Seahawk

An outstanding idea. Especially since tomorrow is National Beer Day! "Stay thirsty, my friend."

makes you wonder about what happened at the end of the 2016 season when a large portion of Cadets staff jumped ship, including long term staff. George has always had the reputation of being difficult to work with. Is there a possibility those staff also had a hunch about what was to come. I doubt it will happen but it would be interesting to hear the opinions of some of them.

I know most of the trumpeters responsible for this recording. But I cannot reveal their identities. Many believe it is the work of the Tastee Brothers. I can assure you it is not. It was done in a rehearsal room with 6 guys playing around one mic feeding into a laptop computer. The music is from the Disney Candlelight Processional, a Christmas show performed at Epcot every year. It is legend among many Disney employees.

I know this clip circulates every year. Time to enjoy some holiday trumpet music again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfodl1g_ibY

Weather should be excellent in Inverness FL tonight. Forecast is for partly cloudy skies, temp in low 70's with a 20% chance of rain.

Thanks so much, Vic. Those statements would mean a lot to many Bucs of that era. As you said, there was a time the Bucs and the Hurricanes did "not like each other" very much. To those who were part of either corps in the early 80's, no explanation is necessary. With that said however, the one thing that always existed within DCA and something George stressed to us many times....win or lose, you always show respect for your opponents. George lived that every time he set foot on a field. And it was reflected back by the other drum majors. IMHO, that group of drum majors in the early 80's..... George, Jimmy Russo, Alan Smythe, Butch Anderson, and the others (some of the names escape me at the moment) was, collectively, the greatest group of leaders and showmen I've ever seen in my 43 years of involvement in drum corps. Vic, you and I once talked about corps loyalties. George Parks was one of the reasons I felt the way I did, and still do. Once Blue.... always Blue. RIP George. We will miss you.

Plans have changed already.... so I now have two tickets for sale for DCI East, Aug 7th, Saturday night only. They are good seats located in the lower level. Section J Row 33 (about the 40 yard line). $35.00 each Please email if interested.

From one sound man to another.....Excellent explanation, Soundman G. And also explained in terms that everyone can understand. There seems to be a lot of comments about the excessive low end sound. Only one person mentioned what should have been a rather obvious concern. In the world of live sound, and in a recording studio, it's all about mic placement, mic placement, mic placement. The pit sound systems are mixed to project the sound to the top levels of the stadium. If the mics were placed too close to the pit speakers, there would be an overload. It is called the proximity effect. The strongest signal a mic receives is what is closest to it. (BTW - before the era of multi-layer digital recording and processing, did you know this is exactly how Brian Wilson created the awesome sound of the Beach Boys? The singers would stand a certain distance from the mic according to the vocal balance he was trying to achieve.) For future events, this might be something Tom Blair and his crew need to pay more attention to. To Soundman G -- I don't know how the theaters handle the live concert events (eg Miley Cyrus' Best of Both Worlds) as far as processor programming, but if you have any suggestions for Tom Blair that might make future broadcasts better, I am sure he would be open to discussion.

An easy one for me....1976. Near perfection even under the old tick system.

An interesting theory for the DCI conspirators. However, it has extremely little, if anything at all, to do with the cost. And I won't go there because I don't have any idea how much it costs to open it. IMHO your figures are way off. Can you back it up with some hard facts? And contrary to what you may want to believe, DCI is not run by a bunch of idiots. I'm sure all aspects of the cost to operate the stadium were considered before the contract was signed. DCI staff were informed of the stadium manager's decision to keep roof closed either Monday or Tuesday. There were several reasons stated. First and most important was the uncertainty of the weather. If you were in Indy Tuesday morning you know that the city experienced a hellacious thunderstorm. Apparently storms like this are not that unusual. Unlike most turf fields, LOS is totally flat, which does not allow for drainage if it gets wet. The weather forecast for both Friday and Saturday included the possibility of rain or thunderstorms. And rain did indeed threaten early Saturday evening but passed to the north of the city. Second, the stadium officials simply invoked rules similar to those applied to the NFL and other events. For a band or drum corps event, consideration was given to the change in acoustics when the roof is open. We were told there is less echo. Having the roof open would make some corps sound different, possibly giving them an unfair advantage. Also, the forecast for Saturday was a high temperature of about 94 or 95 degrees. There is not a stadium air conditioning system anywhere that could keep an open stadium cool in weather like that. All things considered, it simply made more sense to leave it closed for this event. Will it be open for future DCI events? I would say likely yes.... if the conditions are right.

After hearing some discussion after the show Saturday night, I'm interested in everyone's opinion regarding the format for the Finale. I am totally in favor of a return to a traditional style finale in which every corps plays themselves off in reverse order of finish, along with the trooping of the stands. I understand it was actually discussed by the board of directors, but not implemented for this show. The fans pay a lot of money to attend this event and support their favorite corps. Really, it's not too much to ask the corps to give a few minutes to the fans. Most corps have a favorite piece of music used for this purpose. For example, what true drum corps fans would not enjoy hearing Boston play Conquest, or Spirit play Georgia, or the Troopers play Ghost Riders? It can also be a very emotional moment too. Such as SCV playing Send in the Clowns to the Madison Scouts in '75. There are numerous examples of moments like that throughout DCI history. If you have ever witnessed it you know just how special it can be. And what about the corps showing some respect to the champion corps by passing in review and saluting? What happened to that tradition? Those who support the current system say that the time after the scores is for the corps members to say goodbye to friends in other corps. My opinion is the parking lot is a much better place for that. I think this time should belong to the fans and the champion corps. It usually takes a long time to clear the field so the winner can do an encore performance. Many fans loose interest because it simply takes too long. I am not suggesting that a traditional style retreat be done at every show. But certainly Championship Finals. The traditional system used to work very well, until corps started taking a long time just to get ready to play. Again, it is my opinion that if it was properly planned, and the flow controlled by a stadium announcer, this part of the show can return to being the special time it used to be.

Hey Mike, Forgive me if I may sound a little defensive. It would be nice to have people know who really recorded the Fanfare Christmas. Each year when this music clip is posted I get the same reply. The Tastee Brothers. I love this clip but I think it is important to give the proper credit to the people actually responsible for this, er...pardon the pun...'tasty' little gem. Just for the record, this piece of music is NOT from the Tastee Brothers. Although it can be found on their website, they actually had nothing to do with producing it. This passage has circulated around the internet for several years. The Tastee Brothers have wrongly claimed it as their own work. People associate it with the Tastee Brothers only because they made it available on their website, which has brought it a lot of exposure over the years. I know the real story behind the production of this clip. It was told to me by those directly involved in recording it...the six Disney World fanfare trumpets. If you are interested, I can give you more details about how it was made.

Holiday Greetings to All ! No matter how you celebrate the holiday season, I wish you all the best. Here at Disney World, the parks go through an amazing transition several times a year as the seasons change. None is more impressive than the Christmas season. The parks come alive with holiday decorations and special entertainment. IMHO opinion the best of Disney’s holiday shows is Epcot’s Candlelight Processional and Massed Choir. The show runs three times every night from Thanksgiving to New Years and is the largest holiday production Disney does. During each performance, a celebrity narrator recants the story of Christ, supported by approximately 500 singers and musicians on stage. If you are visiting Disney World during the holidays I would encourage you to see this show. It is an incredible production. For those not able to see Candelight live, as my holiday gift I am offering a sample of the music from the show. It is the opening Overture, which features the Walt Disney fanfare trumpets. Enjoy ! http://www.jibjab.com/jokebox/jokebox/jibj...76/jokeid/38662

While the dust is still settling from the 2007 season, I would like to initiate some discussion about the future of drum corps based on some very interesting and spirited discussion in the hotel bar in Pasadena. In general, the idea is winter 'drum corps', with smaller size corps, performed indoors, and generally coinciding with the WGI competitive season. In fact, it was mentioned that an alliance or partnership with WGI may be the best way to get the idea started. They already have the schedule, the venues, and the drum line competition. It would not be a major stretch for WGIand DCI to partner on this and incorporate it into the current WGI schedule. That would mean the competition season would run roughly from the end of January to early April. Here's the scoop. Indoor winter competition is something that is actually being talked about within the inner circles of DCI as a genuine possibility for future expansion. Believe me, there are several top level directors that are interested in at least pursuing discussions, possibly as early as the DCI winter meetings in January. Now here is the real kicker to this discussion. INSTRUMENTATION!! The idea is to create a competitive forum where basically anything goes as far as instrumentation or amplification.... brass, percussion, woodwinds, electronic keyboards, synthesizers, etc. You could even allow micing of solo instruments or vocals. Think "Blast" on a competitive setting in an arena. Of course, at that point you basically could not call it drum corps. It would be necessary to come up with another title. This could be the outlet for those within DCI who are pushing to allow woodwinds. IMO, if there was an alternative performance and competitive venture available where anything goes, it might force people like George Hopkins to back off his quest. Create something entirely new and different, and let drum corps be drum corps. The other major paradigm shift from DCI competition would be in the way corps recruit members. Since this would be basically a weekend-only activity, as WGI is right now, there would be no touring. Members would have to be relatively local to be able to practice on a weekly basis. Corps auditions could be geared to both the winter activity and summer competition. Due to indoor acoustics, competing units would have to be limited in size. Think total numbers somewhere between a mini-corps such as Epcot’s Future Corps and a Div 2 corps. Although it would likely be units from existing drum corps at first, competition would be open to independent units or scholastic units as well. Another possible benefit is it would create a good alternative for kids that want to compete at a high level but either cannot afford the huge tour fees or cannot make the time commitment DCI touring requires. The DCA all-age corps are full of people that fit that description. The side benefit is that it might help organizations return to having a strong connection with and support from the local community. As with any new venture, there are many pros and cons. In addition to the potential of a very unique competitive circuit filling the void between band season and drum corps season, this idea presents a number of other things to be considered as well. There are the obvious additional costs for instructional staff, uniforms or costumes, judges, transportation, etc. Also, it could be argued that it would be too much like marching band competition and therefore would be a conflict of interest for many. That is part the reason for allowing a wide range of instrumentation that is not currently legal in either band or corps. Many people talk about finding ways to get more kids involved. Something totally unique might be just the thing. So, I'd like to just toss the idea out to the masses for general discussion. I’m looking for any comments pro or con, or suggestions you might have. Does the idea of winter indoor ‘drum corps’ have merit? Indoor competition works in Japan. Do you think it is possible here?

My very first drum corps show was Blue Rock's show in 1968. Some great corps.....Boston Crusaders, Garfield Cadets, St. Lucy's, the Brassmen, Blessed Sac, and Blue Rock, of course. But the show that really got me into drum corps was a year later. The 1969 VFW Nationals in Philadelphia...a classic battle between the Troopers and the Kilties!