Rufus67

This makes me happy. Thanks for sharing!

That was amazing! First note to last made an impact both in your face and subtly. Cannot wait for these kids to get an audience to react to the show and its many moments!

Perhaps this is so (haven't had the pleasure of viewing any video yet). But from prior experience isn't the ending the thing that changes the most during the season, and sometimes right up to finals, in reaction to fan and judge feedback? I think that goes for both drill and music but I might me wrong on that. Hopefully, if there is something to change, they're able to do so on the fly. Hard to believe they'd put work into a great show only to have it go "thud" at the end (and then not want to fix that). Cannot wait to see the show!

Hey, if Phantom Regiment can pull off a decapitation what's a little evisceration between friends?

This may be long and/or a repeat of a couple other posts, and is just one dad's perspective, but hopefully will be of some use. Our son got the marching arts itch as soon as he started marching in HS. It probably helped that our school hosted a WC corps for a local show they competed in but even before that I’d taken him to a couple of shows and he thought they were cool. He got it in his head to audition for a local WC corps and almost backed out. After discussing with him that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take he went and sent my wife and me the best text we’ve ever received – “Thank you for encouraging me to attend, I love you both.” Would like to report with that as a setup for a Hollywood ending he was offered a contract but alas, it didn’t go well in terms of results. For a roadmap going forward it couldn’t have turned out better. In short, he got lessons, did the work, got himself in shape, went back to the same corps to audition the next year and….didn’t get a contract (though he was called back!). He also auditioned for an OC corps and was offered an alternate slot but decided instead to march DCA (contrary to Garfield's experience with his son, the Director of the WC corps encouraged those not offered a contract to march in a couple of DCA corps). He had to audition for them as well, was offered a contract, and ended up marching two wonderful years learning all there is to know about marching, musical technique (and that they differ from corps to corps), physical preparedness, how to get along with a group of people you don’t know, and how to swear proficiently (hey, not all lessons learned are gems). Flash forward to this past winter and he had his sights set on one WC corps and one only. He did the prep work, sent in his videos, incorporated the feedback, and did the audition. As we parents were waiting for the show-and-tell on Sunday he sat down next to me, looked at me sideways, and said “contract baby.” Now we sit at home hoping to see him in pictures posted and cannot wait until tour brings him around (we’re probably not volunteering because we want this to be his experience and about him, but I’m already wavering on that because I love him and the activity). So, in summary: Be prepared – this includes physically and musically. If you don't know what's expected at a particular camp then ask. Asking, rather than assuming, is mature and ensures you have a leg up on a lot of the competition (because most people don't ask). Experience is a great teacher – if you’re not ready for WC, try OC. If not OC try DCA. There are valuable lessons to be learned wherever and they all translate (plus corps like seeing you with marching experience outside of HS/college). The biggest fear is often of the unknown. Once you show up you’ve already beaten 90% of the folks who couldn’t even make it that far. As others have said, just try! Be open – no two corps are alike regardless of WC/OC/DCA. Each has its own traditions, techniques, and expectations. Learn them while there, participate in them, enjoy them, and get ready to learn whatever is next if you decide to move on to a different group. I’m excited to see how this season turns out to be for him and us. The journey was not a straight one (he’s a plugger in terms of musical ability – can get there with practice/persistence – but did not stand out as such in HS) but by being open to new experiences, shifting sights a bit to get the experience needed, and putting in a ton of sweat equity he was able to realize a dream this year.

I'm looking forward to my oldest son, after working his tail off and marching two years in DCA, get to live his dream out and march with the Madison Scouts this year. Scores are nice, championships even better, but seeing someone achieve their dream like that is what makes this activity so great.

Call me crazy, but I've used this video as a way to describe the entire activity, not just a particular show. Often folks will look at a show clip and immediately have questions like: What college is this from? How much do they get paid? Are they all professional musicians? This video, more than any other, is short and to the point (even if it's a fundraising video) and explains the activity better than anything else I've come across. Plus, the opening clip of the Scouts marching into Lucas Field where you see the 19,000 or so fans really gives you goose bumps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYViMeRZisA

Latest from the last camp held this weekend. Getting really excited to see this show! <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FMadisonScouts%2Fvideos%2F10153374509830916%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe>

Link to their show announcement on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spiritdrumcorps/

What would be interesting is, if you were somehow able to program the show and have the stage run through a program based on starting point on the field, how you would account for environmental factors. For instance, will artificial turf vs. actual grass result in the same travel time/distance? What about wet grass/turf versus dry/hot/windy conditions? Can picture a stage just sitting and spinning its wheels on wet turf because they can't get enough traction and literally destroying a show.

For some reason this clip came to mind. Not sure why... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQCU36pkH7c

Didn't want to hijack the discussion on the new rules, and I have no idea if this is even possible, but could one proposed rule be that music and/or sound bites used in shows have to have the rights secured before the season starts for performance and reproduction in both audio and video (and provide proof of the rights being secured)? Would something like that help with getting cds and Bluerays out in a more timely manner? Maybe corps already have to do this, maybe it would be prohibitively expensive for corps to do this, and it might significantly put a dent in the available music to use in shows, but would it not be worth it in order to market the cds and videos on something approaching a more regular basis?

Arrgh! Trying to watch via PS3 and it's not working. Do I need to be streaming from my laptop, then connect that to my TV?

Just ordered yesterday and it didn't change for me either.

Watching from home this year and it's killing me. Want very much to be up there but finances dictate otherwise.

That would be me, my wife, her mom, and anyone else we can fit in the car!

I just sent a note to DCA asking for an update on details regarding a Prelim/Finals broadcast and will post if I hear anything.

Not sure about the gate-opening issue as we arrived around 1pm (our son was performing in one of the DCA corps and we wanted to be sure we didn't miss it) and got right in. I realize this is probably not when the bulk of folks arrived however...

Not disagreeing with much you posted other than maybe this (since it's in response to my comment!). MARTA isn't a viable option (at least for me). I've used it for work and events downtown (Peachtree Road Race, games, etc.) and it simply doesn't work well enough. Comments received from friends who tried to take it home Saturday night confirmed that (too crowded, not enough trains running, no A/C, etc.), just as the city/event hosts don't handle large events well, neither does MARTA. As to hiring officers for traffic control let's do some back of the napkin figuring. The main area of concern is Ivan Allen Blvd from the Dome to Williams Street (where you can pick up the connector going either north or south). There are maybe 8 intersections between the Dome and there so: 10 Officers @ $100/hour for 4 hours (only need at event end as most attendees trickle in during the day) = $4,000. Even if you double that to $8,000, and realizing that's $8,000 less going to corps and DCI, it still provides for a more enjoyable experience exiting the stadium for those that paid to attend.

Very excited to see CV this weekend as I think their show is very good already with the potential to be great (full disclosure - my son marches CV). The drill alone for the last movement is very demanding and worth the price of admission (and don't get me started on the drum solo or Nessum Dorma). Judges do their thing but, in the end, its about the connection with the audience and knowing you had the best run you possible could. At DCI South Phantom Regiment (of all corps) and Madison Scouts were by far my favorite of the night but they finished well behind the "leaders." That's what I like - throwin' babies moments!!!

Not sure, but the Peace, Love, and Drum Corps show's still on for Saturday at Woodstock at least...

Well, I live here (technically in the suburbs, but have to commute every day so it's almost like I'm in the city) and can tell you the only thing that keeps me hesitant to attend DCI South every year is knowing that we'll spend 2+ hours trying to get out of there because the traffic is so bad. Combine tour buses, equipment semis, support vehicles, and school buses (along with 18,000 fans) and the roads are gridlocked. I find it hard to believe they have this many issues with 70,000+ football fans on Saturday/Sundays but for some reason the traffic-control geniuses don't think it necessary to post officers to control traffic. Hearing from friends apparently mass-transit was just as bad so that's not an alternative either. Not a good showing for my home city.

We did this but it was in drum major camp with George Parks. Very fun but entirely nerve-wracking! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYmKJXEH738

Our school's hosted a top 12 corps for DCI-South for the last 4 years and, as far as I know, have received comp tickets to the show as payment from DCI (just read that and it makes it sound ungrateful which couldn't be further from the truth). I'm pretty sure the band/school didn't receive any other kind of payment (other than a chance for the kids in the band to see a drum corps up close and personal). I think these kind of arrangements have a lot to do with who the school administration, band director, and booster club folks are as well. If they're not all in alignment (thankfully ours was/is) I can see this getting very difficult for DCI/individual corps to arrange.

Speaking as the father of a returning CV marcher (1st year marched was last year) I can speak to the quality of the organization, staff, and his overall experience. In my son's case he's graduating HS this year and had opportunity to audition for DCI corps if he wanted, but he chose to return to CV for a variety of personal reasons which were all valid/good (and dare I say "mature" as well - must get that from his mother...). What's interesting to me is with Alliance getting back in the game last year, CV, SOA, and several DCI corps holding audition camps in the Atlanta area it's really neat to see the resurgence, if that's the right word, of the activity in this area of the country. We counted up last summer and, just looking at current students and grads in my son's HS, there were at least 7 of them marching corps at some level. This is from a program that fields, at most, 130 marchers. I think that's phenomenal representation. If the trajectory for the local corps programs keeps going the way it appears to be they should all benefit from the talent that's around here.