Dear Freelancer Alum!

[torn8o]

Hi byline,

I would never try to hide the fact that there is another side to the story. There is. The truth of the matter is that THE WAY I left Freelancers for Blue Devils was wrong! I left on the very last day to change corps (February 28th 1993) and after the Freelancer staff wrote a BILL CHASE SHOW CENTERED COMPLETELY AROUND ME. I WAS A JERK FOR DOING WHAT I DID.

Therefore, my purpose in this response is not to defend what I did at all. My point is, [/b]I already apologized YEARS ago and 13 years have passed- so people need to get over it. It's was 13 years ago and we are all in our 30s and 40s now and should be over it already.[/b]

My other reason for this response was, I didn't appreciate John R defaming my character publically the way he did.

Edited June 7, 2005 by torn8o

[byline]

Thanks for the clarification, Scott. Sounds to me like you've paid your dues, and you never should've been forced to hash this out on a public forum. Such is life. Anyway, thanks for telling your side of the story.

[felixh]

I left the Anaheim Kingsmen for the Blue Devils only after the Anaheim Kingsmen folded after the 1978 season.....I would have marched until my age out year (1982) with the Kingsmen had they survived as a field unit...regretfully, 1979 was my last season, due to some family issues back home in Los Angeles. I can totally relate to anyone picking up and leaving a corps behind for greener pastures.....Loyalty to a corps and loyalty to members go hand in hand.....if a corps does not have what is necessary to attract and field a unit then members departing is inevitable....IMO a corps that does not watch it's finances or have in place a structure to compete is just as disloyal to it's members, as those who choose to move on as a result....turning in your patches is just ridiculous...if you marched and worked as hard as the next guy or girl a certain year then you deserve to enjoy the fruits of your labor..... :)

[byline]

IMO a corps that does not watch it's finances or have in place a structure to compete is just as disloyal to it's members, as those who choose to move on as a result....

I understand what you're saying, but I think it's so much more complicated than that. One of the most basic crises corps faced in the '70s was skyrocketing gas prices. You do your budgets a year in advance, but I'm not sure anyone could've predicted--much less compensated for--what would happen with one of the most fundamental expenses--travel--in competitive drum corps. The thing was, the people who ran corps back then were, by and large, not businesspeople, but people who loved corps. It was only fairly recently that most corps began to follow some sort of structured business model. So I really think corps' management back then were the victims of circumstances beyond their control, and the corps fell victim. In no way could I call our corps staff disloyal, because they did everything they possibly could, with limited means, to keep the corps afloat. I give them a lot of credit for doing the best they could, just as those of us who marched did.

[Russellrks]

To add a little perspective to this topic, one must remember that drum corps is a family and, as with any family, many things that happen are processed on a very emotional level.

The words "Betrayal and Loyalty" were brought up as feelings expressed when Scott decided to leave Freelancers, as well as not bothering to discuss with his "Corps Family" what he was contemplating before he made his decision. Those emotions can only be felt by people who are really close and care about one another deeply.

I had a very similar experience when I made my decision to leave my REAL family and move to Atlanta to teach Spirit. I didn't know it at the time because I was totally focused on following through with the enormous life altering decision I had just made, but years later my younger brother told me that he had been mad at me because he felt "Betrayed", because it felt to him like I had abandoned him. I was thrown for a loop because he made me realize that I had never stopped to think how my decision to leave home and pursue my dreams was going to affect anyone else but ME.

I was genuinely touched that he shared those feelings with me and I apologized for not taking his feelings into consideration and at least talking to him about what I was getting ready to do.

Oh well, can you kinda get the analogy?

The only difference is that my brother got over it and we are still very close.

Maybe somewhere down the line your brother's can do the same Scott. I hope so.

[felixh]

I understand what you're saying, but I think it's so much more complicated than that. One of the most basic crises corps faced in the '70s was skyrocketing gas prices. You do your budgets a year in advance, but I'm not sure anyone could've predicted--much less compensated for--what would happen with one of the most fundamental expenses--travel--in competitive drum corps. The thing was, the people who ran corps back then were, by and large, not businesspeople, but people who loved corps. It was only fairly recently that most corps began to follow some sort of structured business model. So I really think corps' management back then were the victims of circumstances beyond their control, and the corps fell victim. In no way could I call our corps staff disloyal, because they did everything they possibly could, with limited means, to keep the corps afloat. I give them a lot of credit for doing the best they could, just as those of us who marched did.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh, I agree, and I hope I did not sound too critical. However, there were some corps that mismanaged funds and did not do everything possible to keep corps on the field. There were corps back in the 70's that are still on the field today...many of the corps that have since parted fell victim to many of the factors you mentioned,....it's the small percentage that mismanaged funds and made poor decisions that I speak of.....also, I have mentioned the fuel prices factor in other posts....thanks for the input.

[apoch003]

Woah! They wrote a whole ahow around you, and you bolted? I can understand the bitter feelings at least.

Imagine the cost of writing then rewriting the show.

However, your life is your own. IMO, it was a mistake on freelancers part to do that.

[torn8o]

Woah!  They wrote a whole ahow around you, and you bolted?  I can understand the bitter feelings at least.

Sure, but not over a decade later and after I have apologized OVER AND OVER again over the years for the whole thing. How many more times and to how many more people do I have to apologize to for the whole thing before people drop the subject and move on with life. It's ridiculous! I'm 31 years old. I should not have to be defending myself on a public forum for something that happened in 1993. It's just plain ridiculous.

Edited October 26, 2005 by torn8o

[torn8o]

To add a little perspective to this topic, one must remember that  drum corps is a family and, as with any family, many things that happen are processed on a very emotional level.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's the problem. "Family" in what sense? It's not like corps member is under some sort of marriage or covenant. If he were, uh...that would be called a "cult". Buisnesses call themselves families often when you have a group of people who work together day in and day out. But if a person wants a new job you don't ever see someone come in and call them "betrayers". You also don't have someone bullying you to get "all your paychecks back". As I look back on my days in Freelancers I have a lot of great memories. I will always love that corps. But there is one thing that corps did that I will not EVER agree with. They were too possesive! You can't own people. Especially when people volunteer to do it. When you get that possesive over volunteers it borders real close to slavery if you really think about it. It wasn't just me either, I watched that corps dis-associate people very viciously every year who went to other corps. I never saw that in Blue Devils. I remember a soprano player (eventually to be a very good sop soloist) name Jim Roscoe in the Blue Devils who was 15 years old in 93. Wayne could not wait to see what he would do in a few years. Well, in 94, he went to Vanguard to be a soloist. What was Waynes response? I was actually in the room when Jim told him and it went something very simmilar to this..."That's great Jim! I WILL miss you but I hope you enjoy it and support your decision 100%! You've got so many years of corps in front of you- you may as well check another corps out for a while. Keep in touch and don't be a stranger this summer. If you need me to write you a good letter of recomendation for that corps let me know." You know what happened? Jim was soloist for two years in SCV and then came back to be one of BDs main soloists in 96 and 97. When you treat people right, they sometimes WANT to come back to you later.

Drum corps may be a family but is a family in a buisiness sense. Therefore, regardless of whether someone leaves "right" or "wrong" which mine was definately wrong (I would liken what I did to not giving a standard 30 day notice for a job change"), the staff needs to be professional about how they handle it. I'm gratefull that despite a very rough discussion at my house in 93 that John Zimney was professional enough to sit down with me later over pizza and hash out what went wrong and rekindle a friendship.

Edited June 7, 2005 by torn8o

[jmc5682]

I cannot believe this is still an issue after all this time. There were so many people who left Freelancers for BD and SCV over the years. People also forget that half of the Freelancers (at least when I marched)were from SoCal. This stay with your home town corps is stupid. I would have loved to march in BD. but I would have looked pretty silly in spandex! Besides, we always hated VK when I marched, not BD!