ClearingHouse

Jeff Spanos and the Madison Board of Directors made a tremendous decision in hiring Mark Dunton. I spent the recent DCI World Championships in Madison at "The Regent" -- the on-campus housing complex in the shadow of Camp Randall Stadium -- with Mark, his brother Keith, and several other former Scouts brothers. For years, The Regent was the move-in site for the Scouts, and we all had a great time recalling fondly our time together marching in the Scouts in the mid- to late-nineties. We also spent a great deal of time talking about our hopes for the current and future Madison Scouts. At the time, we had no way of knowing what was to transpire with the organization. If the past couple of months have been difficult, and it is always difficult to see guys go that dedicated so much to the corps, today -- combined with the hiring of Jeff Spanos as Exec Director -- heralds a wonderful new day for the Madison Scouts. I had the privilege of growing up in Minnesota with Mark, as well as marching the 1997 season with him. He brings to the table the knowledge, skills and abilities required of a corps director. But it is the intangibles that truly set Mark up for success with the Scouts. He is driven, dedicated, open, direct, caring and demanding. He is also blessed with a truly magnetic and charismatic personality; something that will serve him very well in the weeks and months ahead. The current and future performing members of the Madison Scouts will find Mark to be a fantastic motivator; somebody who will work with you to discover and put into action the potential that exists within....and you're going to have a whole lot of fun in the process. Mark Dunton, like Jeff Spanos, is the quintessential Madison Scout. He is a Man who lives the essence of the Madison Scouts philosophy -- he strives everyday to make himself, and those around him, better human beings. This is a good day.

This is absolutely fantastic news! Congrats to Jeff for the position, and congrats to the Scouts BOD for their decision. Jeff is, as we like to say, the "quintessential Madison Scout," and it will be great to see where he takes the corps in the years to come. To my brothers who are current members of the corps: buckle up, this is going to be a quality ride with Jeff at the helm. Can't wait to see what you fellas throw out there in 2007 and beyond! MYNWA

Before I get too deep into this, please note my signature below for obvious bias. Now that that's out of the way... Dan, as you mention, we could go on for days (in another thread) about Scott not wanting to play the game. However, I feel the need to point out a nuance in your statement that invites a response; namely, your line that "Sal is emblematic of a philosophy at MDBCA that excellence and winning is a primary goal of the organization." Excellence and winning are not one and the same -- especially in this subjectively judged activity. A corps can be excellent and still not be declared the winner by the judges. I just want to point that out because I never saw anybody more committed to pursuing excellence than Scott Stewart. Scott had the unique ability to choose exactly the right time to lay into the corps when he felt that we were getting a little off our game. If we had a subpar performance (whether in practice or under the stadium lights), it was not some speech from Scott about "the judges don't know what they're talking about," or "the activity doesn't reward entertainment." No -- Scott would lay into us because we weren't maximizing our own potential, both as individuals and as a corps; we weren't achieving excellence. Were we competitive? You better believe it -- we wanted to have the most well-designed, well-performed product in the activity; we wanted to have the most palpable connection with audiences; we wanted to make members of the corps that had to perform after us wet their pants, etc. Those were things that we could control; therefore they needed to be done perfectly. You could maybe have simply said in your comment that Sal has placed winning as a primary goal of the organization. It may be a different philosophy, and not one that many of us from the mid- to late-'90s Madison corps will heartily endorse, but there's no denying that it's a valid philosophy. As an alum, I wish the Scouts nothing but the best this year and in the future, and I can't wait to see their 2006 program. Thanks for your last comment about the true Madison Legacy. Great, great stuff. I look forward to seeing ALL the corps in Madison. MYNWA

Dennis, Your opinion is well taken. Thanks for the reply. Is it possible that you may be hyperventilating a bit too much about Ted's stomach sickness and having a sour taste in his mouth? I mean, I get the same symptoms just from drinking bad milk. For you to equate that with him encountering a great moral or ethical breach seems a bit hasty, in my opinion. Of course when one is used to being around a group of guys that doesn't discuss scores, and suddenly they are, you are going to have a reaction. I know I've had the same sour taste in my mouth at times when I've heard/read certain people affiliated directly with the organization hype scores. But that's what it is, a sour taste....not some heart-wrenching realization that the world has just spun off its axis, or that the corps is no longer the Madison Scouts. When you've poured your heart into something, and you're used to seeing that something operate one way, there is a certain adjustment period that goes along with seeing something new. Every little difference can cause some sort of physiological reaction. I guess I just don't regard Ted's gastronomical issues as being some sort of "revelation" about the supposed poison that Scott was injecting into his "disciples." Things seem to be just a bit melodramatic here... Anyway, it's semantics. Suffice it to say, Madison is still Madison (from 1938-2002, and YES!, 2003) and always will be -- as long as they continue to kick and take, keeping the audience always front and center. Cheers, JW

dmfootworks wrote: "To some of us who had been greatly yearning for regime change in the Madison corps over the past several (or many) years, it wasn't so much that we felt that the corps was often not up to its potential, but that the philosophy of not caring about competition was misguided and potentially dangerous for some of the young men that would eventually have to find their way in the world under similar rules (namely, those of competition). " dmfootworks, I, for one, sincerely appreciate your concern for my well-being since aging out from the Madison Cults. Unfortunately, I think that you may be seriously misguided about what Madison's philosophy (at least when I was marching) was. Essentially, it boiled down to this: 1. Drum Corps International is a subjectively adjudicated activity, so the numbers that you receive only tell a part of the story. Rather than putting all the focus on subjectively assigned numbers, compete with yourself and work with your teammates to continually max out the collective performance -- that is a true measure of success that is UNDER OUR CONTROL (that being the key point). Believe me, competition was stressed, just not in terms of "beating" this corps or that corps -- it was a more inwardly focused competition. In other words, your summation of the Scouts' philosophy as "not caring about competition" is just plain ol' wrong. 2. Did this philosophy create lumpy, whimpy corps with no competitive edge? While I may be biased, I would say 'no'. When our buses pulled into a show we wanted to see fear in the eyes of other corps, and awe in the eyes of the fans. We wanted the corps that had to go on after us to be pooping in their pants. And we wanted to destroy the stands every night out. Is that to say that changes should not have taken place? Absolutely not. In order to sustain their health, organizations need to be able to grow and adapt. Goodness knows, Scouts have seen their share of differing philosophies and styles throughout the organization's 65 years. But, at that particular moment in time, the Madison philosophy was special. Whether it was because of the Exec Director, the staff, the experience of the corps (ave age was 20.5), the retention rate of members, the talent, or what have you, there was a magic. Times change, organizations change. (To the 2003 Madison Scouts -- awesome job, keep it going. Can't wait to see what's next!) But as for your implication that the corps was turning us into "disciples," lemmings, or marshmallows that would never be able to relate to the real world, that's just ridiculous. I'd take the successes that the Brothers I marched with have had since leaving the corps and put them up against any other corps -- despite our apparently "misguided and potentially dangerous" outlook on competition. I think we're collectively a bit more intelligent, worldly, mature, and realistic about the "real" world than you think. Ted Martin, by the way, is a case in point. What up, bro? All growed up (and sorry for the length of the rant), JW

Green Tenor Man is right on. Know ALL the rudiments (old AND new school) -- AND be able to move them around the drums. Also, be sure to work on two-hand, and sometimes even multiple-limb independence (chances are good that at some point you will find yourself playing on a kit, using three or more mallets, or other fun things that tenor lines get to do). No getting around the basics, my friend. It's all about lots and lots of GOOD (i.e., use Dr. Beat) practice. Best of luck!