MoKeefus

I know your pain. If I lived within a couple of hours drive from Bayonne I'd still be with them. I may have made it to 2nd and a half mellophone by now, oh the fame and prestige!

Thanx for the well wishes. You're right, it should be fun and as simple as possible. I believe if it looks like you're having fun and you have a decent product it'll grow on it's own. The local DCI show is usually well attended, there must be some interest in the activity.

So... Does anyone in the Hampton Roads area of VA feel like getting together? I just want to play again. It's been a couple of years for me since I was in the arc and I really miss it. I just can't do the four hour drive North or South. I can't put into words how much I miss my Carolina Gold and Bridgemen Family but I just can't do the drive anymore. If anyone is interested, please email me.

I took a break from DCI this year. It was easier than I thought. I can afford the tickets but I just don't relate to it anymore. I believe DCI started shifting their product away from the blue collar fan a while ago. (I define the Blue Collar Fan as someone who is not a music or performance major and may have participated in the the activity as a hobby, or a little more than a hobby.) I enjoy listening to the CDs but with the shift to a greater visual performance I have not enjoyed the last few years as much as I have in the past. MoKeefus

If they have the same folks working the concession stands, eat before you enter the stadium.

On the way back from Florence, SC I checked the travel distance from Rocky Mount to Newport News, VA. It's a lot shorter than the ride to and from Benson, NC. If momma lets me break away Saturday, maybe I'll ride down. I wonder if my mellophone will fit on the back of my bike??? It would be nice to be in the arc again.

Man this work stuff is killing me. I hardly have time to go to any drum corps sites. I miss the good natured give and take of the forums. I'll be back when things slow down. See Ya Tomorrow, MoKeefus

Did you know… Red Sox fans joining the Bridgemen are beaten bloody and unconscious by Yankee and Mets fans only on their initial rehearsal? That’s right, the handful of candidates that survived the beatings were allowed to pay their entire years dues, plus a non-refundable 10% processing fee, upon regaining consciousness. When they are able to hold a horn, drum or flag/rifle again, they are treated no different than anyone else suffering from advanced symptoms of leprosy. It’s all part of the Bridgemen tradition of welcoming new members into the “Black and Gold” family unless of course you’re a Red Sox fan. Then you can be a member of the “black and blue, red-headed step-child” clan and you have to eat at the small table off to the side at all major family get togethers. :P This is the year the Red Sox go all the way!!! (again)

A couple of thoughts... First, having worked with both European and Far East suppliers and vendors, I can say with the utmost certainty, the men and women in North America (I didn't want to leave out our friends to the North) provide a higher quality product and do it more efficiently. A German owned company in my area frequently sends reps to their facility to see how a product designed and developed in Europe can be made cheaper and better here. Many of the assemblies in the products they sell to us as “German” made were manufactured here in the states. The Toyotas and Hondas made in the United States regularly receive higher quality ratings than the automobiles made in Japan. Americans (and Canadians) do great work, probably the best in the world. What makes it cheaper for companies to move out of North America is the cost of labor and operations. By labor costs I mean social security and health insurance not the actual pay of the workers. In Europe and Japan the majority of health care and retirement funds are subsidized by the government, a cost which is killing our auto business right now. By operating costs I mean energy costs, local and state taxes and any other perk not given to them that will be provided by the new underdeveloped nation. I won’t even bring up child labor and environmental issues. We may not be burning coal for our industries but all the coal leaving the Newport News Terminal in Virginia is being burnt somewhere (China). Second, the actual cost to make a horn or any manufactured item becomes cheaper each year. I’m willing to bet anyone a bunch of cash that a $1,500 Yamaha trumpet costs less than $150 to make. I’ll make another wager, the cost to manufacture the trumpet in the Asian country will cost right around $150 after they have been manufacturing there for a few years. At first it will cost much more than it did in the United States. Why is it cheaper for Yamaha to move the factories? They’ll be able to sell directly to you through the internet or their distributors. Even though it will cost them $300 to make the horn now, the will be able to have UPS deliver it from China to your door. They have skipped two or three steps in the supply chain. As a rule of thumb, every time an item reaches the next step closer to the consumer, the price will double. It has nothing to do with cost. (The exception is the local music store owner who has a tremendous amount of overhead costs, which is why they are disappearing.) It is all about what we are willing to pay. To prove my point, look at the cost of a Baritone versus the cost of a Euph. Is there that much more brass and chrome in a Euph to justify the price difference? Yes, if brass costs around $900 a pound. If we as consumers, especially Americans, want to fix things, stop buying stuff. I’ll say it again, stop buying stuff. It is that simple. Use whatever you buy until it is no longer serviceable. Replace what has been consumed with the best value, not what is cool or trendy. Demand service from the seller of the product. We shouldn’t have to call India to find out why we just lost our internet connection. If we all did this, we would find the best value comes from products locally produced and locally serviced. I'm sorry about being long winded but we need to take a stand.

Tomorrow starts the spring training games. I'm sooooooo looking forward to this season. I bought a new Red Sox cap (don't tell my wife). I think you'll approve of it Jim. You know, if that truck was 10 feet or so longer, we could get almost half of the 2nd bari's on it. If the truck was 20 feet longer we could get 3 or 4 of the lead sopranos heads on it. (The gloves are off and they are circling near center ice.)

Dude, I've been working at least 10 hour days for weeks now. I hope things slow down a bit. My wife and daughters will be gone this weekend. I'll have the house to myself. You know what that means....Break out the horns and the drum corps DVDs. It's time to for a drum corps fix. I need to move to Bayonne or find something local. I absolutely hate going so long between practices. (I miss my buds too.) see ya on the 11th

I heard the other side of the truck is just going to be the mellophones. Larry said "They may not be the loudest, they may not be the biggest, but they are the least ugly section of my horn-line." It made me feel good all over. He has a way with words.

Has this issue ever been resolved? I would like to purchase a soft case for a Kanstul mellophone. Any help would be appreciated. MoKeefus

I watched it while drinking a few cool ones in a small VFW post in Bayonne, NJ. It was awesome. The scouts were pretty good too! :) Actually the Scouts were Fan Freakin Tastic!

Sara, we need music majors. In life and in drum corps. Generally, I like like them. The point I was trying to illustrate is the lack of non-music major types in drum corps now as opposed to the way it used to be. I was lucky enough to come back into drum corps with a corps that was willing to help me learn. Although I feel the cattle prod was a bit harsh. I hope we see a change in DCI where DIV 2 and Div 3 corps are given a little more help. Where people can learn and enjoy the activity as an outlet for their artistic side. Where kids that may not have all the talent, education, time and money it takes to perform in a Div 1 corps. If DCI wants to create an Elite division where there are less restrictions and more of what they have been doing that's fine. I find myself enjoying DCA more and more each year. I just hope we can learn from what DCI is doing and guide our activity to where it can be. thanx