Photographer Jim

No, you are not alone, however that doesn’t necessarily mean that you are in a majority either. I’ve followed Drum Corp since the early 1950s, so I suppose I have as much right to call myself a dinosaur as anyone. I’ve seen uncountable changes during my 60 years of fandom, and while many were a bit startling when first introduced (the introduction of “the pit” replacing marching glockenspiels and the introduction of voice,, for example), the sheer talent of the marching members, the joy of the music, and the color and pageantry of shows has always won me over in the end. As a visual artist, I’ve learned that creativity stagnates when one does not experiment, take risks, and take different artistic approaches. I think this is true for Drum Corps as well. Not everyone will find new creative attempts to their liking. But not making changes will ultimately lead to predictability and sameness, and viewer disinterest. I also feel strongly that in any creative endeavor, that creative pathway belongs to the artists first and foremost as audience members, we can choose to accept or reject the artists choices, but we don’t really have a right to demand that corps revert to the past to satisfy us. It’s their call, not ours. Ultimately, changes that have limited appeal will be dropped by the wayside, while those that work will stay and be refined to their most elegant form. So far, the changes you object to have not led to obvious objection (by either the corps members or audiences) to warrant their abandonment. As fans, we can only sit back, enjoy what we are the most comfortable with, and wait for the next creative tweaks and surprises. Or, we can turn away from the artists, which would probably be our loss.

If I heard right on the broadcast, when the Mandarins came off the field after their finals run, the Crossmen were waiting in the tunnel to congratulate them. I so hope that is true; total class and an example of the type of character I love about DC kids.

as long as all of the shows are held here in the SF-Sacramento area, I have no problem with using an applause meter. I have participated in many, many photography competitions. Whenever there is a "viewers favorite award" the winner is invariably a photo of a kitten. Just saying.

Cohesion does not necessarily have to be totally linear. For example, how often do we see in movies, or read in novels, flashbacks, or shifts back and forth between characters and settings? As long as those non-linear elements somehow come together and allow us to piece together the thread of what we are seeing, cohesion can be achieved. The painting "Nighthawks" has been admired for its ability to spark curiosity in its viewers. We wonder who these people are, what are their stories, how have they arrived here in this diner in the late night hours? I think BD was successful in giving us glimpses of one possibility, while still leaving room for us to fill in other details from our own imagination. "Dreams and Nighthawks" is more of a collage than it is a straight out chronological story telling, and I think it works quite well as a musical and dance interpretation of the painting. Bloo used a linear plot line for their show, and it made good sense for their subject. We follow along as the singer moves along a path of creativity as the jazz musicians inspire and motivate her. It works. Two different ways of communicating with us, the viewers. Both work, and both are "cohesive' in their efforts to get us to the end; which is why both were highly rewarded this season.

I’ve had that before, although today is just fine. Try backing out of Flo and then re-join. Sometimes that helps.

I'm not sure how one concludes that corps no longer encourage members to take part in this event. Looking over the schedule, it is full, and members from at least 25 different corps participated.

Have our tickets. Will have on my Blue Smoke T-shirt. Cant wait.

With the California sweep in Open Class last night, I became curious. When was the last time that three California corps made World Class finals? When (not if) Mandarins make it this year, it will be the first time since 1992 when BD, SCV, Velvet Knights, and Freelancers appeared.

The corps from Pompton Lakes was the Lakeland Goldenaires. The Pom Poms where from Pittsfield MA. ( I’ll be honest and admit I didn’t know this without looking it up. I was curious as my dad was born in Pompton Lakes and I spent my childhood in Wanaque, the next town over, and didn’t recall a corps from there. Dad was a volunteer fireman, so my introduction to DC was in the 50s at the many summer firemen’s parades. The Goldnaires apparently formed just after we moved to California. )

I probably should have specified when I posted that tonight was the Mandarins highest score ever as a World Class corps.

Next week is going to be incredible!

They tied 85.550 last week, but did not pass it

I believe their 87.15 tonight is their highest score ever! ( I should have specified that tonights score was the highest ever for Mandarins as a World Class Corps )

I believe that is Mandarins highest score ever!

I’m confused by your statement that there was a large initial advantage here on the West Coast in the 70s. I moved to CA in the mid sixties from upstate New Jersey. Coming from an area where on any given weekend I could see Holy Name Cadets, Blessed Sacrament, St. Ann’s, Hawthorn Caballeros, Audubon Bon Bons, etc., I was disappointed when arriving here to find that drum corps was much less developed or followed than it had been back east. Granted, the West Coast corps ramped things up effectively with the switch to DCI, but it was not due to some unfair advantage. If anything, eastern corps had a much longer and stronger history and wealth of experience than did the California corps. If there is a dominance that developed it needs to be attributed to the excellent leadership and creativity corps like BD and SCV developed early in their existence.

If i'm correct, i believe Mandarins' score ties their world class best score set in semis last year.

As big of a BD honk as I am, I don’t think anybody beats SCV this year.

I think it’s just that the sun is no longer helping to light the stadium

BD has two as soloists

When i spoke with a few mm at Stanford i told them i was pulling for them to make finals. Their reply was, "We will. It's our year".

ah. well, still better than pepperoni and kale on a gluten free crust

OK. So what, pray tell, is a St. Louis pizza?

All totally true observations. Hopefully my placement predictions aren’t just the wishful thinking of a NorCal corps homer!

Not being affiliated with the corps, can’t say for sure, but I would think that some local alums, especially those from Freelancers, are supportive in some form or another. The Moonlight Classic show itself was started and sponsored by SOME (Supporters Of Music Enrichment), which was a alumi/support group associated with the Commodores [the Commodores were actually a Stockton, not Sacramento, corps] when it was held at UOP. And the Freelancer Alumni Corps traditionally performs at that show. I know some Freelancer alums have volunteered to help with the Manderin hosted Capitol Classic show. Beyond that, we’d have to ask the corps itself.

I am using the word surprise to indicate that although many have stated they think Mandarins have a shot at finals, many will not realize just how much they have improved until they see them live, and some will find the extent of that improvement to be much larger than they expected (hence, a surprise). I for one, after seeing them this weekend, expect them to finish no lower than 10th.