MikeBob Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 "I have just auditioned for, and not made, a consistent world champion. Why would I want to march with a corps that may not make finals (as evidenced within the past few years)?". Because you like their product anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleu Raeder Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Because you like their product anyway? The mindset of someone auditioning for one corps is that they like their product, not the other product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeBob Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 The mindset of someone auditioning for one corps is that they like their product, not the other product. I suppose people can be as closed-minded as that, but personally, I like more than one corps, and I'd like to think that I'm not so freakish that I'm unique in that regard. Which of these drum corps would you like to march? A. The Cadets B. None of the above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleu Raeder Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I suppose people can be as closed-minded as that, but personally, I like more than one corps, and I'd like to think that I'm not so freakish that I'm unique in that regard.Which of these drum corps would you like to march? A. The Cadets B. None of the above I am afraid that you would not be in a 'norm' here. I have heard time and time again (including my own daughter) potential performers say, "I am going to audition for X." and I would follow up with, "if you don't make X are you going to try out anywhere else?". the answer is almost always 'no'. Now, I am like you.....but if I didn't make Cadets (if that was where I was auditioning) I would probably go to one of the other top 12 corps to audition there. Not likely that I would audition with Crossmen at this point as my goal is to try and make sure that I can make finals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbjazz Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 the biggest thing that can help Crossmen is staff continuity. if you keep changing staff every year or so, you get no consistency exactly what I've said in other posts What do all top tier corps have in common that the Crossmen lack? Look up and you'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbjazz Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Another phenomenon is the 'home-town' corps phenomenon, the further from first place that you are the more likely your group is made up more of 'local' folks. Talent level, being dictated by the pool available, is likely to be vastly different than what the championship corps has available to them.I would dare say that folks failing audition on the Cadets side of the hallway do not even venture into the Crossmen side, because they had a goal of making Cadets and when that didn't pan out their desire/pride/ego etc. would not 'allow' them to. "I have just auditioned for, and not made, a consistent world champion. Why would I want to march with a corps that may not make finals (as evidenced within the past few years)?". Your point is valid, there were people who were good players, but not good enough for the cadets, who declined an offer for the Crossmen. However, there is no "Cadets side of the hallway." When I auditioned for Crossmen, I played in front of Bill and Gino and Gino actually spoke more than Bill did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdaddy Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 I think what's somewhat lost here is that the Crossmen may not only miss finals. They have a legitimate chance at finishing in 16th. Granted, if they fall that far, it will be behind quality corps. But still, for a corps like the Crossmen to potentially place in 16th is a shame. It's not likely, but it could happen... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobrien Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 (edited) Every successful corps has one strong-willed person who has a vision for who and what their corps should be, and is there long enough to establish and maintain the identity of the corps. Gale Royer, Jeff Fiedler, George Hopkins, Bobby Hoffman, etc, etc, etc. Crossmen don't seem to have that. Until they DO have that individual (hired by YEA, but given the freedom to establish his or her own program for The Crossmen), they're gonna have a hard time competing. Right now, Crossmen are grey not only in uniform color but in personality. Someone needs to be given the freedom to fix that. Edited August 8, 2006 by mobrien Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kac Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Every successful corps has one person who has the vision for who and what the corps should be, and is there for a long enough period of time to make their impression and establish and maintain the identity of the corps. Gale Royer, Jeff Fiedler, George Hopkins, Bobby Hoffman, etc, etc, etc.Crossmen don't have that. Until they DO have that individual (hired by YEA, but given the freedom to establish his or her own program for The Crossmen), they're gonna have a hard time competing. Right now, Crossmen are grey not only in uniform color but in personality. Someone needs to be given the freedom to fix that. Um, good try on your comparison, but Crossmen are wearing BLACK this year and switched back to black from gray in '04. :P I know what you are getting at though... I think Scott (Litzenberg) can guide the corps for many years to come and give them that consistency that is needed to grow the program again. I look at this year as a transition year for Scott, and think that he will be able to take more ownership/freedom with the corps next year and the years after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle B Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Until they DO have that individual (hired by YEA, but given the freedom to establish his or her own program for The Crossmen), they're gonna have a hard time competing. Right now, Crossmen are grey not only in uniform color but in personality. Someone needs to be given the freedom to fix that. Wait, Crossmen have grey uni's, did they go back to the one's I wore? Last time I checked it was a hard to miss Black and Red. Anyway, 2004 & 2005 had that individual to setup their own program. George had stated in his blog during those years that he was glad that the Crossmen has its own design team, and didn't have to worry about every aspect of their show. Look where they placed those 2 years. YET, back before that, George helped with picking the show out and helping from a design standpoint. Those shows look at how competitive the Crossmen were. 2001, although they finished in 7th, they were duking it out all season long for a chance to be 6th. I don't mean to take away anything from the corps administration the previous 2 years, I know that with 2005, take away the final standings and it was a very successful tour for them. It seems that George will never be able to do the right thing with the Crossmen from some people's standpoint. If he's helping them out, people want him to back off and let them have their own identity. If he's letting them go off on his own, people want him to be more involved. I will freely admit, I am a person who prefers the latter. Why? Simple, he was an original marching member of the Crossmen AND he's led the Cadets to 9 World Champions. I would think he knows the formula for a successful drum corps season. Great Staff Year after Year + Committed Members + Great Show = Competitive Corps. PS. Last thing, anyone who thinks that the Crossmen don't have their own personality, might want to check themselves back into reality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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