ordsw24

I would add acoustic trauma to that list. Do any corps use musician's ear plugs yet? For some in this activity, permanent tinnitus is an unfortunate after-effect to years of drumming. I read some time back DCI developed some kind of mini-task force on this issue (or least met once to discuss it), but I don't know if any recommendations or actions were taken.

Yup, much more likely in BOA. The scores at BOA fluctuate a LOT more from night to night, and caption to caption.

The *worst* thing they can do is rehash an old show. Too many corps have withered and died clinging to their glory days and eating off of their own legend. This does not mean the Cavaliers need to entirely re-invent themselves. They can and should remain solidly grounded in their well-established core identity and tradition of excellence. But clinging to their past reeks of fear for the future. The future is theirs, as long as the Cavalier organization is willing to make the necessary changes it will take to get them back on track. I believe they are doing just that, or certainly attempting to, anyway. We'll soon see how quickly they can right their ship. Forward 2013.

Optimistic music can often sound cheesy to me. Too much of it would be like eating sweets for an appetizer, main course, and dessert. Variety is the spice of life. I happen to prefer minor-keyed music. I don't see how optimistic music would save our country or drum corps. Mandating corps to play a certain type of music is always a bad idea imo.

Maybe he left the industry for a more stable paycheck. Troy Morgan was Cavies' guard caption head for a number of years but now works for Continental Airlines (well, United now).

I thought this forum banned religious and politics talk. I only read the first few posts, but it was about whether baptism was required to be a Christian. I'm about ready to start telling Mitt jokes. :D

This thread is starting to get a bit ridiculous. Plenty of corps have had a bad season and gotten right back up, kicked the dirt off their uniforms, and turned things around right away. And why is everyone on this board so dooms-day happy, anyway? Did some of you get infected w/ some kind of Mayan Prophecy virus? I've only been a (semi) regular poster on here since the start of this season, but in that time, I have learned that DCI's complete demise is imminent, WGI ruined DCI, electronics is ruining DCI, DCI is no longer entertaining, the judging system is jacked, Blue Devils are invincible (which is bad for the activity), drum corps is corrupting to underage members, and finally, the Cavaliers, having experienced a less than flawless, stellar season (based on a judging system that is jacked, mind you), are now doomed as well. We could spend the next six months arguing why the Cavaliers were not as successful this season. I am certain the Cavalier organization will be assessing their program, staff, and operations to determine what changes might need to be made, and they will make the adjustments they believe are necessary to regain their competitive edge. As to 2012 specifically, as others have pointed out numerous times on DCP, the drill changes made while on tour would negatively impact other captions. This is a given. It has always been a curse to make major drill changes on tour. Cavaliers' guard is traditionally one of their stronger captions. No one can tell me that the talent level of individual members this season was noticeably less than in the past few seasons. It is also my understanding that the guard staff was (mostly) the same as last season's. The guard suffered, at least in part, because of the many changes made to the show, AND b/c of issues w/ the show design itself, as has also been pointed out. Staging can affect how a guard book is read by the judges, and I definitely believe this was the case w/ the Cavaliers. Also, perception becomes reality to some degree. As word quickly spread Cavaliers were having an off year, and speculation quickly mounted as to why, it is possible judges may have actually downgraded the show too much. I know this is counter-intuitive for some to believe b/c many DCI fans actually steadfastly assert a corps like Cavaliers is going to inevitably win extra points on name recognition and reputation alone in a down year. However, just like Phantom 2009 (a show btw, that in retrospect, is actually pretty good imo and one I enjoy listening to and watching), negative buzz surrounding a show can actually set up perceptions that become worse than the reality. Similarly, a really great drill and lots of visual GE will inevitably make the horn scores go up. A good show feeds on itself, and a successful show GE-wise will bleed over into all captions in terms of higher scores. It is very difficult to impossible to assign scores in a vacuum. I do find it interesting that in the same year, the Cavaliers fell to 9th in guard and 8th in brass. This actually supports either idea -- that visual GE scores bleed into other captions and/ or that changing drill mid-tour negatively affects all captions. The Cavaliers had a down year in terms of their scoring and placement, but how likely is it that brass and guard, two very disparate captions, would fall to about the same level in one year if neither of these theories were at least partially valid, excepting some type of recruiting issue. Perhaps M. Gaines taking a year off (or leaving for good, who knows) affected recruiting significantly, but I doubt this was the case. I am not outright asserting Cavaliers will definitely bounce back strongly next year, but I certainly would not be surprised if they did, should they manage to regroup, hammer out a strong show concept, and manage to design something great around it. As we've seen in the past, when the Cavaliers are on visually, they can rack up points faster than anyone. And I believe the single most difficult caption to improve on quickly is percussion, and this was Cavaliers' strongest caption all year, which further increases the changes of a quick recovery next season. Anyway, I've rattled on way too long but this thread was starting to annoy me. Certain posters almost seem like they want Cavaliers to fail and are reveling in it, and are trying to convince others that failure is certain, for the foreseeable future anyway, and that's a little sad.

What makes you say this? Reason(s)?

This is an issue, more so for performers than fans. Being around excessive sound all summer could easily lead to hearing loss and potentially tinnitus. A few summers of fun is not worth decades of debilitation. I hope DCI addresses this. I know there was some guy advocating musician's ear plugs for drum lines a while back. Did anything ever come of this? DCI should be proactive on this issue...law suits down the road are always a possibility. Add class-action to the mix and there could be a lot of liability. My best friend is an audiologist and he has so many heartbreaking stories of people who's lives have been severely impacted by hearing loss and tinnitus, and other hearing issues. And his patients are coming in with problems are younger and younger thanks to i-pods and other such devices. I don't mean to hijack the thread. This is not just an aesthetic thing w/ one corps, it really is a safety and public health issue. My friend has a decibel reading app on his phone, and is amazed at the readings he gets just from traffic in a large city. I wonder what a loud drum corps show registers. A 12 minute show once in a while for a fan (even a night of it) is prob. no issue, but 2 or 3 summer's worth of this kind of noise exposure everyday, and then listening to i-pods on the bus on top of it.... strong potential for damage, esp. since damage that leads to hearing loss is cumulative.

I doubt a corps ministry would or could make a difference in any behavior that might or might not be occurring on tour.

"Rage quit." I like it. Just don't overuse it, or it will end up in the banned words on DCP thread.

"imminent demise"....clearly, I was just being an overly dramatic WGI fan. :D

Predictions for 2013? DCI folds, as predicted on DCP.

Are innovative shows and entertaining shows mutually exclusive? That's what some on here seem to be suggesting. I do not believe this to be the case. IMcomguy, you've blamed WGI for the imminent demise of DCI on another thread, and then make an unnecessary dig at "WGI folks" in this one. I believe BOA, WGI, and DCI fans, instructors, designers, and performers should support each other as much as possible, and the three pageantry arts activities should use all available synergies in order to survive and prosper. This would in no way include a fan of DCI making a snarky remark about WGI fans, imo.

“If you want things to stay as they are, things will have to change”

IMComguy, Could you elaborate on your "we no longer have right and wrong in shows." I don't quite follow what you mean by that. As for tagging WGI and its designers and evolution for DCI's imminent demise, it's curious that WGI's growth has been phenomenal over the years. I realize the cost/ tour structure of WGI is not as challenging as DCI, and they have a scholastic component to draw from, but their attendance has held steady and grown as the activity has evolved. The WGI powers-that-be have always been very active in defining their activity, embracing change in conjunction w/ vigorous debate, and devising score sheets that reflect design and performance standards they have deemed valuable. Many of the great innovators in drum corps responsible for some its best moments came from WGI outright or honed their skills as designers there. BOA has likewise embraced change and rewards innovation in show design, and their audience numbers also appear to be steady as far as I can tell. Tarpon Springs' nightmare show was super innovative imo and reflects in one show the many changes that have taken place over at BOA, and the audience loved it. It was w/out a doubt one of the favorite shows of the year across the board. I can't wait for more shows like this. I realize BOA and WGI are not DCI. Perhaps DCI relies more on ticket sales from true fans, as opposed to the ready-made audience filled w/ parents of school-aged children.... not sure. Perhaps DCI is not in danger of going down in a ball of flames if such changes continue, as theorized. Maybe DCI fans are just more nostalgic, and risk-averse (for change) and more apt to be purists than BOA or WGI. Some WGI fans complained about Onyx's win w/ their art show b/c they didn't get it or it wasn't entertaining enough, but I heard very few existential threats to WGI being voiced because of it, or calls for a boycott, etc. Maybe w/ BD winning, some posters on here believe DCI is endorsing this style of show, and fear other corps will follow suit. Not so at all, imo. Cadets Bjork show was similar in many respects. PR is still very much PR, and will likely to continue to be PR. Many corps have their own traditions that would never allow for a show like Dada to hit the field. Kinda scratching my head about all this existential angst over the future of drum corps as it relates to design and evolution.

I understand where the OP is coming from, but I believe BD should have won and I loved the show. I have disagreed w/ placements in the past, more so in WGI. However, as a fan and former drum corps MM, I remind myself that I have never been trained to adjudicate DCI or WGI or BOA. GE is only a part of the score; much of the sheet is technical. Championships have been one and lost based on a percussion score alone. "Most entertaining" and "highest achieving" are two very different things, and this goes w/out saying. There have been proposals floating around by other frustrated fans that would address your concerns, such as audience input as part of GE score, etc., or revamping the score sheets in other ways. A perfect system is not possible; we have to accept an imperfect and subjective system. I see BD's success this season in part by putting myself in the judge's shoes... they judge all summer long. If they've been around a while, they've seen and judged hundreds of shows, and have heard a lot of the same compositions re-hashed many times over the years, and experienced many of the same or similar visual effects and show constructions. I believe a show like BD 2012 is a "judge's show" show because it is so unique and refreshing. And no one can seriously argue BD's performance level and skills aren't top-notch. There have been WGI shows over the years receiving mild audience reaction and mixed reviews from fans (often pretty bi-polar reactions) which won w/ really high scores, so this is not a unique phenomenon to DCI. Onyx's art show comes to mind, which I consider one of the best shows of all time. BD this year was something new. It reinvented the wheel a little bit. It re-defined what drum corps can be. For some, (purists), this is threatening, or at least off-putting. To others, it's exciting and invigorating. I'm in the latter camp, but I understand why others feel as they do.

Was going to answer the same way. Andy Warhol. I'm surprised the corps did not use more references to him and his art, since he is the artist who made the statement the show was based on. Those guard uniforms got a lot of negative comments throughout the season, I noticed. I thought they were okay, but I got the reference right away. Not to stray too off-topic, but my last reading of the show overall was favorable. I thought the corps responded well to the changes they made, and made the most of the show performance-wise. The members should be proud of what they accomplished. I'm eager to see what the corps comes up with next year. I believe they will re-group and come out strong.

Funding is more important than anything imo. Look how quickly Star of Indiana rose in the rankings. They were able to buy nice equipment, recruit top instructors, and almost from their beginning, attract top performers. If a corps sitting in 18th place suddenly had a windfall and was able to outbid other corps for the best instructors, their audition numbers would go up. Success breeds success, even in terms of $. If a corps charges a $50.00 audition fee and you can get 100 extra kids auditioning, that's an extra $5,000 raised right there w/ very little effort or extra overhead. But when I marched, there were also a few instances I knew of where kids actually switched to lesser ranked corps (but still top 12) to march their age out year because they wanted to have fun their last season. They had marched four or even five years in a top ranked corps and became burnt out on that particular corps and its style and wanted to march w/ a corps whose style was more loose and fun and not care about placements and winning. Not naming names of corps but this is a fact, not hearsay because I knew them. Granted, this is definitely not the norm or all that common, but it does happen. I also know of kids who returned to their original, less competitive corps after marching 1 or 2 years w/ a top-ranked corps because they missed their old corps... also not common but this does happen, too. It's not impossible for corps to move up into the top echelon... mostly it's about raising the necessary revenue to afford the best staff and designers, and less about solely retaining talent year to year imo. Talent follows staff/ designers (or more indirectly, the success great staff/ designers create) and not the other way around imo. You see this more clearly in WGI, esp. on the West Coast. Staff and designers leave a guard and form a new one, and practically that very same season, that new guard medals where the old guard the staff defected from falls to 10th or even open class, or sometimes folds altogether. It's not as evident in drum corps, but if Michael Gaines and a big name guard, percussion and brass instructor all signed on with a 15th place corps next season, you can bet people would take notice and that corps would have a lot more interest from prospective members.

Agree 100% w/ the above. BTW your pics are great.

Your post cracked me up. You captured a lot of my drum corps viewing experiences w/ your random observations.

It's already been speculated we should expect something better come finals. This has seemed like a throw-away moment to the show all season.

BD's level of performance and achievement this year is noteworthy. People long for the good old days of drum corps and mourn for the past.... imo these are also the good old days of drum corps.... this is a golden age that will be looked backed on some day and revered as something magical and special, and not just b/c of BD, either.

I love the staging of this show. It's sort of winter guard-ish in parts, but who cares...winter guard is a crazy innovative activity. The staging and pacing of this show is refreshing. So many really good aha moments...little effects, little things. This show makes you work a little, makes you pay attention to see everything going on and I like that. I also really appreciate all the ensemble interaction. It's a very integrated show. And the ending... I hope they don't change it much, because I think it's a great ending and true to the spirit of dada art. If it ends up being loud and furious like most drum corps endings, that would be pretty un-dada. I also appreciate the restraint in design. After x number of rifle tosses, there is a law of diminishing returns that kicks in. BD has fewer tosses than a lot of other corps, but they are staged in such a way to create maximum impact. Overall, I really like this show so much. I like Crown a lot, too. I believe it's going to be really close at finals. I will be happy no matter who wins.

I love being terse (for a change; had to edit): no.