soonerjeff

Best come back in a long time!! Thats classic! Pioneer was in Div. 2 for quite a few years before the jumped up to Div. 1. Maybe they haven't had the winning success that they did in the lower division, but they're at least still around and have been for many years! It'd be nice to see the kids from corps that fold or don't march for a year move to another similar corps instead of trying to shoot higher or not march at all. It sure would help out corps like Pioneer and the like who struggle to get enough members each summer. It sure would be interesting to have some more info about the corps wanting to move to Kansas.... Didn't someone try to start a corps in Salina or something recently? Silver Sabres?

Another Pride alum here! I'll be in OKC, but I'm glad to see that they added Tulsa this year. Good stuff for Oklahoma! Enjoy the show :)

Forgive me if this shows my lack of knowledge, but how would things work without a drum major? Who starts the show? How is the corps introduced and acknowledged by the announcer and judges when it is time to start? Its nothing I've ever seen before, so I'm a little curious...

JoelD, a guy who's been posting here every so often lately, just went back to the Bluecoats to fill a baritone hole. He marched with them 2004-2005, but chose not to march this year. Now he'll get to age-out with his corps!

From what I saw at the rehearsal yesterday, they were getting rid of all the vocal at the beginning ("History Repeating") and inserting the same Twilight Zone theme/intro from last year's opener. Nothing was said about changing the vocals during the drum break. In my opinion, the History Repeating singing was okay, and I see what they were trying for, but it didn't help introduce the story that well. I can't stand the vocals during the drum break! They are distracting and completely unnecessary!! (And isn't it embarrassing to them that they have to do a mike check for each of those wireless/headset mikes while setting up for the show?! "Mic check, White Rabbit. Mic check Red Queen." Ugh!! That totally took my mind out of the show.) The more I think back to what I saw yesterday, the more I start to be 'okay' with the show. Its a cute show. But getting rid of those lines from the characters in the drum break would still be my priority if I was editting this show.

I loved the whole thing! I was blown away by that show! My jaw dropped from the first beat, and it never came up from the ground! I couldn't believe how difficult that show was (or at least seemed to be.) I loved the section when the sopranos switch to baritones/euphoniums-- What an idea!! I would love to see this show again b/c there is just so much going on that I know I missed a ton of things. Great job, PR!

I went to the Enid show yesterday, and watched the rehearsal/clinic that the Cadets hosted in the afternoon. When I got there they were practicing some drill with music that I recognized from last year's opener. Then they practiced the same drill, but it was this year's opening singing that I've heard online already. Later in the clinic Hopkins said that they had learned this new opener that morning (yesterday) and it would be added at tonight's show in Kansas. My opinion is still out on this year's show, but I do think its interesting that they're going to play with the opener like this. Maybe the crowd wasn't getting it? Maybe the staff didn't like the feel of it? Who knows. BTW, Phantom rocked Enid's face off last night! Everyone was blown away by their show! It has to be one of the most difficult shows in a long time.

Cadets are adding their new opening tonight. They're scrapping the singing intro and bringing back the music from last year's opener. They're using the same drill that they already had. They learned it yesterday in Enid, practiced it in the afternoon, and Hopkins said they were going to replace it tonight in Kansas.

Hey, its Joel D!! b**bs Whats up, buddy? I haven't hardly heard any music this summer, but I love the clip I've seen of SCV's opener!

The backward-building box in the opener is one of my favorite moves! Can't wait to see this show!

You would have thought that people would have learned from the Colts last year, with their giant postcards. Seemed like those were a huge hassle that might have not been worth it. I can't imagine what the Cadets need that is as big as these things.

I do agree that money can be a MAJOR reason for staff, from techs to caption heads, to leave. Especially for the 'lower ranked' Div 1 and 2 corps, these staff people are usually college kids who are still in school or recently graduated and need a real, sustainable income. I have seen wayyy too many times through my group of friends who marched where they were offered staff positions and were promised that they would be paid a certain amount and in the end they were either never paid or barely paid anything. It seems like sometimes corps aren't even having these younger staff members sign actual contracts, which almost means that the corps isn't locked into having to pay them. The staff member keeps hanging around in good faith, hoping that the corps will live up to its promise, but in the end the corps is basically cheating them and getting their teaching services for free for the winter camps, move-in and part of summer tour. Unfortunately it seems like a vicious cycle though-- The corps don't have enough money to pay the staff anything reasonable, and these staff members need a sustainable income ($500-800 for an entire summer won't help cover the money they lost by not doing a different full-time summer job), so there is never a 'meeting in the middle' and the staff member leaves. The 'big boys' have enough money to hire professional staff (most of whom already have full-time jobs away from the corps), leaving the lower corps to rely on young adults who need the income. What can you do?

My university marching band had a weight requirement for my first two years here. That was the end of our former director's 30 year career here, though. The new guy came in (2001) and has not reinstated that requirement. I sorta wish he would, because some of the girls keep gaining throughout their career and their technique keeps getting worse with it.... Its a little surprising that public institutions can get away with this despite using public money (not discrimination?), while drum corps are a little more lax about that despite being private and being able choose their own members.

I think it would depend more on the device that you're using to listen than it would the recording device. If your IPod or whatever has the 'rewind' button then it should work, but if it only has a 'skip chapter' button then you'd have to listen to the whole thing again. (Think about how DVDs work. They're about the same I think.)

The Rose Bowl is the only bowl left that makes the TV show part of each band's halftime shows. They showed about half of our (Oklahoma's) show vs. Washington State on ABC back in 2002. They do it every year, not just for texas :P . All of the University of Oklahoma's drum corps kids will be playing at the Holiday Bowl tonight. Whew, I sure am glad I was at OU when we were going to the BCS games (Watch out next year! :) )