[Best Feel-Good Moment of the Year]

I love the Troopers hit. I can't wait to see it live at the end of the season when the kids have better chops and all the holes are filled!

[Indianapolis Pit Stop]

I actually think this line-up will surprise the people that go. I think all 4 of these corps will move up this year! :]

[Your Theater Experience]

I loved it! There was actually a decent turn out and everyone seemed to enjoy each show, except the old man that fell asleep somewhere around Crown. :]

[2011 Uniforms]

Is the right side of the uni black or dark blue?

if it's a dark blue, then i stand by my statement as is.

If it's black, then i guess i should amend my statment to be that i don't understand the blue on one side and the black on the ther.

I have no idea the reasoning, but I do know that it is black and not dark blue. They also have a line down one of their legs (next to the yellow pin-stripe) that is also black.

[2011 Uniforms]

I'm not a huge fan, but I think it's great that they are trying something different. They've been so close to breaking finals for how many years now, and I think trying something new might help them break out from the pack more. And maybe this isn't the right look, but they can maybe tweak it for next year like the Troopers are doing (whose uniforms I think look a lot better this year than last year) and hopefully after a few more years, have a really concrete identity like some of the top corps.

And I'm kinda interested in how the tails will look when they're moving. Maybe they are trying their own spin to what BD does with the "waist cape" (or whatever it's really called).

[Will G8 shows stimulate competitiveness?]

I think it will help fuel the members of the G8 corps to get things down even more early on in the season.

I played soccer in high school, and our coach would always have play the best teams in all the close states in the pre-season. It motivated us to get our crap together more quickly, so we had the rest of the season to really bond together as a team. Though drum corps is different than sports, I still imagine it will have a similar effect.

[Troop2011]

http://theroadhome11.blogspot.com/2011/06/night-with-troopers.html

The Troopers have a daily blog, and they have a lot more pictures up from tonight.

I like the guard uniforms a lot too.

Also, don't forget to vote for Troop in the pepsi refresh!!! Especially if you drink a lot of pepsi!

http://www.refresheverything.com/troopers

[Troop's Pepsi Refresh]

The Troopers are in the running for $50,000 through the Pepsi Refresh Everything Project. Please vote for them on the pepsi refresh project to help America's Corps!

Vote online or via text (or both), every day in June for the Troopers.

http://www.refresheverything.com/troopers

Text* 106974 to Pepsi (73774) to vote from your mobile.

*Standard text messaging rates apply

[Troop2011]

Good to hear!!! Can't wait to see them!

[Pre-June Prediction Thread]

I predict not one corps will get the same placement as last year (more than half the corps will jump/fall atleast two spots). And I predict that the twelfth place will change on semis night from prelims, and top three will change on finals night.

[A little treat for you BK fans]

I'm excited. I feel in love with this music 5 years ago, and can't wait to see what they do with it. :]

[When is marching no longer worth the cost?]

It's all about passion. Me and my siblings played club sports growing up, and those were usually around 2 grand after all the expenses. Not to mention my girlfriend was a cheerleader in high school, after paying for cheer camp, outfits, gym fees, and the cheer fees, it was well over what I spent marching drum corps.

Everything these days costs money, just drum corps isn't thought of as being something worth a lot to those who aren't involved (as compared to if you were on a competitve cheer team in high school, or on a traveling soccer team that competes in big tournaments), so people think it costs too much.

[Most likely to win first/beat Blue Devils?]

Bluecoats will beat Crown this year (not sure if they'll beat everyone else too though). However, I think Crown could easily win the big enchilada sometime in the next 3-4 years.

And Cadets is going to be the corps that beats BD (if the Cavies don't do it in one of the first three shows).

and count me in on betting on drum corps like horse races. :]

[2011 Show Posters]

I saw a link here on the Troopers forum for wallpaper.

looks like I have a new wallpaper on my laptop. :]

[CROSSMEN CAMP]

I'm excited to see how this turns out. :]

[How will you react to the new G8 format?]

I will root for everybody, because I love drum corps.

me too!!!

[Madison 2011 Rep]

I like that they have announced an actual name of music that they'll play, rather than their poster. And, I think this will be a great fit for the Scouts. I wonder if they'll keep up playing things they have done back in the day. There is certainly a lot of good things to choose from to keep up the great shows for the next few years atleast.

[Corps Videos]

Troopers

Cavies

Scouts

Crown

Cadets

BAC

then BD or Bluecoats

I don't remember after that. I like to see which parts of the show they choose to feature, and if that's the part I would've chosen.

[The Drum Corps Market]

The best way a corps can market itself is to be entertaining, competitive, or preferably both. Beyond that there are slight nuances that attract different people to different corps, but those are the two biggest factors I think.

I agree completely. The only other that I could think of is maybe word of mouth. Your friend had a great time at some corps, and they talked it up so much, that you have it in your mind that you will march there.

[Spirit of Atlanta 2011 Production]

I'm thinking 17th place

Regardless of where they end up, I think they'll put a great show out on the field, again.

[What show would you show someone who had never hear of drum corps?]

I'll usually just tell them to youtube "Best DCI moments" and tell the to pick any year. That usually will show enough diversity to help them get the picture.

[Need some advice]

I've heard good and bad about just about every corps in last year's top 17. Though, the ones I've heard the most good (and least bad) has been the Bluecoats, Blue Stars, and the Troopers. Naturally, that's just from what I hear from word of mouth (and we all know how reliable that can be).

If anything, send out an e-mail to some of the caption heads of corps you're interested in, and ask them some questions. But, you better hurry up, because audition season is almost over, and most, if not all, the spots in your corps will be full.

[Why move the Annapolis show in 2011?]

I don't know which venue is better, but I know Annapolis is less than an hour away from my dad's. So, I'm kinda bummed about this decision. :/

[Audtioning at a second corps]

for this last season, I was planning on auditioning for two corps. A corps I always dreamed on making, and a "back up" one. I actually went to the "back up" first, because of scheduling. I ended up loving the whole experience so much, and the people (staff and vets) that I ended up not going to the other corps audition the next month. I had the summer of my life, and even though we didn't finish as high as maybe we would've wanted, I wouldn't take back my decision ever.

So my advice is that there are plenty of corps out there, and you never know where you'll really love to be a part of until you audition there and give it a try. It might surprise you just where you end up.

[Troopers 2011]

Do you mean Dean? I mean, I know there are different opinions, but I don't think anyone thought his arranging was that bad.

major oops. Of course I meant Dean. I actually LOVED most of his arranging, and he was one of my favorite people I've ever met in the drum corps world.