Per the California Attorney General Vanguard is operating illegally as a non profit

[84BDsop]

14 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

well BD seems to rehearse the least, yet is consistently the most successful....and many cry they never do anything demanding. hmm....

You'd think after all these years and all their success, more corps would try to implement a similar system instead of beating the #### out of their members.

[scheherazadesghost]

1 hour ago, 84BDsop said:

You'd think after all these years and all their success, more corps would try to implement a similar system instead of beating the #### out of their members.

I've gotten a strong sense that Vanguard has improved in this area, especially since I marched,  so "beating the ####" out of them is an intense way to describe it, even for me. Overtraining can fall in that category, but I have no evidence of intentional overtraining. Just an inability to recognize it, as well as how to better use the members' time once they reach the overtraining stage.

But my bar is for actual successful improvement in this area is very high.

Most members still seem to leave satisfied with their experience. Great. That's a victory for everyone. I'm just looking out for those who fall through the cracks, cause there were other alum who did the same for me when I was broken.

[greg_orangecounty]

2 hours ago, 84BDsop said:

You'd think after all these years and all their success, more corps would try to implement a similar system instead of beating the #### out of their members.

Maybe it's a generational thing, but I never felt like I had the #### beat out of me and we practiced from 10 to 10 too.  My only lasting Drum Corps related "injury" is multiple melanomas.  

[OldSnareDrummer]

5 minutes ago, greg_orangecounty said:

Maybe it's a generational thing, but I never felt like I had the #### beat out of me and we practiced from 10 to 10 too.  My only lasting Drum Corps related "injury" is multiple melanomas.  

Here too, but then again, marching in squads and obliques and an occasional company front and especially for me, marching up and down the 50 isn't the same as running, dancing, gymnastics moves at 150 BPM and hauling around 200 lb props. 

[84BDsop]

22 minutes ago, greg_orangecounty said:

Maybe it's a generational thing, but I never felt like I had the #### beat out of me and we practiced from 10 to 10 too.  My only lasting Drum Corps related "injury" is multiple melanomas.  

There's a difference between a 10 to 10 with sufficient food and rest built into the schedule and one with a lack of the same.

[Tenoris4Jazz]

9 minutes ago, OldSnareDrummer said:

Here too, but then again, marching in squads and obliques and an occasional company front and especially for me, marching up and down the 50 isn't the same as running, dancing, gymnastics moves at 150 BPM and hauling around 200 lb props. 

I've watched several videos that were shot by GoPro's or the like being worn by drummers or horn players.  It is amazing that they can do what they're doing and manage to play more than 50% of the book.  I'd love to see some MM's post the step counts from a rehearsal.  I'd bet some of them put my day at Disneyworld to shame.

[Tenoris4Jazz]

1 minute ago, 84BDsop said:

There's a difference between a 10 to 10 with sufficient food and rest built into the schedule and one with a lack of the same.

Tiger Woods was pretty well prepared for a round of golf in competition, including all the water he wanted and bag full of sandwiches and snacks.  He has been quoted saying he used to lose between 4 and 8 pounds during an 18 hole competitive round.  Ratchet that up to 40-42 holes in a day and you're looking at... 12-15 pounds?  The DCI summer weight management program!!!

[greg_orangecounty]

7 minutes ago, OldSnareDrummer said:

Here too, but then again, marching in squads and obliques and an occasional company front and especially for me, marching up and down the 50 isn't the same as running, dancing, gymnastics moves at 150 BPM and hauling around 200 lb props. 

Yes.  I didn't have to run sideways like a crab, dance (thank God!), and move jungle gyms across the field.  But they don't have to wear wool cadets and black patent leather dress shoes while doing knee-high mark-time on asphalt either.  🙂

All eras are physically demanding but to the point of people being physically and mentally abused...?  I think it's being overdramatized. 

Wait.  What was this thread about again? 

[greg_orangecounty]

21 minutes ago, 84BDsop said:

There's a difference between a 10 to 10 with sufficient food and rest built into the schedule and one with a lack of the same.

Of course.

[scheherazadesghost]

51 minutes ago, OldSnareDrummer said:

Here too, but then again, marching in squads and obliques and an occasional company front and especially for me, marching up and down the 50 isn't the same as running, dancing, gymnastics moves at 150 BPM and hauling around 200 lb props. 

whimpers in Orawa, featuring full body layered lycra 🫠

Every positive experience alumni share is a win. Niche legacy art forms are precious and fragile. Trust me, I came up as a contemporary dancer who earned municipal grants to support the work, I get it.

But thanks to some brave alum from the Cadets and others, those of us with "less than positive" experiences are gradually building the courage to speak about them. If anyone has interpreted my own report as anything less than abuse/neglect/ harassment, they haven't had the cojones to say it to my face. And it was internally corroborated. So they happen.

For context, my report makes some others that have been disclosed to me look paltry by comparison. It would kinda be one thing if it were one or two others maybe, but that's not the case.

And the beginning of 2023 surprised me with whistleblowers who had institutional/organizational level info to disclose to me. It had been predominantly member level info prior.

But here's what I've realized: every single reporter wants to help make it better for future members, without exception. Sadly, few agree about how to do that. Fewer have the capacity to do the volunteer work. Even fewer acknowledge the issues and/or have the training and mental health literacy requiered to do reporter-alum justice.

So here I am, continuing to advocate for those the mission failed. 🤷🏽‍♀️  Edit to add: and we could help make Vanguard the leader in safeguarding.

Edited April 28, 2023 by scheherazadesghost