MikeN

DCI has posted these numbers for a few years - that feels about normal for this time of year. Guard is high since many corps don't lock down numbers until after WGI season ends. -Mike

Heck yea Christopher Tin. -Mike

ESPN was never going to be a long term solution, as DCI had to underwrite the entire production just to get it on the air once. And in the final PBS years, wasn't Cook Group pretty much footing the bill for it to get made? The problem has always been on the DCI side, not the TV side - with as many FAST channels are out there right now (and growing), you'd think there would be more avenues to get drum corps on TV if they wanted to. I can only assume the FloMarching numbers and money is good enough that they don't feel they need to. Mike

I knew it - someone's finally doing a Flash Gordon show! Mike

Funny enough for me, I felt the show was way better without the tag on the end. I like when it just ... ended. Boom. Mike

My kiddo has been trying to get me to watch through JoJo. Absolutely bonkers anime. Good theme, though! -Mike

I have a coworker who's going to see an touring version of Carmen. He was looking up source music - it took all of my control not to fire up Santa Clara's show. -mike

Cadets' encore in San Antonio in 2000. Only major show I've been on the upper deck for, and when they started playing the closer/drum solos practically everyone up there ran down to the front and crushed in by the rail to see. Never seen that happen before or since at a DCI show. Very "rock concert" vibes, and man if ever a battery *earned* that treatment... Mike

Working my way down a backlog of official DCI audio that I never got a chance to listen to - 2019 Crown is probably the best music book of the entire year. Funny enough, it's also probably one of the most "old school" in structure too. That closer is amazing. For that matter, the 2021 Right Here Right Now book is just as good - but man oh man I wish they hadn't hammered that phrase into us the entire show. Their closer that year was absolutely explosive, and they had the crowd in an uproar by the end - it was very, very cool. Anyways, just dropping some 🙂 thoughts into the thread as I catch up. -Mike

Much like member fees, it's only a relative value if you have the absolute cash to spend on it. I'm totally sympathetic to that. Mike

Been working through my back catalog of audio downloads I hadn't listened to, and realized I haven't listened to the 2019 ones since they first came out. Bluecoats' show I will argue to the death might be the greatest production ever put on the field. It's just *big* both visually and musically in a way that I don't know anyone's ever pulled off. (Yes, I think they should have won, and it shouldn't even have been close.) Mike

I'm working through the audio on those literally right now. Phantom, Cadets and Cavaliers were amazing. Cavies, of all corps, just decided to spit fire and rain destruction on the stadium. Such a great show. -Mike

Late to the party, but I just got to hear Sinnerman for the first time. OMG. I don't know what I was expecting, but they blew me away. Incredible integration of the singing into the show, and that kind of blues in drum corps is a very rare thing. Anyways, back to 2024, but wow that was awesome. Mike

Big. 1 is the top bass. Mike

He did a presentation to us at the Januals in 2019 - he made weather interesting and fun. Absolutely love the guy. Mike

Mea culpa - I was not as appreciative of BD's 2022 and 2023 shows as I probably should have been, for a myriad of reasons. Finally got to listen to the CDs/downloads and not Flo audio, and I have to say - for exactly 3 minutes of each show, they go full on Classic BD Jazz Sound and absolutely blow everyone else away. (The guitar and Cowboy Bebop sections after the ballad in 2022, the JoJo opener in 2023.) Fantastic, awesome, incredible... I don't have enough superlatives for those segments. And they manage to work in extra layers of sound (whether it be brass, drums, pit or electronic) that it feels like a lot of corps don't even recognize can be missing - BD just puts it all in the car and stomps on the gas pedal. (And their set drummer, whoever he or she is, deserves extra championship rings each time - absolutely amazing.) Holy cow. Mike

Sooo… Memphis Cadets doesn’t have The Cadets uniforms. Easy litmus test for this one next summer. -Mike

Thanks - I found the FB discussion. Didn't know they are bringing in the Cadets board; if so, that actually *might* increase their legal jeopardy. Using an homage name and their unis really doesn't. That's a decision for them and their lawyers, I suppose. Mike

Did a Facebook search - Memphis Blues rebranding as Cadets of Memphis, buying (or bought) a bunch of Cadets assets, and hope to get as close to the Cadets presentation without getting added to the lawsuit? Trying to be SoundSport this year. Edit: this is from a Facebook post, so take it for what it's worth. Mike

Just yesterday heard their 2022 Atlantic City show for the first time. I was blown away - it's very much old school music programming, in the good way. They had a super unexpected brass sound - it was mature and *way* outclassed a whole bunch of corps above them. They definitely sounded "World Class" against other, much bigger corps. The medley that made up most of the middle of the show was awesome - familiar tunes with DCI twists that got time to breathe. Seriously - it was totally unexpected, and probably one of my three favorite musical books out of the entire audio set. Well worth a listen. Mike

Honestly, it should be their encore piece from now until the end of time. -Mike

I have no idea what this is referring to and can't figure it out from everyone's comments - is there a link, or is this on Facebook or something? Mike

I get your point, but I'd argue yes you should. Mike

Got to hear the 2022 show (Installation 85) for the first time - i've actually never listened to the audio downloads until this week. Holy cow, that was a great music book. The whole thing had a sense of flowing melody and rhythm to it that not a lot of other corps had, and the electronics and synths were used as a voice, and not just sound effects - that made it cool and unique. Purely from a musical standpoint, I wish they'd kept these guys, as it felt like a niche Madison could have made their own pretty convincingly. It's one of the very few full shows that I would listen to again from start to finish (weirdly enough, Colts are the other so far as I work my way through the tracks). Wasn't the cleanest show, and I can hear why they finished where they did, but man it was an exciting listen. Mike

Thanks for sharing! (But my personal aside, the less Mellilo in drum corps, the better.) Mike