Cadets 2020

[garfield]

6 hours ago, DCIKnowItAll said:

I heard the other guard guy was “let go” at both his high school gig (Florida) and his most recent summer gig (Bluecoats)

 

good luck, hopefully he’s a step up from Adam Sage!

And again, more crap-balls thrown.  Two negative comments in one hire!  Great job!  Thanks!

But WHY?

 

[waliman4444]

Congratulations on the staff hires..their street cred established, I look forward to a successful season..HOWEVER after last season's pre season hype ...I'm from Missouri !..Peace

[dans]

I think the Cadets are making some exciting changes. My main concern however is the retention of Darcie Aungst. Not sure how she earned another shot after the stink bomb she created last season. And I mean no disrespect to Darcie. She is a very nice lady who has done great things with the Dartmouth indoor program. Hopefully she will not be the only one responsible for concept development at the Cadets.

[ShortAndFast]

I was surprisingly "meh" about the announcement. I think April returning to the guard is possibly the biggest game changer for them.

For my money, their biggest problem of late has been the inability to design complete, compelling shows that generate effect and explore their theme in an interesting way. Have they really made any changes in this area? I still see the same Artistic Director as before. I think they can ... all ... do ... better.

I was also disappointed to see not a word of thanks for the departing staff. Whatever their flaws, they kept the group alive and in finals through an existential crisis. There was always a gracelessness to Cadets' handling of staff under GH, I had hoped that would improve under new administration.

[2000Cadet]

8 hours ago, FTNK said:

My fear is that they will go all old-school, run and gun, maybe with the old uniforms... and become even less relevant. It's not 1998 anymore...

Anyone else not a huge fan of Jay Bocook arrangements?

As if the last few years was better? Bocook's writing for the Cadets is much better than what they've had in the past few years. 

9 hours ago, DCIKnowItAll said:

And just like that Cadets will be 9th or 10th at best, again!

 

whats the hype?!?  

Gosh I hope not. 

8 hours ago, FTNK said:

Light on design team. Darcie Aungst still involved in design. Meh

I honestly still don't know much about Darcie Aungst so I'm indifferent. 

8 hours ago, cadet93 said:

Love April and Jay. I don't see these changes moving the needle much or attracting talent.  Maybe April can pull some Florida talent into the guard, but brass will be tough to get.

Also weird to me that Jeff would "consult" for Cadets but still write for Crown, guess Cadets are considered a lower level corps now so that isn't a big deal...... maybe I should look at it as progress. Dunno.

Glad to see April back with the corps. 

8 hours ago, kdaddy said:

UPDATE: I'd say it's okay. Bocook is a huge plus. Not sure about the program design. And, while I admittedly don't follow the Cadets closely, I honestly don't know who Jon Bilby is.

Jon Bilby marched Cadets 1996-1998. He was also one of the visual techs in 1999 and 2000, both years I marched, and possibly further after that. He is partly the reason we marched so well in 2000. He is extremely detail-oriented and I'd say he's one of the best pickups Cadets could get. 

To be honest, I am a happier with what they have now than the past few years. These people have experience and compared to what has been going on recently, I can say they are in much better hands. They may not medal, or may not get within top 6, but at least there is a chance with the experience that all of these people have in the drum corps community. 

[dbc03]

John Bilby is who baby Cadets want to be when they grow up. 

[garfield]

On 8/13/2019 at 7:23 PM, DCIKnowItAll said:

Two rumors heard following DCI this weekend:

1. That everyone is gone from cadets..including current director.  (This doesn’t make much sense, but is what it is)  Bonfiglio taking over and bringing in new design staff.

2. Everyone gone with the exception of the Percussion staff.  This also has Aungst assuming corps director role.

 

 

While looking for something in your post history that would indicate why you have such negative thoughts, I ran across this tidbit.

Sorry to inform you that No. 1 was mostly public knowledge as early as mid-July.  It wasn't a secret rumor.

And even your rumor-mongering indicates that your input lacks factual knowledge and, with no history of accuracy in your posts, calls into question your vaticination going forward.

Aungst as director and someone completely unexpected in visual design - two now proven-wrong rumors that were better left un-spread.

Still haven't figured out why you seem so bitter, especially considering you're a alum. And you've not made a convincing case why this announcement puts Cadets in the bottom half of the Saturday night ladder.  I'm hoping you'll enlighten us with something with more meat on the bones. 

 

[George Dixon]

Just now, dans said:

I think the Cadets are making some exciting changes. My main concern however is the retention of Darcie Aungst. Not sure how she earned another shot after the stink bomb she created last season. And I mean no disrespect to Darcie. She is a very nice lady who has done great things with the Dartmouth indoor program. Hopefully she will not be the only one responsible for concept development at the Cadets.

one must "read between the lines" on these sort of announcements - Darcie has a long & successful track record in show design (indoor) but no doubt roles are being adjusted and control re-partitioned

three big pluses with the "new" staff -

1. they know each other & they know the "Cadets way" - so unlike many first year "new teams" there's a level of comfort that in other situations could take years to develop

2. deep connections - they are mentors/giants in the activity - they can reach deeply into the WGI, BOA, DCI and band worlds for select techs (and via those techs - members)

3. experience - Cadets back on par with the other top organizations in terms of experience & influence. Cadets used to be able to make changes to programs extremely quickly - huge in today's shortened tour schedule. This team can mentor younger caption talent to help Cadets rebuild staff depth for the future

so - what's success (in my view) for 2020?

1. Caption success - get brass/guard back into the top six, continue to build percussion back into the top 3 or 4. Build on that in subsequent years... talent will build. 

2. A well designed & well-liked show that's fresh and current. Cadets used to have top design - that must return

3. An exceptional member experience - great design, great instruction & a terrific tour experience

 

 

[George Dixon]

9 minutes ago, 2000Cadet said:

To be honest, I am a happier with what they have now than the past few years. These people have experience and compared to what has been going on recently, I can say they are in much better hands. They may not medal, or may not get within top 6, but at least there is a chance with the experience that all of these people have in the drum corps community. 

Agree completely. Sorry but John + Jeff (for example) is a vast improvement over the prior drill situation. April is the same - she's one of the top guard people EVER. Same with Jay's arrangement - massive step up. 

It will be exciting to see what the team comes up with. I'm very confident in saying we'll see a vastly better prepared corps hit Detroit 9 months from now than we did in 2019. 

[dans]

6 minutes ago, George Dixon said:

one must "read between the lines" on these sort of announcements - Darcie has a long & successful track record in show design (indoor) but no doubt roles are being adjusted and control re-partitioned

three big pluses with the "new" staff -

1. they know each other & they know the "Cadets way" - so unlike many first year "new teams" there's a level of comfort that in other situations could take years to develop

2. deep connections - they are mentors/giants in the activity - they can reach deeply into the WGI, BOA, DCI and band worlds for select techs (and via those techs - members)

3. experience - Cadets back on par with the other top organizations in terms of experience & influence. Cadets used to be able to make changes to programs extremely quickly - huge in today's shortened tour schedule. This team can mentor younger caption talent to help Cadets rebuild staff depth for the future

so - what's success (in my view) for 2020?

1. Caption success - get brass/guard back into the top six, continue to build percussion back into the top 3 or 4. Build on that in subsequent years... talent will build. 

2. A well designed & well-liked show that's fresh and current. Cadets used to have top design - that must return

3. An exceptional member experience - great design, great instruction & a terrific tour experience

 

 

Thanks George. You make some really good points.