Tapper7

To clarify, I don't blame George... I actually respect him a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the after show parties he used to throw. I use the expression "Hoppy" more as a symbol of changes that I dislike. Bb, amps, narration... And future changes Im in pure fear of. I haven't posted to DCP in years, but this is extremely important. I freely admit I can't prove that Bb, narration, etc was HIS idea, All I know is the word on the street... For almost 15 years now, the word is that George spearheaded most of these changes... I would point to the narration from their 2007 show- that corps was awesome, the Hornline sounded like a church organ, but the words don't lie... The idea was and IS to make drum corps more accessible and "approachable" to band kids... At the end of the day, that's to pry open wallets, tickets cost a fortune I've never seen or performed at show that wasn't PACKED... If DCI, DCA, or any corps is light on money, there are a zillion ways for world class, non profit, youth organizations to chase that paper without morphing into a lower class activity. I foresee a brief bump in ticket sales, maybe 10 extra shows and more sponsors for a few years.... Then drum corps will be just a host of honor bands that practice extra hard. It won't be unique, it won't be cool or special or amazing... Once a show becomes just a series of decent halftime shows, drum corps will be dead-the fans, the fun, the magic and to those who care-the money will disappear right along with it. I don't care if the change has been approved... When I see an idea floated that could threaten the activity... Ill put that threat on blast and call it out for the BS that it is. Call me conservative, When it comes to drum corps, I reject, avoid and protest change. The only changes that ever helped were- the low mark time, having the pit stand still, switching to valves from piston-rotor, adding a 3rd valve and streamlining middle horns by making them ALL mellos, oh yeah, asymmetrical drill too. I see zero changes for the better this millennium. To sum, for live music; would you spend $100 to see ...93 Star? 95 Madison? 96 PR or BD? 87 Vanguard? Or whatever the 2014 championship show will be? Did VK, The Bridgemen or Big 27 ever seem weak, or lame, or flat to you? Or did they set the stands on fire ? (ok that's rhetorical). I hope that you see a show this summer that was designed and built: FOR YOU! Not for a judge, a sponsor, or some anonymous HS clarinet player... and certainly not for a number. Rant complete... I need a drink.

What part of Drum & Bugle Corps is unclear? These Happy Hoppy bogus marketing policies may get us a bit of ad revenue from 3rd rate uniform manufacturers. But lets be honest ... The slippery slope from DC to MB just got greased... AGAIN!!!! Social connotations: Drum Corps-Olympic level athleticism combined with professional brass, battery and dance. Honor. Tradition. Military precision and bravery. Rock Stars. A celebrated pastime. Top of a musicians bucket list. 60,000 screaming fans. 12 hour rehearsals. Tour. Age Out Circle. Tears of joy. Jet engine decibel levels in tune and in time. Legends. Miracles. 120 hearts beating as one. Magic. The Pinnacle. Marching Band- nerds, geeks, get eggs thrown at you, teased by schoolmates, awful uniforms, low talent level, NOT loud, boring, dirty drill, phasing, shows that fall apart. embarrassment. Piccolo shrieks, out of touch band directors, boring music, only existing to praise & support teams that tease us. Halftime Show = go get a hot dog and hit the can. An excuse to skip gym class. Audience sits on their hands. So go ahead hoppy, you killed the G bugle, added amps and narration, now you have instruments that don't even look like bugles... We all know you want to add alto saxes. Throw in some more woodwinds and our fine, honorable, miracle activity that we devoted our lives to will be reduced to nothing more than an honor-band version of an activity that is fun and enjoyable... But no one respects, listens to on their iPod, gossips about year round or passes legends on through the generations about marching band. MB is a mediocre extra curricular at best. Drum Corps is a transcendent force that can only perish if those in power strip it of what makes it shine. "Let he is without woodwind cast the first egg"

For the last few years I have kept my mouth shut about things but at this point I am still nearly OFF the radar so s**** it. I have read the first few pages of this and listened to one 2nd-hand account, As a journalist I must admit that to you and also advise that my words are VERY VERY biased in favor of The Renegades and anything management decides to say or do. That said, do you know who stood in front of the hornline the 1st time I put my horn up to play at SCV? That would be Chris Nalls. He gave me my 1st chance [to be a top 6 player...] You know who took care of me when I had NOTHING? That would be Greg Gilman, Roland Garceau and Rich Skare (may he rest in peace). I love all of you and I know that we can weather this. I will speak plainly; Whatever may or may not have happened in the Lot or the hotel, I disagree w/ the sanction. This type of character assassination could do undue damage to a drum corps and is antithetical to the establishment clause of a Drum & Bugle Corps organization; which should be "to protect and promote drum corps." No protection, huh? I'm calling "shenanigans" on all of this. [remainder removed to prevent repercussions to this writer/editor... except- can anyone say "good-ole-boy-club?"] This is my interpretation of truth. Get at me if you disagree. -T

See schedge; follow the link below... We plan to perform @ the SoCal shows in l8 June, July and August... w/ a possible "home/family show" in Mission Viejo, CA [date/loc TBD/TBA] ~l8 August or early September.... plz visit and help me and Carl Allison support: http://thesdca.org/ Small Drum Corps Association c u on the '50' or whatever they call the center of a basketball court. special thx 2 Carl for signing us up! u the man, man. more info: Like my page to support SoCal Drum Corps... just a click + a captcha

Calmer than u r dude.

I jus' joshin' y'all abt. knowin all 5,000 scales thatr out there... If u can read music in treble or bass clef u are A-OK. The point was that it would be nice to have soloists who can IMPROV .... this being Minicorps we will have improvised solos .... if Am7 or G9 or F7 mean gibberish to u, no worries the solo spots are already full up anywayz..... Not trying to be snobbish I just don't anyone to waste their own time .... or mine. Time = $$$ and I have precious little of both. BTW Gpenta = G, Bb, C, D, F, not rocket science my friend. Root, min3rd, 5th, 6th, min7th. Its really cool jazz that was written into all that really cool jazz you MUST have played since you have so much more DC exp. than I do. If that bothers you, then your post is likely flame-bait and I just bit down on it so now IM THE IDIOT; I'm gonna shut up n say "GLA needs a 3rd Soprano, 2nd Mellow, 3rd Bar/Euph and 1 Bass instrument (Any)." I love Drum Corps .... Go SCV. Go BD. Go Dream. Go 'Gades. Go Jim Ott Brass Ensemble Hugs & Kisses, Tapper

One Mellow Spot left. 2nd Mellow ----- dont get the wrong idea this part is CRUCIAL and will have muchas opportunidades para RUNS, LICKS and screaming double-Gs. I will add a MELLOW.3/ALTO spot if interest runs high enough to accommodate. Most of your part would be in the D(in the staff) to doubleG range... that work for you? If so post a video on youtube and post the link here. or on my fb. chris.e.welke@gmail.com or chriswelke@blogspot.com Bcuz my Contra player is more of a 'special guest' than a 'member' ... im looking for a Bass player (ANY BASS!!!) who can make all the reh's and showz. We need Bass to tune down to and for the kit to key the rhythm off of. BASS = the foundation that will form the Pyramid that is The GreenLight Advantage. Regards, -T

SopRuss, As The Ballad (TBA) is dedicated to your brother ... you do not need to audition. If u can march in the future---> just grab a horn and come to one of our monthly rehearsals. I don't care how good u r. MUCH LOVE, ----Tap

Charlie, you wear whatever u want... ill email u the Contra part ASAP.

)Only a few spots left: 3rd Soprano (1) 2nd Mellow (1) 3rd Bar/Euph (1) Electric Bass gtr. (1) These holes will NOT LAST LONG... so PM if u r interested - no dues except whatever travel costs u incur to/from reh's n showz. ****G Bugles ONLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ****Experts ONLY - reh's are to lock in the ensemble and discuss EMOTION.... not music theory, if u need to be reminded that your open 5th needs to be 5 cents sharp or if I ask u to play a G-Pentatonic scale and look at me like Scooby-Doo... then this is not the group for you. ****1st rehearsal will be on 4/21/12 in southern Orange County, CA, USA ..... only those who have been invited by me or on a solid recommendation will know the exact location. ****GLA Kickoff party will be on Friday 4/20 (thats a COINCIDENCE I SWEAR) LOC8XN TBD. THX ALISHA!!!! Chris Welke, CEO, Sr. Media Law Analyst, EP, Lonely Faction Prodxns (a non-profit org.) Director, The Greenlight Advantage Minicorps

The Green Light Advantage Minicorps in association with Lonely Faction Productions and Self Similarity Studios proudly presents: "Drum Corps Standards - The 80s and 90s.... a retrospecticus." Travel with us in space-time as we visit The English Kingdom in "Crown Imperial," then we'll hop over to Spain and lay down some "Malaguena" from there..... ????? I have lined up an all star cast that will stun and amaze. This group is exhibition only - our sole purpose is to promote the Drum Corps Activity through impromptu (In The Lot...) performances and inspire our youth to musical levels they never dreamed possible. This 10 piece group has only 4 spots left. Experts only please. If I don't know you just post a video of yourself on YouTube showing off your High or Low Brass Skills. *********NOTE***************. Bb horns r STRICTLY PROHIBITED - 2/3v G Bugles ONLY! All music will arr. for G Bugles in "trumpet" treble clef (That is, when I call for a "C" you will be playing a concert G (open) on the bugle). PM me or find me on FB: chris.e.welke@gmail.com Cheers. -Tapper, Founder and Director. Watch this thread or my FB for updates. Things are changing daily. It's time. Right here. Right now. <br class="Apple-interchange-newline">

Not finding a Renegades thread in this sxn other than this one ... so w/o starting a new thread (or ado) Congrats on your success this year and moving fwd into 2012 ... and beyond. I can think of a certain Alum you'v made proud. I stomp them. *cough* good show my friends, good show.

Congrats to a class act all the way, Cheers Govies!

As if I needed another reason to march this fine DC that 1st knocked my socks off as a jr. corps member. Somehow, someday ... I'll get those logistics ironed out. This victory blows the lid off all precedents. And they only fought for ... 40 years? 45?MBI - you keep that hope alive. Thx from SoCal.

cuz the 1990 closer makes me misty every time. cuz their Horn Sgt. called my house after VK folded to offer me spot. cuz Niner-Two blew the roof off DCI in 97 .... cuz they opened with Birdland, cuz the last note was like a 64 count crescendo from forte to ff to fff to ffff fffff etc. and it was so cool DCI HAD to put them in the top6. Those two shows were beyond entertaining ... those kids had alot a heart. 90-chick soloist rocks out in opener, Caravan, Round Midnight and Now or Never (Baritone and Middlehorn duet *sniff*) - def ON MY LIST of all time fav shows. 97-Give 'em Maynard and Don Ellis, why? why not? What a battle for 12th this year! Any score above 80 normally nets a placemnt above 17th. more like 14th or 13th. Forget the score, stay the course. Crossmen back in Finals by ...... 2013.

you may notice this db is severely lacking in midwest, southern, canadian and nor'east data. That's because I only know people on the Left Coast (and the mothership, hovering near the SF Bay). My friend Peter from VK marched Cadets the following year. at VK we had really cool parties with Carolina Crown ... I met their brass caption head who introduced his self as "Donkey Kong." But we mostly kept to ourselves (we had a problem with another corps that led to ... well what problems lead to when male high school hormones are surging and the staff has been picking on the low brass ALL DAY... especially those who are disrespectful @ Retreat) Per forum etiquette they will remain anonymous. At SCV we did a standstill on the beach with The Cavaliers. They were way cool and good sports when we gave them the noose back at Drums Along the Rockies. That year Hopkins held a very cool party in the lot after the NiteBeat show. He ordered tons of good food and drink, plus there was a dj and big huge speakers! The Cadets were just as cool and fun to party with as BD (as the top3 we all shared enormous mutual respect) We also shared facilities w/ a very rude corps I also, of course will not name. All these people from outside California, I only knew in passing, so if you're going, what about Cavaliers 89? ADD IT! Crown 94? ADD IT! Who was the soloist - what did he or she solo on? What song? Did they nail it at Nats? Who was DM, what did the DM play b4 he took the podium? Who was your tech? Caption Head? Who played the doubleC at the end of the opener? Any tics? (Visual solos? Baritone spread tone or sop stick-out, blown release? ...) Did you bust a crazy passthrough at 200bpm at 1-step intervals? Ever take a Contra to the back of the head? While backmarching and playing too? I did! Upper-lip popped and I marched "Plug" for a week. The 2nd time I was knock'd out cold. Luckily I was in the habit of pulling the mthpiece OFF my lips as this particular highspeed xthru at one's (Contras flying fwd, Bars flyin bckwd, actually had to 'detriangulate' or 'lower' the elbows to get thru. Check out the drill move ... last phrase of On the Waterfront. The final set was easier - 1 and 1/2's. Phew! Had I been trying play at that moment I wouldve been marching Plug at Finals. :( When I came to, I never saw a Contra get chewed out so bad. I wasnt mad - it was a dangerous move, im lucky he only hit me that hard 1 time. ********warning: detritus prose I had a doppleganger in BD named Ted ... equivalent to me in every way, especially when it came to playing too loud and too high on the baritone. We had identical range, volume, tone, bad rep w/ judges in the midwest, everything. Misfits. We hung out after every show. He got teased a lot cuz he got the SCV shield tatted on his arm. He looked like me, just a little taller. (Then again, by summers end, I noticed that almost everyone in BD/SCV/Cadets had this "look" you know? With 1 or 2 outliers, I could swear our hornline was all between 5'7" - 5'9" TAN, slim, muscular build, only tanlines were on our faces where our sunglasses lay. Crewcut. Salty. At ease always steppin or head bobbin to some beat, finger taps on the gym floor at 4am, sticks on a pad, a battery warming up to cheesy poofs - Always a beat to lock into. Deep-set eyes, fingers running the show w/o conscious note of it. 2 or more of us walking together, even from diff corps would automatically fall in step. Man that streamlining and subconscious stuff ... it was straight up NUTS once we put Uni on. Excited that "now we'll really look like one unit." Excited to show the crowd all new drill in the closer, all new chords in the ballad ... 10 new horn manuals. 6 new visuals. Would they feel the darkness and menacing tone we had injected into the 4th production? Of course they will. Tonite we add another standing O to the program. We liked to call the Uniform our Supersuits. The super-strength, air, power and endurance was ready to fire at any moment. The Supersuit meant another opp to show it. Hungry to get under those lights. "Look what I can do now." Early 96? I could hardly make it through the opener. I looked weak and it showed - ez prey for viz staff. 6months later, in Nebraska was the 1st time I put my horn down at the end, barely sweating, not even breathing hard, wanting more ... I want to show them again. Hungry for it. Hoping for a victory - any reason to stay in uniform and maybe play the show 1 more time. and NO PAIN, normally my shoulders/arms/fingers would be on fire, feet ankles, legs ... wasted from toe extension (fwd) and getting all the way up on my platform (bkwd). Lips sore from all the high notes and fff's. Only one thought: When is the next reh/show? Maybe we'll practice tonite back at the school! Hoping for it instead of praying for a break. The next day, a particularly evil viz guy crept up to me during basics block, "Why are you smiling?" he demanded, and all 110 lbs of me, holding that 10lb baritone at dress-center, said, "Because I don't care anymore how long you leave us at dress-center. It's 103 out here and about 99% humidity and bugs are all over me. I can hold this horn up ALL DAY. So bring it cuz I can handle whatever torture you cooked up at breakfast. BASICS doesn't even raise my pulse. I dare you to catch me miss a ready-front. Watch my feet on the marktime, watch every horn manual, step and change of dir. You catch me out of phase or at box-angle-flat when it's box-angle-box - call it on the microphone. I'll sprint a lap, hit the deck for 20 and be back before the second rep. This rookie's not afraid of the mean viz techs anymore. I'm done with that." "Is that so?" "Corps ... READY.. FRONT" Most of our techs were SCV alums, so they expected the same strength, uniformity and speed of our horn manuals. Head fwd on 1, horn down on 2 .... just like Vanguard. On 1 my head snapped to flat-front. On 2 the Kanstul came down at light speed - my wrists and the tips of my right fingertips exploding into motion and maybe 3 to 5 hundredths of a second later, stopping the eplosion and coming to rest in control, at the right angle, all fingers and thumbs where they belonged and my eyes looking over the flat surface of the 6 1/2 AL mouthpiece. @precisely eye-level, the bell parallel to the deck. My smile long gone, it was him who I caught grinning as he turned away to harass someone else. That was a proud day. The first time I hoisted a barry, my back hurt so bad I thought (Great, I failed at soccer,, basketball, baseball ... now this? something I want?) I just needed to learn to stand up straight, not sink into my hips or lean back ... and build muscle tissue in my upper-body so whether at a carry, or fff at the box, or at dress center for 20minutes just to punish the low brass, the weight + pressure + strain on my spine = 0. Sleeping on that hardwood gym was darn good for it, too. ******* You out there SCV/BD-Ted? They used to call me "Cud." I know the DM for VK 95 became DM for PR 96. I do not rem her name. We had a drill designer @VK who was from Garfield. Is that story true about the girl getting stung by a bee on her lip right b4 Nats and she laid out her solo? He was our Viz Caption Head, Carl. Coffee & a cigarette come rain, shine, 100%humidy 105 degree heat, up in Wyoming w/ no air to breathe? Carl's 2 habits were as certain as 12hour rehearsal on show-less day in July. Anyone know Carl's last name? Is that bee sting deal just legend? or fact? Sounded like "BS to scare the rookie lead baritone" to me.

SORRY FIXING HTML, my browser is displaying commands as TEXT <b>"I suck"</b> Ok now that the 2011 DCI World Championships "Thread-Mania" has died down a bit and b4 the DCA furor revs up to capacity....Can anyone answer my questions (soloist names, biographical data, knick-names ....)?? ***for convenience - rantingspeculationand other mental detritus in red if you want to skip. ***due to HTML issues - just look to the q's in bold to get around my excess prose. thx. Like 95 VK - and staff 96 who was Bill? Where did he march before VK? I knew he was an SCV alum immediately (you could tell by the way he stood at a carry, the lightning fast yet sober control of his horn-salute and the negative-space in the right hand when he was in playing position - and he hadn't played a note yet) The first time I met him he picked up a Mellophone, played quick little CBBbA ... down the valves and back up, a few pedals. Then a sixteenth-note chromatic from low-C to doubleC. This was the guy I had seen on video playing a baritone solo @ DCI not 3 months prior? As low as we were on horns early season, I saw Bill jump into the soprano line, middle-horn, baritone/euph AND Contra ... it seemed to me he had equal talent horn w/ a tpt. tbn or tuba mouthpiece. <br>(No wonder he was so stoked when I played a C major scale in all 5 octaves) - on a Barry, on high brass I can hit a highC ok. Back then I was only good for about 1 octave on an alto/middlehorn.<I have known other Sopranos that were capable Barry players, but most of those guys would hoist a Contra only manage something resembling a sour digestive tract, the rest couldn't even buzz at all. (starting to go OT but) I always wondered how he could change horns so seamlessly. Any other known soloists who have virtuoso skill on sop/alto/tenor/baritone AND bass bugles? (Just sop/mello and barry doesnt count, but whether or not they could play the FH? There were no FH's when I marched (for good reason IMO, no offense if you are one, dont take it as a knock, Its just for hornlines I prefer *ahem* 14 sops, 10 mellos, 4 altos, 10 bar., 10 euphs and 14+ Contras. 1st sop (upper/lower lead split); 2nd sop; 3rd sop. Upper Lead Mello (some chords require the mello voice at the top, so the top 4 mellos are screamers) Lower Lead Mello; 2nd Mello; 3rdMello and/or Alto bugle; Barrys split same as the Sops, so UL frequently goes up to alto range (and may support the lead soprano melody 8vb), Lower and 2nd fill out the tenor voice; 3rd bar and Euph cover deep, dark, rich baritone voices I love to hear Euphs on the lower register, @ fff, w/ no spread, just TONE.... the army of Contras, sometimes in 2 part harmony or split octaves creating the stainless steel and I-bars of an impenetrable bass foundation, and rhythm you could set your watch to. +many soli/section features, sop solos/duets/trios/quartets, mello solos, barry solos and small ensemble features ... but I digress....</font><br><br> There are several sops and barrys and such up front @ the end of 94 BD - I know Rollie and Carey, who were the rest? Who was the "Arturo" dude Madison had in 96? Who soloed alongside Scott Stewart and Sean Billings in the 95-97 BD yrs? SCV: when did Rick South solo? Wasn't he also DM? Or Horn Sgt.? Both? SCV96: soloists in La Mer? also looking for more info regarding 87 to 92 (soloists, caption heads, Horn Sgts., DMs) <I only know Jed>, Tim Meehan, Eric Hand, Rick Valenzuela, Rick South and Murray and Eppy. Betting that <Myron wrote the drill(s) and that Ralph Hardimon either wrote the drum book(s), served as snare tech, Battery Caption Head or maybe all of the above. This wouldve been when Murray Gussack marched - year(s)?I was told thatJim Cassella marched 2nd or 3rd Bass Drum at BD in either 1992 or 1993 - talk about humble beginnings! Not to minimize the accomplishment .... just being a member of BD's Battery puts you in the running for best percussion performer Nationwide. In that vein - can we match Tom Float with corps and years? If I had to guess right now I would say he marched Kingsmen 74, then BD 75-76, aged out, started teching snares @ BD until ~1982 then he moves to SoCal and VK's drumline becomes the hippest battery ever, attracting the best and brightest as Caption Head until at some point (1994?) he comes back up to Concord for about 2 yrs. as a tech/consult (by 94 I'm guessing Scott Johnson has taken over as Caption head). Float, now sponsored by every drum company you could name, returns to SoCal again (95? 96?) and starts the Trashcan Trio at Disneyland, and continues to consult for VK, BD and possibly SCV (????)so ... Who were the other two members of the Trashcan Trio? I remember the guy on the left said he was center-snare @ Madison, late 80s. I think the other guy was one of Float's standout-students from either VK or BD. Methinks it was BD. No names tho - just Float as "center-trashcan" . Why did Disney dissolve this very popular group? Why was the Magic Kingdom Korps dissolved? FutureCorps, for that matter? Disney's California Adventure had a full-time production of Blast! (This was around 99, 2000???) Why was that also scrapped? When was the last time Finals were at "Disney-World"? (Really Citrus College w/ a parade & I&E @ the park) I'm sensing a pattern - maybe a falling out between DCI and Mickey? Lot of changes after Bb came to Drum Corps...any speculation from you Hoppy-conspiracy theorists? Before there were 911 Truthers and Obama Birthers ....there were the Hoppy Conspiracy Theorists. Clarinets and alto saxes hiding in the bushes, next to drill teams, majorettes, flutes and sousaphones just waiting for the order to strike!!!! I still have nightmares of trombones and concert french horns in F!!! The director transposes "now thats a C for y'all, D for the horns, E for the alto-sax, Bb for the trombones, tuba, flute and keyboard. C for the trumpets and tenor saxes and clarinets..." NO!!!!!!! (Just a dream, Juuuuuust a dream).... I do have some more soloist: 1981 BD - Soprano soloist Larry Dastrup (multiple solos) 1981 BD - Baritone soloist Doug Kenyon (multiple solos)... better known to his fans (and friends alike) as Pooh Bear. He is also WELL known for famous DCA I&E solos, having become the perennial winner of this caption until an unknown woman from Japan and David Landers showed up; a consummate professional who's mashup of "Flight of the Bumblebee" and "Play that Funky Music,"(and his revisions of it) have become famous and have won him the title on more than one occasion. 1996 VK - I rememberred the name of the screamer that joined up late (and was a BD and Freelancer Alum) Marty - (sorry no last name ...maybe JoBasset?) but he carried the handle Marty "The One-Man Party" I got the sense the nickname pre-dated 1996. My guess was he picked it up in Sacramento - oh and he marched 1993 Freelancers - Bill Chase, one of my fav shows ever. - I am almost sure he had solos in that show. He was probably the best sop player that I marched alongside ... in jr. corps. Best sop of all time? Tie - Sean Billings, Roland Garceau. Sweetest sound on any bugle? Frank Dorittie; another perennial title holder for soprano solo at DCA I&E. He would pull out some rusty, tattered old thing, with maybe a valve, maybe just a slide. And then he'd make it sing like it was a Monet Trumpet and he was on stage at the Concord Pavilion, instead of a musty, crowded back-office on a tin-can designed to get members of the 1st Marines to fall in on their racks, not to weave swingin cradenzas and velvety vibratos. (Some of those old ones really are designed as 'noise-makers' not 'musical instruments') But could u say Star 93 didnt make Music with those 2v Kings that were on their 7th DCI circuit?. A matching set, manufactured in 1987, by 93 the majority of the bugles had logged 20,000miles, 200 shows, 1,000 maybe 2,000 on-field practice hours. Some with 2 or three owners, but many on their 6th or 7th. Amazing what a little polish - some TLC and a LOT of air - can do. :) Frank, you share so much wonder and magic with all of us. Did you solo in Junior Corps? In those legendary NY and Jersey Corps and Church basements you wax so eloquently about? If so, when? what? Anthony, Signorelli, Nash, Nalls? Frank? Kelly? Gilman? Potter Brothers? Monihan? DeeDee? Peter? Alisha? .... Landers? Pooh? Minervini? Larry? Wanna help me build this here database? Please add CG solos as well. Please confine to DIV I 1980 to 1997 for now. thx. and just jr's since this is the jr forum.

Bro's entitled to his opinion - nice work putting all that together. Those of us who havent seen or heard much this yr appreciate, well, I do. (As I listen to 77 Bridgemen and hit repeat a 2nd time satisfy MY 'Jonz.') Makes me really wish I had seen the 2011 Scouts. When I marched, they were a perennial top6 corps. If I remember right there was 3-way tie for High Brass in 1995 - BD/Mad/Cavs. A friend in attendance@Finals in 1995 said the crowd stood up after the soprano-torreador-bugle-call (top of the show) and did not sit down until long after Madison had trooped the line. As a member of VK and BD, he's seen plenty ... and he said that was the most astonishing show he had EVER seen live. It's usually the show I play when I want to explain DC to a muggle.... especially the part about how "it's like marching band ... but it's NOT marching band." 95 Madison explains it much better than I can. For the Broadway fan - Miss Saigon, Fiddler or Phantom (SCV - pick your yr!) and for the classical ear: Bartok (93 Star), Shostakovich (96 PR) or The Planets (95 Cavs) Jazz? (80,81,92,93,94,96 BD) 2004 Cavs (James Bond) 90Scouts, 91,92,93Scouts too. 'course what the muggle can never understand, unless u take 'em to a late season, top6-caliber show is that all this musical magic happens while the members move at high velocity together, twisting and turning into post-modern or geometrically exacting, rotating forms; pounding the field yet somehow light as a feather- protecting the sound as they execute. Oh I should give out some viz kudos: 96 PR, 1969 Troopers, 2004, 2002 and 2007* Cavs., 1997 Cadets (see end of the opener). 93 Star. I'm leaving out a lot but this post is long enough. When Madison started ending their season on Friday night it made me REALLY SAD. :sad:With VK and Bridgemen gone, what [jr.] corps would truly say that their show design was 100 percent tailored to ENTERTAIN, with no regard to the score, other than that a very high score accompanies, or is a side effect of a darn good show? Who? Just one remained - A nod to SCV here on valuing a good show over a good score, having marched I know that coming in last but having a show that was ALL HEART and connected emotionally with the fans was preferrable to having the #1 score in the world - after putting on a flat show, we learned that the hard way. "Mailing it in" - go march/play with perfection, but leave the passion, the heart and soul on the bus, win the show ... and see what certain staff members, one in particular will have to say, to you back at the Elks lodge (see Spike's book and YouTube commentary, I was there the night we all decided that our Viz caption head was a sort of Demi-God who could control the weather to accent his wrath). I have seen too many corps slip to 10th, then 12th, then they miss Finals, then 17th, then 25th and on into oblivion .... Just knowing the Scouts are under the Saturday Night Lights made my heart swell. Along with SCV back in the top6 and Crown's continued ascension. Congrats to all, including the 2011 champ: The Cadets. I have loved Crown since I first met them after a show in North Carolina; what a great group of people. When I knew 'em they were easy-going, fun, put on a rad show and were no less committed to excellence to than any other corps. That year it was us (VK), them (Crown) Kiwanis Kavaliers, Southwind, Pioneer, The Glassmen, Les Etoiles, Boston Cru and BK duking it out for that coveted 12th spot. BK got it. Crown finished 10th - a solid finish, even back then. My Fantasy top3: SCV Madison Crown you decide the order....Finals 2015? (amps ok, but no singing or talking, just in-your-face openers, mellow, lovely ballads, psychotically odd-metered drum solos, tight pass-throughs at 180bpm, company-fronts, screaming sopranos w/ ridiculous small ensembles, section solis and at least one closer that leaves 20,000 fans in tears. *Whoever at Cavies came up w/ having the hornline do the two-person trust exercise .... IN A RIPPLE. I think that was the most visually outstanding thing I have ever seen. Finals @ UCLA. 2007.

I'm racking my brain ... have I ever played in a dome? I no-a think-so. Does the dome cause a confusing echo? I remember some stadiums where you're playing and because of the bleacher design, there's a small radio playing your show (but about 1 second behind) in your ear. The staff would usually warn us. Clay bleachers and crater-like stadiums OR stadiums that have a 10 foot high wall separating track and bleachers, are frequent culprits That's sound bouncing off the front bleachers - ricocheting to the "away-side" bleachers and THEN to your ears. A frequent culprit of front to back phasing if, say, the low brass is back-field and thinks this false "radio-beat" is the real beat and starts following it. At 120bpm (basic march tempo) that's a half-note tear! At Z-Pull, Spin-Cycle, Avalance, Jazz-running speeds, that could be a whole measure. I have seen this effect throw off even the most elite corps, especially early season. Does the dome cause a similar ricochet effect? Particularly the one in Indy? I do recall plenty of indoor standstill shows .... The Loudest Show on Earth for ex ... I do not remember it being an issue, but then again that's standstill.

whasssup? much love to my bar. brutha!! Crown rocks and everyone knows it.

Paganini or Freddy Mercury?