Tyler C.

Good to know! I'm surprised I only missed one in all of DCI and DCA. :P Who knows who I might have missed in DCA Class A.

With Glassmen taking the season off, yes, SCV is the only World Class corps using Dynasty. SCVC and I believe Raiders in Open Class are still on Dynasty percussion. In DCA, Reading Buccaneers, Minnesota Brass, Caballeros, Atlanta CV, and Carolina Gold use Dynasty percussion. Buccaneers just set a new record score in 2012 on Dynasty horns and percussion.

Yeah, I only got to catch a few minutes of one of their rehearsals in the stadium. The other rehearsal fields are way across campus; I can't complain about CV getting the field closest to the "bedroom," though. The crowd was fantastic. I'll never forget the reaction to our horns blasting the intro to "Fat-Bottomed Girls" to play ourselves off after retreat.

They felt how hot it was last year and changed their minds. I'm personally happier to be performing in NY in July... but I'm also glad to see TBT and Sun Devils headed up to VA. Nokesville is a small but spirited show! In other news... I didn't even know we were going to Florida! Yay for more shows! That gives us six shows (not including Finals); four DCA and two DCI. I believe one of the DCI shows is still a "maybe" for us, though; dci.org lists it as "TBA Southern AL" on July 25th, but doesn't have us on the lineup.

Just so you know, I haven't updated any of my captions since the season began. Let's see what I can do with 2 points... I was gonna wait until the weekend to get back on schedule, but I forgot the free day after regionals, so I'll do it now. Yep, marched in high school shows there a couple times. Very nice place.

(This is a repost; I originally posted this before the forum was wiped for the new season.) "River City Music, Inc. (formerly Sounds of Fire Music Org.) is pleased to announce the Season 19 programs for our two corps! Our focus this season is on a return to our local roots and a show of thanks for the support shown for the last several years from good ol' Columbus, GA, even when we went inactive. River City Regiment will pay tribute to Columbus and all of Georgia with "An Old Sweet Song..." as we look to put an original touch on some very well-known charts. We'll kick things off with Old Man River, which will slide into a jazzy take on Columbus Stockade Blues. Once we've got the place rockin', we'll settle things down for a bit with some transitional material based on the progression of that old, sweet song. It will be like a ballad, but it's really a teaser, just some interstitial music that will make the audience want that classic melody. Instead, we'll crank it up again with Devil Went Down to Georgia. This chop-fest will show off every section and close the welcome back party portion of the show. We will continue into a more somber look at where we started, where we've been, and where we can go with two classic Jim Ott arrangements, beginning with Salvation Is Created. The closing chords will lazily modulate until a familiar low brass intro gives way to the classic opening solo of Georgia On My Mind. The drill will contract into a tight horn arc as the corps reaches the hit that we've been building toward for more than ten minutes. The corps will park 'n' bark their way home. We think it's a blast, and we hope fans agree. River City Rhapsody will debut with "A Chattahoochee Rhapsody," a twist on the iconic Gershwin piece Rhapsody in Blue. We'll highlight the characteristic jazzy riffs while mixing in bluegrass and dixieland for local flavor. You'll even hear hints of the funk and blues styles that are fast-growing in the Columbus scene." -end of OP So far we're thrilled with the competitive success of both groups! Although many corps have left the South, we're staying closer to home as long as we can this first season back on tour. Next week will be our only venture out of the South this season, with four shows in the fertile drum corps lands of MD, NJ, and PA; that trip will be capped off by a surprisingly small show in Allentown. After that, we're making a bee-line for Arkansas, where we'll launch a three-week southern tour with huge shows in San Antonio and Orlando before finally reaching Columbia. I can't wait! Tyler C. Executive Director River City Music, Inc.

At first I thought this was a crack about Rhapsody being alone in its class there, but then I checked the overall scores. (Shh, Mitch, don't check the weighted rankings; we'll see you in Tennessee. ) Heck, my home show was so small, INT didn't even bother showing up!

I can only accurately report percussion, but CV has locked in 10-5-5 in the battery and a pit with at LEAST 4 marimbas and 4 vibes (5, anyone? ), xylo, glock, timpani, and 4 rack. We have many 2012 vets, as well as other returning CV vets, Alliance/Atlanta Quest vets, Spirit vets, late Spirit cuts, older drum corps vets getting back in, music educators, and talented young people breaking into drum corps with us. "Hype" just doesn't cover it anymore.

Perhaps Empire could have a junior group and an all-age group? Or stay completely all-age and do A Group and B Group?

Yes, DCI said on their Facebook page that both new programs are all-age.

DCI's Facebook: "Grow your SoundSport or DrumLine Battle team into a DCI drum corps. It can happen and you can do it! #GrowDrumCorps" So THAT's the plan. +1 Fred Windish, I suppose. Let's admit to ourselves that this beats the crap out of what we thought this announcement was going to be. I'm hyping it!

Beat me to it. I dig this! I'm going to start having conversations with area band directors about this very soon.

I think the restriction to 50 performers helps define that, but I've heard people in both DCI and DCA talk about drastically reducing group size and moving indoors, so... Fingers crossed for these being springboard activities for drum corps. Woodwinds now have a marching option outside of marching band or learning brass/percussion/guard.. Drumlines can jam and battle without the "program" element that has become so developed with indoor, it seems, which I think will make for a different entertainment form than WGI (I love WGI; just pointing out what makes DrumLine Battle unique). Schools/musicians that aren't big on the marching arts can participate in SoundSport ("Movement/choreography optional") with their chamber ensembles in a competitive way. We could see very unique combinations... A jazz big band with a percussion ensemble? A string orchestra with a color guard? High schools doing Blast-esque productions? Overall, I think this has great potential to broaden DCI's reach both here in America and worldwide. I can't wait to see this in action.

I'm excited for what this could be. The obvious question I still have is, will both DrumLine Battle and SoundSport be junior activities?

So far, in my two short years with CV... My parents, for financially supporting me through my first summer with CV. CV might be cheap for a drum corps, but the 3-hour round trip each weekend, food, hotel, and time away from my family wasn't. They know how much this corps means to me, and now that I've had a teaching gig come directly from my involvement with CV, they believe me when I say it can open doors. Dave Stollberg, for encouraging me and getting me in the door with CV 2011. It was late in the spring, and I thought I had missed my chance. I went in to play quads but was put on a snare right away and in to the fire; I had never marched snare and was not experienced with traditional grip. I was hooked after a weekend. Chris Romanowski, for helping me think big picture. He's put me in a role that allows me to use my previous experiences to thrive. Because of him, I see how important continuity is for us as we strive to establish a tradition of excellence for our percussion section. Romo's such an intuitive teacher/mentor, and his DCI/DCA judging experience is a fantastic asset, too. CV is very fortunate to have him on board.

It's a pretty cool feeling to see a stadium I've actually marched in on the schedule. :)

Should've seen the first... This person is even a band director. My sympathies to those students...

I honestly didn't think about keyboards, strangely enough... I don't remember hearing any at Mini Corps in 2011. Amps could definitely change that. Great point.

If it's in the same venue as 2011, amplification would be completely unnecessary. Doesn't answer the question, but I think amps would be overkill.

It's worth admitting that this would probably allow his voice to grace DCI for even longer than it might if he had to attend all of the major shows each year. I think music acts still pack arenas, streets, and clubs for many of these same reasons. A perfectly-produced CD is great, but nothing quite matches the feeling of something happening live in front of you, and I think that includes the personalities that herald the arrival of drum corps in an exciting and organic way.

I didn't really think about going through our staff. Our caption head is a DCI judge, and the rest of our staff has marched under Rennick, ScoJo, Brett Kuhn, Shane Gwaltney, and more. Thanks, brother! OASAASLLS!

I have similar issues with my 2011 DVD. There are sync issues on nearly every show. Unless significant improvement is made with the DVD/Blu-Ray products, I will be sticking with CDs from now on. The 2011 menu is much better, though, whatever that's worth.

I've already referenced your work here in multiple conversations on DCP. Thanks for your time and effort! I look forward to the coming data analysis and discussion.

I've enjoyed that feeling twice now with CV. It's incredible. I very nearly auditioned for drum major this winter, and it was admittedly in some small part because of the thought of hearing Brandt ask me if my corps was ready.