Good Weekend

Hey there! Last weekend we had a skeleton staff, but we were able to get tons done. The corps learned the last 18 pages of "Fractal Speak" and we were able to do a full ensemble run of the entire song by EOD Saturday.

The drill is pretty effective, but it's the entire production together that really makes it. All the various elements compliment each other quite well, and the general impression you get from watching it is that the performers and the design are mature and aggressive...exactly what we were going for. I'll be interested to see how the guard work looks in the drill. Iz did a good job of integrating them into the design, so it'll be fun to see flags and weapons spinning around in there.

We were only in on Saturday due to Mother's Day, so hopefully everyone retains what we did so that we can move on this weekend.

This coming weekend should be nice...a full weekend with a full drum corps and staff. I'm really looking forward to it. We'll be learning the drill for "Today is the Gift" and will hopefully be able to do a full run from the top of the show through to the end of Gift...approximately 7 minutes of show! We're in very good shape going into June...and we still have Memorial Day weekend! JR and I will probably block out "Ride" with Izzy this weekend so he can get crackin' on that. Before you know it, we'll be done!

Of course this time of year is all about finding the balance between learning new material and solidifying what you already have. The reality is that we have a show on the 21st of June...3 weeks before we were supposed to go out. Our entire winter schedule and timeline of design and education was designed around going out at Clifton. The DCA meeting changed that, and so some decisions are going to have to be made in June, like...how much of the show is ready to be performed in front of people??? That's huge for a corps like us. We're in our 2nd year, Class A, and we want to grow in the future. I've said all along that my goal isn't to win Class A...it's to win Open Class...a lot! I want to help build a corps that can enjoy sustainable success. Going out before we're ready and putting slop on the field simply isn't an option for us.

The difference in membership between going Class A or Open is huge and therefore having a great year is paramount. It's easier in the world of percussion than the other sections...here's how I break it down:

Class A Battery = 5 snares, 2 tenors, 5 bass (what we have this year)
Open Class Battery = 7 snares, 3 tenors, 5 bass (3 more people than what we already have).

Class A Pit = 9
Open Class Pit = 9

Class A Guard = 14 (what we have this year
Open Class Guard = 30+ (we have to at least double in size)

Class A Brass = 30 (10 trumpets, 5 mellos, 10 baritones, 5 tubas)
Open Class Brass = 54 (18 trumpets, 8 mellos, 18 baritones, 10 tubas)

Big difference in guard and brass. Of course, you don't NEED those numbers...unless you want to be competitive.

Having some success at this level as well as a comprehensive recruitment/PR effort is going to be a huge deal in future years. The thing with success in Class A is that much of the DCA world doesn't really take the Class A championship seriously. Really, it's highly competitive but there have been years where the Class A corps are not as good as one would hope. I personally think that good drum corps is good drum corps. If it's clean, it's clean. Unfortunately, the notion out there is that Class A corps aren't good enough to be big. That really isn't the case in our situation. Hopefully we can change that mindset a bit.

...but what would be better for us long term? Winning Class A finals, or placing top 10 in open class?

Yes, it's possible. On the night of prelims everyone is up against the entire field of DCA corps. If we, or any other Class A corps, happens to score in the top 10 overall, we're immediately bumped to Open Class and perform in Open Class Finals on Sunday night.

So which is better...win class A or to come in 10th in Open?

Honestly...I don't know. My initial feeling is that placing top 10 would be the best thing because we would have had to have beaten more corps...plus, it would establish us as being competitive with the larger groups. Then, on the other hand, it would be nice to put medals around the necks of my corps members.

When it comes down to it, we don't really have control over any of that. We could come in 9th in Class A for all I know. The only thing we can control is designing a good, solid show, educating our members, and the members retaining and executing the show. The rest will fall into place.

So, that's where we are. We're in good shape, but have miles to go before we sleep. This has been an interesting journey so far for me. I'm excited to see how it plays out.