TroopAlum12

I know its early and such, but I'm still excited. This has got to be a great confidence booster for the members. Like I said, I hope they keep it up!

So...Troopers beat Boston tonight. Thoughts? Mine are something along the lines of WAY TO GO TROOP! Hopefully they keep this kind of stuff up

Thank you

Sorry that me and my corps are so late to the party...we had some hang-ups in spring training (also known as "mid-terms" here in real life). Anyways, the MHPA corps will finally be jumping into the competition in two days in Oregon...see y'all on the field :)

Not sure if this has been brought up already, but would you consider adding the overall corps rankings to to the app? Both weighted and unweighted?

Back in my senior year of high school, there was a marching band that did a literal ripoff of Crown 2007. Drill, music, props, narration, all watered-down of course. This was just after I had returned from my first season of marching drum corps, and let me tell you, seeing that direct of a rip-off ###### me off royally. I just don't get that same effect with Wild Horses. And I'd like to think its not just because I'm an alumni...trust me, I've seen some other alumni raise the same concerns that you have. Honestly, I think while the themes are very similar, the execution and content of the show are different enough. 8 different junior corps have done West Side Story shows. The cadets have done it multiple times by themselves. One thing they teach you in music history is that the greatest innovators in music are those who take the innovations and successes that came before them, and then add to it (example: Liszt was using 12-tone serialism in Faust 60-something years before Schoenberg got ahold of it). Just my 2 cents. Yes, there are lots of similarities, but there's also more than enough to make it original.

Hold up...since when did Jupiter start making their mellophones look like Yamaha's? I seriously thought they switched until I saw the euphoniums...

Interesting...looks like the Troopers hornline has ditched their gauntlets.

Another picture from vanguard, closer view:

I agree this may have been smart. But, I also just had the thought, they'd have to buy horns and drums as well, or at least horns. They might only have the capital to field one caption at the moment.

I love this show. This is pushing the boundaries in a way that works, so very well. The most mindblowing thing to me is that most of the effects coming out of the speakers are being live-mixed from what they're playing on the field, as opposed to pre-recorded clips. If they get it clean and keep developing it correctly, this is going to be a benchmark show in DCI history.

In response to some of the concerns about how much of the Bluecoats sound was being generated on-field: Obviously, I'm not in the corps and therefore no expert, but where I'm going to school for music I've seen a lot of people experiment with using electronics for effects like looping and distortion in both jazz and 21st century classical contexts. Both produce some spectacular effects when applied correctly, and I think it's going to evolve into the next era of instrumental music. From what I could see in the theater, most of what you hear from Bloo is being produced on the field, then as it's happening its being turned into loops or having other effects placed on it. This is what is so spectacular to me about the show, the fact that so much of what you're hearing with the electronics is, in fact, live, and not pre-recorded. I do agree, it would be a nice touch for the sound engineer to be an on-the-field marching member, but I feel with this show that the members are still putting out most of the sound, someone off screen is just pushing a few buttons to warp the sound a bit. IMHO

Sorry I'm late to the party, just got home. but..HOLY CRAP PEOPLE. This season is going to be legendary. So many good things going on. Here's my review: Scouts - missed it, but saw it on the Monday webcast. SO no comment here. Blue Stars - To be totally honest, this show was a solid "meh." The members were throwing down their best, but the show just didn't "WOW" me. And I'm sorry, but I still just don't like how the red plumes look with those uniforms. Carolina Crown - yeeeaaaah brass! Crown Brass is out and doing their thing as always. Lots of cool moments in the show both musically and visually. There were several, rather hilarious to watch incidents with the tarps though, with the red sheer material getting twisted up and then caught on that poor baritone player's horn. Overall, I'm digging this show and it's music, but there's a few design issues that are holding it back in my opinion. The show seems a little slow/choppy between some of the movements, which always kills the momentum for me. But, I've got faith in the design team that they're going to smooth it out come August. Also, I really sense that the current ending is a placeholder, and that something much bigger will replace it eventually. I also felt that they shouldn't have placed quite as far ahead of the Cavaliers as they did. Cavaliers - I'm loving this show concept. It just screams Green Machine. Gotta love some Bruckner 8 in the opener. Drill is VERY classic cavaliers - and there are enough notes in the brass to compete with Crown and the Cadets design-wise. Obviously, it still needs some TLC both in performance and design, but we've got whole season ahead of us. The ending definitely could use some more wow factor. And the "Run, Boy, Run" singing....yeah. It was a little awkward sounding. Again, I like where they are going though, and hope they continue to build upon it. The Cadets - Definitely one of my favorite shows this season. Man, they can move really well for the beginning of tour. Still some dirt in the horns, but they came out of the gates playing louder than Crown did, and kept that up most of the show. The French Horns...wow. That is one of the coolest moments musically I've seen so far. But...it seems really short. So short it's almost out of place. I really hope they add to it by season's end. Love the staging for the baritone solo as well. This is going to be a medal contender for sure. Bluecoats - WOW. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this show. I went in thinking the Cadets show was going to be my overall favorite...but then this happened. I am deeply impressed with this show. This is a corps and a staff being innovative and pushing the boundaries in a way that works, extremely well. If they can keep this show up, I feel it will go down as one of those moments in DCI history that changed the activity forever. And, dare I say it, I think this show could give BD a challenge for the gold if they can clean it up. Absolutely amazing work, Dean Westman and the rest of the team. I'm excited, y'all. No matter what, this is going to be a great season to watch from start to finish.

According to the museum at Ft. Caspar in Casper, it was just a misspelling/mispronounciation of the name that got used when they incorporated as a town. The original military station was called Platte Bridge Station, and was renamed Ft Caspar after his death. A town eventually grew up around the fort and took on the name Casper.

The Glassmen Alumni Association officially announced this morning they are making their first steps towards rebuilding the corps by starting a winterguard: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/780196925/glassmen-winterguardthe-first-step-back The page reads: "The Glassmen Alumni Association is pleased to announce the first step in bringing the Glassmen back to the floor and field. We are organizing a comeback like no other. In true Glassmen fashion, we have lined up some of the BEST design staff and want nothing less than to come back in CHAMPIONSHIP FASHION! If you are or were ever a fan of The Glassmen, this is your opportunity to show the world you miss The Glassmen and want to see them on the field again. Starting this winter with a performance in WGI. This will mark our first step back. So many times people have asked what they can do. Well fans, alumni and friends.......now we have a goal and need you. Please help us make the path back to the field a little bit easier with your pledge to the 2016 season. Remember all the medals? The tradition of excellence? The winning spirit? Pledge today to help the next generation of Glassmen get their EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME. It is important that this continues for generations to come. The Glassmen Alumni Association is dedicated to coming up with long term solutions for a multi-million dollar organization like a world class drum and bugle corps for the future, but in the meantime we do not want the name to to go on as a memory. Help us bring the world class organization of The Glassmen to WGI for 2016. With your pledge this will make our project a reality while continuing to stock pile for our next big move!"

I agree with the above posters: Let's get back to looking at cool uniform pictures. Take your arguments to the PM box, please.

Just now: "Our fans rock! Thanks for this hashtag: #bringglassmenback" https://twitter.com/TheGLASSMEN/status/611053557119340544

The Glassmen Alumni Association took over the remains of the Glassmen organization after they folded. I heard rumors they were going to try and rebuild the corps after they took care of all the financial problems...maybe this is it.

*ahem* meanwhile back at the ranch...here's a closer view of Madison's uniforms, including the drum major. Photo credit to the Madison Scouts facebook page.

Posting YouTube videos used to be banned on DCP before corps started using the site regularly. So it garnered that name which has still stuck around a little.

I vote that for the next broadcast thread, a separate thread be created purely for the discussion of streaming issues.

Not new, but this is just a really awesome rendering of the troopers uniform.

There's still a lot of America in America's corps:

I have no idea if this is true, but I was told when I marched that Pearl has a deal where if a corps makes finals with their drums, they get a free drumline for the next 2 or 3 seasons. Sounds a little too lucrative to be true though, anybody know if such a deal really exisits?

Deleted - wrong thread.