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DutchBoy89

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Posts posted by DutchBoy89

  1. I am fully prepared to get flamed over this, but it is what it is. The name for the Tour of Champions needs to change it's name as it is very misleading. Maybe call it Tour of Champions and 2 other guys? And where is Madison in all this? Crown seems poised to finally get there this year, but with that said they are not there yet. I get the whole G7 bs and what not, but let's call this what it really is.

    • Like 8
  2. I find this a tad bit catty and here is why. Those of us that actually marched Drum Corps have fought, sometimes unknowingly to grasp some validity that this is a sport. There is no denying that this is most definitely a sport. Whether you are in high school, college, or as drum corps would be considered, The Pros, there is going to be booing no matter how you look at it. to use the reasoning that these kids work so hard,( and believe me I know exactly how hard) they work, does a football team not work hard, baseball, basketball? This organization we support is a series of...... wait for it..... COMPETITIONS!!!!! This isnt T-Ball where they dont keep score. Its this PC crap that holds us back as a society. We want to shelter everyone from disappointment. I have a tattoo on my inner arm that says From Pain Comes Strength..... Any true competitor will tell you if they are booing you, you must be doing something right. ala Miami Heat and the likes. I have been on the fighting ends of both sides of the spectrum, I missed finals in 89 with Dutch Boy, but also have a ring with Phantom from 96. Boo me all you want, I will just give you more reasons to boo while I am kicking your butt. All this being said, I am not a BD fan, at least not since the late 90's, nor am I a CC fan and I live in Charlotte. These kids can handle their own battles, my time in Drum Corps forced me to grow up in ways I wasnt even aware of. And I wouldnt trade an single round of applause or a single boo along the way. Just my 2 cents!

    • Like 2
  3. Please, this thread is not about BD. Take that discussion elsewhere.

    This is bigger than that squabble.

    Agreed.... Im not leaving the activity, just don't like the direction it is going. And as for this being a BD bashing as far as I'm concerned, I'm not a BD hater. One of my favorite shows was their 1990 Tommy show. I was not a fan of this years show and I am not a fan of Crown though I live 15 minutes from their headquarters. I dig the concepts, the story lines, drill and just about everything, but when they started doing voice overs and when alot of the shows depend on the electronics then that is where my problem lies. One of the shows last night began and the first sound from a horn came 90 seconds after it had started. That to me is insane. Just my take. As I said I'm not going anywhere as I have yet to find an equal adrenaline rush as I get from DCI.

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  4. New fans?

    Sure there are new fans, but the overall fan base is declining as we uber-geezers who supported this activity for the last 40 years or so are rapidly going away either by choice or natural attrition.

    There will never be as many fans as there used to be, because the activity is no longer as accessible as it used to be.

    DCI brags about 17,000 fans at finals last year.

    My age-out year in 81 there were close to 40,000 fans at finals IN CANADA.

    DCI is not drum corps, and has never been drum corps.

    DCI is a corporation with a flawed business model-- much like a pyramid-- and I think it's crumbling before our eyes.

    There were more than 17k fans at semis in 89. And Jules, I am with you 100% in your thoughts, though I will still watch just because I need my Phantom fix every year. What really is aggravating is that the newer generation of DCI members and fans call us dinos because we dont' like the direction of an organization which alot of us have spent countless hours either marching, volunteering or just enjoying. I marched for 6 years in Drum Corps, was in a BOA finalist band in HS, was on staff for 2 more. I have continually followed DCI throughout the years. We have seen the past and the present. Not just seen it but lived it. I continue to watch because I still need the adrenaline rush I get at the end of the show, something I have never found in anything else, but that being said when I watch a corps show that all that is heard in the first 90 seconds of an 11 minute program is synth I have a major problem with that. I don't name any corps because I know what how hard these kids work and would never put down their efforts, but what I saw made me sit there shaking my head. Call me a dino, makes no difference to me, But to the younger generation if you want to see why I feel like I do, watch the 1989 Phantom Regiment show, it speaks volumes all on its own. Enjoy Finals tonight!!!!

    • Like 2
  5. Whoever they are, Hopkins isnt happy about it

    ROM HOP / ">I have been more involved than usual in the admin stuff -- school relations, hotels, volunteers and all ... as a result, I feel a little distant from the excitement of the performance.

    I also wonder for the students ...

    > how do they feel about the competitive challenge

    > do they realize the opinions of judges are the opinions of judges ( Side note -- I saw the judges panel this AM and I admit to some pain and suffering. As I tell people in my clinics ... " if I serve you chocolate cake in June and you hate it, chocolate cake again in July and you hate it, I serve it again in Allentown .... and finally, i ask you to take a good ole bite one last time ... well, the chances are you are not going to like it again.)

    > Will they love the memories of 2012

    > Was 12.25 the right show ...

    > What could I have done better?

    > What can I do to make the last four days ( including the banquet) the best days ever.

    > Who is coming back in 2013?

    > will they do ... at least once ... the performance of a lifetime ?

    > will the audience love them?

    > do they love themselves?

    > will the lessons I work so hard to teach -- persistence, the value of hard work; determination; choice .... make a difference?

    It's quite the four days .. so much emotion, and yes a grizzled vet, finishing his first 30 years as director, still gets choked up, teary eyed and much more. Indeed ... my guess it will happen all three nights and a few other times.

    All give so much ... and all have such high expectations!

    We are still here ... we still have a chance at the GOLD but what is more important .... that they love who they are and what they do.

    Merry Christmas !!!

  6. I just started this thread and, besides realizing how antique I am, it renewed a question I've had for a long time and never had answered:

    What's the relative cost comparison of underwriting a whole, new original piece v. transcribing/arranging and paying royalties?

    Is "original" work cheaper than paying royalties?

    How is the comparison made?

    Are there enough writers out there to supply the activity with "A Florida Suite-type" quality?

    Or is this thread about transcribing existing non-mainstream music sources onto the football field and, in which case, wouldn't there still be royalties to be paid?

    Sam or anyone?

    If I'm not mistaking Robert Smith wrote Florida Suite, while also being the director, Not sure if any extra compensation was given or not

  7. And therein lies the problem. See, playing wind band, symphonic, and the usual fare doesn't make it smarter. It makes it safer. If anything, finding cool and creative ways to incorporate the suggested music in this thread would be far smarter than most of what's happening currently.

    Maybe dumb down was the wrong verbage to use. I honestly wish more Corps would do an original show as Suncoast did in 85. Most of my HS staff were on staff there and I was exposed to it quite a bit. Midnight in Miami is still one of my favorite songs!

  8. The thing with this subject is that all the top 10 Corps have an identity. Phantom plays Eastern Bloc in your face classical, Cadets play American contemporary, BD plays their Jazz etc etc etc. The music like this was always played by Corps like Velvet Knight and the like. It was a breath of fresh air, but I cant see SCV coming out playing Flo-Rida or Im sexy and I know it. 85% of the shows today are giant productions telling a story. It's bad enough with all the electronics (not trying to start that debate again) but to dumb down the music to me would turn me away from the sport. Just my 2 cents.

  9. 1985 Suncoast Sound - Florida Suite.... Midnight in Miami is just what I think Drum Corps is all about

    2008 Phantom Regiment - Would have loved to have been a part of the standing ovations that started 2 minutes before the show was ever over

    1990 Star of Indiana - Belshazaars Feast musically gave me chills

    • Like 2
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