somerville Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Personally, I don't want to see any corps go under. From a small class A to a large world corps. There are too few left. 25 years ago there were tons of corps. Today not tons. Very sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajwdad Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 That's something I'm not so sure about. We heard the same thing when they changed the bingo laws in '07 or '08 that BDB or BDC would be going away according to their BOD, and last time I looked, both of those corps are doing just fine. I really would hate to see anything bad happen to the organization as a whole, but trying to create a monopoly for their own usage seems a bit much. I hope the best for the Blue Devils, both financially and competitively, but I don't quite see this as the death-knell people are making it out to be.And if they lose the bingo program, I'm sure that the money that they are raking in with System Blue could pick up the slack. I've seen corps run on far less money than the BD organization, so I really do believe they will survive this. Who can tell the future? but around 1/2 of their revenue comes from this source and it is in jeopardy. As for a death knoll, who knows how the budget cuts will affect the various corps and activities? I don't. But, I take the threat quite seriously having been the general manager of several fairly large businesses. The monopoly argument is BS. SCV has a bingo just 45 minutes away. This one is 3 miles away. Very few city governments in this state have gambling establishments that close to together. Those that do have HUGE local population, and a lot of police problems. There are indian gambling places close as well. The The organization trying to do this is taking advantage of a crappy economy and looking for a loophole in Ca law to be able to use gambling to get rich in real estate. BTW, gambling (and bingo) is very highly regulated in this state, but commercial real estate rentals are not that regulated. Hence the loophole. And BD actually lets other non-profits do bingo and even supports other non-profits. Our laws are pretty clear about running the bingo. So, the owner cannot run it, but he forms a partnership (not in the legal sense) so that he can make money on the building and establish a gambling place of business. This is not about Bingo for him, but about real estate and gambling. He has similar proposals in Sacramento and other cities, and so far, the other cities are doing the due diligence on the projects. Concord has fast-tracked the proposal and circumvented the normal, legal due process that would be required if either you or I tried this. You seem very sure that this threat is not real based on other sources of income etc... Personally, I tend to trust the organization with the facts about their budgets more than someone without the facts. Bottom line, this is a serious threat. Likely at least part of BD will survive and carry on. But, at what expense? Higher costs for the kids? fewer tours, fewer B and C corps at worlds? For us in the BD world, that is a serious concern, and we will do what we can to protect the organization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestCoaster Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 I do not hate the Blue Devils. You have a very nice drum corps. That's a Cavies quote. Thanks for the positive I.D., you are representing your organization in a very classy way bro. I'm sure the drum corps community appreciates having folks around like you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lead Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 no offense, but you marching in a top 5 corps is 100% irrelevant.I'm glad you had a close-up. I had a close-up in the theater show beamed live around the country in 2006, but I don't feel special. You shouldn't feel special either. I care for all the corps and the activity too. Does BD? A. It's 100% relevant based on the fact that in a post and in your signature you claim your thoughts represent me. B. It's not about that, only that you could identify me in that way should you need further proof that I marched, and that [A] above is ignorant of you. C. Your unwarranted letter to the Concord City Council, the hilarity with which you posted on this forum when you announced its sending, and your posts in other forums throughout this site strongly indicate the opposite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuriousMe Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 That's a Cavies quote.Thanks for the positive I.D., you are representing your organization in a very classy way bro. I'm sure the drum corps community appreciates having folks around like you. Not just a Cavies quote.....I can think of at least two other corps' that use that as a stock answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dckid80 Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Amazing how with all the venom in this thread the activity has survived at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaddyt Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 You're right... so how many people should suffer before it is ok to care about them? Right now we have the entire population of Concord, which is roughly 120,000 people. Obviously that number is not enough in your mind.Oh, but they help 400 kids... 400/120000 is a good percentage, right? Sorry, man. I'm just not buying into your faux outrage on this topic and your sudden empathy towards The Plight of Concord. Are you suggesting the entire population of the city will suffer at the hands of the Blue Devils if Gibbs gets his way? Really??? Even if you had some valid points (which you may), I don't think I'd be able to see them through your overly-dramatic presentation. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to try and figure out how this story hasn't pre-empted and bumped the oil spill from the headlines. 120,000 people are in danger and this madman Gibbs is still loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plan9 Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 (edited) Amazing how with all the venom in this thread the activity has survived at all... If BD was in 15th place this thread would be on page 4 by now. Losers hating winners...period! The age old axiom alive and well! With every anti-BD post it's made even more true. Can't beat em' on the field so we'll make another feeble attempt this year, to beat them on the Dell. What a joke! Chairs, mirrors, dissonent music, blah, blah, blah! 14! Edited July 10, 2010 by Plan9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 I am from Chesterton and I spent the first 20 years of my life there (Small world Mr. Boo!), and it's a great place to live. In fact, my folks still live there along with 99% of the rest of my extended family.Other cool things about Chesterton: Their marching band won BOA (then MBA) Grand Nationals in 1981, the marching band equivalent of a DCI title. I would be shocked if there weren't people on DCP that knew some history about the Chesterton Trojan Guard or their former director Al Castronovo, who was killed in a car accident. ... Well, drop me a line next time you're in town to see them. (Unless you've been ostracized and can't come back to town.) Even though I was still living in Illinois, I knew Al from when he was still at Crown Point, and even was at his house for something after he moved here. He was an amazing person. I had relatives in his bands. (My dad's side is from here, as was Dad.) I encourage people to step on each other to come here. We need more workers at the Taco Bell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Don't you WANT them to stay good neighbors?? Only if there's something in it for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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