BRASSO

..... and pans ?

True. Even the definitions of the judging captions that have the same names then and now are no longer the same. For just one example.... " GE " ( General Effect ). We can show program books from earlier eras, where it explicitly states in the program book with the judging system to be utilized in the show, that a large and major component of the scoring for " GE " was on " how the audience responds " to the show. ( or similar wording regarding levels of audience engagement ). However, DCI judges under the current GE Captions are instructed to do just the opposite. They are to judge the GE Caption on the levels of demand, holistic integration of Music and Guard, and how the show effects THEM emotionally and. or intellectually as a unified show Theme designed product before them. The audience is only marginally, at best, to be factored into the GE Caption scoring by the judges of today. As such, how shows were designed in earlier era's and now today, naturally respond to such dissimilar definitions. Then, when we add in the fact that earlier era's utilized the Tick System in Corps in competition evaluation, while today, the Judging system utilizes the Build Up Point system, we really don;t even need the different instrumentations utilized to recognize that any attempt at comparison's of Corps between era's an impossible endeavor on "how they'd do ". The genre of " Drum & Bugle Corps " has so changed over the years, it would be akin to asking us now how a MLB team of today would fare in competition with a Brittish Cricket team, and vice versa.

Maybe. Maybe not. its literally impossible to compare such completely dissimilar things in my opinion. You mentioned that your Corps had " 17 show competitions " in 78. How many did the Bucs have last season ? 5 regular season shows.. 2 at Championships, total of just 7. Not even half the shows Corps were in back then. Bucs 2018 had far more time to practice, clean, polish the show with so little time at competitions. Plus, the instrumentation usage has been liberalized, and the judging sheets are vastly different. Also, its obvious that Corps design to the sheets... then, and now. Can a Center in Basketball score 100 points in a College or NBA basketball game today ? ( as was done by Wilt Chamberlain in an NBA Basketball Game ) No. The current NBA 3 second lane time restriction, and the implementation of the perimeter 3 point shot, literally makes any future chance a Center in Basketball could score 100 points in a College or NBA basketball game a certain impossibility now... and into the future as well. But if the competition rules were what they are now in NBA and College basketball back in the 60's, 70's, the Center that once scored a 100 points in a NBA Basketball Game, would have markedly altered his game on offense back then and not planted himself on offense beneath the basket for 5-25 seconds either. The plays on offense called by the Coaches would be vastly different back then too.. So as to accommodate those different rules of the game. Similarly, attempts to compare different eras in Drum Corps and who would do what is pretty much impossible as well, imo. The vast changes in the genre, judging, and what is valued in show competition, etc and so forth, is so vastly different, that it makes it so, imo. Heck, many of us attempt to compare scores from around the country each season now, and within the same 48-60 hour period, we'll rank and compare the Corps... Then the Corps go head to head with one another a few days later, and we often see how wrong that comparison really was before the head to head matchup took place. And that was done within the same year, same month before the head to head match up took place too. Now, some want to rank & compare Corps and how they'd fare in a head to head matchup from... yikes... 30-40 years apart, when the judging system between then and now that was utilized was so completely dissimilar ? Oh man, good luck with THAT.

I don't get that from my reading of this ghost. Unless I'm missing something you caught, the article seems consistent to me anyway.

That would constitute " stabilizing as a Top 12 Finalist in 1988 " ( which is what was printed above ) no ?

Could be a show about Zorro. In a black cape, mask. If so, the show teaser for fans could've been better served with something like this :

I sense it could very well be about a shipwreck in fog, and some wash ashore on Gilligan's Island.

Yes, lots of possibilities re. the hint with the water glass, ripple, and intermittent noise pound in the background... signifying what, who knows ? Its all very intriguing at the moment, imo, with lots of speculation, some serious, some tongue in cheek, some comedic in nature... and all in good fun, imo. Time will tell what the hints were pointing towards.

... or the inspiration behind his music score for the 2002 movie " Artificial Intelligence " ?

I go back and forth between that and a theme show around Gilligan's Island.

Maybe its Giraffic Park ?

Well, if so, one of my favorite scenes in the "Jurassic Park" movie was shot in Florida, not in a remote island off the coast of Costa Rica, as they'd have us believe.

Spelling too ?

As some here probably know, ( but perhaps have forgotten ?) Music Composer John Williams was the principal Music Conductor for the Boston Pops Orchestra for over a dozen seasons ( 1980-93). He still conducts on occasion with the Boston Symphony Orchestra that performs at Tanglewood and with the Boston Pops Orchestra at the annual outdoors 4th of July Concert in Boston.

. Yes...its all still in the footwork and the use of one's equipment

Ya, the Fonz jumped the shark here in more ways than one.

Drum Corps is a great experience for most who march, no matter the Corps, no matter the years they marched. Both Drum Corps you mentioned here, ie the Mandarins and Academy are fine Corps that likely will provide you with wholesome enjoyment and personal growth development. Whatever Corps becomes your Corps, best of success to you !

I'm getting thirsty for more watching this.

You probably mean " 2020 season " ? 2019, this " upcoming season ", except for Guard, both Corps I believe are mostly involved in call backs/ contracts at this stage, I would imagine.

They mean business too.

Troopers announced the name of their 2019 show today.

MM's do Drum Corps probably for any number of reasons, some altruistic, some less so. I would imagine more than one " happy to do Drum Corps for the love of it " young MM found a " happy to help pay for your happy thing" when Mom and Pop found out Junior could get school graduation credits for doing the " Drum Corps happy thingy " in the summer. Nothing wrong with the MM getting their " Happy thing ", and Parents finding out that Junior got school credits with their " happy thing " completion in the process. Overall, sounds like a win-win situation to me. That said, I can understand that for some parents/ MM's the costs of participation can be a real challenge for quite a few. And don't even get me started on the jaw dropping costs of college these days for quite a few people... Talk about sticker shock.. yikes !!... haha!..

Ya, I don't really have much experience of this whole " school housing issue". I'm guessing however that the schools don't just give their gym, dorm rooms, fieldhouse, football field, practice fields, parking lots, etc gratis to Corps. Schools don't ordinarily have every facility on campus being utilized in the summers. I'd imagine in many cases, they just sit there.. vacant in some cases. Schools don't make money when the only thing in the school facility is air. Many schools are strapped for cash. I'd imagine if a hugh traveling Drum Corps wants to rent their facilities during the low season of the summers, such schools are willing to make a buck in the process. As for scandals, unless there are more shoes to drop, at the moment, I'm not reading that a whole lot of schools are withholding their facilities ( and forgoing the rental income monies that presumably come with that ) over " scandals ". I have read some schools that have done so ( primarily in the PA/ NJ/ NY corridor ), but not a lot of schools so far that have nixed their facility rentals with Corps in DCI in any wholesale fashion. Maybe this becomes problematic for DCI in the future, who knows. But I'm not seeing such abandonment of DCI Corps by the schools so far in any large degree. And even the individual Corps beset by scandals in their own Corps have seemingly found suitable school, housing, practice fields, and Show stadiums, etc replacements without much trouble as well... as near as I can tell, anyway.