Editor’s Note: All contributions are edited for style. Each may not necessarily reflect the position of General Effect Media on any given topic or corps. Still, please feel free to email our Managing Editor at matthew@generaleffect.media with any responses or complaints. We reserve the right to publish the most entertaining emails sent regarding this article. This article is also not intended to forecast any ACTUAL moves, but if they happen, we take full credit for having inspired them.
Hey everyone, it's Labor Day, and you know what that means – the staff announcement moratorium is about to lift! As staff changes loom on the horizon, our team decided to have a little fun creative exercise. If we had the power to make changes for the top 15 corps, just for the hell of it, what would we do? Don’t worry, BD. We guess that capturing three straight championships AND 7 of the last 10 DCI titles means you’re excused from this assignment. This will be split into two parts, both released on Monday, Sept. 4th. We’re going in reverse 2023 placement order, so first up is…
SPIRIT OF ATLANTA
After a year off, Spirit came out and did better than almost anyone expected. With reportedly ~130 rookies in the corps, they still placed in the top 15 and seem to have a ton of momentum going into next year. Right now, it doesn't seem to make sense to change anything on the field, right?
We’re going to tell Spirit to run it back on the field and see where this design staff takes them over the next few years. If they can keep up with solid designs and recruiting how they did last year, it’s not unreasonable to see them back in finals soon. What we will change, however, is getting Spirit further connected with the exploding movie industry in Georgia.
If you’re a true movie sicko and stay until the credits are finished (like many of the GEM staff), you may see a logo at the end of the production with a peach. That’s because the state of Georgia has an enormous tax incentive program to lure movies into filming there. With so many productions in the area, many need background musicians as extras, both marching and not.
Suppose Spirit can connect with the studios to provide those musicians. That can be a considerable source of income for a corps that has had significant financial struggles in the last ten years and can support their great strides on the field.
PACIFIC CREST
Pacific Crest is another corps that struggled in 2022, though it was slightly different than Spirit. After significant issues recruiting and adjusting to California’s strong COVID policies, they came out much smaller than they’d been planning on, making it much more difficult to perform what would have been a reasonably solid design with the nearly full corps it was written for. Goddess was a much different story. A larger corps and a solid show across the board led PC to match their highest placement at 14 and rebuild some of the momentum they had before the pandemic.
This is a very new design team, and similar to Spirit, we want to see where they can go in the next few years. We want to add a consultant, though, who can help shape these productions while still having the time to work with their main ensemble. How about Michael Townsend? Michael oversaw the rise of the Academy when they made Finals with Drum Corpse Bride, so he has a wealth of experience programming for corps looking to get over the hump to Saturday night. Additionally, he could boost an already strong visual program into something every corps in their competitive neighborhood wishes they had.
CROSSMEN
The Crossmen was founded in 1974 in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. In 2007, the corps relocated to San Antonio, TX, and have been DCI finalists 7 of 15 times since their move to the Lone Star State. It has been 17 years since the corps called Delco home.
The Crossmen are a Texas Drum Corps. It has long been time to create an identity associated with San Antonio. If the show calls for Metheny, then by all means, include that in the show repertoire. But long gone are the days of having to shoehorn a concept of “Clubbin’ with the Colorful Voices of Jazz.”
Remembering and honoring your history and heritage is important. But do the Los Angeles Lakers, formerly of Minneapolis, care that they have no lakes? Do the Washington Nationals honor the Montreal Expo World’s Fair? Is there even Jazz in Salt Lake City?!
In the words of Kylo Ren:
“…let the past die. Kill it, if you have to. That's the only way to become what you are meant to be.”
BLUE KNIGHTS
In 2022, the Blue Knights had their worst competitive season in over 20 years. Let’s just say the vibes weren’t right. The higher-ups at BK certainly took notice and shook up the design team, bringing in Pyro Lugo-Allen, known mainly for their association with the Cavaliers over the years, as Artistic Director. The corps responded well, making it back to Saturday night.
However, Pyro and BK parted ways shortly after the season, with Lugo-Allen expressing disappointment with the decision on social media. While we may never know why this call was made, that doesn’t stop us from wildly speculating who will take over and offering up our “insider” opinions.
Some of the Blue Knights’ most iconic shows came from their 2010s run, especially from 2014 to 2019. A decent portion of that design staff has moved on to other organizations. However, there is a pretty big name that came back to the Denver-based corps this year. Jed Weeks, Blue Knights Artistic Director. Doesn’t that have a great ring to it? Combine Jed’s design sensibilities with the creativity of Jeff Ausdemore, and BK looks as strong as ever.
BLUE STARS
It’s been a relatively wild past 20 years for the Blue Stars. They went from winning Division III in 2003 to 8th in finals in 2008. Since then, the corps has done well, only dropping out of finals once but never getting higher than seventh. They seem stuck in this middle ground, not ever doing too poorly but also not doing well enough to break out of the doldrums of the bottom half of finals. Many have argued that this is due to their cerebral approach to shows. This can be easily seen in this year’s production, In ABSINTHEia. It was intended to explore the creative process through the lens of an intoxicating elixir that has inspired people for centuries. It… did not particularly come through for many people. What if it’s time for a shakeup?
Michael Shapiro? You’ve done an excellent job for a long time. Time to relax for a bit. Who are we going to call up? How about someone who’s had an inside look at the top organization in the activity, a person who’s done a little Program Coordination before and helped create some of the most forward-thinking, modern productions this activity has ever seen? Alex Blue V, come on down! Alex is currently with the Blue Devils as a Brass Instructor, though he played pivotal roles in the late 2010s Guardians shows that made them the next Open Class corps to watch out for.
TROOPERS
The Troopers are coming. The Casper, WY-based corps has made huge strides since 2019 and firmly established themselves as finalists in the past two years. With a percussion program led by Rennick disciples, with writing and consulting by Paul and Sandi, a hornline that fits the personality the corps is establishing to a T, and some excellent drill design by a rising star, this corps is doing well all around.
One area that Troop needs to get up to par with the rest of the ensemble is the color guard. With content scores for that caption placing behind the Spartans and execution behind the Academy, America’s Corps surely wants to see their guard in finals contention as well. After parting ways with their guard caption heads in the middle of the last season, they know that as well as anyone.
With a vacancy in the position, they should bring in a high-profile name to not only bring the guard up to the level of the rest of the corps but propel them forward and capture a top-six placement for the first time in 50 years. Maybe someone with a track record of WGI success, a few Independent World championships, and some DCI experience, maybe including programming the angriest and most aggressive show DCI has seen in ages in the Boston Crusaders’ 2014 production Animal Farm. Michael Lentz, welcome to Casper.
COLTS
Our last corps in Part One, the Colts, has also been on a solid upward trajectory. After coming perilously close to finals in 2014, they were floating in that “Good, but not quite Finals caliber” range of 14-16 until breaking back into finals last year. They followed last year’s successful finals run with another this year, increasing their placement and breaking the 90-pt threshold for the first time. How can you follow that up? Why, of course, you do the same thing you’ve been doing that’s brought you success but bump things up a notch. Let’s bring in a big name in the activity that knows how to increase the difficulty and has an extensive range.
Don’t worry, Michael Miller, we’re keeping you around as you’ve done an excellent job keeping the book playable and exciting for this group. We are going to bring in a consultant, however. Jay Bocook, what do you think of Iowa? Jay has been around the block a few times and notably wrote some iconic books for the Cadets and Blue Knights simultaneously. A little consulting is a heck of a lot easier than that! This is a surefire way to help the Colts keep the voice they've had over the past few years while further establishing their identity and maintaining the levels of excellence they've put in place.
Part Two is available now!