Rocketman

Dave, Sadly, I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way and, how could it be verified? As you and I discussed, it may be time for more drastic changes including relocation.

It appears these programs do not generate enough donor revenue to keep the corps competitive. If the donations are restricted for the educational programs, perhaps those need to be spun off under a separate umbrella.

You and your committee have been tasked with identifying things that corps must stop, start, and change starting in 2020. GO!

So, now you see the problem!

I was able to do a little research on this looking at the most recently available 990 data. You will see that, the financial picture in Rockford is NOT comparable to top corps and, in fact, they spent LESS on staff salaries than any other corps in the top 12 (2017) Corps Income Wages BD $3,793,949.00 $1,591,648.00 Vanguard $4,586,872.00 $1,317,704.00 Crown $2,404,773.00 $271,204.00 Cavaliers $1,443,604.00 $243,413.00 Bluecoats $2,073,202.00 $106,897.00 Boston $2,855,336.00 $585,029.00 Cadets $5,533,664.00 $2,188,736.00 Blue Knights $1,644,938.00 $132,522.00 Regiment $1,313,707.00 $98,196.00 Blue Stars $1,318,407.00 $170,721.00 Crossmen $1,279,912.00 $110,435.00 You aren't going to be able to attract and retain top level talent when your staff salaries are less than a tenth what the top corps pay. As they say, 'you get what you pay for'. That would certainly appear to be the case here Now, there are some that may say the Regiment does more with less. Yeah, not buying it! It is evident that Rockford cannot support the corps financially and as I have said elsewhere, it is time to consider options including moving the corps to a more financially desirable/stable location. This should include another state!

DCI judging SUCKS!

The fact is, BD is 'Preferred'! (not by those who purchased tix mind you) Yeah, I went there.

I sure hope so!

Agreed! However, (IMO) Regiment has not 'fully' adopted this change and we are seeing the results of that decision. Do I think they will remain in the top 12? My heart wants to say yes however, as grotesque as I find Spirits show, it is more in line with the direction of the activity. so, it would not surprise me to see them leapfrog Regiment on Friday (guess it depends on the slate). I do not believe Regiment will best Crossmen. Though I loath the guitar, IMO the overall design is better.

Mike Hodin, Vice President of Entertainment Programming and Analytics at Caesars Entertainment, also a darn good arranger and he lives in Chicago.

As long as whomever they bring in has the final say on the music and the arrangement, I'm good with this. IMO, there have been a few questionable music selections and arrangements in the past.

Putting on my Program Coordinator hat for a moment: Chevron - considering the previous set pretty much telegraphs what's coming next, not working. Uniform changes - not working. Swaying in the middle of the field - not working. Prop integration - not working. Sounds like I'm down on the corps/show? No! I'm down on the design elements that (IMO) were not given enough thought/attention. Then again, I'm not being paid to come up with the design elements so, what do I know?

#1 Agreed #2 Agreed (they would have been better off NOT using them at all, they added nothing to the storyline).

Just bitter I guess.

Perhaps the real question is, who SHOULD change the ending of their show?

Go Figure!

I would like to agree, but the reality is, design wise, this show is not even really top 12. It and they have gotten better, but there are better designed shows certainly everyone above them and even a few below, have put more thought into the overall design. I'm not saying I like them, I'm saying that they are more in line with the direction of the activity than Regiment (Spirit, Colts, Academy).

I've only seen this show on video. I just don't get it. I don't like the costumes, it is more than a 'little' weird.

Perhaps one of these days we'll do a breakdown of how many scatter Vs actual drill moves are in a given corps show.

Ummm, I'm going out on a limb here but, don't think this Joan is going to get 'torched'. At some point it will be revealed that the drum major IS Joan!

This has been my contention for quite a few years. While other corps are advancing the activity (not that I like all of it), the Regiment has lagged behind in the innovation area. They are doing just enough (barely) to try and stay in the top 12. However, this show (design wise IMO) is a vast improvement over 2016-18. However, it still is not 'all in' the way the top corps are. It may be 'all in' for Regiment, but that is relative to past productions. Props, as much as I loath them, are a necessary evil. If you aren't going to effectively utilize them (which they aren't, IMO), then why have them at all? Perhaps that is something coming around the corner but, that corner is coming up fast! There are some visual design elements that bother me as well, such as when a large section of the brass line runs to a prop, hangs out there, then runs to another formation. WHY? Then there's the section where you have some of the members 'swaying' in the middle of the field. WHY? To me, these are big design flaws that need to be fixed. And don't get me started on the end of the show!

I'm just not a fan I guess. How is anything they are doing portraying 'I Remember Everything'? Whereas, it is much easier to follow Subterra.

Saw them in Pasadena, they should have beaten Blue Knights. Their show is tons better than BK (IMO). Not sure why they aren't getting the scores.

I have a feeling that Mandarins will be looking more between 8 - 10 than 10-12. The show is just that much better than the 10-12 shows.

THANK GOD! (or Joan)