Jeff DeMello

Maybe Hard Rock will be a more "solid" sponsor than AeroBed!

Actually, Howard Hughes donated Hughes Aerospace to his non-profit medical foundation (must have been a nice write-off!).

There is no advantage to being for-profit. The BIG disadvantage is that they would now have to pay LOTS of taxes.

Sorry, Stu ... not true. Hughes Aerospace employed thousands and thousands of people, built satellites, airplanes, rockets, and they were a division of a huge Hughes Medical non-profit corp. It's completely legal as long as ALL of the profits are funneled back into the corp, and not dispersed to "stakeholders".

Thanks, Mike. I was not aware of the "turn the corner" bit. As far as a "smashing commercial success" ... well, let's just say I'd be interested in seeing the overall ROI before I declared that! If they did make money, more power to them!

There was a corps that actually played "Rocky" and won DCI! Wait ... that was us! ;-)

There is a mis-conception about "not for profit" corporations and "for profit" corporations. "For-profit" organizations exist to earn and re-distribute taxable wealth to employees and shareholders. "Nonprofit" corporations exist solely to provide programs and services that are of self-benefit. That's it. It has nothing to do with entertainment, paying staff, renting stadiums, etc. Non-profit organizations do not have to be "small" or "locally run". There are many examples of large non-profit corporations: Carnegie Corporation of New York, Goodwill Industries, United Way, The National Rifle Association, Habitat for Humanity, the Red Cross and Red Crescent organizations, UNESCO, IEEE, and World Wide Fund for Nature. Between 1953 and 1980 Hughes Aircraft Corporation was a non-profit, as all the profits were transferred to Hughes Medical Institute (ergo no taxable wealth to employees or shareholders). I have actually seen financial models where a for-profit drum corps model actually could succeed ... however, it would take a LOT of business acumen on behalf of the corps business organizations ... i.e., "running a business which happens to be a drum corps" vs. "running a drum corps". A fine distinction, but one that separates the successful organizations from the unsuccessful ones. As far as Blast! ... I believe that was a great example of a "for profit" company loosing a lot of money!

Hey Gary, The first two times we won DCI in BD we didn't get rings ... I had the '76 and '77 rings made up in the last '90s for those alumni who wanted to purchase them. I know there were a few Renegades who wanted rings after our first mini-corps win! However, Gary, I have to tell you ... when you guys threw us that party after we won (and we climbed in through your hotel windows to get there!), the T-birds hospitality and friendliness meant just as much to me then, as winning DCI in my younger days. Rings-schmrings ... what you guys did for us WAS drum corps at it's best. (BTW, we DID shut your party down! )

Wow ... I don't log onto DCP for a while and I see this. Francesca and I send you our best for a speedy and full recovery.

Donna-Mae Baldenecker Burr Smith passed away last Saturday (April 3rd), and was laid to rest on Wednesday (April 7th) with full military honors. Donna-Mae was the first female bugler in the U.S. Army, and was inducted into the Buglers Hall of Fame in 2009. You can read about her at: Buglers Hall of Fame International Women's Brass Conference - Winter 2009 - by Christina Cavitt (Minnesota Brass) Online Obituary Newspaper Obituary sacramentoart.com - Her life as an artist Facebook Article DCP Article DCP Article The Free Library I never met Donna-May, but I have done a lot of business with her son, Craig Burr, here in Stockton. One day I was telling him about my Drum & Bugle Corps days in the Blue Devils, and he told me about his mother, and I was floored! I mentioned her to Frank Dorritie, who immediately began the process of nominating her into the Buglers Hall of Fame in 2009. , as played by Frank Dorritie ... I'd like to now dedicate it to the memory of Donna-Mae.

To the Bonfiglio family ... please accept our condolences from the Blue Devils Board of Directors, as well as the entire Blue Devil organization.

October 1972 ... Mt. Diablo High School in Concord, CA. My best friend Bob Lee (R.I.P.) took me to a Blue Devils rehearsal. The only instrument I ever played before is the Accordian, so Jerry Seawright stuck a horn in my hands and said "blow in this end". I could actually play a G scale ... all the way up to a "D" (!!!!) that day, with the encouragement and help of Jim Ott. "The rest is history"!!

Mr. Ream is correct ... that sums it up, especially after some of the marching bands I saw this season. The ONLY other distinguishing factor I see is: bands ... affiliated with schools drum corps ... independent organizations

Who's that?

Sigh All my cameras are HD / 16:9 !!! There is NO reason why the audio should be off. Even if it was off on the tape, it should have been corrected in post-production prior to creating the master. At least that's what I do! I would think not. I do my own duplication, and I've used replication houses. What goes in is what comes out. Again, the replications are most likely fine ... that leaves ....

Francesca and I will be there ... direct flight from Sacramento CA to Minneapolis MN! :poke: :worthy: :worthy:

Contra Costa Awards and Embroidery went out of business last year. BD had to find a new supplier. I don't know the new jacket maker. Call the hall if you have questions.

My duplicator in my studio can easily crank out 100 DVDs overnight. If the editing was completed the week after DCA (which IMHO shouldn't take any longer than that), they could have been duplicated in a few days, stuffed and shipped. Maybe I'm overly optimistic ... but I know my video production capabilities, and would have had the production run done within a few weeks (see my post in the other DVD thread for estimates for production).

3 "Big" Moments - 1974, Casper WY: It was one of our first shows on the Drums Along the Rockies tour (back in the days when that was a major tour!) ... We were at retreat, and they were announcing the scores. It came up to: "In <whatever> place, with a score of <whatever> ... the Blue ............... Stars". WOW ... AMAZING! Here we were, the 24th place corps in 1973, and we beat "The Corps of the '70's" ... we were on cloud 9. But THEN ... the announcer goes on: "In <whatever> place, with a score of <whatever> ... the Troopers". OMG, we beat the Troopers!. Finally, it came to: "In 2nd place, with a score of <whatever> ..... the Kingsmen. We were NUMB. We won! We beat the first DCI national champion Kingsmen. We been the VFW/AL champion Troopers. We beat the Blue Stars. At THAT moment, we knew what it felt like to "win big". (Of course, there was a tabulation error, and we really came in 2nd, but that didn't distract from that feeling of THE moment.) 1975, South San Francisco, CA: The first time we beat SCV ... you can read about it here. That was a magical moment for the organization overall, and for each of us personally. 1976, DCI Finals Retreat, Philadelphia, PA: We won DCI for the first time. No words to describe THE moment.

We are REALLY excited about having Al and Pat on board ... these guys have the chops to take BD to the next level, and the level beyond that!

[quote name='Fred Windish' date='Oct 13 2009, 03:08 PM' post='2677665' I'm confident DCA will continue to improve its product, within the parameters of its budget. Isn't that as it should be? Amen ... I wish more people (like the State of California!) would stay within the "parameters of its budget" ... or even HAVE a budget!

Good point, Ryan. This is the hardest part about shooting corps. It will take me a few times to get the "gist" of each show, and make notes as to when / where to point the camera. And even then, you have to have the camera people in just the right spot to get the shot (a LOT of time, the pit gets in the way! ... also a common complaint of my wife, who shoots still photos for Drum Corps World). Also, a problem is changes in the show (although less of a problem in DCA). When I shoot the Blue Devils, and I haven't shown up to rehearsals, I might see entirely new sets which I wasn't expecting! I agree with Ryan ... Drum Corps is a sport, with one chance to capture everything. HOWEVER, that being said, you do NOT have to use the "real time mix" when producing DVDs ... you can go back and remix in the studio and take out the "standing around" shots (even if it's with a generic high-cam shot).

Yeah ... all of my DCA venues in California!!!!! That, with all of the DCI shows in California !!!!!

The Blue Devils are happy to announce their partnership with The Pearl Corporation to use Pearl and Adams percussion equipment.

The Blue Devils are happy to announce their partnership with Conn/Selmer Read Here for the King line of marching brass.