Dan Detweiler

I would say, with all due respect Ron...CHILL! I don't think BigW is saying that at all. If an organization feels they need that medium to attract adequate interest..great for them. If they don't...great for them. Obviously Bucs and Cabs and perhaps others aren't fielding 20 member drum corps. They are getting the participation they need form other means. Now, if you are saying that outside, non marching fans need that exposure, then it is a problem with the individual, not the organization. Drum Corps are in the business of long term sustainable membership. How they achieve that is completely their business...in my opinion. If an individual needs that "fix" then I don't know of any corps that wouldn't welcome them to come check out a rehearsal or camp. Based on the performances that I have seen over my 4 years in DCA, I would say that the products pretty much speak for themselves. As always, just my opinion. Dan

You can contact Dave Stollberg through our web site at www.atlantacv.org He can give you all the specifics. Thanks for your interest! Dan

If you are interested in purchasing any King Ultimate Brass horns, complete with cases, please contact me here or on Facebook. Full line available. Dan

These are all perfect examples of why us educationally minded drum corps that are concerned with being good role models for our young adults are trying so desperately to put these stories behind us! Dan

The 70s and 80s with MOST corps were a realm of experiences that, I have heard, were not for the faint of heart. This is a stigma that has taken a long time to get over. I know that we still fight that to some degree but it is getting better. Just gotta keep doing things the right way and eventually people come around. Dan

Has anyone heard when the DVDs of finals are to be shipped? Looking forward to watching them. Dan

What about giving the alumni corps the option to compete or go exhibition? Happens in the band world all the time. That way we aren't re-inventing the wheel and starting something from scratch. Award an Alumni Champion for those that compete but also give the ones that don't want to a chance to perform. Just a thought. Dan

As it stands they are paying $12 - $15 to see the same three corps over and over now. Who's to say they wouldn't be willing to pay the price of admission to see the entire circuit? Might be worth a try. Again, I'm not saying that it should be down here, but I don't think we should discount ANY other location purely because of speculation on whether people would turn out or not. Dan

You know one thing people forget when talking about attendance at finals is all the people from other areas that don't attend because of the travel to the Northeast that otherwise might. How many drum corps fans are we missing out on from other parts of the country by limiting our discussion to areas within a few hours drive from the New York, eastern Pennsylvania area? I'm not saying that we need to move necessarily, but don't think that the fans from the Northeast that wouldn't travel to a further facility wouldn't necessarily be replaced with fans from another area. Just a thought. Dan

As far as the DCI Regional is concerned for us, it is more of a recruiting tool for us than anything else. We get a ton of exposure and believe it or not sell A LOT of souvie stuff! As to it's impact on us competitively...it's another performance. This year it really was a turning point for us internally. We had a very poor show and it really served as a wake up call for us. Things really progressed exponentially from there on. Each camp was significantly better than the last and we began to really believe in the product and the show. With the limited performance opportunities we have down here, we try to use every opportunity that we can...including the regional. Dan

...annnnd the travel issue raises it's ugly head once again. It is what it is and we move forward. It's a given down here. Is it fair...no. Does it put an unfair financial burden on those outside of the Northeast...yes. Is it going to change...no. We all have our burdens to bear. I just want to keep getting better. Dan

Well, like I said before. We were thrilled with his work this year. If he stopped caring then he can "not care" about our show and our corps any day of the week! Dan

I was going to go back and fix it...but I kind of like all the speculation! "Crouching drum corps...hidden Marvin" Dan

So have we, as I'm sure most of our competitors have. It's a year round activity. We have our first major fundraiser in a couple of weeks. Design meetings, recruitment strategies...all in the woks.

Don't know about anybody else, but CV is a weekend only corps. Our age range this year was 15 - 60 with an average age of about 23. Dan

Having judged at many levels for over 30 years, it bothers me that people seem to feel like all judges are corrupt and incompetent. As a whole, judges are highly trained, educated, honest people that are making a call based on their own history and a set of criterion spelled out on the back of the sheets. Whenever you are placed in a position of ranking groups somebody is going to be upset by your opinions. Are there those that are better than others? Of course. Are there some that maybe shouldn't be put in the position they are in? Possibly. But on the whole, they get it right more often than not. We may not like the outcome, but when taken as a whole, they do a pretty amazing job. Having listened to all of our tapes from finals, I was very impressed with most of the commentary. Did I agree with all of their rankings? No. But when all is said and done, I am not prepared to throw them all over a cliff and say the system is flawed and needs to be abandoned. I am a firm believer that if you are putting a good product out there on a consistent basis, people are going to take notice. After all, that is all the performers can do anyway, and that is where I choose to place my efforts. As always, just my 2 cents. Dan

Sort of off topic, but while Jamey's talents might be missing from the DCI ranks, he is alive and kicking in DCA. He wrote for Atlanta CV this year and absolutely tore it up. His drill was a huge reason why we were able to move into the top 5 this summer. Our guard finished second, in large part because they were always staged in a manner to be effective and supportive of the musical book. We were THRILLED with his work and look forward to him helping us to even higher heights next year. Dan

Championships are in Rochester for a reason. DCA wouldn't have made the arrangements if there wasn't. Does that mean they will be there forever? Probably not. What they need are options, and I am fairly sure that options are being considered. Give Allen and the rest of the DCA staff some time to work through the options. We are committed to Rochester for two more years, I believe. Let's wait and see what's in the cards after that. Dan

I loved Phantom's show this year. But...I think this thread was about their returning to King brass. Good for them if it helps them move forward as an organization. Usually these moves are accompanied by some sort of financial break so I am sure it will probably help them on the financial side as well. Dan

This is fantastic news for Spirit. Both of these gentlemen are a wonderful fit in their perspective positions. I see GREAT things in Spirit's future moving forward. Good luck Chris and Dave...you have the full support of everyone that has ever been associated with the drum corps. Dan

Gotta chime in on one issue here. I have to respectfully disagree with the concept of increasing attendance by "making DCA more competitive". First of all, I'm not sure what is implied by that. Let's call a spade a spade and focus this conversation on Bucs. Their winning streak is unprecedented and like them or not they have been at the pinnacle of the activity for a very long time. Are we supposed to just give another corps a championship just because Bucs have been too long at the top? REALLY? If that's the case, I don't want it. I am in one of those corps chasing Buccaneers and I can guarantee you that it is because of their excellence, and that of others, that my corps has gotten significantly better over the past several years. There is absolutely nothing I would like to see more than my corps being announced in first place, but when/if that should ever happen, I want to know that we beat Bucs (or Cabs, or MBI or C2 or whomever) at their best. I am not interested in a hollow gift of a championship. The same argument happens on the DCI side with people complaining about Blue Devils. Who do you think is driving the continued growth and improvement of the other corps? Bucs...you just keep on raising that bar. It's pushing us and driving us to better and better products. I don't have the answer to DCA's attendance issues but I can tell you they are not due to the success of any one of it's member corps. I would like to think that it is the quality of our product that puts people in the seats...not the number of championships we have. If that were the case then our home show would have zero attendance since we have zero Open Class championships. Doesn't make sense to me. Just my 2 cents. Dan

This is very much in line with what other corps are charging. Spirit is making moves that, in my eyes, are going to put them well down the road to success. First and foremost bringing Jeff Nelson on board. Marched with him, watched him resurrect a dying business...yeah, he is definitely the man to right the ship. It will take time, but rest assured, it's moving in the right direction. Dan

You know, I think that was probably the most fun part of Sunday night was seeing the older guys...like the guys that have been here 17 or 18 of the corps 18 years (yes we still have a few charter members still on the field) literally in tears. It's been a long time coming and those guys have been through it all. VERY gratifying to see those guys able to reap the rewards of a hard fought, and in my very biased opinion, well deserved placement. Not taking anything away from any of our competitors, on the contrary, the fact that EVERYONE is so much better makes Sunday that much more gratifying. My hat goes off to all of the corps this weekend. They are all a testament to the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to keep these units running as well as the on the field efforts. Now we begin the process to try to move further up the ladder. It will only get tougher from here because as I am sure we are all aware, the higher you go the harder it is to gain ground! Dan

Interesting you mention the web site because that site was redone this year if I am not mistaken. Dan

Just a side note...that spirit flag was actually spun by my wife in 1980. Yeah I know who cares besides me...oh well. Dan