HoltonH178

It's been about ten years since I marched (ooooh the oldness it burns) but it's worth noting that the level of performance that the top 12 had around that time has extended down to 17 or so (IMHO). The Corps in 13-17 (roughly) can offer you every advantage in education and networking that the 10-12 corps can.

This. One thousand times this. There's almost no one with Mr. Weintein's incredible financial touch; the work of him and the associated persons and programs have set a national standard in music education and outdoor pageantry which was often based on recruitment from the state of Florida, which to compare, is ranked 49th in many important objective factors regarding the state of public education. Talk about a major pickup--but Mr. Weinstein and Spirit look like a great fit. Best wishes for success to him and everyone else in that organization! They made a fantastic move here.

Yes, I did lift it directly from Wikipedia, this is true ;)

The Chinese word for "crisis" (simplified Chinese: 危机; traditional Chinese: 危機; pinyin: wēijī; Wade–Giles: wei-chi) is frequently invoked in motivational speaking along with the statement that the two characters it is composed of represent "danger" and "opportunity." The Glassmen are not dead, they have taken a commendably responsible move to ensure that the organization is able to produce another 50 years of alumni. If it were at all possible financially for the corps to securely provide for their members the experience of a lifetime that every member of the Glassmen family deserves, they would. I hope that all those involved will see that this danger also provides an opportunity for great things in the future. Many drum corps across the country are and will face similar financial crises, and perhaps the Glassmen will help illuminate the way for DCI and its member corps to continue through the 21st century and even into the 22nd. I stand by my drum corps family. We will persevere. It's way cool because the Glassmen are hot, Hot, HOT!

Curious, is there someone lurking in this thread with an axe to grind against Sal? It seems that anyone who says the man has made positive contributions to the activity gets one of the dreaded "minuses"... I wouldn't normally waste a post on this, but this seems to be clear case of rules violation by targeting an individual, and one who has professionally dedicated themselves to the success of our activity to boot.

Snaps and kudos are in order!

Funny that losing Sal means death and destruction for Glassmen, and that gaining him means death and destruction for SCV I think it is absolutely a pickup for the Vanguard; Sal's sophisticated programming will be a great fit with the corps' identity, and the talent that comes out of Santa Clara will do great things on the field with their brand.

Absolutely hilarious! Whoever called the cops has been playing too much Super Mario and must have an irrational fear of Bob-ombs.

The pessimism surrounding this is palpable, and to be honest, quite overblown. Yes, Sal and Brian did amazing things with the corps in the late nineties/early 2000s...but honestly, for all their hype and the hype within the organization surrounding these individuals, the panic that is being expressed is entirely disproportionate. The Boston Crusaders went through a similar turnover a few years ago, losing some big DCI personalities such as Howard Weinstein and Kevin Ford. The corps (calmly and quietly) turned to itself to replace this loss, appointed Tom Spataro as executive director, and have enjoyed success that has the corps knocking on the "G8"'s front door. Loss of talent does not happen in a vacuum, and the hysterics that many people are behaving with is simply unwarranted. Last I had heard, the Glassmen had already worked off over 40% of their $300,000 goal. That was about a month ago, and after only two months of fundraising efforts. There have been successful Presidential campaigns predicated on less. The alumni network that has been established and is off and running is very significant. The Glassmen have never exactly had a public relations firm representing them online, and I have to wonder if Cavies or Cadets spent a week without camp dates on their website if it would garner a similar reaction...well, I don't wonder, we all know it would not. Everyone was "shocked" that the loss of Michael Gaines and Jeff Fiedler resulted in the corps taking a relatively minor hit in placement, nothing more drastic than other groups have recovered from in the past. As members of the G-Family come together to bring resources to the organization, there is a very effective "slow burn" that has been building to clear away the debris from 2012. Quite frankly, people running around like chickens sans heads in public over a Facebook status post is unbecoming conduct, regardless of your relation to the group. Express your concern, if it is so great, by pounding your wallet instead of your keyboard. Otherwise, you're just a concern troll. Sal Salas will move on. The Glassmen will move on. It is important to acknowledge the reality of the situation, and the reality is that many people are pulling very hard for this drum corps family. I have been very encouraged by what I've seen. The Glassmen's rather public move to encourage activity has had many consequences; the drum corps community should be encouraging the positive ones instead of piling on the negatives in public.

Congrats to BAC are in order! The corps will do a wonderful job representing DCI. To be a bit blunt, I am wondering when (if ever) Boston will get their due as one of the premier ensembles in the organization. I would love to see the corps crack 4th place and then bring a batch of rings home . I certainly believe the organization is capable of this feat and have been increasingly impressed with them as of late.

Pardon me, I'm certainly no businessperson; I should have said expenditures, or possibly income (but I'm not even sure of that), not revenues. The corps has quite high expenditures as compared to other organizations. The bingo hall in particular had lost its viability in recent years, and turned into a net operating loss for the corps (which I understand is becoming more and more common, sadly).

Glassmen own their own rehearsal facility. As far as I know, the only other corps that does this is the Blue Devils @ Mars. I have heard it floated (somewhat often, really) that the corps "should" abandon G-West, but the facility is so deeply ingrained to the corps' identity that I believe most would view the sacrifice as being absolutely tremendous. The corps did abandon its failing bingo hall this year, which should help revenues as well.

Awesome. There aren't enough stars, thumbs up, plus signs, or other forms of golden stickers to appropriately show how fantastic this is.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Just what are the standards here when co-writing a World Champion visual program isn't enough credibility? I know 2009 wasn't up to the same standards as 08...but the program still finished 9th in 2009 while Glassmen just finished 14th in 2012. Matt already made the fantastic point regarding Mr. Ferguson; I believe he has done a fantastic job with his program, and he was hardly a known entity in DCI when he started with the Glassmen. One might even argue that perhaps having someone with something to prove in the design position is the best move for the students; I have experienced it first-hand as a student and instructor when the arranger/drill writer thinks they can "coast by" at your program; see Glassmen 2011 and Phantom Regiment 2012, who both had the same arranger, but finished 13th and 3rd respectively. I have seen kids sit in the stands Saturday night because the drill was unwritten until 2 weeks before the conclusion of the season. This situation was for a BOA GN Champ contender, and the writer in question has had programs in DCI finals since I was still using a sippy cup. And to use another example, Myron Rosander has had some trouble finding a home like and success of the same kind he had with SCV. I was kind of hoping that the Glassmen might pick him up and we'd get to see another Key/Myron program this year, but I am confident that the program Glassmen field this year will be up to par. The #1 priority at the Glassmen has and always will be providing the membership with the best experience possible, and that does include show design. I have had the opportunity to play some wonderful horn books and march some breathtaking drill, as many of us here have; it is undoubtedly part of the experience for the membership that the program be a good fit for the organization. It is part of the members' experience that the program they are provided with--essentially, their vehicle for the DCI Grand Prix--a show that allows the corps to be as successful as possible. I don't see any evidence here that the Glassmen have made a change to their MO, nor do I think it fair to so instantly and negatively judge Mr. Scotella. I personally cannot wait to see what they come up with, and am excited to see Key really get his hands dirty with the corps this season. I actually am very excited about the upcoming season. There is an energy about the corps that I have, personally, not experienced before. There has been a flurry of pre-season online activity, fundraising, alumni organization, and everyone is trying to find something they can give; I've never seen anything like it before. It is actually a very, very exciting time.

This little tagline really caught my attention: "The Board of Directors look forward to working with Dave as we expand communications, refine financial operations, and develop a closer relationship with our alumni and supporters." For a BoD that is typically cryptic, I think this is a big, waving flag that there will be changes coming in certain areas.

I guess this is a more recent development for the Regiment? I thought they were holding auditions in Texas way back when I was marching...always lot of TX kids needed to make a hornline that powerful ;-)... I really am interested in hearing from anyone who has had any experience with satellite auditions and, especially, rehearsals. Did the location/availability of satellite rehearsals affect your decision to participate? What sort of effect did you notice the satellite programs having on other sections? If there is such a thing on DCP as a BAC vet who marched from 97-99 or so or a Bluecoats member who joined shortly after they set up shop in Texas, would be quite interesting to me... Oh, and with that -1, I just want to say that I<3U2DCP!!

Matt, if they ever decide to make some kind of a G-Press Secretary, you're my nomination

One of the most fascinating dynamics of how DCI operates has always been, to me, corps that recruit membership from areas that are not local to their organizations' administrative headquarters and are, in fact, often on the opposite end of the country. It is no secret that the Bluecoats built their success after their return to finals in the early 2000s by recruiting heavily from Texas and holding monthly rehearsal camps in the state as, at the time, they were the only corps to do so. I know Phantom Regiment, the Cavaliers, Santa Clara Vanguard, and Boston Crusaders hold satellite auditions in Texas, as well. What I'm most interested in, though, are satellite operations like the aforementioned Bluecoats and Boston Crusaders. One seemed to target the Texas market in general, while I think one might argue that the "special relationship" at one point shared between BAC and TSHS at one point greatly redefined the corps and created (what I believe is) a highly successful model for operating a drum corps that is the only one based on a majority of the corps membership residing in a specific area nowhere near the corps HQ city. Another example of this "satellite" phenom I've observed was Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps and Broken Arrow HS in Broken Arrow, OK; also Carolina Crown and Avon HS, IN; the list goes on. For those of you who participated in organizations with these satellite operations in place, that was your experience like? Did it provide the corps with more talent or just more hangers-on who never made it to alldays? Did these satellite communities benefit greatly from an approach to DCI expansion that was more like "colonization" and less like typical, fully-fleshed, top-to-bottom local organizations? What were some of the pros and cons? Personally, I believe that "vertical alignment" between performing arts organizations is the way that DCI will truly expand and corps that master their "colonization" programs will be greatly rewarded for it. Programs like Bluecoats, BAC, and Crown have been steadily rewarded in their placements (I believe due to an increased talent pool) compared to groups like Glassmen, Colts, Troopers, Spirit, etc. who have not aggressively sought to expand the talent pool their corps draw from annually. Any thoughts? Agree? Disagree? Anecdotal experience would be fantastic.

The Glassmen have always operated on a need-to-know basis since before the dark ages of RAMD. I think it is very professional of them and shows respect for the process and the people involved. This has been a completely normal offseason for the corps from where I sit. If you are truly concerned about the well-being of the corps, I would highly recommend donating time, money, and encouraging any kid young enough to march to consider marching with the Glassmen. They are a unique and special organization that continues to put its emphasis on providing the best lifetime experience and drum corps family to its members in an increasingly G7-style finals field. To me that is a greater distinction, reflection of the organization, and especially a testament to the character of those who have dedicated so much of themselves to the corps than any placement. You will not find classier, nor more competent individuals in DCI than those organizing the Glassmen volunteers and offices, and few causes as deserving of your charity. Plus, if you are able to give your time to the corps, I would imagine all of your curiosity would be sated of the natural course of conversation and bonding with such wonderful people. If you truly seek answers, you can get them from a place called Toledo, Ohio

Hi guys, I promise to flesh out my thoughts on this a little further, but I thought this thread was far overdue. DCI is seeing the groups in the bottom half of finals perform and arguably even some semifinals programs that easily would have been scored in the top 6 ten years ago. Comparing groups who have fairly consistently been in this grouping (i.e. Boston Crusaders, Glassmen, Spirit, Madison, etc.) and the two corps duking it out for #12 (Crossmen and Blue Stars) it seems crystal clear to me that the demands of producing the same results in this arena of our activity have increased greatly. This is a wonderful problem to have. Just a few thoughts to kick off the discussion. This is, IMO, the most competitively consequential arena within our activity. There is a world of difference in the experience for the members of the #12 team and the #13 team. I think DCI ought to do more to increase interest in this level of competition, if for no other reason than to increase souvie sales for corps whose demands increase every single year even if the corps is not pushing to move up in the numbers. What corps are "on the bubble" for finals? I used to think that the Glassmen had perfected the art of placing between 10 and 12, but the last two years have shown that if such a thing is possible it has not yet been accomplished. Which corps do you see as potentially moving up or down from Saturday night's razor edge? Which corps need to improve which sections in order to make finals, or perhaps stay in finals and challenge the bracket above? It wasn't terribly long ago that Carolina Crown was a regular face in this crowd. What can, say, a group like the Academy do--specifically--to improve their standing? Many groups in this arena struggle with establishing a creative identity. Are there any groups doing a particularly strong or weak job of this? Troopers and Crossmen seem to have an excellent understanding and ability to translate this onto the field; part of the reason that I believe the Blue Stars have been struggling recently is, IMHO, that they haven't established an independent creative identity since their breakout success in 2008. The Glassmen put on a show this year, "Glassworks," but if you put the corps in a different uniform I doubt many people would instantaneously recognize the group the way that people recognize Bluecoats, Carolina Crown, Phantom Regiment, Santa Clara Vanguard, etc. What are your thoughts about the storm that surrounds the #12 slot in Drum Corps International?

Second.

Mitch Rogers and the Cavaliers are a match made in Heaven. He has created some of the most innovative, captivating, and challenging visual programs that have ever graced a performance stage, and I couldn't be more excited to see the what the Cavaliers unparalleled visual tradition will create in the wake of Mitch's guiding light. I hate to keep bringing these guys up, but some may recall that I referenced the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park's BOA programs from 1998-2001 (and to a certain extent, 2002 as well) to give credence my strong belief in Don Hill's similarly heavenly match with Phantom. This may be an even more apt analogy, though, as the band program at that time was heavily influenced by the Cavaliers through several staff members. The bicycle technique and dot philosophy were both used and even in 2002 Mitch's creative design was really the bread and butter of the PCMB's visual program, which won several BOA Nationals captions during the period as well. The last time I was this excited to hear about a staff change from the perspective of seeing amazing new material was when it was announced that Don was signing on at Phantom. For me, it's a ten out of ten. It's a very exciting time to be a Cavalier

My memory might fail me, but I remember the Glassmen color guard beating Cadets at some point in early season 05...I can't for the life of me say where...

Am I the only one who would be hugely embarrassed by things I said and did during drum crops tour and am, personally, IMMENSELY grateful that the experience was not turned into some hogwash mass-consumption piece? Just a thought.

I don't know much else what to say except thanks for all the great years, BH. You will be sorely missed.