TROOPERS! Where are you?

[GUARDLING]

I can't help but wonder what Mr. Jones would have to say about the " modern" Troopers. Or the activity as a whole for that matter.

Knowing some of these visionaries from BITD ( although as a kid ) I believe they would be doing all of what you see today. These men BITD broke molds, went against the grain for those days, took huge chances, know that change was the way to go. SO why wouldnt they be spearheading things today...MANY BITD who werent part of the new DCI didnt like these men and said they killed drum corps BUT like many things and circumstances those are the people in history that 20 years down the road are the ones who get honored for thinking far beyond the day or the past...look how many even in the 90s hated ( hates a strong worldbut its true ) Star ..now they are looked atthem as one of the corps way ahead of their time and visionaries in the activity...JMO

[GUARDLING]

Repeat after me : " The Troopers finished 17th out of 18 Corps on Saturday doing a " modern " show about " The theatre". Then repeat 5 times : The Troopers will die doing shows like this year's theme ". after you do this, come bacj here and tell me why you believe that the Troopers will be competitively successful in future years doing themes like this year's theme and music. In my opinion, they may not be competitivrely successful doing a theme that is more aligned with their western style of tradition, but they will surely die if they continue doing shows like this years that seems so out of character, style, vibe, etc for The Troopers. Put some bullets in that holster and don't go artsy, fartsy and lame on us. Of ALL The Corps, please no, not The Troopers from Caspar, Wyoming. Go down on YOUR terms Troopers, not somebody's elses. Sorry 'bout the rant. But it is meant as helpful suggestion to someone that truly loves the uniqueness of this Corps.. but has thoroughly lost that uniqueness of late, imo.

maybe they just didnt do it well?

Edited July 17, 2012 by GUARDLING

[BRASSO]

maybe they just didnt do it well?

Maybe. But I don't believe its so much the theyoung performers in this Corps fault as it is perhaps the misguided adult staff that have decided that stylistically this is the direction that they want to take the Troopers in re. music, show design and show themes. If they continue down this road theme wise they will meet with continued frustration and an epic fail, imo. ' Better to fight to the bitter end on YOUR terms and lose, than to go down in flames on somebody else's notion as to what shows " America's Corps " should be putting on for national coast to coast audiences.Thats how I see it anyway. But no matter what, just so you'll know, I 'll still stand and cheer at the end for these performers in The Troopers of today. I just hope they find thermselves. They are surely lost right now with these themes, imo.

Edited July 17, 2012 by BRASSO

[Granny Smith]

The judges and newer fans, including recruitment fodder, want more of the new.

Alumni and older fans want more of the old. Compromise is what we have done since '08, basically, and look where it's gone to.

Mr. Burger,

My post is laced with my opinion, but I submit to you here on this day that is more objective than yours. You contend that the judges "want more of the new." I'm afraid they didn't get the memo, so you might want to let them know that this show really should be up around 11th place or so.

One of the adorable qualities of the Troopers is that virtually nobody says anything critical about them. The year they made finals there were some who argued that the Colts should have been in that 12th spot, but they did it in a very soft-handed way. Well it's pretty hard to candy-coat it all this year...wouldn't you say?

The Troopers have strayed from their identity and it's a shame. You can bemoan this and try to turn this into a "kids don't wanna wear cowboy hats" kind of argument, but the sad reality is that their shows are simply not connecting with people and their scores are lousy. And...on top of it...they're still wearing cowboy hats and kids are still marching.

I post this as a challenge to the Troopers: Return to your historical identity. Put some music on the field that is recognizable and that hits people in the face and heart. Do some old-school stuff that harkens back to a bygone era and be America's Corps.! Just be YOU!

[Martin I. Zing]

No one would go to your show because DCI and drum corps are about the best level of achieve in the marching arts, which is what DCI is these days. I honestly don't think there would be enough people interested in marching those old-school shows in fantasy resurrected corps, and the idea of 60 young kids trying to recreate the glories of the 1965 VFW championships is honestly kinda pathetic.

I'm thinking you ARE wrong. My stadium gross receipts would crush those of the modern DCI finals. I wish we could hold finals in Kansas City at Arrowhead and Kaufmann where I could prove this. But more importantly as you point out DCI and drum corps are focused on being (as you say) "the best level of achievement in the marching arts." What they should be focused on is PROVIDING the best level of AUDIENCE ENTERTAINMENT for the summertime dollar. This would help their activity succeed and grow. And many of the changes and improvements can stay. I'm not suggesting that the 1965 VFW championships be recreated, merely the STYLE of corps WITH STYLE. Keep the best and toss the rest. Currently I can't recognize 95% of what is played at a drum corps show. But I knew what the Troopers played and what the Scouts play and I want to see it over and over again.

Cupcake, it is very simple. If you can't hum it, it don't sell. And for the activity to continue, it needs my money more than it needs esoteric classical and operatic tunes played by marching bugles on a football field. IMO, that is what it has come to and that in and of itself is pathetic.

[BeerMan]

Granny,

Thank you so much for opening this thread. I too, fear for the survival of Troopers. The Troopers have an identity, and they need to live by that identity. Apparently the current admin/staff must be embarassed by that identity, because they seem to be running away from it as fast as possible.

I keep hearing that this must be done in order to be competitive in today's DCI. I say that is total BS. If it were true, we would be watching them gradually climb the charts. Instead, we see kids trying to polish a turd year after year because staff has this twisted desire to create a new modern image.

When fans/alumni scream for a show that reflects the heritage of the Troopers, we are not asking for them to pull music & drill from 1970 and reproduce it. Rather, we are asking them to put on a show that contains recognizable music that captures the hearts of the crowd. If they perform a show like that, the crowds will respond. Will the judges respond? I don't know, but who cares about them anyway? When you're at the bottom of the barrel anyway it doesn't make any difference what the judges say.

If you don't have enough guts to stand behind your heritage, then you don't deserve to have the support of fans. And extinction will soon follow.

Please, please, please do not waste another season in 2013. Show the courage to give the fans what they want. And if you can't figure out what they want, ask your alumni. They know the answer.

My $.02,

BeerMan

[oldbandguy]

At the Michigan City show, wanting to support the Troopers, I stopped by their souvie wagon and purchased the DVD called "America's Core". I had never seen it, even though it was several years old.

I would urge the administrators and design staff to take an evening and watch it again...or maybe for the first time for some of them.

The "cowboy uniforms" (as so called in a previous post) were a source of PRIDE and was actually a recruiting tool back then. I dare say it was a just a few years later when they returned to finals for the first time.

[musclebud]

I don't want to come off like some Texan with an ego that is as large as the state. But at some point Troopers are going to have to realize that Wyoming is too small and too isolated to make it an attractive place for the best and brightest staff and members to make the trek to. Either driving for hours or making multiple airport connections just to get to the camps. And all this just to march in a corps that is unlikely to make finals again anytime soon.

So maybe it is time to do a Crossmen and go to where their is an abundance of eager kids that would love to march corps, but may not want to travel cross country in order to do it.. Troopers should look into the possibility of moving to Texas. Their look and tradition would fit very nicely here.... plus they already have the hats. You don't have to freeze you behind off during winters camps..... and yes you do eventually get used to the heat. We may have the dumbest governor in the country, but sooner or later he will retire and when he does leave the collective IQ of the state will go up significantly. Twenty-five million people are already here and growing by leaps and bounds, so that is a pretty nice sized talent pool to draw from. Just ask Bluecoats, Cavies, Crown, ect.ect.

Edited July 17, 2012 by musclebud

[GUARDLING]

I'm thinking you ARE wrong. My stadium gross receipts would crush those of the modern DCI finals. I wish we could hold finals in Kansas City at Arrowhead and Kaufmann where I could prove this. But more importantly as you point out DCI and drum corps are focused on being (as you say) "the best level of achievement in the marching arts." What they should be focused on is PROVIDING the best level of AUDIENCE ENTERTAINMENT for the summertime dollar. This would help their activity succeed and grow. And many of the changes and improvements can stay. I'm not suggesting that the 1965 VFW championships be recreated, merely the STYLE of corps WITH STYLE. Keep the best and toss the rest. Currently I can't recognize 95% of what is played at a drum corps show. But I knew what the Troopers played and what the Scouts play and I want to see it over and over again.

Cupcake, it is very simple. If you can't hum it, it don't sell. And for the activity to continue, it needs my money more than it needs esoteric classical and operatic tunes played by marching bugles on a football field. IMO, that is what it has come to and that in and of itself is pathetic.

I promised myself i would but here I am....ARE YOU KIDDING? i LOVE WHAT i DID BITD but be serious...You do bring up a few points though..YOU said " keep the best and toss the rest" whos deciding whats best..dont say the majority because you nor I represent majority or any news group..I bet we would have differences of opinions from BITD who was best and who not so much..hmmmmm you also mentioned you cant recognize music...ok before some of the contemporary stuff from BITD who knew it before a corps played it or it was in a current movie back then. You also said you dont want the 1965 nationals just the corp style..hmmmmm who might that be..there were some great corps back then and some real rag bags and 1965 style?,,lol...and you also mentioned classical...hmmmmm well it worked kinda well for PR in the 70s didnt it?

I Loved my days BITD but I also loved paying 40cents for gas oh and by the way BUGLES havent been used for quite a few years..................sorry to be confrontational, dont mean to be BUT to say or diminish what corps and kids do now to glorify what we did BITD is a pretentious as it gets.

Sad part is I dont disagree 100% with you BUT the attitude and entitlement to the activity because we once lived it is beyond ...well just beyond

Edited July 17, 2012 by GUARDLING

[Martin I. Zing]

Troopers should hold winter camps in Denver and get an airline sponsorship from United, Continental or Southwest with comp tickets for members to fly in for camps in exchange for logos and appearances.