CLD

My point was ice skating and gymnastics do it wrong too lol. I'm a firm believer in the KISS rule. You tweek and tweek and tweek the system and the sheets to account for every little thing over the years and it becomes a monster like our tax code. It is not necessary. The placement number the corps gets tells them exactly where they are and they decide where they want to be. Not that I think a corps should go through the season thinking, "gee, I guess we're happy to strive for 15th." They have the judges tapes for specific critique. I maintain my assertion that it does NOT have to be as complicated as it is now.

Sorry, but I don't buy it. Ultimately, everyone just wants to win. If they can judge best in show for dogs this way, they can do it for corps, or ice skating or gymnastics.

Flame away...what's wrong with a judge simply ranking them an overall 1 thru 12 after all of the performances are done. As well, award a first in perc, brass, and guard then call it a day. No subcaptions of ach/perf, no more breakdowns for GE and vizh, no numbers mgmt, just 1 thru 12 and we're done. One judge for the overall award (the one to judge the big picture from the box), one judge each for brass, perc, guard (on or off the field, but I prefer off). I'm always amazed at the need to make things so complicated.

Just. Say. No. Any Andrew Lloyd Webber uck, no! Actually no to any redux of any kind, any old show, any repeat source music. There is a boatlaod of great music that's never been done in corps. C'mon designers/arrangers, you can doooo it.

POW Percussion 2014 "Farhenheit 451" But along the vein of borrowing from WGI and Box 6 Productions (Pulse)....A Danny Elfman show. Yeah yeah, I know Pulse wasn't Danny Elfman source music, but it did have the Tim Burton vibe going on.

Errrrr, I'm torn. I understand where he's coming from and I appreciate the dignity and tradition, but just as the activity has evolved with narration, props, dance moves, trombones, etc, so has the world we live in. The end of retreat marks the end of a grueling wonderful season for all of these performers, many of whom know each other from meeting on tour, marching other corps together, or even marching WGI. It's not the small world it used to be. Kids from Cali march in Canton, kids from Texas march in Cali and so on. Corps are no longer so isolated that performers only know the people in their unit. And really, let's face it - it's a social media world now full of selfies and snapchats and tumblr and facebook. Let them march into the stadium full of pageantry and dignity, but when all is done, give them a chance to move through the ranks to hug and congratulate their friends from other corps and take those all important selfies that capture "that one second" that they will remember the rest of their lives. My age would qualify me as a dinosaur, but what I wouldn't give to have photos with friends from life moments like that.

Sorry, but this remains a fave for me Plus, it was even re-tweeted by Poptarts. Gotta love that.

Never too soon. Bring on the memes.

bwahhhhhhhhaaaaaahhaaaaa. nice.

AGEOUT RAGEOUT

Happens all the time. When the runner up is announced, everyone starts cheering because they know who won Miss America But yeah, I see your point. They performed their butts off and deserve recognition. Hopefully they got enough of that after their actual performances.

Another homage show with tongue firmy planted in cheek done by a corps with nothing to lose. But instead of focusing on one style (ala Surf doing Bridgemen), do snippets of several famous/infamous corps and their styles.

So I guess Phantom didn't pull a penalty, must have been a DCI delay. Bummer for BK, was pulling for them to hold their position. And wow, just wow - what a great year! Congrats to all of those amazing groups. No hatorade here, just a ton of awe and respect. However, I just gotta...BLOOOOOOOOO

Can you imagine losing like the Bridgemen in 1981. From Bridgemen's history page: "In finals, the corps did a lackluster performance losing to Phantom Regiment by .005. The corps had a .1 penalty due to a shoe coming off a member." eta: not for the championship, but for their overall placement

LOL, actually I thought they should have used "I got no strings..." from Pinnochio (not that a Disney music license can be had)

I'm wondering why the corps can't evolve just a smidge? Honestly, I don't know the story behind the control of PIO, but if it's a matter of sticking to the founder's ideals/principals/philosophy, I still don't see a problem with challenging the members with a well written drill and music book while mainting the corps' identity. I feel like PIO is always so watered down. Why? Is it because they don't feel the members have the skills to pull off anything else or is it the creativity of the staff. Someone who knows more about PIO please explain.

I could have sworn PC was listed in 20th behind SCVC in the score posting at the end of the FN feed (and on fromthepressbox) yesterday? Perhaps a glitch like Bloo's mistaken score last night.

I love the way this thread has gone off the rails (er, evolved) Wasn't this all about having time for corps with a high school schedule? I'm going to go back to the high school frame of reference for a minute and the all important college application: Admission depts. look at the depth and breadth of a student's extra curriculars, they want to see involved kids. Frankly, you'd think you need to cure cancer in your junior year to garner an admission from some schools. College is competitive, life is competitive. I know plenty of kids who manage corps, band, sports, acadec, scouts, and countless other activities. They are valedictorians, class leaders, community service organization members. They find a way to do all of these things without diluting them. I don't think many of these youth organizations take a "your time is ours - all or nothing" stance. They recognize that today's youth are pulled in a variety of directions. I tell ya, it's a far cry from my lazy misspent childhood. I'm hopeful for tomorrow when I see some of these kids, I certainly don't see a sense of "me first" entitlement. I see kids learning values, leadership, time management, competition, sportsmanship. These are students I would want to admit - these are future adults I would want to employ. (of course, these are the same kids doing sometimes x-rated and usually crude things on tour buses - ahhh to be young again)

I was going to snip your quote into a smaller chunk, but really, it's perfect as is. Everything you said plus: the two activities are so beneficial to each other. A band develops a player over the school year and a corps add another dimension to that player which he then brings back the following fall. I made my original comment based on the OP's topic of high schoolers. Many of the same things are relevant to college marchers, but I'm not going to stray off into a college student's scholly requirements. That's a different animal. Barring the snot-nosed kid that Stu is worried about, most corps members come back and prove excellent members, role models, students. I don't see it as someone coming back into band after others have been "busting their humps" for two weeks because those two weeks have likely been spent going over very basic material, and hasn't the corps member been busting their hump as well? It isn't as if he were lying on a beach in Hawaii during band camp. I just can't see that being the source of resentment among band members. Resentment is usually along the lines of, "Dude, omg you had the best summer! I am so gonna try out for _____Corps next season!" eta: I can cite so many positive developments within our own band program that have been inspired by returning corps members. For example, the band kids saw what great shape the corps members were in and developed their own physical training regime OUTSIDE of camp hours. Trickle down swagger can be a great thing - horn snaps cleaner, heads up higher, section pride and teamwork, these things benefit the band. With the right members and the right attitude the corps to band transition need not be divisive.

Our area's high schoolers marched DCI and showed up late to band camps. I don't really think most directors mind this as the DCI kids show up in great shape with well practiced chops and the ability to pick up drill quickly. Gonna be hard pressed to find a kid that would skip their chance at marching a corps to attend a couple weeks of band camp where much of the time is spent teaching fundamentals to the freshman.

I think what disappoints me most is that these people aren't seeing the first set of corps on the field performing

Why do discussions of corporate sponsorship always seem limited to music supply companies, Ie; Remo, Mapex, Yamaha, etc? Clearly there must be some savvy people running the corps or sitting on their boards (I hope, anyway). Why aren't these people out there beating down the doors of companies that produce many of the things that are used by every member? Sunscreen, igloo jugs, aerobed, knee braces, advil, dct blistex, febreeze, under armour-like clothing, silver polish, jeez the list goes on and on. Why aren't corporate sponsors like these plastered on the semi trucks of every corps small and large as they zig zag the country?

^ Yes, but I would hope the point I was making was understood despite the fact the bugles are no longer used. Horns and battery should be the focus not marimbas and the rest of the front ensemble. They should compliment the main course - an enhancement if you will, best used sparingly (like dancing). Sorry, just my feeling.

I'm kinda "meh" about dancing when it takes the brass out of play. I'd much rather see them "blowing the stands down" while running a crazy a** drill. Doing some vizh stuff while playing is fine, but don't ever put the horns down. And regarding the other comment: With all due respect to the front ensemble (gonna get some hate here) - I truly feel that they are there to COMPLIMENT the sounds coming from the field not to replace what the brass and battery should be doing. After all, it IS drum and bugle corps, not drum and marimba corps.