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tedrick

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Posts posted by tedrick

    Mic limit proposal - what happened?

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    On 1/17/2020 at 12:38 AM, karuna said:

    And this fantasy that “sound reinforcement” is required for 80 brass instruments is amusing but so ridiculous on its face that I can’t believe otherwise sane persons continue to post it. 
    This is entirely about “we are broadway performance ensembles on a field”.   So long as everyone tells themselves this we’ll all eventually believe it, right?  :doh:

    I agree - the past 4 years of drum corps have been a living example of The Emperor Has No Clothes -
    Devils and Bluecoats realized that because the sound basically sucks inside Lucas Stadium, the only solution is sound reinforcement -
    Without actually stating this as the justification, all the corps entered a sound system war to the extent that the actual sound of a drum corps is now so completely messed up, it only sounds good on flo marching through your home AV system --


    Critics of these innovations are shamed or threatened into silence by the enlightened elite who silence any diversity of opinion by branding their opponents as dinosaurs or craven anti (creative)evolutionists.


    Corps who should have known better and sided with the traditionalists were too afraid of not being cool and made their own weak attempts at entering into the electronics war. So now we are at a point where rules need to be formed to set a fair playing field.

    I'm particularly ticked off because I can't enjoy seeing a show live any longer unless you are sitting high - if you are low on either side, the sound is entirely the speaker stack nearest to your seats -- this is crap and the designers know it.

    One idea might be to limit amplification for indoor venues where the sound reinforcement is actually helpful - outdoor venues do not need amplification -

    The electronics race has lead to the design mindset that this is an indoor activity or a performance intended to be recorded and viewed online - is that really the direction the elite want the activity to go? Seriously, Bluecoats, Blue Devils -- is this what you want?

    • Like 5

    Madison Scouts 2020

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    16 hours ago, HockeyDad said:

    I had no recollection of them saying that, so I went back to the announcement on DCI.org. Not one word about needing to attract enough members. Lots of other justification ( principles, diversity, non-discrimination) but nothing about - hey, we’re having trouble attracting members. Actually, had they said just that, I think there would have been a lot less pushback. Because the way they’ve packaged it seems very disingenuous to me. 

    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!

    Madison Scouts 2020

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Tim K said:

    what I do not think Madison has done in a convincing way is stated why going coed is a good move or what a vision for a new Madison will be. If you look at a corps that has made the most progress in the past few years, Boston Crusaders, the vision for the corps has been clear for the past five years and you can see the roots of it going back to 2010 or so. For Madison the vision seems to be missing and what we see comes across as a combination of stop gap measures and fighting with alums.

    I do hope Madison has a good summer. It would be great to see them return to finals, though that may be too big a leap. What I do hope is that by the end of the season, Madison has a plan as they move forward.

    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 --

    • Like 2

    Madison Scouts 2020

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    2 hours ago, wilder1966 said:

    I don't see where the Cavs are not doing the right thing.  Ridiculous to suggest they they are in the wrong.  They have always been, and continue to be a male organization. The same was true of MS. Where was all this righteous rumbling when all girl corps were present?  If the intent of MS inclusion was to distract, it worked magnificently.

    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

    • Thanks 1

    The Bluecoats 2020

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    34 minutes ago, 2muchcoffeeman said:

    I mean, in 2018 they spread the tenors out for 30 yards for one of their features.

    One of the most impressive displays I've ever seen.

    Cadets tenors absolutely ripped for something like 7 minutes during their 2019 feature, and it was awesome, but they were packed close while the Bloo 2018 feature was a 30-yard-long high-wire act.

     

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

    The Bluecoats 2020

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted · Edited by tedrick

    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 -

     

    • Confused 1

    For long term Activity health - quality/quantity?

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    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?
    • Like 1

    as football programs end, Drum Corps will march on

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    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!

    The "Music Corps Should Do" thread

    in DCI World Class Corps Discussions

    Posted

    On 12/15/2019 at 7:56 AM, Weaklefthand4ever said:

    I would agree. My personal opinion would be to lean to the more "contemporary" choral writers. Rutter could translate very well and has a VAST grouping of works. Shaw might be a little "bland" for the field. When I read this my mind went to Whitacre almost immediately. I would be interested to see how "Leonardo dreams of his flying machine" could be scored for brass and percussion. It could certainly lead to some really creative guard moments. 

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

     

    • Thanks 1
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