bawker

Well, that went off the rails . . . Closed.

Sounds like fun . . .the source material is, anyway.

Well put, Troop.

God forbid.

At first it was all . . ."Don't be afraid of change in drum corps". But then . . ."Don't say woodwinds". I LOL'ed.

I also think John should really try to bring in the DCE and DCJ contingents on this . . .more people need to see Kidsgrove Scouts, Inspires, The Company and everyone else around the world. . . perhaps a live stream of DCE (or more coverage of the one they do), or putting DCE/DCJ stuff on Fan Network? Show the global reach that drum corps actually has.

. . .that's fine with me.

Nah, I save that for Hoppy.

I like it. Gonna be interesting to see where this takes place, how the "mini corps" could compete . . .could this be a home for some of the DCA minis, and a spring board for some smaller alumni units to showcase themselves? Could be some interesting stuff to come out of it, and some creative ideas FROM NEW DESIGNERS sounds like fun. Tin foil hat moment: . . .I hope some parties don't think we're going to get SoundSport in the door as an eventual replacement for DCI down the road . . .and that this is a back end to test out the "anything goes" environment for WC and OC. I doubt that's a consideration, but you know how we are about assuming around here.

Not a bad idea at all. Definitely can see how this "mini corps" stuff could grow some units into Open and World Class. Cool.

. . .probably. If this was G7 related, the announcement wouldn't be that coy.

So, you don't know either, then?

Fine, I'm speculating. All of us are at this point, unless you know something everyone else doesn't.

Sure, they'll have to do something to change what they're offering to make it different than the standard DCI fare. However, if you think this means that you'll have a 250 member BD doing avant-garde "Reflections on a Tutti Turtle en Espanol" with flame-eaters and flying trapeze artists, then I seriously doubt it. In order to sell it, the product will have to be dumbed down . . .no DCI means no brand recognition for most of the lay folks out there. Sure, the insular band world folks will still know who is who, but they may not be so keen on it when they can't rip it off for their own fall and winter programs. Why not? Because if you're going to go big, you're most likely . . .at least at first . . going to have to go towards the "standards" to get people in the door, similar to Blast! Yes, there's the pie in the sky "ANYTHING GOES" artistic nirvana that some folks yearn for that could come from this . . but the bills have to be paid too. The Cadets just might be playing Malaguena and doing "stick tricks" in the dark the first few years to keep the lights on. Yes, there will be some market split between DCI and MIM . . .but hey, DCI can forge relationships with smaller, less expensive venues as well, helping to keep costs manageable. Let MIM go for broke . . .after all, that's the dream, right?

Nope. However, IMO, once the MIM-Good Times-Up with People Express pulls out, I'm pretty sure they're going to have to do something to differentiate themselves from DCI: so, they'll probably be more free-form, and add some woodwinds or strings or something. Maybe not, but I doubt they'll just be content with 11 minutes of brass and percussion. There has to be some way to sell it against DCI, and changing the rules is the path of least resistance. Last survey I saw, most DCI-age people interested in the concept of drum and bugle corps weren't feelin' the idea of woodwinds or the like. So, in a few years (maybe sooner), the kids that want to knock out triple-Zb's will be tempted to head to Madison instead of BD (and so on), so the "quality increase" will come soon enough. Winning the annual MIM-Gold Cup probably won't have the same draw as winning a DCI championship, even minus seven groups. I'm sure there will be a disparity at first talent-wise, but once the waters calm down a bit after this occurs . . .say, 2016 . . .we'll see where the chips fall. Anyway, if we finally get rid of the back and forth arguments these seven groups have caused in the past few years, then I'll take a few years of "lesser" quality DCI in the process.

1. DCI is founded on "one for all, and all for one." 2. Sometimes the most consistently "successful" corps aren't necessarily the most fiscally and logistically stable. Phantom has run into money issues, as have the Cadets a few times. 99.9 percent of drum corps falls outside who places the highest out there on the field, right? 3. The reason the voting stuff changed to begin with a few years ago was due to the fact that these same "7" tried to vote Dan out and themselves more power to begin with.

So, a thinly veiled ultimatum, couched in "look, we're trying to be reasonable!" double-speak. Funny how, as previously mentioned, you'll always have that 7-5 majority in your oh-so-benevolent offer. Guess what? Leave, George. Take the rest with you, and see if you really can do it better. See if you can keep YEA! afloat, see if everyone who knows "how the rubber meets the road" can do it, and if you can keep on keepin' on without DCI. This can be your farewell tour this year . . .so make it a good one. You may destroy the modern concept of touring drum corps over the past 30+ years in the process, quite a few your own (and other) organizations in the process, but I can guarantee you that you won't kill the idiom. So, let's get this great "schism" over with, see what we're left with, and go from there. . . maybe you, Gibbs, Fiedler and others flourish. Maybe not. It's just about #### time to find out, and for that, I'm grateful. No more posturing, no more lamentations of "we could do it better", no more back and forth. Time for the "grand experiment" to begin. I'll pop the popcorn.

Oh, hell yes, Vanguard!

Well, so much for no death in this show . . . Seriously, though, if what you guys are teasing now is part of (or the theme of) this years show, then that's pretty ####### awesome. It's something I've always wanted to hear on the field, for sure.

Just Nimrod, or the entirety of Enigma Variations?

Personal snipes removed. Please take any individual issues to PM. Thanks!

Pretty much.

. . .please don't screw this up.

I'd tweak the A&E stuff to really take corps to task that have their electronics fail/crackle/pop/too loud. Rationale: if you're going to tick a corps for a horn or drum section that's too loud/not playing/not effective, then you need to do that across the board. e.g.: Shows that rely heavily on A&E as a layering or effect mechanism will have to carefully consider using that as a crutch. After all, if you only got about half of your total GE score one night because the microphones and/or electronic equipment at a regional didn't work . . .well, you might make your choices a little more towards the "we could use the color guard/brass phrasing here instead" rather than "let's just use some quote or electronic beep-boop here for effect". Despite what we've been told, I don't think failures of the amplified variety are given the equivalency of blown attacks/poor writing/etc. by the judging community.