kyushujet Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Hello Drum Corps Fans, Just back from Las Vegas where my wife had a business meeting at the MGM Grand. She works for Amgen, Inc. and they had a 3 day meeting there. I tagged along because we have a 5 month old boy, and the wife is still breastfeeding, so I got to play nanny (sorry if that's too much information). During the opening of Wednesday's meeting, I got a call from the wife saying that the Blue Devils Drum Line had performed for the company dressed in painters outfits? Then one of the big wigs of Amgen strapped on some quads and played with them. My questions are: 1. Was this really BD's drumline? 2. If it was BD, how did they get the gig? Who do they know at Amgen? 3. How much did Amgen fork over to bring the drum line down? I heard that the VP of Amgen had dinner with the drum line the night before and watched them practice. He was concerned because it was getting late and they were still practicing. Obviously, he doesn't know about drum corps life. I would have loved to watch the drum line practice (I marched bass for Troopers in 86-88). If anyone has any info, would love to know the details. Thanks. Bobby B. Little Elm, TX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brakedrum Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Hello Drum Corps Fans,Just back from Las Vegas where my wife had a business meeting at the MGM Grand. She works for Amgen, Inc. and they had a 3 day meeting there. I tagged along because we have a 5 month old boy, and the wife is still breastfeeding, so I got to play nanny (sorry if that's too much information). During the opening of Wednesday's meeting, I got a call from the wife saying that the Blue Devils Drum Line had performed for the company dressed in painters outfits? Then one of the big wigs of Amgen strapped on some quads and played with them. My questions are: 1. Was this really BD's drumline? 2. If it was BD, how did they get the gig? Who do they know at Amgen? 3. How much did Amgen fork over to bring the drum line down? I heard that the VP of Amgen had dinner with the drum line the night before and watched them practice. He was concerned because it was getting late and they were still practicing. Obviously, he doesn't know about drum corps life. I would have loved to watch the drum line practice (I marched bass for Troopers in 86-88). If anyone has any info, would love to know the details. Thanks. Bobby B. Little Elm, TX in the last 3 decades, BD org has really marketed itself out to many venues, including playing with some high end musicians and groups. Email David Glyde(napo855@aol.com) or Scott Johnson (scottj0630@aol.com) about the recent performance, they will tell you the details. why they have aol addresses is beyond me...isnt aol like the worst, old school internet provider? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalletMusic Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 (edited) It was a group of alumni and current members as part of 'BD Entertainment.' www.bdentertain.com Edited April 7, 2006 by MalletMusic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 As noted above, the gig in Las Vegas was done by BD Entertainment (BDE) - which is a professional entertainment company that was created by the Blue Devils a couple of years ago. BDE provides all sorts of performers (percussion, brass, flags, spinners, you name it ..... ) for corporate events, sporting games and events, television, and just about anywhere a high-energy performance is needed. What is REALLY cool is that it gives present members and alumni an opportunity to continue to perform - even after aging out ..... and earn some money at the same time. BDE performers come from other organizations beside the Blue Devils - so it gives other corps members an opportunity to participate as-well. Several of the BD creative staff are involved in creating the material and choreography - to create a really polished and exciting presentation. Its a great way to leverage the skills, talents, and resources of the entire organization - and earn a few dollars along the way. Check out the videos of some of their gigs on the BDE site ..... www.bdentertain.com Its pretty good stuff. -john Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Sure wish I had known about this... :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 that is perhaps the slickest promo trailer I've ever seen talk about corporate quality - wow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 It should also be noted that the VERY next day, an entirely different company of 20-some BDE performers did a corporate gig in Chicago for Hyatt executives. Dave Gibbs and the BD staff have done an incredible job of putting together a very professional group of designers, arrangers, performers and producers to put these productions together. Most of the gigs are closed to the public - either in a corporate meeting, trade show, or special event environment. Sadly, most of us won't ever get into these shows, unless we're otherwise a part of the event. Yes, the promotional materials are amongst the best I've seen. The BD team has always led the way in putting together high-quality multi-media productions. All of that would be neat if it were just simply viewed from the technical or financial potential perspective. What makes it especially rewarding is for the opportunities it creates for young performers to actually further their careers in the performing arts and make some money at it. I believe the benefits to the drum corps / pageantry activity in-general are fantastic. My $0.02 -john Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbassman5 Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 i know of a couple of people that were never part of the BD organization that have done BDE, so it's not ALL BD members and alumni but, it IS a very very cool program second only to Blast :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared_mello Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 Those promo videos are awesome, and its sweet that they're doing this. I could swear that I just saw Tim Jackson playing snare in the BDE hip hop video, but maybe it's just late. Heh, they were obviously having lots of fun and all, but the release at the end of that clip (before the last ending tag) was horrible. Not that it matters to them, their audiences, or even me. :P I really see this as an idea that is going to have longevity and is really going to be prosperous for the organization (and the activity). John, yes, I agree - especially with the paragraph about performing opportunities. I'm really curious about this BD/Phantom thing that's in the works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapps Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 It would be cool to try and get BDE to appear on British TV show somewhere in the near future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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