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Everything posted by MikeN
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Oh, absolutely - such a great kickoff! it's still in my rotation. The first half of the show through Danzon is awesome - for me it lost steam in the back half, and they never could quite nail the ending. Can't deny the brass talent they had though.
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According to the liner notes, Star in '91 tied in three separate captions, but didn't win any outright. Mike
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Was my *only* finals as a spectator. Yeah, I don't think I need to go back. 🙂 Mike
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As a former DCI BoD member (at least in the suburbs of Open Class), transportation, food and salaries - in that order - were the big ones. Most of our costs were supported by member dues; we just didn't have many secondary streams of income. When I started for instance, we didn't have *any* merch sales. I suspect you can count on one hand the number of corps that have figured out how to generate consistent extra revenue, honestly, and we all know who those are. As for other expenses, once we went to digital uniforms, that cost (about $130) got passed on to the member, so it actually saved the corps money. Props weren't a massive line item, but then again, we weren't toting around Mandarins' 12,000 pound stage either. We upgraded the battery while I was there to a one-year-old Mapex indoor set, it ended up costing us about $5k after selling the old falling apart Yamaha line. We replaced the tubas four at a time each year, and we tried to replace one of the other three sections entirely each year so it would be a three year rotation for brass. We never did replace out front ensemble, and our caption head let us hear about it in my final season as they were... um... very janky. But the big costs were getting there, eating there and teaching them. We rotated a bunch of staff in and out, like most corps do, and our caption heads were pretty much told "here's your budget" and they created their own schedules from that. We also lucked out in that our bus company was owned by a DCI alum, who was ok with us not getting hotels for the drivers. Mike
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1981 DCI Championships (VHS) Review
MikeN replied to MikeN's topic in DCI (All) Corps Show & Event Reviews
LOL. This thread is literally older than one of my children - he turns 18 this weekend. Mike (OP) -
What Happened to Capital Regiment?
MikeN replied to btracht's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Cavies helped Magic out a lot in the early 2000's. I talked to Jeff Fiedler about it once, and he said that, in addition to feeding them mid-season one year, he had his tour staff show their tour staff how to compile and assemble a tour bible... Mike -
Using Music without permission (Say it isn't so)
MikeN replied to Old Corps Guy's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Yup - same playbook. Unfortunately for the skaters, they may not have much of a defense. I'm not sure NBC is liable here, as they're broadcasting an independent event? Good luck suing the IOC or the Chinese organizing committee. Mike -
If you're using a FFS, then the Yamaha attachment is the easiest as it has a built in tilter. If not, I think Yamaha has an adapter for their older style slots, but you may have to order those from a dealer. For carriers, if you have the money, the Randall May tube carriers are by far the lightest I've used. If you don't, then XL's standard T-bar carriers are great as well. Hope that helps! Mike
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If the DCI organization went away???
MikeN replied to JimF-LowBari's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Their response sounds reasonable, but remember - you are under no obligation to speak with them. If you *want* to, and feel they're sincere about making changes, then have at it. You can also ask them in the discussion why it took them so long to respond. But if you don't want to, and don't feel they are sincere about it, then don't. This is about your experience, and you don't owe anybody anything. Mike -
If the DCI organization went away???
MikeN replied to JimF-LowBari's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
I'm digging into my 2018 memories here, but I think we were actually required by DCI to add a compliance reporting form. Or it might have been promoted as a best practice. Either way, it's a good idea. We had ours set up to go to our compliance officer (me) and our director, to make sure we didn't miss it. I want to say we got 2 or three submissions in two years, and definitely were not frivolous. Mike -
If the DCI organization went away???
MikeN replied to JimF-LowBari's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
If DCI went away tomorrow, Varsity would provide a new competition structure in a hot minute. The non top-6 corps wouldn't like the new terms, but they wouldn't have much choice either. Mike -
Wow - separate camp and tour food managers? Mike
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And the floodgates are opening
MikeN replied to Jeff Ream's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
That's also true, and I totally don't dispute that. But this is also a great opportunity for everyone to recognize that the problem exists, review what you have in place, fix what you can and make sure everyone is on high alert, because it's not an isolated-issue-for-future-vigilance, as it was presented to corps back in 2017-18. And while I freely admit that some corps are farther ahead than others in preparation, that doesn't mean there's not something there for each group that has yet to be reported. Mike -
And the floodgates are opening
MikeN replied to Jeff Ream's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Five DCI corps (three World Class, two Open) in the last six years have either disbanded / taken years off due to compliance issues, or had George Hopkins as their director. I can also name another top 12 whose Board Chair and DCI HOF'er during this time who had to resign due to inappropriate conduct, one who has now hired a director accused of covering up for a charged predator, and yet another who has been accused of letting a director skate after being accused of a relationship with a member. It may be unfair to assume *every* corps has a hidden issue, but I would submit it's not something to wave away, either. Mike -
And the floodgates are opening
MikeN replied to Jeff Ream's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
I was filling my kiddo (former DCI DM) in on this story, and it struck me hard that we've had, just in the last 6 years: 2017 Cadets / probation, 2018 Pioneer / functionally disbanded, 2019 Oregon Crusaders / disbanded, 2021 Shadow / hiatus, and 2022 Spirit / hiatus due to compliance issues. (I know, that's a euphemistic term.) Mike -
Sexual Assault: Spirit of Atlanta 2021
MikeN replied to GetOFFmyDot's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
That’s what every outsider says when I tell them what drum corps does to knees and hips. Mike -
And the floodgates are opening
MikeN replied to Jeff Ream's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
This would not have been a good initial statement either. Mike -
Sexual Assault: Spirit of Atlanta 2021
MikeN replied to GetOFFmyDot's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Spirit should probably stop writing statements. They’re not really helping themselves here. Mike (Whose job duties include writing statements) -
And the floodgates are opening
MikeN replied to Jeff Ream's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Kind of, but not really. Dan as ED has exactly as much control as the Board of Directors authorizes him to have. The Board, of course, is made up of several corps directors, as well as a few non-corps members. That always has been, still is, and always will be the rub. After the Cadets scandal, they authorized Dan to use much more authority to compel compliance in dealing with member health and safety issues. In other areas, he (and DCI The Office) still has no to little scope in which to act. For the most part, the Board (and by extension the corps, who make up the membership) are content for DCI to act as "the activity" for branding purposes, while as previously mentioned they're just the show promoter and booking agency when push comes to shove. Mike -
Cavaliers Hazing Post on reddit drumcorps
MikeN replied to IllianaLancerContra's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
I'm woke, or at least I try to be. <shrugs> Not sure why it's such a bad word and why everyone's racing to disavow it this week. Mike -
Phantom Regiment troubles?..
MikeN replied to inbetween's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
So my own corps a few years ago used a bunch of these big standalone props. Quelle surprise, right? Our kids carried them out there themselves, set them up, did their thing, took them down and carried them off the field. Finals night, I am on the sideline, we're scrambling to get off the field and they're one person short on one of them. I figure no big deal, run out there and pick up a corner. I almost fell down, these props were so heavy. Turns out they were solid plywood, and massive. Guessing several hundred pounds. I realize I'm middle-aged dad, but it took the wind out of me just walking back to the trailer. I couldn't believe we'd been having our members tote them around all summer. Definitely changed my mind on props - I went from an "it's fine" mentality to "not unless they're either light or roll." I know the megacorps that have ramps and stages and other fun have creative ways to break them down, but yikes. Mike -
Phantom Regiment troubles?..
MikeN replied to inbetween's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
This has been on my mind for a while - I've been a drum corps fanboy for 32 years. Doodled uniforms in my school notebooks, recorded the PBS VHS to audio cassette to put in my car. Had shirts from like 18 corps. Never got the chance to try out, so I kept geeking out from afar. Had show posters in my office. Raised my kids on corps. One kiddo ended up being a DCI DM for two years. Happily volunteered with the corps, ended up running the volunteers and becoming a BoD member, and in my final year, Board President and in some areas directly running operations. Got to represent the corps at the annual meetings one year. Got my name in the DCI program one time. So yeah, lived the Drum Corps Fan's Dream, Part Uno. That said, there is *so* much that needs to be examined about how things are done that affect the member experience, in so many different areas - from compliance to risk to sports medicine to nutrition and more. And outside of a few top-tier organizations, I don't know if everyone has the will to have these conversations. I hope they do at some point. Mike -
Not as uncommon as one might think. Had it happen twice in two years with Guardians. O_o Mike