Grandpa

As much as I have always loved SCV - and depending on what DCI does in response to the move, I will be a lot more interested in supporting DCI than I am at the moment.

Adam Billings - hey I know that name!!!!! Cheers!

It always makes me happy to see new, local corps starting up. Good luck Columbians, from the Scout House Cadets!

Good luck Music Makers. I hope to see you on the field soon!

Variation on the Willie Nelson song... On The (side of the) Road Again...

SCV. I've watched that show twice already. Haven't actually watched anyone else so far.

Quite honestly - the ones that entertain me the most. BD isn't the only top end corps that failed on that point when compared to lower placing, or even OC corps.

I sure hope not! Sincerely Grandpa Percussion Caption Head Scout House Cadets.

Sorry but I'm going to disagree on this. I don't want to be accused of BD bashing, but the simple fact is I enjoyed BACs show a lot more than I did BD. To me it isn't the name or the placement, it's the product on the field and how I relate to it. Corps like Oregon, SCV, SCVC, BDB and of course Surf are a far bigger draw for me.

So unless I missed something - after scanning the schedule the talk of shows in Canada was just - talk? I would have loved to see DCI come north again. We could use the exposure up here.

I like this. Although, with regional based contests, the cost of running a corps will drop, which in time should lead to more corps and more contests.

Yep. Throwing in the towel would be to give up on drum corps. We see this with posts from people extolling the virtues of high school band over regional corps. I am in no way saying we give up on drum corps. I'm questioning the continued relevance of DCI - NOT the activity. I like some of Bawker's thoughts above.

It's amazing to me that for an activity that purports to be all about new ideas and innovation (when it comes to instrumentation and show design) we should suddenly fall on the "we've been doing it this way for forty years" canard to justify continued existence. I'm not advocating the end of drum corps - it just appears that DCI is broken, per your highly appropriate quote below:

At this point we have to look at DCI and ask if it's worth saving. The G7 will be the venue for the high end performers - and we all know about the touring model. Maybe we should consider saying good bye to DCI - let the G7 do their thing, and concentrate on sustainable regional drum corps for the rest.

In itself that's not a huge list of cuts, if that's as far as it goes. But if this trend continues I will be re-thinking FN and DVDs.

Guys - we've debated this A&E thing once or twice before. We all know where we stand. The question is - should DCA adopt it? My vote - a big NO. Keep one area of drum corps accoustic. There's a ton of A&E out there in DCI, WGI and the band world. Leave us one little crumb, OK?

That's great - but why does drum corps have to be the same across both DCI and DCA? DCI is morphing ever closer to the look and sound of marching band, does everything have to look that way? As I said earlier - sharing is good. Leave something on the field for others that don't see it the way you (collectively) do. Not much to ask, is it? We've been asked to accept the changes - accept that there can be a place where those changes are not enacted.

Look - you got what you wanted with DCI - go enjoy it there. Leave DCA alone, OK? You don't need absolutely EVERYthing your own way. Leave a little something for the others, like your Mom taught you....

And of course, this is DCA, so it would NEVER lead to amped voice, amped soloists, guitars, violins and synths, right? DCA is the last place where you can still hear a fully accoustic competing drum corps. I was told if you want accoustic, go to DCA. My counter to that is if you want amps, go see a DCI show. At least preserve the uniqueness of the sound somewhere. But sadly I can see where this is leading.....

So why do it? No net gain for members or fans - possible net loss in either or both areas. Why even bother with this other layer? This isn't for the fans, so who is it for? Rather than the extra tune, why not revisit the sheets to make the show more fan friendly? And for the record I don't see this as nearly as big an issue in DCA as I do in DCI.

Oh for the love of God no. Please let me have one place where I can see competetive drum corps without the amps...... Thinking in the spectator side of my head this would be great. Thinking in the "staff member, trying to get prepped for the show" side, this would suck so many different ways I can't even begin. I'm going to give this a "meh" - the corps should be able to lay the excitement down during the show without having to learn another piece.

Dutch Boy 2006 - Ilya's Theme fro Star Trek the Motion(less) Picture. It was actually my suggestion even though I was no longer on staff that year. They made a very nice job of it!

We are doing this right now in Cambridge Ontario with a youth corps in the Scout House organization. Yes it's difficult but a little help from the "big corps" goes a long way. I strongly urge this for all DCI and alumni corps. Get a new, local generation in the door.

I'm not much of a visual guy - for me it's all about the music. Juliet nails it. Elsa's Procession was one for the ages. As a contrast, I was expecting more of an emotional hit from Nessun Dorma and it just wasn't there.

I dunno - Happy Birthday? And then - get off my lawn....