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Spokane. WA Scores


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i actually heard something different. morale is very low from what i hear....my friend who was in the mello section just injured her groin and had to come home for 2 weeks. her mom drove her down to the stockton show to meet back up with the corps and when her mom was about to leave....all the kids from my high school that she knows in the corps asked if she would take them home...this makes me sad...this should be the best experience of their lives and i could see one person being a negative nancy but literally like 11 people asked for her to take them home. hopefully there is some sort of miracle there to raise morale.

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That may be for some of the new kids, but I know that is not the case with the Vets that have been there more than 2 years, many of them dealt with the trauma of 2003 and are still there, that is where I say leadership is missing, those vets need to talk to the newer kids and say hey, you spent this money to be here now make the most of it and give it your all. morale is good among those who know drum corps is not easy and doesn't always go your way.

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Hmm that is odd, pretty sure they wouldn't lie to my face but whatever, if that is the case then that is the exact reason why they aren't having success. It is the staffs job to worry about the scores and the members job to worry about doing there best. Watching them warm up in Hillsbor and Seattle, they aren't doing their best, becasue I have marched with these kids and I know they can march better than they are and play better than they are. Stephanies injury is unfortunate but, such is life in drum corps. In '04 one of our mello player sprained her ankle really bad before tour she still had a great summer, injuries happen, my fiance had ACL reconstruction before the '02 season and that was a very difficult show to march and she didn't complain once. Drum corps is a very difficult activity that take the utmost in drive, determination, mental capacity, pride, etc. as with most things $#*& happens but you have to work through it and that is what makes a better person.

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Rick you and I are usually in agreement and again I agree. In another thread, my comment was to wait to see how things went until Denver. My personal feeling is, and you know I love the Cascades dearly is to look at things in realistic terms. Apollo is having problems at every turn in the road it seems, the staff changes are killing them (and you remember what 2003 was like - shades of El Paso I presume). If I were on the Cascade BOD, I would pull the kids back from tour, give them most of their fees back, figure out ways to appease the NW judges and educators which do not support the Cascade organization, and save the money that would have been spent on tour on getting money invested to fund a group that can go on tour without some of the worries that are obviously plagueing the corps next summer. The staff bus and the cooling unit on the food truck are not small issues to deal with, especially on the road. It's obvious that the kids are trying so very hard, and that the bandaid staff isn't pulling it's weight.

If Tom P is out there anywhere....what is your take on all this?

Sorry to get back into this late but just got back from work. There has been lots of discussion since I last posted.

I have to disagree with you Fran about pulling out at this stage of the tour. There are 8-12 age-outs...can't remember the exact number who should be able to go through the age-out ceremony in Madison. Kids like Ryan Lewis who have given 5 years to the Cascades deserve that honor. As I alluded to I've been through something similar to this when my son's HS marching band was mothballed his senior year. It was a very ugly situation for all the seniors. If the Cascades had made a decision not to go on tour early in the year and given kids an opportunity to find new Corps to march with that would have been an entirely different situation. I do believe that there are members of Kiwanis Kavaliers who came to Cascades when they suspended tour this year.

As for bingo this is the understanding I have. The State of WA passed an ordinance whereby smoking is prohibited in all businesses...including bingo, taverns, etc. This is the kiss of death for any bingo operations especially when I believe that the Indian Casinos are exempt due to there soverign rights status. When the bingo hall started losing money I believe that is when it was closed. Again, this is my interpretation from those who should know.

I don't know what exactly occurred with the staff issues so I can't comment...but there have been burnt bridges with NW instructors over the past 3-4 years.

This is the danger I see for Cascades. I may make some enemies here but I believe it to be the truth based on conversations and personal observations. The NW is probably the weakest area of the country in terms of HS band programs and depth of talent. My son has taught in the Denver area and I know that the Colorado band programs are superior to those here. Couple that with the geographic isolation and it puts all drum corps in the NW in a tenuous situation. Cascades were able to get kids from CA an AZ in 02-04...but not sure about now. It is my firm belief that there is only room for one Div 1 Corp in the NW...and given momentum by the Crusaders it is entirely possible for them to be that Corps in the future. I am however making that statement without knowing anything about their financial status. They are marching 42 horns this year. If Cascades finish 18th or worse it is entirely possible that next year that OR and SW WA kids stay closer to home and all of a sudden they have close to a full hornline. Remember that Lewis Norfleet is a band director at the best HS band program in the NW at Evergreen and can pull kids to Crusaders. Add more guard...and you've got a potential D1 Corps. For those not knowledgeable about HS band programs in the NW...historically those in OR and Vancouver, WA (suburb of Portland) are the strongest in the NW. Going back to my comment about there being only room for one D1 Corps I also believe that a strong D2 Corps is dilutive to the D1 Corps...just my opinion and not one that I want to debate.

I believe that tuition has gone up quite substantially from the $1,250 we paid during 02-04 so that hurts membership. I believe someone alluded to a lack of NW pride...I also think this is true...with kids having desire to march SCV or BD rather than Cascades...but it would take Cascades finishing in the top 12 consistently to avertly that.

The more I write the worse I feel. Cascades were our introduction to Drum Corps and that has changed our family's lives forever. I wish it was an easy fix but it is not. We wish them well. My wife and son will check in with them in Denver at Drums Along the Rockies to see how things are going. Maybe a change in judges will help and get them rolling. I still can't believe they are that low in all of D1.

Fran, by the way, how is Jared and what is he doing currently? Hope your family is doing well.

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I feel I need to chime in on this. My observations after watching 3 of the last 4 shows is that it is a combination of the show design/member performance and poor judging. I feel the theme "Redemtion" could be portrayed a little better in the guard. Also, the 3 captions (brass, drums, and CG), i feel, do not seem to work together very well. It seems to me like the 3 captions are out there performing different shows... I do not pretend to know anything about percussion but I don't really notice the drumline until their drum break late in the show, and even that leaves me wanting more. Maybe that's because I'm a tuba player and I spend most of the show looking at the hornline's feet and individuals, but usually when I watch a show I listen for how the drumline fits in with what the horns are playing and i feel some re-writes are in order, and probably will come soon.

The 3 sections are good individually, but I don't think the overall product is being expressed well to the audience. The whole show leaves me wanting more, and when you think you are going to get it at the end, it doesn't happen. The ballad hit needs to be extended, the last chord before the quiet ending needs to feel like the end and right now it doesn't express that. The entire quiet ending needs to be longer and expressed more in the guard. These are my observations and I hope that things get fixed quickly.

I am never one to criticize judging but how can you not in this situation. Yes, the show needs work, but shouldn't they be given credit for the demand of this show. There are moments when I am blown away with what is on the field and others that make me want to close my eyes and pretend I'm not seeing what I'm seeing, but early season dirt is coming off and they have improved a lot since Wednesday in Salem. In the judges eyes they haven't improved at all. From what I've heard some of the judges are only following the less talented kids the entire show and only pointing out their mistakes and not looking for positive things to comment on. Last time I checked we weren't using the tick system anymore, and it feels like that is what they are doing. The NW judging is never kind to us though, if you look back to previous years Cascades never improve very much score wise when in the NW...why is that?? It is frusterating because I know as soon as they leave the NW their score will go up to were it should be, and I don't understand how what I have seen the last few days is bottom tier drum corps, because honestly, with out any corps bias at all, i do not think that it is.

On a good note the holes in the hornline are being filled with quality vets that have marched multiple years with this organization and will improve the show once they learn it and start performing. Also, Steve Menaffe, who was Brass Caption Head for Seattle from '99-'03 joined up with the corps on Sunday and will be with them for 2 weeks!! He will be able to fix those intonation issues and help tremendiously with how the brass play, how they sound, and how they act.

Sorry for the really long post but I needed to vent my frustrations and opinion on a corps I hold very close to my heart.

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One more thing in response to Fran's suggestion about pulling the corps out for the rest of the year...That would never happen. There are kids that have put 3, 4, 5 years into this corps and deserve to age-out properly. Also, I can't believe you would even mention that. It's obsurd to even think that would be an option. Its even more obsurd that you, Fran, one of Seattle's biggest supporters seem to have given up on them when they need all the love and support they can get. I know you said in your post, "wait until Denver" but what does that mean? If they are still scoring low are you going stop supporting them? I thank the many people that have offered their support and assurances that things will get better. I'm not trying to say that you don't support the Cascades, Fran, because you have done a lot, but that comment is rediculous and it seems like you are giving up on our corps. The corps had a laundry day today and some had access to the internet. How do you think they'd feel if they read that quote, especially the age-outs?

Scores are not everything, but they do mean a lot. Will the Cascades make finals? No, most likely not. Does that mean we as alumni and supporters should give up and make the corps stop touring? ####, NO! I guarentee that the staff isn't going to give up. They may not be the most experienced staff in DCI, but I'll tell you now that the staff and performers of this show will never give up on this season and neither should you.

I encourage all supporters of the Cascades to send them e-mails of encouragement, they need to know that we are behind them no matter what. Please send them to tour@seattlecascades.org.

-End of rant-

Edited by Scadescontra
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