Stu

Bob, I know that you are really excited; as are we to hear about the the Kingsmen!!! Here is a word to the wise: Please, please, please, be very careful on knowing all the facts prior to making public announcements. Your credibility, and the credibility of the Kingsmen, are at stake. So, only make public announcements, and especially promises, that you "know" you can keep. For the most part the drum corps community, especially here on DCP, are not a mean bunch of people, but they are bluntly honest and will hold you to the task of credibility. That said, I wish you greatness for the future!!!

> but you have to admit that most wc corps today are very similar in so many ways. No, I do not have to admit that! Because the corps' of today are only similar in the way a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, a Porsche, a Vipor, a Corvette, a Mustang, and a Camaro are all sports cars. > As for Chris he is a good kid, he tried his very best to start a drum corps and failed. Many people have done that. a) The operative word there is KID! b) Your judgment in supporting a kid for Executive Director also entails placing the safety and lives of potentially 200 people in the hands of a teenager with no business experience to handle the millions he claimed to be receiving; c) The kid outright told a multitude of half-truths and complete untruths as it applies to money collected and staff committed to the organization; and d) I do not blame him, he is a kid, but I do blame any adult who would encourage a kid in that manner. Lastly, if you think I am "really" upset at what transpired in the situation of an adult irresponsibly manipulating a "good kid" you are correct!!!!

Howdy: You contend that Michael Gaines (Cav), Jeff Sacktig (Cadets), Pete Weber (SCV), and Brian Murphy (BAC) all write drill with zero originality? Well that clears things up; it is becoming more and more understandable to me now as to why you supported a misguided Teenage Executive Director in his absurd idea to concoct a fictitious million dollar corps in Indiana!

Jeff: Glad to see that you are on a red negative roll here; keep it up and we can both hang out together in the "Nobody Likes Me Cafe"!

Me? Cynical? Sarcastic? Bluntly Honest? Yep, Guilty as Charged Sir!!! Anyway, I guess you missed my previous post in this thread (#40) where I took a slap at his street-cred with this statement: "But if I remember correctly, you are the wise one who also thought a "teenager" would make a great Executive Director for a purported new drum corps that was going to buy a new mobile kitchen, secure new instruments, lease three Wynne Buses, provide a high quality staff, and based in Indiana; correct?" By the way, he never responded to this statement, nor has he provided any video proving his contentions in this thread; (did you read that Howdy?)

If Howdy wants a real honest quote from Brubaker about dot marching, the best way to accomplish that task would be for every person who ever marched under Brubaker to make copies of their individual dot books and send them to Howdy!!!

It's all Major League!!! How loyal was Jerry Jones to Wade Phillips? Again it's all Major League!!!

> "You spend 90% of the show in transition from set to set. You maintain the form. Period. But you better be, by gawd, on your spot at the end of the move." - George Zingali Ding, Ding, Ding; Winner, Winner, Chicken, Dinner!

Howdy, this is going to be my mantra until you pony up or shut up: Please provide us with a link to a video of a unit under your instruction which proves your contention. If you can provide us with such a video, and it can be freeze framed with near perfect results, then we might let up on you a bit. Otherwise your contention holds no support whatsoever.

It has nothing to do with the "right here right now", nor the lack of loyalty, but with the life-long sense of accomplishment one receives that for a single moment in time, you were part of the best of the best in the world! Why did SCV secure Rennick? Simple, to place themselves in a better position to garner better players so that SCV can once again win the title! Albert Pujols wants to stay loyal to the Cardinals; but do you really think he would feel that way if the Cardinals were perennial cellar-dwellers giving him no chance to ever win a World Series Title? So, here is the dilemma: Is DCI Marching Music Major League where the best of the best audition to participate and scores are given through a high level of competition, or is it a Community Service Outlet where loyalty is placed above quality and the scores achieved through competition do not matter? You cannot have it both ways. If this is about Community service, then corps' should not have auditions, and DCI should not keep score and call itself a Major League. However, if DCI is a type of Major League, then I am all for a person participating in DCI who is not only like Albert Pujols, but has a character like Pudge Rodriguez, the MLB catcher who went from Texas Rangers to the Florida Marlins to the Detroit Tigers in search of the World Series Ring (which he accomplished).

Here comes more red negatives, I can feel it! In the case of all moves, Casella, Beddis, Float, Hurley, Rennick, and the rest, the performers with the best hands, feet, reading skills, and attitude took precedent over loyalty either to the corps or to the instructor; and that is the best and most "fair" way to conduct auditions in the world of competition. If a vet of the corps fits that criteria the vet makes the line; if a transfer fits that criteria the transfer makes the line. Nothing sad there at all.

Was it equally as sad when Casella went from SCV to Cavaliers? Was it equally sad when Beddis moved, when McIntosh moved, when Ralph moved, when Scott Johnson moved, when...? These moves have occurred for decades; Marty Hurley moved from the Bleu Raeders (a top 12 corps) to Regiment; Float moved from Spirit (another top corps) to Blue Devils. Were those moves also sad?

> The volume of growth over a season is more impressive to me than only finals night achievements most of the time. If this is a true statement, BigHoosierMack, that you are most impressed with volume of growth and not final performance "most" of the time, then I suppose "most" of your ticket money goes for Open Class shows, "most" of your Souvie money goes to Open Class corps', and you "mostly" enjoy Open Class Finals over World Class finals; because it is in the Open Class venue venue, not World Class, where the "most" impressive volumes of growth exist within the individual as well as the ensemble.

a) The idea to freeze frame "anything" that is in motion to identify an error is completely absurd. b) Howdy, please post a video of a unit which was under "your" instruction so that we can actually see the perfection you claim to teach.

Slight tweak: Learn and Respect History; Enjoy and Revel in the Present; Plan for Great and New Things in the Future.

a) In the sense that there are actually no "identical" twins because to be completely identical they would also have to occupy the exact same space at the exact same moment, I would agree with you. b) In the sense that there is no such thing as human perfection in anything, I would also agree with you. However, it is humanly possible for the marching errors which occur at the "uppermost" level of DCI to become so minuscule that the percentage of variation between each run is statistically irrelevant to the human eye and therefore two or more runs can certainly appear as equal in a live setting.

> No points for the person who hit their dot but many for the group who had the reradable forms. This "do not worry about the dot but keep the form intact" philosophy will create a form that can be from 1/2 to 1-step off from the required position as well as develop an incorrect arch or angle; which is fine if the entire drill is simplistic because the error can float around rather unnoticed. Many universities that perform multiple shows each halftime teach this generalized form to form drill. However, it is a Huge problem if the drill is complex and next move is a double-blind cross-through with a rotation where precise field location and precise transition path is vital. Performers in that situation can get hurt if attention is not paid to every precise detail. So, for the top groups who desire to execute a higher level of drill than your average school band, it is awareness of what the transition form and path is supposed to look like from each "precise dot" which requires rehearsal cleaning attention.

Corps' are ambassadors of DCI as well as their own communities; and while out on tour they are considered "guests" who are housed at local schools around the nation. Therefore, if a corps wants to have "bikini / swimsuit" or "shirtless" rehearsals which goes against many of the host school dress-code policies at the housing sites, the corps either needs to abide by the rules and regulations of the host school or find another housing site. It is a manner of the guest respecting the host.

Hypothetical reply: "Dear Plan9, thank you for your interest in our program. It would be greatly appreciated if you send us a tax deductible donation of every penny of expendable income that you have so that we can continue to to provide a quality experience to our youth".

Howdy, let me make this simple for you. At 208 beats per min, 6-5 step size, with rotations and cross-throughs (sometimes with backwards blind moves carrying 50 pound tenors) if you do not go specifically to your dot, using the specific subset path required, people could get hurt in a very bad way. But if I remember correctly, you are the wise one who also thought a "teenager" would make a great Executive Director for a purported new drum corps that was going to buy a new mobile kitchen, secure new instruments, lease three Wynne Buses, provide a high quality staff, and based in Indiana; correct?

> A brass judge saying something is not the official position of DCI. Don't confuse a bad decision by one or even a couple of judges with being the official viewpoint of DCI the organization. True; but "official viewpoint" in this situation is somewhat moot because the judge is the person who evaluates and gives the actual scores to the corps, not DCI.

> I found the show cheesy and I liked the brie ... It went better with my chardonnay. Therein lies the inherent problem with establishing a competitive point value to crowd entertainment. A German Lager and a French Chardonnay can both be deemed excellent, but the "reaction" to that excellence will be vastly different. Put 20,000 random music fans in a stadium to evaluate the entertainment value of two excellent yet different groups: Dave Matthews Band vs. the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. During the DMB portion, you will see the crowd scream and dance throughout the performance with wildly blasting "more" when the music is over; but during the CSO portion the same crowd will sit silently during the performance then after the final chord they will stand, clap robustly, and politely shout "Encore". So, which was more entertaining to the crowd, DMB or the CSO?

As long as you are consistent with your reasoning you will have a valid argument. So, to be consistent in the use of your logic, your opinion would also have to apply to when we add a marimba, vibraphone, bells, and xylophone (especially if they are grounded) because the musical unit that does so is no longer a "Drum and Bugle Corps" but actually a "Percussion and Bugle Corps".

Your "horse" analogy is rather fitting but not in a way you think. Auto engines are rated as "horse power" even though there are no horses under the hood; this indicates that definitions change as time moves forward and that we can still pay tribute to the past while changing things up for the future. Also, even though I would not like woodwinds in drum corps, IMO adding woodwinds to drum corps would more equate to adding a roll cage, sway bars, weight jacks, and other items that do not come standard on a "stock" car.

Michael: After I posed the question about ww players in DCI Guards, I contacted 11 people that I know who "recently" marched Guard in DCI. Here is a breakdown of what they said: 11 performed in a Winter Guard aside from their DCI corps; 9 played woodwind instruments in their school "concert" bands, and 4 of those were music majors; 1 was a Dance Performance Major not a musician; 1 was strictly a Guard person not a musician.