MikeN

I don't mean this as a personal referendum, but I vehemently disagree with literally everything you say in this statement. Mike

I don't mean to put words in JohnD's mouth, but I can pretty much assure you DCP is solely a labor of love for him - I can't imagine he's actually making money off of this. 🙂 Mike

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