craiga

Yes, and Boston has one or two admin riding each bus now, which leaves even fewer seats.

Also, I wonder which is worse....sending an alternate home in early June with a far reduced fee or having them spin in the end zone all summer, never to get into the show all the while charging them full tour fees AND depriving them of marching elsewhere or working at home? Boston now carries very few alternates on tour, instead calling them up from home should a hole opens. There is alot of misinformation on the above link, including Boston supposedly charging $8000 tour fees. They charge $6000, the same as Bluecoats this year and Cadets last year. And also for the record, they did not bring 10 alternates on tour last summer....not even close.

And for the record, the only reason DCI shows color guard openings for Boston at present is that BAC doesn't set their guard until after the WGI season concludes. The guard audition weekend is in April.

So, what exactly is your point?

We are.

That guard member has since returned to Boston, and made the hornline for 2024.

I believe so. Not only that, I've been told a New Year's Eve party in 1982...about as far away from a DCI event as you can get. Here in Maine, one of the cases against a priest in the mid 80s was dismissed because the defendant was deceased, and the court held that it couldn't be prosecuted because that defendant was obviously unable to face his accuser. Interesting finding, but I'm not sure I've heard of this happening anyway else. (The Archdiocese was the codefendent and also had the case dismissed.)

I wonder if the Catholic Church has tried this defense, and if it worked for them.

I agree entirely with your last paragraph. As I read the counterclaim from DCI, I thought to myself that this issue of retroactive suspensions of Statutes of Limitations might need to be ruled on by a higher court.....perhaps a MUCH higher court. Perhaps this is DCI's tactic to drag this out for years, hoping the plaintiff's lawyers decide there isn't enough cash to make this worth their while. Remember, her legal team is on record of saying they have "the Hopkins Women lined up" to represent after this case is adjudicated, even though this particular case does not involve GH directly. I do not blame the plaintiff at all; I think she has been sold a bill of goods by her lawyers.

I respectfully disagree. There are elements to the histories of both SCV and Cadets that are not necessarily representative of most other corps out there. I do not believe that this is the new normal, whether we are talking allegedly criminal bingo mismanagement or a 40 year history of widespread sexual assault and rape.

Yes, and we have alot of last year's Cadets here at Boston now as well.

I think this just refers to Memphis Blues adopting the Cadets name and somebody's hope to buy Cadets' unis. The Cadets board recently voted to not sell those unis in bulk to anyone, and they posted on social media wishing Memphis good luck. It doesn't seem as though there is any "organization" left to move anywhere. They even sold off their trucks and returned all their leased and borrowed equipment.

No. Not sure why.

We didn't have a uniform #27 until 2017.

Yes, Boston hasn't had bingo in over 30 years. There's been lots of talk about paid bingo workers, but back in the day, our bingo (called "Metrocorps) was staffed with volunteers including BAC staff and members who were 18+. I remember working it myself, and all the BAC staff and members would stand and salute whenever "I-27" was called. IYKYK! 😉

You make good points here. Truthfully, the only part of your post which I don't agree with is your observation regarding small donors vs. large donors. I think we can agree that the days of car washes and bake sales are a thing of the past. While any well organized corps certainly won't turn down a few hundred dollars from individual donors, they would be guilty of fund-raising malpractice if they didn't AGRESSIVELY pursue large corporations. I do not the details of BD's sources of revenue, but BAC posts all the corporate donors on it's web page. (The full list is there.) From memory, I know it includes entities like John Hancock Financial Services, Putnam Investments, Fidelity Investments, several Massachusetts banks and credit unions, as well as the City of Boston itself. I think there are several dozen companies. As I've said before, I take no credit for this personally. We have a 48 member BOD which works 12 months a year to generate these funds, culminating in the Concert in the Park in mid June in downtown Boston. Most years, they pull in close to $800,000 at that event. As a recently retired person on a fixed income, I contribute $300 per year, not including t shirts and show tickets I purchase. The drum corps is happy to get it, and always has a corps member email a signed thank you note....but the corporations with their massive donations are who brings the fire.

They got 80, Mr. Bananas!

That was unnecessarily Snarky, Puppy.

I'm well aware of the costs associated with hosting a show. My point was that the gate goes to the host. Most corps find home shows to be a great source of income even after expenses, as it should. I am retired now and living on a fixed income, butI still regard going to a show as a tremendous value, as I have every year since my first show, which was the 1978 CYO Nationals in Newton, MA.

Gotcha. I guess my philosophy is that I enjoy live drum corps performances so much, I'll find the money. Who knows how many more years we can all enjoy this activity on a warm summer evening with friends ? I can always watch the video downloads from my nursing home bed later on in life.

I have no issues with the current show prices, particularly at local shows. Remember, the host corps gets 100% of the gate at these shows, which means that money goes directly toward feeding, housing, and taking care of the members. Secondly, the $55-$75 seats are probably high up in the center. There are still alot of seats much less than that, and there is nothing wrong with sitting on the 35. You don't have to be sitting in the GE judge's lap to enjoy the show. Please God, let's not start in on high ticket prices being caused by uniforms, props, electronics, or "dancing and prancing"... .

Yes....Max and I are sitting in the stadium on the 50, huddled under my Waldo blanket waiting for Gino to start the run-through. The heat from the hornline has already melted the snow but we're a bit concerned that Colin's drummers might start an avalanche down Bari Mountain.

We are now down to less than three months until Spring Training in Vermont!! Around 80 days from now, to be exact! WOOHOO! YEAR 84, Boston! EAT'EM UP!

I have repeatedly said here that drum corps fail NOT because of props, uniforms, electronics, or "dancing and prancing " but because of mismanagement. Uncashed donation checks???? Seriously? A friend who used to teach Cadets once told me how they would have somebody at one of their show sites drive through the night with cash from that gate to buy food for the corps which was at another show site. Crazy? Also, does anyone here remember the summer when Hop went online to announce they were no longer buying milk for the members because they couldn't afford it? Yikes.

Isn't it ironic that the architect of the G7 conspiracy is now a disgraced felon whose drum corps no longer exists? He used to say, "We are the act!" How right he was.