Phantom Regiment show chopped in 2008 DCI DVD

From the article on dci.org:

The additional editing involves a one minute-14 second segment of the performance of the Phantom Regiment which was seamlessly removed in cooperation with the corps’ creative staff.
“While the initial steps of the licensing process were successful, we were disappointed to learn that a synchronization license ultimately wouldn't be granted for one piece of music in our 'Spartacus' program,” said Rick Valenzuela, executive director of the Phantom Regiment.

Add a media lawyer to your list of staff necessary to be a World Class/Division I/Open class drum and bugle corps in the 21st century.

In all fairness I doubt that composers were getting much in the way of royalties from DCI recordings in the 70s and 80s.

Scout House supports Ontario Drum Corps

I was doing a little googling for Ontario drum corps events and cam across this in the program of the Cavalcade of Champions show in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania:

Scout House Alumni Band maintains a tradition of strong commitment to community service. The Band currently supports a number of projects, including music programs at three Cambridge high schools. Last summer, Scout House Alumni Band helped to pay the travel costs of three Ontario junior drum and bugle corps traveling to California to compete in the Drum Corps International (DCI) championships.

This is referring to the 2007 DCI championships in Pasadena, California and also to the following Ontario corps: Dutch Boy, H.Y.P.E. and another corps that, understandably, doesn't seem to have made it to the championships.

I am a few years late but thank you Scout House!

Article: "Bugle corps reunion will drum up memories"

Nearly 40 years ago, Rob Dunnington wore lederhosen and a Bavarian hat while marching in the Dutch Boy Cadet Drum and Bugle Corps.

The Kitchener boy, then 12 years old, wanted nothing more than to play his contrabass tuba-like horn, performing in the Oktoberfest parade and travelling with the corps all over the world.

Bugle corps reunion will drum up memories, The Record, October 25, 2008

Dutch Boy on dci.org

There's a photo of Dutch Boy (Kitchener, Ontario) appearing in the 2008 Oktoberfest parade on the dci.org site today:

DC-eye: Oktoberfest with a Dutch twist

We must not embarrass corrupt totalitarian regimes

I missed this story earlier this spring about how the Tian Guo Marching Band of Canada was invited to the Ottawa Tulip festival then uninvited and then re-invited. If you have to be a marching band then you should be one with 8 bass drums in it. (The title of this post is about as political as I plan to get here.)

DCI Quarter Finals live-to-Theatres August 7

If you can't be in Bloomington, this event is your only way to see any of the 2008 DCI Championships. The championship telecast has been put on hiatus by DCI as they have withdrawn from their partnership with ESPN2.

Big, Loud & Live 5 will happen at various film theatres in the US on August 7. You will see the top 15 "World class" (that's Division I or Open class to you old timer) with some not-live clips of 5 more. So if you are inclined to travel south to see some drum corps, here's your chance. The closest theatre to Ontario is WILLIAMSVILLE, NY.

http://www.dci.org/cinema/

Happy Canada Day!

(image credit: FrankMaurer, some rights reserved)

Bonus points for guessing what corp (band?) this is. It's a picture from a Canada Day parade in Canmore, Alberta in 2006.

DCI Field Pass podcast

For those of you who are into podcasts there is a drum corps-related one that you might enjoy. The DCI Field Pass is a free feature of the dci.org website. Hosted by Dan Potter this podcasts features news and items about current DCI corps and contests. Dan has a background in corps in the late 70s and this seems to inform his reports as he often will refer to "early" corps and shows. Excerpts from current and past shows are a regular part of the podcast. If you have been out of 'corps for a while this might be a good way to catch up. There are new podcasts every week in the off season and almost daily during the summer competitive season.

You can find the podcasts on the DCI.org site: Field Pass Archives

Or through iTunes.

You don't need an iPod to listen to podcasts, just a computer, an internet connection and some speakers/headphones.

That's a long bus ride ...

Spectacle of Sound
Tuesday, July 29, 6:30 p.m.
Queens Athletic Field
30 Regent Street @ Elm Street
Sudbury, ON

Performing Corps

Dutch Boy - Kitchener, ON
Raiders - Wayne, NJ
Beatrix - Hilversum, Netherlands
Legends - Kalamazoo, MI
Les Stentors - Sherbrooke, QC
(Alleigance Elite, Calgary, AB)

See: Spectacle of Sound

Are Blue Saints (Sudbury, ON) active this year?

... and on a more positive note

Yamaha Canada Cup
Sponsored by: DCI

Sunday July 27, 2008 2pm
Ron V. Joyce Stadium @ McMaster Univ.
1280 Main St. West
Hamilton, ON

Performing Corps

Dutch Boy - Kitchener, ON
Raiders - Wayne, NJ
Citations - Burlington, MA
Beatrix - Hilversum, Netherlands
Legends - Kalamazoo, MI
Les Stentors - Sherbrooke, QC


Links:


http://www.thehype.ca/
DCI.org - event listing

HYPE inactive for 2008

HYPE of Hamilton Ontario is inactive for the 2008 season:

"It is with great sadness and regret that I announce that HYPE has gone inactive for the 2008 season.
We have struggled all season to recruit and maintain an adequate number of horn players for the brass line.  Unfortunately, our efforts have fallen short for this season. 
The Board of Directors has decided that it is not in the best interest of the organization to field a competitive DCI show under these circumstances."

See: http://www.thehype.ca/

Spring has sprung...

For the sake of search engines and my visually impaired readers, the text of the above graphic:

Preston Scout House Alumni Band
2008 Spring Opening
A free concert for the community
Sunday April 27, 2008
Preston Memorial Auditorium
1458 Hamilton St. Cambridge
Show Starts at 2:00 pm - Doors Open at 1:00 pm
Seating available on a First Come...First Served basis

Rifle line joins the horn line ...

Apparently from the pages of Popular Science:



http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/06/10/rifle-barrel-becomes-bugle-for-musical-stunt/

A New Project for the New Year

It may be hard to believe but I receive e-mail from Ontario parade and event directors asking the Ambassadors to perform. After some thought is occurs to me that with the demise of the Ontario Drum Corps Association there is no place or reference for these organizers to look for bands other than a hit-or-miss Google search. So I have decided to try to do something about it (being a new library science student and all) and have set up a wiki that will hopefully list active parade units in Canada:

Canadian Parade Groups

If you want to help please e-mail me. There's not much to learn as wikis are pretty easy to use and it is just a case of finding a unit's web site and listing their contact information on the appropriate page. I am starting with Ontario and BC. I will leave Quebec to the end as I think the FAMQ is still in operation.