BRASSO

They had a tick system in place in '78, Horizon. The tick system was a completely different judging system than the current build up system in use now ( and the judging captions have been changed as well ). As such, there is no relationship between the scores then and now.

" intermission " is a poorly concealed rip off of INT. It's Soooo transparent....Most fans see right through it. I say lets not break with INT.

It's impossible to pick one.... so we cheat ( haha!) If it's Junior Corps, and I'm down to my last few breaths before HE wisks me away, then play me: Agnus Dei, " Adagio for Strings ", SC Vanguard, 2000, and let me die in peace with a smile on my face with a sad song played with verve.

So many Corps..... so little time. Ok, here's one..... " Symphony N0. 6 Choral ", Blue Devils final closer, 2006 (" The Godfather" ) When you play it, and you don't turn your speakers volume down, your speakers will explode and window glass will crack and shatter all around you.

INT had some dirt that needed to be cleaned up and we've heard that the staff has been working hard. Also, for you INT fans out there ( and we know the fan base is growing) they'll be some GREAT news forthcoming: INT is about to start...... are you ready ?....... a FEEDER Corps. Yup. They'll be called "INT, Jrs. " for now. The only initial requirement is that the young chargers be hungry. Stay tuned for further updates as they become available and we are free to share with the public.

Yes, indeed !

Look up the definition of " whimsical " in the dictionary and tell me if this does not describe Carolina Crown to a T : 1)" fanciful, imaginative", ie... for instance, he is a pixiyish,whimsical fellow " 2)" amusing, slightly odd or playfully humourous, especially in an endearing way" 3)" unpredictable, behaving in a way that is impossible to predict " This seems to describe "the identity" of Carolina Crown about as well as I can find a word or phrase to describe them it seems to me, especially the part where we find them " endearing " for these whimsical qualities.

Upon further reflection, you are correct in that they have been around long enough to develop an " identity" , I suppose. I'm not sure they have one yet ( which others have chimed in, might be a good thing ) I sense a trend the last three years toward a more whimiscal approach of style that perhaps we don't see with some others. Whether this whimsical style is momentary or will be more longer in duration is certainly open to speculation too. But what they do, they are doing very well, no question about it.

I might disagree with this a bit re. Crown. When I look at this Corps, paricularly the Guard and the costumes and the Corps brass body movements on the field, etc there is a quite distinctive style that is readily apparent with Crown than ( say ) SC Vanguard, Troopers, Boston, Phantom, etc and others. I can notice this style right away the last few years.

The Carolina Crown has not been around quite long enough yet to have develped an "identity", so it's still in the formation stage I would imagine. When I try and think of a phrase or term that would best describe Carolina Crown right now it would seem to be " Whimsical " Crown shows the last few years are filled with whimsy. Last year they played the classics in a whimsical and light way.... the year before, " finis " was whimsical, and fun. This year, the entire vibe from the body movements to the guard costumes to the music playing is fanciful and chock full of whimsy. The themes are whimsical. Even their uniforms and colors and plumes are whimsical. This is a far cry for Crown's earlier days when they did a show theme on " Industry ", which had serious overtones. So right now, while Carolina Crown is not set in an " identity " it seems to me the vibe that is being created the last few years is one of a Drum Corps playing recognizeable music in an appealing way, and with a whimsical visual to match and all of it coordinated very well design wise.

Well, that certainly would be historic. There are not a lot of times that the Blue Devils finish out of the top 3. And they have never in 35+ years of competition finished out of the TOP 3 when on July 20th they were undefeated and ranked 1st. So I wouldn't hold my breath if I was you that the Blue Devils are going to finish out of the TOP 3 this year.

None, as I see it. It diminishes the entertainment value for fans, as you just KNOW that if DCI went to this format, that they'd be no corresponding 25 % DECREASE in the prcie of the Finals tickets by going from the 12 Corps format to the 9 Corps format. ...... and from a talent standpoint,it would benefit the upper tiered Corps even more because it would compress the talent distribution among Corps to an even SMALLER cadre of Corps at the top that frankly are advantaged already in attracting member talent. I say, lets not launch this idea as a trial balloon. It would be bad for fans, bad for Corps, and bad for the overall health of the activity ( except for a handful of Corps at the top).

fair enough. But what if we changed the dynamic just a bit for the sake of discuusion : What if we put the Bluecoats in with a mix of Corps that included Phantom, Blue Stars, Boston, Glassmen..... and asked this very same question. My guess, the Bluecoats fare a lot better. Do you agree ?

Good reference point on placement cut off at 25 at one time being the qualifyer for attaining " Associate Membership " in DCI. It really all depends on the time frame used. But you are correct that at one time finishing 25th was important if your ranking coming into finals week was ( say ) 20th to 60th. Then with the loss of Corps, 17th became the cut off point for attainment as " Associate Membership ". These were once important benchmark placements as your Corps DCI revenue sharing, and voting rights, etc were determined by such membership levels attained ( or conversely, not attained )

True. Plus, this poll on stronger and weaker designs is a bit unfair to lump the Bluecoats in with the rest of the Corps here. What if a similar poll was done for " Corps 7-12 " ? As much as I love the Troopers ( currently 12 ), it would be unfair to them to be compared to Phantom, Blue Stars, Boston in terms of " strongest and weakest designs " in this mix of Corps. Even as sub par some might think Phantom's design is this year compared to recent Phantom Regiment's designed shows, few if any would say that the Troopers have a stronger designed show with sufficient demand and complexity, etc than these 3 Corps, including Phantom Regiment...Such a poll would thus put the Troopers in the same unfortunate position as the Bluecoats are in this poll. And that's not fair to either Corps, in my opinion.

I recall when a Corps made the Semi's ( top 17 ) it meant something. It meant DCI " Associate Membership ", and to make ( say) 15-17th ( out of 60 or so competing World Class Corps ) also was an accomplishment for Corps. If we diminish the" TOP 12" now to " TOP 9 ", you can bet your life that it will further diminish what it means to finish in the TOP 12 today. And every bit as much for a Corps that finished in 15th years ago out of 60 Corps and attained " Associate Membership " in DCI in so doing. I say no way, no how, does DCI need to scrap the workable format it's had for years and segregate the Corps into further sub divisions. It will only lead to the mismatches we already have at the top by compressing the talent pool to the top even MORE than it is tilted today. With all due respect, as you seem like a good guy, but I say this idea is filled with supreme skankiness.

Here we are at a little less than the halfway mark of the season and you are concluding that " the top 6 seem pretty well set" ? I mean, you could be right in the end, but it is kind of deflating to think that the top 6 are pretty much set before even the halfway point in a Drum Corps season. Again, I'll agree that these are the top 6 right now, and may very well be in the end, but what does that tell us regarding the ability of Corps to move up when we've barely completed the first regional and already" we are pretty much set "as to who the top 6 are going to be this season ?

and why stop at 9 ? Maybe if we continue to lose Corps and we get down to a total of 15 Corps in World Class, we could have 6 Corps in Finals. This way, the quality of the 6 Corps will be even better than today. Then a few years after that, when we are down to 7 Corps, we could have 3 corps in the Finals. Just imagine how big, and beautiful THOSE 3 Corps will be. And then we could........ finally awake from our sleep to be harkened to know it was all just a very bad dream idea.

I'm not a physician, or medical historian, but doesn't the " DT's " refer to " Delirium Tremors " and not " Delirium Tremens " ?

On a particularly bad performance on percussion one night, we had heard rumors we had scored low, but nobody said much. We all got on the bus, and headed out. The percussion staff instructor got on the bus, but didn't say much. We went about a couple of miles and the curiousity got the best of Mike one of the drummers and so he asked the staff instructor...." So, what do you think about our execution tonite ? " The instructor looked at Mike, paused a bit to think of the right words to say at that moment and replied........ " Well Mike, I'm beginning to think it's not such a bad idea. "

It appears you have learned some good lessons from those studies.

Well said. The beauty of SCV 's production is that it remains true to the minimalist approach that the peice requires as part of the Shaker composition tradition. It would be inapproprriate to assign anything but simplicity to what is conveyed. The beauty of SCV's show... it's genius if you will.... is being true to the theme of " happiness " being found through His " Simple Gifts " that have been provided to us and are actually all around us. The show requires an understated approach and must emphasize simplicity, and it does so exceeedingly well. The show needed to end softly and reflectively..... and likewise, it has done so. SCV could not have been truer to the original composers intent. The quality of the design of of this show from SCV demonstrates keen intelligence in my opinion. I applaud the SCV show designers for this perfectly constructed minimalist ( and underrated in my opinion ) production.

After watching the Troopers last night, ( albeit computer screen ) they have really improved since I saw them last. I think they are definately in the hunt to get back into the Finals, and I'd really enjoy seeing them accomplish that this year !

Whoa,... I'll grant you that SCV is possibly an " Elite Corps ". Some of us here might agree or disagree with that inclusion. It's no big deal. And the notion that this thread "swats down the accomplishments of thousands of people around the world and those who marched many moons ago ,"and blah blah blah is silly hyperbole. Neither one of us speaks for thousands of others. We speak for only ourselves on here. And your hasty request for a moderator to " delete this thread with haste " is intolerance at it's worst, as there was nothing on this thread that requires the thread to be deleted in the least. It was a great night for the 3 Elite Corps last night. If that bothers you, find another thread or start your own. I'll promise to simply relax and not run to the moderator demanding censorship if your definitions and observations on your thread might simply differ from mine.

Well, I can defer to judges what in their experienced and trained opinion is technically more proficient, Bill. But I will absolutely not defer to these judges what shows I liked and enjoyed better than others. Frankly, that's NOT in their domain. I'm sure others feel the same way.