rut-roh

When you say, "And for the record no one at CC seems to think they were cheated," you do two things. You come off as speaking for the entire corps ("no one"), and you try to do so in an official capacity ("for the record"). It's probably a poor choice of words on your part, but again, it can suggest certain things to a reader. Especially to a reader who has heard people state that they did, in fact, feel denied of a title they honestly felt they earned. But whatever, as we both have mentioned, it happens in every corps to some degree.

Well, there's the rub, isn't it. These same people never thought the Cadets and them should have been trading places all season to begin with. And don't even get them started on the Cavaliers beating them. But hey, I expect a bit of this from every corps. Let's just not pretend they're somehow above it.

Hmm, doesn't sound like some of my Crown buddies I've talked to. God forbid you even bring up a strong argument that they should have actually finished 3rd! Look out!

It could be a 'rejection' issue. When one rejects corps A for corps B up the ladder, one can be looked upon as rejecting the PEOPLE of corps A as well, and some might take that personally. Especially if they spent time together in corps A and talked about how they were going to age-out together in that corps, or how they were going to stick with it together and help that corps rise up the rankings or whatever. Just a thought.

Well, if you really need to win a DCI ring in order to be the absolute best you can be, then I guess you're right. I don't knock people for marching where they want to march, but I also realize that in the grand scheme of things, the overall experience to be had for a person looking to be "the best they can be" can be found in all sorts of drum corps. Not just the ones that are in a position to possibly win a championship.

1992 Star of Indiana

As soon as I saw the word "pranced," I tuned out this nonsense. Next....

I remember being at an early season show in 1985 when they were still waiting for their new jackets to arrive. They marched that beast of a show wearing their maroon member jackets and painters caps (IIRC). Weird. And then when they got new uniforms in (I think) 1997, the first thing I noticed was that it seemed like they got the color shades wrong. Under the stadium lights, they looked more purple and yellow than maroon and gold. Was never a fan of the gauntlets and mirrors in the early 2000's, so it's nice that they're going more or less back to what looks like the ideal.

Did anyone else besides me laugh out loud at the last minute or so of Plushenko's routine last night? No jumps at all, and he was gyrating and blowing kisses to the judges like he was in the middle of a really bad European disco movie. It was embarrassingly bad.

Sooner or later, a big time corps is going to do something like this, and I'm eager to see what comes of it. My money was on the Cadets back during their Twilight Zone years, but it seems even George isn't all that keen on messing with the uniform anymore. Still, I wouldn't put it past them in future years to be the one to do it. My pick right now to give it a try would be Crown. The corps I would really like to see do it, however, and the corps I feel has the best staff and design team to do it right would be the Blue Devils.

True. In this past decade alone, the Yankees, Mets, Diamondbacks, Angels, Giants, Marlins, Red Sox, Cardinals, White Sox, Astros, Tigers, Rockies, Phillies, and Tampa Rays have played in the World Series with eight different champions in ten years.

Agreed. I do enjoy the battery parts in 1991. Great stuff. Not so much the pit. And the brass parts were...meh. OK. But 1998 had the total musical package in my mind.

The 1991 Third Wind didn't do justice to what that chart is all about to me. And then they tried to wrap up the previous Metheny tunes as an ending and the show totally fell flat after the drum solo. The 1998 version is about as true to the live version of Third Wind as it gets. Superior arrangements all around.

My guess is that they will be pretty good this year. Yes, even with Aaron Guidry involved. I know he's an easy target for some Crossmen folks, but their ire is misplaced when it comes to why things just haven't worked out much for them on the field recently. So no, I don't think it's all up to Aaron Guidry right now. They've obviously assessed their situation and examined their weaknesses and as a result, they are putting their eggs in the Wes Cartwright basket. In accordance with that, Aaron Guidry might just turn out to be the BEST choice they can make musically. There is obviously a comfort level there with the Broken Arrow connection, and with Wes bringing in Leon and his people on the visual side, and Wes himself taking helm of the color guard thing, I see this show having a good chance to come together a lot more cohesively than anything the Crossmen have done in many years. Personally, I didn't care much for the 2002 Metheny arrangement (aside from the pit parts), or even some of the 1991 stuff for that matter. Thankfully, they corrected the sins of 1991 Third Wind in the wonderful 1998 show. That 1998 show was dead on accurate in how I think that music should be handled. I don't expect them to stay as true to the original music as that show did, but I think the commitment they're making to what has worked for them programmatically in the past is a step in the right direction, if not a possible game changer for that organization. Much of the design pieces they've assembled on staff have a good history of success working together before. Something their previous design teams did not. So it will be interesting to see how it all develops. Time will tell.

Guidry is an easy scapegoat. Truth of the matter is there was more than one area of concern responsible for the Crossmen finishing so poorly last summer. They have addressed several enormous concerns with this announcement, and filled those positions with proven folks who are more than capable of giving them what they need to be successful. And for those members of the corps who are having a field day with this, ask yourself why you weren't able to perform your show consistently well at a higher level of achievement last summer. If you want to blame Aaron Guidry for that, feel free. Your ire is misplaced. When you're competing at the borderline of making finals level, excellence is what gets you in or keeps you out. Guidry's work may not have been the best last summer, and I agree that he still has work to do in terms of meeting the challenges of what's expected at the DCI world class level, but your refusal to shine the spotlight on your corps' other areas of blatant deficiency does you no good in moving forward from here. Thankfully, the people running your corps ARE looking more at the bigger picture. And hey, for all anyone knows, Guidry still might not work out there. But the areas they addressed are definitely the right ones.

I'm actually a tad surprised the Holy Name thing (including the song) has remained so powerful there considering how they were so unceremoniously dumped by the church back in the day. Including not allowing them to wear the classic Cadets uniforms for a year. I guess it's just a tradition thing, but I'm wondering if there was ever any movement amongst members or administrators to "retire" the song or formal associations with the HN Church in the years immediately following the separation. I did find it interesting that it had become a yearly tradition for the Cadets to participate in the Garfield Memorial Day Parade each year, and every year when they passed the Holy Name Church, the corps stopped playing. I mentioned to a friend of mine on their staff one year when they did that about how cool I thought it was -- them paying respect to the HN church and all. He told me it was actually meant to be an insult, refusing to play a single note as they passed by because of how the church dumped them. How much actual truth there is to that, I don't know, but it sure is an interesting story.

People have misinterpreted what I'm asking, and frankly, I've already lost interest in knowing what people think about it. Mods, as author of the post, please close the thread. Thanks.

This is a subject I have always found interesting. It goes along with the notion some corps have about asking their members not to post on DCP or other online forums, but really it has to do with (I think) loyalty and betrayal, not to the corps per se, although there is some of that in there, but to those you march with. Every corps tries to do the best they can for their members. Some corps have been better at it than others, but I can't think of any corps who deliberately sets out to give their members a horrible experience. I do believe that every person who marches in a corps has the right to have opinions about how their corps is run, whether it involves how the corps gets down the road, how they are fed or generally treated, the quality of the show and instruction they are given, to what they are asked to pay to be involved with it. I guess my beef is with those current members who feel compelled to publicly criticize their own corps on forums such as these, overwhelmingly (but not always) done anonymously, though it's usually pretty easy to figure out where they marched. My questions to those people would be, are you so openly critical of your corps while you're on tour with them? Or do these criticisms only come out behind the (sometimes anonymous) comfort of a computer screen and keyboard? If you're not this openly critical while on the road or under their direct care, why not? What benefit do you see in openly criticizing your own corps online? Wouldn't it serve your corps better to air your grievances directly to those who can actually address those concerns? Do you think about how your corps is perceived by others when you publicize your criticisms, and does it bother you if people form generally unfavorable opinions about your corps because of statements or criticisms you've made about them as a current member?

Doing something physically before a show as a unit, in my experience as an instructor and performer, has always been a good way to get that unit focused.

No, but if that helps you sleep better, then I guess that's what you'll convince yourself to believe. Personally speaking, I find the superiority complex to be quite amusing. Lance is right. People like to pretend there is or was this enormous difference in what was going on, but fundamentally speaking, you march, you drum, you put air through the instruments, you spin, you catch, you do all of this on a football field. Whether you're a trumpet player in the Blue Devils or a trumpet player in East Jabip HS, you're essentially doing the same thing. To differing degrees of excellence, for sure, but still the same fundamental thing. To quote Daniel Ray, "drum corps is marching band." Always has been, always will be.

I see the critics immediately started bringing up the Cavaliers, and that is a very common complaint about them around here. Not that Michael Gaines' drill is bad, but that there's a sameness to it that I guess they're tired of. Personally, I've felt similarly in recent years (including this one) about Jeffrey's drill for the Cadets. I don't "not like it," or think it's bad. I actually like it very much (and I like Michael Gaines drill very much as well!). But there is a sameness to it, especially in this year's show, that is something I noticed and remarked about to a few friends. Yet I never hear that kind of complaint about his drill on DCP, so I appreciate you bringing it up, as I feel the same way. This year, it was like the pedal was to the metal nearly for the entire show, and not surprisingly, that's what George wanted and that's what they feel comfortable doing there. And again, I loved it! But it wasn't anything that I felt I hadn't seen before. It's his style, and I like his style. I like Michael Gaines' style. I like many drillwriters individual styles. So for me, the whole issue is not so much a complaint but an observation.

A group of us who were teaching other corps that year were waiting off to the side where corps were starting to assemble for retreat. We were able to see and hear Cavaliers and Cadets perform, and after the last two minutes of Cadets show (where the high brass sounded worse than I had heard them since June), many of us concluded that "they left the door open." That they did, and the Cavaliers stepped right on in. Of course, they still won brass which had more than a few of us scratching our heads, but it may have had an impact in music effect and ensemble. Whatever...it was not their best run of the week. I thought their Thursday night run was one of the greatest performances I've ever seen. EVER.

Could be worse. I remember when people used to call them Carolina Frown.

It's actually a pretty awful venue, but people still enjoy going, and as long as DCI and Allentown want it there, it will probably stay there.

Blechhh!!!