Dmlkmen Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 (edited) Why I do not hate BD; The 1988 BD show was when I was first introduced to them. It was the soundtrack to hype my trumpet section as a High School freshman. In my sophomore, junior, and senior years, it became BD 93. those shows were the "hype" on our bus before shows...Of course none of us could play like those guys. We were all a bunch of posers compared to that sound. But not bad in terms of getting focused and hyped to play our show that evening. From that point on, I think I have always been entertained and impressed by BD. From their 1975 show on, I have never been underwhelmed. Consistent outstanding brass and brass books. It is is practically automatic, BD will " kick brass " -every -single -year. Moving to California, was another understanding of the corps and the organization. Marching with ex BD in Kingsmen 07 and Renegades- or seeing the alums at Walniut, Riverside, Stockton, etc...and seeing how they support the corps (SCV included) This gave me another appreciation of the organization. Before moving there, I never viewed California with a rich alumni tradition.. In 2007, that changed everything I thought before. Lastly, Blue Devils C. If you have seen them perform in California- you know what I mean. Tne crowds love seeing them as much as the A corps, or really any corps. . Edited December 31, 2011 by Dmlkmen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 He's humble because the reality is that is really great at driving a souped up version of the same car my grandma drives. So, your grandma drives a $100k custom made tube-chassis vehicle with an 800 hp engine in which the interior while driving is over 130 degrees f and her body contorts for three hours under 4G loads in excess of 200mph? And she has flown through the air in that vehicle tumbling and turning on asphalt? Cool grandma! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 This thread has been hijacked. It has now drifted away from a question on the Blue Devils, and into a revisionist history filled with misinformation. For the record, not a single Founder of DCI suggested as a proposal that a dozen Corps be killed off as they ( direct quote from powerpoint G7 proposal ) " provide no real service ". Yes, the Founders of DCI operated to some degree from a perspective self interest and self preservation measures, but that is entirely different than officially calling for a proposal to eliminate from DCI membership approx 2 dozen Corps. It is not " selective memory " to state that the Founders of DCI wanted to eliminate 2 dozen Drum Corps.In my view it would be "faulty mermory" or " no memory at all " as perhaps the person with such views was not present at the time of the DCI Founding to have any memory at what the Founders believed in, and as a result, attributes what the founders of DCI believed to what the G7 architects believed in. The reality however is there is no relationship at all between what the Founders of DCI believed in re. DCI membership qualification and what the architects of the G7 were proposing for Corps retention membership in DCI. Now.... back to the topic on " what do posters think of the Blue Devils ? "..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Stu... I marched with Dave Gibbs, One thing I can tell you is that without specific knowledge of someones motives for anything they do. It is impossible to understand what was going on in their heads when they did said thing... There have been things in DC that I have not been particularly fond of, but I am not willing to taint my experience by allowing my negative feelings toward a particular event, overshadow my love for the whole! How do I do this... I am careful not to call out anyone in DC Leadership Positions by name on these boards, at least not in a negative manner. Why? Because it will help cultivate respect for and within each organization if we were all to handle ourselves in such a manner. There are things I complain about... and I have not always been super nice to everyone on these boards... But I do show respect, hope that respect is well grounded within each and every one of these organizations and do my best to lead by example in this regard. I have seen some people go so far as to complain about not being shown enough appreciation by their corps and or the others on these boards for their volunteer work. This is not only pathetic, but being a volunteer should be something personal between the volunteer and the corps. No one else even needs to know... Know what I mean? The moment Hopkins, Gibbs, Fiedler, et al placed their names on supporting the relegation of fine corps like Boston and Scouts, and supported the complete elimination of support for all of the wonderful OC corps, that opened the door to call them out by name. Also, one does not place their own name on something unless they really believe it or they are really stupid; and I think that all of the G7 directors are extremely smart and still believe in that document. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsdrummerman2012 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 (edited) I tried to seek his council. I saw him in the lot and politely, yes politely asked him if he would be able to answer something for me. He stopped, smiled, and said that he would do his best. I politely, yes politely asked him to square the DCI Mission Statement concerning a cooperative fraternity of its member drum corps with the G7 proposal to eliminate all support for half the corps within DCI. He got stone faced, turned and walked away without responding. And that is the reason it is completely futile for most people to attempt a conversation with him. Oh Geee! Yeah, like you really gave him a fair opportunity at a less than akward time in a less than akward location to answer your VERY AKWARD "question" (if you can even call it that). Hell, I would turn and walk away from you too. He's in the lot of a fricken DRUM CORPS SHOW! The man is busy and you corner him with a LOADED and CONFRONTATIONAL question which really only serves to give him the 3rd degree? HEY! The man smiled at you and said "I'll do my best". But if you think he's just going to drop everything he is doing to run a drum corps in the middle of a season to answer your LOADED and CONFRONTATIONAL question, you are living under a ROCK! GET REAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd at best say that the man was polite in JUST walking away. If it were me I would have started with giving you the BIRD! Edited December 31, 2011 by drumcorpsdrummerman2012 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corps8294 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 I'm not going to knock BD's talent, how can you? However, I've never been crazy with their "bad boy" image. Sure, every corps has their bad apples; but after what I witnessed and heard about that bass drummer from back in 2000, my dislike for their image was pretty much set. I've even heard members of BD say that they are proud of their "bad boy" and "up in smoke" image. I'm sure there was a lot more Cheech and Chong types in drum corps back in the '70s; but the fact that the BD members are still proud of that is pretty sad. Do I despise all of their shows? Absolutely not! 2007 was great! And who can forget the great BD shows of the '70s, '80s, and '90s. Never really liked their drill, though. Great talent, great staff; just lose the dope and tone down the egos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plan9 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 I'm not going to knock BD's talent, how can you? However, I've never been crazy with their "bad boy" image. Sure, every corps has their bad apples; but after what I witnessed and heard about that bass drummer from back in 2000, my dislike for their image was pretty much set. I've even heard members of BD say that they are proud of their "bad boy" and "up in smoke" image. I'm sure there was a lot more Cheech and Chong types in drum corps back in the '70s; but the fact that the BD members are still proud of that is pretty sad. Do I despise all of their shows? Absolutely not! 2007 was great! And who can forget the great BD shows of the '70s, '80s, and '90s. Never really liked their drill, though. Great talent, great staff; just lose the dope and tone down the egos. Certainly lived up to your name with this post. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Oh Geee! Yeah, like you really gave him a fair opportunity at a less than akward time in a less than akward location to answer your VERY AKWARD "question" (if you can even call it that). Hell, I would turn and walk away from you too. He's in the lot of a fricken DRUM CORPS SHOW! The man is busy and you corner him with a LOADED and CONFRONTATIONAL question which really only serves to give him the 3rd degree? HEY! The man smiled at you and said "I'll do my best". But if you think he's just going to drop everything he is doing to run a drum corps in the middle of a season to answer your LOADED and CONFRONTATIONAL question, you are living under a ROCK! GET REAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd at best say that the man was polite in JUST walking away. If it were me I would have started with giving you the BIRD! Now that sounds like a Blue Devil!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hostrauser Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Pretty sure they didn't win visual in 2011. They did at finals. 29.65 to the Cadets' 29.45. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDA16 Posted December 31, 2011 Share Posted December 31, 2011 Now onto the whole "arrogance" topic, I think I can weigh in on this one as well. Yes, there is a perceived arrogance amongst Blue Devils members and fans, and some say it's deserved. Being that successful will come with a certain attitude. I think where people find the problem is the desire to show it off at any opportunity that gets under some people's skins. Wearing the rings outside of the gloves at shows, chanting out the years they win, taking the "you just hate us because we win" attitude, the "you just don't get our shows because you're not sophisticated enough", that's what I believe digs at people on here. It's great to win, yes. No one can ever take away a championship, but there really is no need to try and show it off at every turn. I don't dig the "sophisticated" part, but I can understand being excited and proud about being world champs. That must be the coolest feeling. If I ever become one, heck yeah I'm gonna let people know it. The title "Best in the World" isn't something everyone achieves. It sucks having people who beat you rub it in, but man, they earned it. Letting it get under people's skin is all part of competition. What inspires people to take the title for themselves is to be in that position. I mean, sure I sound like a jerk saying it, but we all want a taste of that glory- that's why we compete in competitive Drum Corps. Right? 2 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.