Troopers 2016

[emc2]

Please change or work on the design of these uniforms. Please

[BRASSO]

I really hope Granny Smith has taken all her meds & been forewarned.

Yes, somebody find Granny fast and take away her knitting needles as a health precaution.

Edited May 29, 2016 by BRASSO

[Kamarag]

Normally I really like stuff that's new and different. I liked Madison's approach when they first brought out the short sleeves, and I really like what Crown, Devils, and Academy have done to break the traditional uniform mold.

But this....this looks like something designed by committee. In trying to please everyone, they've pleased no one. It's an epic misfire.

Edited May 29, 2016 by Kamarag

[drumcorpsfever]

I would take your approach and run with it. Make a clean break from the cavalry uniform. Trying to retain a semblance just makes it look like Brundlefly. Half this n half that. So lose the gold buttons and floppy hats and go all in Broadway.

I understand your thinking. It's all in or nothing. I agree with you.

[2muchcoffeeman]

Suggestion: Put the Drum Major in the costume the Corps proper wears & the Corps proper in the Uniform the the Drum Major is wearing.

In further news, an earthquake measuring 8.4 on the Richter Scale has been reported, centered in Highland Cemetery in Casper WY. US Geological Survey personnel report the earthquake was caused by a roughly cylindrical object, located six-feet underground, rotating at approximately 11,111,111 revolutions per minute.

Like the new uniform or don't, that's your personal choice. As for me, I think it is fine. Looks a whole lot more like Troopers than the uniform of, say, 2012. And everything else is worth it for those hats. They are fantastic. And, like every other corps does whenever it introduces a new uniform, I'm sure the Troop staff will be making the nips and tucks and tweaks necessary to make the look as effective as possible.

But the idea that Jim Jones would be revulsed is silly. Several reasons.

He was a lover of theater, of Broadway, and talked about it to the corps members. He knew well the necessities of showmanship and of giving the audience what it wants. He did not shy away from innovation; he embraced it. He would be the first to make sure the corps presented itself in a way that took full advantage of the current state of the activity.

He was thoroughly modern. Anyone who visited the Jones house in Casper could see that right away; it was a testament to innovation. He helped blow up the old VFW/AL model. This was not a man who feared change.

Before he ran a drum corps, he ran a business. He understood salesmanship. He understood marketing. He understood the value of connecting a Casper corps to Wyoming imagery. He created the corps during the heyday of the Western. He knew the Troopers image would play well across the state and across the country. He capitalized on that.

Jones did not create the Casper Troopers to be a living museum piece to Caspar Collins and the 11th Ohio Cavalry. Like anyone else, he appreciated history, but he was not a sentimentalist or a nostalgist. He did not create the Troopers to give audiences warm fuzzies about the Old West. He created the Troopers to give young people an opportunity to pursue personal excellence through an activity that teaches, like no other, the lesson of reward through hard work. To achieve that mission, the Troopers have no choice but to organize their program in a way that takes full advantage of DCI's reward system as it currently exists, and Jim Jones would have been the first to understand that.

Edited May 29, 2016 by 2muchcoffeeman

[Jake W.]

Seriously, these uniforms look fine, and by the end of the season, we'll all have moved on (save for a few DCPers who, I'm sure, will still be frothing at the mouth while no one's listening).

Troop needs to embrace change to stay competitive. We can hope for tradition all we want, but that's not going to attract kids in their early 20s to Wyoming to march with an old school, non-Finalist corps. I give serious points to Troopers for their delicate balance between paying homage to the past and still trying to move forward. It's a balance that they are still trying to hone and will continue to hone, so let's let them just do their thing. This activity moves at lightning speed; no one can rely on purely tradition to keep up, and let's just call a spade a spade: Troopers were not ever going to crack back into Finals with designs like the 2014 - 2015 shows. They now have new uniforms, a current show design, and a meatier music book, and I think they're poised much better than they have been in recent years to be truly competitive for a Finals spot, all while still paying homage to and respecting their past.

Yea, the uniforms are a little disjointed from an individual view. Already from the short clips of the parade, they look cohesive and unique as a unit, and I think they're going to be very effective on the field, creating just as much of a memorable look as the Troopers previously had. Maybe they'll be adjusted a little bit throughout the season or for next year, but they're really just fine. The uniforms seem to absolutely keep a sense of the memorable western/cowboys corps that makes them so unique, while striking a balance of modernity. YOU try to achieve that balance of weird demands!

Good for you, Troop. Keep moving forward and attracting young talent, and ignore the naysayers. I look forward to this fresh new approach to the season from them.

[HornTeacher]

Looking at the designers drawing, I think it's supposed to resemble the belt from a gun holster. on the drawing it looks like it sits higher than what we see in the pictures posted. It's also brown in the drawing and has what looks like a belt buckle.

Looking at the original posted drawing (see below), it looks like at one point it was designed to above the top on one side.

http://drumandbugleband.tumblr.com/post/141419414311/the-troopers-posted-this-sketch-of-their-new

Thanks, Fish. I told you I was stupid on the matter. I appreciate your clearing it up for me (and brown makes all the difference in the world. Based on yesterday's television feed, it appeared reddish on my screen -- and that had me confused).

Edited May 29, 2016 by HornTeacher

[Fish]

Thanks, Fish. I told you I was stupid on the matter. I appreciate your clearing it up for me (and brown makes all the difference in the world. Based on yesterday's television feed, it appeared reddish on my screen.).

Stupid? Why say that? I had to look multiple times and the fact that these "belts" seem to be a different color from the drawing AND are hanging at all sorts of angles compared to the designers drawing kind of made me wonder why they bothered to put them on if the uniform is not yet complete.

Edited May 29, 2016 by Fish

[Tim K]

First, I love the Troopers more traditional uniforms and did not see a reason to change, and I can't say I'm crazy about the new uniforms. However, I remember not bring all that crazy about the uniforms of a corps in 2013. However when the first notes of one of my favorite all time were played, I forgot all about the uniforms, and when they were awarded a title, I don't think anyone critiqued the uniforms of the "purplepantsband." So if Troopers have a great musical book and an engrossing show, and if they return to finals, we won't be talking about the uniforms at season's end.

[Fish]

First, I love the Troopers more traditional uniforms and did not see a reason to change, and I can't say I'm crazy about the new uniforms. However, I remember not bring all that crazy about the uniforms of a corps in 2013. However when the first notes of one of my favorite all time were played, I forgot all about the uniforms, and when they were awarded a title, I don't think anyone critiqued the uniforms of the "purplepantsband." So if Troopers have a great musical book and an engrossing show, and if they return to finals, we won't be talking about the uniforms at season's end.

Good point. I've always wondered what went down when Bridgemen changed their uniforms in the 70's. Was everything ok or did people react the same way - like Faye Dunaway in her role as Joan Crawford (Mommie Dearest) and someone put clothing on a wire coat hanger.