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Tim K

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Everything posted by Tim K

  1. I would think they will get members, and members talented enough to make the top 12. That being said, I don’t expect them to pick up where they left off. SCV last made the top three in 2019 and it was not a solid third place finish. Crown was nipping at their heels and I thought they deserved to medal. In 2022 they placed fifth, well behind the top four. Though they have amazing staff lined up, they may discover that at least for this year they are not a destination corps. BD will still be the one to beat, Bloo will continue to be the fun corps, Crown will still have that brass and momentum from last year, BAC wants to be the giant (pun intended) and has no intention of slowing down, Mandarins will be of interest, Cadets, Cavies, and Phantom will have appeal, and Troopers may ascend. I would think attracting vets from 2022 who are still able to march will be critical, but if they’ve found a home elsewhere, will they want to leave?
  2. It already happens. This past year and in 2019, Spartans’ encore was at semi’s not finals. I believe SCVC also had an encore at semi’s in 2022 though they could have performed prior to finals. I was outside at the time waiting to get in so I wouldn’t know!
  3. As I’ve been reading some of the comments and giving them some thought, I would wonder if DCI All Age could be split over two days. Semi’s on Friday does not begin until 1 PM. Why not have the All Age prelims on Friday morning? SoundSport and DrumLine Battle would still have Saturday morning. All Age finals would be Saturday afternoon. It would be a tight schedule, but it wouldn’t split the audience.
  4. Facebook posts produced by a corps are usually positive and that’s how it should be since corps use it for publicity, but it seems as if every year we see positive FB posts by a corps during the off season and learn that the winter was difficult for a corps and in some cases, there were questions as to whether the corps would compete.
  5. I can recall hearing at the first SoundSport in 2013 how SoundSport had such great potential to give groups hoping to compete in Open Class and one day World Class the opportunity to grow. To the best of my knowledge only Guardians has gone from SoundSport to Open Class competition. Certainly SoundSport has grown from its first foray on the steps of Lucas Oil’s South entrance to a well organized and enjoyable event, but not one that’s completely drum corps. Don’t get me wrong, one of the most heartwarming performances I have seen in Indy was the multigenerational Chinese family playing traditional Chinese string and percussion instruments with a little one, probably about five or six assisting an older man, probably a great grandfather who had to be well in his 80’s. The Latin American dance troupe and musicians were riveting and talented. The alumni groups still have it, and while it’s entertaining and a great way to spend the Saturday morning, you can’t say it grows drum corps.
  6. True, but I don’t think most people who attend SoundSport and DrumLine Battle who also attend Prelims, Semi’s, or Finals attend the two events because they are free. The years I go I’d be willing to pay for a ticket if there was a fee.
  7. Perhaps this has been posted and I’ve missed it, but with DCI All Age taking center stage at Lucas Oil during the day on Saturday, will there still be a SoundSport and DrumLine Battle? My thought is a large number of DCA fans will not make the trip to Indy with the exception of those who already do, and if the two events are held at the same time, one event could easily take the audience of the other event. Any thoughts or answers?
  8. I don’t think the numbers were huge. In 2015, Blue Devils performed at Tanglewood in Lenox, MA with Boston Crusaders. I went and spoke with some Blue Devils folks at intermission. At the time BD wanted to be less of a one and done ring destination for marching members. I don’t know if it happened though it looks as if the number of age outs is less than in the past. Their claim was that young people who went from C to B had a good shot at making Blue Devils and that the three corps shared a similar philosophy, values, and training methods though geared to the age and skill level of each corps. They mentioned SCV and SCVC as being two very different corps and most kids did not move from SCVC to SCV. It was a casual conversation so no numbers were given, and it may have been one rival pointing out flaws in another (not that it ever happens in drum corps), but while SCV probably recruited talent from SCVC, I don’t think it was a feeder corps.
  9. I saw quite a few people wearing Santa Clara Vanguard coats at the airport in Indy which started an interesting conversation with a friend. Both of us remembered conversations last summer about Spirit not fielding a corps in 2022 but very little was said about SVC’s absence this past year. Other than who would fill the spot left vacant by SCV, and some talk about Mandarins benefiting from their hiatus, something Mandarins folks didn’t wholeheartedly endorse, I heard next to nothing and my friend who is more on top what’s happening said the same. Personally I at least expected talk about where SCV might have potentially placed, whether they’d come roaring back in 2024, or maybe staff movement if there is not to be a 2024. I’d love to see SCV return, but as others have said, it’s unlikely. I’m also not sure you’d see SCV regain its status if it did return. I personally don’t see any of the top 4 of 2023 who were also the top 4 in 2022 losing ground next year. Mandarins has real momentum, Cadets and Phantom have great potential, Cavies has probably learned a thing or two, Troopers and Colts have fire in their bellies. I just don’t see SCV getting its act together for next year, I don’t expect an immediate return to the top 5, and the longer they are away, the less of a destination corps they will be. I would love to be proven wrong. I didn’t expect Spirit to Cascades to return, and am more than happy to admit I was wrong, but while SCV has a much richer legacy than most corps, it also has huge problems that may not be able to be solved, and this thread is reinforcing my doubts about an SCV return.
  10. I thought when trombones, concert French Horns, and Sousaphones were allowed, woodwinds would not be far behind. That hasn’t happened. I’m not sure it will. It has been said that when DCI had a drill team division, there was some consideration given to a band division. This would have been the earliest days of DCI. There were two drill team competitions and the band was probably only talk. Though a band division is not the same as allowing woodwinds in drum corps, since allowing three valved B-flat brass instruments, the woodwind prediction comes alive, it gets considered, and never happens. Personally I believe most corps are more interested in technology and design and adding woodwinds is not a priority. I could see woodwind solos as we have seen with violins, cellos, and this past year a harmonica which is a reed instrument. That’s as much as we’ll see. As I said in response to another post, adding woodwinds would not mean a significant increase in revenue. The numbers of marching members would be the same and I do not think a significant number of people boycott DCI because it excludes woodwinds, especially where so many think of drum corps as bands anyway.
  11. When the BluRays and DVD’s were available in November which would have been prior to 2014, I was told by the young man selling the product that a huge chunk of the sales each year were at BOA Grand Nationals. I don’t know what huge meant in terms of percentage of sales is concerned, but my understanding is it was significant. I know many people who sit in my block never miss Grand Nationals, and it’s a pretty traditional drum corps crowd. I think for many drum corps fans, many attend high school band competitions and WGI and lots of high school band fans attend DCI. We could lose people at shows if woodwinds are added, but I don’t think we would see a sizable increase in attendance if woodwinds are allowed. They’re already attending. Band circuits are not as popular where I live (Massachusetts) as in the South and Midwest, maybe it’s different, but I’ve never heard anyone say they do not attend DCI because woodwinds are not allowed, jt as a one time clarinet player, I never wanted woodwinds in drum corps.
  12. Nine times, if you include 2021 ten. Though 1994 was not my favorite finals, as great as it was on that hot, humid, murky night, 27th’s “Once More in 94” was probably my favorite finals moment. There was lots of excitement in 2013 when Crown won and 2016 when Academy made finals, BAC squeezed in and Bloo won. 2012 was the first year I was able to attend everything from beginning to end with Blue Saints bring the first corps to compete and Blue Devils the last performing corps in finals (usually beginning with Saints and ending with Devils in not a good thing, it should be the other way around, the exception being drum corps🙂). There was also the parade at that time, but for me that finals was a favorite because I experienced it all. 2021 was not judged, but it still felt like finals to me and after the year 2020 was and most of 2021, it was what we needed. I usually like the dust to settle a bit so it may be too early to say 2023, but with the quality, excitement, and variety, 2023 will be at the top of my future lists.
  13. I seem to recall Phantom feeling the draw hurt them and the spread between 6 and 5 is greater in finals than semi’s, but a quick look on DCX shows that while they placed ahead of Cavaliers once and Madison once, in their meetings with any of the top five, they usually placed behind Blue Devils, Madison, SCV, Cavies, and Cadets.
  14. I haven’t heard that anyone in my section arrived home with Covid. However, I have heard more than a few people who have traveled by plane to and from East coast destinations over the past few weeks arrive home and find they have Covid a few days later.
  15. I thought the lines to get in the stadium moved quickly and concession stand lines were much faster. There were also more concession stands open. As I said in a post on another thread, this makes the event more enjoyable.
  16. I was more than impressed with 2023. The shows were amazing and I thought overall that everything ran smoothly at LOS. While this has little impact on the shows themselves, it has a huge impact on the overall experience. I’m glad to say I was wrong about a return to competition for Seattle Cascades and Spirit of Atlanta. Re-emerging after time away is not the norm for drum corps. I did talk with some folks from Spirit and it was touch and go as to whether there would be a 2023 season and I know it was work for Cascades which makes both returning all the more remarkable. I thought that of the 19 WC corps that competed in 2023 that also competed in 2022, regardless of placement, 18 had shows that were as good or better, one had challenges with recruitment though I’m not sure the challenges were pandemic related. In OC, I know rebounding is still an issue for some corps. A person I spoke with associated with one OC corps claims rebounding from the pandemic has been more difficult than when the corps started from scratch. I also heard that some OC corps are expressing concerns about recruitment in the next year or two. Music programs took a major hit during remote learning, and many schools did not have band or chorus for a at least a year, in some cases two years. Some kids when given the opportunity chose not to take music lessons, others are a bit behind. These are the young people who might begin looking at OC experiences. This could hurt the pool for potential recruits. My thought is the corps will meet the challenges, but it has not been easy.
  17. You know the same is true for me. No one is hiring me even though I have all the answers and solutions a drum corps could want. The problem? My answers don’t match the questions and my solutions do not match the problems.🙂
  18. I don’t think you can recreate too many shows. For one thing, the skills of yesteryear are not the skills taught today. This is not to say yesterday is better than today or today is better than yesterday. It’s different. You also don’t have the same staff and marching members which often made a show a show. We’re also different and we see shows differently today when we look back than how we viewed shows back in the day. In high school (1978-81) I always admired corps that were precise and took drum corps seriously. Favorites would have been 27th, BAC, Cadets, Defenders, North Star. Bridgemen in my opinion at the time did not take drum corps seriously. Now I watch my DVD’s and can’t believe how seriously Bridgemen took their performances, the talent level, and creativity. Maybe I had no sense of humor at the time, most likely they were too competitive with corps I liked better. I do not think we can recreate shows, but I am a strong supporter of returning to classic pieces, but exploring them in a new way. A favorite Phantom “off the line” number was 1977’s 4th movement of Dvorak’s Symphony #9. Returning to that became 1989’s “New World Symphony.” They reimagined a classic. So yes, we could do a show on Elgar’s “The Planets” or Bizet’s “Carmen,” but do it differently. Include some of the popular portions, but include deep cuts too. There are great portions of popular classics that have never been arranged for drum corps. There are lots of times I look up source music and am surprised at who wrote it and where it came from, so do the familiar but dig deeper.
  19. I was part of a conversation a few years back about a drum major who did not receive the Jim Jones award though he was predicted to win. It turns out this DM did not want to be considered for the award. At least at the time (this would have been 2012-2013 or in that time frame) a DM had to be nominated and the DM needed to acknowledge the nomination. I believe a drum major could also apply. That may have changed. There was either an interview or questionnaire involved, and the poise, conducting, and what we see was are not the only considerations. The award really is about leadership and the true test of leadership is what happens off the field. I do not know any of the current crop of drum majors and the former drum majors I have met I usually met after they marched, though not always. What I have found is that the drum majors we often like best are often very effective when the spot light is not on them. It turns out some of the large personalities do not have large egos and in an activity where we have our fair share of people who are self important, that says a great deal.
  20. This is where the Legacy DVD’s can be helpful. Lots of corps experimented in the tic days. Blue Devils, Phantom, SCV, 27th, Bridgemen, Guardsmen, are just some who took risks. Watch 1976 Blue Devils, the first year they won a title. That show is way ahead of its time. It’s also impeccably clean. Look at what 27th Lancers did with its color guard as early as 1976 or what 27th or Phantom did in the late 70’s. While it is true that some corps focused more on being clean than innovative in the tic years, including some finalists, your best corps often pushed the boundaries and they were clean. Something that was common at the time was where risky things could be found in a show, at least in theory. Corps had 11 1/2 to 13 minutes to perform. After the timing gun was shot at 11 1/2 minutes and on field judges left the field, corps were said to try things that would no result in a tic, but I can’t think of any examples, at least not from a top corps where this was the case.
  21. Thank you Boston Crusaders. The quality of the show, the hard work involved in perfecting a difficult show, and the excitement you provided will be remembered by so many for years to come.
  22. First of all, congratulations to Blue Devils on a championship, an undefeated season, and a three-peat. Yes it’s a three-peat since they won three consecutive judged championships. Some argue it’s not a true three-peat because it’s not three consecutive years, but there is no rule that defines a three-peat. Some say it’s not because it involves the Blue Devils. I say let those who don’t exactly love Blue Devils and like to stir the pot and the thin skinned folks who take offense at anything negative about Blue Devils argue those points. Where I do think there can be an argument made saying it’s not a true three-peat is 2021. For so many of the corps that participated, it was a huge sacrifice and an extraordinary effort for so short a season. Blue Devils did not participate and while you can point out SCV not participating and it being a long trip from California, Gold, Pacific Crest, and Mandarins did. Now that I’ve posted on this thread, why was it started in the first place? I just arrived back from Lucas Oil, talked with lists of folks. Some thought the scores should have been closer. No one said that Blue Devils should not have won, there were discussions about who should have been in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. No one even said the word three-peat.
  23. I’ll be leaving in a few minutes. I think the special Friends of DCI entrance, along with more staff should move things along. Last year Friday had some issues and that was not the case this year. I hope that’s a good sign.
  24. I’m sure the marching members and folks from Les Stentors understood it very well! 🙂
  25. My thoughts: there could be movement in 2-4. I’d love to see movement in 1-4 but the 2-4 is more realistic. There could be movement in 5-7 with Cavies becoming a fly in the ointment. I think Troopers will be closer to Colts in score than to Blue Stars.
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