Jeff Ream Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 (edited) The recent information only shows that the G7 is alive and well. This is not a bad thing per se, but an acknowledgement that these seven corps are still in cahoots trying to make something happen for them. Moving into fall band shows is quite simply the maneuvering of USBands (YEA) to become the premier band circuit in the country. The USBands page states "State Championships for 2012 will be held in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee and Texas. Bands in Connecticut, New England and Rhode Island compete with one another in the New England State Championships." A little more national coverage doesn't hurt, and as far as I know not even BOA reaches coast to coast. USBands/YEA currently use well known DCI staffers for judging, including Mr. Hopkins himself. I am definitely no expert on this topic, but my general feeling is that fall marching band shows is not only a lucrative revenue stream for YEA and now the G7, but for the individuals involved with the G7. Staffers will be invited to fly in a to judge the shows, and of course will be paid/housed etc. YEA is already doing indoor winter shows, concerts, marching band, drum corps etc. I have heard the main reason some bands do USBands is that they pick up the phone when a band director calls, their website boasts 7am to 7pm business hours during band season. This is much better than leaving a message on an answering machine in someones house and getting a return call days later. YEA's organizational skills can't be denied, they are walking the walk so to speak. I have to admit to myself that DCI and marching band, indoor etc have become a business. We have people deriving 100% of their income from the activities, and as the marching arts business leaders become leaner and meaner we can only expect more. More competition, more professionals and survival of the fittest. The G7 coup attempt failed in it's original mission, but did take hold. I can see the end game of this being Music in Motion (MiM) and the G7 building brand loyalty with the fall marching band system and at some point in the future extending that loyalty into MiM summer band series consisting of the G7 corps. At that point DCI could become a non player, a partner to MiM in their endeavors, or direct competition to MiM for the summer experience. I do not have a horse in this race, I don't have the time or desire to fight change, and I have recently committed to stop wining about the good old days and go with the flow. I will be interested to see how it all pans out in the next few years. The bottom line for me is that the kids have the experience of a lifetime, just like I was given. I will help where I can. there is some truth to your comments about USBands, but pleasenote, given the amount of events they run, a great many are NOT being judged by names from the drum corps world. At the super big shows, yes that can and usually does happen. On your average Saturday night, no, that doesn't. What I find odd is that 4 of DCI's BOD is actively pushing this. I wonder what the rest feel, and what happens come the next elections. Having these 4 on the DCI Board just helps feed them info that they can use as they try to grow MIM. IMO, that is a HUGE conflict of interest. however, a vasy majority of the competing bands out there won't be going this route simply due to costs. Edited March 9, 2014 by Jeff Ream Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 there is some truth to your comments about USBands, but pleasenote, given the amount of events they run, a great many are NOT being judged by names from the drum corps world. At the super big shows, yes that can and usually does happen. On your average Saturday night, no, that doesn't. What I find odd is that 4 of DCI's BOD is actively pushing this. I wonder what the rest feel, and what happens come the next elections. Having these 4 on the DCI Board just helps feed them info that they can use as they try to grow MIM. IMO, that is a HUGE conflict of interest. however, a vasy majority of the competing bands out there won't be going this route simply due to costs. I want to read this a couple more times, but I'm not seeing the conflict. What sort of information shared in the DCI boardroom would represent a conflict? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsfever Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Great idea. This shows what can be done with collaboration, cooperation, creative thinking, and vision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slingerland Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 (edited) What I find odd is that 4 of DCI's BOD is actively pushing this. I wonder what the rest feel, and what happens come the next elections. Having these 4 on the DCI Board just helps feed them info that they can use as they try to grow MIM. IMO, that is a HUGE conflict of interest. It's no more a conflict of interest than the home shows that each drum corps produces each summer, all of which are in direct competition with the contests DCI produces. Since DCI doesn't produce band shows, this is just a way for these 7 organizations to bring in some additional off-season funding for themselves, and as such, is no different than any other profit generating ideas they could come up with. Edited March 9, 2014 by Slingerland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 I know there are west coast indoor units, but I wonder... Wouldn't it make sense for MiM to form its initial presence on the west coast or, maybe, to Denver? It seems to me, although I'm far from fully knowledgeable, that the midwest and east are packed with competing circuits. Is there much competition for marching band competitive circuits on the west coast? If not, it seems the path of least resistance. Plus, MiM is based out there. Flying the other five corps staffs out there will be expensive, depending on who the corps send to the competitions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccerguy315 Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 I thought it was pretty clear that DCI and MFA (BOA) had some sort of partnership going on... is this not true? If there is nothing between DCI and MFA, that's fine, and I think this is a great idea, despite that US Bands shows leave a lot to be desired. Perhaps their high profile flagship shows are run better? If there is some sort of arrangement, then these corps are trying to undermine DCI... yes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 (edited) I thought it was pretty clear that DCI and MFA (BOA) had some sort of partnership going on... is this not true? If there is nothing between DCI and MFA, that's fine, and I think this is a great idea, despite that US Bands shows leave a lot to be desired. Perhaps their high profile flagship shows are run better? If there is some sort of arrangement, then these corps are trying to undermine DCI... yes? Well, they're both in Indy, but was there ever a formal partnership? The first Google result is "...DCI going out to BOA..." and it dawns on me. If the MiM series is on the west coast, and it doesn't overlap BOA's territory, is it really undermining BOA? Edited March 9, 2014 by garfield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 It appears that the farthest west BOA goes is San Antonio. At least for their "Super Regionals". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 It appears that the farthest west BOA goes is San Antonio. At least for their "Super Regionals". There's a regional in St. George, UT, but that is the farthest west that they go. Would be great if they spread out to California, push the level of some of those programs up to BOA level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 (edited) I know there are west coast indoor units, but I wonder... Wouldn't it make sense for MiM to form its initial presence on the west coast or, maybe, to Denver? It seems to me, although I'm far from fully knowledgeable, that the midwest and east are packed with competing circuits. Is there much competition for marching band competitive circuits on the west coast? If not, it seems the path of least resistance. Plus, MiM is based out there. Flying the other five corps staffs out there will be expensive, depending on who the corps send to the competitions. There are quite a few circuits out West, with WBA, SCSBOA, and the BOA Regionals being the most popular circuits that I've been to personally... I believe there is another circuit growing in the region that was marketed as a "Super WBA" circuit called MBOS... Their current champion was the 4A champion in SCSBOA who had the second highest score in SCSBOA behind the 6A Champion (Rancho Bernardo). Here's a list of some of the circuits around in the West: SNVBA -> http://www.snbanv.com/ (Nevada) -> ( Pretty new, and not very much information on this organization). Nevada doesn't have a very strong marching band scene. SCSBOA-> http://www.scsboa.org/ (California, Nevada) -> Pretty popular circuit, not as corps influenced as WBA. Lots of parade show contests too. Western Bands Association -> http://www.westernbands.org/-> This probably the premiere circuit in California for corps style bands... Marching Band Open Series -> http://mbos.wgasc.org/ -> Sponsored by Winter Guard Association of Southern California Northern California Band Association (NCBA) -> http://www.ncbaonline.org/ -> I don't know much about this circuit. Northwest Marching Band Circuit (NWMBC) -> http://nwapa.net/ (Oregon, Washington) -> I have no idea about this part of the West. Southern California Judging Association -> http://www.scjajudging.org/index.php -> Bands of America Regional (BOA) -> http://www.musicforall.org/ -> Regionals have been held in CA, Nevada, Northern Arizona, and Oregon. Bands come from Texas, CA, NV, Utah, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico. Utah Marching Band Circuit (UMEA) -> http://umea.us/ -> http://umea.us/pdfs/stmarchingresults13.pdf -> Looks like it was in conjunction with the BOA Regional held the next day... Arizona Band & Orchestra Directors Association (ABOADA) -> http://www.aboda.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Arizona-State-Marching-Band-Championship.pdf -> Many of these contest are Ratings only until the Championships... I'm sure that I haven't mentioned every circuit. There are quite a few... Your idea of having an event out West is a pretty good one, but there are some popular local circuits around and BOA does have somewhat of a presence. I'm not sure where I'd put a MiM regional, but California is so large that there is an opportuinity to attract some pretty excellent units from the more Northern part of the State who travel (Clovis West) and the far Southern part too (Rancho Bernardo, Ayala, Upland et cetera) to one location. Other great groups from nearby states (American Fork) may come down too. There are frequently bands from Arizona who come to Southern California to compete. California could be to MiM what Texas was to BOA. A ton of really good bands and an opportunity for a really Super Regional. Key idea here is that the BOA people aren't quite able to attract all of the elite schools in all of the circuits ( mainly from SCSBOA but also frequent WBA champion James Logan ), so how would MiM be able to do that? Edited March 10, 2014 by jjeffeory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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