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What does Vic Firth/Zildjian really get by sponsoring DCI or BOA?....they get to place a banner up at a show. When the same companies sponsor and support individual corps they get there logos on the corps trucks the logos are on the stick bags etc... All those groups get recognition through social media ( Like the Vic Firth learn the music youtube vids). All the stick/cymbal companies are getting most of their recognition from that.......Spending money for DCI to pot a banner is a waste of money in my opinion.

yup

What I have always found interesting is that even with the crowd reaction on finals night Blue Devils still won overall GE. Phantom won mainly because of the field percussion number which happened to drop every night. 3rd 19.5 quarters, 3rd 19.3 semis, 5th 19.0 finals........while their percussion ensemble number went up every night 5th 18.8 quarters, 5th 18.9 semis, and 5th 19.0 finals Ensemble percussion numbers went higher each night and ordinal remained the same............Field percussion numbers dropped by increased margin each night and the ordinals changed by two placings on finals night.

Maybe some of it has to do with the growing popularity of WGI with guards and percussion. The marching arts fan base is growing with regard to WGI......if drum corps announced during the WGI season then maybe the corps announcements would get lost within what is going on at the time. To visit the Star Wars reference brought up earlier.....as a huge Star Wars fan I am really looking forward to the new Han Solo film........I don't need or want to know what is going on with Episode 9 right now. Also with regard to comparing marketing of Star Wars vs Drum Corps. The amount of merchandise created by a Star Wars film is on a different level than that of Drum Corps marketing.......Star Wars clothing, video games, toys etc.... is a big part of that. "Hey mom and dad, can I get some drum corps action figures".....said no kid ever

I agree with 93' Freelancers......mainly because it was my ageout year :-) we were in the top 12 two weeks before finals at preview of champions

Though I did end my post with a :-) which in internet terms means that it is meant in fun and not 100% seriousness But to be honest it is pretty crazy how bent out of shape people get over these things. If someone truly does get emotional pain from a uniform design than they should probably be seeking some professional mental help. There are many other things more important in life to be upset about than uniform design.

I can't wait to see peoples reactions to some of the uniform changes that some of the more "traditional" corps are putting out on the field. Reading the emotional carnage is gonna be great.......getting the popcorn ready. :-) As far as WGI uniforms/costuming......the designs are made to bring an identity to the theme/show not the group. People might not like the look of the RCC uniform, but when you saw it in context of the show with the floor and backdrops it worked really well.

Madison '88 Cadets '89 SCV '89 Cadets '92 Star '93 Boston '02 Cadets '05

Back in my day we had full corps retreat at every show and I thought it was great. Because I was in the pit and didn't have to go to retreat. So full corps retreat allowed us to explore whatever city/town we were in, and hang out with members from other corps.

Not saying that this would have anything to do with BD hiring or how much cost it would be for Goodwin.......but Goodwin's son is the BD synth player..........just a useless trivial fun fact

Sacramento Freelancers Winter Drumline used a vocal group in the late 90's early 2000's at WGI competitions......they weren't marching or playing percussion, they were solely there to sing. I think they did a pretty good job of integrating it.

RIP Parker Silva I learned so much about music and about life during the 5 years I marched there. I honestly would not be where I am today if it weren't for being a Freelancer. There aren't enough words to thank Parker, Grace, Don, and the entire Silva family for what the Freelancers gave so many of us.

Still impressive when you consider he was a high school freshman when he marched Academy and started marching Blue Devils when he was a sophmore in high school

In my opinion, I think we (as people who have experienced and understand the activity) need to look at this show from the eyes of somebody who does't know as much as we do. Approaching the show more a human interest side will make it appeal to a wider audience. As much as some don't want to admit it, this show was not made/intended for people who already understand/love the activity. if the episodes were filled with performance clips the "outsider" watcher would think......"oh look marching band" The production of the show began in November of 2015......nobody at that time would have known that the BD vs. Bluecoats would have been more "exciting". So again, from a production stand point following the 2 corps that collectively have 27 DCI championships would make more sense. I know George Hopkins takes a lot heat on these messages boards....but I have to respect his openness and honesty so far in the series. It takes a lot to admit that things aren't working out the way he would have hoped early season......I think many directors would shy away from that.

The line regarding "Cadets and BD battling it out.....who will win" was used long before the competitive season started in June........it was most likely used to pitch the overall show to executives....and was also used almost a year ago when it was announced that this series was going to happen. And yes Bluecoats won this year but that doesn't mean the premise and quality of the show wouldn't be good. Nobody knew in when this documentary series was first under production how the season would turn out. But if you think about it closely and logically.....it makes perfect sense to use Cadets and BD......they are the 2 corps with the most championship wins...so when looking at the overall history of the activity, corps etc... they were good choices to follow.

In addition to a SoCall sweep in the Independent World Class: Gold: Pulse Silver: RCC Bronze: Broken City SoCal also swept the the Scholastic World Class: Gold: Ayala HS Silver: Chino Hills HS Bronze: Arcadia HS In the Scholastic Concert World Class SoCal had two groups represented....Ayala HA and Woodbridge HS Gold: Ayala HS Silver: Woodbridge HS It was a great weekend for the SoCal drumming/percussion activity

Much of the staff for Broken City is on staff for Blue Knights D&B corps. Mike jackson is caption head for BK and Broken City. Also on staff for Broken City is Roger Carter from Bluecoats

Was talking to a friend about Cadets 83' today. We were wondering if Cadets performing Rocky Point Holiday was the first time a DCI corps ever performed a piece of Wind Ensemble literature. and also was Cadets 83' one of the fastest tempos to date that a corps had marched?

Absolutely nothing self-righteous about this......very cool that you are doing this.

Gonna start a conspiracy theory just for fun Judges commentary stopped in 2008 because Phantom Regiment won. PR won by the margin of .025 (I think thats what it was), partial due to an abnormally low percussion score from the Blue Devils. There was no wrong doing by the percussion judge...he wrote down a fair number.....and being that as a marching member he spent one year with Phantom Regiment and one year with Blue Devils he had no allegiance to either corps. By the "powers that be", BD's percussion scores were changed from the original numbers written down by the on field judge. If the percussion judges commentary was available on the dvd, the general public would have been made aware that the judges commentary and "published score" did not match up. Thus confirming that the 2008 championship was stolen from the Blue Devils. The only way to make sure this didn't happen was to not put the judges commentary on the dvd's.......general public did not know that judges commentaries were no longer going to be on the dvd's until after the purchases were already made.

Maybe not playing it together at the end is the respectful thing to do. As stated earlier in the thread.....often members would try to get as many high notes as they could and hangover etc... It is a patriotic tune, it is not a moment for "fun", it is a moment that should be performed with respect.....there are too many variables that could mess it up......so in essence, by not playing it as a mass group, the respectable choice is made.

We have lost one of our own. http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/obituary/6835245/jason-mackenroth-rollins-band-drummer-dies-46 In addition to the above article, Jason Mackenroth was center snare for the Sacramento Freelancers in 1987 - 1988. I didn't march until 1989, but all of the vets were able to share great stories about Jason, about what a great musician and person he was.....so much so that even the members who didn't personally know him were still inspired by what he brought to the Freelancers.

Scott Johnson (BD percussion caption head) taught Colin McNutt (Cadets percussion caption head) back in 1992 at SCV. That is something cool for the tv audience

Mandarins have 8 DCI Championships More than: Cavaliers Vanguard Phantom Regiment Madison Scouts Kingsmen Crown Star of Indiana

I think one thing that has been severely overlooked with BD's guard tambourine feature is the fact that not only did they have to be visually accurate but they had to be MUSICALLY ACCURATE TOO. That is a good moment from a visual GE stand point because it was different and unique....... and also a good moment from a musical GE perspective.......the rhythmic accuracy they had while also taking into consideration how far spread apart they all were......that was no easy task. I remember a guard around 1990 also tried a tambourine feature.......only to have all of the jingles taken out two weeks into the season......so Yes...I will definitely give that tambourine feature props for being a great GE moment.