2011 Uniforms

[rkfdPRphan]

As cool as this uniform is I really wish they eventually go back to the full "Dots" look. Nothing is ever going to beat that.

Wasn't the original 'dots' on the BK uniforms really different sized white buttons that were sewn on?

[euphman89]

No changes to the Glassmen uniform this year (except a larger mirror on the top right shield), but here are some pictures of the guard. Sorry for the lack of zoom, had to use my phone to take the pictures

There are two soloists, one female (purple) and one male (white). The rest of the guard is in this electric green and black uniform.

[WOOHOO]

Absolutely, without a doubt the worst looking things the Blue Devils have EVERY put on the field. Words cannot begin to describe how bad this is. Yes, I am old school. This is my 25th season following drum corps. No uniform, BD or any other corps, can come close to the classic open jackets. That look is BD. The 94-03 unis were tolerable and I came to live with them. 04-05 were pretty bad. 06-10, especially after they switched back to white plumes, were some stripes and a skirt away from being pretty decent. But now this. I am so demoralized by this uniform, my excitement over what was their most accessible and entertaining musical book in decades has largely been sapped tonight. Drum corps is not just the music - there is a visual element and the look can enhance or detract. Like I said...I realize I am in the realm now of old fogy, but as I noted, the most recent uniform was a few tweaks from being a nice modern allusion to the open jackets. But this...it looks like the whole corps will be wearing color guard uniforms.

BD has the one of the richest and most storied histories and traditions in the activity. Why can this staff just not embrace that? Why must they be so bleeding edge for the sake of being bizarre? Retro is in in so many sports so why does a tradition-laden corps like BD thumb its nose at that very tradition? I am not just a naysayer. From what I heard on the pre-season recordings, they nailed the music this year. Absolutely nailed it. That show gave them every opportunity to come out of the gate in a modern take on the classic uniform given the era of the charts.

One week ago I was so excited about 2011. I had planned to travel to DCI Minnesota in addition to my normal trip to Murfreesboro and DCI Southeastern in Atlanta, perhaps even Finals. Now, except for the fact that I was hoping to wrap a mini-vacation trip into the Minnesota show, I do not have a lot of interest in going to drum corps show right now. Hopefully, as when Georgia Tech dropped their traditional football uniforms in 2008, I will get over this change and focus on the very positive of the show. But I truly fear that see the corps march onto the field in these uniforms will be so distracting that it will make it hard to enjoy those positives.

Am I ranting? Yes. But I really love drum corps and I love the Blue Devils, though I never marched anything more than high school band and one week in the Georgia Tech band when I was a freshman. That is why this matters to me because I see something that I have looked forward to every summer for a quarter century slipping away and turning into something that almost no longer interests me. Progress is one thing. But the changes in DCI in recent year have fundamentally detracted from what made it special and exciting to me as a huge fan. I wonder if the year that I have long dreaded has finally arrived - the year I stop caring and start counting down the days to football season now rather than the Sunday after Finals. We'll see how I feel in a week or so. :(

All this about a uniform? Yeesh, hobbies cool down the blood pressure, it's just drum corps.

My opinion on the uniforms, I don't really like any of the new ones I see. Generally, it's all either too much or not enough.

Edited June 18, 2011 by WOOHOO

[Jerseyboy]

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Edited June 18, 2011 by Jerseyboy

[dbg]

Absolutely, without a doubt the worst looking things the Blue Devils have EVERY put on the field. Words cannot begin to describe how bad this is. Yes, I am old school. This is my 25th season following drum corps. No uniform, BD or any other corps, can come close to the classic open jackets. That look is BD. The 94-03 unis were tolerable and I came to live with them. 04-05 were pretty bad. 06-10, especially after they switched back to white plumes, were some stripes and a skirt away from being pretty decent. But now this. I am so demoralized by this uniform, my excitement over what was their most accessible and entertaining musical book in decades has largely been sapped tonight. Drum corps is not just the music - there is a visual element and the look can enhance or detract. Like I said...I realize I am in the realm now of old fogy, but as I noted, the most recent uniform was a few tweaks from being a nice modern allusion to the open jackets. But this...it looks like the whole corps will be wearing color guard uniforms.

BD has the one of the richest and most storied histories and traditions in the activity. Why can this staff just not embrace that? Why must they be so bleeding edge for the sake of being bizarre? Retro is in in so many sports so why does a tradition-laden corps like BD thumb its nose at that very tradition? I am not just a naysayer. From what I heard on the pre-season recordings, they nailed the music this year. Absolutely nailed it. That show gave them every opportunity to come out of the gate in a modern take on the classic uniform given the era of the charts.

Ok.....so the old open jacket look is BD.....I would consider people like Dave Gibbs, Scott Johnson, Jay Murphy, Scott Chandler, Pete Emmons, Dave Glyde, Wayne Downey, John Meehan......you know, people currently involved with BD and some of them for even longer than the 25 years you have followed drum corps...to know more about what "the BD look" actually is........just sayin

Why can't the staff embrace the most storied history and traditions of the activity.......ok you mean like the same above staff....in which some have been invloved with BD for every one of their 14 championships......Like Dave Gibbs....as a performer, instructor, and director.....or Scott Johnson as a performer, instructor, caption head.....or Wayne Downey as brass arranger and Instructor.......maybe it has been that non-embracing that has brought them 14 champinships.....and how many brass, guard, and drum titles.......maybe the real BD tradition is performance quality and innovative design....14 championships.....just sayin

"That show gave them every opportunity to come out of the gate in a modern take on the classic uniform given the era of the charts"......Um ya......isn't that kind of what the uniform actually is......some color scheme......still got the white in the middle of the chest like the open jacket uniform....blue top....black pants....the old drop sash is now modernized to be bigger .......the stripes down side of the leg on the old uniform style are now in different places......small symmetrical pinstriping on the old style jackets that could probably never really be seen from up high are now replaced with larger stripes in a asymmetrical design........so a "Modern take on the classic uniform"......I'd say they nailed it........just sayin

[Cainan]

A uniform is a uniform. Just that. It does not define a corps by itself. The members do. The uniform is just clothing. I marched in the Freelancers. I wore that red cadet for 6 seasons. I loved that uniform. I would fight you over that uniform. That said, we did mess about with it in my years there. Black plumes, spats, silver cumber buns, white pants, black gauntlets, flap open, flap closed... all these were tried in my time there. If the corps were still around today, do I think they would be wearing the same uniform we did 20 years ago when I marched? I absolutely do not. My corps was known for trying things, for taking chances. They would still be the same corps just with a different visual identity.

I still do not like BD's look but let's be honest, it aint permanent. Corps today tailor the uniform to the show. They are not uniforms anymore... more like costumes with a basic theme. Phantom looks TOTALLY different this season compared to last but there is no doubt whatsoever who they are when you see them. Same goes for Crown, Cadets and Troopers.

Academy's uni is growing on me though. I think there is a ton of potential there. BUt then again, Academy is in the enviable position of being new enough not to have a visual identity yet. Good on them for stepping out and trying to break the mold a bit.

[Mello Dude]

"HI, BILLY MAYS HERE, AND I WANT TO SHOW YOU THE AWESOME POWER OF THE TROOPERS! ARE YOU LOOKING FOR DRUM CORPS? WELL HAVE I GOT A DEAL FOR YOU!"

LOL I was thinking the same #### thing!

[jjeffeory]

LOL I was thinking the same #### thing!

Honestly, I was thinking "Cool".

No biggie. I like the uniform.

[skajerk]

A uniform is a uniform. Just that. It does not define a corps by itself. The members do. The uniform is just clothing. I marched in the Freelancers. I wore that red cadet for 6 seasons. I loved that uniform. I would fight you over that uniform. That said, we did mess about with it in my years there. Black plumes, spats, silver cumber buns, white pants, black gauntlets, flap open, flap closed... all these were tried in my time there. If the corps were still around today, do I think they would be wearing the same uniform we did 20 years ago when I marched? I absolutely do not. My corps was known for trying things, for taking chances. They would still be the same corps just with a different visual identity.

I still do not like BD's look but let's be honest, it aint permanent. Corps today tailor the uniform to the show. They are not uniforms anymore... more like costumes with a basic theme. Phantom looks TOTALLY different this season compared to last but there is no doubt whatsoever who they are when you see them. Same goes for Crown, Cadets and Troopers.

Academy's uni is growing on me though. I think there is a ton of potential there. BUt then again, Academy is in the enviable position of being new enough not to have a visual identity yet. Good on them for stepping out and trying to break the mold a bit.

I agree with you to a point. The one area I disagree with you regards the Troopers. IMO, their uni does help in defining the corps and they've gotten far away from it. On their website and anytime DCI does an article on them, a reference is always made about their unis being modeled after the 11th Ohio cavalry. That used to be the case but not anymore. The unis now don't even come close to ANY 19th century cavalry unit (who all had pretty much the same basic look):

Anyway, that's just what I think.

Edited June 18, 2011 by skajerk

[Cainan]

Randy.. i am an American Civil War living historian, I am most definitely familiar with the Union Army cavalry uniform as I had one of their bloody horses trod on me at an event last year as I was "dead" on the ground! Not a pleasant experience!!

As much as I wish Troop would go back to their roots on the uniforms, i know they probably wont as to remain competitive, they need to display clean visual lines. I feel taht the new uniform is a nice homage to tradition. I would however LOVE it if somehow they could do a "turn back the clock" night kinda like baseball and wear the old unis on occasion. I know it's not really practical but I still think it would be cool!