90'sMelloguy Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 OK. Maybe someone can help me with this. I have not been following DC very closely the last few years, but when I was last involved in the activity it was 02 and I saw the Seattle Cascades in action all summer and they were smokin. They marched and played great and the only thing that was holding them back from being next level good was some aspects of their show designs. I thought that in a few years they would be knockin off some of the big boys. But instead they are getting killed by nearly everyone. The same thing happened to Magic of Orlando who was also rockin back in 02 as well. How did this happen. Was there some money problems, massive staff changes, new director, or somethin else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgoth Bauglir Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Cascades 02 is one of my favorite drum corps shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom007 Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Massive staff changes pretty much every year. Almost all the 02 staff is gone, a lot of them are with the Oregon Crusaders (Div II). And this year they got off to a late start and are performing a harder show than the last few years. Yes, they are scoring low now, but they're also tweaking big chunks of their show including a large chunk of their closer. I have seen them this year, and they're continuing to work out kinks with their visual aspects, but I can assure you that even though their scores don't reflect it, their brass line is quite good. Give em some time, a lot can happen in a month and a half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scadescontra Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 (edited) This corps has always had money problems, but somehow we've been able to get through it. Last year we had our staff BUS break down about 6-7 times and probably dumped a good 10k into it. Also, at our last show before we left for Boston, our pit cart's breaks went out on a huge steep hill and ended up slamming into a couple parked cars. No one was seriously injured but the 2 cars had a lot of damage to them. We also lost our bingo hall this year due to the WA state smoking ban. But alas that has little to nothing to do with what is happening. Our staff in 2002 didn't get along and in 03 we had almost a brand new staff. We had the same brass staff which is why our brass line was so good. 03 was not a good year for the corps, 04 was better some of the staff from 02 came back, but again, mostly new staff and we had a decent show that placed where it should have. It was a rebound year and we succeeded at that. '05 was going to be the year that we rebounded back to where we belong, but judges didn't get our show and the whole narration thing didn't go over too well. Plus everyone was so #### good last year, we just so happened to be on the low end. This year was filled with promise and expectation everyone was excited about the show and the theme of the show which to me fits perfectly with what situation the corps is in right now. This show has the potential to be great and if they can clean it and keep on getting better, i think they will over take more than a few corps. I do not see this corps finishing in the place that they are right now. The season is still extremely early and the have 3 rehearsal days including today until their next show. There will be improvement and i hope that the placements will show it and place them accordingly. Edited July 3, 2006 by Scadescontra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90'sMelloguy Posted July 3, 2006 Author Share Posted July 3, 2006 This corps has always had money problems, but somehow we've been able to get through it. Last year we had our staff BUS break down about 6-7 times and probably dumped a good 10k into it. Also, at our last show before we left for Boston, our pit cart's breaks went out on a huge steep hill and ended up slamming into a couple parked cars. No one was seriously injured but the 2 cars had a lot of damage to them. We also lost our bingo hall this year due to the WA state smoking ban. But alas that has little to nothing to do with what is happening. Our staff in 2002 didn't get along and in 03 we had almost a brand new staff. We had the same brass staff which is why our brass line was so good. 03 was not a good year for the corps, 04 was better some of the staff from 02 came back, but again, mostly new staff and we had a decent show that placed where it should have. It was a rebound year and we succeeded at that. '05 was going to be the year that we rebounded back to where we belong, but judges didn't get our show and the whole narration thing didn't go over too well. Plus everyone was so #### good last year, we just so happened to be on the low end. This year was filled with promise and expectation everyone was excited about the show and the theme of the show which to me fits perfectly with what situation the corps is in right now. This show has the potential to be great and if they can clean it and keep on getting better, i think they will over take more than a few corps. I do not see this corps finishing in the place that they are right now. The season is still extremely early and the have 3 rehearsal days including today until their next show. There will be improvement and i hope that the placements will show it and place them accordingly. Thanks for all the info. I knew there had to be something major happen for them to fall off like that. I am glad to hear that you think things will be fine by finals. I got the impression that the director in 02 really made it a priorty to do what was best for the members in the corps instead of focusing entirely on placement (like so many other corps do). I really thought that was great and I wanted to see them be succesful. As far as the staff not getting along I think that is pretty common. In my experience marching DC and as a staff member it was very common to see the staff fight. Actually the biggest reason that I left the activity was becuase of this, so I can relate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scadescontra Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Thanks for all the info. I knew there had to be something major happen for them to fall off like that. I am glad to hear that you think things will be fine by finals. I got the impression that the director in 02 really made it a priorty to do what was best for the members in the corps instead of focusing entirely on placement (like so many other corps do). I really thought that was great and I wanted to see them be succesful.As far as the staff not getting along I think that is pretty common. In my experience marching DC and as a staff member it was very common to see the staff fight. Actually the biggest reason that I left the activity was becuase of this, so I can relate. Sal Leone was the glue that held this corps together. He almost single handedly brought this corps back from extintion in 1997. He was one of the most involved Executive Directors in DCI. From 2000 - 2002 he was there everyday on tour making sure things got done and that we were on time and pretty much everthing else. Some members thought poorly of him for always being there and getting on us, but in '03 when he began to not be able to tour with us the whole time, things didn't run as smoothly, kids didn't have as good a time, our return rate dropped. Now that he has resigned Jimmy Fursman is doing his best to fill in and try to be there as much as possible. There is no doubt in my mind that the key ingredient to our success from 2000 - 2002 was due to Sal and his determination to not let us fail... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crfrey71 Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 I think starting almost 2 weeks later than most corps this year has something to do with their current score, as well. Crossmen didn't exactly come out blazing either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
festive Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 I'll just be happy to see them, regardless of how they do competitively. Adversity sometimes can have a positive result in the performance a corps turns in. It'd be great if every corps had everything they need all the time, in seasoned instructional staff and everything else, but eh...that's life. Doesn't mean that their drum corps experience will be any less valuable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SassyMama Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 Another thing that you will see for the most part is that the Cascades start very late due to the schools in Oregon and Washington closing so much later than the rest of the nation. Even in move-in for all-days this year, many were just coming in from graduations. Competively they find themselves partnered with usually SCV or BD for the first 10 days of the season which isn't a good measuring stick. It's very unusual this year that they have some other corps in the mix as well. The announcement that Sal Leone would no longer be their director, the bingo operation, Apollo 13 (the staff bus, which Jimmy swears is now fixed), not having souvies available are all things that have led to things the corps has overcome. Even a new financial director, and a LOT of staff changes to try and get the right blend has been in the mix as well. Each of us that has been part of the Cascade family probably have our own thoughts as well, many of us suspect other small issues that don't need to be addressed in a public forum as fact, because we don't know if they are fact or fiction or a combination of both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superbrett Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 There is no doubt in my mind that the key ingredient to our success from 2000 - 2002 was due to Sal and his determination to not let us fail... I'll second that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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