drummergold07 Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Serves Peter LaFlamme right. I was a Spartan and it was a great organization because of its staff. Well because of Peter that entire staff is gone now and Spartans is nothing. I am ashamed to see the direction that the corps has gone in. I do not take anything away from the members but I do take away from the selfish corps director. Spartans is not what I remember it to be when we won only 2 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Brace Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Serves Peter LaFlamme right. I was a Spartan and it was a great organization because of its staff. Well because of Peter that entire staff is gone now and Spartans is nothing. I am ashamed to see the direction that the corps has gone in. I do not take anything away from the members but I do take away from the selfish corps director. Spartans is not what I remember it to be when we won only 2 years ago. I've seen it posted before that Peter LaFlamme was sometimes hard to get along with. And you are right...the corps built quite a staff and was really moving steadily toward World Class. It seems like just as they were getting the World Class evaluation nod, everything was blowing up within the organization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Ummm...yeah...flinging speculations...yeah...DCP NEVER does that...no. Not ever.So...since we are speculating...something again, DCP does well it comes down to Peter. Really...does he really want to continue doing this? Does he...would he ever...give up control of this drum corps? Can anyone do it better than Peter did? See...this org is very typical of what has ailed not just drum corps but businesses and other entities over the past 30-40 years. LIFE AIN'T STAGNANT FOLKS! You just simply can't continue to do the same old stuff every year...Bingo...staff...whatever it is and expect it to work. And if you notice life outside of drum corps as an example..decline seldom happens slowly. Building something up can take decades...even centuries...wiping it out...a matter of a bad year or two. The Spartans thing has been a bit of a shock over the past year and really goes to the point of how thoroughly DCI evaluates corps. I mean this organization was approved and on the verge of being a World Class drum corps. It seemed to be building to that purpose and then it seemed to spiral downward from there. And what happened to all those young people who marched two years ago...were all of them age outs? Did they decide Spartans wasn't where they wanted to be? Were they sold on becoming a World Class corps and when that didn't materialize they bolted? Now to be fair...the organization...from their web presence seems strong, active and building. There are nice reports from the Open House and it almost appears a rallying of some type is taking place. Adversity can do that better than many things at building things back up. So, I believe it premature to get out the hammer and nails for the coffin lid. But, the Open Class model can't be the best thing for sustaining a drum corps. Someone crunched the numbers of how much more has to be raised beyond membership dues to support a typical Open Class corps versus a World Class corps. Those performance fees in World Class certainly do matter on the bottom line. Good luck Spartans as you whether through and persevere...it's one of those neverending drum corps lessons. My favorite..."What doesn't kill you...only makes you stronger." Well-said, Tom. I too wish the Spartans well... Lord knows we don't need to lose another drum corps. Fran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArgonneRebel Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 So...any former member who says "serves Peter right" clearly wasn't paying attention when the rest of us learned what it was like to be a member of that corps. Seeing this happen to a once great corps kills me inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caesar Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 (edited) So...any former member who says "serves Peter right" clearly wasn't paying attention when the rest of us learned what it was like to be a member of that corps. Seeing this happen to a once great corps kills me inside. Of course the former members have a right to stay that! He's the reason why the drum corps is no longer what it was. Any past member has the right to blame the administration for what has been going on. Edited November 27, 2008 by Caesar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECJ_Tuba Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 As once a member of East Coast Jazz, when it comes to this you kind of just have to role with the punches. Administration decistions like these are out of the members control. I am very sorry to see Spartans go the way of the jazz, however, when greed and stubbornness and pride gets in the way this is what happens. It is a shame! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbass598 Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 That's what I mean. Not every corps can win ALL the time. The Spartans seem to be going through a transitional phase right now. Last year was a rebuilding year, obviously. But they did alright. I think it may be a bit premature to assume the corps is in the toilet just because they are selling off their hall. Maybe downsizing to cut losses and balance the budget. I don't know the answer. But I prefer to be optimistic rather than assume the worst. Just to clarify, it doesn't appear from what i'm reading here that THEY are selling off their corps halls. I work in the mortgage business. It would only go to foreclosure sale if they stopped making payments on the facility for a period of months. If they were legitimately downsizing, they should have sold the building before it got to this point that they stopped making payments on the building. Knowing what I know about the industry, people usually only get to this point when they flat out don't have the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelloHorn13 Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 As once a member of East Coast Jazz, when it comes to this you kind of just have to role with the punches. Administration decistions like these are out of the members control. I am very sorry to see Spartans go the way of the jazz, however, when greed and stubbornness and pride gets in the way this is what happens. It is a shame! Ditto. And to all you "serves him right" people. Get over yourselves. DCP doesn't change. disturbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpinMeToSleep Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I wouldn't tell all former members to get over themselves. That's a hard thing to go through as a member especially coming off a gold medal in '07. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Unless an official announcement has been made by the organization, anything and everything pertaining to a rumor will be removed per DCP guidelines. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.