Amil Muzz

Not happening.

In 2002 Crown got a 1.0 penalty for using a Dr. Beat during vis warm-up. The restrictions on the warm up zone were very well communicated.

To clear up any confusion; Chuck DID write for the Colts this season. The brass staff, who's first year back since 07, isn't going anywhere. Also, the current Colts Brass Staff was at Crossmen from 11-13.

...with a doubt, yes. Its brutal out there. I don't know what the DCP consensus is, but as someone who's been in the trenches for a minute, yeah, there are many high quality groups all through the World Class, more than ever.

It was mentioned during the talks in Phoenix, from what I was told. It was also a point mason stressed in his interview with Potter. It is continually trotted out when talked about in relation to adding woodwinds.

I couldn't represent the drum corps I teach because it was too expensive to send me. There were other corps that did not send people for various reasons. I do think the majority of Corps Directors wanted this, for reasons I can't explain other than the vapid reasons like, more kids (money) and more creative (questionable). I would love to know who was in the room and what was said. Clearly, with a 17-3 vote, there wasn't much discussion.

Fair enough. If I am reading this right," The divides between corps, band, orchestra, wind, choral, dance, color guard etc. make the Arts weak and DCI is really the only activity that could bring it all together strengthen it and give it a powerful comeback and reorganization nation wide......." Because people have passionate opinions shouldn't be a weakness. It should be a strength. DCI was not founded to be a support organization for the Arts in general, it was meant to give drum corps control over their own activity. Make their own rules, promote their own show, and control its own business. I sat in Jim Jones house in Casper, Wyoming one night and he told me the whole story, because I think he knew I was a lifer. It seems you are making the argument that DCI needs to expand its mission in a large, large way. It is a nice ideal you lay out here. But lets apply it to other arts forms. Would visual artist want to be told to paint from the same palette? Produce art in the mediums? Artists who use charcoals and not pastels makes art weak. The divides between sculptors, cubists, realists, glass blowers, ice sculptors, and surrealists just make art weak. It is about the art and not the medium. I marched in and continue to work in the drum corps activity because I am passionate about the sound of brass and percussion. I teach band as well. But for me, my passion is brass and percussion, thats why I leave home every year for the last 30 years and do it. I love drum corps. If I wanted to teach band all summer I would stay home, make more money, and not put myself through the punishment of touring. It is personal to me. When it is personal, it is going to get passionate. Nothing wrong with that. I like the sounds of good bands, and good choirs, and good orchestras, and good drum corps. I just do not accept the premise that for drum corps to survive it needs to become a homogenous marching band activity. I get it. That is the trend. I just think we would be losing a unique performance/audience experience.

Those are all valid questions. But none of those address the central question I am raising. What is the end game? What is the goal? Why does drum corps exist?

Exactly, you understand. There is no end game; just a bumbling, fumbling, stumbling attempt at what? That is what I do not get. What's the real upside? Who is going to benefit? If the idea were TRULY to get more students involved, the first order of business would be a real discussion of the amazingly expensive burden placed on the members and families. But as long as there are long lines of kids and parents willing to pump life into the drum corps machine. The Drum Corps Mentality of overcome at all costs gets used against us all to often. Believe me...I know, I got stories.

Charlie1223, I am not going to even compare '82 Sky Ryders to what Crown did this season. Not at all the point of what I wrote. I am not going to get dragged into a superficial old vs. new argument. Again, not the point of what I wrote. I used the Sky Ryders as an example of the musical risks and exposure the was inherent in the activity then. The uniqueness lies in the totality of what people were willing to try and encouraged to try. One big difference, however, was there there were about 10,000 more people watching that performance and they were on PBS (DCI Midwest instead of Finals I believe. In terms of public exposure, there is a stark difference. I will ask you. What's the end game, here? What defines the success of the vision? Is it artistic? Is it financial? Is it the creation of new groups? Is it bringing new people into the DCI thing?

I am just going ask a few questions... What is the end game of all of this? What overarching vision do the leadership have for the activity? Who possess it, who articulates it? It has been stated the the recent round of changes regrading instrumentation will.... 1. Get more students involved. Show me the proof, show me evidence that more people will be drawn to "drum corps" as a result of instrumentation changes. More students will come just because someone said they would? How many 10-15 more students trying out per unit? More students, more money. More money. Would more students be involved if it did not require 3000-4000 dollars to march? 2. It would allow "drum corps" to utilize more colors. I suppose that's true. Like the same colors found in orchestral and band music? Is it really going to be that earth-shattering and open up whole new vistas of color? What's going to be the cost on the staff side to hire a pro horn teacher? Are corps going to have to get new trucks or another truck to haul new equipment? You will need more money, allegedly from the hoards of new students to pay for these upgrades. But back to the creativity point... Using these "new" sounds to be on the cutting edge. Is the cutting edge to sound more band like? Is it worth making people upset for some glissando effects or to have a chamber brass ensemble. Is the only way we can be creative is borrowing from other ensemble's sound and mixing them with a "drum corps"? How different does a sousaphone sound from a marching tuba anyway? Drum Corps (without the quotes) used to be something unique. I believe in the value of that uniqueness. As a friend of mine said to me today, I have never gotten tired of the sound of brass and percussion. Never. What is "drum corps" offering that is so different from what students get at a competitive band band in the fall. Touring? The experience of working with your fellow corps members and achieving as a group. Yes! Absolutely! I do question the touring model. 30 shows in 50 days, no real down time, no real time to recover, all night bus trips and a couple hours on the floor and right back at it. If you are lucky you might have a 3 or 4 (very rare) day period somewhere in the summer to do tweaks and changes, hopefully is does not rain. Other than that, 5 shows a week with lots of travel. I worry about the safety and the nightly gambles of 8 hours bus trips. I taught a group that did not tour properly, bad tires running lights that did not work, a straight up drum corps jalopy. I would like to think everybody is traveling safely, but I still see corps pulling into parking lots with windows propped open because the AC is out and because of the travel demands it can't be fixed properly. I digress.... Let me come back to where I started? What's the end game? What's the vision? Don Angelica had a vision. Gale Royer, Bobby Hoffmann, Jim Jones (my old corps director) just to name a few. Mr. Angelica's vision was rooted in music. Corps used to take way more musically risks, it may not have been as refined as today, but it was exciting. Check out the '82 Sky Ryders...check out the rifle line, check out the musical meat in that show....it was 10th place. There are "BOX 5" brass sections today who's tuba music consisted of a grand total of 28 bars of rhythm that were not whole notes, I know I counted. Before the end of the season those rhythms ended up being watered..."Box 5." Who possess a vision now? Is that vision inclusive of the activity as a whole or a few? Does that vision include preserving the uniqueness of Drum Corps? Are we just surviving year to year? If the end game is simply to get more students involved how many will fulfill the definition of success? Do we just keep making corps larger and larger? Adding more and more "colors" not native to drum corps traditionally will put more people in the seats? Where's the evidence? With electronics we can make ANY sound we want. The number one complaint of people surveyed at shows is they are getting blown out by speakers by the groups who do not do amplification well. People act as though the activity had moved forward, it some ways it certainly has, but, when I see 40,000 people in the stands at Finals again I know we have stopped the slow steady erosion of a once unique activity.

I am just going ask a few questions... What is the end game of all of this? What overarching vision do the leadership have for the activity? Who possess it, who articulates it? It has been stated the the recent round of changes regrading instrumentation will.... 1. Get more students involved. Show me the proof, show me evidence that more people will be drawn to "drum corps" as a result of instrumentation changes. More students will come just because someone said they would? How many 10-15 more students trying out per unit? More students, more money. More money. Would more students be involved if it did not require 3000-4000 dollars to march? 2. It would allow "drum corps" to utilize more colors. I suppose that's true. Like the same colors found in orchestral and band music? Is it really going to be that earth-shattering and open up whole new vistas of color? What's going to be the cost on the staff side to hire a pro horn teacher? Are corps going to have to get new trucks or another truck to haul new equipment? You will need more money, allegedly from the hoards of new students to pay for these upgrades. But back to the creativity point... Using these "new" sounds to be on the cutting edge. Is the cutting edge to sound more band like? Is it worth making people upset for some glissando effects or to have a chamber brass ensemble. Is the only way we can be creative is borrowing from other ensemble's sound and mixing them with a "drum corps"? How different does a sousaphone sound from a marching tuba anyway? Drum Corps (without the quotes) used to be something unique. I believe in the value of that uniqueness. As a friend of mine said to me today, I have never gotten tired of the sound of brass and percussion. Never. What is "drum corps" offering that is so different from what students get at a competitive band band in the fall. Touring? The experience of working with your fellow corps members and achieving as a group. Yes! Absolutely! I do question the touring model. 30 shows in 50 days, no real down time, no real time to recover, all night bus trips and a couple hours on the floor and right back at it. If you are lucky you might have a 3 or 4 (very rare) day period somewhere in the summer to do tweaks and changes, hopefully is does not rain. Other than that, 5 shows a week with lots of travel. I worry about the safety and the nightly gambles of 8 hours bus trips. I taught a group that did not tour properly, bad tires running lights that did not work, a straight up drum corps jalopy. I would like to think everybody is traveling safely, but I still see corps pulling into parking lots with windows propped open because the AC is out and because of the travel demands it can't be fixed properly. I digress.... Let me come back to where I started? What's the end game? What's the vision? Don Angelica had a vision. Gale Royer, Bobby Hoffmann, Jim Jones (my old corps director) just to name a few. Mr. Angelica's vision was rooted in music. Corps used to take way more musically risks, it may not have been as refined as today, but it was exciting. Check out the '82 Sky Ryders...check out the rifle line, check out the musical meat in that show....it was 10th place. There are "BOX 5" brass sections today who's tuba music consisted of a grand total of 28 bars of rhythm that were not whole notes, I know I counted. Before the end of the season those rhythms ended up being watered..."Box 5." Who possess a vision now? Is that vision inclusive of the activity as a whole or a few? Does that vision include preserving the uniqueness of Drum Corps? Are we just surviving year to year? If the end game is simply to get more students involved how many will fulfill the definition of success? Do we just keep making corps larger and larger? Adding more and more "colors" not native to drum corps traditionally will put more people in the seats? Where's the evidence? With electronics we can make ANY sound we want. The number one complaint of people surveyed at shows is they are getting blown out by speakers by the groups who do not do amplification well. People act as though the activity had moved forward, it some ways it certainly has, but, when I see 40,000 people in the stands at Finals again I know we have stopped the slow steady erosion of a once unique activity.

In fairness to Al and historical accuracy; Al really did not spend a great deal of time with BK in '99. He was out for a week in July, 3-4 winter camps, and he was around a bit finals week. I cannot speak to what Al did with his time away from BK in '99, but he really was not around us a ton.

On behalf of the staff, members, and myself thanks.

To save money DCI does not have full panels every show...

The "less is more" is all about the more technical challenges, i.e. the Sting tune and the builds into the big stuff. JTB

Let me first preface this opinion by stating up front my opinion is my own and does not represent any organization or organizations I am or formerly have been involved with in past, present, or future. I have been following this whole episode regarding the Separatists. There are a few things that I find troubling. It does not surprise me that a couple of the teams involved in this move are doing what they are doing. It is the majority of these groups who have apparently forgotten where they came from and how they got there. Less than 10 years ago, one of these teams was a 16th place drum corps. Now they have moved up the ranks they are going to kick the ladder away from the wall? Less than 5 years ago, did not earn the place it seems they think they are owed, despite the fact they got a "bailout" from they very organization they are seeking to weaken. Except for the Santa Clara Vanguard and Cavaliers, two of the founding organizations of DCI, the rest have been defined by DCI. Who are the Bluecoats without DCI Finals? Who are the Blue Devils without DCI in front of the title "champion?" Carolina Crown have the chance to win a DCI championship at every division. Without DCI what is the Phantom Regiment? To call drum corps a niche activity is such an laughable understatement. It is closer to a cult. These folks have so overestimated their place in the world, the real world, it is almost laughable, if it were not so potentially catastrophic. We live in a time in which the very future of music education is really in peril. Programs are shrinking or flat out disappearing. People are losing teaching jobs. Parents have to fight harder and harder to keep music apart of their kids lives. In this climate, the "champions" of what we do are so greedy and their view of the world is so warped by the lithe bubble they live in they have to separate themselves from the rest of us. The rest of us... The others... The ones that, apparently, are such a drag of their collective greatness they can't share the stage with us any longer. I grew up in Wyoming. I moved to Casper in high school and then joined the Troopers "B" corps and got promoted into the "A" corps in 1984. In those days those of us who were local spent time at Mr. Jones' really cool home. On one of my visits, Mr. Jones started telling me the same story Don Warren told on the Brass Roots video that came out in the 90s. At the time I did not understand why he was telling me this story. He told me that when they form "The Combine" that it was to circle the wagons and support each other and govern they're own activity that had evolved beyond the old model. To support each other... One thing he stressed to me was that DCI was not there to benefit a single corps or a small group of corps, but to support the activity in general. This model seems to have served the Bluecoats well. Remember when they drove around in Canton Police busses and they had 40 kids in the corps. Remember when they were not corps they are now, was not so long ago. This model seems to have served Carolina Crown well. Remember when they were in purple barely making finals when they did make finals? Remember when they were the up and coming corps coming off a Div II championship? How far we've come. I didn't know Mr. Royer, I have never met Mr. Warren. I did know Jim Jones. I do not think he would be happy with what's happening to his legacy. I do wonder what Mr. Royer, in particular, would think. We live in such a strange time. Everything is ideology, arguments are always tried to be boiled down into black and white, with no shades of gray. No compromise. Given this backdrop, I can't help feeling as though we are seeing the "I got mine, screw the rest of you, cause I want more" mentality infect and threaten "this thing of ours." How very sad. For those of you out there, who like me, have spent a lifetime working and building our respective drum corps and the activity I have a question for you. "Have we wasted our time?" Beyond the benefit to our own lives and the benefits our students have gotten from this amazing activity; I think you have to ask yourself that question. Have we spent all of these years building this thing to have hijacked by people who have benefited themselves from all of the work we all have done? That is why I think this is such a tough thing to watch happen. Because of a few guys and some lemmings who are willing to go over the cliff with them this whole things could be gone in a few years. For what? I am quite certain that this experiment of theirs is going to be a spectacular failure. The market is simply not big enough. My fear is they will sink the rest of us too. For what? What's the payoff? More money? More prestige?

I think I can address this directly, at least from a brass point of view. The playing part of the audition is important but not the end all, be all. As Chuck said the willingness to take instruction and apply it immediately is critical. The Brass Staff AND the Visual Staff are involved in "The Process." It might take a a couple of camps, sometimes more, for an individual to get a marching spot. We look for for people who really want a spot and are willing to fight for it. Very, very rarely the last couple of years have we cut someone outright and it is almost always because of visual issues. That being said, every year is a different competitive dynamic. Any corps after a competitively successful year see an uptick in interest, and the Crossmen will not be different in this regard. Important factors in making the Crossmen or any corps, really are: Ability- Musical and Visual Teachability- willingness to take instruction and apply it. Being in shape- you do not have to be a marathon runner from the get go, but it does not hurt. Being at rehearsals in the winter AND being at spring training. Taking care of business, i.e. school work. Every year people have to bail from drum corps when they can't handle school work and put themselves in scholastic jeopardy. And, yes...MONEY. That is part of it. When I marched diesel fuel was not over 3.50 a gallon. It is expensive to run a drum corps down the road. Especially the kind of tours we seem to have to do now days (a separate discussion). I wish drum corps was not as expensive as it has become, but alas it has, and the ability to follow thru on the financial commitment is a deal breaker. Marching in any drum corps is a big, big commitment of time and money. It will test an individual like very few things will. Bottom line, drum corps need members who are tough and willing to hang in during tough times and go out 30 plus times and bring it, regardless of the number and placement, good day, rotten day, rain, shine. Drum Corps is not for everyone. The people who make into a drum corps and finish a season or seasons are rare birds. That is what the audition process tries illicit from a potential member.

On behalf of the staff and hornline of the 2012 Crossmen; Thank You (!!!!) to everyone for the kind thoughts and wishes. I cannot fully express my pride in what these kids have acheived the last couple of years since our brass team arrived a couple of years ago. This is a special group. See you soon drum corps fans! JTB

For any interested party- A trumpet spot just opened up with the Crossmen. Anyone interested in filling that spot can reach me at bethuud@gmail.com or PM me here.

For any interested party- A trumpet spot just opened up with the Crossmen. Anyone interested in filling that spot can reach me at bethuud@gmail.com or PM me here.

You will be missed Dean. Thanks for all the good times and all the great sounds! I am sure I speak for the entire Bones family in saying our thoughts and prayers are with your family.

Crossmen are looking for 2 Baris, 1 Mello, 1 Tuba...if you want it or know someone e-mail Jason Buckingham at bethuud@gmail.com

My experience in London with "blast!" convinced me that what we do does translate to a mainstream audience. If an English/ European "got it"...well, that was enough proof for me. The key is playing music, melodies...stuff that anyone can relate to emotionally. NOT orchestrated sound effects, "ambichord" ostinatos, and lydian/octotonic scale fragments. What Mr. Dorritie refers to as boop-boop, beep-beep music... Entertainment folks.

REBBEH!!!