Euphscott

Looking forward to joining all the fun in MN in a short time!

Vigilantes are all G's - mostly Kanstul with some Dynasty's sprinkled in where the sound works better. Our plan is to stay on G for the foreseeable future - but plans can change in a hurry.

Another DCA guy here that knows amps are illegal in DCA and no corps can use them in competition. I watched the Fan Network and did not notice or hear any amps with Alliance. Not saying it's impossible - but it would make little to no sense to use amps for one or two shows a year when the ultimate prize would not allow them.

Yes - two exhibitions - good comments from judges, but no numbers.

While Texas needs the rain - here is hoping the forecasted storms hold off...

Where in Denton?

Best 9th place CD ever likely! I enjoyed the show musically - visually it was a mess. And in the DCI of today, that won't cut it.

Without revealing details (as I am on the managing team with my corps), yes, there have been conversations with DCA to resolve our concerns. At this point, resolutions we sought are not forthcoming. That's not to say that anyone was anti Texas corps, just the rules in place don't allow for what we felt would be a helpful scenario. I know our corps is working internally to bring suggestions and solutions to the table for discussion in the Fall that will help more than just our corps. As Tom mentioned, the DCA guys are working with us and I would venture to say pulling for us. It's just a process and nothing happens overnight. But as I mentioned before (with my official hat OFF) I think we have to see some changes to address the concerns of corps facing stronger challenges (in all areas of the country). DCA (and its member corps) cannot operate as it did in previous years with the landscape of our country and economy in a much different state. So I am clear - I am not necessarily against the 35 member rule. I understand why sponsors would expect that level of product. But in the hinterlands and growth areas of DCA, the show sponsors ARE the corps. I would like to see the show sponsors be allowed to make a call on their own. Perhaps DCA allows corps to get a score (so long as the show sponsor is paying all the costs associated with running a show and acquiring judges) but with the restriction against competing at Nationals? Because as I mentioned before, that is what folks want to experience - they want to march, earn a score, and compete. All that said and back to the original topic at hand - Vigilantes are not in danger of the 35 member rule at this point. We have scratched and clawed to recruit as many members as we can to put a high quality product on the field. We like our progress and feel good about what we will bring to the field. We'd just like to have some more Texans competing with us!

That was the plan within Texas to get enough corps up and running so we could have a circuit here and only need to travel to Nationals. But again - when you can't have a legal show (with scores counting towards going up north and east) due to emerging (or for that matter struggling) corps, then the shows fall apart. I understand the concept of starting small and building. But you cannot sell that to kids down here. With huge marching band programs (and with high quality all over) selling to kids a small group that is perceived less of an experience to their marching band is tough. So then you are selling to ageouts, older musicians, or those that missed DCI -the 105 degree rehearsal concept becomes a huge hurdle. Like it or not - we have to have high quality and have it quickly to appeal to a population that does not understand or have a history with All Age drum corps. I like the DCA South allowance for smaller units giving them something to build with. Would that solve all our issues? I doubt it - but it would remove some hurdles that we experience here differently than in other parts of the established DCA country. Would the ability to have two shows in the state and two official scores have saved Gulf Coast Sound the last two years? I don't know - I am not privvy to their situation and what truly prevented them from coming out. But when only two corps within 2000 miles or so was all that existed - the budget ballooned exorbitantly in order to get to shows with real scores. For two corps that did meet the 35 minimum, just hanging out and not coming to nationals was not really an appealing option - again - Texas has no history with all aged corps so staying home and doing parades (we PAY to get into parades down here!) and community events does not grow us like it does in other parts of the country. Those that did sign up to do drum corps wanted to do drum corps!! It's not a simple fix and I expect lots of discussions similar to this will be going on in this a rules congress year. DCA is not broken, but the reality of our economy and nation is changing. For the circuit to survive and grow, it will need to flex as it has in the past.

before I start writing - I need to preface this as this is my personal feelings - not an official line from my corps. What has been difficult in Texas that DCA COULD help with is some flexibility in allowing real scores and real shows. Because an official show must include three corps, We've not been allowed to host an official show. Sure Gulf Coast would come to compete - but without an Austin corps competing who is going to drive all the way to Texas to make us official? Yes - High Country Brass came to a Frontier show two years ago (and I feel for those guys as they too are in a world of hurt as far as getting to official shows), but in putting together a travel budget, it makes more sense for them to go to DCA-Midwest to get a better barometer of their standing prior to Nationals. I would not expect them to take 3 large out of town trips and remain a viable corps for very long. Music City Legend was committed to a Houston show this year, but that has fallen through as well. I am not sure of the solution, but for the corps in the hinterlands, the cost of competing legally adds to higher travel costs, which leads to higher dues, and then less interest to participate. When you get fewer members, then we get to the 35 member rule. Mike is right, heat is a nasty deterrent, but the cost of doing drum corps (admittedly high no matter where you compete) really does make things more challenging. The lack of staying power with Texas corps I believe is directly related to the travel and cost challenges. How to resolve that? I am not sure the 35 member rule is the culprit (although I suspect some of the Texas groups might have stuck it out longer with the ability to compete at lower numbers), however, the extreme travel necessary to be a competitive unit I believe is certainly a deterrent.

Now there is the best reason of all to have held the show scores or no scores - Patrick's is always a must visit.

In looking for a name that evoked our Texas heritage without being the stereotypical idea Texas, we settled upon Vigilantes. The following encyclopedia entry summed up what we were looking for quite nicely... In rural and undeveloped areas military had no jurisdiction over civilians and there was simply no law available because the town was not organized enough to collect taxes for salaries for lawmen. Crime ran rampant, and citizens finally saw something had to be done. As happened in so many lawless boom towns of the West, the only answer seemed to be a citizen's committee to take control. No matter the title, all were eventually called vigilantes.

You would need to ask the board of FPAA (Frontier Performing Arts Association). Vigilantes are a separately run organization.

I can verify that Vigilantes are Class A.

About 50-60 in Grapevine, TX. With a show in a dome and volume subdued, at times it was Marching Band-esque! Then the old clips came on and the outdoor shows made up for some of the sanitary feel. I've noticed many appreciating the Troopers clip, but I felt bad for the quality of their stuff. I know it's early, but BAC and Bloo really were miles ahead. With the warm weather coming, it was nice to get in the mood. Only about a month away!

Vigilantes will be there - but what class? We've got a short amount of time to figure that out!

Vigilantes added part 2 (of 4) on the field musically and visually last weekend. We also got our first public performance under our belts at the Denton Jazz and Arts festival. The non drum corps crowd gave us a bunch of odd looks as we entered the stage but was quite receptive once we finished. It was a good way to get the nerves out of the rookies!

That's the plan! We'd love to have neighbors - Consider it done with Brent - although giving him a hard time comes rather easily for us most of the time... :)

Good show this weekend and a terrific response from those in the audience. The weekend was packed full of rehearsing and the corps now has the first two tunes on the field. Good things are going on in north Texas, however we have a few holes to fill. We need some Baritone players right now, so if know any or play yourself, we'd love to add you to a line that is developing nicely.

Good luck to you from those of us in Texas. A neighbor (even if it is a LONG drive!) joining the ranks of DCA corps would be welcomed with open arms!

Sad to see MCL take time off - hopefully this is truly a regrouping and we'll see them bigger and better than ever soon. As an outlying corps that keeps a low profile, let me address why you don't hear a lot more from us. One - we have had show selection issues followed by music rights issues. No, our show was not selected last summer! We had a good bit of turnover in staff, so it took a little longer to get everyone hired and then on the same page and communicating. Next - outlying corps (other than Renegades!) don't get a lot of attention on these here boards, so DCP is not a huge source for promotion or discussion. It's only a small bit of the pie for us. I suspect that saying 10% of our corps knows about DCP would be too high! So, we are working hard at working our communities to sustain and grow our corps. Next - as a new corps I suspect the others share our challenge at getting word out and getting numbers consistent. It's not at all a stretch to suggest that at times we honestly felt we might march 100. Other weeks the feeling would look closer to 40. As we are a second year corps - we don't have a large pool of vets. So, while we may have a lot of bodies come through camps, we just don't know how many will commit or of those that do commit, how many will be solid in that committment. So, rather than make ourselves look like fools and claim we'll march 100 on the field in March, but enter competition in June with 40 and have lots wonder what happened - we keep things close to the vest. It's not a vast conspiracy to prevent the rest of the world from knowing our business - it's just that often we don't know it ourselves and have learned to be patient. We'd rather work hard and surprise with positive results once the judging starts. That said - Vigilantes look to be bigger than last year and we feel we are ahead of last year's pace in learning the show. Are we perfect and ready to set a record of any kind? Nope - and we won't brag to indicate that! We have our heads down looking to meet all of our recruiting goals and putting the most entertaining and clean show on the field we can accomplish. The only real breaking news I can give you is that recruiting does continue in percussion and guard. We will flirt with open class or class A numbers. How the remainder of our recruiting goes will determine which direction we go. And of course if anyone REALLY wants to know what is going on with the corps, come to a rehearsal or contact any of the management team through our website.

It's a community with money. They have a large tax base and it is growing like crazy. Texas has had some issues with this down economy but our lack of income tax, business friendly environment and reasonable climate has contributed to a pretty stable economy. Businesses are constantly relocating to north Texas or "Dallas" to those unfamilar with the area. While many would initially view this as Texas schools being all about football - it's not entirely that. Yes, that plays in, but the district has money, they have successful soccer programs and well - they need about 1000 seats just to handle the marching band, drill team, and support staff! The football program has been real good for quite some time (one state title and a few near misses) and packs the stands at a reasonable pop for tickets. I may sound like a shill for Allen - I am not - but those that do not live in the area or understand north Texas it can seem way out of whack. It's definitely eye popping, but it is certainly not at the exclusion of the educational needs that matter most.

The Allen band is generally in the 600 member range. Yes, they are a mess visually - but sadder still - the sound they "pump" is less than that of a solid Open Class DCA corps - roughly 1/6 their size!

Vigilantes are all three valve G as well. High brass is Kanstul and low brass a mixture of Kanstul and Dynasty. The corps has assembled well over 60 instruments to meet our current and future needs.

Looks good!