drangin

Corps won't perform because their electronics might get wet. As if we didn't have enough reasons to hate electronics in drum corps.

Multi-cam view just crapped out for me. It won't play past a certain point. Anyone else have that problem?

Quick! DON'T TELL Dan what "rusty trombone" means!

Blud Devils

Blue Evils

Dentures (senior corps for Ventures)

Dentures Manic of Orlando

Queer City Cadets (submitted separately in case it gets bounced.)

Muchachas Argonuts Squares Crass, Inc. Dependers (senior corps for Defenders)

The supposed advantage of releasing the pre-2009 shows on Blu-rays was for the video resolution that was superior to DVD. DCI may feel that there is no technical benefit for the consumer to redundantly release shows already available in Blu-ray.

Judges don't care, MM don't care, staff don't care, audience don't care...who does care enough to make it sound better in all venues? A lot of local shows at high schools have stands that just don't go high enough for proper perspective of drill, pit balance or sound gear.

That's why I had a problem from the start of the amplification nonsense, with some dude way off the field making decisions about half the sound coming off the field. It's no longer "for the kids," it's mostly about marketing for sound equipment retailers.

I would agree except for the point I made earlier that corps practice all summer with the sound gear rigged for Lucas Oil and they don't care how bad it sounds in other venues.

Considering how much editing occurs on recordings now, the main end goal seems to be the marketing of the videos. There are probably few seats in Lucas Oil Stadium that sound as good as the recordings - too low and you get blasted by the sound system, too high and you can barely hear above the blowers of air handling system. I found the best compromise to be at the front of the upper deck, where the plexiglass blocks the overpowering pit and I could actually hear some brass and drums. I just wish I didn't have to resort to Stupid Human Tricks to get to what remains of what I enjoy about drum corps, and just watching livecasts and videos is an easier path.

Ironic, since you're getting clubbed over the head with thousands of watts of amplification with that delicate solo. You're not hearing the delicate tones of a musical instrument, you're hearing speaker cones flapping.

Natural acoustic sound is fine. Amplification with its unnatural, distorted sound and is what destroys hearing. I've always felt that drum corps contests should be about wind and muscle, not electrons. Don't we get enough electrons from everything else? The loss of bugles was a shame, but the irresponsible decibel arms race is just unhealthy.

Louder and louder. OSHA will shut this #### down. Sound crews practice for Lucas Oil Field all summer and don't care how overpoweringly loud and crappy the sound gear sounds at high school football stadiums.

In fact, NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES are often an opportunity to take stock on where you went wrong, such as with amplification, mega pits, trombones, props, over production, emoting, prancing show choirs, et. al. Retailers of laser lights and theatrical foggers are no doubt disappointed that the next logical step won't be taken just yet. All those lost sales - oh, the humanity! Yes, thank you for propping up, at least for a little bit longer, the wall between drum corps and marching bland.

Why? There's no limit to how loud they can PUMP UP THE VOLUME, PUMP UP THE VOLUME, PUMP UP THE VOLUME. But the first 1000-watt-amped shattering clarinet squeak that shreds every toupee in the stadium happens in 3.........2..........1...........

It was a good run.

Prancing Show Choir

Garfield Cadets used a motorcycle ramp on the field in 2014. I wonder why they chickened out on using the motorcycles.

And as I predicted five years ago, they can't use trombones in anything but a full section without mic'ing them. They just have a small sound compared to baritones. So the notion of adding more weak instruments while simultaneously reducing field amplification doesn't exactly help the arrangers with the problem of balance. Not that I'll care about that if DCI adds woodwinds for 2021, I'll have stopped following the activity by then. We already have high school bands to show us how bad amplified woodwinds will sound and how weak they are without amplification.

So on top of complaints about "thunderous goo," with 12 alto saxes you would hear complaints about tinny goo. Unless they all had microphones so it could be thunderous.

They should erase it.