92dci

How so?

Michael Gray threw him under the bus in 2011 in favor of Danny Wiles, who had never written drill before in his life. In the world of people with no tangible talent or contribution (other than talking) operating under the guise of "program coordination", someone on the team has to hang when a show fails to find an audience and it's certainly not going to be them. The drill is always an easy target.

Tim never wrote drill for Teal Sound, Noah Bellamy did. And Tim wrote the drill for the highest ranking Bluecoats ever. And it appears John and Ian, despite being fantastic in other activities are still not impressive enough for you. So jaded.

Strong source confirming that Michael Shapiro is staying at Blue Stars. The remainder of the design team is new and already in-place. Unconfirmed but the word is that Tim Fairbanks will be on drill and Richard Saucedo will arrange the brass book. Haven't heard anything about percussion or program coordinator yet. I can't confirm any of this directly but it sounds credible. If it's true I think this is a VERY strong team.

@84BDSop/Plan9....SO true!!! The Bluecoats seem to be one example of trying on a new shoe too often in hopes of finding a perfect fit. I think they do so too soon and/or knee jerk at small setbacks (usually predicated more on the increased success of another corps talent/design rather than a LACK of success from the Bluecoats in a particular year). Speculation, of course. It seemed Mitch was thrown under the bus in 2008 at the first not great program they'd had with him. It's difficult to not see the parallels in 2011. Not a terrible program but not quite as solid as some other corps that year. One thing I have learned through personal experience is that the designers are the easiest targets. They aren't on the road and tech staff that isn't loyal will point at the dots or the notes first, in many cases. The complaining develops into a parasitic mess. Some amount of loyalty and commitment to letting a team, as a whole, find its dynamic and stride will produce results over time. Cadets, BD, Crown, good examples. They produce some shows that can't win some years, but there is rarely speculation that they would shop around for a better horse. What do I know, though? I can't imagine the pressure on admin staff from staff, students, alums, donors....

Yes. Jeff Fackler quit before alldays because he couldn't take another second of Michael Gray's BS.

Actually he (Danny Wiles) didn't have a meltdown (@Bluecoats), per se. He, like many people, couldn't take another second of Michael Gray's BS.

Like.

Nobody should even dignify that one.

Of course I did. A drill designer isn't solely responsible for a poorly conceived and/or executed concept. A designer's talent is instantly negated over one show that didn't go over well. What, specifically was incorrect and ineffective about his drill that year? Do you know what requirements were made by the other designers that may have not worked? And they got 6th...hardly the work of a remedial designer not to mention his BOA work that has been trendsetting and taken 1st place. Is Jay Murphy less of a designer because of BD 2005? Or 1987-1993 for that matter? Unless you are a seasoned adjudicator or a world-class designer yourself, you are hardly qualified to negatively comment on what beat out 30 other designer's work that summer. It was one show, man.

I hope you are a world class drill designer to have such a strong opinion. Mitch's drill was what brought the pieces together for Bluecoats and propelled them into the top 6 after spending a lifetime in the purgatory of 12th-7th place. He wrote the first true visual effects and contributed to the first well-thought programs they had ever had. The Troopers only jump into finals since 1986 and Mitch had nothing to do with it? Cavaliers drill contributions from 1992-1994? I think Michael Gaines, one of his students, would beg to disagree with you. Some respect, please.

Confirmed as of this morning from VERY reliable sources: Cavaliers: Mitch Rogers Bluecoats: John Vanderkolff