The Joy!

Has anyone else noticed that there’s no events on August 20th lol

Very strange

THE MARCHING COUGARS FINALLY HAVE A FULL PREGAME!!!!! Complete with formations and high marking time!

I'm finally back from my summer tour with the Seattle Cascades and after a season of inactivity, the Rose City Performance Art Association has returned for Season 80

Okay, ik it’s the wrong forum but... just watched Scouts 2019 for the first time. DEAR GOD PLEASE LET THESE TRENDS CONTINUE!!!!!!! LET US GO AND PUT THE MARCHING BACK IN THE MARCHING ARTS!!!!! Stunning!

I'm all for hauling ass style marching but unfortunately judges nowadays favour theatrics over drill, just look at SCV Vs Crown

Congrats on a great season Lithium

It's never popular to not like Madison but that show should cause the designers to be fired. Im all for marching but in modern drum corps you need a theme of literally any kind. It was like they did the drill, did the music and then said, oh this is what our theme is. I hope the changes for next year help them.

Welcome back Lithium and job well done!!

The dreaded 20th, day of no shows, has arrived!

Dang its too sad all four of the leagues that I founded have folded due to inactivity by league members..... : (

it feels like the whole thing will be folding soon with the limited active groups we have.

gcurrier any thoughts on how we can change that trend? Some type of media campaign through social media sites, raise some $ to place ads in competition programs, etc.?

Ya we could do some exposure across several platforms. The sad part is, it isn't just here. Drum corps planet fantasy version DCPI also had record low attendance. Im pretty sure the online one started a few years ago with an app and everything folded completely.

I haven’t seen any of these things on Facebook or instagram or anything else of the like.... perhaps we need to reach to a younger demographic.

Worth a try!

I know this isn't really the forum for this, but no other one seems very busy right now. Im restarting the fantasy football league. If interested and you played last year you should be all set. If you didn't play WE HAVE ROOM! let me know in PM how to invite you via email, Facebook or text.

Any specific sites Joel? Will be happy to do some posting on sites to try to help. It seems that last year during marching season there were a lot more participants. How do we get those folks back involved and/or bring in their friends?

Honestly... I don’t know how to get people back. Sadly I think your average marcher isn’t educated enough to truly appreciate this app. I would say Instagram is our best bet... an app that has like the discovery section that a post could get popular and reach out and out and out etc.

Somehow we need to interest people in this. Perhaps we ourselves need to get creative and a little ambitious. If anyone has ever seen the site NationStates, they do “roleplays” and writeups of fictional events but people participate through them.

I tried doing something like that here but it didn’t seem to kick off very well. Like for an Invitational, if an Invitational had a forum page then the creator could like write up details like how the stadium looks, how many bands, the crowd, the reaction of the crowd, details about the place, organization etc. This page doesn’t have much visibly so we have to write our visual representations out. Participants could write up detailed visuals of their shows or anyone could write up small bus stories or stories that happen at their fictional rehearsals!

I know, it’s a foreign idea to a lot of people that probably have never done something like that before but I know that some people love that sort of thing and after you start doing it you’ll love it too.

I’ll try writing up a sample and post it in a forum page and send a link here.

Also!!!!! If y’all ever want to contact me off of FMA please feel free! Love to talk!

Snapchat: marchmaster
Instagram: march.master

By the way... hopefully I’ll be on to update more about my IRL season on Friday, but I turn 18 Friday so I don’t know how often I’ll be on.

*Sample Write-Up*

(The following write-up takes place during a competition for my FMA band. Written from the perspective of a prominent member and third person.)

It wasn’t our first season competing but, it was the first time that we made it to Semi-Finals. Looking around in the lot, all of us agreed we didn’t really fit in. The only ensemble without a semi trailer and the smallest in our class. Size means little when you’re good though.

It was a gloomy day, not best for field competitions but better than being humid. The energy was intense. I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear. We had made it! First time in history. For a long time we looked towards the big 11 and always said, “we wanna be like that!” Here we were... being that. The other schools were good about congratulating us on making it and when marching between warmups, every ensemble we passed exchanged mutual best wishes for a good performance.

Waiting... waiting... perhaps the worst and most stressful part of competing is waiting on the line. Many thoughts race through your head. Anxiety builds. Don’t step off early everything is timed once you cross that goal line. Look professional. Be relaxed. This is just any other show, but yet... it isn’t. Watch the flag. Be good. The flag drops and it’s show time!

(Switch to third person)
It’s such a gorgeous thing to see: an ensemble stepping off the line. Confident and sure that today is their day to win. The crowds in riotous support. This is a first for this band. Never before have they come so far and done so well. For the small band of 89, competing against bands at least 50 members larger than them, this year early season they placed second and almost won a music caption. Spirits are high.

New uniforms, polished shoes... in sync, stripe swaying with the legs, the image of perfection.

“Drum majors... the field is yours” and all is still. Silence and all holding their breathe.

(End of sample)


Sorry that this is so short everyone but this is a sample of what I think could be done and something that would make this whole experience much deeper and wonderful, hopefully pulling in new members. If you have questions please let me know! Thank you!