MADISON SCOUTS 2016

[FlamMan]

Nevertheless, fighting for 12th is not going to help Madison's recruitment efforts...efforts that they've been working hard at improving upon for a number of years now! Can't spin it any other way...we just ran out of lipstick to put on that pig...This is a huge OUCH moment for the Scouts, and all of the hype!

Exactly. This show is just a swing & a miss. The music is a chop & bop mix of soundbites & moments that should result in a climax that never materialize. So where do the Scouts go from here Jerry? More staff changes? I think a change is definitely needed in the drum staff & show coordination. Edited August 6, 2016 by FlamMan

[shmeg212]

Seriously? Only 6 returned in the entire drum line? Thats just terrible retention. How does this compare to other corps? Again, the lack of local membership is not a good thing. I really wanted to be wrong when I predicted about a Month ago that Madison would be battling for the 12th finals spot. This situation really saddens me. Wait 'til next year.

It's not necessarily about retention, more so the fact that there were quite a few age outs and others had important things come up in their personal lives, school or career wise.

[Mad75]

Exactly. This show is just a swing & a miss. The music is a chop & bop mix of soundbites & moments that should result in a climax that never materializes. So where do the Scouts go from here Jerry? More staff changes? I think a change is definitely needed in the drum staff & show coordination.

I believe the answer is definitely "YES" to change, but not merely for the sake of change.  For starters, I tend to look at everything through a Business 101 filter, and I have a number of questions and concerns from an organizational standpoint that defines every other aspect of Madison's presumptive success...One always starts with the fruit...And the returns are not looking so good, and that requires accountability...Accountability requires maturity without emotionalism...It's called healthy leadership!

[Cainan]

To say the show is a swing and a miss is a bit harsh... I rather like it. It's in line with the current offering of performances you expect from top flight DCI corps, and it's no doubt a "Madison" show. Yes I would have predicted them moving up in the rankings this year based on recent history... but have you SEEN everybody else? The "bottom half" of World class has some amazing drum corps and shows. Everybody else has stepped up their games too and has made it that much tougher and that much more prestigious to make it in to Top 12.To me, this offering from Madison is great... yet also forgettable. It has no stand out moments.... and THAT my friends is all down to design... NOT execution.

[madalumni]

Exactly. This show is just a swing & a miss. The music is a chop & bop mix of soundbites & moments that should result in a climax that never materializes. So where do the Scouts go from here Jerry? More staff changes? I think a change is definitely needed in the drum staff & show coordination.

I know you asked Jerry and not me, but I had an interesting conversation with an alum named Dino a couple years ago. He mentioned that one of the biggest

factors in sustained success at the top, is that Corps like BD have had a lot of their staff for over 30 years. And when those people

moved on, they had been training a lot of their replacements for years. So they don't have a lot of staff turnover and flip-flopping over the years.

KC Michel is now in his second year as Program Coordinator at Scouts. Last year he helped take the Corps from 11th up to 8th.

This year ended up being a much tougher year competitively, and we might end up with a lower placement again.

But had this Judas show been put on the field last year, maybe it would have also ended up 8th.

There were several Corps last year that weren't nearly as strong as they are this year. I can name 4 or 5.

Conversely, maybe last year's 78th and Madison, had it been done this year (I know, 79th and Madison), maybe it would be fighting for the top 12.

Anyway, my point is, I don't think it's time after only two years, to start axing solid staff members because "success" isn't coming

fast enough. Where do they go from here? I don't know exactly, but maybe one way that we haven't tried very much in the past, is to keep

some stability, keep people around longer than a few years (if possible), give them a chance to grow and develop over the long

haul, even when the waters get rough. I think Chris and Dan and company have been doing their best the past several years to build

a culture like that. Also, I try to look beyond scores/placements to measure success (and I'd love higher scores/placements), like, Is the Corps

getting on better financial standing lately? If so, that's huge, and I don't think we would want to pull that rug out from under them. If not, it would

be the job of the B.O.D. to re-evalute things. Anyway, sorry if this sounds like a lecture, I might be totally out to lunch on this opinion,

and I'm also as tired as eff. I will say, goodnight everyone, peace!

P.S. One thing I would love to see again, is for Madison to come out in 2017 with something completely new, fresh, original

and still powerfully entertaining....and give the rehashes a rest for awhile....a long while! Especially when the best version

was already done. I felt that way in 96 when Malaguena was rehashed.....nothing against the members of 96, but

88 put an exclamation point on that song....game, set, match! I saw zero point in trying to resurrect it (no pun intended ;) )

Edited August 6, 2016 by madalumni

[Stu]

Nope. This wasn't the norm in the 70's & 80's when many Corps had 50%+ retention. Queen & Prosperie were Corps hoppers.

Rose colored glasses are great until you are forced to take them off. Float went from Anaheim '72 to Freelancers '75 then on to instruct Oakland Crusaders in '76 then to Spirit in '79 and on to BD in the early 80's; and it was 'the 80's' for Prosperie as a performer with Brigemen '84, Star '85-'86, Regiment '87-'88 where he became caption head after he aged out. Many other members and staff in the '70s and 80's also did the same. Ok, you can put those rose colored glasses back on now.

Edited August 6, 2016 by Stu

[C.Holland]

The largest portion of the corps is from Texas. They do go to school together. There's also not many high schoolers who could march that show well and certainly not on the WI high schools. Maybe one of the Indiana or Texas BOA bands. Or even Kennesaw mountain.

[Stu]

The largest portion of the corps is from Texas. They do go to school together. There's also not many high schoolers who could march that show well and certainly not on the WI high schools. Maybe one of the Indiana or Texas BOA bands. Or even Kennesaw mountain.

And that just irks the Flammer. Apparently he wants the Scouts to just consist of performers from the local high schools of Madison East, West, La Follette, Shabazz, and Memorial along with just the locals attending the University of WI Madison; this, as opposed of the Scouts recruiting performers from some of the best musical academic institutions, not only from Texas, but from around the world. As Charles Schultz often penned, "Good Grief Charlie Brown!"

[lastknight]

Drum Corps aren't doing enough to recruit local members. Why aren't more local bandos signing up for Drum Corps? Why havent Drum Corps been able to forge close relationships with local bands? Its ironic & odd that Drum Corps has pretty much devolved into marching band, & show audiences are mostly bandos, yet Drum Corps have difficulty recruiting local band students. Perhaps the out of state camps & tryouts would yield a better ROI if that time & effort was spent locally? The current national recruiting model is a mess that cant be sustained long term.

Local members? The Scouts typically spend less than 48 hours in Madison in a season. Crusaders only go to the Boston area for spring training.....there is no LOCAL in World Class any longer. (Except Pioneer)

[corps8294]

Local members? The Scouts typically spend less than 48 hours in Madison in a season. Crusaders only go to the Boston area for spring training.....there is no LOCAL in World Class any longer. (Except Pioneer)

...and look where they consistently end up.