HollywoodNeoCon

I'm gonna go ahead and show a little intellectual honesty here by admitting that no, opening up auditions to every Tom Dick and Harriet will most assuredly NOT expand DCI's base. That was a stupid, ill-thought argument, and I am ashamed at having written it. That said, in the era of the "pre-show," perhaps it might be a good idea to talk about doing a pre-recorded intro, thereby killing multiple birds with one stone... 1. The clumsy, more-often-than-not intro that walks on the corps' opener, 2. FAAAAANNNNMMRRREGGGIMENNN 3. Allows the respective corps to tailor their shows more thoroughly (without having to worry about coordinating with the PA guy, etc) But again, as much as I worship the ground Brandt walks on ("On the starting line....you may enter the field for competition"), maybe it's time we take away the bookie's influence on whether or not the PA guy nails the timing of the corps' intro. Maybe going back to the starter pistol ain't such a bad idea, after all...

I'm not sure Dan Potter is the default answer. Again, that's an entirely different subject, but wouldn't opening it to more than just the few people who happen to occupy the DCI's current orbit might be a better idea?

That's fair enough, Lincoln, but I think it's a different discussion altogether. Look, aside from the that I'm an unopprobrious Phantom Regiment Phan Homer (the corps with which Brandt is most associated with), and a DCI alum who heard that man's voice ofer the loudpseakers for so many years it makes my heart ache, I can't be the only guy who's noticed this, can I?

Ok, understanding that this may be drum corps' version of questioning the Voice of [ahem], could we maybe start talking about how DCI may want to think about replacing Brandt Crocker? There, I said it. Feel free to lock this thread now. Can't say as I would blame you. That said, I once again sat through '13 Nats, and just could not help but think that were it not for Mr. Crocker's God-given talent for introducing and welcoming a corps to the field "IN COMPETITION" (sorry, I'm old school), his knack for completley butchering the last half of his job would've had us talking about this years ago. My God, I love Brandt, and not just for what he means to those of us who had the privilege of hearing him from field level. I love the guy because of exactly who he is when he ISN'T in the booth, either. And if he thinks about it, he himself will acknowledge that. If this thread survives the hour, I'll start off by suggesting that if DCI were truly interested in expanding it's base, they might wanna take a page out of the Chicago Cubs' playbook and open up auditions online, or some such thing. Just my worthless two cents.

You're right, Quavers. In my haste to be snubbed, I didn't see that earlier. :-P

SoCal drum corps fans boned again. Sigh. Yeah, I know 2007 at the Rose Bowl was a cost-prohibitive anomaly, but it doesn't make me wanna embrace Teh Suck any more than I have to. Guess we'll be driving up to Stanford once more to see some dirty shows that won't look or sound anything like the epic awesomeness everyone else with more disposable income will get to see 6-8 weeks later. C'est la vie, said the old folks...

I'm with Boo... 'Coats gotta do Nickelback (or Hinder). And BD has GOTTA do Tool. Maybe BAC does Bad Religion? "Overture/Sinister Rouge" is epic. :-D

I was told there would be no math.

Hey, my bad, Boo. Can someone move this over to that thread, please? Danke

See, but I'm one of those Philistines who apparently haven't heard of the Bluecoats until this past July. Hence, my apologies. :-)

One Nashville-area drum corps. Donations tax-deductible. :-(

Yeah, only just now realized the Bluecoats used Simon & Garfunkel's song in their show. Instantly makes me love them, whereas before I was an ignorant chooch. They're one hell of a lot cooler than I EVER gave them credit for before. Mea culpa, guys. Crown's little mello flourish this year at the end of the Abyss - Whereas I'd been sitting there with my piehole wide open the first time I saw this show live, when they tossed that little melodic M-80 in my lap, I could swear I had just heard the Giggle of God. Imagine, therefore, my immense joy when I not only re-listened to LAST year's show, but the wonderful kid who wore the DCI helmet cam for Crown's encore performance was himself a mello, and therefore gave me the thrill of my decade by vicariously letting me play that wicked' cool lick. Blue Devils' first-ever female center snare, Nicole Casino - My GOD, what a dynamite chick, and phenomenal drummer (not necessarily in that order, Ms Steinem). Unfortunately, she didn't march guard for anyone, nor was she a drum major or fashion model, so unless DeLucia steps up, I fear I may be denied her unique insights once next season rolls around. After all, how cool would it be to have her conducting interviews with some of the best drum staffs in drum corps? Yeah, yeah, yeah...horns, horns, horns....that's all some people care about. The Troopers and their drum major, Justin Anderson - I don't know who it was who said that the Troopers' semis performance was the best 14th place show they'd ever seen, but wow. Talk about a corps who comes out and kicks you in the soul, they were it, dude. Having spent some time in a corps that never got to perform for a full house, their semis performance was the most emotional and balls to the wall I'd seen in almost 30 years. I almost find myself hoping they don't achieve the level of success they're so entitled to, for fear of having to share this immense pleasure with others. What can I say? I'm selfish that way.

PAIN

I suppose this is a lousy time to bring this up, but am I the only one who sees the gaping plot hole in Crown's love story narratation? :-D

Did anyone just catch the little applauding hands clipped to the bell of that BD soloist's horn?!?!?

Cadets battery is just stupid clean tonight

If SCV abandoned the tradition of age-out feathers for show design reasons, that's kind of a big deal

Hey, where are the age-out feathers???

And Dean Patterson whips it out one last time. Cougars hardest hit.

Funny how the multi-cam is a few minutes behind all the other available feeds.

Looks much better now, Fingers crossed

Agreed, Kamarag. Looks much better. Fingers crossed

Potter just pitched dci finals.com to the people already at dci finals. Fantastic.

If they can't get this flustercuck fixed by the time the corps hot the field, they're gonna be some angry villagers