ShutUpAndPlayYerGuitar

The SCV 2004 "Attraction" poster was a big seller. My roommate still has one hanging up on his wall. Does anyone know of other examples? What would be the estimated cost to mass-produce a movie-sized poster?

As I said in the show announcement thread, this poster puts to shame some of the designs I've seen from top 12 corps over the years. Every corps -- regardless of class or budget-level -- can produce professional-grade images for either promotion or merchandising at next to nothing (if not nothing). And by "professional-grade" I don't mean a crappy, Photoshop filtered images that took 5 minutes to make (like a certain top 3 corps recently released). To put it simply, corps directors/administrations should take promotion as seriously as their actual show designs. That said, great job on the poster.

Wow, a show-theme graphic that DOESN'T look like it's made by a third-grader. Seriously, this kicks the crap out of posters/graphics made by some top 12 corps. With all the cheap (or free) publishing software available, every corps should be able to present its theme in a competent manner (yes, I know I'm splitting hairs, but this is one of those PR things that any corps wanting to get its name/theme out can easily do). Oh yeah, God bless the Troopers.

I recently checked their Web site, and noticed it hasn't been updated since late October. Not trying to stir up rumors or speculation. Does anyone know what's up?

There's a huge difference between surviving and thriving. I can respect Pioneer for staying World Class and maintaining their unique philosophy and business model. Yet I've been reading the exact same comments on their low placements and lack of member retention since 2003 (I think the last corps they beat in their division was KK in 05). If they want to actually "thrive" as a World Class corps (which is becoming a harder thing to do every year), they need to make some fundamental changes.

Saw them at Mankato. The visual design was pretty effective as a frame for the narrative structure. Hornline/battery staging was good. I thought the guard was well placed, but one of my friends wasn't too keen on the guard's performance and drill (at least compared to Crown's). A very cool moment is the battle sequence near the end between the guard (slaves) and the hornline (Romans). It's much more realistic and eye-catching than typical band/corps battle moments. In comparison to last year at this point in the season, I'd say they're running a lot more. Assuming they don't peak, Phantom is going to have something pretty sweet to offer visually for finals.

I don't post much on DCP anymore, but 60% of the time when I do, it's in support of a Frank Zappa show. The following songs (if arranged well) would make for a good show: Stevie's Spanking Peaches en Regala Joe's Garage (definately a closer tune) Montana Cosmik Debris G.S. Tornado Those are the ones I can think at the top of my head. Not only is the music be challenging and fun, but it's very accesable to visual representation.

And Pac. Crest. (We don't mean to break your balls, btw. It's very cool)

It looks like Gwaltney will just be a consultant. But having one of the creative minds from MCM is a huge advantage for the yellow team. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

It won't happen. Pat and the Madison board of directors have a shaky history.

I have a lot more respect for Spirit this year. They sold their performance every time I saw them. Their hornline gets a lot of praise but their guard was (I think) the strongest part of this corps. But if they ever want to move up in the rankings in the near future, they should aquire a new design team rather than play second fiddle to the Cavies. The part of the show I couldn't stand was the abbreviated and poorly arranged version of "Blue Shades."

Mandarins: Never saw it but heard the APD. Entire musical ensemble wasn't as impressive this year compared to years past. Some neat moments in the arrangement but nothing really floored me. Cap Reg: With the exception of the long and drawn out Equus, Jay Bocook wrote a fantastic arrangement for the hornline. But I spent most of the time watching the battery, which threw down better then (I think) every other non-finalist corps'. Visually, however, Cap Reg had much more weak points--especially in their guard. The uniforms and flags were atrocious and their repetoire wasn't that impressive. Southwind: I agree with many the of DCPers in saying the judges put the wrong corps in semis. Of the three shows in this group, SW's was probably the most cohesive and well-designed. The opener was some of my favorite 5 minutes of drum corps this season. Their hornline really knows how to make an opening statement. The ballad, on the other hand, didn't seem to make much musical sense and left many people scratching their heads. The background drum beat was just weird. But I liked the more musical and subtle approach their drumline took this year. There were many cool visual elements that were executed very well on their final show. This was one of my overall favorites from this season.

DCI's newest remedial division takes the drum corps world by storm or A poorly disguised yet giddy Michael Jackson infiltrates a local marching band for some new "playmates."

The St. Mary's Chinese Girls Drum Corps test out the proto-type uniforms for the Cavaliers colorguard.

Espy again.

I meant the good kind of loud, not the "Crown 2000" loud.

I'll give the troop some credit: their hornline was friggin loud. But having "She'll be Coming Around the Mountain" and "Gates of Gold" in the same program just didn't flow well at all.

Esperanza Nothing about the show (except for the guard work) appealed to me.

I have a question for those of you who are voting off Blue Stars: Why?

Agreed. Big improvement over 2004. But still not good enough.

I've voted for BK every round. I love the corps and I thought they performed the #### out of their show (in all captions) during the last half of the season. But it angers me that the staff gave them a mediocre show which did absolutely nothing to expand on the previous year's show (which was one of my favorites from that year).

Come on man, Just because your post cheap-shots a corps' show, it doesn't (I repeat) doesn't make it classy or cool. Now, we can argue back and forth between the definition of the word "classy," but I won't. Leaving a stupid blanket statement like "Like having a quality program..." does not make you cool and makes you look like an idiot. There are different ways you can do things if you want to make your arguments better. Like actually reading what you wrote and editing it...

Uh huh. Anyway...here's some potential surprises: -Bluecoats finally breaking into the top 4. Even though 5th place is a huge achievement, corps such as the Glassmen and BAC have placed the same, only to fall to the middle and bottom of the top twelve in subsequent years. But not only are the Bluecoats one of most organizationally fit corps in DCI; their design staff and high vet return rate have every reason to propel them forward. It's a hard task, but they're up to the challenge. -SCV placing higher than 6th. I'm sorry but I have yet to be convinced that SCV can recover after losing most of their original design team. I don't see them dropping in placement, but I don't see them moving foward either. -In the case of brand new corps cracking into the top 12, Cap. Reg. and Southwind have the best shot. I'm already certain Cap Reg's program will be monumentally better than last year. And from what I've heard from some of my Southwind friends, they'll be putting together a fairly ambitious show. -As for Blue Stars...It's a toss up. I'd be a little surprised not to see them in Semis.

So anything that's not first place is 'less than stellar?'

Bad marching? SCV? Whatever you're on, I gotta get some of that.