brassboy

If it helps, just think of them as the Pulse team instead. 😊

Today’s big staff announcement is a great start! https://www.mandarins.org/post/new-additions-to-2025-percussion-team

Mandarins hasn’t made any announcements yet. If last year is any indicator of timeline, we can expect a design team announcement sometime around the middle of this month.

This. One example is last year Mandarins posted their first staff announcement (design team) on Sept. 19, and the rest of the section staffs trickled in over the next couple of months.

I would be more impressed if 3M had created custom drums that one could literally just STICK to a harness and then easily remove repeatedly.

It’s about the extremely expensive non-waterproof electronics, not any perceived “dancin’ and prancin’.” 🙄

Agreed. Anyone who thinks JW and company would bring new folks onto the design team without first considering compatibility is being foolish.

To be fair, if someone read the title of this thread, I think it’s reasonable for them to think they’d see any info or speculation without sifting through pages of other banter. What would be great (just a wishlist item) is if the OP kept an updated list of any rumors/speculation/confirmed info in the first post.

I miss hearing Marauders play "Don't Cry Out Loud."

Yes.

I’m amused how so many people just assume that corps necessarily want to pick up other corps’ discarded or departed staff members. Yes, many of them have proven track records, so I get it. But I would much rather see corps being far more creative by finding new or undiscovered talent out there. It’s what we need if we want corps to truly innovate—fresh ideas and perspectives, at least in the drum corps arena.

If you didn’t know, “Jerry Springer: The Opera” exists (and actually has some very good music in it). There’s a proshot of a professional production fully available on YouTube.

I'm not necessarily arguing the point, but mathematically there are also 37 more members in every full-size corps than a couple decades ago. FWIW.

For anyone who remembers (or even noticed), Mandarins’ semifinals performance began with mic issues for the opening trumpet solo. This deep dive video shows you just how much effort and teamwork went into creating and executing a Plan B for that soloist to conclude the show. This is absolutely fascinating and a real testament to the professionalism of these audio teams.