Remember when Glassmen were the talk of Drum Corps late 90's?

[thecadet20012001]

I did march there in those years and I have had talks with the Director about the direction and I respect him very very very much.

I feel that there is staff there that has no business teaching a drum corps, especially in the visual dept along with some of the brass staff. I had told the Director how 1999 was the best summer of my life drum corps wise and I loved it. We marched our ##### off and had a great horn sound. He replied with thats cause we beat you guys that summer. It did not seem to him that he enjoyed it like I Know we the members did. It seems Glassmen now enjoys getting 12th place more than what it took to get 5th place back in 98 and 99. I loved the journey to get there and the stress of the summer. Thats what being a top 6 corps is all about and unless your goal is to become that than your not giving the kids the best experience they can possibly have. If you push push push and work in the offseason to hire the right people to get you there and the right show to be there and work all summer towards finishing in the top 5 if your a bottom 6 corps and you finish 12th you still gave the kids the right journey. You probably would have finished 17th if you would not have worked as hard so in a sense you did win in a way and the kids and you took a 17th place corps and made it a 12th place corps. Thats what Drum corps is about. You turn bread crums into loafs of bread.

[rut-roh]

He replied with thats cause we beat you guys that summer. It did not seem to him that he enjoyed it like I Know we the members did.

Are you really prepared to speak for everyone in the drum corps with that statement? Could it not be that as director, Mr. Hickman interacted with the entire membership of the corps and staff more often than you did during and after that season and many of the members might have expressed to him that it wasn't as enjoyable as YOUR experience? Just a thought...

I loved the journey to get there and the stress of the summer.

...which is GREAT. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Perhaps many of the people you marched with didn't feel the same way. Perhaps they didn't feel that, in the end, it was worth all that stress. Staff included. The bottom line is, you're talking about an organization of over 150 people, and that moment when the scores are announced at finals is such a small part of what that journey is truly all about. It's important, don't get me wrong. But it's not the only important thing. Again, just a thought to consider...these are general statements that can be applied to ANY corps, not just the Glassmen of the late 90's.

[VKMello84]

I feel that there is staff there that has no business teaching a drum corps. . .

This may well not be unique to The Glassmen.

[silvertrombone]

I did march there in those years and I have had talks with the Director about the direction and I respect him very very very much.

I feel that there is staff there that has no business teaching a drum corps, Stopped reading about here

Hey, you found the CAPS LOCK KEY! Thank you!

I find it interesting to see people make comments like "staff with no business teaching a drum corps." Maybe I'm not the best person to voice this with my seemingly relentless criticism of my corps' calendar of putting their final product on the field. But I don't think I have ever questioned who is in charge in terms of their qualifications. It's usually what they're doing and the timing of it. The strategy is great, if only a week or two late.

But to completely question somebody's presence...I have to ask what your educational qualifications are in order to make such a statement. When I question a management decision, I bring a certain business acumen to the table. I hope that you reply and inform me that you have a Bachelor's in Music Education from, like, Indiana, and a Master's in Performance or Conducting from Rochester. I know you have marched DCI more than I, for which I give credit. And I know that I can make some pretty over-the-top statements on here at times, too, to which I admit and occassionally apologize for.

But some of your statements...man, tone it down!

You have to also remember two things: 1.) Phantom was down and out back then; 2.) Glassmen attempted an INCREDIBLY mature show topic this season, and pulled it off quite well, IMO. Just a very competitive year. I would bet that your corps and mine the years that we marched simply don't compete with today's for quality across the board. And I suspect that applies to most of the staffs, too.

Gypsies are an incredibly vibrant people group, with a LOT of spirit and verve that are very hard to portray by non-Gypsies. This was part of my critique after San Antonio, that Glassmen were biting off perhaps too much, or at the least, that they needed another few weeks to "grow into" the role.

They did this marvelously. Revel in their show--one of my favorites this year, and one of the most entertaining! Placement, for once, this year, was almost irrelevent. Score definitely was, by extension. This year, if you were in finals, it was an amazing accomplishment, and one that you and all Glassmen alum should be proud of and supportive of the corps for.

And tone down your rhetoric some.

[chadwick]

I thought their show kicked a** this year frankly. Someone stated this in another thread, and its been stated many times, but it needs repeating I think. Everyone wants corps X to move up the ranks, to go back to where they once placed however many years ago, but in order to do that, other corps have to drop back. Just because a corps drops back in the rankings doesn't mean they are any less competitive or less entertaining than they were at one point in the past. Its like some people don't realize that all corps can't finish in the top 5....in order for someone to move up, someone has to fall back.

Keep up the good work Glassmen...I've been a huge fan of the shows the past couple seasons.

[Will]

Well, I know I miss the Glassmen Color Guard from 1996-2000, BUT I think that the staff they have now are doing a great job! Also, give the corps a break! So maybe their recent shows haven't been as exciting as the ones from 1997-2000, but they are still very good. If Brian Hickman felt his staff wasn't doing a good job, he would most likely get rid of them and hire someone else.

Congrats Glassmen on another finals performance!!

[HoltonH178]

You, my friend, put far too much emphasis on placement. The Glassmen's 2007 show was every bit as innovative and entertaining as the 1999 show (which, I might add, is my all-time favorite drum corps show). Maybe the Glassmen aren't on the heels of the Cadets and Cavaliers in numbers like they used to be, but they are still the Glassmen on the field for over 40 years now, and that's far more important. The organization has one of the best administrations in drum corps, and continues to offer all of its members an experience of a lifetime. Maybe instead of complaining you should offer some of your time or money?

P.S. did you leave the top 5 Glassmen to march the Cadets? 'Cause that might help explain part of the reason why the corps isn't where you think it "should be."

[thecadet20012001]

You, my friend, put far too much emphasis on placement. The Glassmen's 2007 show was every bit as innovative and entertaining as the 1999 show (which, I might add, is my all-time favorite drum corps show). Maybe the Glassmen aren't on the heels of the Cadets and Cavaliers in numbers like they used to be, but they are still the Glassmen on the field for over 40 years now, and that's far more important. The organization has one of the best administrations in drum corps, and continues to offer all of its members an experience of a lifetime. Maybe instead of complaining you should offer some of your time or money?

P.S. did you leave the top 5 Glassmen to march the Cadets? 'Cause that might help explain part of the reason why the corps isn't where you think it "should be."

YOu know what I get so annoyed when people in drum corp say "you put too much emphasis on placement" WELL THEN WHY THE #### COMPETE IF IT DOES NOT MATTER? We might as well just all play whatever we want and have some fans come and cheer us on right. Cause with what your saying all that matters is the performance and the experience. I'm not saying that does not matter Because it is a huge part of the activity, but the four years I marched my worse experience was in 2000 when at glassmen we placed 8th and my best experience was Two years. Visually it was glassmen 99. Musically it was Cadets 01. My point is usually a good year whatever a good year for that drum corps might be. Sometimes agood year for a corps is finishing 12th sometimes 8th sometimes 5th and sometimes 1st or 2nd. Whatever the standards are for that corps meaning they went behond expectations is a much better experience than always falling short of your goals. Why do you think people leave glassmen, colts, blue knights and all the others to go to Cadets, Blue Devils, Cavies, SCV and now once again Phantom? Answer TO WIN. Or come damm near close trying. To be the best to be around the best. Everyone wants to be a winner and everyone loves a winner. Some drum Corps people kid themeselves in saying its all about the performance and the experience of getting up and working hard. Well guess what it aint worth it unless your competing at the level you went to that corps to expect to compete at. I don't know what else to say. I'm so frustrated right now. By the way I did leave Glassmen to go to Cadets because along with about 5 other vets that left and went to BD that same year after 2000. If we would have been 4th or 5th again I guarantee 4 out of 5 of us would not have left. SO does winning still not matter?

[gbass598]

I think the staff they brought in this year speaks for something.

I know they guys teaching the percussion program this year are very well qualified and experienced at what they do.

I also believe the return of Sal Salas and the addition of Mark Waymire to the brass staff accounts for something.

I just don't think everyone can be happy. I was a member in '98 and it seemed everyone loved us that year. Then the boring tag started after that. Even though the corps was finishing 5th during the course of 3 out of 5 seasons, people thought they were boring. Now that they have brought a bit of an entertainment factor back to their performances but finish in the 10-11 range, people now criticize that they aren't scoring in the 5th place range anymore.

I believe this season was a step in the right direction to getting back to momentum that was established in the late 90's. As an alumni, I trust the people in charge are doing the right thing for the organization to insure its stability and competitive status for many years to come.

[thecadet20012001]

By the way there was nothing better than in 1998 being an underdog drum corps and beating phantom and cavies in the same night on JUNE 16th 1998. The next two weeks the staff got more intense and they were all former Cadets brass staff and they went from accepting some things to realizing how far we can go and we got pushed harder than I ever have. Frank Williams running brass rehearsals in 100 degree weather making us keep our horns up what seemed for hours. Larry telling us this is about playing the game boys and girls. You have just joined the best part about this activity. HOt tired and knowing you had a chance to win when you went into a show with Cavies and phantom and Madison back then who was good. YOu worked for it. we were playing at the next level and the staff and members were loving it. 99 was even better with bigger expectations and top design with more talent.

Top corps like BD coming to watch your visual warm up. Kids at glassmen don't experience things like that anymore. thats my point