drilltech1

I was wondering how you kept your tour weight.:rolleyes:/>

Why were the S. Devils given a one point penalty? (I wasn't at the show; what rule was violated?) Thank you.

Actually Grandpa Hopkins is in his mid-fifties, is an insomniac who is a night person (not a breakfast guy at all), but as the energy of a 30 year old. Daughter has already aged out of DCI by several seasons.

I am still waiting for DCI to announce the ticket package prices for the tear-down between Michael Boo and the Phantomettes guard. The deal with the Troopers' CG captain would probably be a bonus for those who use the FN or are Friends of DCI. I am sure the 13th place Magnificent 11th Cavalry might have a little pent up frustration and anger, so watch-out Boo.

Hey Garfield, you've been around here long enough to know bettter. There are already two other threads within the year regarding meeting drum corps folks.

Of course, with all the above bearing some merit and measure of truth, no matter how colored, George with his long tenure at Cadets has hired and then fired probably more staff and instructors/techs than anyone else in the activity according to several reports. Many have gone on to do amazing other corps, especially at Crown and Boston and to some extent at BD and SCV. Stories get told with various inflections in the telling. There is of course, his attempt to build his YEA with Boston Crusaders, Crown, and Crossmen, all who later withdrew. Although he may have saved Crossmen (his alma mater) by several decisions including the sale to Texas, many of the Crossmen family seem to resent the process. His personal life, strengths and weaknesses are pretty much in the public with the public judgment and collateral damage that most celebrities endure, just no paparazzi except DCP. (Columbus, Wisconsin; his recent comments about the South, etc. would be examples.) Even if one dislikes the guy personally or disagrees with his decisions and manner of communicating the same, one must at least respect his passion for his corps and cause. Plus talking about George fills an entertainment need for many during the autumn and winter months of the off-season, especially on DCP it seems. (Do you know what Jim Coates, Kevin Smith, or David Glasgow even look like?)

I see from your signatures that you are more percussion oriented. 640 where I sat and neighboring 639 and 641 are better for people emphasizing the visual programs; we see everything. These three sections also seem to have the same folks year after year although DCI does rotate what rows we get. The first row of any upper deck seating has the hindrance of the protective glass which is pain to look through if one is short; it also muggles the sound a bit. If one seats high in the seat to overlook the glass obstacle, the folks in the rows behind complain that they can't see the pit people. So drum oriented folks sit in the 100 numbered seats to see the sticking, music and guard people sit in the 200-300 seats, the billionaires sit in the 400-500 seats, and we viz folks sit up in the heavens except for row 1. Working through the DCI office or the corps is easier than struggling with the Ticketmaster computer which always starts with row 1 and works up while we drum corps folks begin with the last row and work down.

Nick, I know that a few years back before LOS days for DCI, there were some problems with retreats, encores, etc. When the retreat process was re-organized for Lucas, the encores and march-byes by other corps were dropped, although I do remember the Cavaliers bending the rule and saluting BD with an encore as BD had just defeated them. BD should only be Commended, let me say it again as I am not frequent in my positive accolades about BD, BD is to be commended for the spontaneous (?) way the members went over to congratulate the members of Carolina Crown upon the announcement of winning scores. No pouting, no visible friction, but genuine class as witnessed by us in the stands. Kudos to all the corps.

Hammondbrass and Short and Fast... Your fine posts might be even better on the thread about sound in LOS (regardless of the year.) I think it is called "Is this what it sounds like?) Thanks.

Is it true? Michael Boo is actually volunteering to be the next victim who gets deprived of life in the 2014 Phantom.......................Regiment show?!?!?!!!

Knowing you-know-who, he probably has already cut them into little squares to be sold separately as keepsake mementos and he's done that before certain guard members use such fabric as funeral shrouds to bury these props.

Well the Phantomettes (their term, not my origin; cf. their Fb page) thrashing Michael Boo on the 50 and then tag teaming with the Trooper's guard sgt. (the one in the white uni this year?) would certainly sell out LOS and bring loads of revenue to "the activity," don't ya think? Only question is would we need a full panel or a short panel to declare the winner?

I am not a business person but have been responsible in various roles for many non-profit groups of several types, most smaller than today's drum corps enterprises. This leads me to some speculative questions regarding the current demise of some drum corps. Would it be proper for DCI to require enough financial resources and reserves of a corps applying for tour assignments that would cover two years of touring before being given such tour possibilities in DCI? To me, that would limit the one-and-dones or some of the hand-to-mouth budgets which have propped some corps and disappointed many kids when the corps folds. Admittedly it is tougher; I just feel it would be more prudent and stop some of the situations that have arrived mid tour such as Magic, Teal, Raiders, et al Should a BoD when actually making a budget for the sustenance of the corps even include DCI prize money as a given? What if the whole G7/MM thing exploded, DCI exploded, and there were no prize money? Would the corps automatically fold? Would it not be more prudent to make a budget beyond prize money which budget would continue the corps in what ever new venture might gradually result? It would not automatically return the corps to the situation pre-DCI as forty years should have brought some more wisdom and possible strategies. What that future should be I don't pretend to know. Admittedly again,this is difficult but is it not prudent in the strange economic times in which we live? Although these may be my theoretical preferences, I am open to other perspectives. I guess I am just tired by kids being hurt by adults who haven't thought the whole challenge through in reality. How do you see it? .

Well stated, Michael. Hopefully, Music City will have a sound future.

This is the part of the thread to which I was referencing... " I read some of your recent posts. You seem like a know-it-all who attacks people's opinions when they don't agree with you. Kamarag and I disagree with each other all the time, but he certainly does not "attack" people whose opinions he doesn't share." To an extent, you are correct in your admonition. I should not be posting while simultaneously checking phone messages and emails while awaiting my first appointment of the day. Something will be lost. Thank you The comments by the staff members were quite relevant to the point and bespoke some of the difficulties concerning show choices and preparation to compete in the World Class performance in the large venue of Lucas Oil. I do not know whether Open Class corps are required to perform there or choose to go against World Class; at worst, their members receive an admittance consideration for World Class semis and finals. This thread has only discussed the financial struggles the BoD mention which may not be the only reason for the corps' demise. At this point, little is objectively known by the public.

Let me address your second point first. Technically, you are correct...I used the nickname since the show is about Havana. The official name of the Marin Hernandez piece as given by the corps' show announcement is" Music City -- Postcards from Havana Music Selections: --"El Cumbanchero" (Marin Hernandez) --"Rapsodia Cubana" (Ernesto Lecuona) --"A Mis Abuelos" (Arturo Sandoval) Regarding your first point and third points, you are completely WRONG is your guestimate of reading into my comments and judging my respect of/for Open Class corps, regardless of their placements. My comments were premised by comments made by three Music City staff members who were band directors from Tenn. and Ky. and who sat with us when we ate off campus in Murfreesboro, TN., a suburb of Nashville. Some had big dreams for the corps' eventual DCI success; I found their projections a bit unrealistic given my experience of DCI over forty years of involvement, not just spectating. I see that others on this thread have also had difficulties with your comments. Do not play psychologist even if you are perplexed by comments that differ from your opinion. Psychologists require licensing and accountable credentials. People get in legal trouble when they pose to be mind readers and act as certified professionals which they are not. I have my Master's and doctoral certificate in counselling from bona fide accredited universities of national ranking. I don't judge your motivations, just find them not accurate in my regard in this conversation. It disappoints me to read how much anti-G7 venom has entered this thread again when most of us are ignorant of what grounds the BoD of Music City used to shape their discussions before their fatal decision. Besides dinosoars who keep on wanting to feed oats to autos because that's how we fed the horses, I wonder how much of the venom perhaps comes from disappointed wannabees using any thread to express their life disappointments. For all we know, G7/MM/TOC might not even be a part of drum corps in 2014 based on comments I have directly heard from some involved corps directors P.S. I am presuming that the original poster of this thread posted it in the World Class forum as a public service announcement. The thread has diverted from a discussion of Music City's contribution to be a battering of DCI, of the G7, an analysis of DCA, and very little new information or matters germaine to Music City. Perhaps the moderators might close this thread since the announcement duplicates another thread in the Open Class forum. If so, perhaps a different thread for the vitriol of the posters might be opened so that they might rerun their discussions on battering DCI, G7, N.E. Brigand & Kamaraq, and an analysis of DCA. To the poster who thought that the kids should have been told first, I agree but I think the directors thought they were doing that when the message was posted on the corps' web page and Facebook, the ways kids today communicate..

Maybe you could get a job as Hopkins' spin doctor as you weave the facts creatively against their horizon. While it may have been their highest score, it was still 6 points out of first. In Indianapolis World Class prelims where I viewed them for an additional time this season, the tempo of La habanera was slower than Oregon's backfield march from coffin to coffin. The show was overly controlled for such a large venue. That's an instructors' problem, not the kids. We agree that they will certainly be missed.

http://vimeo.com/71991404

The same kid in BD A corps dropped his rifle on the 50 2 out of the 3 nights in Indy. It was during the sequence with the volleyball pole work. He didn't drop it exactly in the same point of the sequence each night so it wasn't one of those BD "we dropped it there deliberately" moments. Cadets also had a member lose equiptment in finals. Either way, it is not easy performing in front of 30K judges there and now at home.

This is certainly sad news for the members, the fans, and the activity in general. I know no specifics nor have I any inside info but this ole drum corps veteran does have these observations. When Music City began, Keith Hall was prominent in their management and founding as well as Thom Keenan. Hall's company Band Hall was a very active sponsor. During the past year I no longer see advertisements for Band Hall anywhere and wonder what happened. By coincidence, I didn't see either Keith or Tom this summer. Music City began with a traditional drum corps program and has maintained that direction Their uniforms themselves looked like they had been lifted from the script of The Music Man. However show design never seemed to flex from that direction, one more typical to the college and h.s. band world of Tennessee and Kentucky from whence most of their instructional staff seemed to originate and reside. The show designs have shifted, even in Open Class, the past two seasons as is shown by BDB and SCVC. Although they were a large corps, Music City didn't seem to keep pace with what the judges were now seeking. La Habenera was a selection which I thought would have given them zest, dynamicism, and possibility. It seemed at times more like a dirge. I wondered about the instructional staff's philosophy and perspectives. At the early season, Nick Scarpetta's name was announced as their drill designer (previously with Phantom Regiment as in 2008 Spartacus, Loveland H.S. in Colorado, etc.) As the summer progressed, I no longer saw or heard his name in show announcements. It might have been my diminishing hearing. For those in Nashville who expected an overnight open champion, it did not automatically come. Hey it took Crown so many years to get where they are today. Who knows? I'll be interested in learning more. They marched a full corps for their first time and Nashville is a growing area although economically challenged. It is a locale ripe for another corps.

The Phantomettes are definitely pleasurable eye candy for many, and they do much to soften the otherwise blunt, linear look of the remainder of the Regiment. But let's face it, it was a re-run of the Sam Austin H.S. dance team from BOA Texas some years. In fact, the guard sat out an entire number this season behind the judge-blockers as they shifted from Cinderella to Amazon costumes. How does a judge give credit for when the guard is not present or does such minimal work with the pseudo swords. The far-fetched, at least far-reaching need to murder someone, even silly Queen Joan is part of what has to change at Regiment. Thompson wrote a very fine drill if one knows how to look (the opening of the book, the quote marks, the dragon, the sword, etc.) but look what the top of PR keeps on giving him: same plot, different characters. Percussion execution may get the blame, but unlike Crown, the design, hornline, and rest of the show did not outweigh the deficit. The uniforms do not need to be changed (again) to change what is really ailing there in Rockford.

My bad on the Academy at Denver; I should have fact checked before posting. Thank you for the correction. BUT Didn't every World Class corps do some Cali contests in 2007 before Pasadena? Crossmen are due.

don't forget the stuff BD, Blue Stars, and Cadets already have in the warehouses from seasons past. That should make a great blaze. But, wait! Didn't BAC already try that which got its grey ashes all over their unis and onto the field....?