galfriday

This will be my first and last post to this site. I had heard about these forums but never paid much attention, as most of us don't coming from the design/production side of drum corps because frankly, it doesn't much matter what people think - it matters what people do. However, I could not resist replying to "Hoppy's to do list" as it would appear the participant in question has his facts less than straight. Program coordination - Always a group effort but I have to tell you, April (and I love her dearly) has never had much to do with the selection of the program, and she will tell you this herself if you ask her. All she wants is a color guard that spins together with as few flaws as possible. Drill - Jeff Sacktig will always be a great drill writer and much respected in the business, he has been responsible for some of the greatest moments the Corps has had in recent years, (and Marc Sylvester will tell you that). Colorguard - For the record: Jim Moore left the Corps after the "95 season and Keith Potter taught in "96 and "99 - that's it. In those interval years and from 2000 on the writers have included; Jonathan Schwartz, Travis Estler, Johnny Amos, Greg Lagola, Carol Abohatab, and Jeremy Huber, all pros in their own ways, but Cadets, as it would pay to remember, have always been driven by technique and execution rather than pure writing, which is why IMO you won't find another guard out there who can match them from that standpoint. Often times the writing (definitely some of the best in the business) has to get traded off for excellence. And for the record April doesn't write, she cleans. Now, please try to remember that in the days when Devils and Cadets traded colorguard trophies the guard score was not part of the sheets! It was judged seperately and almost as an IA caption, now the guard is viewed as part of the ensemble and the same criteria do not necessarily apply. The Cadets have had some wonderful colorguards in the past 8-10 years (as I'm sure many of you out there would attest to) but as we all know it comes down to personal choices and personal styles. And, regardless af what anyone may think about any particular Corps in any particular season it comes down to the kids!! As long as they are challenged to be their best and come away at the end of the season with a deep sense of personal accomplishment, what does any of this mean? Jazz - Well, IMO, I like when a corps - any corps - moves outside of their comfort zone. What's troubling to me is that most of us are slaves to our habits and resistant to change. Sometimes I think we expect any given top 6 corps to simply give us what we expect of them - and accordingly I think they're judged against themselves, or at least some collective notion of what they're supposed to be. Move outside of that box and look out! But really, I would suggest that every couple of years we burn those idols and start over, no one will die I promise! So...again, remember, it's about kids! They love doing what they're doing, if they didn't, they wouldn't be there! If you don't like a show...move on...it's really not that deep... Has Hoppy seen your list? If not, please send it to him, I'm sure he would find it very interesting..