Calistar Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 (edited) One thing I left out: While I am not a parent myself, I can understand completely your concern for the care and well being of your child when you are not around to do something about the situation. I am not faulting anyone for that. However, anyone over the age of 18 is legally considered an adult. Marching in ANY drum corps is a privilege and not a right. I can't help but wonder if anyone would be saying this kind of thing if it were the Blue Devils, the Cavaliers, the Santa Clara Vanguard, or any of the other typically "top 12" corps. You know what...I was seriously considering what you were saying until you started telling people to "go to hell". That was completely juvenile and you lost a lot of validity in the process. Although I am not a Revo parent, I AM a parent of a 20-year-old Open Class Musician. And just because he is 20, he does NOT stop being my son. When he leaves on the bus with the rest of the corps, I entrust his care to the staff and especially the director. The director of Revo came on this forum and admited that he instructed staff to leave the entire battery behind in Indianapolis. For me, this is where it starts and ends. I don't care WHAT they did (in this case, they refused to perform in a parade) and I don't care if the director is paid a million dollars or zero dollars...YOU MAKE SURE THEY GET HOME SAFELY. I understand your loyalty to Revo and don't want to see them go down the tubes (noboday wants that) but in this case I think your anger is misdirected. Cali. Edited August 17, 2011 by Calistar 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Monk Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 "Saturday morning I get a call saying that the percussion staff had left cause they were fired and the battery decided it would not do the parade. I did tell Bryan that the parade is a required performance and anyone not willfully participating would have to find their own way back since the average age of the battery was 20 I was not going to let that defiance ruin the trip back because if they did not follow directions here I did not want Bryan to have to deal with their behavior on the ride back and give the younger members reason to ignore the rules." That is from John Rodriguez's own post. My anger, however misdirected, is still valid. You fail to see in the process that John had and always has had, both in the past and the present, the interest of what's best for the WHOLE corps. In any contract, no matter in drum corps or anything else, if one party fails to abide by the terms and conditions of the ENTIRE contract, the contract then becomes null and void, and the responsibility ends there. Under the age of 18, I absolutely agree that the responsibility still remains to see to the safety and well-being of a minor. However, the statement was made that ANYONE not willfully participating would have to find their own way back. That would have applied to staff as well, knowing John. I may have discretided myself telling someone to "go to hell", and I apologize for it. However, I hate to see John's name dragged through the mud and run into the ground like he is the sole antagonist/cause of the situation. There are a LOT more pieces to this puzzle than anyone who was not involved at the admin level will ever know, and it's simply not fair to him. John was director of the corps, book keeper, tour scheduler, and everything else when I was part of the corps. ALL on his shoulders, and he never got any money for it. It's simply not fair to him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 With all due respect, if he was having trouble doing basic things like feeding and housing the corps, who exactly failed to hold up their end of the contract first? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueRevo Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 "Saturday morning I get a call saying that the percussion staff had left cause they were fired and the battery decided it would not do the parade. I did tell Bryan that the parade is a required performance and anyone not willfully participating would have to find their own way back since the average age of the battery was 20 I was not going to let that defiance ruin the trip back because if they did not follow directions here I did not want Bryan to have to deal with their behavior on the ride back and give the younger members reason to ignore the rules." That is from John Rodriguez's own post. My anger, however misdirected, is still valid. You fail to see in the process that John had and always has had, both in the past and the present, the interest of what's best for the WHOLE corps. In any contract, no matter in drum corps or anything else, if one party fails to abide by the terms and conditions of the ENTIRE contract, the contract then becomes null and void, and the responsibility ends there. Under the age of 18, I absolutely agree that the responsibility still remains to see to the safety and well-being of a minor. However, the statement was made that ANYONE not willfully participating would have to find their own way back. That would have applied to staff as well, knowing John. I may have discretided myself telling someone to "go to hell", and I apologize for it. However, I hate to see John's name dragged through the mud and run into the ground like he is the sole antagonist/cause of the situation. There are a LOT more pieces to this puzzle than anyone who was not involved at the admin level will ever know, and it's simply not fair to him. John was director of the corps, book keeper, tour scheduler, and everything else when I was part of the corps. ALL on his shoulders, and he never got any money for it. It's simply not fair to him. Monk, I think everyone's said what needs to be said. DCI is aware of the situation. I would like to see everyone come out of this clean, but it's not going to happen. I have a love for the Revolution YPA, the organization, but I don't see this as being productive or informative anymore. I'm sure the remaining staff is doing what they can to salvage the organization or making plans for it's dissolution. No more facts are being offered now nor are valid rebuttals. Although, events that transpired are important and require resolution, this forum is further marring any positive experiences or memories the members may have had. I'm making a plea for all who have greviances to handle the rest through Dan Acheson at DCI and John Rodriguez and NOT in this forum. If I were a member and was reading this after marching a, otherwise, successful tour, it would rip my heart out. I have not been on the staff for years, but I try to stay close, because I LOVE DRUM CORPS. I would hope to see this resolved, and see Revolution come up with a "Resolution." I would like to see Revolution continue....just a lot cleaner on and off the field. lol Heck, we should rename the corps "Phoenix." It burns up,...hopefully it will rise from the ashes again. Much Love to Ya'll Doug McCarroll Revo Dir, 2001-2002 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kansasDC Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Benn there (2005), done that, would NEVER do it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooldbc Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 (edited) That is from John Rodriguez's own post. My anger, however misdirected, is still valid. You fail to see in the process that John had and always has had, both in the past and the present, the interest of what's best for the WHOLE corps. In any contract, no matter in drum corps or anything else, if one party fails to abide by the terms and conditions of the ENTIRE contract, the contract then becomes null and void, and the responsibility ends there. Under the age of 18, I absolutely agree that the responsibility still remains to see to the safety and well-being of a minor. However, the statement was made that ANYONE not willfully participating would have to find their own way back. That would have applied to staff as well, knowing John. OK, Joseph. I agree with your fundamental premise. A contract must be honored. We all agree with that. So...If a MM does not pay all of his dues, doesn't he break the contract? Most drum corps contracts state that the MM must pay 100% of his financial obligations to the corps, including tour fees, camp fees, equipment fees, etc. Under virtually all forms of contract law, failure to pay for services rendered is called a material breach. It generally releases the other party from the obligation of the contract. Insubordination is also generally considered a form of material breach, especially when it comes to employment and labor contracts. So why isn't the Revo management removing the members on tour who did not pay the entire fees? They are just as guilty of violating their contract as the percussion members who were insubordinate. Indeed, if they had paid the entirety of their fees, this entire mess would not have happened, in all likelihood. Revo would have had enough money to cover their entirety of their bills; the bus company would have been paid on time, and none of the resultant problems would have occurred. So what lessons have we learned from this incident? The rules do matter. Contracts do matter. Contractual terms do matter, especially financial ones. So when you sign a contract, and agree to pay for something, then pay it. (And if you are party to a contract, and someone refuses to pay - then void the contract, and send them home.) Edited August 17, 2011 by oldschooldbc 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumManTx Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 I'm thinking PM's or email would be an appropriate thing now, some of this is getting pretty..............intense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueRevo Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Good nite DCP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Corps Dad Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 This was my first year as a drum corps dad, however I have been a band director for 25 years. You can bat this around all you want. The bottom line is that is always the kids that have to pay the price. I got to know quite a few of them and If I live to be 1000 I will never forget the look on the faces of those kids when they got off of the bus in Little Rock. I have had trips try to go sour. You find the quickest way to end on a positive note and get the kids home. When it's over then you can quit, fire, dissolve, or whatever. The final straw is that my daughter still has $175 in equipment that she spent her own money on that she never got. Also a tour jacket that she probably won't see. It always rolls down hill. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelloHorn13 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 In my 11 years of drum corps, this is probally the 4th time I've heard of something like this happening to Revolution. It'll continue to happen until DCI does something about it. I've been apart of something similar with another Open Class corps. When issues were finally brought to the surface by current staff members and parents... DCI basically ignored it and allowed this corps to continue operation. Results: That corps had a very poor program on the field. Had even more illegal things happening during tour that shouldn't happen in a youth organization. Had almost 10 kids leave during the season due to the SAME issues. And a good majority of the marching members have made plans NOT to return. I hope Revo figure it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts