drilltech1

There is another way of looking at it as opposed to ladder climbing. Will SCV, due to the success of their 2013 show, draw in auditionees who have never marched before but are so impressed by the performance and show design of what they saw that they got off the sidelines and want to be part of "that?" while realizing that there is a staff and spirit there which will make the auditionee's summer feel like a success and worth it? (Not all corps generate that vibe I have learned from auditionees I have sponsored.) Jeff Fiedler has made no bones about his preference for a corps principally made up of Californians as they are more likely in his view to have family and friends who will donate or volunteer. More power to SCV.

The judgment "too much" is yours, not mine. I said that the uniform is very exposed and vunerable. If they march excellently, such exposure becomes a plus and neons the demand, helping the effect. The uniform is the frame, not the photo within.

Well chosen example. Kudos to you!

So to surmize from your thinking, the Swiss guard's iconic uniform designed by Michaelangelo should be thrown out because it is dated (by several centuries), the powdered wigs and red coats of the Old First Guard in Virginia & DC should be tossed out, the uniform of the Kilties should be tossed out ("have seem many of those around for quite a few years" you say,) and anything that the manufacturerers aren't pushing as newest for this year because everything else is dated and not "in." Just because some neighborhoods all wear their underwear showing and almost everyone does it that way, doesn't mean it's good "fashion' or helpful to the activity. It may be the "trend" to use your word, but some of those "trends" are here today, gone tomorrow because they lack substance while they search for " style."

Reread the post #33 as written. This is also what is said there: "I am not against replacing worn equipment or parts that are unuseable for another season because they are tattered and torn without possibility of good repair." My vexation is with all the "design of uniform" changes as if "a new look" will improve performance scores on the judging sheets automatically. That's a myth propagated by those who manufacture the uniforms, some who have been known to "help" the person who suggests and enables the change. You know, what lobbyists tend to do.

In my original post and comment about the Crossmen, I said some of the same, so please, if your going to quote, quote accurately and completely. "I am not against replacing worn equipment or parts that are unuseable for another season because they are tattered and torn without possibility of good repair." (post 33) just because everyone else is doing it.........a fad........isn't good enough reason in today's economy since fads come and go at whims, usually when the insisting egoistic drill or guard designer is no longer there to pay the bill.

Thank you for your clarifying questions which have me reviewing the better ways I could present my thinking. This is approximately the same beef with uniform changes: does the new uniform supply a suitable support to enhance sound basic skills already being performed excellently, is it merely a mask to hide the units' weaknesses and distract one's attention from them, or is it change for the sake of change which may not improve either the excellence nor cover the weaknesses. Unfortunately, my assessment is that the third alternative is the one too readily embraced in our current drum corps culture and that the other two aspects don't get the attention they deserve. I only use the Crossmen and some obvious deficiencies in the training beyond the uniform choice as an example. The Crossmen have worn a black top/ black or white pants since they left the all grey uniforms from their first years and in those colors they have been finalists umpteen times. The current mode is a streamline version which is more vunerable (same as Regiment without the capes, Boston in their Cadet styles, Crown in cream, and Cadets whether maroon or cream.) Though vunerable, the excellence is more apparent when the visual basics are mastered and presented without apology. Exposure allows the audience and other judges to see the demand more clearly. If the basics are mastered, this is a plus. If they are not, a new uniform will continue the same scoring stagnation once the initial novelty wears off. A WGI pajama suit like SCV's '12 guard wore or Oregon Crusaders' '13 wore may actually make the deficiencies more apparent, which is why SCV's use was very, very clever with the mosaic they portrayed. To think that a new uni is a panacea to Crossmen's stagnant scoring is not q.e.d. That's all.

does this qualify for consideration for BD '14's Paws and Claws show that Normy Diploome scooped last week???

Are you now subtley recruiting for the Blue Devils?

Who you callin' an adult, Willis?

Plan and Garfield, What's that expression about Art imitating life or life imitating Art? Only kidding, unless Art is a friend of Hank.

In another thread I posted some comments which have reference to the Crossmen, a corps I have liked and respected since their founding by the merger eons ago. Because of that respect for the corps, past and present, I give the link because I do not want Crossmen fans to feel they are being disrespected or that I am hiding. If you disagree with what I said, that's fine and won't diminish my respect for the legacy that is the Crossmen, no matter what State they currently call home. Just trying to be an honest poster here. http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/index.php/topic/157661-2014-show-predictions/page__st__30, post 33.

It is sad for me to see so much shifting in uniforms by corps within the last twelve years either because the ego of a new drill designer demands it or corps try to break the rut they think they are in. With so many expenses in the maintenance of the activity and while tour fees spiral upward, this change for the sake of change seems an extravagent waste in light of the poverty of corps and the general poverty of so many individuals today. I am not against replacing worn equiptment or parts that are unuseable for another season because they are tattered and torn without possibility of good repair. I am referring to the current marketing by the uniform companies to make a buck off the activity at the expense of tradition AND the fact that if a corps can't march well, a new uniform won't change it, although it might mask some of it. The Crossmen's uniforms in the current form are very exposed and vunerable to viewing any deficiencies in excellent performance on the visual sheets. All black uniforms and all white uniforms always are;; there is no place to hide. One of the reasons the Crossmen of old dropped their superman capes from their tradition was that the capes tended to make the visual performance look sloppy while masking some fazing, etc. Until the current corps can master how to march (look at the videos of the Protest show when the "police line" confronts the protesters,) no uniform will improve the scores no matter what verbiage and dazzle a manufacturer puts with the fabric presentation. Boredom is really anger turned inward any psychologist will tell you. Boredom with an image is an anger of frustration with one's own limits of being less than excellent. Only the manufacturers profit from these changes. And no, not every DCI finalist corps nor others get their new unis for free. That's a myth said by people who have never had to account for where corps finances come and go. 22 different flags for an eleven minute show would be another waste...and an exaggeration to make a point. Red neg all you want. Look at the score sheets!!! Look at the large financial deficits too many corps are carrying.

same old, same old. different day, different thread but the same old mutterings here at DCP Adult Day Care.

oh I thought those were the academically ineligible due to NCAA requirements....

and from the other half of Ohio... as on ABC news today...

Yah, "Interstellar Suite" has been done already by several units! Out of this world though, :-p

Sending a shout out of good wishes and best hopes to the Blue Knights' and Troopers' many families and local fans sorely suffering from those floods in the Rocky Mountain front range communities and now out to past Greeley along the rivers. The floods in Colorado spur memories of good times there, of friends, and of DCI experiences. Newer fans and recent participants might not realize that the '77 and '78 championships were bifurcated with prelims at Folsom Field at the University of Colorado in Boulder and only Finals at the NFL Stadium in Denver. Many, many corps have spent break days in Boulder or practice days near there in prep for DATR in any number of years or for the 2004 DCI's which were again in Denver. Some instructors who have taught many corps live in that very effected Loveland and Ft. Collins area. Loveland and near places even hosted some contests in the past decade. UC at Boulder, CSU, and UNC all generate many members to a number of finalist corps such as Vanguard, Cadets, Regiment, Cavaliers, Crossmen etc. besides Troop and BK. May your drill fields soon be dry again, your lives restored and your losses limited.

With all due respect, perhaps Mr. Fallon is merely having a lapse of memory moment rather than trying to be offensive. I think he is originally from around the NY and LI area, yes? I seem to remember such a name, not only with today's fine 7th Regiment, but all the way back to the Oceanside Legionnaires. If he is from that same lineage, he need only think of how many corps Hy Dreitzer, Joe Genaro, Eric Perilloux, and Carmen Cluna simultaneously taught, and at times were competing for the same titles, BITD. For an arranger/designer to be creative enough to do well with more than one corps simultaneously is not new. Pete Weber wrote well with both Glassmen and SCV in World Class in addition to the names Chuck mentioned, and each corps kept their own distinctive identity. I think both Lee Beddis and Tom Aungst have arranged for more than one DCI World Class corps at the same time as well. Certainly in our large drum corps family, there is more than one personality writing for multiple bands in the autumn season. For many it is how they can afford to do drum corps. Another way of looking at it is in the role of a parent who has more than one child. Doesn't the parent love each appropriate to that child? Sure there may be families where one seems more favored than another, sometimes it is as simple as personalities clicking better than others and not necessarily from deliberate efforts to make one shine more than another. In fact, loving each is considered more psychologically healthy I surmize than choosing one and discarding the other. If you have more than just the Crossmen's synth player, you may know what I mean. You probably didn't mean to be offensive but rather a bit of a cheerleader for your daughter's unit. Have a great weekend.

Well Academy's pockets and reserves aren't as deep as BD's bingo kingdom, etc. ...

Go Islanders!!!

Hey, wait. This is serious! And here I always thought Canada was our 51st State! Maybe DCI needs to check with the NHL.

I remember the one time I was at Horlick field and Racine for a contest back in the years when I teched L.I.K. We awoke the next morning to the most horrible stench of a fish die-off along the shores of Lake Michigan nearby. We thought it was from the playing card factories for which Racine was famous. ER Now that I see what the big fundraiser is for the Kilties has become, I understand the uniform. It saves on zippers between rounds.

[nm]

Not another one of your Secret Society thingies???