, I even went to the Veterans Outreach Center (a lot of families of Vietnam Vets don't even know that since 2000 they're eligible for Honors as well)... Tell them "We are a drum corps in your area, and if you need a live Taps player please contact us before using a recording of Taps" Even if you know you can't help out 100% of the time, at least let them know you're there. It might even help you land some Memorial Day gigs (you might want to learn some parade tunes beside "The Last Samurai"). The St. Joe's guys are doing that all over WNY. Erie's got NW PA covered. Empire, Cru, Prime Time Brass have all made themselves available at some point the past few months. For a lot of these places, it's the first time anyone ever offered. If that's what's happening in a drum corps town like Rochester, I can only imagine what it's like in other places. I'm guessing the people of the West Coast of Florida would appreciate the help, and the Sun Devils would have an instant fan base. Every Flyer is a point. Every guy you have willing to help (including guys already signed up with Bugles Across America) is a point, every community gig is a point, and every actual Military Honors Funeral is a point. Once you get a few flyers out let me know by email and I'll post your point total on the site. That's it. Hello Florida Chapter!

I've updated the info on the OperationTaps web site. I have new totals to report on the OperationTaps/DCA Challenge (a "friendly" challenge among brass lines who choose to participate) Remember, any flyers you distribute in your area count as a point... I know some people live in areas where you might not be called to play that often, but the idea is to show our communities that we're here and we're willing to help. I had a great talk with the members of the Rochester Crusaders brass line yesterday, and they are on board and willing to help any way they can. They sound great by the way. I'm hoping that in the near future, Jeff Gibbens and his Erie, PA colleagues can give us a little semi-tutorial on how they've built such a great network in their community. Even if he wants to post it to this thread - go for it Jeff. Since December 7, 2007, OperationTaps participating units have performed at 42 military honors funerals at which the only other option was to use a recorded version of Taps. Thanks again to all who have participated. Tom Allen

Joey Cav, Another thought provoking thread. Sorry I didn't jump in earlier. I wanted to, but I knew I would ramble, so I needed to make the proper time management considerations before writing my response. Note: Sorry, but I’m not getting into whether DCI is better than DCA. But… I seem to remember, back in the early 90's when our corps (Empire) was really starting to feel vindicated about our contribution to the activity. We felt that we were building, and in some communities, Re-building the fan base of this activity. We took every crazy gig we could. Literally! You hear people joking about playing supermarket openings… heck, we did fitty of those. Charity events, Dunk Tanks, Corporate Picnics, even Novelty Gift Stores (listen to the Statesmen, then come on in and buy a whoopee cushion). I should submit, for fairness sake, that we never actually did a Bar Mitzvah. We had a competitive field show, a parade repertoire, and a 2 hour stage show which included several sub-repertoires. You need a half hour of patriotic tunes for a US Citizenship Swearing-In Ceremony? We got it. Big Band Swing? Russian Sailor’s Dance.? Heard It Through The Grapevine? Dance features, Rappin’ Drummers, Chorus. Gimmicks. Shtick. Props. Comedy. Just say the word. Our attitude was that you never knew who was watching. For example, maybe a guy who played Fullback (or Nose Tackle) in HS and then played Lead Soprano in his local DCI corps 20 years ago, maybe a band director who is looking for an outlet on the weekends during the summer, or maybe a former drum corps guy who is THIS CLOSE to getting “the itch” again. But we also knew that we might be selling a ticket to that week’s show, or that summer’s show in that town. Maybe five tickets. We might even be selling 10,000 tickets to a show 15 years from now. We knew we were on the same team as the show sponsors, and the judges were absolutely the least important people in the activity. Were we hokey? Were we goofy? Were we cheesy? Yes, Yes, and Yes. Now get off our field. You think it’s an accident there are 3000 people at a show in Little Falls, NY? No. We’ve been up there playing Bad Bad LeRoy Brown the last three Februarys. Okay, what’s my point? We became a community asset. If you are starting a new drum corps in your town, start there. Get known. One fan, one family, one sponsor at a time. I guarantee you 90% of Rochesterians know who you’re talking about when you mention “Those tuxedo guys with the flashy drum major.” I’m not kidding. Have a set list of tunes that people actually want to hear… and then, if you want, put together a competitive show for the judges. And, with all due respect, ask yourself if playing “Gladiator” or “The Last Samurai” helps you achieve your 5 year plan. To “The Activity:” Here’s an idea, let MCA corps in DCA shows. Quit complaining that fans don’t want to come to shows that are one week and 30 miles apart with the same 4 DCA corps (Nah, Ya think?). Throw in The Capital Brass, and/or the Golden Eagles, and/or the Ghost Riders, and/or the Erie Thunderbirds. Let them do an exhibition. Let the Hitmen, or the Prime Time Brass warm up the crowd for you. And I would be remiss if I didn’t say this: Don’t let another Veteran be buried in your town to the sound of a boombox playing Taps. We’re all guilty. Again Joey, great thread (I told you I would ramble).

Just imagine the 22 year old version of Kevin being turned loose in Sweden, the home Planet of the Swedish Bikini Team.

Kevin always seemed to be in the middle of some of the best international Statesmen capers. And HairBear: between You and our Pit, the late 80's were the golden age of Hair Spray in Drum Corps.

JohnnyTaTa: These events are All Hands On Deck ... the group organizing these events fully welcome everyone who ever participated in any way. There is an equal number of Performances and Bashes (Picnics, Cookouts, and the "Ball" in November). As you might imagine, there's a lot of "I'll do it if that guy does it" going on, and trust me, if I'M doing it, then YOU better be doing it. We fully expect to see all Prime Time Brass, Hitmen, St. Joe's, Cru, Brigs, Grennies, Blousemen, Half Ton Horns, Thunderbirds, Porkchops, Hall of Famers, and every and any other former States-person worldwide. There will be a couple practices, a couple parades, and then on the evening of the Rochester show (7/5/08), a Once in a Lifetime Command Performance by the Empire Statesmen 25th Anniversary All Stars. That includes You, you, and YOU! (Especially you, Cozy Baker).

Boy, this is a really interesting topic. Is 92% really a legit number? That would mean around 10 members out of 128 would be non-white. That's hard to believe. I guess you could jump in and do the typical Hopkins-bashing and blame current state of the activity, but really, I'm not completely sure that gets to the point. I think it's more about community and the cost of having a corps, not of individual costs to the members of top 12 corps. There just aren't those local corps from places that have a diverse population (anymore). Is it in anyone's interest to do anything to change that? I didn't see all of Hopkins' comments, so to be fair, could someone tell me if his point was that he was proposing something to reach back to those communities?

Update 2/14/08: New unit reporting results: The Erie Thunderbirds. I'd love to hear from some of the outstanding MCA organizations - some of the other participants have had success using their involvement in OperationTaps in their PR stategy. As I've mentioned before, OperationTaps is a strictly volunteer project addressing a very important issue. I am deeply grateful to all current (and future) participating units. Since December 7, 2007, OperationTaps participating units have performed at military honors funerals for 27 Veterans for whom the only other option was to use a recorded version of Taps. Thank you.

Wow David, I forgot how many years you were in... I just looked at the 1987 picture. You and your brother Jamie look like Muppet Baby versions of yourselves.

If Gates and Jobs are not creative, then no one in drum corps can be called creative. Adaptive, Imaginative, Innovative...maybe. Point A: 12 consecutive 11 minute performances by groups with the exact same number of people on a grid lined football field, each wearing uniforms designed by the same guy... Now get to Point B and by golly, make it creative. Without balloon animals OR pyrotechnics.

C'mon Sam... you telling me you can't fly into Rochester for the July 4th Weekend? I've never met you, but I can tell you have Porkchop tendencies.

Well, if you're not sure if you marched with Brian, then imagine how offended Dave Seeley will be that you didn't even mention him. I'm hoping all the former Greece Cadets and Northmen who were also Empire Statesmen will participate in the 25th Anniversary Celebration Events. That's a big list.