tedrick

You are right -- now that I think about it, I realize that I was projecting what I wish they had done instead of what they did -- I want the narrative to be a story about how a group tanked, put it in the ditch, came on hard times and then came to themselves, reached out for help and rose from the ashes and returned with a vengeance to be a contender and prove all the nay sayers wrong -- kind of like a Bad News Bears story but with latin jazz instead.... I'm choosing to believe my narrative over the current story instead - Madison just needs to admit that they were going to fold if they didn't start letting anyone/everyone in and then they come back stronger (and preferably in cool old school uni's) -- do this, follow this narrative - and I think we'll have the feel good story of 2020!

I thought they were very open and transparent last summer when they made the announcement that they were going coed because they couldn't attract enough members -- I'm pretty sure that's what they said -- I hope Madison is strong in 2020 too! I don't think they'll make finals - Carolina Crown didn't make top 12 until their 6th season - so we need to be patient with this new World Class corps --

appropriate tune for this thread:

I know.... Ventures were a great corps - so many young men missed out on marching with a great corps back in the 80s -- I guess they all went to Allegiance Elite

That tenor feature was impressive - but did they really get rewarded for it...? 🥴

I think Bluecoats battery has fallen off since 2016 - I'm really hoping they get a book that will feature them more - comparing The Bluecoats, Session 44 even Jagged Line to Tilt, Kinetic and Downside up there seems to be a drop off in terms of the musical vehicle for the battery -- I think Bluecoats are at a crossroad in 2020 - the whiplash style/identity confusion is getting difficult for fans to follow - I don't expect 'Coats going back to some sort of old school style but some sort of stability in terms of identity would be nice -- Not winning in 2019 with The Bluecoats was disappointing - I'm sure the 'Coats will medal again in '20, but it's going to be hard to follow up such an iconic show -

A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon; The kid that handles the music-box was hitting a jag-time tune We were bouncing around similar ideas the other night - is it time to pare the cut off for finals from top 12 to top 10? Perhaps if it were harder to make it into finals night - Saturday night, it would spur on higher levels of competition and achievement for those corps around 8 to 12 place - Would you care if it were top 10 instead of top 12? Does it matter? Another aspect we should keep in mind is we are seeing more shows these days because of online viewing - since the start of flo, I'm less interested in going a show - I'd rather grill, have a nice meal with drum corps friends and family and enjoy the show on the flo - even with the occasional glitches -- Perhaps DCI realized this a few years ago at the time, but the decision to go with the Flo would be a 2 edged sword in the sense that people are going to be content to stay home and watch online - college and pro sports are starting to see this trend as well -- Let's convene in 2030 and look back on how the activity adapted and survived in the decade -- it will be interesting to see how the activity has evolved and changed. I believe the activity is evolving to become an online/streaming-based performance - not a live/in-person experience. Will the activity survive in a way we will recognize it in 2030?

Santa Clara will be marching a 20 member section of these: hey - at least they're wind instruments!

That is really neat! I think the activity is ready to move on from the grid iron - I would rather just see a performing surface with no yard lines - no tarps please - let's just have a performing surface "field" with no striping - or at most a soccer pitch --

I wonder if marching arts are even on most choral composers' radar? I would think it would be a great way for them to get more exposure for their compositions --

Interesting story from Minnesota this past week - 2 smaller colleges in Minnie are pulling the plug on their men's football programs - https://www.twincities.com/2019/12/10/st-cloud-state-to-end-football-golf-programs-in-2020-due-to-legal-financial-issues/ Makes you wonder if drum corps and marching bands should start laying out their performance fields without yard markers - the grid iron could become irrelevant!

Agree - Rutter has been great in the drumcorps settings - if you like Whitacre check outJake Runestad!

Choral repertoire is perfect for drum corps - check out anything by Oakwood University Aeolians - just really great choral music performed at the highest levels of excellence -

I was a huge Bluecoats honk all season - I wanted them to win so badly I could taste it - however, upon reflecting on the quality of the Blue Devils show and the higher levels of demand and execution by the Blue Devils I came to the realization that the Blue Devils had the best show vehicle and performed best at finals. I think the Bluecoats had the vehicle to win, but I believe they didn't quite have enough to keep up with the Devs --

Great idea! Pro and college sports teams are doing it - it would be great if DCI and flo could make it happen!