Jeff Ream Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 We just call that 'Minneapolis'. I told my retiring from Lutheran ministry father in law about the show and he said "oh, they made a drum corps show out of a council meeting. Interesting" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted August 1, 2013 Author Share Posted August 1, 2013 Aiight. Time for the Awards. They're awarded to folks who make it happen for a corps who may not be noticed that deserve to be. Many fans see and hear the obvious greats, but there's a lot of cool stuff happening that might not be the melody, the sexy screamers, or the intense snare feature. If I've seen the corps before, I don't repeat unless something REALLY grabs me. You've already earned it! Shenandoah Sound- the Conga dude. White Sabres: Their semi-sideline Trumpet feature guy. MBI: The Bass Drums, Baris, and Mellos. WHOOO! WHOOOO! I say, WHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! C2: The Tubas. 4 very good peeps. The Bucs: The Front Ensemble. They PLAY. No one standing around, let me tell yah. More on that subject in the next section. The next stop, August 17. Scranton. I'll get a good look at the Hurcs. I look forward to it. The season should begin to shape up a tad, and the contest is one of those big events on the calendar. See you there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted August 1, 2013 Author Share Posted August 1, 2013 Final thoughts/conclusions: Sun made strides, but Bush managed to pass them and gain separation. Can they get it back? White Sabres are the real deal. They seem to be the serious Class A front-runner at this point. Keep an eye on Sun Devils and Govies to see if they relate. MBI has a strong, exciting, and musically fascinating show. Can they do a 2011 run and strike at Championships? Can they flip the percussion number and keep moving it as well as push the visual package? C2 has great potential. To an old Westshoreman such as myself "Potential" is a filthy word. It's what one DOES with that potential that matters. Placement is secondary. It's about making a good, strong, quality run that one can take pride in. If they can do that, the scores will take care of themselves. People who surmised the Bucs couldn't perform this program were incorrect. They need to find new excuses why the Bucs could/will fail. Start searching. Don't knock yourselves out. One final thing. Jeff touched upon how a DCA Class A corps can put people in the pit to help get to the 35 performer minimum. I won't mention names, but I know of at least three examples of this. I seriously thought about this issue, and realized that what I was seeing was a real wastage of potential with these corps, corps who can't afford to waste manpower. I think most old timers realize that there's been a steady stream of percussive innovation in DCA for over 35 years. There are a lot of new World instruments and techniques that can add a lot to the muscial palette of a corps if one is imainative and thoughtful. When a corps adds these people, they NEED to plan to make positive use of these personnel. It doesn't take that much effort to make it happen. I know from personal experience. I'll create a rule of thumb here. If you put someone in the pit and they look like they're winging it or if you could chuck me in there and tell me to just fake it, you have to do better. Create, arrange, integrate, make better use of those people. No more "Maraca Guys". Nuff said- Till Scranton, I'll be getting pencil to paper for my I and E solo. Take care! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessL Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 (edited) re: pit-stacking to meet the minimum numbers In recent years, there have been repeated, blatant abuses of this loophole in the rules. Including examples of as many as a dozen plugs. It is an insult to the the paying customers. And one would think it would be an embarrasment to DCA. If a corps lacks the shame to try it once, that's one thing. It's quite another for DCA to allow it show after show and season after season. If it is going to be allowed, then just do away with the minimum and let them go out with whatever they have, rather than throwing in everyone's mom and kid brother on show day so that we can all pretend they have a minimum drum corps appropriate for the field. I know, it sounds heartless. But, IMO it's not good for the activity, in terms of appearances. And it's not helpful for DCA to set incredibly low standards and then enable groups to get around the spirit of them. There it is. Flame way. Edit: I acknowledge that there is a fuzzy line here. No one wants to bar a corps from the field when they have a few members who haven't learned the field show yet, standing in the pit at an early show. Easy enough to tell the difference between this and an August show with 40% of the corps in the pit, and most of them making a nominal contribution. Edited August 1, 2013 by princessL 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 re: pit-stacking to meet the minimum numbers In recent years, there have been repeated, blatant abuses of this loophole in the rules. Including examples of as many as a dozen plugs. It is an insult to the the paying customers. And one would think it would be an embarrasment to DCA. If a corps lacks the shame to try it once, that's one thing. It's quite another for DCA to allow it show after show and season after season. If it is going to be allowed, then just do away with the minimum and let them go out with whatever they have, rather than throwing in everyone's mom and kid brother on show day so that we can all pretend they have a minimum dum corps appropriate for the field. I know, it sounds heartless. But, IMO it's not good for the activity, in terms of appearances. And it's not helpful for DCA to set incredibly low standards and then enable groups to get around the spirit of them. There it is. Flame way. Edit: I acknowledge that there is a fuzzy line here. No one wants to bar a corps from the field when they have few members who haven't learned the field show yet, standing in the pit at an early show. Easy enough to tell the difference between this and an August show with 40% of the corps in the pit, and most of them making a nominal contribution. amen, my complaint was THEY JUST STOOD THERE! if they are there, use em for God's sake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted August 1, 2013 Author Share Posted August 1, 2013 re: pit-stacking to meet the minimum numbers In recent years, there have been repeated, blatant abuses of this loophole in the rules. Including examples of as many as a dozen plugs. It is an insult to the the paying customers. And one would think it would be an embarrasment to DCA. If a corps lacks the shame to try it once, that's one thing. It's quite another for DCA to allow it show after show and season after season. If it is going to be allowed, then just do away with the minimum and let them go out with whatever they have, rather than throwing in everyone's mom and kid brother on show day so that we can all pretend they have a minimum dum corps appropriate for the field. I know, it sounds heartless. But, IMO it's not good for the activity, in terms of appearances. And it's not helpful for DCA to set incredibly low standards and then enable groups to get around the spirit of them. There it is. Flame way. Edit: I acknowledge that there is a fuzzy line here. No one wants to bar a corps from the field when they have few members who haven't learned the field show yet, standing in the pit at an early show. Easy enough to tell the difference between this and an August show with 40% of the corps in the pit, and most of them making a nominal contribution. It's a problem. On one hand, people bemoan the fact there are less corps, and less big corps. One of the old grognards spoke to me at the show and pretty much laid all that out. So, people want to encourage corps to take the field. I don't know if the standards are all that low. There have been instances where corps trying to get into DCA haven't passed the muster and have to go back to the drawing board and try again. Even if you stack the pit, at least, for Lord's sake, make the best use of the assets. There's so much they could do. Anyone with any scholastic experience at the smaller end- me for instance- knows this and works with it. I just see a real lack of that kind of imagination and resourcefulness when it's so badly needed. Thanks for speaking up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle B Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 re: pit-stacking to meet the minimum numbers In recent years, there have been repeated, blatant abuses of this loophole in the rules. Including examples of as many as a dozen plugs. It is an insult to the the paying customers. And one would think it would be an embarrasment to DCA. If a corps lacks the shame to try it once, that's one thing. It's quite another for DCA to allow it show after show and season after season. If it is going to be allowed, then just do away with the minimum and let them go out with whatever they have, rather than throwing in everyone's mom and kid brother on show day so that we can all pretend they have a minimum drum corps appropriate for the field. I know, it sounds heartless. But, IMO it's not good for the activity, in terms of appearances. And it's not helpful for DCA to set incredibly low standards and then enable groups to get around the spirit of them. There it is. Flame way. Edit: I acknowledge that there is a fuzzy line here. No one wants to bar a corps from the field when they have a few members who haven't learned the field show yet, standing in the pit at an early show. Easy enough to tell the difference between this and an August show with 40% of the corps in the pit, and most of them making a nominal contribution. I know of one corps that performed under the 35 member rule last year and nothing happen. Same corps that blatantly stacked the pit, though they did things. Like someone holding a triangle all show or playing a suspended cymbal playing whenever they wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princessL Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 (edited) unfotunately, I predict we'll see more of the same this weekend. See you at Kingston. Good luck to all of the competitors! Edited August 3, 2013 by princessL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 Aiight. Time for the Awards. They're awarded to folks who make it happen for a corps who may not be noticed that deserve to be. Many fans see and hear the obvious greats, but there's a lot of cool stuff happening that might not be the melody, the sexy screamers, or the intense snare feature. If I've seen the corps before, I don't repeat unless something REALLY grabs me. You've already earned it! Shenandoah Sound- the Conga dude. White Sabres: Their semi-sideline Trumpet feature guy. MBI: The Bass Drums, Baris, and Mellos. WHOOO! WHOOOO! I say, WHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! :worthy:/> C2: The Tubas. 4 very good peeps. The Bucs: The Front Ensemble. They PLAY. No one standing around, let me tell yah. More on that subject in the next section. The next stop, August 17. Scranton. I'll get a good look at the Hurcs. I look forward to it. The season should begin to shape up a tad, and the contest is one of those big events on the calendar. See you there! All this... plus a fist-bumping cat. Gotta love it.... thanks, W!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted August 3, 2013 Author Share Posted August 3, 2013 I found the cat somewhere. I liked him, and he fits. He's basically a thinner version of Dad's cat, Spot. My sister used to get Spot pretty cranked up BITD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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