Cache_Money

I agree that it isn't ambiguous. It's just lame. It's much more impressive to see a corps stand up straight, motionless and quiet as a group (used to be called "at attention" back when military terms were OK). The corps kinds starts playing and moving around and then the announcer starts talking, and the audience says "oh, I think they're doing something, maybe we should watch." A basic principle of entertainment (or any type of presentation to an audience) is to FIRST get the audience's attention. HEY, WE ARE ABOUT TO DO SOMETHING GREAT! SIT UP AND TAKE NOTICE! HERE WE GO!

Cap'n Hopkins wired in he had water coming in And the good ship and crew was in peril...

I'd wager that the current Scouts staff knows a thing or two about cleaning.

I thought this was about body movement. And yes, there will be lots of that this weekend. Unfortunately.

Seconded!

Reading comp FAIL He was responding to the argument that current DCI shows, due to increasingly esoteric music and visual design, have become more appealing to music major types, but that we have lost the Joe Sixpack fan.

Exactly. Much of these corps' reputation is due to their beating up on lower placed corps. They would lose their cachet if they are only playing with themselves.

Yes, you are exactly right.

I'm beginning to see why corps don't even refer to members as "marching members" anymore. (What is it now? Performers?) There seems to be less and less actual marching. And more body movement, dancing and prancing. Not a good trend.

He didn't "say" anything. He typed his comment and posted it to a message board. Isn't it fun to read every word literally?

Please, no "YOU CANT COMPARE TEH DIFFERENT SHOWZ" posts. We know these are from different shows and different dates (and some corps don't have scores yet). It's still nice to have the scores collected and combined in one post.

Seeing shows changes nothing (except that it may allow you to forget about it for a brief while). It's been said many times already, but I'll say it again: The G7 proposal was bad enough, but to drop it on the Board (and ultimately, the other DCI member corps) right before the start of the summer season is **** ***** *****!!!!

Yeah, DCI judges always want a recognizable, hummable melody. They really penalize corpsbands that play chop and bop arrangements that make the source material unrecognizable and are only designed to match the visual.

Yep. You called it pretty well.

I love the new look. They look like actual Scouts. Antithesis of Bando.

YES! And if there isn't now, there soon will be. Soon we'll be seeing Blue Stars, Madison, BAC, Troopers, BK, Glassmen, Crossmen battling for the DCI championship. And that will be a good thing.

This isn't entirely true. Directors are often pressured to compete (in marching band) by administration and parents. In my HS band, our director left to pursue bigger better things, and his replacement came in and wanted to de-emphasize marching band and put more focus on concert band & orchestra. He quickly learned that he did not have full control to do what he wanted. He got on board with continuing the marching band tradition we had. It is not an exaggeration to say that he would have been out of a job if he did not. I've heard anecdotally that other band directors face similar situations. Many resent having to devote so much time and scarce resources to marching band, but the performance of the marching band is what their job evaluation is largely based on.

Because marching band (epecially competitive marching band) is what drives the bus for HS music programs. It is the most visible aspect of the program, due to football games, parades, etc. And band directors get the most "credit" (from administration, parents and others) for having a marching band that is seen as successful competitively against other HS marching bands.

I must say that in the past, I've been more in the camp of "progress" and have been willing to give the supposed "leaders" of the activity the benefit of the doubt, thinking that ultimately they may know what's better for the long-term success of the activity than the legacy fans. But you are 100% correct. And this whole thing has pushed me firmly into the "legacy" camp. I plan on supporting the non-G7 with $$$, to the extent I can.

Great point. You know what you get in the Lot? MUSIC!! You know what is missing from the Lot? Pagentry.

BTW, I know this has been mentioned, but... Is there a way to read the sample judging slide that refers to "Winds" (instead of Brass) as anything other than an indication of intent to allow woodwinds? If there is a split, the non-G7 will be able to market themselves as drum corps, but the G7 will be 100% marching band.

Hmmm. Is this whole thing just a "false flag" operation designed to undercut support for the very things GH and company are pushing?

Who says he hasn't?

The statement has been amended to better reflect its intended message: WE CANNOT BE ISOLATED from high school marching bands. WE NEED TO BE LIKE OUR high school marching bands PEERS AND STOP INSISTING WE ARE DIFFERENT from AND BETTER than high school marching bands. However, we do need to isolate ourselves from, and insist that we are better than, the non-elite drum corps.

Bravo