acolli17

It is less of an insult, and more a term of endearment, yes. I can't remember the historical significance, but people tend to say it with a feeling of adoration.

At the end of the 2008 season with Troopers, Dean Westman stood in front of the corps, and said "you may move on to a top 12, or top 6 corps, that's fine. But why join something great when you can make something great?" 2 years later, after briefly associating myself with the Cadets, I decided Troopers were my home, and I aged out with them.

Let me throw another wrench in to the conversation: I don't necessarily agree that the ones at the soundboard were in the wrong. We've all experienced tunnel vision, but I wasn't there, so my opinion on the matter is minimal. What I believe could have been a better argument is where are the preventative actions in the first place? The facts are lined up in plain sight for anyone to see - it's hot, you're moving a lot, wearing a full uniform. I remember, when we were in Texas especially, that we were constantly being told to "drink water, drink water, drink water, and drink some more water." And it's impossible to place blame here, everyone knows that you need to drink water in high heat, but no one knows which party was the one that neglected their duties - the staff telling them to drink enough, or the member ignoring the orders. I'm just saying, if the preparation were better, then this topic would never have been started. Not trying to take away from the OP, I just think this goes under a larger umbrella of "drum corps safety and hydration." Maybe I'm blowing things way out of proportion here.

Colts Academy Troopers Spirit Crossmen Pacific Crest Teal Sound Jersey Surf Mandarins Cascades Pioneer Southwind Everyone deserves a chance to perform on Saturday. (And I know that this means discluding the "normal" top 12)

Not anti-Glassmen, just excited to see Troop doing well. I have good friends in Glassmen, and I love the competition.

Troop's show almost made me cry last night. It's truly a heartfelt show that will go miles if they can put their all in to it.

From the Wikipedia site: "It uses the Boehm fingering system and is designed to be similar in action to a soprano saxophone, although players familiar with the clarinet should have no problem adjusting to the fingering" "There is also a controller intended to be played by brass instrumentalists called an EVI (for Electronic Valve Instrument) also invented by Nyle Steiner. The Akai EWI4000S has a special EVI mode that allows brass players to play the EWI." And a video of someone playing the EWI: I'm not mad. Just disappointed...

Correct me if I'm wrong (and I could very well be wrong), but wasn't Mahler also the composer that formalized concerts, wanted silence between movements, no clapping for solos, etc?

What is their ballad?

Fixed.

"Good artists borrow, Great artists steal" - Adam Collins

I guess I'm in the minority when I say that I liked the uniform I got to wear last year.

Nike Free's - I used them in both tours, and they were flexible, and extremely light. But then again, I was in the pit. Not sure if my words mean anything here.

79 Troop.

I would say 2004 Phantom - Apasionada. I mean yes, they got 4th place, but if I recall correctly, it wasn't a well received show. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the music for that show should have gotten much more recognition. It's always my go-to year when talking about Phantom shows (you know, besides 03, 07, and 08).

Haha, no worries.

I know... I think I touched on that in my topic subtitle...

Haha, great minds think alike. I JUST posted about this. I can't wait to see their show this summer.

mm, tasty... http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=495463666910&comments

Did anyone else notice the (what I thought to be) wine glasses in the pit at the beginning? I wonder how they're going to mic those, and I also wonder how many they're going to go through throughout the course of the season.

I guess I don't really understand what your point is with your "corps don't play the game lose" comment. Someone said this before me, but there are a lot of obvious points when the pit plays more than an accompaniment role. Look at 2005 Phantom. Their show revolved around the pit, and it was an essential character in their show. And isn't the marching technique employed by the horns and drums a type of technique designed so they can max out their ability without injuring themselves (or an "injury free technique")? Look at Jazz running - it's designed so they can travel quickly without injuring their bodies, or their playing chops. As I stated in an earlier post, look at how marching shoes are designed nowadays. They're designed to help the marchers achieve their goal without hurting anyone, just as the amps help the pit players not hurt themselves.