Cadets

[flugelswerebugels]

After all, Bluecoats and Crown had narration in their shows and they didn't get nearly the amount of negative feedback.

its about quality - Bluecoats and Crown did it well. Cadets.........not very well. It was not integrated and really did not add to the show. Still no excuse to boo, though.

[The Other Mike]

Booing is bad. Narration can be good.

Would you consider "booing" to be a form of narration ?

What if a show was written to include and promote the audiance as an active part of the show ?

Now I would consider THAT to be a little more towards some sort of a "cutting edge".

Narrator : gee Officer Krumkee ( sp ? )

Fans: #### YOU

Would that be ill mannered of the crowd it become part of the performance ?

[Jeff Ream]

The only way to guarantee booing continues is if people keep doing it. How George handles himself is one thing. How people who disagree with his positions react to him are an entirely different thing. Again, personal responsibility for one's actions is a good thing.

could be worse. he could have Philly fans on his ###. But face it, booing has been in drum corps since before my time. You can lecture people all you want, but it will happen.

[Jeff Ream]

The idiots who boo are the culprits, not George and The Cadets staff.

did I call george an idiot Mike? No I didn't. But it also doesnt take a rocket scientist to know that if I say this people will react in such and such a way, and as a result, my kids will get crap for it.

[Jeff Ream]

I could see that very much so. But also in my opinion, the kids who march cadets know it's coming, or at least i would hope so.

ALSO while i'm thinking whoever said why would someone who's providing an educational setting put those kids in that position...last timed i check..everything you LEARN educational doesn't happen at a show.

one would think they would. However, often times, the message is delivered in a way that makes it sound like the kids are horrified by these evil people. reading his blog last summer showed that he will put a spin on it to justify his means.

late edit cause i missedthe bottom statement:

I agree on not everything educational happens at the show site. But, all that work all day, every day is for THE show. I once recived boos for winning in "enemy" territory. Didn't like it, but I realized it was the hometown fans, like in a sporting event.

yet when I went to East in 06, the hometown of "sponsored by YEA", the corps that at that time called the town home recieved the majority of negative commentary in the stands

Edited May 29, 2008 by jeffsnewjetta

[raphael18]

Rant:

There may or may not be a documentary from the 70s entitled 'On the Starting Line' on youtub

Please, check it out - it's a GREAT look at corps and why we did it then (and still do). Things have changed so little in 30 years, and it seems like it could snap some of you out of your ultra-negative outlook. Perhaps some of you guys just want to fight, be negative, and call each other names...and it's sad if you do. Take a second and think about why you're even posting on this forum in the first place. The internet is not an excuse to be extremely crappy to each other. Don't burn down the forest for the trees.

/Rant

[Jeff Ream]

go away for 3 days, and look what happens....ok...here we go....

Hopkins is looking to be controversial...and it's not cutting edge.

Those that espouse people to be open-minded are close-minded about their antagonists view point...

and if it had been properly judged, it would have hurt them bunches...the judges have no way to know how to judge narration. That's one reason why George still uses it. If there was a chance it would actually lower his score, he' drop it like a really hot uh....thingy...

Doesn't take a good ear...just takes the ability to filter out the sophomoric talking. Some of us aren't wired to do that. Believe me, if I could, I would.

yes....and I think if narration wasn't used, BD would have finished in second...buy hey, I'm weird.

yes...He knows it's gonna get boo'd, yet he still does it, and then he complains about people booing his "kids". Easy way to fix it...don't do the thing that people are gonna boo at...

bubble gum is a tool available to bridge builders, but aside from Minnesota, it's not widely used, or in fact encouraged by those using said bridges.

Have 3 different drum corps shows....

1. All that's played is music...standstill.....people will pay to hear it...not as many as a regular show, but many would pay.

2. All that happens is the drill...no music...some people would pay...maybe

3. all that happens is the narration....cricket, cricket.

the MUSIC is the most important part of any drum corps show. Last year, Cadets shoved narration down our throats, and the music became secondary....hence, the intense dislike...

sure it has...other forms of musical presentation...why can't drum corps be unique? why must it be bastardized into something that already exists?

George is the scapegoat/excuse (again!) for people wanting to act like they are at a rodeo instead of at a musical event.

change "scapegoat/excuse" to "reason" and it's a true statement.

The only way to guarantee booing continues is if people keep doing it. How George handles himself is one thing. How people who disagree with his positions react to him are an entirely different thing. Again, personal responsibility for one's actions is a good thing.

Alas, George isn't doing his part to help eliminate booing. If you hit me, expect to get hit back. Throwing narration in our face is a "punch", so if we "punch" back, who is at fault? (ok, both of us are, but you can't throw a second punch if the first one never flies)

The idiots who boo are the culprits, not George and The Cadets staff.

the idiots who design a show they KNOW is going to get boo'd are the culprits. Booing is a reaction to an unfavorable action.

George Hopkins has done some INCREDIBLE things for kids and drum corps. The problem is, he knows it. He's like the super-hot chick that knows she's super-hot, and doesn't give a fig about what others think about her snotty, self-righteous, arrogant attitude. She can get by on her looks, and she knows it. George knows kids are going to come to the Cadets because, well, they are the Cadets. The kids know what they are getting into when they join the Cadets, just like guys know what they are getting into when they date the super-hot chick. In both cases, a vast amount of intelligence is going to be gained by the kids/guys...some of it good, and some of it bad.

Narration is what it is....narration. In my opinion, it has no place in a drum corps presentation. Drum corps is about music. People wonder why others get so upset about narration in drum corps. Drum corps is a PASSION. Drum corps isn't one of those things that you can look at and go....ehhh..it's ok. You either love it, or it's just marching band. Nothing inspires disagreement more than messing with someone's passion. If you looked at numbers....(yes, Mike, I'm gonna spout off numbers off the top of my head, that will most likely be disdained because they have no basis in merit or fact...) I would GUESS (that's right..guessing...*gasp*) that there MAY be 5% of people that really like drum corps that also really like narration...I'll even bump that up to 10% if that will make everyone happy. I would also guess that there is at LEAST a good 40% that pretty much despise narration in drum corps. That leaves 50% of the people that can deal with it, don't care, or can block it out during a show. You can look at that as....wow...60% of the people like narration! Or, you can look at that as OMG! 90% of the people can live without narration....

We have done poll after poll about narration, woodwinds, etc, and the incredibly vast majority have been against narration..upwards of 79% hating the Cadets 2007 show, just because of narration. Now, I know we've had the upcoming discussion of.."well, this is just dcp'ers...they aren't the real drum corps fans, etc, etc." Face it...we ARE the drum corps fans. The kids in the corps....the parents/relatives of kids in the corps, and dcp'ers. We are more than just a blip on the radar. We are a fairly accurate gallup poll of what people think of drum corps. If anything, dcp is probably more pro-narration than the normal people that don't post. It's always those in the minority that yell (post) the loudest.

Frankly, I think narration is just a crutch, because someone is out of ideas. It's not creative, it's additional.

edit..had to change my last 3 quotes to BOLDS, as apparently I exceeded the quote box limits...

there is a way to judge narration. if it isn't effective, you comment on it, why you feel that way and offer suggestion on how to fix it. GE of course. But, if you do, be prepared for a long summer

[FTNK]

Soo, The Cadets...has anyone heard the music? I've heard a lot of it...this corps could be a monster...of course that's always a possibility for The Cadets though it doesn't always happen.

[ToferVis]

Would you consider "booing" to be a form of narration ?

What if a show was written to include and promote the audiance as an active part of the show ?

Now I would consider THAT to be a little more towards some sort of a "cutting edge".

I heard Phantom was doing that this year with Spartacus....

[BigSnareline]

Soo, The Cadets...has anyone heard the music? I've heard a lot of it...this corps could be a monster...of course that's always a possibility for The Cadets though it doesn't always happen.

My bet is that they will be tight, loud, and have some of the best drill out there again this year.