MiamiSun76

1. Regional/local recruiting too. For 2 reasons. Airfare will go along with land transportation & who wants to go cross-country for rehearsals only to "tour" in a "foreign" region. 1a. Liability insurance costs for both corps and contest sponsors will also impact travel costs and show availability. 2. Disagree. The gimmicks will retire with Hopkins (followed a few years later by his ego). The DCA corps who might promote amps are the ones who can least afford them. 3. We're drummers. We don't need no stinkin' spit valves!

Same here Tony. That's the price I pay for being a "cheer dad". The Junior Redskins' dance team had summer camp all weekend at FedEx Field and I was beat from 3 days of the Baltimore-Landover daily/early commute + weather. Of course the adult cheer ladies were there to make some of the pain go away................. B) Munchkin is determined to be an all-star this season. Let's see: xylophone lessons from her school teacher who is an ex-Bluecoat & Cab; junior winter guard; Redskins Jr. dance team; all at 9 1/2. Think she'll end up in drum corps? BTW, I'd love to see the lady who does the choreography for the various Redskins programs work with a corps' guard. Anyone know if that's been done?

Andrew, I'm sorry that I missed the show. The weather forecast and too many trips down that way last weekend were just too much................... As a Sunriser, remember that the corps has a reputation for doing more with less and I'm sure your edition is no exception. Also remember that Sun has had several instances of transforming from "small" to contender in fairly short order. While I wish this for the current corps, if it doesn't happen in your day enjoy what you've experienced.

It was 1963. Legion Nationals were in Miami, and several of the inactive Reilly Raiders, including Bill Hooten, were with YR. It was my 1st year in Jr. corps and my father and I drove to YR's practice in Miami to visit his old Reilly friends. The other "unique" pieces in that show were "The Limbo" and "Procession of the Sardar". Limbo used two flag poles and Procession had Cossack dancing. Cindy, wasn't that your father's 1st year with Royals?

In referring to my own historic bad judgement, I can attest that staff are capable of tuning out tornado sirens..........in open corn fields. 25+ years later, thanks to the stranger driving by. Allergic reactions. 1967 Nationals in New Orleans. Probably some pre-Katrina warning. Days of rain made all of the fields sinking mud pits. Under the mud; half the world's population of red ants. March, stop, sink, have those little buggers up to your knees. I think we had over 20 kids hospitalized.

First, I join in wishing well to all of those who were affected by the weather. Second, I totally agree with you about self-imposed restraint in adverse conditions. Having managed, I know how easy it is to be so focused on the immediate task and lose sight of the environment around you. Third, when at a contest site (as opposed to a camp or rehearsal) it falls to the show sponsors and the association to make the right call, even at the risk of the gate revenue. How many 2004 Allentowns or 2005 Bostons will we have before there's a tragedy. Thank God for the Foxboro F.D. last year and apparently the Pittsburg F.D. tonight.

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No. That's where you yell Crystaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllllll.

Spending the winter trashing Myron Rosander: priceless!

George Tuthill used them with Hawthorne circa 1975 and ditched them because of the tuning problems.

Put some fun into it. They win, you close your account. They don't win and George closes his. ^0^

No disagreement here. Some of the greats in arranging/composing never marched: Cliff Colnut from Cavaliers via Miami comes to mind and I don't think Key Poulan was a marching member (might be wrong here). Then again, some have contributed without either marching OR teaching: Bill Cook is the obvious, along with Sun's beloved Mike DeLorenzo. 5 assorted titles under their management. I just like knowing who I'm electronically conversing with: generation, role, instrument, all the stuff that would come out normally in a face-to-face conversation.

I believe your corps involvement is both more recent and at a higher level of competition than mine, so why would I question it? The same applies to Tristan who asked the original question. You're missing my point but something tells me that this is based on a different motive than Tristan's original question.

I don't know how it could be more apparent. If someone has little or no experience in the topic being discussed, it's difficult for them to relate to that topic and, therefore, to the discussions they're moderating. If moderating is only about filtering out obscenities and insults, that can be done with technology (in Nikk's case, filter "stupid"). I still think that some form of general self-identification in either the profile or signature block should be required.

I thought it was because of the shared ideological history :P (Now I'll get in trouble with my son-in-law. He's from Germany. And lives in Texas.)

I was really looking forward to seeing the return of the Blue Stars, I was a big fan. I'm still curious but............ Narration isn't just a drum corps problem. I was listening to "Young Person's Guide" on Sirius last week. The narrator wasn't a major conductor and had a rather thick accent. At the end, the Sirius announcer said "there are also several versions available without narration for those of you who want to enjoy the pure music". Made my day.

This place has always reminded me of a Homeowner's Association. The moderators act like the infamous "Architectural Committee". They pick and choose sections of the bylaws to punish their enemies while looking the other way when their friends (or they, themselves) want to thumb their nose at the "rules". The new ownership has seemed to be more oriented toward making an honest buck than carrying out the old agendas. To that end, I'd call on JohnD to take a hard look at some of the moderators' actions and the "guidelines" themselves and to determine what's in his financial interest. One other thought. I'd bet that Nikk was banned by someone with less experience in both drum corps and music than he.

I loved you guys and got to hang out quite a bit after Belleville imploded in 1979. I even did some shuttle diplomacy to get Frank Pamper to un-un-retire and fix the '79 visual issues. Frank asked me to watch the '79 prelims show from upstairs and when you came off asked me to give you a quick run-down. What a rush for me! I was so glad that such a talented group of kids ended up where they were after a rocky start to the season. Someone PM me if you know the current whereabouts of a 1980 soprano from Belleville named Ron Foster.

I couldn't move that fast if being pursued by a jealous husband with a pit bull. At least most of our peers got exercise lifting their legs (of course we drummers were exempt). But we DID have to have daylight showing underneath our feet..........yeah, right Tony!

I didn't mean to equate a poster's "credentials" with the merits of their posts. What I do try and do is decide whether there's some common experience that I share with the person that would make a discussion go easier. I mean, I can't really relate to performing at greater than 128 bpm. My hat (and shoes) are off to the people who have done that for the past 15+ years. But where fellow dinosaurs are concerened.......... ^0^

Even though he's a fellow Seminole, I don't think he's really deserving of General Secretary Nikk. OK, maybe Comrade Nikk if he buys some of last year's SCV t-shirts.

Not that I'm a big fan of regulation, but it seems that there's one thing I think should be tightened. Is it not possible to make some basic form of self-identification a requirement? When I see a post that I might respond to, I usually check out the poster's profile if there's no identifying information in the signature. You don't know if you're replying to a 13 year old clarinet player who's never even seen a show or Dan Vanatta. I think that would help a lot in scoping a reply (or passing on one; I'd only argue with Dan over white shoes....).

So how many times did you watch the (illegal) video clip?

Curry College, Boston, 1967. EVERYBODY was involved.

That would be number 3 on my list of "issues with Dan Acheson". The 2002 "we don't need legacy fans" State of the Association address.