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Lets talk about the Mandarins


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12 minutes ago, George Dixon said:

Isn’t there a Mandarins 2019 thread?

i think they’ve been talked about a lot 

There is a thread but it's not "a lot". I still think people don't take them seriously or don't want to take them seriously. They have been around for decades as a div.2 and 2-60 corp (winning those class DCI titles) and made the move into div. 1 then World Class but never really was a factor until the last two years. Now they are in a position to finish as high as maybe 7th and on. 

Edited by DFA1970
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3 minutes ago, DFA1970 said:

There is a thread but it's not "a lot". I still think people don't take them seriously or don't want to take them seriously. They have been around for decades as a div. 1 and 2 corp (winning those class DCI titles) and made the move into div. 1 then World Class but never really was a factor until the last two years. Now they are in a position to finish as high as maybe 7th and on. 

Thanks! I did say in my ramblings that their thread is only 6 pages.

But in all fairness the threads for corps like BK and Blue Stars aren't beefy either. There are just corps that get a lot of attention and corps that have to show their success on the field.

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Just now, ThePlanets said:

Thanks! I did say in my ramblings that their thread is only 6 pages.

But in all fairness the threads for corps like BK and Blue Stars aren't beefy either. There are just corps that get a lot of attention and corps that have to show their success on the field.

On DCP fewer pages probably means things are going smoothly and there is nothing to worry about 😅

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1 minute ago, DrumManTx said:

On DCP fewer pages probably means things are going smoothly and there is nothing to worry about 😅

That's a nice way to think of that but probably nahhh.... at least the Cadets chatter over the year has subsided (beyond the GH influence and headline news).  

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24 minutes ago, drumcorpsfever said:

How can they surge? Money helps.  Last 990’s has Mandarins with over $5 million in gross receipts. That is on par with the Bluecoats and  2 1/2 times of the Crossmen. 

If you want to be a top-tier corps, you have to spend your way to get there too. Talent helps, but money in DCI rules. 

The California bingo operations really are something else. Most corps don’t have access to that gravy train.

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1 hour ago, jeffmolnar said:

The California bingo operations really are something else. Most corps don’t have access to that gravy train.

I think bingo has been a lot less lucrative in the past decade or so as more and more casinos get approved. I think a lot of smart business decisions have been made thanks to Jim Tabuchi and his BOD.

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2 hours ago, Glenn426 said:

Yeah Ike Jackson. From Ayala HS PSW fame. A look at his past work with Ayala and Stryke percussion and you can find where the interesting new show designs come from.. I read that they also have a Diamante PIW Guard connection and you have big indicators for the bump in competitive achievement. I liked them last year and I like them again this year.. 

Yes, Mario Ramirez (their creative director) is the founder/director/designer for Diamante (which earned the bronze medal in WGI World Class this past season). So between his creative direction and Ike Jackson's program direction, Mandarins have really snagged themselves a powerful duo.

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I think part of it is the new niche they've carved out stylistically too.  They did the Asian themed shows for years, which were good but sort of felt "the same" after awhile.  Jackson and Ramirez have taken them into a different territory stylistically going with the weird and strange vibe.  It's something that seems particularly fresh right now as no one else is doing quite that. BK had that kind of a "this is new and different" buzz for a bit as well but seems to have lost their focus with it a bit the past year or so.  Time will be the test to see if the Mandarins team can keep it rolling.  But yeah, the money certainly helps!

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11 minutes ago, KVG_DC said:

I think part of it is the new niche they've carved out stylistically too.  They did the Asian themed shows for years, which were good but sort of felt "the same" after awhile.  Jackson and Ramirez have taken them into a different territory stylistically going with the weird and strange vibe.  It's something that seems particularly fresh right now as no one else is doing quite that. BK had that kind of a "this is new and different" buzz for a bit as well but seems to have lost their focus with it a bit the past year or so.  Time will be the test to see if the Mandarins team can keep it rolling.  But yeah, the money certainly helps!

BK strange and Mandarins strange are two totally different weirds. BK is more of an introspective/overthinking/psychological weird weird while Mandarins shows the past 2 years are just downright creepy/weird/scary/nightmare. I could see BK doing something like the inkblot show though.

 

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Another solid show from these guys/  Still not entirely clear on the storyline, but the corps is selling it.  Absolutely love the drum feature. 

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