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craiga

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Everything posted by craiga

  1. Yes, considering that NONE of the current Cadets members and most likely most of the instructional staff wasn't even born when this all took place. The plaintiff should sue the actual offender, not an entirely different organization 40 years removed. There absolutely IS money driving this, and the word on the street is that this same attorney is lining up additional defendants to belly up to the bar and get a windfall after this first case is settled and the precedent is set. I have no contacts at Cadets; I just think they are about to be sued into oblivion.
  2. Yes it will be 104, and any sick kids in one corps WILL once again sicken all the other drum corps that day, forcing multiple corps to march holes and the Cavies to pull out of a week's worth of shows. 😞
  3. Yeah, to go from three shows last summer to one in 2024 is a bummer. But, this is pretty much the price we all have to pay for these shortened tours nowadays. Just glad that the activity is finding ways to stay alive.
  4. Cadets have no money due to legal bills stemming from bad behavior, and we have been told repeatedly that SCV has all kinds of money...just that they mismanaged their bingo operation and can't seem to get along with each other. As I see it, all of this falls under the category of poor behavior. And for the record, plaintiffs in the 40 year old Cadets case(s) should aggressively go after the actual perpetrators....not an organization that has nothing to do with the original crimes. Just my two cents.
  5. I see an activity which has immense financial challenges requiring innovation in terms of funding. Suggested that corps shouldn't travel more than three hours to a show so they can "go home" each week is neither innovative nor responsive to this threads intent.
  6. LabMaster initiated this thread to brainstorm some revenue sources and strategies with the hopes of hearing some fresh ideas. Instead, we once again find ourselves up to our ears in nostalgic time travel by some people. Do you guys not get it? Neighborhood drum corps sponsored by churches and VFW posts went away 40 years ago. The activity and society in general has changed and is not going back. Yet, drum corps is still a wonderful activity for young people and adults alike. We just need to figure out how to make the finances better for all. And one more time, for the record, neither Spirit nor SCV nor Cadets opted to take a summer off because they ran out of money. In each one of these cases, their misfortunes can be directly traced back to bad behavior....in one case, decades ago. Now...back to revenue streams.....
  7. So in BAC'S case, as an example, you would propose the corps travels back and forth to northern Vermont all summer? How far away would DCI schedule these "regional shows"? And you would propose Boston traveling to shows up and down the east coast and returning to Vermont each time? That would be far more expensive (and wasteful) than simply being on tour and staying in high schools along the way, don't you think?
  8. Where do you expect to house 200+ members and staff when they return to their "home base" for a few days each week? Not trying to be a Negative Nancy here...I just don't know what you are talking about. And what "regional shows" would corps like Boston and Troopers appear in each week? And with whom?
  9. True, but that was specific to the criminal prosecution at that time. The door is wide open to civil action, and if this particular case from 1982 results in the plaintiff and her attorneys hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more), get ready for the dam to open. Money talks....both for plaintiffs and their attorneys.
  10. It won't be long before all the Hopkins women will be lining up....as they should. If the current Cadets org ends up financially responsible for the torts of Hopkins, they may be sued into oblivion. Not sure how I feel about this.
  11. I like your optimism, but ultimately Boston cannot force any corps to come to Massachusetts for a show. I'm not sure all those corps you mentioned would come here, especially based on where the rest of tour brings them. And, there is one group who absolutely won't come here anymore, so there is that. Last year, Mandarins, Bloo and Phantom came here and were very well received.
  12. I think the first New England show this year might be in Connecticut, with several all age corps in competition as well. I am not expecting any Massachusetts shows until Lawrence right before Allentown. There was some early talk of that show featuring BD, SCV and Troopers along with BAC(which would be a nice little show, obviously) but I also heard later on that BD was not sure. And yeah, while it is easy to wax nostalgic about "local" or "regional" touring, that is easier said than done these days. The other day, I posted about having a full slate of local corps in Massachusetts back in the day. As an example, I remember back in 1980 rehearsing with BAC on Sunday mornings at the East Boston Stadium. When we finished around noon, North Star would be pulling in for the afternoon block, followed by 27 later in the day. This doesn't even include Alliance or the Defenders. JurassicLancer, do you remember this?
  13. This. And, lately some know-it-alls on dcp HAVE been repeating the fiction that some corps actually have SEVEN weeks of spring training and 5 weeks of tour. Just because some bitter, out of touch drum corps fan says something, that does NOT make it true.
  14. I am guessing there will be no early shows this year in Boston, but hopefully still the show in Lawrence right before Allentown. I'll bet that BAC management made the calculation that shows in Quincy or Lynn in late June with just one World Class corps and two open corps who may or may not have complete shows that early wouldn't be financially wise. Also, I have nothing against all age corps being included (I think that was the original intent) but I'm not sure how much of a draw they would add in Massachusetts. Interesting historical note: Back in the late 70s and early 80s, you could have a late June show in Lynn with FIVE "world" class corps and another five really good "open" class corps and there would be no busses in the lot; everyone drove their cars to the show because all these corps were from Massachusetts!
  15. Well, now we know why the Cadets were not going to afford to go out in 2024...massive legal bills and a potential future court settlement of unknown proportions. As was the case with SCV, this had NOTHING to do with the price of props, uniforms, tour or spring training. Can we put those false arguments to rest finally? Bad behavior from the past is what's killings these corps....plain and simple.
  16. I am frankly surprised that it hasn't dawned on anyone that perhaps the reason why the Cadets organization isn't giving specifics may be on advice of legal counsel. Given their history with their former director, this wouldn't seem too far fetched, would it?
  17. It is obvious to me that you care deeply about this activity, and sometimes the weight of all this negative news can build up and weigh heavily on all of us. I do get it. It sometimes seems overwhelming to me as well. I share more of your frustrations than you know. When I discovered, marched, and began teaching this activity in the late 1970s, it was a whole different world, both on and off the field. As an aside, we used to have 20 hs bands at finals here in Maine. Last night, we had 9 and the show was over in time for supper. Not money or move in or touring, obviously. But a whole different society than 50 years ago. At my age, I am constantly adjusting my expectations in life, both in and out of drum corps. I continue to hope for a great 2024.
  18. This is correct. The BAC featured rifle kid joined the corps while a freshman in high school, and is from a town on the coast of Massachusetts, literally next door to the setting of Moby Dick. Local, high school kid. And he is still a Crusader.
  19. I guess the time change has affected my brain function this morning. What precisely does the lawsuit against Spirit for alleged abuse have to do with the length of spring training by anybody else? Furthermore, in the years prior to spring training, fans used to routinely complain about going to the early season shows and having to sit through (and pay full ticket prices for) incomplete shows. Also, I again suggest that the recent issues with SCV and Cadets are NOT the same as each other, nor being the direct result of the high cost of the activity, but primarily poor choices over many years made by their respective boards. I get that there is a building frustration by many with the ongoing dci drama, but there seems to be no correlation between how long BD has their spring training in Wyoming or BAC with theirs in Vermont and the other issues at hand. Also, what a fickle bunch we are.....we want complete shows on June 28th but also want to limit spring training. We want more shows in our home towns, but we also want to limit touring. We want the best shows possible but also limit what corps can spend or where they can draw their members from. Yikes!
  20. I'm not convinced that simply announcing Erie as Cadets' new home base 8 months ago is enough time to either succeed or fail financially. It seems much more likely to me that 40 years of financial (and other) skeletons may well play a role. But who knows?
  21. Yes...it has been confirmed. Thanks to all for your kind comments.
  22. Hi, So, I've had several people from dcp text me privately about what's happening here in Maine. I thought I would give a bit of an update. CNN and the rest are all over this, so I'm not going to rehash what is pretty much common knowledge. But, here's what I can add. Maine is a huge state geographically but 80% of its population lives in the southern most counties. In those counties, all schools have been closed for two days now, which also means that all football, field hockey, marching band etc rehearsals/practices have been cancelled. Tomorrow's MBDA Marching Band Finals in Sanford have been postponed until 11/4. In Androscoggin County(including the twin cities of Lewiston and Auburn and surrounding towns) there is a shelter in place order, and the streets are completely vacant...much like the early days of the pandemic. Although in the past, both the Lewiston Blue Devils and the Auburn Red Eddies had competitive marching bands, those programs both ended in the last decade. (And who could forget the Pine Tree Warriors Drum Corps from Lewiston back in the 70s....) We don’t know if the marching band final will happen next week or not. The entire State of Maine is on edge right now. In fairness, I should note that despite having one of the highest firearms ownership rates in the country, Maine is ranked 50th in terms of gun violence by the FBI. This has been a very safe state until now. This is worthy of mention because the state has issued over 209,000 hunting licenses this fall...and opening day for deer season is tomorrow. Although the kids and staff of my band are disappointed of course, everyone gets it and just wants it to end. Huge police presence here right now, including Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts State Police and the FBI Boston Region. Hoping for this all to go away. I live about 45 minutes away in Saco, and I believe all my family and friends are ok. For my band kids, this is the second time during their school years that they have had to stay home from school due to an emergency event. I can't imagine being a teenager today.
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