N.E. Brigand Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Honestly to me, synths are a bigger, crazier, and more negative change to the activity than woodwinds would be... I feel the same way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsdrummerman2012 Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 he is still however the public voice of the G7 proposal, and rumors still abound of an eventual split, spearheaded by Hop himself You are definitely right about that...which doesn't bode well for him with those still loyal to the DCI model. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsdrummerman2012 Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Honestly to me, synths are a bigger, crazier, and more negative change to the activity than woodwinds would be, yet that rule change got passed. No way! Woodwinds are way worse than synths. And believe it or not, synths are nothing new to drum corps. There was a corps in 1985 that took a nightly penalty for using synth in their drum solo (Boston Crusaders). There were also Class A and A60 corps that did no regionals or world championships who used them locally. A few who at the time were quite good for their size and stature (1987 Rocky Mountain Magic). I hear people saying that very few people in the activity are interested in adding woodwinds, but the real question is how many are strongly interested in keeping them out? I think pretty much all of the current BOD is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 I'm glad to hear comments like this from people currently directly involved. But I hope you can see how from outside the activity, what we see is Hop talking up the next big thing, and then in a few years, DCI changes the rules. Go back to his proposal from 15 years ago about the direction DCI should be taking, and you'll see that over the years he's managed to fill in bits and pieces of that vision. In 1997, he wanted any-key brass, electronics, a special tour of just the top half-dozen corps, and woodwinds. Only one piece is missing. Honestly to me, synths are a bigger, crazier, and more negative change to the activity than woodwinds would be, yet that rule change got passed. I hear people saying that very few people in the activity are interested in adding woodwinds, but the real question is how many are strongly interested in keeping them out? For those of us who believe that adding woodwinds would rip down yet one more thing we love about drum corps, it's important that we speak up and make it clear that woodwinds do not fit into the activity for us. If we hush up because "no one takes it seriously" and "George Hopkins has no power", then that's one more reason for a wavering staff or director to decide, eh, maybe it's worth a try. funny how when you read that, you see this: Tour structure and schedule 1) Too much touring for most corps (B) 2) No or almost no local appearances (S) and then look at the schedule as it stands today actually as I read a lot fo this, there is so many things they failed to address that have been issues, and i see things they pushed for that caused more issues. but as you read this, you see the genesis of theG7 proposal, right there in 1997. say what you want, but he doesn't give up....and he hasn't been denied often Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 No way! Woodwinds are way worse than synths. And believe it or not, synths are nothing new to drum corps. There was a corps in 1985 that took a nightly penalty for using synth in their drum solo (Boston Crusaders). I'm pretty sure skywhopper already knows about BAC 1985. Speaking for myself, I see amplification as an "easy button" and synthesizers as an "even easier button". Woodwinds at least have to face the same challenge as brass: create a big beautiful sound outdoors. With amplification, that challenge goes away. (To allow A&E in drum corps is like allowing bicycles or motorcycles in a foot race. Allowing a staff member to control the volume of said electronics is like putting a remote-control robot in said race.) Listening to some corps lately, you hear even big chords when the entire brass line is matched by one synthesizer. Without amplification, woodwinds would hardly ever be used. If Hopkins were as Machiavellian as some here argue, I'd say that woodwinds were only mentioned as a distraction, so that amplification and electronics would be accepted as the seemingly less dangerous proposal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsdrummerman2012 Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 (edited) Go back to his proposal from 15 years ago about the direction DCI should be taking, and you'll see that over the years he's managed to fill in bits and pieces of that vision. In 1997, he wanted any-key brass, electronics, a special tour of just the top half-dozen corps, and woodwinds. Only one piece is missing. You make it sound so simple, yet you are leaving out one important fact. Hopkins completely alienated himself from DCI through his G7 proposal. His G7 proposal and the selfish greed embedded within it was a nail in his career coffin. This is the point I've been trying to make in my last several posts. A LOT of people within the activity (who could have otherwise supported him) have lost a LOT of trust in the man because his proposal was all centered around selfishness. He even screwed a lot of his fellow "G7/G8 allies" because he said certain things and then did something else. You make the G7 proposal sound like a victory. It is not. It was a failure. DCI bailed him out with the TOC...which believe it or not did not meet all of his hopes and expectations within the proposal. So really, you have "1 and a half pieces missing". Woodwinds? As a result, is a much bigger hurdle for him to jump over. Much bigger than it might have been 3 years ago in fact. The G7 proposal was a big huge backfire. Why? Because he did it all for one thing and one thing only...HIS OWN WALLET! Now that this fact is exposed, he has lost some very important allies to further his plan. Edited July 3, 2012 by drumcorpsdrummerman2012 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 And believe it or not, synths are nothing new to drum corps. There was a corps in 1985 that took a nightly penalty for using synth in their drum solo (Boston Crusaders). That is incorrect. Boston only used the synth once in 1985 competition. There were also Class A and A60 corps that did no regionals or world championships who used them locally. A few who at the time were quite good for their size and stature (1987 Rocky Mountain Magic). Exaggerating again? I believe '87 Rocky Mountain Magic was the only A/A-60 corps to do as you describe. Now, there was one other corps to push the electronics rule....Knights were using illegal equipment in early '86, and they may have been taking repeated penalties for it, IIRC. But when informed that continued infractions would result in disqualification, the corps pulled the plug on the electronics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 You make it sound so simple, yet you are leaving out one important fact. Hopkins completely alienated himself from DCI through his G7 proposal. His G7 proposal and the selfish greed embedded within it was a nail in his career coffin. This is the point I've been trying to make in my last several posts. A LOT of people within the activity (who could have otherwise supported him) have lost a LOT of trust in the man because his proposal was all centered around selfishness. He even screwed a lot of his fellow "G7/G8 allies" because he said certain things and then did something else. You make the G7 proposal sound like a victory. It is not. It was a failure. DCI bailed him out with the TOC...which believe it or not did not meet all of his hopes and expectations within the proposal. So really, you have "1 and a half pieces missing". Woodwinds? As a result, is a much bigger hurdle for him to jump over. Much bigger than it might have been 3 years ago in fact. The G7 proposal was a big huge backfire. Why? Because he did it all for one thing and one thing only...HIS OWN WALLET! Now that this fact is exposed, he has lost some very important allies to further his plan. actually he has 6 allies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsdrummerman2012 Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 That is incorrect. Boston only used the synth once in 1985 competition. Hmmmmm...interesting. I'm sitting here RIGHT NOW listening to my record (you know, those big huge black CDs) of Boston Crusaders 1985 (semifinals performance) and I'm hearing the synth loud and clear. Only one competition, huh? Wow! Pulling out the stops for Finals week? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsdrummerman2012 Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 (edited) actually he has 6 allies I'm thinking more like 6 black sheep. Edited July 4, 2012 by drumcorpsdrummerman2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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