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craiga

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Everything posted by craiga

  1. I recall last year at this time some folks here criticizing Boston for accepting a $50,000 award from that chicken restaurant chain due to their political views. Well, as follow up, I am happy to report that a member of BAC'S administration team traveled to their corporate hq last spring and gladly accepted their check. Drum corps need to be practical as they diversify their revenue sources. BAC will put those funds to good use.
  2. 1. BAC 2. BD 3. BLUECOATS 4. CROWN 5. MANDARINS 6. PHANTOM 7. TROOPERS 8. SCV 9. COLTS 10. BLUE KNIGHTS 11. BLUE STARS 12. CROSSMEN
  3. This is dumb. The Blue Devils have a threepeat. Get over it.
  4. THIS! And one more thing....if I hear another person erroneously blame "new uniforms and drums and pit percussion every year" I swear my head is going to explode. Nearly every corps in the top 15 or 16 gets new uniforms every year FOR FREE from the various uniform companies as part of their endorsement agreements. Stanbury in the case of Cadets, BD, and Bluecoats...FJ Miller for Boston like many others. And, everyone has percussion endorsements with various drum companies wherein they get brand new drums and front ensemble every year as well, also part of endorsements. In BAC'S case, at some point during the first week of spring training, an 18 wheeler shows up to Vermont with the entire package. The members excitedly unpack the new equipment and pack up the old and it goes back to the manufacturer to be refurbished and remarketed. And if you're about to say this is only because BAC is an "elite", not true! Boston's first endorsement was with Ludwig in 1990, after they had placed 17th in 1989. For SOME people here on dcp who fancy themselves as drum corps know it alls, they know surprisingly little about drum corps. And to circle back to Cadets, not only did they not have to pay for their Atlas uniforms, they still own their traditional unis for parades and such. It seems to me that some older fans just love to weaponize their contempt for modern drum corps to blame those modernizations for financial issues ....even though drum corps has ALWAYS been a financial challenge. And when I say older fans, for the record, I'm 63.
  5. Boston, who had 25 horns in 1979, more than held their own....and the only corps to survive another 44 years after this show.
  6. The renowned 27th Lancers. Don't let Jurassic Lancer fool you....in 79 their buses were tied the Troopers for the oldest in DCI.
  7. Yes...the Holy Name Cadets.....and Most Precious Blood Crusaders...
  8. At least the Cadets pulled the plug in mid October, two months prior to the first auditions for anyone. Didn't SCV wait until early December...after corps had started their auditions? Sounds like the Cadets board and Executive Director didn't let the Cadets actual Corps Director in on it until the last possible moment...
  9. I don't dispute your figures. There were also more than 60 corps here in eastern Massachusetts. However, of the +1500 corps you accurately reference, +1400 never had anything to do with DCI, national tours, electronics, props, huge staffs, or having 15 unit convoys. They simply went away because they DID NOT HAVE ADEQUATE REVENUE...even then. Also, as many have noted, many fell victim to changes in society, just as Catholic churches, Grange halls, boy scouts, and most other neighborhood activities. Look, I'm now in my 60s, and there is nothing I would love more than to transport myself back to attending the World Open in Lynn, MA in 1979 and see 60 "local corps" over two days. It's just not going to happen and DCI had nothing to do with it.
  10. And, if you stay local, you still have to house and feed the members all summer. In our current society, putting all these kids in private homes like we used to won't fly.
  11. I have heard repeatedly that they had no income other than the fees the membership paid. I'm no expert, but it would seem to me that it would be next to impossible to support a 165 member drum corps based on tour fees alone. Somebody on BAC'S BOD told me several years ago that their member fees were less than half of their annual revenue. This is a real shame. They were excellent on the field last summer.
  12. Given recent events, I am thrilled to announce that there is nothing dramatic coming out of Boston. The design team is hard at work and audition information is being sent out. And apparently many if not most of the vets have already been autocontracted for 2024. Castleton is only 7 months away!
  13. I don't understand this comment. The press release wherein they announced they were not going out also announced their executive director resigning.
  14. Boston has a fair amount of former Cadets including one of the drum majors.....just saying there are options for your son.
  15. I heard Bloo is only doing 12 shows...but that may be rumor.
  16. Given what the Cadets have survived through tge recent past and their very successful season last summer, I thought they were to be reckoned with going forward. I am very disappointed.
  17. Here in Maine, I have to be re-fingerprinted with a full Criminal History Records Check by the State Police every five years. Although I am paid, any volunteers we may have must do the same thing...even 18 year old recent grads who simply help transport props to the field. Just getting fingerprinted isn't enough....it takes several weeks to get the certificate and one literally cannot step foot on the field or get on a bus without it.
  18. Also, I still believe that kids marching Open Class do deserve to compete in their own finals, so they can aspire to medal or even become champions. Do we really think most Open Class kids want to spend a summer hoping to make it to 20th place? I've had a ton of former band kids march in 7th Regiment and Spartans over the years.....they get really motivated for their own finals.
  19. Based on some of the comments here, it is clear that no measures of prevention or accountability are adequate as far as some people are concerned. We must shut down ALL drum corps immediately. We should also shut down all college bands as well. Come to think of it, we should also immediately close all college dorms as well. While we're at it, we probably should prohibit all people from interacting with each other because of potential abuse.
  20. Even unpaid volunteers now need to fill out full applications and undergo full background checks including fingerprinting. Gone are the days when some random person can show up and volunteer.
  21. I just have a couple thoughts...first, if some people think that member safety has not gotten dramatically better in the last 50 years, they haven't been paying attention. Member health, safety, and nutrition are light years ahead of where they were even just 10 years ago. I don't think that some people here have even been around a drum corps in person in years....they are run nothing like they were back in the day. The drum corps I support has full time med staff,(with complete autonomy btw)specific reporting officers, procedures and regular, ongoing, compulsory training for all members and staff. If you're a member, you literally can't even rehearse without it....for staff, you can't even be in front of the members or get paid. And, I would be shocked if any other corps in 2023 isn't providing the exact same level of protections. Secondly, I don't understand why a few people seem to think that organizations like SafeSport, MAASIN or even DCI itself have legal powers they choose not to use. Their hearts are clearly in the right place, but none of them have anything approaching legal powers. Only law enforcement has those, which is why we should encourage all members to seek immediate help from law enforcement as soon as something occurs. Law enforcement is quite aggressive at going after predators but they need to be informed asap when there is an incident.
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