Cadets members prefer traditional uniforms...

Best uniforms in DCI history were from Seasons 2013-2015 Bluecoats. From the stands they looked incredibly sharp and striking. They had a hint of a traditional uniform but with a eye catching modern cut....... plus they made the MMs look like they were 8 feet tall.

Not liking the traditional Cavaliers uniform is actually a crazy hot take. Can’t say I agree but interesting nonetheless

Hoping corps start moving back to the original uniforms. watching the cavaliers this year... I don't know what it is about the traditional uniforms, it just makes everyone look more badass in my opinion. Love the tier list btw! was a nice discussion to tune in to.

I liked your guy's discussion of corps identity. I feel like a corp should be recognizable by certain features when they enter the field. The blue devils are always back and blue with long plumes to make them look taller, the troopers always dark with cowboy hats, etc. I know recently a lot of corps are changing their corps identity, and I believe a lot of them are pulling it off, like carolina crown going from all white with plumes to a more darker color scheme with an asymmetric shako (yes ik it's called something else). I feel like bluecoats, despite being all over the place uniform wise, are starting to develop a new look with suits, suspenders, and occasionally hats. I hope they lean into this look more, and maybe bring back the longer coats like back then a little. I feel like overall corps should have a look they do every year with maybe a few color/design changes that still make them recognizable.

I want the uniforms from like 2011-2015. Those were the PEAK in my opinion.

Grandma called. She wants her mumu back. And she said to put a damn hat on.

I heavily disagree with the 2023 cavaliers uniforms, I think they are super classy and fresh at the same time. The feather is kinda iffy for me but I don't mind having variations in the classic uniform

Dude I love your content, and Hunter is the man! I’ll never forget the night the staff revealed the full-extent of the show to us in 2018. The energy in that gymnasium was electric as they explained the theme and showed off the flags, props and guard uniforms, then they showed the corps’ proper uniforms and that place deflated like a balloon 😂 I just had to accept when I marched Boston in 2018 that I wasn’t going to get the opportunity to wear an amazing traditional uniform. Fortunately, that show will forever be a BAC classic and full disclosure, the uniform was very comfortable. It allowed crazy good movement and ventilation. But damn…

As someone who had to endure the '18 uniform, I totally agree with everything said about BAC uniforms 😂

4:30 this uniform was for Blue Knights 2016, the great event. The uniform for 2014 was all white pants with a drop sash

Looking forward to more of these, y'all got a fun dynamic. The biggest thing I agree with is the difference between being in a costume from a year of a corps from being in a or THE uniform that you associate with the corps. For me though as far as my season this summer, I was proud and glad that Spirit had some sort of baby blue on the uniform because it's really in touch with the corps history, while having the arrows and stuff to connect it with the current theme of our show.

Would love to see you guys do this again, but with uniforms from 1990-2010, then another for 1970-1990. Would be interesting. BD '94, SCV '97, classic Cavaliers uni, classic Madison uni, Star 1990, Phantom '96 are probably some of my favorites. I'm probably biased though. Marched Kiwanis Kavaliers, 1997-2003.

Present day D.C.I. seems to focus on a yearly change of "costume" to enhance the musical content so as to maximize scores. There seems to be an abandonment of corps visual identity. When I marched with the Spirit of Atlanta way back in the stone age (1980), to make the corps and put on the baby blue uniform and the black shako with the tall black feather meant something to me. It was like "Hey, I'm actually marching snare under Tom Float in the Spirit of Atlanta Drum & Bugle Corps. We're one of the best groups in the entire activity of D.C.I. People see us in the parking lot with the baby blue tops and the delta on the front and they know they are watching and listening to the Spirit of Atlanta." That meant a lot to a young 20 year old me who just three years previous had never seen a drum & bugle corps. That was a different time and era I realize, but hopefully with all the changes, these kids still get the thrill that I did when I first put on the uniform.

10:19 I remember the exact moment they showed us the uniform for the year. Everyone was so excited because we were told that we were getting new uniforms for the first time in like 5 years and when they showed us these the whole room went silent.

Mandarins 2023 uniforms were DOPE

4:36 Hip Switch I loved the most (with bias) was the Dies Irae in Inferno 2015 Crown when we went across the field with one of the main motifs, hip switching every 8 counts on a 32 count move across.

Nitpick: the Blue Knights uniform with full sequin legs you showed was 2016, not 2014. That era of BK uniforms (gradient tops and plumes) did start in 2014, but that year was all white pants and shoes Source: I marched BK ‘14 😄

No Troopers?

The costuming is such a disappointment in the activity. Totally makes sense as to why it has gone that route and many great moments we've enjoyed the past few years wouldn't have been possibly without relaxing the looks of drum corps but man do I still freaking hate it.

3:29 That’s me behind the guy in the focus of the pic with my cross necklace and chain🔥 Definitely my most favorite uniform to wear ever in all my band years

I like what you are doing with this series, butt I have to disagree with a lot of what was said on this video. I am a product of the 80's drum corps and I do appreciate what some of the new uniforms bring to the art. SCV's 2018 uniforms were amazing. They had the mask over their faces reflecting the lack of communication and then eventually, the ability to communicate. The "fishnet" is visual representation of "My Body is a Cage" which is used thematically throughout the show. I would recommend a little diversity in your discussion panel to get a greater variety of input from different ages and perspectives.

SCV had my favorite classic uniform until they changed. It still makes me a tiny bit sad.

Sequins pre-date BK by quite a bit...we had them on our jackets in BD from 81 to probably 87 although they were trim not a full panel). And 87 Sky Ryders used 3 differently colored uniforms (white, black, grey). You also have to judge a uniform in context with the times they were worn....the uni I wore in 84 BD wouldn't work with their shows today, but back in my day uniforms weren't changed wholesale every year. Next up for you guys....some old-school unis....let's say 1980-2000. (I'd be happy to help out, if you wish).

43:47 marched drum corps this season in one of the few corps with shakos, and I wanted to die every time I saw someone wearing their shako the same way Justin Bieber wore his hats back in 2013, some of my highschool students do it too and it drives me crazy

@41min - The aura of the uniform. Obviously long ago in rookie year of 78 ... when I was issued my Bridgemen uniform I remember holding it and just thinking how important this had been and this is what the crowd saw that changed everything in uniforms. And I knew who wore it in '77 with the debacle and who had worn it in '76 when the experiment started. I didn't want either of them to think that the coat was now on a ticker. I felt responsible to the corps and to what Bobby and Dennis and Larry were doing when I put my body into that cloth.

these are actually interesting points because they apply to the high school level nowadays. i live in texas so i can't say for all high schools, but fewer bands use "traditional" uniforms. other than a select few bands, most bands using show-specific uniforms are unrecognizable for non-fans (exceptions: flower mound and claudia taylor johnson) this kinda snowballs into all kinds of issues like not looking professional, uniform treatment, identity, not getting the uniform what you were hoping for type of thing, etc. they aren't big issues in a high school setting, but they're things i occasionally think about, especially because my (now former) band is switching from a modular superman suit to a sleeveless and show-specific design. now, in terms of dci, the uniform design is just another variable when choosing where to march. although i'm less picky when it comes to uniform design, i wouldn't spend 5k to march whatever colts were wearing this year. (and the list goes on. bac 18/19, bloo 16-18, blue stars 18/19/23, etc.) i've been wanting to march dci for about a year now, but the issue of show/uniform design is just another variable on top of several other concerns that might prevent me from ever marching in dci.

I would like you guys to do 80's and 90's traditional uniforms. Some very interesting stuff back then.

Blue Devils has sequins on their diagonal chest sash all throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Also, my favorite traditional uniforms are Cavaliers and SCV. I just love the Aussies!

More content with Hunter please! That's my drum major!!

also the first time i saw bloo 2023 i thought "that looks like the sky in spongebob"

I would disagree with crown 2023. I get the whole look of it being armor I do feel they did the asymmetric look of the bottom part like a shield instead of it going straight across so it wouldn’t make them look even shorter. Which in that aspect is smart. I do agree there definitely needed to be more 3D effect specially if your wanting an armor feel. The biggest disagreement for me is the hoods, which in medieval times were called chaperones were the most fitting. Would it have been cool to see them in chain mail hoods yes but that would be heavy & a logistical nightmare show wise and I think the design team probably had chain mail hoods in mind but the disaster with people’s hair would not be good or comfortable and Armor helmets would have been cool specially if they took them off towards the end like phantom 08. As far as 2023 of a crap tone of really bad uniforms there’s were definitely among the better theme wise.

They really do kids dirty nowadays with uniform design. A lot of these designs just do not age well at all. But at least it makes the activity even more expensive.

You guys should try to design a uniform to show what your ideal uniform would be. I would enjoy you guys coming up with the design.

Jeff definitely did that just to see what would happened, and look what has happened.

Great video! The only thing that I wish was different was that the Troopers weren’t included

1:01:01 I saw Cadets at Broken Arrow, and all I remember was the short socks, and how much it drew my eye to their marching...It's crazy how adding long socks made that much of a difference, and brought attention away from the marching and to the show as a whole...it's all in the little adjustments. I'm gonna miss Cadets this year, hopefully they'll be back in 25!!

We needed this

I could hear y’all talk about drum corps all day lmao

Would love to watch a gaurd ranking

Colts 2023 baritones, we would recite the Frozone super suit quote every time we put our jackets on in horn arc

One of my favorite modern uniform has to be vangaurd from 2017, it definitely would have been better with auzzies but overall they looked really cool and still had some of the corp's identity.

I'd love to hear more context on that Academy uniform, I know he said the ribbon's colors were personal to each member's uniform, was there anything specific for that or just randomized, if anyone knows how they decided on that? Seems like a strange thing to do randomly but it does give a good effect to look at imo

You’re able to keep the uniforms after the season is over? I did not know that (at least regarding Hunter at The Academy). I guess it depends on each corps and their policy.

“HORN MOVES SEBASTIAN”😃

you should do the same with wgi perc uniforms, some of them are interesting...

FYI the Pioneer headgear goes into the same category as the Penn State band headgear; bus driver hats.

pleaseeee do a guard uniform ranking

Agreed about Cadets 2023. F. but I'm just old. (I'm 47.)

I love the academy 2018 uniform

Multiplayer reference 😱😱😱

My favorite uniforms are as follows: 1. Freelancers 1990 (the old school quasi military uniform style that RCC rocked), 2. Blue Devils (mid 90's through 2000's), and SCV 2018.

ayy i marched with sebastian at pioneer

This was awesome! Shout out to my 15 BK seat partner :)

Madison Scouts 2018. What were they thinking?!?

1:08:13 I wore the exact uniform he's talking about which was the 2014 Chameleon uniforms that were definitely inspired by Crown. Nice funny little niche comment -ctj kid

Justin summed up my sentiments best at 40:42.

Quick rank of the top 6 worst case unis in 2023 1-Cadets - those work out shorts were trash 2-Phantom - what the hell was on your head 3 -Boston - that blue made you looked washed-out 4-Bluecoats - cluttered design and color palette looked like camouflage. 5-Blue Devils - gad those looked cheap. 6-Crown - meh

the lower left picture is covering plenty of the text.

The bluecoats uniforms were supposed to almost look like grass in the wind. Like blending into the field. Super cool concept and theres moments in the show that come through but other moments it definitely seemed odd.

Bluecoats '16, pretty sure the pants are stock baseball uniform pants 😂

For the algorithm. ✊

Can you do this again but with some of the lower ranking corps? They’ve got some decent uniforms sometimes too.

Why did I disagree with almost everything that Hunter guy said but pretty much agreed with what everyone else was saying? 😂

Please bring back traditional uniforms and headgear. I think the reason they got rid of the headgear and replaced uniforms with spandex nonsense is because there is so much acrobatics and jazz dancing incorporated in shows these days rather than actual marching - it's Drum Corps, not Dance Corps. lol I know, I know, I'm an old fuddy-dud.

for all the hate that modern uniforms get, crowns 23 uniforms have always been super awesome

zephyrus drum major go cookie

bloo23 my beloved s tier

Being completely honest, out of all the uniforms on this list, Bluecoats 2023 are my favorite they are just so prettyyyyyyyy

Does anyone actually think that the bluecoats 2016 show would look better with any kind of traditional uniform? The answer is that you don’t think that. Those bluecoats uniforms look weird up close, but they look fantastic on the field.

1:25:50 had me dead 😂😂

Y’all should rate open class uniforms

Not a single phantom uniform?

I marched Cadets 2017! We didn’t like them either😂 just part of the gig🤷🏻‍♀️

Bro thought way to far into that atlas rising uniform

That wasn't the 2014 BK uniform

Some uniforms need Capes instead of Drapes. 😂😂😂

hot take: boston 2023 uniforms are worse than 2018 cause it looks like they have a giant sparkly blue wiener

No blue stars 😢

I can tell the guy from Boston does not like the Blue Devils, that is why he went to Boston. He is still salty about losing to BD. I love BD's uniforms. Boston has ugly unforms every year now!

I disagree with so many of these😭 much respect to the opinions here but drum corps isn’t going back on uniforms, so don’t hate on new uniforms bc they aren’t the traditional style (as someone that marches with traditional style uniform rn). Crowns uniforms this year were actually incredible seeing live

There are definitely two camps in DCI (and even marching band) right now: - Drum corps borrowing heavily from other theatric and musical idioms - Musical/visual ensembles who would likely rather be doing something "real" but know they are staples in this niche idiom I don't think there's anything wrong with that at all but there's definitely groups doing drum corps and there's groups that are hobbled by the conventions of being a drum drum corps.

dude in the bottom right corner... say something nice about crown challenge! Like cmon man....

Too bad you didn't divide this up into two or three parts, there's so much to be said. Form follows function is at play here; you need lightweight, versatile outfits to match the physical demands of the modern DCI show. Plus it's an outdoor summer activity and the sleeveless tops just make sense, as does the lack of headgear (unless its a hoodie). As far as design goes, just pick what the guard wore one year and put your entire group in it, that seems to work.

S, FFFFFFFFFFF etc

The idea of some DCI corps wearing uniforms after 2016 change and got worse Aka Bluecoats starting this costume mess trend. 2013 Carolina, Crown kind of Modernized the uniform design which led to 2016 when Bluecoats just ruin it. That costume mess just ruins the whole point of what a Traditional marching Uniform is! Main reason why I stop supporting DCI and focus on more of HBCU bands because they don’t wear Costumes! They wear real marching Uniforms! I am more of a Traditional marching uniform person. I grew up seeing marching uniforms. I wore a regular marching uniform in High School band. Today’s kids are in to that costume style. They just don’t know what it’s like to wear a good marching uniform. Heck the people from the late 80s to early 90s and 2000s have told me that the costumes that bands and corps are using just take away from what it is suppose to be. Cadets 2023 is a prime example. Wearing long stockings with shorts and a Shirt? Just no! They only wore the traditional uniforms twice. During 4th of July and during the retreat at World Championships. This is what I am use to seeing-Jackson State University Sonic Boom Of The South. New Uniforms kzfaq.info/get/bejne/atWEaNyZ38elkac.htmlfeature=shared Southern University Human Jukebox kzfaq.info/get/bejne/a6qUirZ0zNTUg2w.htmlfeature=shared Bethune Cookman University Marching Wildcats kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iMuYiNWbrtrXqqc.htmlfeature=shared Florida A&M University Marching 100 the only HBCU band to have a Sudler Trophy and has a traditional uniform with still Buzby Caps for all members a tradition dating back to when Dr. Forster started the marching 100 back in 1953 drum majors with Buzby caps and all band members switching from shakes to Buzby caps in 1964. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mt2ShcuSt969ho0.htmlfeature=shared Like they say old school is still king. It’s not all about wearing a costume just for a fashion statement for a show. A marching uniform serves a purpose. It’s identity of a drum Corp or a marching band. Something that DCI is loosing credit on, because everyone wants to Change every year just to fit into a show that they are creating. What’s the meaning. Madison Scouts always had the green marching uniform with the red across. Carolina Crown started out with the cream uniform.back on all the years dating from 1971 all the way up to 2012. Keep in mind how expensive it is just to keep up marching uniforms. The changing of uniforms or costumes each year just gets to expensive. Bad enough high schools now in days are doing this idea and it’s not a great idea.

I'm totally unfazed by the gaslighting of so many of these show designers. Most of these corps are embarrassing themselves _and_ the activity, while also insulting the fans. It's beyond absurd. Cadets looked like a middle school who's fund raising efforts had collapsed, and that's all they were left with. The Bluecoats' Garden of Love abomination was the most abysmal concoction of visual idiocy that I've ever seen. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils are diminishing their own legacy with the ridiculousness of their non-identifiable body-wrappings, not to mention the hideous and uninspiring desecration of their drumline with perhaps the most cartoonish drum finish to ever grace the field of competition. All of this merely represents the continuation of horrible trends that DCI just can't seem to divorce themselves from. You'd think the collapse of SCV would've been a wake-up call, but no such luck. The downward spiral continues...

This whole DCI is out to get BAC crap just needs to stop. "If Crown wore BAC uniforms from 2023 it wouldn't be criticized as much." Please, they wouldn't look good no matter who wore them. Also, let us not forget Crowns uniforms from 2018. BAC 2023 criticism has nothing on the bugs from Crown 2018.

Jesus this whole segment and it's chosen topic was cringe inducing, and presented the panel in an unflattering light resulting in the appearance of limited sophistication. Traditional military style uniforms no longer serve the overall design aesthetic of any program, and instead corps have embraced theatrical costuming that is show specific and serves the overall conceptual choices that guide the rest of the program. I can't think of a single other visual performance art form that does not base clothing and garment choices in direct relation to their general artistic and expressive ideas.