liebot

interesting in light of the death of the kilties mellophone player... very unfortunate.

you mean to say you weren't terribly and utterly confused by the shows that year??? you didn't go away from the show saying "niagara falls.... i don't get it.... what does it all mean???" i think shows today are accessible still - maybe their themes are getting a bit far out or overly philosophical, but they still entertain, regardless.

i'm comfortable with DCI remaining a niche organization - i think the activity as it is now is very applicable to the band student (i was one 2 years ago) or the person just picking up an instrument. i'm also happy with the way that shows have been designed. watching div 1 finals i didn't feel disenchanted or disconnected with the shows - they engaged me pretty well and i thought they were entertaining. i just don't see DCI feasibly being able to gain a global audience outside of people that are musicians, play a musical instrument or have a child playing in a corps or band. i think the closest we got was Blast!, and while that certainly gained a lot of support across the nation, including some Tony awards, there are still plenty of people that have never seen/heard of it. i don't know, i just don't see it happening.

i think so... i know that BD's 03 ring was huuuuuuge... like a super bowl ring.

The jazz police, maybe?

do you want to see the trumpet book from this summer? or how about when jeff harper (a very, very, very well respected brass judge) said that our brass book was the best book in DCI, regardless of division? i understand you aren't trying to offend members of ECJ, and i'm not that offended, it's just that you're wrong on at least that one account - i can't speak to the other music captions and i can understand that our visual was limited compared to d1 corps... but i'm going to have to disagree with you on this one thing.

i disagree.

the Astrodome is still used for rodeos and stuff like that... i was there the other day - haven't been there recently to see if there are people there yet, though.

as a member of ECJ, i agree with everyone saying it would be a wise move to stay in div 2. i would much rather be in a competitive div 2 corps than in a lower-echelon div 1 corps - just my preference... i'm just saying that i think ECJ could've been competitive in d1 this year and would've had a chance at making semis and might if they go to div 1 next year.

you're my new friend....

i didn't see vanguard live in 00, but i did see them at foxboro, and i didn't think they were *that* magical... i don't know - maybe that's just me.

going to europe worked pretty well for madison's 50th anniversary... but yes, i hope that phantom comes up with a good show design for 06... 05 and 04 didn't really do it for me - well designed, but just not my cup of tea... i hope they go back to a more classical show.

Madison Scouts - 1995-1999 - it doesn't get much better than this... Cadets 83-87 - They might have four more titles than madison from 95-99, but still... i don't know. BD 93-97 - 96 was the weakpoint here, but i really loved these shows...

tool.... but yeah, cramps from sitting on the bus suck, too. and sprinting to a far away point and back and then running chunks of the show for "conditioning" (or punishment).

2005 - Bluecoats 2004 - Cavies 2003 - Madison 2002 - Blue Devils - except for that terrible arrangement of Channel One - I shut it off after House of the Rising Sun 2001 - Cadets 2000 - Cadets - could be Boston or SCV though - maybe BD, too. 1999 - Blue Devils - Madison a close 2nd. 1998 - Madison or Cadets 1997 - Blue Devils 1996 - Madison 1995 - Madison 1994 - Blue Devils 1993 - Phantom (except for that #### release) - BD's close, though - what a great show to listen to 1992 - Madison 1991 - Star - I guess? 1990 - Star... I guess? 1989 - Vanguard 1988 - Madison that's as far back as i care to go... in reflection, i chose a lot of Madison - makes sense, seeing as they're my favorite corps.

waking up at 7 o'clock for stretch and run.

i agree with TommySopranoContra - i think the BD uniforms from 76-93 are a little out of date... while i liked them in their time, i think the 94-03 and 04-05 uniforms are a lot better - i'm just excited to see what they come up with - i'm sure it will be good.

i really don't think anyone grooves like BD grooves (except maybe madison)... i really loved BD's show last year (04) as far as grooves are concerned - they had a lot of rocking parts, especially the "power-train" segment at the end... as far as other shows are concerned, i think Madison 98's closer Remembrance had me bobbing my head the whole time - and Crossmen 03's Count Bubba - good stuff.

no - each PBS station controls which programs they put on depending on viewer demand and other things. ESPN2 is a nationwide station with pretty much the same programing everywhere (except for sports games that are regionalized) - so more people receieve ESPN2 than people that would be able to view DCI championships on PBS. this also has the added bonus of being broadcast at the same time nationwide (as opposed to on PBS where it'd be different times for different stations) making it easier for DCI to advertise. as well, i think people are more likely to randomly flip to ESPN2 to see what's on than they are to flip to PBS to see what's on. I think it's definitely a plus.

well, if finals started at night (around 7ish) then I&E could still be during the day like it usually is.. that might mean that div 2 corps might not be able to do I&E or might have to miss rehearsal time to do I&E, but i don't think that they would directly interfere with each other.

Top 12 only: Up = 6 Carolina Crown Phantom Regiment Cadets Spirit of JSU Bluecoats (biggest improvement) Boston Crusaders Even = 3 Blue Knights Glassmen Santa Clara Vanguard Down = 3 Blue Devils Cavies Madison Scouts (biggest disappointment, in my book - then again, 04 wasn't exactly the best show, either)

right, but the fact is that the spartans didn't win both nights, and this pointed out a clear problem in the system. i'm pretty sure most of the drum corps community doesn't want two champions crowned again next year, so i think DCI needs to change something, as that is a definite possibility.

http://www.bluedevils.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=7791 If you're too lazy to click on this link, it's basically from the area of the forum where you can ask David Gibbs questions - he gives a pretty equivocal answer that they've been designing new uniforms the past two seasons and might give them a try in 06... any thoughts?

it was just a joke... i love the crossmen. i actually haven't heard that many crossmen folding rumors in the past - at least not as many as the magic folding rumors over the past couple of years... but yeah, back OT, i really don't know much about crossmen auditions - do they still hold them together with cadets?

i hear they're not fielding a corps this year - they figure since the cadets succeeded with surrealism this year they might do well with minimalism.