drumlaw80 Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 JESTER 2005 DISCLAIMER: ... a surprise ending to this story. On with the story. Over the last few weeks, I read horrible review after horrible review on DCP, RAMD and other forums about Jester, a relatively new corps from Arizona. Frankly, I had never seen such bad reviews about ANY drum corps, and my curiousity was piqued. I could not imagine how bad a corps must be to generate reviews where fans complained about having to sit through the corps, and in one case, swear revenge on heir friend for getting them to watch them. In fact, the reviews were unbelievably crummy. Here are a few actual excerpts from reviews about Jester: 1. " ... a bit upsetting ... they're good kids, and it bugs me that their investment of time and heart is being mismanaged by the corps staff." 2. "Extremely hard to do anything with 9 horns. They started with 10 but one contra player walked to the front, sat down his horn, and stood there through the entire show ... when 10 percent of your hornline is standing at the 50 yard line, it's a distraction. " 3. "I will get you back for making me sit through [this corps]. 4. "Those poor kids were put through a torture chamber and forced into that. I hope someone from DCI-DII/III personnel happens to be reading this, cause I am going to implore you to step in and make the director of this corps stop. " 5. "NOTHING MAKES SENSE with this product. Choose a book/show that your kids can execute, clean and get better with...please, for the sake of your members." 6. "... the show is over their head. " 7. "I can't believe I sat through that ... the show was pretty bad. " 8. "I cannot believe for a second that any of those kids, except perhaps for their talented drum line, is having a life-changing positive experience that I would think a corps would want to promote, or that DCI would like to have corps promote." 9. "What the [bleep] was that?" So anway, I could not imagine how bad a corps had to be to generate such reviews. And if a corps was really that bad, doesn't it say a great deal about the character of the kids, to take the field night after night after night, to little applause, no trophies and scores that resembled scores from a football game more than drum corps? I mean, all they want to do is perform. Isn't that what drum corps about? On Saturday, when we circled up the Renegades after rehearsal, we told them about Jester. Having started out in exactly the same way a few years ago, the Renegades were very interested in hearing about Jester. In fact, we decided to call Saturday "Jester Day," and dedicate our performance in Sunnyvale to the little corps that everyone hated. Jester was set to take the field immediately after Renegades in Sunnyvale. After the Renegades performed, our entire corps lined up to watch and support a corps that we expected to be really, really bad. Horrible, in fact. THE SURPRISE ENDING. And guess what? Jester was not that bad. Really. In fact, they had parts of their show which were actually cool. The general consensus among 100+ Renegades was that Jester was okay, and the statements I kept hearing from our corps members included "I have seen worse..." and "You gotta hand it to those kids, they are really trying out there." Not one person in the Renegades thought Jester was the worst corps they had ever seen. The moral of this story is that the kids and staff in Jester have earned our respect, and we thank them for taking the field night after night in the face of extreme and total adversity. As an aside, you might be interested to know that for one and only time in our corps history, the Renegades cymbal line did not form a "7" at the end of the show in Sacramento. They formed a "J." True story. Lee Rudnicki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victorcoly Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 Some of Lee's finest once again!! Thanks Mr. Rudnicki!!!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobRoy Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 Thank you Mr. Rudnicki. Ain't that what it's all about? I have increased respect for you and your organization for such wonderful support of the kids who make this activity special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomR Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 I read the title of this thread, and I was like... oh gosh. he's getting banned this time. I do have to say it was and upsetting beggining (your story that is) because I hate to hear such bad stuff about a corps. but, I read the rest, and I was glad I did. thanks Lee, that was good story. ~>conner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancerlady Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 Way to go Renegades and Lee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCIFan1982 Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 Is there such a thing as "worst corps ever"? As long as there is dedication, and the desire to learn, they are all the "best kids ever" in my book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlbionNY Drum Line Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueorginal Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 Having seen Jester in Riverside, I can say the kids were performing to their talent level, they put out a okay sound for a new kid on the block, and most important the kids seem to enjoy themselves..... The down side is for the size of corps, talent level and newness of competiting to the kids I think the staff made some "misjudgments" in the type of music they should play and style.....hopefully this has been a learning experience they will build on.... I think the people with the most negative feelings of Jester are ones that are comparing them to Top Twelve standards of show design. Kudo's to Renegades for their actions and support of the activity. One note: ATTENTION JESTER STAFF..... when you name a corps something that denotes fun, whimsy, entertainment etc....please take that to the field.....and leave the obscure oddity etc.....to other corps.....you only start a corps once and have a very small window to define and clarify your corps "style" As a fan I'd love to see more fun, whimsy, and entertaining corps on the turf....: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdisney Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 (edited) I met them at their housing site Saturday and had a talk with some of their staff. Or parents, wasn't really sure. It was late. Anyway, they seemed to have a really good attitude. I guess where they come from, or so they said, band isn't taken too seriously. They had to learn what a roll step was and how to do it. I think they will become really good some day. And kudos to them for keeping to plug away at it. Incidentally, I agree with the sentiment that a corps named "Jester" should play stuff that's more, well, whimsical I guess is the word. Not sure the story behind this year's show selection. I'm sure the staff, too had a great learning experience and hopefully they will incorporate lots of new stuff next year. Edited July 20, 2005 by gdisney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dugada Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 It's a shame they did not have any souvies. Their would have been a mysterious sellout of Jester shirts on Saturday if they did! Jesterday only comes once a year. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.