Back of the Bus: Under Pressure
The offseason moves quickly...
We’re moving through the offseason, and DCI staff changes are happening faster than you can count. Some are very public, and others we won’t know about until the staff announcement moratorium ends on Labor Day. We’ll talk about some of those, discuss some of the excellent marching band shows we’ll see this fall, and more in this edition of Back of the Bus.
What This World Is About
We’re getting into the first weeks of Football across the country, and with it, we’re starting to see the early versions of a few shows we’ll be seeing in Domes during October and November. One thing you’ll inevitably run into if you’re around a program long enough is an exhortation not to post videos publically on the internet. Whether that’s because the group is waiting to get final rights approvals or to keep a few surprises hidden for the Wow factor when they get to play their show competitively, by and large, this gets respected.
GEM's Crystal Ball: WAY TOO EARLY 2024 DCI Finals Predictions
GEM writers and contributors were asked to give their final rankings of the top 15 competing corps, regardless of class, based on where they predicted the corps would end up Saturday night, August 10, 2024. Voters also picked which corps they thought would win each of the five caption performance awards.
One thing that is not quite in the band director’s control is this new era of live streaming. Football teams and school districts look to make their games accessible nationwide so extended families don’t have to travel a thousand miles to catch a game. This has been especially common in the high-powered Football state of Texas. Then comes the conundrum of what is done during halftime, and by and large, the camera and microphones keep rolling. This gives the nosy band fan who can’t get enough a sneak preview before competitions really start getting underway in mid-September.
The Lone Star State
Texas likes to style itself as the marching band capital of the country, and if you look at some of the fantastic programs and competitions there, it’s pretty easy to see why. Most of the performances we’ve come across so far have been from deep in the heart of Texas, and let’s be honest here: there’s some great stuff this year. You have your Reagans, Vista Ridges, and CTJs, among others, all of whom look and sound fantastic so far, like you’d expect from programs of that caliber.
That said, these early season games provide opportunities for less nationally well-known bands to show off what they can do well. Cypress Woods and North Shore, both in the Houston area, have really jumped out so far this year.
Armchair Program Coordinator: DCI 2023 (8 to 5)
Now that the 2023 drum corps season is wrapped up, we can take a look back at the shows. If you’ve read any of my articles, you probably know that I (despite not having any real design experience) love to have opinions on show design. So today, I continue to run down the finalist corps’ shows and discuss what I liked and where I think they can take the …
Astute observers of the Texas marching scene will have undoubtedly heard of Cypress Woods, as they have been solid for a while. Their woodwind book is especially impressive for this time of year. As for North Shore, they’re better known for their football program, ranking 3rd in the state and 13th nationally according to MaxPreps. Even so, what they’re putting on the field for their competitive show is better than we’ve seen from them at this point in the year in quite a long time.
Watchin’ Some Good Friends
There’s a ton of movement happening on the drum corps front, with a few corps putting up open positions on social media and other staff members posting publically about not returning. Significant changes are expected from Troopers, Madison Scouts, Blue Knights, and The Cavaliers, among others. We’re hearing rumors of even higher-profile corps having some big personnel decisions coming down the pike, but we’ll post those as soon as we can confirm, so keep an eye on our social media!
Pressure
Another corps with a significant amount of movement expected is the Santa Clara Vanguard. They had a public board meeting scheduled for the other evening that was canceled relatively last minute, leaving rumors swirling. The official word was put out that the reasoning was that they couldn’t discuss staff changes before the Labor Day cut-off. However, other theories were quickly posited.
Soon after, a copy of a letter sent to VMAPA, SCV’s parent organization, was posted on one of the various Drum Corps forums, stating that VMAPA is delinquent in its status with the State of California’s Registry of Charitable Trusts. This letter was verified with the California DoJ and is public record. That posting also coincided with reports that VMAPA’s Board Treasurer, Chris Anderson (also a VP at Meta), would be stepping away from his role with Vanguard.
All of this points to the next few weeks being critical for Vanguard’s status, not just for next year, but for ever being able to return to the field.
Matthew Carstensen is currently GEM’s Managing Editor. He has been involved in the Pageantry Arts for over a decade as a performer at the highest level, an instructor, and a fan. You can find him on Twitter, Threads, and Instagram at @SatNightLites. He currently lives in Florida with his dog.