Ediker

The rumored news may sound bad, but imho there is a lot more opportunity and excitement available to GH and the kids by *not* being shackled to a restrictive agreement with T.O.O.L.B. Finding/creating opportunity/excitement is one of GH's strengths... and time is on his side to turn this into a good thing.

Lots happened. Not sure which "what" you mean

Yup! For fans, it was frustrating not to have a sense of where their favorite corps ranked. The suspense didn't add to anyone's enjoyment. It also must have made the judges' jobs more difficult because the random order: 1) was a change from what was being done all season, and 2) required extra diligence (on an already tough night of decisions) to balance between "leaving room" and awarding a high number/ranking, when deserved.

No inside info, but my gut says GH will walk away from the deal with the Office of Leonard Bernstein. It seemed that the deal's many restrictions slowed GH's ability to tweak the show design quickly. 2018 is a year when he will not want his hands tied in any way.

I'm surprised no one has done it previously, in drum corps.

Speaking for myself, I'm a big fan of BAC, Cadets, and Crown. Nothing would make me happier than to see an all-East Top 3 (or 5). BAC did a lot right last season, and exceeded expectations. Cadets and Crown both did puzzling things that seemed to waste their strengths. Saying anything negative about these two was not to bolster Boston, but rather to keep Cadets or Crown from throwing away success with both hands. Crown will no doubt do well in 2018. Cadets is a dictatorship over an empire declining. Can they survive? Yes, but it won't change voluntarily, it won't be pretty, and it won't be painless.

I heard gossip that Omar walked

Based on some verbal gossip in Indy, my bet would be he's going to Scouts.

Did Madison change its name?

Wow! Seriously? I'm no fan of cheese either, but those bells seemed to add so much atmosphere to the great ending.

Yes, there is a lot more. I'll attempt to be brief. Everyone noticed the staff migration to Boston, and the corps' improvement. While the staff is being paid appropriately (as any recruiter will tell you) it takes more than merely money to get/keep an A-list staff. There needs to be organizational stability, a good work culture, and the chance to grow. Before the success of 2017 could happen, Boston needed to create the right environment by getting clear about their mission, making some leadership changes, and increasing what was beneficial in their culture. The G7/TOC movement shook up DCI. It was conceivable that DCI might dissolve if the G7 broke away. In response to that risk, the leadership at Boston examined who the organization was, and what it was about. The leadership believed that musical and artistic education, with a focus on the pursuit of excellence, provided unique and important benefits to young people. BITD, the corps was smaller and had a higher percentage of kids from the local region... as Colin McNutt explained in his recent interview, it was his chance to pursue his musical ambitions. To return to providing such benefits to the local region, Boston formed a larger organization, Inspire Ars & Music (IAM) that would consist of far more than the drum corps. Programs such as the Hyde Park Youth Percussion Ensemble (HYPE) and the Great East Music Festivals (GEMF) benefit over 20,000 young people ranging from kids who've never even touched a musical instrument previously, to kids who are intermediate/advanced and looking to improve. In short, IAM expands the reach of the organization and raises visibility to the kinds of benefits many of us experienced in drum corps. This has translated into revenue streams, volunteers, and fundraising opportunities. After years of changes and adjustments, the leadership at BAC has settled into a successful combination of people. There is deep competence, deep love for the activity, a bedrock of trust toward the leadership from alumni/friends, and a solid commitment to giving the current MMs an awesome marching experience. Many of these changes were in place before the 2016 season. It was the reason the homers were so hyped. Most everything was going well, behind the scenes. Debt was being retired. Great ideas (some learned at DCI board consortiums) were being implemented successfully. The board was being expanded, which lessened director fatigue and opened new avenues to bring in expertise and raise money. A management consulting firm (I believe donated by a board member) was brought in to evaluate how the organization functioned, and provided detailed feedback and advice (kind of like a judge's critique!). Things were starting to click in a big way: board members served on internal committees and raised money, the executive board focused on the org's direction, designers designed, admin staff killed it, instructors taught, and volunteers were worth their weight in plutonium. On the field, the corps was not as competitive as expected. Because the organization was functioning so well, the leadership was able to quickly evaluate what was needed (design and staff changes), and take swift action. It was clear to prospective staff and designers that the organization was headed in the right direction. In addition to money, they saw stability, commitment, sustainability, freedom, and the chance to take on new challenges. More money and a better staff were "symptoms" of a deeper (good) condition at Boston. Talk to any of the current staff at BAC. You will hear the same things. They are happy and energized to be there. They love working with the other staff members. They want to stay on. The summer was great. The kids worked hard and had a blast. They feel very much like family, instead of like an expense. They are allowed to do what they do best, without interference. It's the same kinds of things workers say in the business world... a great work experience is just as important as money. This was not always the environment at Boston. It took years of work, behind the scenes, to create a culture that would attract great staff and marching talent. More than ever previously, Boston's leadership is trusted and sound. The management of finances is stable and improving. IAM has a mission that can survive independent of DCI (or the G7). People have clear responsibilities and are enabled to deliver results. Getting those things happening was no easy task. Once they did happen, the increase of money and staff improvements seemed incidental. Top level staff and designers were not going to migrate to Boston for money alone. They were also responding to much deeper things that the organization could provide.

Money is the part everyone seems to focus on. The other things that changed were more challenging.

Is that how they solved the copyright problem, blacking out portions of shows?

I believe they did the Everett event because they were only scheduled in one local competition (Lawrence), which was late in the season. They wanted to give the home crowd an early chance to see the full show before the long tour away. It's possible they'll do another such event. Depends on the schedule and lineups for 2018.

Crossmen's French horn soloist... especially the tear coming down her cheek finals night.

It might be a pay-as-you-go situation, with no commitment.

The kicker is that they had the same problem in semis. Prelims was the only nationals show that went as expected.

...then everyone's score takes a hit. simples

Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me. I hope DrumScorps gets your help in sorting it out.

I do not minimize the importance of money in a business deal. My point is that money is the easiest part of acquiring and keeping staff. The difficult part is building a stable, sustainable organization that is rewarding in ways that go beyond cash.

Thank you for pointing that out. It's surprising that a whole thread was not devoted to the inaccurate recap headings... or maybe I missed it.

I did compare them. You're telling me that DrumScorps has the GE headings incorrect and no one has pointed it out to them all season?

In looking at the second two GE scores (Music), Crown is 2nd and 5th. DrumScorps recap has those two subcaptions listed under GE Music. One of those recaps has either the headings or judges listed incorrectly, or you're mistaken about who was judging what. Please check out the Drumscorps recap, which labels each sub caption, instead of putting the judge's name.

Do they plan to replace them, or backPhil with colorguard?

Cavies, Boston, Blue Knights