gottalovit Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 (edited) In 2006, when finals were in Madison, I saw a small corps that came out on the field wearing black pants, and red t shirts. They performed the music of Earth Wind and Fire, and put on a really great show. They were from either New York, or New Jersey, and when they performed, you could just tell they were having a great time on the field. I feel horrible, that I can't remember the name of the corps right now, and most of my apd cds are packed up as I just recently moved. And I didn't see their name in the DII/III active corps list this last year on the DCI website. So I am hoping they are still active. That weekend when I went to buy a t-shirt or other souvie from them, I couldn't find a booth for them, so I don't know if they were only there that day, or if they didn't even bring a souvie booth. So this has brought a couple of questions to mind. If one or more of the top corps were having financial difficulties(let's just say for example Phantom Regiment or Madison Scouts), and their uniforms were in very bad condition, would you be accepting if they were to perform in black jeans and a t shirt, rather than spending money on new uniforms? Would judges penalize a corps for wearing this attire? One of the reasons I bring this up, I was a volunteer with a corps that folded a while back. After 5 years of being inactive, we were finally able to bring a corps to the field again. I was so excited to see this. When we folded, we had marched close to 120 members, and we when hit the field we had about 30 members. It's a start. And while I admire the director for bringing the corps back to the field, one of the decisions I was kind of disappointed in was the fact that instead of using the 85 uniforms we had used previously for the 23 member needing them(not including the guard). Unfortunately after that one season, the finances were not there to field another corps, and we have been inactive since, and as of last word, will never field a corps again :( So, given a choice of new uniforms, or using what may be available or inexpensive(jeans and a t shirt, or styled shirt of some choice), or having more financial problems, would you approve of a corps doing something like this? Personally, I would rather see a corps like Phantom or Scouts on the field in jeans and t shirts, rather than not seeing them at all. Another thing I have wondered, is a few of the smaller corps don't seem to have merchandise booths at finals week, and I was wondering if somehow they could all go together(either on their own, or having DCI run it) and set up one great big booth, with merchandise from all the small corps. I understand when you have a small corps, sometimes it is harder to get volunteers to run the stand, but it would be nice if they could be represented during finals week, and at some of the major shows, to at least advertise the fact that they are there. Or even if some of the World Class corps couldn't find someone to run theirs, maybe combine some booths. I know most corps need every single cent they can come up with to survive, and it would be nice to see some teamwork between the corps and DCI to help everyone. Edited January 15, 2008 by gottalovit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glory Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 If the only two choices are marching without unis or not marching at all, of course I'd opt for marching without unis. That's a shame, though. I tend to think being "uniform" is part of the experience and therefore ought to be a component of the recovery plan. I understand that sometimes tough choices have to be made. It's just a shame not to have unis. HH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copyright Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 gottaloveit, I know exactly who you are talking about, and I had wished there had been another season. You are right, those new unis, although I am sure they smelled better than the old ones, wasnt the wisest choice. But there were other things that didnt make sense either, like taking the corps to finals that year. But to your topic, I dont think passionate and large alumni base of a corps like Phantom or Madison would allow them to perform in jeans. And I am sure if money was tight enough and the corps was in that position, a series of emails/phonecalls/newsletters would go out to alumni and money would be rolling in. Of course, even after all of the donations - there are certain corps that still get the uniforms for free (and I'm not talking about Open Class unfortunately). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slow Adam Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 The name of the corps was Vision Elite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gottalovit Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 The name of the corps was Vision Elite. Thank you so much, and I apologize to Vision Elite for not remembering the name. I hadn't seen them before that year, and I thought they put out a great show. I didn't see them listed at any shows this last season, does anyone know are they still active? I hope they are, and I would have loved to have bought a t-shirt or something from them in Madison that year, but they must have pulled out their booth before the weekend, or else they didn't have one there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzEuph Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Has a corps ever borrowed unis from a high school? In that matter, has there ever been a corps that is affiliated with a high school. Each would benefit in sharing horns, equipment, uniforms, etc. It would be difficult if band camp were during tour then the high school would be out of horns (or atleast the best ones). Sharing uniforms might ruin them quicker, but given that the band is larger wind wise it might be cheaper for the corps. I am sure there are lots of other positives too. Would local people be upset to see their hometown corps wearing that of X high school? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevingamin Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Has a corps ever borrowed unis from a high school? In that matter, has there ever been a corps that is affiliated with a high school. Each would benefit in sharing horns, equipment, uniforms, etc. It would be difficult if band camp were during tour then the high school would be out of horns (or atleast the best ones). Sharing uniforms might ruin them quicker, but given that the band is larger wind wise it might be cheaper for the corps. I am sure there are lots of other positives too.Would local people be upset to see their hometown corps wearing that of X high school? Southwind rented the uniforms of Broken Arrow High School for 2004-2006. North Port High School has a drum and bugle corps instead of a marching band. Hawthorne Gold is a drum corps affiliated with a high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webslinger Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Look at what the Velvet Knights did back in the early 80's, with what has to be one of the most memorable uniforms, short of the Bayonne "bananna" coats. Due to lack of funds, they went to a thrift store, bought the khaki pants, got the aloha shirts from some chain store, and together with the straw hats and Vans sneakers, fielded one kick#$% corps. They spent like 25.00 per person (adjust for inflation)... Uniforms dont have to be fancy, expensive, stylish garb. They only have to present one common image among the members... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copyright Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 A recent corps that I remember was Eklipse from Murray, KY. I believe they borrowed uniforms from Murray HS, and brass was borrowed from Center Grove and Murray State. They were a good little drum corps, unfortunately they didnt hang around very long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skajerk Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Look at what the Velvet Knights did back in the early 80's, with what has to be one of the most memorable uniforms, short of the Bayonne "bananna" coats. Due to lack of funds, they went to a thrift store, bought the khaki pants, got the aloha shirts from some chain store, and together with the straw hats and Vans sneakers, fielded one kick#$% corps. They spent like 25.00 per person (adjust for inflation)...Uniforms dont have to be fancy, expensive, stylish garb. They only have to present one common image among the members... And still one of my favorite uniforms. Not the best pic, but here you go... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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