shostahoosier

Wow good job Regiment in pulling closer to Crown!

Marie Czapinski is hard on everybody. She doesnt play favorites or slot and that iss why I think people hate her. She calls it as she sees it whether it goes with other scorings or not. I admit I hated Marie when I marched (or rather the scores she gave out) but after time I've come to appreciate that at least she's consistent.

When did the last regional circuit die (was it DCM?)? I feel like regional circuits were better for smaller corps...and since there were more Div II/III corps in existence, it was easier to have a regional circuit because you could "pad" your show with more performing units. I'm not sure you could string one together now because there are so few Div II/III corps, so the World Class Corps are spread pretty thin. What is interesting though is that California has so many corps right now. Could it be because they essentially have a regional touring model? A lot of the corps don't even go up to Washington or Oregon anymore.

I thought DCI had a system in place to check the stability of corps. This is awful for Teal Sound (specifically the kids) but I'm sure if there was even a chance that the corps couldn't finish the tour, they wouldn't have gone out this summer. This is a recruiting and fundraising disaster for any organization!

Very shortly means an official source will confirm it. Why not wait until then?

I wish you had read the whole thread first! Looking at my screen name you should be able to guess I'm a Regiment Honk. I was actually kidding though. I purposely posted it right after the scores to try to head off any more postings about how Regiment is clean and their show wont grow anymore. I do apologize as I could have done a better job of making it a bit more obvious. Sarcasm is pretty hard to get across on the internet. ....and yes...I've been around drum corps for a bit. Not quite a T-rex yet but definitely a dinosaur. RAWR! Now Regiment - please fix the beheading!

Haha, sorry, I was kidding...I doubt Regiment will fail to improve their score in the next 6 weeks.

Wow, Regiment's score is exactly the same as last night. Guess the DCP community was right...their show was so clean it peaked early. Looks like they'll be missing finals with a 75.8 in August.

I'm always amazed at the lengths people go through sometimes on this forum to "connect the dots". Madison isnt copying Phantom. Madison is making smart programming decisions and re-solidifying it's brand. I remember the Madison Scouts used to say "The concept IS Madison!". Madison's repertoire was less important than seeing how they would put their spin on it because their brand was so strong. In the 2000s the Madison brand became a little murky, and some shows were better than others. Changing the uniform so frequently didnt help either - identity matters. The staff is going back to what originally established the (successful) Madison brand to re-establish it. Phantom Regiment's inconsistencies have mostly come from their visual program so playing old tunes wont really do much. John Brazale rising from the grave however....

Only if you were one of the good ones...the bad ones got it worse.

It could indicate a lot of things. The "interesting" part though is that this turnover didnt happen at the other corps that Jeff ran...you know...the corps that won 7 DCI titles while he was director. That corps placed 7th in 1997 (definitely not "firing on all cylinders"), then 4th, and then didnt finish below 3rd for 9 seasons while he was director. That is definitely "excellent culture and hiring practices". If we were talking about some green (no pun intended) director who hadnt accomplished much, then you might have a leg to stand on. I dont think you're wrong for being frustrated at your corps inconsistent nature for the past 20 years, but I definitely think your anger is directed at the wrong person/people. Maybe the "culture" of your organization that you want to change is rooted in something that even Jeff doesnt have the power to weed.

...actually...to say that an organization needs to be working well for the manager to make it productive doesnt really make a lot of sense to me. What is the managers job but to make sure the organization is being productive?

Maybe California has made Jeff soft then as I certainly can recall him being quite intense in the midwest. As far as the "all cylinders" argument, Jeff is someone that makes an organization operate at its best. He's an operations and management wizard! Ive never met anyone else like him.

I agree, I love both organizations and cherish the time I spent with them. I just felt more of a connection at one than the other. Still wouldnt trade either experience for the world (the or the time I spent in Div II/III). That being said - I've encountered some absolutely nasty, scary caption heads and techs in the years that I marched, and I've never heard any of them cross the line. I wanted to add an anecdote about Bob Smith (I absolutely love him) but I figured that it would just be picked apart and thrown into the fire to help the FLAMING going on. Its a shame that JD Shaw is stepping down, but the bright side is the DCI could use all of the new blood it can get to help keep the activity going. There are so few chances for designers to take a crack at the top because the caption heads from those corps stick around forever.

Thanks will definitely be checking this out!

IU has 5 banners from over 20 years ago and Knight was fired 10 years ago. Maybe they should have fired him earlier for mediocre seasons. A lot of staff members throw tantrums that would reflect poorly on their corps...the only difference is DCI isnt under a national media magnifying glass. Keep in mind that Coach Knight was teaching adults and while he was definitely...abrasive...most players would still dive onto a grenade for "the General". Maybe they appreciate the mental toughness he helped them develop. I guess in the world of helicopter parents and insane litigation, such a quality will become rare. I really doubt that all of those coaches you mentioned are as cuddly in private as they are in front of the camera.

Haha I guess no one is truly anonymous on the internet these days.

I'm actually in the small minority of people who have marched both corps and I can say the two organizations are awesome. I have a really low tolerance for BS and while I didnt mind if a staff person chewed me out for "not getting it" - I would have shut things down fast if anyone had ever crossed the line. I never saw that happen in either organization, at least from the staff...from the marching members though ...but I figure that's just taking ownership of the corps that you've poured blood, sweat, tears, and thousands of dollars into.

Yes the 2001 arranger was Michael Klesch...a man who arranges whole musical phrases and not just junk snippets. I think (as in this is speculation and I'm not an insider at all) that part of the reason for Klesch and Regiment parting ways was that Regiment was beginning to no longer sound like Regiment. The 2001 horn book was amazing (and insanely difficult) but the corps was beginning to sound like a young Star of Indiana. That's not bad for most corps, but it is bad if you already have your own sound and identity. A lot of the staff from Regiment that year ended up going to Crown.

I care that the "Phantomettes" finished 3rd on the most important night of the year. ;-) I do apologize though as I was a bit snarky. I just hated it when DCI used cumulative scores to award captions. I think the night's performance should decide.

What exactly was fun about this calculation you did? And what was the point?

I just went by the information on his bio on the YEA website. If he's not on the board now, that doesnt mean he wasnt on the board for a LONG time in the past when they made decisions that werent entirely helpful to the non-finalist corps (specifically Division II and III corps). There were more competing units on the east coast when I started marching drum corps and I only aged out 10 years ago. Either way, I hope the Cadets 2 do well and that we see more weekend corps that dont require kids to pay outrageous fees.

I think the more the chances that kids have to perform the better. Especially if they open up opportunities for people who couldnt afford to march otherwise. What I find interesting though is that a man on the DCI B.O.D. doesnt consider DCI a smart option for his smaller/less competitive unit. Does he take the same thoughts into consideration when advocating changes to DCI that might hurt the smaller corps that already exist in the community?

You could always delete your original quote since it hasnt been quoted yet. I liked that weird pit thing that Santa Clara used in 1995 and I think a few other years in the 90s too. I dont know what its called, but it had a really deep sound. They used it in the Arabian Dance section of "The Nutcracker"...or I guess "Not the Nutcracker" lol. I also loved a lot of the acoustic sounds that the Cavaliers used in their "Machine" show, as well as the DJ "record scratch sound" that they used in the opener of their "Firebird" (97) show. That was cool and unexpected. These things were all so much more creative than using a patch.

I LOVE this idea and hope more corps follow it. What I find interesting though is that Mr. Hopkins decided go to DCA. Even though they're a weekend only corps, I'm sure it was still possible for them to stay in Allentown and perform at mostly east coast shows throughout the season. I feel like what George Hopkins is doing is somewhat similar to someone sitting on a public school board and saying "well...I'm not sending my kids to the public elementary schools in THIS district, they're no good..." ...cant say I really blame him for that....now the demise of Open Class is another thread... :)