Chief Guns
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Posts posted by Chief Guns
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4 hours ago, OldSnareDrummer said:
Who the hell are these guys? Not surprising I don't know.
I get laughed at in the office because I couldn't name you a single Taylor Swift song.
Guess I am getting laughed at too. Because I can't name one of her songs either.
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1 hour ago, OldSnareDrummer said:
I don't think I could afford any of these people, but...
Corps Director: @Vuitton
Brass Caption Heads: @Iron Lips @jwillis35
Visual Caption Heads: @Jurassic Lancer @IllianaLancerContra
Percussion Caption Heads: @Weaklefthand4ever, @KVG_DC
Corps Disciplinarian Caption Heads: @Terri Schehr; @Chief Guns ( both have full authority to pull bus over at any time if any shenanigans occur on board )
Members:
Brass: 1975 Madison Scouts (+ another 30 from any Crown Ott winner)
Percussion: 2018 Santa Clara Vanguard
Color Guard: 2025 Boston Crusaders
Drum Major: I could be sold on the Madonna idea.
Appreciate the endorsement, but i think I am too old school for this kinder gentle world we live in now lol.
Three times during my military career I had a chance to push boots (RDC/Drill Instructor) at boot camp. Three times I said no way lol. My wife asked me why not, I told her because the first time one of those 18-year-olds mouths off or eye balls me, they are going thru the bulkhead, and my career is over LMAO.
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I have always wanted to hear the judges tape for BD Felliniesque.
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2 hours ago, Bruckner8 said:
Who has the most Competitive Inertia? That is, who has the most consistent leadership, in admin and staff? Who has good relationships with judges? Who has (or will) continue to “peck” at everyone currently above them in a caption or two?
As another poster has said, an equally valid question is: who in the current top 6 is more likely to dwindle?
Cuz ya need both.
The Mandarins check all the boxes you laid out.
Mandarins have the staff and it starts with 2023 Director of the Year J.W. Koester who has sat at the top of the mountain as a DCI Championship Director.
Mandarins also have a top six finish (2023) and over the last few years have shown they can throw a few punches with the big dawgs in multiple captions, a few notables include beating Crown in brass, beating BD in music analysis QF night, and last year at the SA regional beat BAC in one of the visual captions. Also, Mandarins brass and guard finished above SCV a few times this season as well.
They also beat Vanguard a few times early on in 2024, beat PR at finals in 2023, even beat the Cadets a few times that season.
And I believe Color Guard has finished top five 2 of the last 3 seasons.
Obviously, things can change, staff, talent etc. But until further notice, Mandarins have to be in the driver's seat as the next first-time DCI World Champion.
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2 hours ago, cfirwin3 said:
This is not stadium related, but...
I strongly believe in venues that supply an audience made up of school program blocks. We had a show in Buffalo for a long time that could be considered the opposite of the Canton HOF show. The western NY crowd didn't seem to understand what they were looking at and the response was always timid. They desperately needed a few blocks of enthusiastic competitive field band kids.
Loud young bando audiences get mocked on Flo streamed show chats, but such audiences are really the best kind. There's nothing like being on the field knowing that the audience wants to be where you are, doing what you are doing. It's the best atmosphere for a show.
In 2024, Mt. Sac did two shows, Friday night was strictly for band kids only, then Saturday night was for general public.
My son said the Friday night show getting to perform in front of the band kids, he said the performers felt like rock stars.
During the Mandarins opener (Vieux Carre) when they drop the props for the opening hit, he said they nearly had an ensemble tear because the bando kids lost their **** and was screaming/cheering so loud, the ensemble couldn't hear each other lol.
Bando kids definitely bring the energy.
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31 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said:
Hey the new stadium in Santa Clara is no slouch. Jim engineered the security infrastructure there. Even the cheerleaders and mascot have dressing rooms and a lounge.
Levi's is a nice stadium no doubt.
Drum corps shows there? Not so much in my opinion.
1. Planes fly DIRECTLY over the stadium on takeoff from San Jose Airport, so any quiet moment in a drum corps show will be ruined by a 737 outbound for DFW lol.
2. The echo is horrible! Niners percussion unit "Niner Noise" played at the end of the 1st quarter of a game me and my son went to.........the echo of the last notes played by the drumline finally stopped at the two minute warning in the 4th quarter LMAO.
3. And Levi's is extremely expensive. You want a bottled water, be prepared to harvest your organs in the basement underneath the stadium to pay for it lol.
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35 minutes ago, greg_orangecounty said:
….that you lose 😈
See you in October lol
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10 minutes ago, corps8294 said:
Well, I guess I'm in the minority. I enjoyed the Bluecoats more than the Blue Devils in '14; "Tilt" became one of my favorite drum corps shows of all time that summer.
Crown's show in 2014 was my favorite of the summer.
But favorite doesn't always equal best. Because unless there was some alien drum corps coming from outer space, nothing on this planet was beating Felliniesque. To this day, never seen a on field performance and execution like Fellini.
Spirit had one of my favorite shows this year, didn't even make finals.
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23 minutes ago, greg_orangecounty said:
Premium stadiums aren't available on August weekends. They're hosting events that bring in much more money than Drum Corps. We're lucky to have LOS all things considered.
But in an alternative reality I would say So-Fi Stadium in Los Angeles. It's beautiful, if you can get past the $12 hot dogs and $18 beers.
SoFi Stadium (aka Levi's Stadium South) is a really nice stadium.
Sorry brother but as a Niners fan, I had to get that dig in there as us Niners fans take over SoFi every year lol. It's an extra home game for us lol.
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1 hour ago, KVG_DC said:
I'm weird in that the only part of Metamorph I really liked and has stayed with me was Everything Must Change. But I REALLY liked that.
For me... The Cut Outs > Felliniesque > As Dreams Are Made On (if we're going back that far, its weird seeing them in the shakos with tall plumes now...lol) > MetamorphThe ballad from "As Dreams Are Made On" might be one of the most underrated ballads over the last decade.
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4 minutes ago, DWW11 said:
I think anyone who saw Felliniesque live would be hard pressed to NOT declare it the best production ever. But, for me, Metamorph was the perfect celebration of a dynasty. That old school opening, with Seawright’s introduction and the rifle line spinning into double-time just took my breath away. And “Everything Must Change” was spectacular.
Metamorph is a close second for me.
I knew Metamorph would win, but it was kind of a slow burn and was undeniable by finals. That 40 trumpet feature.......chefs kiss.
Fellini on the other hand was a 1st rd KO lol. Heck, I don't even think we made it to round one in 2014, Fellini wiped out the competition at the weigh-ins LMAO.
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2 hours ago, Terri Schehr said:
My fave is still Felliniesque but I do like the Art shows.
Felliniesque is the greatest performance I have ever seen hands down no debate.
Never in my life have I heard so many "ooh's and ah's from a DCI crowd lol.
Still remember seeing Fellini in Glendora CA late June for the first time live, people in the crowd shaking their heads in amazement lol, some were picking their jaws up off the bleachers lol, one guy said, "Well it's June 28th, and the DCI season is officially over, because nothing on earth is beating that!"
The reactions that Felliniesque got from the crowd reminded me of when I took my wife to one of those Cirque du Soleil shows and seeing/hearing the people's response to the wild things the performers were doing.
Saw Fellini again the following night at RCC, good Lord!!!!! I think that's why RCC has been under construction all these years. BD turned that stadium into rubble lol.
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BDs closer! Flag work was next level.
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1 hour ago, DAYGO said:
Crown offseason rumors are THICK!
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23 minutes ago, Jurassic Lancer said:
If you are in the minority then so am I. I really enjoyed the show and only want them to expand the field from end zone to end zone. The props pretty much trapped them between the 15s.
Put me in the minority club as well. Loved BD this year!
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And I will be sitting in the crowd eating popcorn and laughing when someone walks up on-stage slaps the host back to factory settings when he cracks a joke about corps "insert name" not having a great design or lacking GE in their shows.
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On 8/15/2025 at 9:10 PM, mK_ulltra said:
Ok my new game is whether I’m older Anton OldSnareDrummer….
They’re doing amazing things, everything is there, the talent, the show design, the general awesomeness.
either way only corps with 4 champs in a row. And it would have been 6 but some old ### got hurt (like any single person matters that much 🙂 )
Big love @Chief Guns don’t drift too far away, you brought me back. 🙂
Appreciate the shout out! Much love and respect to you!
I love this activity, and I was here decades before my son marched, and God willing I will be here in the decades to come.
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Definitely excited for year two of Pulse Percussion in Sac-Town.
We saw a huge improvement in drums in 2025.
As the Mandarins talent continues to get better each year, coupled with the Pulse crew being rockstars in the WGI community, I expect them to take another step forward in the percussion caption in 2026.
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1 hour ago, Jurassic Lancer said:
^^^^^^
This. 1000 times this. And stirring up rumors to what end? To make the poster look important and in the know? It just makes them seem like a gossip. On second thought, scratch the words “seem like.” They are a gossip.Well now that BD has a 4th place finish, someone flapping their gums about "what they allegedly heard" has become the fastest way to get a bunch of likes by some people who are naive enough to listen to their nonsense.
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49 minutes ago, OldSnareDrummer said:
SinnerVieuxCarreMan. The French dude with an attitude.
Then we take Mr. French dude and put him in the spinners so we can hear him yell repeatedly "Je me chie dessus!"
Lol.
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4 hours ago, Zoddage said:
Every Top6 corps with the exception of Crown and Phantom Regiment hold winter camps in the Texas area, its stiff competition for Crossmen. Plus most Texas High Schools start BOA show music rehearsals through the summer and then start drill at end of summer. I've heard those high performing schools don't want to share summer practice time with DCI, its either/or.....
DFW Area: Blue Devils, SCV, Bluecoats
San Antonio: Boston
If a new MM doesn't make those corps, then its a much larger decision as to where you want to buy monthly plane tickets for a chance at another corps outside the top4.
Make it top 7. Mandarins have moved into Texas for winter camps the last few years.
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12 hours ago, greg_orangecounty said:
I hope they become the next Boston-like story.
I agree with you.
The next 5-10 years for the Mandarins will be exciting to follow.
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So with a few days to process another amazing and record breaking season for the Mandarins, what do you want to see them do next as they continue their upward trajectory?
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Who is next in line to win their first WC championship?
Mandarins....................
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New Pop Music
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted · Edited by Chief Guns
I don't hate TS. In fact I give her props for all her success. Her music just isn't my cup of tea.
But if I was running DCI, heck yea I would reach out to her team to see if she would be willing to come to a show. They are probably going to say no, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Afterall this is about business, personal feelings need to be set aside.