DFPDrums

Also there are dozens of stories involving thefts of items from the bingo hall(s). This may be in the expenses somewhere. I remember hearing stories about some of the unfortunate things that have happened at and to the bingo halls in my year at the corps, but all second hand and I didn't really pry... was busy sweating.

Do they count all the money they take in on a given bingo night, or do they count the money at the end of the night after all pay outs are done? I have never had any dealings in bingo, but if they only record actual money gained it could make up for discrepancies (ie people spend 10k at bingo, 6k in prizes are won, BD records a gain of 4k after doors close).

I was looking for that same story, I remember reading it somewhere, but I ran across this little tid-bit. http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_21998019/pleasant-hill-rejects-blue-devils-bingo-parlor From this story we can assume that BD lost money from a bingo hall that closed in that location in 2009, and that there were reported thefts at the location. Could this be some of the equipment and other expenses for those years? Was the location closed because of the expenses?

This has been really informative so far, and I would gladly shake your hand were it near. That said, I wanted to ask if it would be possible to do a side by side comparison of DCI, BoA (make music), and WGI?

Ok, knowing I am not completely off my rocker, I will gladly impart more details. First, this is just a brainstorm at the moment and has not blossomed fully, so ideas such as funding have not been explored. Here is what I have though: I had imagined this as a single start up program in a fairly well off community. After the first year and news media interest, the idea was that it would either split into a second group servicing two separate parts of the community, or the local and surrounding areas would request and seek to have a similar group of their own, with the creation of a little-league circuit organization immediately following. Instrumentation for the sake of young musicians would be kept to standard concert horn keys, So Bb trumpets, F Mellophones, and baritones (not sure that a young kid could lift a contra and not hurt themselves, so no need to risk it). I would keep to these keys as to not confuse or unintentionally have a negative impact on a young persons learning of the basics of their instrument for concert band. I could only imagine the lack of support if local beginning band directors called all the time with death rants about how their students are playing the wrong fingers for the Bb scale because I wanted them to play on sopranos... And of course drums and guard. The fees for these groups would be minimal to match that of other little league activities (enough to cover minor repairs and upgrades). Performances would be kept the mid to late spring to fill the gap of WGI and drum corps, OR could take place early during the drum corps season with a few of the performances taking place prior to drum corps shows. The issue with having it overlap the drum corps season is the sudden absence of a number of instructors that are either performing or teaching DCI/DCA. The benefits: Earlier introduction to the marching arts A social activity for young musicians to get plugged in to that would in some cases help to curb the "you're a bad loser" quips thrown at beginning band students Another method to make band/music "fun" for young children Another method of hooking corps on local communities otherwise unaware of what drum corps is A sudden increase in the talent at local high schools None of this is set in stone. Just a brainstorm. It could be a great idea, could be a terrible flop. Time will tell.

I wouldn't be opposed to standstill competitions for musicians of the age I had in mind... At most, I was thinking like 5-6 sets for 3 minutes of music.

Not sure which forum this best suits, so I will take a stab at it going here. I frequently wish I had been born a few decades earlier so that I could enjoy the sheer volume of corps that were available in the past. I hear the old timers speak of times past like they were just watching herds of corps cross the open plains. Now I, like many, want to see more drum corps, but I do not necessarily mean more div 1. I would like to see more younger corps (think BDC) that were literally like a marching little league. So, in a stroke of either pure genius or mild insanity, or even stupidity, I thought, "hey, why not have a little-league corps circuit". It would be localized to the communities they originate in, like little-league baseball. something like 4-8 corps "*or* marching bands of 20-30 members, more if the area supports it. Have them be active through the late spring, between when WGI and DCI are in full swing, and have them perform 3-4 shows of about 3:00 in length. They show up to the local community park with team t-shirts and ball caps, have a short contest, then break for pizza. Dunno, just a thought.

Hello all. Finally decided to post instead of just read. I have been a member or 2 drum corps, but was unable to finish a season for either due to A) back injury at the beginning of the first attempt, and B) got tackled during a break and set off the back problem again for the second attempt. I am a Music Education major, focus on percussion, and love to write (published composer) and perform. However, my passion will always be teaching.

Why do fans not understand that judges only judge their caption, not the entire product, which leads to corps beating who the fans feel should have won?