perc2100
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Posts posted by perc2100
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On 2/24/2026 at 8:55 AM, TenHut said:
There was no part of this years halftime show that was patriotic or celebrated America.
I would say this is one of the most myopic viewpoints of celebrating America. I mean, Bad Bunny 100% gave a shout-out celebrating every single country of the Americas: or did you forget that USA is not "America," but merely one of the 35 sovereign countries and numerous dependent territories
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On 2/24/2026 at 11:55 AM, Quad Aces said:
That’s not how I took the show at all (and for the record I liked the show).
I believe it was a celebration of Latin culture, and how that fits into the overall American culture (meaning North, South, and Central) - not just a celebration of Puerto Rico’s contribution to U.S. history.
True, but a lot of the nuance in the show was directly tied into Puerto Rican history and culture. I agree Bad Bunny made the obvious shout-out to ALL of 'America:' from North, Central, and South American countries. Which, I would argue makes this an American Patriotic show from that vantage/standpoint.
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On 2/25/2026 at 5:56 AM, waliman4444 said:
So a broadcast DESIGNED to make up for what we can't process fully at first viewing? Interesting..I would love to see some of our designers chime in on this observation..peace
Wait, do you think modern drum corps is designed for a rando audience member to 100% get all of the design elements, how they're connected, what explicitly they refer to in real life + in context of a 15 minute show design, etc. in one viewing?! Lol; I don't think DCI shows have been designed like that since sometime in the 1980's and I remember past DCI videos/DVDs with designers saying "you're sure to dig the show on first viewing, but seeing it again pays off with the audience catching nuance and blah blah blah deep meaning stuff on multiple viewings!" This is in now way a new design trend
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On 2/24/2026 at 3:24 PM, Jeff Ream said:
it depends on how it's used. i want to say i'm hopeful, yet i keep seeing the same gimmick time and again from tombones a decade plus later. and there's still issues with amplification and balance.
You know designers: "sure, it's been underwhelming when THEY did it, but I have the PERFECT effect this year for trombones!!" 🤣
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18 hours ago, BG984 said:
I still don't "get it', though. In the past, even though BDB certainly had many more 18+ kids in than many other open corps and kids that even age out there, they also still had many below the age of 18. I don't think BDC will ever change, as that is a very young group. The only thing that I can think of is this. If BDA overall attracts an excess number of talented candidates, they could possibly have enough 18+ kids to fill BDB, and if they did that, perhaps actually have enough talent to field two finalist corps eventually. However, somebody stated that BDB is having trouble filling out with the new 18+ age requirement. I guess we'll see. However, they might have created something not intentional. Let's say you have a kid that is in the 15-17 age range. The kid is a competent performer and quick learner, but doesn't quite have it to make the "A" corps. Now, if that 18+ rule is hard and fast for the B corps, they are out there, too. That kid is not going to march with the C corps, but they are highly likely going to either go elsewhere or sit out. I am still not sure, and again, I have never seen an open corps with an 18+ requirement.....and as far as I know, even though most of the World Class corps' members are 18 or older, few, if any, hold hard and fast to 18+, and in fact the majority of WC finalist corps have at least a small number of members 17 or under, and there are a larger number in the non-finalists.
I suspect so that:
1) we're reminded BDC isn't a "little kid" corps anymore; merely a 14-17 year old/non-adult corps
2) so BDB doesn't necessarily look like a 'junior' corps anymore, merely not the A/World Class corps: an adult-only corps for the most part (so if you're a 16 year old HS kid perhaps don't bother auditioning here, go to BDC)
3) maybe BDA has zero requirement so if a great 17 year old auditions they have leeway to accept; or maybe conversely if a really good 17 year old auditions for BDA they can slide down to BDB and get a year under their belt and come back to the A corps
4) me, the "generally scrutinize verbiage as part of my union negotiations world" type read that BDC is definitely a 14-17 year old corps, while BDB is merely
QuoteIntended for performers aged 18 and up.
I would read that as "we're kind of discourage folks younger than 18 to focus on BDC, BUT if you're an exceptional 17 year old we have room for you.
I don't know if they've rejected, say, a 17 year old for BDB who then went and made SCV Cadets or Pacific Crest of something; do we know that the corps is solely 18+ year olds w/0 under-18 members currently?
Regardless, I'm sure if this policy doesn't work for BDB it will be changed for improvement.
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On 2/17/2026 at 11:49 AM, Lance said:
Ben Affleck is an Oscar-winning megastar. Him even being in a casino is "free advertising and exposure". Yet Vegas casinos have banned him from playing blackjack because he counts cards and beats the house edge. His mere presence could literally bring millions in action to a high-stakes table over several hours, yet they choose to ban him. Bending that black book rule might generate more revenue for them than they lose on that night. There are very valid and specific reasons why they did go through with the ban if you think about it, though. Not a perfect analog here by any means, but plenty of antecedents that line up.
And think about this figure skating guy who did minions music. Universal didn't get a dime off it up front and if they had just let it go for "free advertising and exposure", I'd say they're run by complete morons. It's a 25th-place performance only available on Peacock five hours before medal contenders start skating on anything nationally or internationally televised, and some fools really think that was going to generate more revenue than by having the skater pay for the rights. Universal likely got more clicks to Minions music on Spotify when they made it an international headline by saying no.
That could very well be, and it's possible they calculated that. If, perhaps, the #1 skater on earth wanted to use their music and they knew the music would be heard underneath a brilliant, medal-winning performance that everyone would talk about, perhaps they would've granted permission then
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On 2/14/2026 at 2:38 PM, TenHut said:
This years Super Bowl halftime show should have been obvious...a patriotic celebration of America's 250th Birthday.
I hope at least 1 drum corps will design a similar show...but I doubt it.
I think one could make the argument that the 2026 SB HT show was a celebration of America & its history of immigrant (since, unless we're talking Native Americans, we indeed all came from immigrants at some point). The show wasn't the obvious pandering type of thing ala Star of Indiana 1992: but I think the HT show was indeed a celebration of America at the very least
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On 2/18/2026 at 11:57 AM, Fandom said:
Ok, but if you're attending a show live, you shouldn't have to rely on the LED screen to see what's happening on the field. I wholeheartedly believe some people could have enjoyed it, but it just wasn't the appropriate setting for the design elements.
Or how about if you're attending a DCI show live you shouldn't have to rely on being in the musical sweet spot that's not too low so that the audio mix goes above you, and not too high so that the mix goes below you.
On 2/18/2026 at 11:57 AM, Fandom said:Ok, but if you're attending a show live, you shouldn't have to rely on the LED screen to see what's happening on the field. I wholeheartedly believe some people could have enjoyed it, but it just wasn't the appropriate setting for the design elements.
Did you go to the Super Bowl? I haven't heard any complaints from the (very few) people I know who went, or from any skuttle butt online. You make an interesting point, but I wonder if it's more of a hypothetical and not a substantial issue. As others have said, I presume if one goes to the Super Bowl nowadays they know the HT show is made-for-TV so they'll likely not have optimal viewing; conversely, I suspect the average person buying a SB ticket is there for the game (and schmoozing) and not the HT show so perhaps it's not a huge deal. With NFL trying to increase their popularity worldwide it makes sense that 1) they'd want a more worldly HT star and 2) they'd do everything possible to make the HT show feel like a spectacle on TV to celebrate
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It's amusing to hear complaints about not understanding Spanish = disliking the show. I just spent 5 days watching curling, figure skating, ice dancing, snowboard jumping, etc. and I don't understand any of that stuff as far as rules, how exactly points are awarded, etc. Still enjoyed. I typically don't know or "understand" lyrics from many recent SB half time performers and that didn't stop me from performing. I think mostly you just have to be curious enough to engage in the art (or sport) and then determine if that is your jam. I don't need to understand Spanish to see the words "The only thing more powerful than hate is love," here ALL of the countries of the Americas (South, Central, and North) spoken, see the words on the football at the end "Together we are America," and to see all of the cultural celebration throughout.
I agree that this show was likely a very interesting thing from the stadium, but I think we also know that an event as huge as the Super Bowl (128.2 million viewers watched the HT show vs a little under 71,000 at the stadium) the HT show has _ALWAYS_ been about TV viewers. Fun Fact: the HT show was traditionally lame, but in 1992 the Wayans Bros decided to do a live 'In Living Color' broadcast at SB Half Time on a different network. They 'stole' 20million+ viewer from the HT SB broadcast, and for 1993 in order to stop that from happening the Super Bowl hired Michael Jackson to do Half Time, and have 'gone big' for the HT show ever since! So thank the Wayans Brothers for the HT spectacle that is today!!
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On 2/10/2026 at 8:42 AM, Jeff Ream said:
i found it funny watching online a corps with a legacy of playing latin music had a ton of issues with latin music being played.
we ain't the demographics the NFL was going for. as they keep adding games in Spanish speaking markets, that's who they were going with. Bad Bunny isn't on my playlist, hell i'm still ###### Rush never got to play the Olympics in Canada. But the music was superb, great staging, and while i didn't get all of the references til later.....like watching many DCI shows....i thought the entire performance was great.
Right; Spanish is the #2 language spoken world-wide (with English #3)
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25 minutes ago, cixelsyd said:
Of course. The same timing benefit can be exploited just by having key personnel using IEMs to solve key timing challenges. It does not have to be every musician, full show.
Then why is anyone doing it on any scale?
As for the following, you seem to be reading things into my posts that are not there...
... no.
... no.
Budget suck - yes. $2 million just for electronics for one corps - no.
Your question is too narrow. I have a more general response which may help.
It is not controversial to point out that the instrument/equipment suppliers have had an outsized influence on the format of the drum corps activity for the past 100 years. Fact is, before any of that happened, they were already making a bigger score marketing another one of their formats (band) to schools.
Suppliers are not all bad when you realize they played a key role in creating these things we enjoy. They do not, however, make the best decisions for the long-term interest of all these activities. Their mission is to sell more of their product. And we can all see how much more of their product they are selling to scholastic bands. Fair play to them - there is a lot of tax-subsidized funding behind scholastic band budgets.
The problem is that drum corps do not have that kind of funding, and therefore cannot make the same choices as scholastic bands and still operate sustainably.
(Again, that should not be controversial to point out either... but if you want to debate that, be my guest. That is what the forum is for.)
Just for clarity, are you implying that, say, Yamaha Music is telling Cavaliers, "we have this amazing new thing we 100% need you to use so we can mass-market it!"
I guess in _some_ ways that's correct, such as Yamaha plausibly telling Cavaliers, "we're ditching Randy May carriers and after spending many years researching and developing these, we need you to try our new carriers this summer." That plausibly happened as more of a "we're discontinuing X so you need to use Y" sense. In nearly every instance of a new toy coming to drum corps it's almost always either a staffer/designer who saw the new toy somewhere else first and wanted to play with it, or a staffer/designer approaching the company about something they want that doesn't exist and working together to 'birth' a new product (sometimes it's a little of both, like if a drum stick company approaches an artist about a Signature Stick and then the company & artist collaborate on what they both want/need out of the stick).
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8 hours ago, mingusmonk said:
It is not realistically attainable to manage 165 IEMs moving dynamically across a 57,000 square foot field for precise execution needs of all performers today. Want proof? Nobody is doing it. Not that the creative minds we have in audio engineering haven't considered all of this and beyond. Their evaluations of the benefits of attempting such feat have left them on the side of "not today."
It would highly amusing for me personally to sit in a rehearsal with 165 drum corps members who are using IEMs while trying to compensate for acoustic physics
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Here is "what's happening" with AI in the musical world specifically:
https://sports.beehiiv.com/p/olympics-day-4-it-s-curling-time-in-americaQuoteOlympics ice dancers were told to use songs "in the style of the 1990s." One Czech pair tried using AI to pump out a song to skate to, but their AI bot fully plagiarized "You Get What You Give" by The New Radicals and they had to change it
There's video in that article linked above, and the way AI ripped off the New Radicals song is stunningly obvious. They changed to a different AI song (IDK if they said "in the style of 1990s that DOES NOT actually rip off a 1990s song blatantly), and ended up placing 2nd to last. They were the only pair to use an AI song, for what it's worth, though there were problems aplenty for various other reasons (mostly due to copyright issues)
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On 2/8/2026 at 8:17 AM, NewArpege said:
It’s inevitable, I’m afraid. With judging leaning so heavily towards GE and the creative, lots of groups will turn to AI to find competitive advantage. It may take some time bc the older generations in charge of many corps don’t fully know how powerful the tool is yet. But new young talent will adopt it and it’ll become normalized as they prove its successes.
I don't see it as "inevitable." Generative AI is absolute garbage: soulless garbage. And it always will be; it may be "slightly better soulless garbage" in the sense that "the lifeless looking pseudo-human depiction has the appropriate amount of fingers and limbs now!" but it will always like soul and feeling. AI is maybe good for logistical type data entry work, but garbage for art and DCI will absolute find its death sooner than later if corps start utilizing Generative AI substantially.
Generative AI is used by people who can't produce their own art, or don't want to take the time to get good at producing art. That describe zero DCI designers, even from the lowest-placing Open Class corps: human beings in this activity can produce good art, and don't need soulless nonsense programs to do so.
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On 2/6/2026 at 2:59 PM, perc2100 said:
Seriously; anyone trying to argue "creatives should let their work be used for free by the billion dollar multi-media corporation and all other international billion dollar networks" is a fool. Exposure doesn't pay any bills
Kind of comically, every performer that appears on the Super Bowl Half Time performance gets SAG union scale: around $1500 or so. Apple Music pays the production costs (which is in the millions), but the actual performers get next to nothing. So for those keeping track at home, the largest non-profit on earth (NFL) and the most wealthy company on earth (Apple) still work on a "forget the pay: it's good exposure!" when it comes to artists performing at the Super Bowl. Now, of course, Bad Bunny doesn't need any exposure at this point in his career, which is the same for anyone that performs at the Super Bowl (though traditionally there's a substantial spike in streaming and music downloads immediately following a SB performance). But it's amusing and kinda sad that even the mega-billions corporations still work the "do it for exposure!" nonsense that every bar owner and concert promoter pushes onto up-and-coming musicians
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I'm not interested in any sort of "culture war" nonsense here. I want to talk about how incredible the staging choreography and flow of Bad Bunny's performance was the closest to our 'marching arts pageantry' I think I've ever seen in a huge mainstream venue. Of course, everything was conveyed perfectly thanks to the broadcast production as well.
But how great was this performance. We had the main performer and his back up dancers/singers/posse entering from one side of the field and he had a path of near perpetual motion throughout: stopping only for a dance moment (ala maybe a 'park and bark' or 'body movement' thing), or to showcase a portion of the show (the wedding proposal & wedding; the boy being handed a Grammy while watching Bad Bunny accepting a Grammy on TV, etc.). We had a fabulous use of props, from a housing porch, to a community street of shops (including some poor kid getting a haircut when they almost certainly would've rather have been part of the fun outside 🤪), to sugar canes to people in bush costumes (that kind of looked like Giant Broccoli when the performers were entering/exiting the field), to the 'dancers' on the electric poles. We had full ensemble moments and featured soloist/performer moments (Lady Gaga looking/sounding absolutely sublime, as did Ricky Martin). This was an incredible performance, and for folks who enjoy Latin music some great music throughout (even if I don't speak Spanish, it didn't stop me from wanting to dance w/joy while watching).
I still don't think anything on earth will ever top how epic Prince was, playing his great music in a downpour, but this felt like the coolest Super Bowl HT production to me and I couldn't help think of how it feels like it could've been adapted from a WGI World group or DCI group from a staging, logistics, performance level, etc. standpoint.
Again, I'm not at all interested for this discussion about words of songs; in fact, I LOVE the fact that the joy and unity (and some other maybe more subtle messaging for those who know history & for those who pay attention) was conveyed to a mainstream audience WITHOUT needing to know vocals being sung. Just like drum corps, we don't need to know context of what a specific jazz chart or orchestral piece was made for, we just need to be able to understand the context it's being used in the performance. And in that regard, Bad Bunny crushed it with a GREAT performance Sunday evening!
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13 hours ago, BG984 said:
Agreed. It's always been that way in prelims. I was a bit surprised that people didn't think 12-9th finalists were even worth their while. A bit sad today, though......I do remember my first nationals I attended way back in 1976 Philly.....I will confess that when we went to prelims, I sat through several performances that made me want to go to the concession stand.....(but the other side of me realized that those kids out there were trying hard, too). Today, though, I think the vast majority of groups bring something good to the table, and I do find it sad that there are those who think they are not worth their time. But they have that right.......it's worse if they decide not to show up at all.
Yeah I might've skipped lower-placing corps at early shows to watch top corps in the lot, but any Regional or Championship Week performance I'd never skip anyone: it would feel like I wasn't getting my full money's worth or something. Nowadays I'm more inclined to skip awards since the recaps are posted online sooner than later (or I don't care that much anymore who placed where at any local show I'd be at)
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7 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:
loss of immediate revenue. because not only do you have NBC ( they have the Olympics right), you also have every other country broadcasting it that has to $$ up
Seriously; anyone trying to argue "creatives should let their work be used for free by the billion dollar multi-media corporation and all other international billion dollar networks" is a fool. Exposure doesn't pay any bills
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23 hours ago, KVG_DC said:
Except that year BK miced a snare soloist to do some pretty cool crunchy effects with the sound.
Ha; I almost _knew_ someone likely used a mic to mic up a snare or something at some point 😄
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6 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:
IMO they would focus on having more rehearsal time as a justification than judging.
Definitely; I knew staffers at various Championship corps who weren't fans of DCI I&E because it took away from rehearsal time. When DCI had random draw stuff for shows in 1997, I know for a fact there were plenty of not happy Top 5 corps that had to give up 'hours' of rehearsal time because they got an early draw.
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5 hours ago, KVG_DC said:
In addition to the 'creating is work' argument, my understanding of how copyright laws work is "if you don't defend it, you effectively don't have it." So, say they don't defend their rights to the license for the olympics because 'hey millions of people world wide will be hearing my name associated with my creative composition!' Then some corporation hocks it for a project and makes a ton of money using it. You sue the corporation and the court determination is ... "tough luck kid, you didn't defend your copyright before that." So SOME form of licensing needs to be there so artists can control the decision, and ideally the fee, for their work in different situations, but where lawyers are involved, fees go up.
This is true, and there are a myriad of real life cases regarding this in US copyright history:
* George Romero's classic film, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, essentially established the 'zombie rules' used half a century later in non-related movies and TV. It was a critical hit, and is held as a 'gold standard' as far as do-it-yourself horror films. Unfortunately, he and his partners totally forgot to file the US copyright claim and the film is essentially in the public domain and has been since day 1: there are a TON of different home movie releases of the film where Romero earns $0 from them.* DC Comics established a character named 'Captain Marvel' way BITD. But they stopped using it, so Marvel Comics established their own Captain Marvel (technically several different versions of Captain Marvel, or...er...Captain Mar-vell in some cases). At first DC didn't fight Marvel, and it didn't matter anyway because it was too late: "use it or lose it" so to speak. But DC was able to salvage their character, he just typically goes under the name Shazam nowadays.
* Just recently comic book writer/creator Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead; Invincible; among others) had a comic 20+ years ago called 'Capes.' Another comic writer wanted to use that as a title to their own comic story, but Kirkman beat 'em to the punch. Capes was a story about a world where Superheroes were run by a for-profit corporation, Superheroes were paid a salary, etc. It only ran for three issues, and Kirkman kind of folded some of those ideas into his much more successful (and better written) Invincible book. He realized recently that Capes had been out of print for awhile, so he reprinted/potentially rebooted the series: partially because he and a partner have ideas on how to continue the story, but also because with the comic out of print he didn't want to lose the rights to the characters or the title 'Capes.'
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8 hours ago, OldCorpsGuy said:
This is where most people filing copyright complaints are short sighted. They are using your music in the Olympics. They are going to post what the music is. What does “free advertising and exposure” mean to you?
Lol; "free advertising and exposure" won't pay the bills for a creator's work. You know, most professional composers pay the bills with their day job of composing music, and anyone wanting to use another's creative art 100% should have to go through all of the necessary legal channels to do so.
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7 hours ago, Tim K said:
We are all entitled to an opinion, but if you post it and it becomes public, people may disagree and there could be consequences. We have a right to free speech, but we also have the right to do business with someone or boycott.
Well, we have the 'right to free speech' in context of being able to criticize the US government w/out having to worry about government reprisals. That's all. Anyone can get into trouble for what they say publicly either in the real world (DO NOT yell "FIRE!" in a crowded public place & cause a scene and expect to not get some sort of criminal charges possibly pressed against you) or virtually: I could have a post here deleted, I could get banned by DCP and I could even plausibly get fired if I really went off the rails posting something publicly (though to be honest, I'm in a union, and I'm a union officer really familiar with our contract, and I don't think I'd get fired - more chewed out, which is something I've had happen/can take - but you get my point).
We're saying the same thing, I'm only being a bit more nitpicky to underscore that there really isn't free speech in totality where one can say whatever w/out reprisals: quite the opposite, in fact, as we've seen with this particular subject.
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8 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:
I remember years ago on the ESPN feed Cavies discussing having to add musical counts because of a visual idea....and that there is a reason why music design in general doesn't always flow like it used to.
Right, and I remember a specific music guy who wanted to argue against that concept (ie against Michael Gaines during the 00-06 era Cavaliers) and it...didn't go great for that music guy.
But of course the best DCI shows are also the ones that feel seamless musically & visually, and part of the nature of the activity is some designers excel but many do go to not-so-great/don't quite excel. The fun and bane of DCI is its ever-changing nature & trends, it's experimentation, it's pushing the boundaries of the accepted trends, etc. which means many of the not-consistent top-placing designers miss the mark one way or another.
Copyrights, Bloody Copyrights!!
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted
100%; that's how ownership of intellectual property works and the copy right laws that keep me from legally publishing my Superman and Miss Piggy fanfiction comic 🤪