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Hurricanes had: 50 Horns 32 Guard 18 Battery and ya know, I never actually counted the number of people in the pit. But I'm sure it was around 10ish.

...and you better not see it from anyone who marched this year. funny thing is, I figured after last year, that I would be able to see fire in the eyes of my fellow corps mates. That didn't happen this year until this past weekend, which as we all know, is too little too late. However, I did see something remarkable from this drum corps after retreat was over. For the first time since I've been with the corps, I felt unified emotion. There were flames in the eyes of the members, along with tears. I have a feeling that because of this, there will be a solid core returning for next year, who will be pushing harder than the corps ever has, which is all we can ask for. This was a great year for DCA. The more drama, the better, right? I can't get enough of it. All I know is that I'm already excited for next year, as I'm sure most of you are. Especially since as you said, there were corps on fire this weekend. Couldn't have said it better myself. Everyone stay safe in the offseason and work your butts off. It's going to be another good one next year.

you know, I don't think too many people would be complaining if they heard more hornlines that had as lush a sound as Carolina Crown. I think the biggest result of someone like DVD or someone else working with multiple corps is that we'd see more corps (hornlines in this case) play beautifully with a technique that is clearly successful in the marching arts.

To be honest, I didn't even notice until now when I read it on DCP. I mean, I understand the whole honoring the winner thing, but I think retreat should be about the fans anyway. I don't think anyone was interested in staying in uniform last night as it was unbearably hot. If it was up to me, I would have made the same call. Nothing disrespectful was taken from this situation. Thanks for a good show.

I didn't read the whole thread so maybe this has been said. I find that many times, the best drum corps members (horn and drum lines) aren't music majors. The best members are the ones who are really good at being told what to do and following orders exactly. So for those who say you have to be a music major to be good, that's silly. In fact, at least from a hornline perspective, many of the people who march DCI are not very good at all, but they are very good members of the drum corps. For example, I have a couple of friends who if they were sitting next to me in an ensemble I would shoot myself, but I would die for them to be standing next to me on the field. For the record, I was a music education major at Ithaca College and drum corps has basically owned my life since I was 6.

in order to vote you have to choose at least 1 from each section.

After working with Joe for a day, I'm really excited to see the work he and Justin are going to do together. They're both great.

I wasn't at the theaters for quarters, nor was I at quarters. all I'm going off of here is a video my friend took at Allentown of Madison. The only thing I could say when I finished watching the video was "Holy Mellophones Batman". If there's one reason to like Madison this year, it would be the mellos, they're smokin. There may be more, but I don't know.

I didn't read this whole thread. but if you're going to Rochester and you like food, you have to get a garbage plate. I had my first one this year when I went to visit a friend at Eastman and it was awesome.

one of the most genius visual techs ever to a baritone player "are you trying to kill me? you look so bad I'm going to jump off of the scaffolding." (this was more hilarious than it sounds because it was the day before finals) one visual staff member about another visual staff member "it would be awesome if we could make trades in drum corps.....we trade (insert name) to the racine scouts for a helmet and feather"

I think overall the uniform looks great. I think they were fitted properly, but even when this is done pants can look baggy because they move to unflattering parts of the leg while marching. Get stirrups or however it's spelled. I know of at least a couple of world class corps that use them and it makes the pants look great because they stay in place. Also, don't Cadets have off white pants with white shoes?

In 2004 and 2005, our caption head had lemons for the entire hornline. It worked for many of us, not for all though. Obviously drinking enough water throughout the day will help, and even though many of us think we're drinking a lot, we're really not. When I'm playing on a gig and get cotton mouth, I normally lightly bite my tongue if I don't have some water with me. I've gotten it a couple of times in the middle of shows though, and the last thing I think of doing while I'm marching is to bite my tongue. At that point, there is so much going on that I'd say you're kind of stuck with it.

This just shows the inconsistencies in judging. Wasn't 7th behind Teal Sound by a couple points just a day or two ago? Now they're almost 12? I mean, this is what I would have expected the scores to look like anyway, with the exception of 7th probably being closer to the Raiders. I just can't believe that 7th is getting worse as they add more shows/rehearsals under their belt. It'll definitely be interesting to see how things pan out over the rest of the 1st tour up here in the northeast.

You mention that Div II corps had the same size rules as Div I, and this is true. However, not until recently did we have multiple corps that were THAT big. I mean, in 1998 there was Tarheel Sun. In the early 2000s there was Capital Regiment and Cascades. Recently, there has been Surf, Teal Sound, and Oregon Crusaders in different years. Most of us had fairly small corps compared to the Div I corps. As far as 2004 ECJ being better then 1998, I am biased because it was my rookie year with the corps, but I'm going to agree. That was by far the best summer of my life. Although I will say this, the soloist in 2004 was not nearly as good as the one in 1998, and never will be.

you know, it's kind of weird. When I was a member of the Targets, we started off in the Eastern Mass Circuit, only to watch it die. Then we moved to a then pretty populated Garden State Circuit, only to watch it die. Just listing all of the corps that I competed against (Phoenix MA and NJ, Quest, The J's, Fitchburg kingsmen, Buccaneers, Knight Storm, Cadets of NYC, etc...) and noticing none of them exist, including both of the corps I marched with in DCI, it's just really sad. Because of this, I'm EXTREMELY happy that Citations and 7th have stepped into the gaps that were left by ECJ, Spartans, and the rest. At the very least, we can say we have two competitive units in the northeast. and at season's end, who knows what else we can say about them.

The scores don't surprise me at all. Like I said in the predictions thread, the corps that are at or near the top normally will open up the season around a 70 or higher. When I was with ECJ, our scores were always around there, as were the Spartans'. That is where I expected BDB and SCVC to end up and they did. Perhaps Citations and 7th Regiment are just adding themselves to the mix of "top echelon" corps, and I use that term very lightly in open class because we know it's different from week to week. I know much of the staff at Citations, as many of them are former ECJ and Spartans members/staff. They know what they're doing and they know how to win. Perhaps this knowledge has finally hit home hard with the current members and they will in fact make their own late season push for a championship. Only time will tell though. In no way do I see these scores being inflated.

Since 2005, I have always liked Crown much more than the Cadets. For the first time since then, I can say that I'm ok with either one of them winning on any given night. I love both shows. I think Cadets could have a special season. Actually, I'm fully expecting them to. As much as I think Crown has the best hornline in DCI, I'm not so sure that they'll be able to beat the Cadets at any point this season. However, if Crown was to prove me wrong, I'd be really happy.

Spartans 04 is simply a great show. I watch it just as much as I watch my own show from that year. It would be hard to argue with anyone who wanted to put that show on this list. At this point, it really is taking the greatest shows we've seen and putting them in order based on preference.

Sorry to hear about the knee. This is my age-out year as well, and I always wanted to be a Scout, just never worked out, so I know how you feel (kind of). Obviously every corps is different. So I'll just give you a little of my experience. I marched ECJ for three years, which I think is definitely high enough quality in DCI. I've been marching Hurricanes for a few years now. It's kind of hard to put into words what the difference is. For me personally, it has been huge. Just between the varying age groups/experience/attitudes that can be/are brought to the table every weekend. I've found DCA to be much more difficult physically and mentally. Many will think I'm crazy, but I have a few reasons for this. You've gone through a tour with Spirit, so you know what tour body is like. It can be painful, but you kind of just get used to it and expect it and eventually just find it to be fairly easy to push through it. With DCA being weekends only, I've found that my body doesn't handle it as well. I have 2 days where I'm doing a lot of running around/marching and beating up my body as I would have if I was on tour because I personally try to treat marching the same no matter where I am. But after those two days, there's 5 days off where I'm able to get used to the comforts of normal life. That lightswitch has been hard to turn on and off because when I marched DCI it was just always switched "ON". Mentally it is very different as well. Mainly because of the same reason I just mentioned, that time off during the week. Just watching other people that I march with right now, I just think it's really difficult for them because they do drum corps on the weekends, and then go work their 9-5 during the week. We all know how things are right now in the world, and I feel like it's really affecting people's attitudes and ability to completely commit 100% all of the time because they are just flat out drained. Real life definitely has more of an impact in DCA than it does in DCI where you're basically cut off from the outside world for a couple of months. Overall, it's still marching, it's still making music, it's still doing what we love to do. There are times when alot of people coming from DCI would think the quality in DCA isn't as high, but I think it's a different kind of quality. There are different factors involved that make them completely different, so to expect the same product is like asking an apple to be an orange. It's a great time either way. No matter what, the experience is about bettering ourselves and I still find ways to do that every week. So if anyone were to ask me if it was worthwhile, I'd say a definite yes. Besides, if you're planning on marching CorpsVets, you'll be joining a group that puts out a really entertaining package every year. I'm not going to lie, my favorite part about the drum corps is actually watching other corps perform. and last night when the CorpsVets played Georgia at retreat at Barnum it was just nasty. if you have any specific questions you can feel free to PM me, but like I said, this was my experience going from DCI to DCA.

Hurricanes will be in Bristol, RI and Norwood, MA on Saturday. Norwich, CT is up on Sunday.

Best = Cavies 2004. Packaging visual and music is finally complete and hasn't been reproduced since. Favorite = Madison 1999.

just because it has been done or is "doable" doesn't mean it has or will be done well. I'd rather not listen to a bunch of horn players who don't know how to swing butcher Sinatra. Like I said, it was just my opinion. If someone ends up doing something by MJ that is just flat out unreal, I'll say so, but I doubt it will happen. And out of all the corps listed below, I think the only one that would have any chance is BD, but I'd add Crossmen into that. These two corps tend to excel at playing different genres of music, whereas, most of the others don't.

Actually, I enjoyed Capital Regiment in 2002 much more than I did Magic. Magic may have been cleaner, but I haven't seen a corps fight like that to try and overcome the odds since, although not seeing one does not mean I wasn't part of one from 2004-2006. Capital Regiments show in 2002 was more entertaining and was still executed at a VERY high level. From 2001-2003 I thought the second place corps should have won. Cascades, Capital Regiment, and Patriots were all amazing corps who put out a great product. The best open class show I've ever seen, was 2001 Cascades. I haven't felt intensity/power/conviction like that in Div II/III/Open Class, period. They brought down the house that night.

We're talking music here people, not his personal life. None of us know what his life was like, even after all of the movies, trials, and whatever else. Are you going to tell me the music that he created is not important in American/World history because of the things he did? Grow up! In that case, throw out the music of Miles Davis, James Brown, Ray Charles, etc... Were any of you upset when Dutch Boy played the music from South Park a few years back? This is music from a show that is arguably ruining the minds of many youth and adults. But you know, it was still great music. I ask you, for once, and I know it's hard on DCP, to stick to the topic. We're talking Michael Jackson shows. in that case, I hope no one in drum corps does one. I don't think anyone could actually do justice to his music. That of course is my personal opinion. But I don't think a drum and bugle corps could do it. And I really don't think a marching band could do it. Let's face it, the marching arts are filled with a bunch of squares, and that would not be good for an MJ show.

Starting in 2004, groups at or near the top of open class have opened with a score very close to if not higher than 70. This is where I would expect BDB, SCVC and Teal Sound and other perennial contenders to be scoring when they come out of the gate. So while I'm happy for Capital Regiment, I wouldn't be surprised to find them in the 5-12 placement come finals time. Granted, things change over the course of the season which is the best part about open class. You never know what to expect, and i would imagine that it will be much of the same this year.