Tenoris4Jazz

Bill Cook funded Star for the first few years entirely, but he also had them develop the charter bus company that Star used during the tour and then ran, as a fund raising business, the rest of the year to whomever needed buses. By 1987 or '88, the charter service basically paid all of Star's bills. They also bought brand new King bugles and never bought more horns. Star had them refurbished every year by the manufacturer. Right up until 1993 they were still the best sounding horns on tour.

If it makes you feel any better, my heart sank when Spirit's issues came to light. They've almost folded several times due to self-inflicted wounds, but there was enough alumnae who wanted the corps to survive even if it meant throwing everyone out and starting over. I hope SCV gets the same chance.

Good info. At the companies I've worked for, if big stakeholders don't like what they see/hear, they use their checkbooks and have board members replaced with their own people. I don't see this as an option here though. Am I wrong?

I'm not shocked. I've worked for three companies that had some really bad times and the only reason anything ever got off the executive floor was reporting requirements for publicly traded companies. Who does the board really have to answer to? Donors? MM's and their parents? It sounds like they are acting completely out of fear and a lack of understanding specific to their situation.

This is how entrenched my brain is... we've been talking about SCV since last fall and yet I didn't even process leaving Vanguard out of the repeating top 12. It's so impossible for me to believe that I actually gaslighted myself. I think the show designs are going to be the deciding factor, and that kinda sucks. It is what it is though.

I think Scouts here is a lot of wishful thinking. I only see one unit possibly dropping out of last year's top 12, and there's several corps ahead of Madison that should stay ahead of them. The top 10 from last year should be locks, Troopers should be BETTER than last year, and that only leaves one spot for Colts/Crossmen/BK/Madison.

There was a lot of movement until 1982. From '82 to '85 it was BD, SCV, Cadets, Scouts and Phantom as the top 5, not surprisingly the start of the Cadets rise to 3 consecutive titles. Then Phantom dropped a few notches, Madison dropped a few, Suncoast came in, Cavies hit another gear, Star made their appearance... and the 8 through 14 spots were moving back and forth constantly with some old organizations making way for new ones. I always felt it was a different vibe watching who was going to get into the top 12, maybe for the first time, versus who was going to take the title. I don't know that I've ever been as excited for a performance as I was Academy when they made Finals. That show was so special and everyone was pulling for them, it was just a very different feel.

Hmmmm... back in the tick system under M&M, I'll bet AI could do a #### good job of evaluating marching from one unit to the next. "Is that a smooth curve, a straight line, are those intervals uniform?" Of course you'd have to video the show from high cam and up close, then have the computer review the video for analysis. Not sure that could happen in the allotted time frame between show performances and announcing scores, but it's fun to contemplate the idea.

For those of you who found DCI after 1990, this used to happen fairly often. Competitions used to happen twice in the same day, or were preceded by a parade, so corps could be on it one show and tired/flat the next. Guardsmen '79 and Muchachos '74 are two of the greatest examples of a corps going in and just scorching the turf/melting the press box and totally blowing away 4 or 5 corps that were in front of them. The likelihood of someone this year medaling after finishing in 7th in semis is virtually impossible.

I remember watching 'Coats win and telling my brother "Watch... there will be half the top 12 next year wearing pajamas."

The music selections are quite good, but carving down all that music to 11 minutes would be a helluva chore. Mars usually takes 2-3 minutes, Adagio takes at least 3 even for an outtake. Entire shows have been written for Rite of Spring. There would have to be some pieces that were literally 10-20 seconds only.

White ankle socks are acceptable. I don't wear anything else except dress socks.

Tiger Woods was pretty well prepared for a round of golf in competition, including all the water he wanted and bag full of sandwiches and snacks. He has been quoted saying he used to lose between 4 and 8 pounds during an 18 hole competitive round. Ratchet that up to 40-42 holes in a day and you're looking at... 12-15 pounds? The DCI summer weight management program!!!

I've watched several videos that were shot by GoPro's or the like being worn by drummers or horn players. It is amazing that they can do what they're doing and manage to play more than 50% of the book. I'd love to see some MM's post the step counts from a rehearsal. I'd bet some of them put my day at Disneyworld to shame.

This was our regular schedule when I was in high school 35 years ago. M-W 3 to 5, Th 7 to 9 I live not far from a large high school that used to finish in the top 5 of BOA grand nationals every year. No way they were keeping to an 8 hr/wk schedule... I could hear it. They were marching on asphalt too.

They would have to police themselves and we all know that's not happening already.

If the shows aren't so demanding, then why all the rehearsal time? I think it's like running an option offense in football. You have about a dozen plays and you run them over and over and over and over... until the execution is perfect 99% of the time. Well, that takes a toll on the players, but football teams rotate backs and linemen to give them rest. DCI doesn't do that. It's the same 150 or so members doing all the run throughs, all the sectionals, all the basics, all the time. I think ultimately it's not design... it's the intense desire for that last performance to be as close to perfect as the MM's can make it. In the interests of the long term health and well being of the members, maybe the entire activity will have to start accepting a lower performance level of a high concept design, or a better performance of less of a design.

There is an obvious conflict that is going to come from any focus on member health and safety: show demands vs. healthy and safe activity. The best way to cut down on broken down bodies from marching is to cut back on the demand level in the show. Show designers will have to live with leaving something (a lot?) on the editing room floor in the interests of not pushing the MM's into injuries. The NFL used to put out videos with nothing but "bone-crunching hits" that are now illegal... and they were the most popular videos to fans.

No, my mother worked at the superintendent's office for the school system and their intent was to have two directors that served the high school and the middle school. One year they had only two directors who handled 6th grade starter band classes, both middle school bands, the marching band and two concert bands.

I'm just a different generation. We went to maybe 2 shows in the fall and 1 trip in the spring every other year. We just didn't lose when we went. Our primary purpose was to entertain at halftime of football games. The band travelled more in the '60's and '70's, but by the time I got there, the money had dried up.

I really can't comprehend that, I guess. My HS band marched 212 members one year with just 2 directors. There was a percussion instructor that was a recent grad, and colorguard instructor, but that wasn't full time. The majorettes (wow, I'm really dating myself with that one!!!) were instructed by a local dance instructor. All teaching, rehearsing and admin stuff was done by two guys.

At this point, it might be the best thing if there isn't a road to 2024. They need a LOT of time to get their #### together.

I beg to differ. Gymnasts perform routines on the vault which, by definition, can be performed "perfectly." Perfect runup, perfect springboard, perfect tumbling in the air, and stick the landing without a bobble. THAT IS A PERFECT PERFORMANCE.

Here's where I will vocally disagree. The point in time that is most critical, most important, the one the entire season builds up to, and the only one that most people will remember is Saturday night, DCI Finals. The best brass line at Finals wins the Ott, etc... Performing well on Thursday and Friday is great, but if you don't produce Saturday night, you don't deserve a trophy.

Agreed. An ensemble that size should be easily heard all the way up to the rafters.