troopers1 Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 The scuttlebutt is that Fred Morris is going to write both the drill and head up the color guard and that Mike Ottoes (the executive director) is going to be the percussion head. I'm not sure who is going to be the brass caption head, but I've heard that the man who drives the souvenir truck has volunteered--but I personally hope that one of the board members steps up and gives it a shot. I can feel the winds of change a blowin'! Mike has apparently turned down the percussion caption slot to drive yellow bus and head up the field lining crew. So the search continues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mn trumpter guy Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I know this was a while ago, but it was a great question, so I feel I should answer it. Why? What did it do for you that simple information presented in a respectful manner would not have done? I knew what I needed to know. What I didn't realize was that, emotionally, I wasn't invested in what i was doing- the specific event I remembered right away was during my first year- I was really an idiot, and not just mostly one. Simply telling me "I feel like you're not giving me your all" would have been ineffective; I truly felt I was. What I didn't know was that there was a whole other emotional level that I wasn't aware of. For me, the best way to get emotion out of someone is to give them emotion. That doesn't necessarily mean yelling, but in some cases, that works. In and of itself, it doesn't demean anyone. If the relationship is right, it can communicate something on a more basic level than words; namely, an emotion or feeling. Hey, you're starting to get it. And now you've lost it. Too bad. You almost had it partially figured out and then you got silly and off topic and down we fall like a kid not quite ready to ride a bike. Except you completely missed the point of my post: winning isn't everything, and just because something works for one person does not mean it will work for anyone else. The Blue Devils, as an organization, function because of their circumstances; a feeder system that builds a single approach. A mindset of most of the people who march there (and yeah, I've known enough to make that statement). They have a specific style of show that they do (think broader than theme). For most, if not all, other corps, a feeder system like they have is not an option. That rules out the 'single approach for years and years'. Blue Devils don't have to worry about teaching a technique; their people, for the most part, already know what's up. Hence, they can afford to do other things differently than other corps. Are you suggesting that less rehearsal would help all open class corps get higher scores? Or even most of the rest of World Class? Ridiculous. So DCI is only about winning? Got it.... Guess I wasted my time then showing up in St. Louis those years my corps didn't win, even though we were a crowd favorite. Oh, darn. Good thing I didn't waste my time this year since we didn't win. Maybe time for you to re-evaluate your priorities about drum corps and the music world, if you think it's all about just ending up on top. exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkRawkBandGeek Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Very interesting on Troopers website: http://troopersdrumcorps.org/page/aboutus/educational-team LOVE the new website design! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmhurstmusiced Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I'm really glad that this thread has become a fight over the Blue Devils and the Trooperes, and how they operate. I'm glad I read through it and have learned nothing about what the thread was started for. Thanks everyon! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 What people need to do is start taking a closer look at what BD does and copy it. I see. The Blue Devils are successful because they have retained their staff long term. Therefore, other corps can be just as successful if they retain the Blue Devils staff long term? Clearly, it is not as simple as just staff retention. If it was, Pacific Crest and Mandarins would have been giving BD a run for their money - oops, let me rephrase - would have given BD some competition by now. Actually, it's the "definition of insanity" . And I agree with you. But I would challenge you to look at that philosophy from a different angle. Back to the Santa Clara example. For YEARS now, Santa Clara has been doing.........the same thing over and over again and expecting different results..........by changing their staff over and over and over again. They (along with 80% of the rest of the drum corps activity) absolutely SHOULD.............take a different approach.........and try KEEPING the same staff for at least 5 years and see what happens. If you uproot a plant before it has a chance to grow and keep trying to re-plant and re-plant, you are never going to see any greenery (insert Crown 09 joke here). That IS....doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. You have to give that plant time to grow and I'm telling you, 1-2 and even 3 years is not long enough for the right chemestry to develop. You have to keep watering, keep trimming (NOT tilling...trimming) until you see growth. 90% of the drum corps in this activity don't do that. They have an off year or they go through some growning pains and they panic, so they fire the staff and hire new over and over and over again.....and never see different results. Hard to believe you were the same poster who reminded us that not all staff departures are firings. Sometimes, staff leave on their own accord. Their real jobs move them across the country. They start families, and cannot be on tour as much. They go back to school to pursue an advanced degree. Or they discover that a position with some other corps is a better opportunity than where they are currently. So how does a corps achieve the kind of staff retention Blue Devils have enjoyed? Pick only single people whose work will never cause them to relocate? Pay them more than they earn at their day job? Or just "treat them well", and hope for the incredible luck that they will all stay for 20 years or more? (My guess - incredible luck.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRISP Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Marc Sylvester leaving Blue Knights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acolli17 Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 From the Troopers website: The Troopers are extremely pleased to announce the return of Donnie VanDoren to the Troopers family, as Program and Staff Consultant. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Smith Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Here is the link to the announcement (they also have a big graphic on the home page): Trooper Announcement 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hashmarkpainter Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Pacific Crest on the move.......http://www.pacific-crest.org/2012/08/seth-murphy-appointed-brass-co-caption-head/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShortAndFast Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Marc Sylvester leaving Blue Knights. Oh, that's really too bad. I thought he had done some great work for them, including this year's more-controversial show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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