MikeN

I've come round on this issue over the years. As a super-fan, I was definitely against folks selling such personal historic stuff. Having now been a parent and admin in the system, I've actually flipped sides. It's just stuff from when you were a teenager. Keep the memories, internalize the lessons, do whatever you want with the stuff. Mike

And welcome to DCP! Mike

Corps medical staff (or designee) will take up your meds when you get there and pass them out to you on the prescribed schedule. You likely won't be able to get refills on the road, so you'll need to bring enough for the tour with you when you move in. Corps do it all the time, it's not a big deal - just be proactive in communicating with them about what you need. Mike

<shrug> My DCI one didn't. Mike

This suggests that these corps are going to be full then? Mike

I don't think they did on the cassettes - I bought those back when and it still had the finals frack. Mike

And these days, DCI would have just edited the performance on the CD's / DVD's. (Gotta say, when I hear the semis version of the show, it sounds wrong to hear it played right!) Mike

Having been on a BoD, I have to agree that a) it's a ton of money and b) those fees aren't set without a metric ton of evaluation, input and cost-cutting. Corps just aren't realizing much (if any) profit off of member dues, no matter if it's Blue Devils or Blue Saints. Mike

Back in '18 our program director (Daniel Montoya, now with Madison - woot woot!) bought one of BA's go carts and brought it to a camp. If nothing else, they were incredibly well built. 🙂 Mike

Depends on the corps. When I worked with Guardians, we'd be finalizing busses and still working on housing, and maybe have some volunteers in place (though that really dovetailed with getting members contracted, which we would still have been doing at this point as Open Class runs behind World Class). We went and did our own food runs, so that would have to wait until we knew where housing would be. Mike

Fair enough - I realize we're in a bit of a different world down in TX - so what's the issue with Varsity partnering with SoundSport to potentially offer contests in NJ for bands to participate in? I know Varsity's history, and I know how many different school-based pies they've put fingers into. I'm just saying, however, in the case of marching band I'm not sure this is going to end up like Cheeropoly. Mike

TBH, it would have been more newsworthy had they *not* come out this year. Mike

I don't know - I'm just not seeing it. They're just a new competitor in an already fairly crowded marketplace. And in states where they are the only game in town, then having someone to run contests is a *good* thing. Mike

I get that, but MB also has state sanctioning bodies, which apparently cheer does not. I know in TX, you can go to BOA all you want, but good luck on being taken seriously if you skip UIL. Mike

Gotta be honest - I'm not really seeing a downside of Varsity getting into MB, unless they somehow prohibit bands from competing in their own existing circuits. Not even sure how they could manage that. Mike

Just a reminder for those without decades of DCI experience - Cadets divested from YEA a couple of years ago and have their own non-profit org now, and USBands was taken over by BDPA (Blue Devils). In practical drum corps terms, YEA going out of business doesn't change a lot. Mike

It feels weird to say, but it was a smart move for SoundSport to partner with them. Varsity was wanting to move into school music at some point anyways, and now SS gets to provide a vehicle for units to compete. (Plus the side exposure to DCI.) Mike

Good steps, all. Mike

That's why everyone is going for "classic" uniforms. Mike

That's 90% a good press release. They explain that they know of the allegations, they explain their process for dealing with them; all good. They probably should have mentioned if the investigations had been completed. But I've written enough of these in my day to know they should have taken the shade out of it before hitting the "publish" button. (edited for clarity/brevity) Mike

Wow, man - amazing story. Good on you for making it through, but it definitely should not have been that way. I may have also said this before, but as a former DCI corps board member, I am so glad that this is not a representative experience anymore. Mike

I eagerly listened to the original recording when the show was announced in '13. Gotta admit, at least in this one case, most of the actual "jazz" part of the album got cut and the conventional RoS was used in the show. Mike

Not to add fuel to the fire (that can't melt steel beams), but Genesis in their email update felt it necessary to remind us they'll be fielding normal drum corps numbers with normal drum corps instruments... Mike

As someone who's done this before, I'd personally be wary of having to accommodate now three age groups. Two were ulcer-inducing enough. 😐 Some corps (like SCV) choose to separate the under and over-18's - would you have to separate the under and over 21's as well? And then what about staff over 21 and members over 21? Or those two groups having issues - there are all sorts of liability questions (as well as just "right and wrong" questions) that would need much forethought to resolve. Not saying it couldn't be done, for sure, especially with some of the DCI orgs run by highly qualified and long-tenured folks. But it would certainly need a lot of planning and prep. Mike

Still one of my favorite shows - by far one of my top Crossmen shows (along with '90, '97 and '01). Always glad to see it get love! '92 was such a great year for DCI - there were a ton of corps with incredibly fun programs. I've got the snare music at home, and I can assure you the battery book is Dense with a capital D - would need a lot of retooling (read: watering) to fit today's movement-heavy visual programs. Mike