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manoloblahniksabre

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    The Southern Underbelly
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    DCI, WGI, dance, literature, film, travel, music.

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  1. That's just frickin' funny. :P Personally, I'm a big fan of Bjork, but I do know she is extremely odd. Now, why The Cadets would want to mimic her is a mystery to me. While I enjoyed their ballad, her voice is usually left for the winterguard crowd. ;)
  2. I know. Somnetimes I think I was spoiled. How could ANYTHING live up to that, once you've seen possibly THE most exciting, crowd-friendly show ever put on the field? I remember the next year seeing Phantom...and I fell in love AGAIN. :)
  3. Funny you should say. The first drumcorps show I ever saw was 1995 Madison Scouts, live. Wow. I was hooked after that and there was no turning back. I was wondering to myself last night that, had I been a youth watching this, would I have been drawn into the activity the way Madison drew me in? I don't think I would have been. Maybe if I would have seen Phantom. None of the top-caliber corps are using all this talent to their advantage, you're right. They're relying increasingly on cheap gimmicks that I and most people outside of this activity find campy. I actually was much more pleased with 5-9 than 1-4 (besides Phantom).
  4. I like the word "goobery"...I gotta use that more often. :P I found myself blushing, too...and wanting to quickly change the channel. I had a lot of explaining to do afterwards, needless to say.
  5. I watched this with a group of non-drumcorps people and they didn't like it, I hate to say. The overdrawn explainations about all the ins and outs of the activity sort of got on their nerves. I heard a lot of "what's so complicated about it?" and "why are they not showing more clips of the bands (repeating what they called 'em) instead?" outside of the story about the girl from Phantom, which they found touching. They said they felt like they didn't get to watch the shows long enough to form an opinion. When I asked if they would watch it again, they said if they showed the bands (repeating what they said) in length and if there was less talking. I will say this: when the Cadets came on, it elicited some jokes. They didn't seem to "appreciate" the drumspeak (this was a group of grad students/professors, by the way) and there was a lot of "What the #### is that?" in response to the girl in the hat/construction outfit/etc. I actually liked The Cadets the first couple of times I saw them, but the more I listen to/watch the show, the less I like it. I really don't see anything innovative about the show. It's just...odd. They LOVED Phantom and it was by far the favorite among the group. The use of color got lots of "ohhhs" and "ahhhs" and they recognized the music. They also seemed to like Cavies very well, though they didn't know the music, they got into the show. Cavies have a gift for getting something unrecognizable across to people and can making them enjoy it. There were lots of grimaces at any sort of narration (BD and Cadets) with many generally confused looks. When asked why they didn't like it, most of them said that it just was not necessary and it was distracting. I personally don't feel like it was a great triumph. It could have been worse, it could have been better. It was mediocre. As someone who has marched, it did not keep my interest. That being said, I think it was designed to be watched by someone who has never heard of drumcorps, but I don't think it really succeeded in drawing people in. Though I'm a fan of the esoteric side of drum corps (think SCV 98-03) I find that most people, even those who I thought would be more open, just wanted to hear the music they new and wanted to see it performed with lots of lovely color. Go figure :P
  6. I hope not. Shows done in that vein are usually not done tastefully (ala Cadets '02). I think it's using catastrophe to up GE. Like someone else said, something celebrating New Orleans and its culture would be much better.
  7. http://us.cnn.com/2005/US/09/02/katrina.nagin/index.html Click on (Hear the mayor vent his frustration in this video -- 12:09.) This interview really hit home with me. I was aware of the situation prior to listening to this, but, wow. I'm sure he'll be in it up to his ### following this interview, but at least he was honest about what's going on down there, why the looters got out of control, and how the federal government has spun this tradgedy. <**> This will probably be closed, but what the ####.
  8. If you'll read my follow-up to that, I was speaking more about recruitment and support being localized, rather than a tour being regional. ZING
  9. I realize that corps did not tour regionally just because of the oil crisis, but in the 1970's, national tour did expand. I'm sure the oil embargo did put some strain on traveling, however. I can't imagine how it couldn't have. "Regional" tour does not mean corps just touring around their "home" state. I'm talking about touring more within one area for a longer period of time, with the least distance put between shows as possible. With gas prices where they stand right now, I don't see how you can say it wouldn't be more expensive, and I don't see how you can say, either, that not traveling as many miles will not save money. Sure it would, no matter what kind of spin is put on it.
  10. I'm not sure where you actually stand on this? Do you believe DCI is trying to expand or not? Based on your opinions in the posts, I'm just not sure. Yes, I do think DCI is trying to expand because it needs the money, more than anything. I can't slight them for it, but I don't like how it is being marketed. No, it's not their job to create feeder corps, and I never said or meant to infer that it was. I just think it needs to be done. I teach teens and am around them on a day-to-day basis. It could be that my view on American "culture"/American youth is skewed, too. I try to be objective, however, and I'm not saying the entire lot of American kids are like this. I've observed that the best of America's youth is often participating in the arts, in activities like drum corps, and when introduced to it at a younger age, has a huge impact on the life of the person involved. That's why I'm such an advocate of feeder corps and junior colorguard. I do appreciate the kindly manner in which you proposition you disagreements, though. Thank you for being cordial. :)
  11. First and foremost, I'm not going to mud-sling with you. You have the right to your opinions/accusations/labels, though, I feel you have no real proof to base them on. I think it is very dangerous to brand a persons character based on DCP posts, especially when you've taken the posts out of context to begin with and seen them only as an attack on DCI, which you come to the rabid defense of, and refuse to view them objectively. I'm not trying to influence DCI with any brand of "populist pedagogy". I don't believe that posting on DCP, even if I had a real cause, is the proper forum for change. Corps had a hard time just making it through THIS summer with the gas prices; the article just made me even more alarmed for them. I did state, and pointed out to you already that I had stated this, that DCI was trying their best. I also think you would have attacked me regardless of the manner in which I would have stated the post. I'm sure you would have found ulterior motives in "Hey, give money, gas will be even worse next summer." Why? I've no idea. Secondly, what I meant by grassroots drumcorps was based more on my ideas of corps having more ties, support, and recruitment at the local level. This did not include just traveling regionally. As a matter of fact, I believe that a national tour is one of the most rewarding things about drumcorps. Also, in the 1970's, corps handled the oil crisis by touring regionally, so I don't understand why you would base a counterargument on something not based on fact. Also, even though there were more miles put on the road (speaking outside of the oil embargo and the VFW years prior to DCI) the touring schedules of corps in the 1970's were a skelton of today's touring schedules. I just felt compelled to post in light of the events of recent days, no agenda attached, no call to arms for a populist revolution against DCI. I just believe people should be giving all they can to the fuel funds to keep the corps running another summer.
  12. As of about 3 pm today, gas prices here in TN were standing at 3.30/gallon. They went from 2.55 last night, to 2.78 at about 9 am this morning, to 3.00 at around noon, and now 3.30 :(
  13. Well, #### me and call me Joan of Arc. I do believe that you're accusing me of being faux-naïf? ...and what's this about my "agenda of regionalization"? To that I respond: Whoever said, or where have I ever stated, that I even AGREE with regionalizaion? I believe, for purposes of being fiscally frugal, that until gas prices drop (this is IF there is an EXPECTED RISE in gas prices, LIKE THE ARTICLE STATES) that regionally-based touring would be better, especially in the long run, for the books. And, did I not state in my previous post that "I know they're trying"? Well, well, drumcat, I did indeed. I never said the sky was falling NOW either, did I Chicken Little? I was pointing to the information listed in the article, which states that in the near future, gas will likely top 4.00/gallon. At the least, one should be thinking ahead, considering the crisis in the gulf region now and instability abroad. Also, I think that gas in relation to drumcorps is much more than a "commodity price" to be considered; the activity is based around touring the country in a very large fleet of buses and semis. Thanks for the history lesson, but I do know all about the oil crisis in the 1970's. Now, tell me what it has to do with what I'm talking about? Surely you wouldn't be creating a sieve out of your own logic by pointing out that in the 1970's, DCI was largely regional? I'm not trying to be a martyr for a cause, I just said that people should be donating to gas funds...at any rate.
  14. Agreed. I think most corps could do with a little less glitz (or new amps/keyboards/bells/whistles/etc) and a little more commonsense budgeting. Especially now.
  15. Experts: $4 a gallon gas coming soon http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/31/news/gas_p...dex.htm?cnn=yes Just read some troubling news on CNN in the link posted above. I think that this is potentially the biggest threat DCI has ever faced. The BOD at DCI either needs to either rework the current touring system to something more regionally-based (at least until gas prices go down), or find a way to help fuel costs even more. I know they're trying, but this also MUST include us giving as much as we can to our corps; ESPECIALLY to corps that are not as financially well-to-do as others. These kinds of prices could threaten the very lively hood of our activity. Katrina has shut off supplies by 25%, with no real answer as to how much damage has actually been done or how long it will be before supply returns to normal. Here in TN, gas went up by .35 overnight and is over 3.05 in southwestern VA with several shortages being reported. Please contribute however you can!
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