I know what great drumming is, after all I was once in North Star, seen by many in this activity as one of the greatest drumlines in the history of DCI. Knowing what great drumming is is not the same thing as being a great drummer, or being able to properly judge DCI drumlines at the top level. Yes brass and visual is my thing, and in my humble opinion I like to think that I great in those areas (mostly because I had the finest teachers), but in the real world where there are limited finances judging and teaching drummers is something that I have been asked to do. This by no means makes me a world class drummer, I just want to be helpful and fair.
My scores from the Atlanta show were given out here in DCP just for fun. I think that in my opinion they perhaps show not as much as I am right but more that those hard working DCI judges that we love to criticize get their scores right most of the time. I stand behind my placements, and I believe that the Cadets and Cavies deserved to beat BD.
As for being perfect if you are looking for the perfect horn player, marcher, instructor, volunteer, judge, skateboarder or even ventriloquist I am without a doubt of any kind, not him. Please don't knock the puppet shows, the art of puppetry is more difficult than you might think to pull off well, and kids often rate puppetry as one of their favorate childhood experiences. I think that DCI could even use some more puppetry.
Be blessed,
MIKEY
Athens, Tennessee