Bob984 Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 This morning, DCI released a new article on their website, interestingly titled "passing judgment" on Lucas Oil stadium (gee, the fact that they even felt that they needed to print this hogwash titled as such tells me that initial ticket sales mustn't be too brisk)....let's start with some quotes.... David Starnes......"GE" music........."from an evaluation standpoint, the overall Lucas listening experience wasn't at all compromised"......."the listening environment is very conducive to evaluate tone, blend, nuance, as well as music and visual effect visual....no problem.......BLEND????? Yes, I love hearing one chord bleed into the next by full seconds.....what a pleasant musical sound.........perhaps when I get my DMA, it will work better for me, too............. Wow, thanks for clearing that up for me, Dave, I'll go buy another digital reverb, hook it up to my stereo, and turn it up to 10........... Allen Kristensen at least admits he was frustrated and even annoyed at the sound when he first got going, but then some miraculous revelation......"but the more I listened, the more that I realized that the initial sound being produced by most of the musicians was quite clear......it even seemed clearer than in an outdoor stadium, as if the sound was focused right at me"...... Wow.........was it medication? a special kind of headphone........that new "reverb eliminator" chewing gum?? Visual judge Curtis Costanza raved about the place......actually, I could see fine, too, so it's irrelevant, but for me, drum corps is also about what the 100 musicians are PLAYING............ What else was staggering was how all seemed to reiterate multiple times that it had no effect on the judging........I guess I'll have to hysterically agree on that....especially the perfect music effect score that was given out........much, much sarcasm intended........ Well, now that I know that these three gurus have given the place their blessing, I guess I'll start making motel/plane reservations......NOT!!!! I already do have a room booked for Allentown, though................. GB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Who gives a rat's behind about the judges? Did they have to fork out $300 apiece? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrownStarr Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Allen Kristensen at least admits he was frustrated and even annoyed at the sound when he first got going, but then some miraculous revelation......"but the more I listened, the more that I realized that the initial sound being produced by most of the musicians was quite clear......it even seemed clearer than in an outdoor stadium, as if the sound was focused right at me"......Wow.........was it medication? a special kind of headphone........that new "reverb eliminator" chewing gum?? To be fair, the bolded part above is actually true. If you think about it, the longer an echo bounces around, the longer it'll take to get to the listener, so the sound that takes the least time is the one that doesn't bounce at all. The first sound you hear is the true sound, and the key is to ignore the sounds after it. It's the same in every indoor environment, and something that the pit has to grapple with whenever they're listening back to the battery (generally only the section leader will have to do that). I can't speak for how well this works for listening to brass, but it's definitely possible with percussion, it's just tough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Is he saying that no judge had any negative sentiments toward the venue? If so, that's silly. There's no way every single judge is that dense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyfromhowardst Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Wow.........was it medication? a special kind of headphone........that new "reverb eliminator" chewing gum?? I live for stuff like this...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bawker Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Keep trotting out people to say all is sweetness and light, DCI . . .and keep not saying specifically what you're doing to improve the listening experience next year. I could care less about what the judges think . . .if anything, they're so firmly entrenched in the little "DCI/BOA/LOS/Indy is great" insular sphere, it's about as convincing as a politician (of any kind of stripe) speaking. We're so glad you're all pleased with a place that you don't have to pay to get into, or plan a yearly vacation budget around. How about a third party article? An audio engineer with no ties to DCI doing a evaluation of the place? What about an article that deals with hypothetical solutions or improvements: cost, manpower, feasibility? We got all the "this is a great facility" mess before it opened. Either confront the issues directly, tell what you're doing directly to fix or improve things, or don't bother posting rah-rah pap like this. Why is it so hard to address this stuff head on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 This is a bunch of crap. If I didn't love drum corps as much as I do, I wouldn't be going to finals at LOS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmhurstmusiced Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Who gives a rat's behind about the judges? Did they have to fork out $300 apiece? No, but you didn't have to either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobjacobs Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Why is it so hard to address this stuff head on? It's not, actually, provided that there is solid information to share. The exact course of action and the precise steps that are being taken are still being discussed, modeled, analyzed and planned. As soon as a definitive plan is determined, finalized, receives all necessary approvals and is put into written form, I pledge to share that with everyone interested in such things... all the while knowing that it's going to be sliced, diced, examined, scrutinized and probably aggressively condemned as "not enough" prior to being implemented. I respect that fact that everyone is entitled to an opinion and I respect the fact that this is a hot button issue with many people who care deeply about the subject, as do I and all of the corps directors, the organizations they represent, as well as the entire community which exists in support of DCI's corps. The sensitivity to those facts are lost on no one, I assure you. There are many, MANY people sharing a common commitment to create the ultimate drum corps viewing and listening experience in Indianapolis. I know that there are some who may not believe that, but I wouldn't be sacrificing my personal credibility to be a DCI shill. I also know that there are those who disagree with keeping the championships in one place, regardless of the quality of the stadium experience. Perhaps in a future column or forum, we can discuss the many reasons that growing roots in one community that actually WANTS the championships to be there is something that may ultimately contribute to the future existence and growth of Drum Corps International, and therefore its ultimate ability to serve its members at the highest possible level. The thought that DCI can simply hold the championships in Madison or some other town every year at its whim is a fallacy... unless, of course, the corps would be willing to depart with tradition and house their corps members in hotel rooms, since in most markets the room-nights are the currency of the event and convention trade. The last thing we want to do is make a statement regarding what's happening within the stadium, trot out the illustrations and diagrams, only to find out that plans have changed and that something that was expected is now going to be executed differently. I hope you can understand my desire to demonstrate restraint to that end. There are opportunities to develop the World Championships and there are challenges with the facility and with other logistical considerations. Intelligent, passionate and determined people from many "real world" disciplines are working together on this... not merely to "fix" something, but to "create" something magnificent for the performers, the audience, and everyone involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rd&10 Posted December 12, 2009 Share Posted December 12, 2009 Were you there in Indy? Who gives a rat's behind about the judges? Did they have to fork out $300 apiece? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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