goldingna

I'm confused...is Pioneer playing Irish music this year?

My deepest condolences.

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Just for your information.... Income(roughly) Expenses(roughly) Remaining Assets(roughly) BD 5,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000 Crown 1,230,000 1,210,000 10,000 Cavaliers 1,300,000 1,200,000 67,000 Cadets 3,500,000 3,400,000 100,000 SCV 2,600,000 2,400,000 1,200,000 Bluecoats 931,000 899,000 1,000 Phantom 1,300,000 900,000 224,000 All information is from guidestar.org. The most recent statements are from 2008. If you want to see how this relates to other world class drum corps, just search for them.

I was just being a jerk. You're absolutely right though, the fact that they are knocking on the door to finals is huge, especially considering that they had such a limited tour. Regardless of what happens on Friday, their entire organization should be extremely proud of what they have accomplished.

They're from Nashville.

Les Etoiles were were obviously div II, then div I....my bad!

You're right, 10 points was an exaggeration, but Tarheel did usually have a 4-7 point spread on Patriots, and a 2-5 point spread on ECJ all season. You can verify that on fromthepressbox.com. None of that really matters, because Patriots and ECJ were able to slip by at the end. I don't disagree with the final placements that year. I am a little disappointed that a petty squabble with an obnoxious poster would lead you to disparage an entire hornline that was pretty good by div II standards. I'm with you though, there really have been some exceptional div III brasslines. I was always amazed with the work that the Mandarins and Les Etoiles did in the mid-late 90's.

I think the biggest issue I have with these "bailout" threads is that everyone is accusing these directors of mismanagement. When any drum corps sets up their budget, member dues are one of the first things they look at. The problem for most open class corps is that member dues are the largest part of their income. How can you effectively manage a budget when the largest part of your income is a huge question mark? Last year, I was the program coordinator at Spokane Thunder. When I was hired, the organization was just recovering from being a little in the red. They host a very large marching band competition every year, which ends up being their largest fundraising event. When I discussed the staff/travel budget with the director, we did it based on an overall budget that projected a membership of 30 brass (three more than the previous year), 24 percussion, 12 guard, and 2DMs. At $1,200 per member, that put us at $81,600 in member dues. The reality is that despite recruiting efforts, we fielded 18 brass, 23 percussion, 8 guard, and 2DMs. Those numbers put us $20,000 below our planned budget, so we tried to raise funds in anyway possible. The result was still a five-figure deficit. The corps director didn't mismanage anything. How could he know that kids would quit in the last two winter camps because the fees? He did what he had to do....let the parents know that if we didn't raise a certain amount before move-in, we weren't going to be able to tour. In 24 hours, the community gave the corps more than what we needed, and tour happened. We ended the season in the black, and the director said that he would never allow a situation like that to happen again. Flash-forward to December 2009. The corps holds it's first camp with an 85% return rate of 2008's members. Even with that, the corps still only sees 25 brass, a lot of percussion, and a few guard. Could Spokane Thunder have had another competitive season in 2009? Absolutely. The staff was returning, and so were all of the members. We would have been a little larger, and would definitely be competing for a medal right now. However, the budget situation was shaping up to be as shaky as it the year prior, and the director decided that he would rather merge with the Cascades than put out another corps that might be in danger of canceling tour at the last minute. At the time, it really hurt to know that there wasn't going to be a Thunder 2009, but at the end of the day, the director and the board made the right call. As for the situation at OC, I don't know the specifics, so I can't comment. I do know that we made the best decision for us, and I hope that they're making the best decision for them. I know that they didn't hit their 50k goal last year, but still made it to Indy. I suspect that the same will happen this year.

This is much closer to what I was expecting to see....good job Teal.

Maybe, but it seems like the Citations are getting some decent credit. It's also very early. At Spokane Thunder, we didn't break 70 until sometime in July, and we still ended up in the 90's. Definite props to Capital Regiment! I think Bill Clark and company are about to step up their game a bit over at Revo. The big surprise for me isn't necessarily the spreads, it's Teal's music ensemble score. I'm interested in seeing how soon they can pull that in line with their visual numbers. They've got the guns to do it.

That's too bad! Best of luck to Dutch Boy. In my opinion, a 12 member brassline can still be potent. I look forward to hearing what they do with it.

I'd expect a larger spread between Teal and Revo. I believe Teal is going to be in the top 3 this year, so in keeping with that, here's my guess. (For entertainment purposes only) Teal - 72.8 Revo - 69.7 Cap Reg - 67.4 Same order, just different spreads. edited to remove Dutch Boy from the lineup

Personally, I'd be surprised if Legends aren't in the top 10. I had a few opportunities to see them this past summer while I was teaching Spokane Thunder. I was extremely impressed with what they've got going on over there. So much so that I tracked their director down in a Whitewater, WI parking lot to tell him as much. 7th Regiment is another one to look out for in the top 12.

I disagree. It is ALWAYS worth it. If you can't handle a little negativity or adversity, then you're definitely in the wrong business. It's not about you, and it's not about the people who might say mean things to you. It's about the kids.

Lol...No comment.

When I was in the Navy bands, I was stationed in Tennessee for about two and a half years. I noticed that a lot of the band directors in the area didn't allow their students to march until after they graduated. While there are some directors that do allow their kids to march, I'm sure this policy just is just geared to the local climate. I think it's a good idea. That said, this corps is in Open Class, which brings me to the following conclusions; A.) This thread is in the wrong forum. B.) This policy is not having an adverse effect on their recruiting. Judging by the pictures on their website, they are going to have a very respectable size for an Open Class group.

Seriously? Questioning the legitimacy of a non-existent drum corps (Magic of Mobile) is smack talk? If you consider me having the best summer of my life with some of the greatest kids in the activity as being bitten in the ###, then I suppose I was. Best of luck to everyone in the Northwest...I miss you already!

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Teal got Tom Slaughter to run their visual program. Excellent hire on their part. Tom is awesome!

Were they at the meeting in Las Vegas?

Just for the fun of it....I know this violates the youtube policy, but I wrote the music, so if anybody's going to sue me, it'll have to be me. I really don't have anything worth suing myself for, so good luck! This was about a week before finals.

Thanks for the kind review! You're right about the intonation issues, but for only 18 brass, I can't complain. This was the smallest brassline I've ever written for/taught, but was also the most aggressive. I don't know what they put in the water up in Spokane, but the members are the best group of kids I've ever worked with. They make the 6 hour flight from Georgia worth it! =)

Why?

JSU Is good, but frankly, Western Carolina is WAY better.