normy diploome

I applaud the Blue Stars for what they have done this year sincerely, but admit that I use that occasion to repost this thread amongst world class readers since this forum gets more views than Open Class. http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/index.php/topic/157055-raiders-financial-issues/ Please help if you are able.

Yes, Superstorm/Hurricane Sandy problems still exist as well as the annual Spring flooding along certain river communities in Jersey. A number of families with members in Raiders, Surf, and even Cadets are still in "temporary" motel lodgings or in fact, homeless technically speaking. Even more of their usual financial supporters whether fans or alumni. It's a tough decision for some to decide whether I give my monies to relatives I know who have been wiped out or to an activity some consider a luxury when compared to such poverty. Amazingly, there are some who are foregoing typical creature comforts that many consider basics because they believe drum corps is not a luxury but a character builder and opportunity. The point is not to debate either/or. The point is to help if you can...one less beer at a meal, fewer desserts, saving some energy money or whatever to donate to these truly needy, the Raiders included. Let me use this opportunity to applaud the Blue Stars who several times this year have advertised canned food donations for food banks and storm survivors as part of the admission price to their contests and concerts. Well done, Blue Stars.

Thank you, TRacer, for presenting it so accurately!!!! And before this thread continues any further with the pontificating and critiquing of our observations, would the moderators please correct the spelling of the title of this thread. Major tick there.:rock:/>

3, 5, 2, 6, 1, 7, 4. Isn't that in Crown's show???:tongue:/>

Word has come down from Ottawa (Ontario, not Illinois) that First Nation people will not allow George to cross their lands unless Mike Fanning now with that other Portland (and a Cadet alum) is added to the commonwealth design team. So as to not start another French & Indian War, let the DCP gods so deem it. Wouldn't want those other crusading tribes getting their feathers up along the Sanguenay River.:worthy:/>/>

Kokomo, Indiana? Didn't we drive through there at 3 am in the morning on the way to our housing site back on the tour in...?

Vermont is not correct. The corps had competed in its history in a contest that used to be annually held at White River Junction in Vermont on the New Hampshire border. Roll the dice again.

As veteran elements of Drum Corps South have absconded with SCV's barricade to fortify the Mason-Dixon line, Crownies have secretly moved the last of their secret weapons from Fort Sumter to Ft. Mill where bands of purple pants zuoaves and their feeder corps cream team are joined daily by new recruits under the watchful eye of retired Major Mike Roche, once of SOUTH Brunswick. Meanwhile Spirit has reformatted their successful Whack-a-Hop fundraiser. Now for the same low price, they will burn George's effigy in your name while he is attired in the newest vesture from the Caesar collection of what Michael, Stan Berry, and Dee Mueller imagine that General Sherman would wear for 2013. The dramah of this has been fuelled by the recent IRS Congressional probe for wire tapping which revealed that in certain Allentown office buildings, taps shaped as blue tiaras have been devilishly relaying George's defensive strategies at Nah! (his North American Headquarters.) Since it is obvious that he cannot return to the Swamp Tour for peanuts, peaches, and cotton, these leaks show that he is headed in a new direction for 2014. They may also explain his long range planning of his lumberjack beard and haircut for, what else?!? –DRUMS ACROSS THE ARCTIC! Will this be good for drum corps and DCI ??? Having learned how his guru, clone, and godfather pulled strings in 2006, he has determined from that schedule that less is more, more or less. He now sets his 2014 tour building on his vast networking developed at the northern pole in 2012. With the idealistic goal that Canada will rise again as a viable DCI market as it was until the late '80's, he has hired a Commonwealth recognized design team of Dave Mieckle (guard), Jon Vanderkoff (visual), Doug Thower (brass), and Lee Beddis, the percussionist-in-residence at the Hockey Hall of Fame. George has even gotten Thower and Beddis to suspend their annual Habs-Leafs rivalry to commission a special tribute piece which he will premier on tour to honour the retirement of John Philips, the master judge after whom the famous bandmaster Sousa is named. This move will also allow George the opportunity to expand his band kingdom into the ten provinces and three territories from the East to the Pacific West. Since the corps of concord rarely takes a northern tour even out west, George senses no threats to his genius fantasy. But what will it mean for DCI? To distract most DCP know-it-alls, the prime minister of drum corps will first sponsor a contest and reward the winner who first answers correctly what are the 5 U.S. States in which the Cadets have never performed in their 80 year history. Yea, Alaska and Hawaii are two, but in full disclosure, the other 3 are hinted within this report. Sensing the important break through of George's mission for history, common wisdom is that he will name Cadet2000 as his Minister of Defense, Chris NCSU as his White House press spokesman to answer the daily statement: "I know you thought you knew you heard what he said, but what he really meant was…" To handle Plan9 and other difficult foreign entities, he will probably empower George Dixon as his Secretary of State and Mike Davis as his ambassador. Since GH is 'from away," he will designate to head the U.N. Mission Craiga to save him from calling Mainers Mariners or Maine-iacs. Already assembled as envoys for this team are Brasso, emc2, and Liahona who have a vast portfolio of dealing with Canadian red uniforms even in grey times. With his C.I.A. (Cadets-in-Action) agents already embedded in New England offices for several seasons, George and they have scheduled Spring training along the shores of Lake Memphremagog where he can safely practice border crossings since regimental forces have been recently withdrawn. (Evidently Canada has a problem with anyone murdering the Queen and needs a second unit to star with Les Stentors in Sherbrooke in the made for CBC-TV filming of Louise Penny's latest mystery.) After several weeks of protocol basics that "in a hospital" is not the correct answer to the customs officer who boards the bus at 3 a.m. and randomly asks some rookie, "Where were you born?" the reward will be a free day on the Plaines of Abraham and luncheon at the Frontenac. [Editor's note: We will now have a short intermission for a bathroom break and concession crash while the DCP Dinos regale us with the tales of their Montreal tours of '81 and '82.] George and his team have set a spring roster of events, joining the Spartans at the annual LaKermasse Day in Biddeford/Saco for the feast of St. Jean Baptiste. From there his unit will move onto the Lobsterfest Parade in Portland (that's Maine, not Oregon; sorry Crusaders, OC, not BAC.) To end Spring training fittingly before the Cabot Cove Invitational and first contest of the season, he intends to return the corps again to Damariscotta of dynasty years' fame where there was the practice of the breakfast popovers served by white gloved waiters and period dressed maidens as the corps members descend from the sweaty coaches in typical bus tour apparel. He hopes he will belly laugh again as the members race to the Maine ocean seacoast like Barney and Fred Flintstone trying to reverse direction mid-air after jumping off the ocean front cliffs of the inviting North Atlantic. Rumor has it that is this Damriscotta polar bear plunge and evening concert which gave Tim Bartholomew his love of the Jersey surf. If perfect weather continues to prevail, George will lead the corps to the heights of Arcadia Park to see the sunrise and compare the popovers before the Bah Hahbor Brassomania exhibition or rather the preferred term of "concert" since no one wants the performers in drum corps to be exhibitionists. As all know of George's advocacy with bus companies, he will have an opportunity to simulate his bucket list dream of ferrying his unit across Lake Michigan from Luddington to Wisconsin by reviving the Cat ferries to Nova Scotia in time for the Halifax Hornfest, the first DCI show in the Atlantic time zone. However, government negotiations are still pending on the ferries about how many decks will be available for drill rehearsal. This trip will also allow George's handlers ample practice sessions for him to correct any tendency to say to Sid the Kid Crosby that Acadian bag piping is not real music and can't be in DCI yet. He'll next lead his Iditarod-like caravan through new found land for drum corps, through Labrador, northern Quebec and Ontario to headline the new show at Drums Along Hudson Bay. Here the corps will reveal some dramatic design proposals for the new season. First, the field will be all white with yardlines and boundaries marked in LED light trails which will rotate colors during the performance. This will be an even greater effect than the 2013 color towers. The corps will don their 2012 uniforms which should hide any visual ticks against the new background now that they don't wear stripes. An added bonus will be the disappearing effect as the audience and those in the judging box will only be able to discern the musical instruments, crossbelt, buckle, cummerbund, drop sash, and shako. This puts the emphasis on the performer's face for a ghostly/ghastly affect,. While the corps community weaves thread upon thread about whether this all requires new judging sheets, he will lead his corps, dare I say it, South, to Hamilton, Ontario in time for July first's Canada Day parade. For years his heroes, the Minnesota track bands have touted its merits when they joined George for the annual July Fourth festivities in Bristol. His good efforts may swing these bands into his kingdom too. Besides, hasn't drum corps been on the decline [editor's note: restricted from saying "headed South."] since they have stopped having contests at State Fairs like West Allis, Wisconsin and Syracuse, New York? Under the shocking glare of fireworks, he'll substitute the St. Lawrence Seaway for the annual aqua practice under the Mt. Hope Bridge. This will motivate the corps to regain the Tim Horton's Cup at the Blue Saints' contest in Sudbury. Then on to the first regional at Drums Across the (Canadian) Rockies and a week later at the Calgary Stampede to confront the Alberta Girls, Red Deer Royals, Regina Lions, and Cadet alum Jay Michalak's Calgary Showband. Depending on the first snows of the season, he hopes to cross back on the border to new vistas for the corps. Whether they perform or practice there, I am sure it will be a beaut. They will not have far to go. The rest he will leave to the roll of the dice. But this will all help them come into Indy with a blizzard like energy. As George is known as the Pharoh of Fundraising, he will need plenty of cold cash to fuel this amazing tour. He's already thinking of how many souvenirs will be sold in layers in these new climates. (You can always put another hoodie on; you can't always take them off.) He has already gotten his brass staff to look into fracking practices for this budget. But even with the Canadian exchange rate how will he pay for this? Thank God, Canadians have loonies. Perhaps appropriately, eh? Now did you figure out the clues? Sorry, 'state of confusion," state of denial," and "state of depression" are not the correct answers. But hurry as DCP moderators are noting the pursuit of a Canadian Mounties' husky sped dog sled after George "borrowed" a polar bear for the all-access bearskin rug shot he wants to use for the annual DCI yearbook photo. Imagine the numbers of copies to be sold. Sure to be a drum corps collectors item, eh?

We will never see it under all that hair. I suggest a Cadet style haircut and shave would be a better prize.:tongue:/>

They have as much/more to offer content wise than SOME blue units: Bluecoats, Blue Knights, Blue Stars, Blue Saints. They definitely do not have as much/more to offer than Blue Devils. Or Cadets, or Crown. They are executing well, but this show (from what I've seen, which I'll admit is not a ton) does not really come that close to the depth of design than the current Top 3 have. Also, the current top 3 mostly out-perform Vanguard in everything but percussion consistently. I haven't seen any of the corps performances in over a week, but the depth, effect, and demand of Cadets, BD, and Crown kinda exceed SCV by a (relatively) significant amount. On top of that, a corps achieving a more impressive book will outscore a corps achieving less impressive book all the time." Certainly Pete Weber and Sal Salas have given us a textbook drill for staging and showcasing. However, the feet aren't quite maximizing the design yet. While Santa Clara and the Rennicks have an impressive drum line, this year is an exceptional year for percussion. However, SCV overuses the synth to underscore the low brass which is not at the depth which made Phantom, JD Shaw, and the Buicks renown. Turn down the synths so we can hear the horns. Note how little Crown uses electronics (perhaps to the detriment of their percussion score.) But you can hear Crown's tubas all triple tonguing. Not so with SCV. Even Cadets have begun to shift the electronic usage because of their great hornline and front ensemble to go with the rest of the battery. And BD is still getting away with judge's numbers despite the many, many holes and lack of recovery from the same while the judges are dazzled by their CG (was that drop deliberate or not?) Keep cleaning and SCV will get there.

In a world where if someone on one side of the mountain sneezes, the other side of the mountain says, "God bless you," the Cadets have visited the South and not only survived but thrived. People were forthcoming in Louisiana with housing and stadium facilities, tips to good mechanical shops, and better levels of humidity than previous tours. Ocean Springs became a motivator for the corps members to produce a wonderful performance and the judges and crowd agreed. DCI now sees a three way race toward Indy with a fourth corps not letting the top three rest. We the audience win! But then George does it again as he today posts about Dauphin Island, Alabama being a disappointment to his expectations of a proper beach experience. Please, please, for the sake of sanity and drum corps, someone please steal his computer, tie his fingers, and leave him bound in the GE box where he does his best work. The pressure moving into finals is just starting. It's going to be a great ride for those of us who enjoy great drum corps!!!

A suggestion, simple though it be. I have now seen the Troopers' show several times live this summer. To me the flow of the GE show breaks twice when the fascimile of the American flag is handled with such reverence during 90 per cent of the show yet is placed on the ground at the back 50 at one point and at another is tossed from horn player to guard girl. Use a posting stand at the back 50 and close the four step interval so that the pseudo flag need not be tossed. Thus, there will be no break of character. Otherwise the viewer is forced to suspend belief of the corps' reverent esteem and mood because the designers could not transition well enough. IMHO

I was able to see both corps perform live twice this weekend and even watched the one corps perform with the director of the other corps at my elbow. We had an interesting "chat." afterward. Two observations I am pondering: a) BD is marching several, maybe even a half dozen holes due to injuries. They are not closing the holes thus far in the drill and the recovery of movement to those holes is not consistent. Yet the judges are overlooking those struggles in the scoring it seems. How long will these holes persist, their influence continue to waffle the drill, and the judges play a blind eye? b) SCV is already becoming a crowd favorite with a program which seems to write the textbook on staging and showcasing. Realistically, how much more can be "added" to the content to boost them from fourth ranking. Yes, there may be some nice audience tweeks such as "the Viper," "the headchopper," the shouting of "Les Vanguard!", etc. but what can be done further to boost an already successful GE show?

In previous seasons in the mid to late '80's, flow charts were established showing specific placements, spreads, and judges by name. Patterns were objectified and noted and then discussed in caucus after the season. Several judges were let go and several were maintained just never judging particular corps for which they had an adverse bias regardless of the performance at that particular show. I know of one judge who thanked the effort rather than reneged it as the person was unaware that they actually scored a particular unit harder because that judge held them to a higher standard in that judge's mind because the judge LIKED the unit. I would think that some computer geek/fan might find this even easier given fewer judges, units, and shows today with the assistance of contemporary technology. There is also the theory that guard is the most subjective of all the captions. What move, dance interpretation, equipment work is appropriate compared to the music captions which deal with an original score and it's re-interpretation, musical standards, and even some aspect of this with the drill judging. Guard is on a different plateau, not unrelated, but distinct. Perhaps an impression rather than a fact, but is this season seeing a lesser number of individuals actually judging guard? There seems to be only a miniscule rotation of names and there are many usually guard judging names I haven't noted judging this season at all.

is BD's guard being overscored based on previous reputation? I have now witnessed them five times in person and wonder where the judges are fixated. BD is dropping as many times as Cadets (and I am not referring to the planned drops.) They are segmenting the guard for several of the impacts rather than a full guard impact. Their use of non-traditional equipment is perhaps a bit more stylistic than Cadets, but this is a subjective matter of taste in the judge's perspective and not an objective matter that instructors can quantitatively clean consistently practice to practice. It is a matter to ponder.

Welcome to the club. Besides word on the street at J&J is that he is saving you for that big financial position he has now advertised. He knows you are a world traveller, even without your motorsickle to guide you.:cool:/>/> http://www.yea.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=22415&news_iv_ctrl=1002

I think this is the link you wanted with the lighting effects for the Western Carolina University drum line. Gives new meaning to "battery.":w00t:/>

Will you provide a link for those oldtimers of us who are Faceless?

Aunt Nell is already rolling in the grave. Ssshheesh. Please let her rest in peace!

Write a better one, IDU.

Just back from the Midwest and, ahem, blush... normy diploome, on 11 July 2013 - 09:41 AM, said: Hey, we see what you did there. But since no one has yet said it, no ties either... I mean, that would make it Side X Side :rolleyes:/>/>/> Now, however, we analyze caption wins, subcaption spreads, straighten out the *^$#@ towers at the start of the show roadies, clean a tick here, add some velocity there... Half way through an incredible season!

Funny how some who speak of BITD as the epitome of drum corps fail to remember some of these inequities of the past. But to be accurate, even the Am. Legion rules allowed corps to have members over 21...the "concert master" which each corps was allowed to have, could be no older than 25. I chuckle about this when I see the energy in some quarters to propose an older age limit for DCI members today. What goes around, comes around. Responding to Chrisp....check your dates. In the '80's, no members of Les Eclipses would define themselves as Canadian but Quebecois who were Canadien!!!

This is the way I remember it evolving as well.

You are correct. However, SCV administration successfully argued that they were not aware that the presented birth certificates for these two individuals were bogus and that the corps should not be penalized but just the marchers found to be fraudulant. (They were ratted out by a former girlfriend who had been dumped.) In the matters of the other corps previously mentioned by Drilltech1, the full corps were disqualified as it was determined that the administrative management of these corps were aware to some degree about questionable birth certificates and still allowed these persons to compete in the corps' uniform. The investigation of Hawthorne's patterns lasted three seasons until proof was finally made and the corps disqualified.

Hey, we see what you did there. But since no one has yet said it, no ties either... I mean, that would make it Side X Side :rolleyes:/>