1956OPR
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Posts posted by 1956OPR
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19 hours ago, phd-student-TTU said:
He said it in a podcast. Marching Roundtable iirc.
Thank you. I'll try to track that MR episode down.
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1 hour ago, phd-student-TTU said:
Chandler helped with that show as well.
To our enigmatic friend from Cookeville, to which Chandler are you referring?
IN 2005, Scott Chandler was the Blue Devil's Program Coordinator and Color Guard Designer. If it is this Chandler, what do you mean by stating "Chandler helped with that show as well"? How would you know? Were you on BD's Guard staff or on the Regiment's staff in 2005? And what exactly was this "help"?
Thank you.
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1 hour ago, kdaddy said:
Administrative pages are still up tho
kdaddy.
I think the existing admin page is instructive in terms of a plan of succession at this level of the organization.
Michael
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Re the Regiment, I noticed this morning that the Staff pages @ regiment.org were taken down. Perhaps we are closer to an announcement on the 2020 staff. I will be particularly interested in who is selected as Program Coordinator, who is chosen as Visual Coordinator and who comprises the Visual team.
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On 8/20/2019 at 12:00 PM, Rocketman said:
We are going to have to wait and see what transpires over the winter. First and foremost, finances. Everything they do revolves around how much or little they can raise for the 2020 season. I still maintain that if Rockford is unable or unwilling to support the corps (financially) in a fashion that would allow them the resources to compete in the top tier of DCI (which obviously hasn't happened for a while), the corps needs to seriously explore a new base of operations. However, if that were even a remote consideration, it should have already begun months ago.
Rocketman,
Thanks for your ongoing contributions to our discussions re the Regiment.
Within the context of financial support for our corps, one of your suggestions has been to move from Rockford.
I have also thought about a change of address but in terms of settling in a city/area which might be closer to our prospective MMs. I may be wrong but I believe the majority of our MMs come from Texas or the southeast, primarily Georgia.
Does this make any sense to you?
If you had to choose from among Denton, TX, Athens, GA, Rome, GA, Bloomington, IN, Louisville, KY, Oklahoma City, OK, Norman, OK, Columbia, SC and Knoxville, TN, would you have a preference or alternate choices? I suggested these choices because each is closer to where many of our MMs may be and because most of these choices host major universities with schools of music.
Would appreciate your insight after you have had a chance to absorb the coming staff change announcements.
SUTA,
Michael
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17 hours ago, Sutasaurus said:
Thank you for the clarification. For some reason I remember it as The Forest City Rangers.
Interestingly, Alex Haddad (who started our corps after resigning as the Director of the St. Thomas Crusaders DBC - the "band" of the all-male high school in Rockford operated by the Augustinian order with an all-female guard drawn from the all-girl school nearby, Bishop Muldoon) originally chose Rockford Rangers as the corps' name. The Rangers was a reference to Rockford's image as the Forest City because of the proliferation of elm trees throughout the city.
The all-female guard (which included Mr. Haddad's 2 daughters) was to be known as the Rangerettes.
Some members of the new corps thought outside the box and approached Mr. Haddad with the name Phantom Regiment. The story is that Mike Gallagher and Jim Wren were listening to DBC recordings and discovered a Leroy Anderson song called "The Phantom Regiment" played by the Syracuse Brigadiers. . Alex agreed, the corps became Phantom Regiment and the guard became the Phantomettes.
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18 minutes ago, trumpetcam said:
That's interesting. Has their guard ever been all male before? Or are you laking about the corps proper?
In 1963, the Regiment was an all-male corps, including the CG. In 1964, the Regiment converted to its original standard of a male and female corps with a return of the Phantomettes.
As an aside, in one of our early years (between 1956 & 1960) a few MMs formed an all-male Color Guard and competed on the winter guard circuit; we called ourselves the Raiders; we lasted one year. These days, the Regiment's CG includes males and they are called Raiders.
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On 8/13/2019 at 6:26 AM, Drum Corps Guy said:
How about a tribute to John Williams? One of the greatest composers of our time. It would have to be a very well thought out and put together show. If done right, it could simply be amazing. I'm not sure which corps' design staff would do it justice though.
I would like the Regiment to do this show : A Classical Tribute to Marian Armato.
In 1959, Ms Armato, a classically trained pianist, joined the Regiment as Brass Arranger. Among her arrangements that year were Chopin's Polonais and Un Bel Di. The seeds of a classical music emphasis were planted and, when Jim Wren became the Regiment's brass arranger in 1968, he nourished and grew that tradition.
Ms Armato was always warm and friendly as well as a wonderfully patient person and teacher. My understanding is that, after getting married, she and he moved to Denver and at some point was involved with the Blue Knights. If anyone associated with BK can confirm or deny this connection, please let me know.
I learned during my trip to the "19 finals that she has passed.
ACTtMA would incorporate a program of classical piano music as a tribute and in her memory.
P.S. When married Ms Armato became Mrs. Newcomer.
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49 minutes ago, Ghost said:
Best: Can’t decide between BC and Manning Bowl.
Hard: It really wasn’t hard, but the 65 VFW Nationals in the McCormack Place sure as helll was different.
Ghost,
I was there in "65 when the Royal-Airs won the VFW title. It remains one of my favorite shows of all time.
My recollection is that it was held indoors because the scheduled venue, Soldier's Field, was flooded.
What I do not recall is where the semifinals were held. Do you?
Michael
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On 8/16/2019 at 11:44 AM, xandandl said:
You have proven my point exactly why there must be more than one guard judge. While all captions/judging including tick execution includes a subjective element, guard evaluation when evaluating performance (compared to execution) is strictly subjective. No one judge's feelings should determine outcome. Have two, add both, divide by two.
x,
Thank you for your commentaries throughout these forums on judging. Your comments above triggered these thoughts.
What other captions or subcaptions besides Guard lend themselves to a strictly subjective evaluation of performance/content?
Has the DCI judging community ever considered having separate judges for Content and Achievement sub-captions?
For example, in the GE caption, have 1 of the 2 GE 1 judges assess only Content and the other only Achievement.
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Hello all!
On Friday, I will be in Section 242, Row 10 and on Saturday in Section 141, Row 15.
First time @ Indy so I am not real familiar with LOS but my understanding is that both sections are where the Regiment contingent will be.
Too bad we will not have DCP placards with our code names on it.
Have a great time and GO Regiment and Bloo.
Michael
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WHOOPS1 SHOULD HAVE POSTED THIS IN "OIL CAN" FORUM. SORRY.
On Friday, I will be in Section 242 Row 10 and on Saturday in Section 141 Row 15. This is my first visit to LOS so I'm not sure where these sections are but my understanding is that each will likely be filled with Regiment phans. So just yell out "Where's OPR1956?"
Hope everyone has a great time and finds new friends.
On Saturday, GO Regiment and Bloo.
Michael
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When trying to assess a corps' success, I tend to focus on it's relative position in the major Captions.
As of Aug 4, the top 4 ranked corps in GE are, respectfully, Blue, BD, SCV and CC. The top 4 in VIS are BD, Blue, CC and SCV. The top 4 in Mus are CC, Blue, SCV and BD.
I went back to the championship results for the last 15 years, 2004-2018, to determine what the DCI medalist's placings in these 3 major Captions might suggest.
Of the 15 DCI champions, 6 placed 1st in all 3 Captions ( "05 Cadets, "07 BD, "10 BD, "12 BD, "14 BD and "18 SCV.
6 placed 1st in 2 of the 3 Captions ( 06 Cavs : GE & Vis , "09 BD : GE & Vis, "11 Cadets : GE & Mus, "15 BD : Vis & Mus, "16 Blue : GE & Mus and "17 BD : GE & Vis.
3 champions placed 1st in "only" 1 of the 3 Captions ( "04 Cavs : GE, "08 PR : Mus and CC "13 : GE ) In these 3 cases, the Cavs and PR were 2nd in the other 2 Captions; CC was 2nd in Vis and 3rd in Mus.
I forecast a 2019 finish of 1. Blue, 2. BD, 3. CC and 4. SCV.
If BD wins, I will stand and cheer for Los Diablos and salute them once again for their excellence.
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2 hours ago, Cadevilina Crown said:
Here at the stadium now. Got a solid seat. Now debating what to get at the Bluecoats souvie booth.
BTW, the Cavies souvie booth is missing and I am not happy.
CC, when the Cavaliers were at the Mesa, AZ show on July 1, they were sharing a souvenir stand with the Vanguard. The vendor there told me that was the plan for the '19 tour.. Maybe there is a Vanguard souvenir stand in Buffalo and they have the Cavalier gear. I recommend the gray show title tee with the Cavalier symbol on the back.
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It's a lazy day here in Arizona and, in preparation for my first trip to a DCI Finals ( I witnessed the 1965 VFW triumph of the Chicago Royal-Aires in Chicago ) , I was reviewing the Allentown recaps produced by DCP and fromthepressbox..
The DCP recap recited a Total Score for the Mandarins of 87.875; DCP's 08-04 Overall Total Ranking for 2019 listed Mandarins Last (08-03) Most Recent Score as 87.125, a difference of 0.7.
The ftpb recap recited a Sub Total Score of 87.625, a 0.500 Penalty and a Total Score of 87.125 .
Anyone know if a penalty was assessed, for what reason(s) and if it was just one penalty or ??
Thanks for your response.
Hope to see some of you in Indy. I will be one of the old guys with canes hanging out @ the Downtown Marriott or LOS with the Regiment contingent.
Michael Sullivan, Soprano Bugle, Phantom Regiment,1956-1960.
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For those who rely on recaps from fromthepressbox for a recap of this show : the Music Total Recap is skewered because Blue Stars' score is entered as 29.9125 (with an ordinal of 1) rather than 25.9125 (with an ordinal of 9), resulting in incorrect Music Total ordinals for all the corps who finished from 2-9.
I do because I can print their product.
FYI, these ordinals from 2-9 should be 4,1,2,6,5,8,9,7 rather than 5,2,3,7,6,9,1
I noticed this this morning and, as a courtesy) have already sent fromthepressbox an email so they can fix whatever caused this error.
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I will be attending my first DCI finals this year. I have heard that there is a park near the stadium where corps warm up. Could someone identify this park for me and its location.
Also, are these warmups also done on semifinal day?
Lastly, is there a time frame when these warmups occur?
Thanks.
P.S. The only finals I have attended was in 1965 for the VFW, held in Chicago. Even though finals had to be held indoors at the McCormick Center, the title-winning program by the Chicago Royal Air was magnificent and memorable. Can't get their renditions of Alexander's Ragtime Band and Watermelon Man out of my memory bank, nor would I want to do so.
I suspect that the same will be true this year.
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1 hour ago, LabMaster said:
Oh. My. Gosh. I have read some of the kookiest suggestions for this problem. Wow. Drumlines judged before their field performance, standing still??? Penalizing drill designers for creating unsafe field conditions or restricting judges expertise??? Like 2 minutes in the penalty box??
How about we let this new process work itself out? As it is, it’s relative and fair to all. Like anything new, it needs time and feedback. We seem to be getting hyper concerned with safety. Between props (another hot safety concern) and judges being mixed into a drill, we get caught up with the few instances where there is a problem and extrapolate it to a much more frequent occurrence; more than it likely is.
We generalize things so that there seems to be an epidemic, then suggest overkill remedies. We are to lower prop heights, follow OSHA guidelines for safety compliance, (which is a very reasonable solution - with modifications for the activity) all judging off the field and in a very specific area (oh no the judge went 3’ into the field. What an idiot not knowing what 2’ is. Yikes.). Relax and be thoughtful in a feasible manner about a solve.
Could the chief judge at a show keep an eye on the percussion judges and let them know when they may be straying and creating a situation? Or is isn’t there a chief judge anymore? If not, is there anyone who could do this? There are reasonable solutions. We need to think them through before we react with illogical ideas.
LabMaster,
Well, I have to acknowledge that I got my tongue stuck too far up in my cheek with my remarks in the fourth paragraph. Sorry.
It would have been worse if I had followed through with my other facetious suggestion of having the judging community identify the worst "anti-safe and open designers" and publicly shaming them at finals by announcing their names at finals...."In 5th place as the worst....
Seriously, I am interested in any thoughts related to the 2 questions I raised. What are your thoughts? Thanks.
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Does anyone have an insight into if and/or what corps MMs were advised to do in the past if a judge got in their way on the field?
And does the current rule result in all sub-captions being judged from the sidelines/stands?
It seems like the activity has become a slave to design.
Why not allow e.g., percussion judges on the field to do their job up close and personal and adjust the visual caption to penalize designers who create design structures which 1) create unsafe field conditions for our MMs and 2) effectively restrict field judges from applying their expertise.
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14 hours ago, PamahoNow said:
hummm,
6-21 delta with SVC 2.15
6-22 delta with SVC 2.0
6-23 delta with SVC 2.2
6-28 delta with SVC 2.2
6-29 delta with SVC 2.7
6-30 delta with SVC 2.45
7-01 delta with SVC 2.6
PamahoNow,
As an historical matter of fact, the 06-30 delta was 2.65.
The 07-01 delta should be ignored. There were only 5 judges, not 8, the result of which was that instead of having the normal GE/Visual/Music structure of 40-30-30, a structure of 40-20-40 resulted.
I believe the next opportunity for a head-to-head comparison will come in Lisle, IL at the Cavalier's home show.
As for the Mesa show, I was there and I would give the edge to SCV >CAV. Re the Cav's encore, I was standing behind the Academy MMs who were lined up on the track a couple of feet from the Cav ensemble and can attest to the energy and emotion generated, particularly when they played "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in tribute to Mr. Warren.
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1 hour ago, PamahoNow said:
hummm,
6-21 delta with SVC 2.15
6-22 delta with SVC 2.0
6-23 delta with SVC 2.2
6-28 delta with SVC 2.2
6-29 delta with SVC 2.7
6-30 delta with SVC 2.45
I'm not seeing the "continuing" to narrow the gap with SCV.
Looks like the gap is pretty consistent (given scores being what they are).
One instance is not a trend. Talk about a continuing when it is narrowing three times.
Well, PamahoNow, the last 2 contests suggest at least the start of a trend.
Tonight, we will see if a trend is imminent...or not.
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First, I believe today is his first official day as Executive Director of the Cavaliers so congratulations to Monte Mast. We at the Regiment are proud of Monte, both as a former MM in 1984 and as a member of the Brass staff in 1996 when he assisted PR in achieving the Ott award.
I remember the Cavaliers as my heroes and in my 13-year old mind as a skyscraper of a corps :: to our modest efforts in 1956 and as a corps at whose competitive level the Regiment should always seek to aspire.
Anyway, I will be in Mesa tonight where the local forecast at step-off is a temp. of only 104 and with a humidity factor of ca. 12%, what we call here a dry heat.
I hope for a Box 5 performance from the Cavaliers and that they continue to continue to narrow the gap with SCV.
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I recommend that the Regiment do a show called "Cheap Chicago Styx and Tricks"
And the ballad should be " The Flame" by the Rockford group.
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20 minutes ago, geluf said:
I don't think anyone thinks there's no chance.
Just that PR is one of about 3-4 corps likely fighting for one slot.geluf, I agree with both of your comments.
I was hoping someone would post that picture of Jim Carrey (sp?) saying something like " You mean we still have a chance?"
I will be attending my first DCI final events this August and have tickets for both semi-finals and finals. I am very confident I will see the Regiment in semis and, if we don't make finals, I will still have the opportunity to see and appreciate 12 very good corps.
My favorite Top 4 would be Blue, Vanguard, Crown and the Cavaliers.
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A Commentary on Narration
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted
Although I am utilizing the Bluecoat's 2022 program as a framework for my discussion on Narration, I do not wish to have my comments adversely impact the efforts of the MM and most of the staff of this admiral corps for which I have always had great respect. The MM do what they are taught to do. My commentary is directed at the Bluecoat's design team and DCI's tolerance of narration.
In another thread in a recent DCI World Class forum, a contributor whose thoughts I respect (Poppycock and his indomitable crew) said about the Bluecoat's 2022 progrqm that " The more I see them, the less I like them ". I agee with their conclusion. His crew may have their own reasons for their conclusions but here is mine : the godawful use of narration.
The Blue coat's design team's use of narration is an insult to Drum & Bugle Corps. The DCI judging community's tolerance of narration of the scale and scope used in the Bluecoat's 2022 program is unfathomable.
Consider the Bluecoat's program presented at Kent, Ohio on July 2, 2022. First, you have this enormous paper-mache head, and its accoutermonts, planted on the 35 yard line of one quadrant of the field, effectively blocking perhaps one fifth of the field and artificially reducing the demands of field coverage.
Second, you have an electronic narration by Lou Reed or Dennis Hopper or Lou Hopper or Dennis Reed or Jack Kerouac or Joe Schmoe rambling on about ?????..
Third, the show at Kent, as viewed on the You Tube presentation took ca. 12 min; I calculated a start time on the YT presentation of 3 minutes, 55 seconds and an finish time of about 14 minutes, 52 seconds.
Of that 12 minutes of "Show Time", about 21.7 % of the time was spent on narration, 60.8 % on Music and 17.5 % on Other Stuff.
I grant you that, during that 21.7 % of the time spent on narration, there were judgeable movements of parts of the corps but there was little or no music to be judged.
So, what to do?
One option is to allow drum corps to continue to use (in my judgement, to be corrupted by) narration.
Another is to take a stand and say no to any electronic narration on the field.
A third is to say yes to narration but your corps will be, e.g., penalized .1 or .5 or 1.0 point (you choose) for every 5 or 10 or 15 seconds (you choose) the corps' designers utilize this technique. In the case of the Bluecoat's Kent, Ohio presentation, they used ca. 156 seconds ( 2.6 minutes) of narration. That might not make any difference in some of their early season competitions (e.g., they beat the Crossmen in Kent by 6.65 points) but come San Antonio and Denton and beyond, it would.
To do nothing re this narration intrusion into D&BC competition will resort in a parody or travesty of our beloved marching arts : in a lighter measure, as a parody, t will be a satirical imitation of D&BC competition in the future or, as a travesty, it will become a grotesque imitation.
What do you want?