Maestro196

The schedule and fate (although I may be tempting it with this post) are finally cooperating and I will be able to go to Allentown for the first time this year. Does anybody know if Ron Gunn is still putting packages together or if anyone is doing anything like that? I am not familiar with the area so I have no clue where to look for hotels or where would be good to stay that's affordable. Thanks in advance, Rick

Tom Sink is the President of the Glassmen Board of Directors and is not a Smithee.

But then they add, "razzle, dazzle" and "boom chocka locka" all they were missing was "army training" :)

How's the crowd looking? I'm trying to get there as soon as I can get everyone out of my theater. :)

@baja Any official word on a delay?

Radar is showing some rain in the stadium area right now. Maybe it will delay the start.

Hoping to make it in time for INT. I hear they have a great show.

Thank you KFanti and BluecoatsFan for the scores and thank you Kevin for the play by play. Hopefully I will see the August Toledo show in person.

ARGHHHHHHHHh. What about scores? Bueler, Bueler, anybody?

I would think that anyone willing to pay at all would be a good thing.

How about the West Palm Beach Polo club. The field got so bad that they made it a standstill exhibition. We still had people losing their shoes just marching to concert formation. The stands were a million miles away.

How come we had 30+ pages when people suspected BD of using a pitch modulator last year and yet no one has said anything about the OBVIOUS use of delay and reverb on the string and wind instruments used by Cavaliers. I enjoyed their use and really didn't mind them but still lets see some consistency. I haven't left yet but I am not letting the exceptions (Phantom, Crown, Glassmen) disprove the trend towards esoteric, unapproachable, psuedo intellectual crap that is invading DCI.

But DCP folks are already at 100%. The judges refuse to acknowledge the superior intellect and abilities that are present here. :)

A lot of people plan their vacations around finals. We have made plans that have nothing to do with drum corps (yes there really is a world outside of drum corps) around being in Indianapolis. I can handle the hour to Bloomington but 2 hours each way to Louisville is a bit much. Given start time for some events would require being on the bus at 6:00 am and not getting back until after 1:00 am. Also there is not much within walking distance of PJCS so what do you do between open and world class shows? sit around the parking lot? I realize that this is all based on unsubstantiated rumors and nothing may ever come of it. But if finals gets moved again I would have to think about if it is truly worth it considering all the factors. I understand supporting DCI and the corps but sometimes enough is enough.

Some of my goose bump moments: Brandt Crockers voice every year 83 Cadets - mellophone riff into Rocky Point BD - F Tuning - don't know why but it always gets me pumped 1983 - We were leaving after retreat and Madison had won the show. The stadium was in a valley and as we marched back to the busses we heard MYNWA. It just seemed to echo and build through the entire valley. 80 Spirit - Let It Be Me - The first show I can remember seeing and it was through the TV but the emotion came poring through the electrons. Madison - Strawberry Soup Phantom - 1812 Overture - so much pure power and many others.

Alas due to a scheduling conflict I will be once again unable to attend the All-Star Review on the 21st. But I should have time during the day to bounce around and catch some rehearsals. I know the Cadets are at Delta High School and Glassmen are more than likely at Whitmer. Does anyone know know where the rest of the corps are staying? Specifically Bluecoats and Crossmen, but the others would be welcomed also as I need to satisfy a serious drum corps jones. Rick Pride of Cincinnati 1983

Already being done. There is a show on Broadway that uses RFID tags on the actors and a series of antennae to feed a mixer that automatically places the voice in the proper sound space.(where you expect a voice to be coming from by looking at the actor) So that solves the spacing problem. As far as 72 channels, there are shows that use more channels than that and are mixed very effectively. I have seen some shows with over 150 inputs. It really is not that hard to do if you set it up right

Was Sharon Poole at Pride of Cincinatti before Suncoast? I know some Pride people went to Suncoast because I saw Sue Kuehnhold doing public relations for them a couple of years after I marched and she was my DM at Pride. The name Sharon Poole seems to ring a bell.

We will probably be well on our way to our own celebration as we have tickets to the Mallards game in the all-you can drink section. ^0^

We are coming in on Monday and spending the week. I am looking for things for myh wife and I to do besides drum corps. We are going to a Mallards game Tuesday night and Whadya Know on Saturday Morning, but other than that I'm trying to find stuff to do. We are staying at the Holiday Inn express by the Energy Center.

One word (I'm doing one word answers for the ADD people out there) BORING ^0^

One word..... Zeppelin ^0^

The reason that things go tight in theatres and concerts is that they have the time to frequency align their wireless units. There are professionals who do nothing but coordinate wireless frequencies on concert and theatre tours. Having a frequency "scanner" does not mean you are protected. The scanner will only pick up frerquencies that are active at the time of the scan. I have worked a show where we were fine with the wireless all week until dress rehearsal and all of a sudden we lost two channels. Seems somebody from the high school tech crew decided they needed wireless headsets and brought some in. A local TV station could be doing a remote broadcast from the event and use the same channels that you wanted to use. Another reason is the cost. A good reliable wireless unit starts at $800. Add in frequency agility, scanning ability, management software, and replacement elements and the cost goes up. I personall would rather see the corps spend the money on gas or food for the kids. Another poster was asking about IED's. These are Internal Ear Devices or In Ear Monitoring. They use wirelss to transmit the monitor signal to a receiver pack which is connected to a set of ear bus. As far as hijacking a show, it can be done and with not too much effort and is relatively untraceable. I could sit outside a stadium, find the frequencies you are using, using the same software that was used to find the open frequencies, set my transmitter to your frequency and depending who had the stronger signal, you could hear the keyboards from the pit or the latest hit from bjork. (oh wait that would be a cadets show) :P I won't even get into how wireless transmission affects the quality of the sound. I am not in favor of amps for drum corps, but if they insist on using them, please do not use wireless. They still can't figure out how to use amps without feedback. properly distribute the sound, maintain balance, or practice proper microphone placement, let alone wireless frequency coordination. Rick

I am getting a little antsy and am starting to put together our itinerary for Finals week. If you could recommend one place to go for a nice, (and relatively inexpensive, under $75 for two) dinner in the Madison area where would it be? My wife and I enjoy dining out and are looking for something new to experience. Last time in Madison we took a dinner cruise on the Dells and may do that again, but I was wondering if anyone had some other ideas. We will be staying out by the Energy Center, but we are willing to drive a little (obviously as we went to the dells last time :) ) Rick