Drum Corps Nation

A) BD is clean, yes. That's not the issue though. There is not anything on this year's judge sheets or the previous judge sheets that says anything about "clean". It's all about achievement. It's about can you do something that's really hard really really well? Can you connect with the audience really really well? Can you do these things better than other people can? That's what the DCI judging system is supposed to be about. That's what they're supposed to be rewarding. So if you say "this corps was cleaner, they should win", then I'm sorry, but you're missing the point. B) Point A (see above) is a fallacy because if you do something really really hard, and you do it really really well, you make it look easy, and then you loose credit for it. Also, some captions, the way that they are designed, give credit to corps members for things that they didn't even do. Cadets in 2011 had a visual program that was lightyears ahead of anyone else, and because of that, all the marching members needed to do was create clarity enough for that visual design to be readable, and they would get credit for it. Individual vis credit. Ensemble vis credit. And Vis GE credit. Some of it probably bled into music GE as well. I'm not saying that the Cadets didn't march well. They absolutely did. But other corps could have marched just as well and they would have never gotten as much credit as Cadets over four different captions because their design was simply not as good. This is how the sheets are designed to work. C) Having said everything that I have said, it is still impossible for judges to not include some bias into their decision. Case in point: Someone went on the Texas Band Directors forum TheYellowboard.com today to complain about scores from the Minnesota regional, talking about slotting and corps getting the benefit of the doubt. The poster was immediately told to "take their complaints to DCP" and then were chastised because They obviously had never judged before. The person replying went on to say how difficult it is to be the judge to place someone a spot lower because one kid blows a release or something. As much as it goes against the integrity of a competitive activity like DCI, this is the way a lot of judges think, and the way they are encouraged to think. You're not supposed to penalize a corps for individual mistakes or "ticks". But at what point do enough ticks add up to a trend, a weak hornline, a corps that can't control upper-body... D) I have a deep knowledge of economics as it applies to things like this. If you study the spreads, the scores, the economics of DCI's judging system, there is only one logical conclusion: the system is completely subjective, or alternatively, in no way objective. It's almost statistically impossible for a corps like the Blue Devils, or any corps for that matter, to have had so much success, so consistently, with so many variables, for as long as they have. Nothing less than 5th since 1975? No finals score less than a 90.00 since 1976? If you study any other objective, competitive activity, you'd be hard pressed to find any other individual or team that has been so dominant in their activity as the Blue Devils have been in DCI. The logical conclusion? The activity is not objective, and as such, cannot be deemed as "fairly-judged". E) I believe that the Blue Devils are very important to DCI as an organization and to drum corps as an activity. Personally, I haven't liked a show that they have done since 2003, but I know that other people have liked their most recent shows. I don't hate them, and I don't want them to go away. However. The last time that a corps that was not Blue Devils, Cadets, Santa Clara, Cavaliers, or Phantom Regiment has won DCI was over 20 years ago. I sincerely think that this is bad for the legitimacy of DCI.

That's not what I was told when I marched there for several years. Although, that alternative interpretation of the acronym was used as well.

Was it something I said?

That what I mean. Take Boston Crusaders for example. Went from a church (Most Precious Blood) to a community (Hyde Park) to eventually an entire Metropolitan Area (Boston Area Crusaders) And now, with the departure of Cadets to PA, are the only World Class Corps in the Northeast. It would make sense that most of their members come from the Northeast, but instead a huge portion of them come from Florida now. Where do those Northeast kids go? It's all wonky now.

The opener is supposed to be a representation of sand (all the performers swirling around doing movement) and then being turned into glass (big hit).

I dunno. Even during the DCI era, there was a sense of East vs Midwest vs Westcoast. Not really communities, but for example, in the 90s a kid living in Ohio was much more likely to only consider marching in an Ohio corps. Very few would fly out to California to be a Blue Devil.

Texas didn't do that. Rick Perry did.

They have filled all their holes with Teal Sound kids and should have them all in the entire show soon.

Those of you seeing the show, answer me this? Are you understanding the theme in Gmen's show? The sand that becomes glass. The representation of clear glass. The representation of stained glass? Seems to me their shows have been too cryptic in the last few years.

I don't get that vibe either, but what I do get from Texas band kids is "I'm not going to stay here and march div 3 or march a corps that didn't make finals when I know I can go to crown or phantom and get a spot there." Drum corps used to be about pride in your community. That has changed a lot.

Glassmen have always been the runt of the litter when it comes to getting these things. Dynasty would take 2 years to replace the tubas. Jupiter can do better, but you can be sure that Phantom and Boston will get thier new horns first before Glassmen get them.

I like the piece they chose for the opener, but I don't like the arrangement at all.

Do they still have the Dynasty tubas or have they gotten the new Jupiters yet? They were supposed to have them by the beginning of July but I doubt it.

Absolutely, but even Crossmen had troubles when they first showed up in Texas. The Bluecoats benefited greatly from doing winter camps in Texas starting in the early 2000s. I think it's safe to say that Bluecoats found a way around competing with all those midwest corps for members by recruiting and getting staff from Texas, and they wouldn't be where they are now without having made that move. Same could be said with Boston Crusaders and Florida. The corps that have been left behind are the ones that have failed to recruit at a national level. I won't name names.

They need it nice and loud incase they decide to play the infinity chord card again.

Yup. Hard to believe it's been so difficult for Texas to field a competitive drum corps for the last 20 years, since so many Texas kids are in DCI.

Interesting point about Crossmen... What was the last corps from Texas to make DCI World Class/Div I finals? Name the year, and the location as well...

I'm sure there will be several members of Teal Sound that will be able to find homes at other corps. The corps directors on the road have known that this was going to happen long before it was officially announced. I'm sure they've already started talking to members to start filling holes.

Allen High School in Allen, TX marches about 700 kids on the field. It's not the cleanest thing in the world, but there's certainly not people tripping all over each other.

talked with a couple of other people inside Teal Sound's organization, they confirmed that there was a problem with the original bus company, that the drivers didn't know what they were in for, and were threatening to head back to FL. Once this happened, DCI began working with the corps to find them new buses and get them housing for the night. However, what they have also said is that due to other issues (non-bus related), the corps admin is meeting with DCI to discuss the possibility of DCI taking over the corps. What this means, I'm not really sure. This certainly wouldn't be the first time that DCI has bailed out a corps, although they haven't always been very public about it, especially with some of the activity's most popular organizations. As someone else has said, sometimes people like to embellish the truth, but this is the same story I have received from several people inside Teal Sound.

I have heard from several people at the show tonight that the corps was in tears and have heard from at least one person that the staff has said they are folding and will start sending members home. What is going on?? What does "bus issues" mean?

This was a prediction made in July 1. Blue Devils(-1) 2. Cavaliers(-1) 3. Carolina Crown(-1) 4. Cadets(+3) 5. Phantom Regiment 6. Santa Clara Vanguard 7. Boston Crusaders (-1) 8. Bluecoats(+1) 9. Blue Stars(-2) 10. Blue Knights(-1) 11. Madison Scouts(+1) 12. Glassmen (-1) 13. Spirit (+1) 2 right, 1 off on everything else except Cadets and Blue Stars.

This is nothing new to the organization, and this type of shady management has been with the corps since the beginning. In 2001, the corps' first competitive season, the members were told at the beginning of the season that they would only be signing up for a half-tour that was to end at the San Antonio regional. Shortly after this show, Rodriguez announced that the corps tour would be extended so the corps could participate in Buffalo at Div. III finals. No extra tour fees were collected, and the corps left for it's second tour not long after. However, by the time the corps actually reached buffalo, it had run out of money and could no longer feed the corps. In order to get food, members of the corps had to be fed through local NY schools by a program setup to feed homeless and underprivileged local children. However, this didn't cover dinner and members had to go to local gas stations to buy food. Several times during this season, the corps had to be fed by other larger corps. In 2003, the year after the corps won Div III, corps members were dismissed from a camp in February because several staff members had refused to teach until they received payment for work already done.

in 2003 at the Southwest Regional, a blue devils tenor fell 2 minutes from the end of the show. His drums came off the harness and it seems like the harness was bent in the fall. He was unable to get back in the show and basically just stood their for the rest of the show trying to get his drums back on. If I recall correctly, BD still won that show and I think they might have still won drums that night... maybe second... I think that in most cases, Judges look the other way when it comes to falls.

Uhm... dude. Record scratching didn't even exist as a performance medium until the late 80's/early 90's. How could Howard Johnson have been imitating a sound on tuba that he wouldn't hear for at least another 20 years?