sarnia sam

try the website memoryhole or archive.org one of those takes snapshots of webpages and archives them. Regards, John

Well, thanks for ruining my planned sack time. I read the whole thing and thought what a great way to spend a week. You made it sound so good I wish I could do the same thing. Got to see one show this summer (trip to DCA still in the cards). I miss touring. Thanks for the travelogue and pics. Regards, John

Ah, reading comprehension, the lost art. Never said one word about the medics, didn't say one thing resembling any buffoons, never said anyone wasn't concerned with anyone's safety. You've coached baseball? I have. There's a way to run the bases to minimize the chance for those kind of injuries - and I taught it, and I insisted the players do it, and if I saw them not doing it correctly, we practiced it again - the whole team. There's a way to hit the dirt properly. There's only one way to pay attention to the ball and the play. Three straight winning seasons with maximun four loses, no injuries. Accidents still happen, but you have to think through the alternatives and find ways to achieve what you want without sacrificing team members. You must be watching a lot of different corps than I am. I see all kinds of potential for injury out there and in light of this most recent injury, I'm merely asking how and if drill writers and instructors are really thinking about what they are asking the kids to do. Anyway, it seems no one cares, save for one other person, so carry on. Regards, John addendum: That last line above is not to mean the people who have posted about the specific incident don't care. I meant no one cares about my position that the problem is avoidable and the real issue goes back to the writing stage.

A little more. We often see music writen for drum lines that is beyond their ability to execute. Either the talent isn't there, or the staff doesn't know how to get them there. Out comes the water, sometimes, sometimes the staff doesn't even know how to do that well. Same for brass. No one goes home on crutches. Yet, for drill it's an entirely different story. I get the impression from some here it's OK to write beyond the capabilities and talents of the marchers, beyond the capabilities of the body, and then not know how to teach it, or when to ditch it. Pushing the envelope is desireable, but you have to know how to do it, and you have to understand how much the envelope can hold. When I see a corps member go down, its usually because a mistake was made, either in design or by the member. And contrary to the Garfield reply, they were going backwards, football players, etc. usually have their eyes invovled in their injuries, or they are sustained by deliberate action of another player. When I see, or hear of a corps that has one or more members sidelined because of injury just from pratice, something tells me that the risk is being ignored and not dealt with. Everywhere else in life we assess risk and mitigate or eliminate, but I get the sense from some here drum corps can be an expcetion. Accidents will still happen, but I think right now the instances of corps members getting injured on the drill field (practice counts too) is higher than it should be. I don't want to see fast moves and hard moves eliminated, but let's assess the risks more carfeully and deal with them. That inculdes; what happens on damp grass, damp carpet, hot carpet in 100+ degree weather, uneven fields, is it reasonable to cover so much ground in so few steps, visual awareness, and the talent level and abilities of the marchers. Think through the process and possible negative outcomes and come up with ways to still achieve a reasonable goal. As a drummer, I suffered a lot of back problems over the years caused by not wearing my drum properly. I didn't know how to and no one paid any attention until Tom Float entered my life. He was constantly on us to stand correctly and wear the drums right. Probably saved a lot more damage from being done. Point is, there are some thngs that have been recognized along the way as injurious by observant people and corrected. I think it can and should be done in the case we are debating. Regards, John

Thank you for getting it. Regards, John

a- They were flying at a low altitude backwards. b - So it's OK? Ever had a seriously sprained ankle? How about a minor dislocation? How about blown knees? I can tell you after 21 years I feel my inuries every single day. c- How many is too many? More clarity I obviously didn't make first time around, there are ways to do things in a safer manner and I'm suggesting that drill designers and instructors need to bone up on finding them. Training needs to be improved on how to march (then people can stop griping about poor indivdual marching technique) and insisted upon. Going higher, faster, further doesn't imply - any way you can. Regards, John

Maybe I wasn't clear enough then. If so many kids are going to get injured, and leg injuries stay with you for life (personal experience), then it's time for a reality check. It's not football, rugby, or full contact ballet; this is drum corps and kids aren't supposed to get injured in this manner. They are getting injured because of what they are being asked to do. Regards, John

I think the bigger issue is about the drill itself. It seems that there are too many instances of players going down, starting in Whitewater in 83, 0r 84 (forget which year and I was standing in the endzone when it happened). In my entire marching career of ten years in the 70s I don't recall a single instance of anyone ever going down during a show. Cool drill moves, blind backing into sets, abrupt change of direction are fine, but someone needs to give a little more thought about what they are asking the marching members to do, and in the case of tuba players and drummers what they are doing it with. Consideraton should also be given for the surface, they aren't all the same and respond differently to people marching on them. I'm not saying death defying moves should go, but find better ways to do it. Doing drum corps is supposed to be hard work for fun, not a life changing activity due to serious inury. I hope the kid from PC is OK. Regards, John

Are the results going to be posted somewhere today? Where? Regards, John

I was about to add what Xmandad did. The phone number is top middle of the webpage. Cathy said the shipping address thing was a problem so it was a good thing I called. Also found out there's another drop in Atlanta. The large packages that weren't ordered before the 18th will be delivered there. Regards, John

Glad I saw this ealrier today. Got one for my son, Gaelen, who is in Pioneer. His birthday is in about 70 minutes and he's doing individuals on Sunday , so it will be a nice surprise for him - I hope. Regards, John

Oaklands 75 snare line, #2 bass and Cymbals. 79 tenor line. Regards, John

I heard form Gaelen last night, other than his cellphone broke (for deaf people a primary means of communication, texting, etc.), I understand the heat is making his hearing aid fall apart. Not that the hearing aid does much good (when I'am asking him to do something). He said he'd get his mother to organize a replacement some how, but he might have to wait until I can catch up with him in Erie to get another. Little problems become a bit bigger when there's a border involved. Great thread by the way. I remember when Pioneer was The Thing and they came to Sarnia to compete in some run of the mill Great Lakes show in 73. Regards, John

Kinda puts things in perspective, doesn't it? Regards, John

I remember you guys in 86. That must have been a constant source of humour for the corps. John

I wish I knew how to answer that question. Gaelen has no hearing in one ear, and so little in the other 95 db sounds are like a whisper to him. I know he works a lot harder than the rest of us and a lot of it comes to him visually. You can search Youtube and find his snare solo from individuals a couple years ago. There's a video of a duet he and I did for a local concert a couple months ago here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVA9wy0PyAw skip in to about 35 minutes. He plays very cleanly, except the latter video has dirt in a couple places where he forgot the next part. We put it together in two rehearsals. He's managing to play baritone which is totally different from drumming obviously because you have to play in tune and that is even more baffling to me. Regards, John

Whatever Pioneer is doing, I'm glad it's still working. My son Gaelen wasn't able to audition for any corps in the winter because of school (we live an hour north of nowhere, transportaion means a whole day lost going, and another coming back). In May he found out there was room in Pioneer. This is his age out year. In a matter of days he was on his way to camp Memorial Day weekend, got a spot in the bari line (he's a snare drummer, line was full). Far cry from the response he got from an east coast corps that didn't even answer his emails, nor mine. He went back a week later and is having the time of his life. Some of you may recall Gaelen's interview at Nats a couple years ago with Dan Potter. Gaelen was with Blue Saints at the time, and was touring with his guide dog (Gaelen's deaf). Anyway, I'm glad he's there. I've met Roman a few times over the years and trusted Gaelens' experience would be good. Regards, John

Lionettes in the 60s were pretty formidable, used to beat St. John's, once or twice beat Sertomanaires (early season). I only saw Bon Bons once late in the game, but based on their record, and other's observations I regard them as the best of the era before DCI. After, have to go with Ventures. Regards, John

I still take abuse from some Optimists. I'm looking at you Scotty, Ric... Having fromerly been the section leader of the Optimist alumni corps drumline only modified things in one way - they bought the beer;<) Regards, John Oaklands 77-80

did you get any footage of CADRE to post? All the lines I saw that day did remarkable jobs for rookies. Regards John

I just got back form the first compeition held by the Ontario Drumline Association. There were 8 school drumlines in the show held this afternoon at E.C. Drury school in Milton, Ontario. There are more drumlines in the province (see who here http://www.ondrumline.ca/members.php) and four more shows to come. Until recently, I did not know there was an association being put together, nor that there were so many schools setting themselves up with lines, though I was aware of St. Mike's, Milton and others near where I live that were not in this show. They are all in the early stages of development, but I was impressed with the level of enesmble cohesivness from all. St. Mary's Crusaders were very good. St. Mike's did YYZ and Spirit of Radio (and if I have to say who originated those tunes - go look a the brass forum, please). Only St. Mike's and MM Robinson school from Burlington did choreography. Robinson won with a pretty impressive show. However, the most heartening thing was - a) they had a retreat with all the lines on the floor AND b) seeing so many kids out there at one time, each with a drum. After all these years in the desert for drumming Ontario has become I'm really excited with how enthusiastic the kids are, not too mention the fans - there wer a lot more fans than I ever expected to see. Congrats to the folks who put this thing together and to the kids learning how to drum again. Best of luck to all for continued growth. Regards, John

thanks Linda. It was one of the more fun things to write. Part two next month. I think every corps did Ontraio Place - PADDLE BOATS! Every Labour Day weekend for me, and Canadian Nationals at the same time. Regards, John

Never saw that before. Did you notice the clip of Fyling Dutchmen in that montage? Regards, John

In the new issue of Drum Corps World is a story I wrote about Skip Prokop, founder of Lighthouse, and his connection to the Toronto Optimist Drum Corps. It's here http://www.high-velocity-media.com/ The story is on page 36. Part two of the story runs next month. Regards, John

In the new issue of Drum Corps World is a story I wrote about Skip Prokop, founder of Lighthouse, and his connection to the Toronto Optimist Drum Corps. It's here http://www.high-velocity-media.com/ The story is on page 36. Part two of the story runs next month. Regards, John