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We are so spoiled with the productions from Tom Blair...anything else is an amateur showcase...

I have just a few thoughts to share on this topic of fundraising. To my knowledge, all of this is in the public domain now so I don't believe I am betraying any confidences. I think one of Boston's first steps was to increase dramatically the size and scope of their BOD. I think it is at or close to 50 members now, and it is a great mix of Boston area drum corps people and movers and shakers from the corporate and financial world in the city of Boston. The corps established Inspire Arts & Music, with the mandate of increasing the organization's outreach in the city. Staring first with establishing a series of high school music festivals, then on to acquiring other, existing festivals, establishing a FREE brass program and a FREE percussion program for local city kids run out of the new corps hall in Hyde Park, aligning itself with the Blessed Sacrament WGI organization, and more recently, 7th Regiment and acquiring the recording studio and Fleetwood Records business. They also opened their own musical instrument store, which is not just a mail order operation, but is actually a physical walk in retail space in the same building, which also houses a working community theatre. Now, you might ask where does the money come from if most of these activities are free to the local kids? That's where the corporate involvement comes from. You can't just ask a successful company for money...you have to SHOW what you do with it. So, if you, say, are able to present a powerpoint to a ABC Investments, XYZ Mutual Insurance Group, John Smith Financial Group, the City of Boston, etc and SHOW how you are impacting kids on a local, regional and national level, that yields results. So much results in fact, that several other drum corps ask you to show them what you have done (and some folks here would be astonished to know which corps). When I was last involved directly with the corps, I remember working the bingo in Cambridge. That was fine for simple cash flow at the time, but the folks on BAC's BOD deserve tons of credit for their work in diversifying both Boston's financial reach and operational depth. I have seen on other threads comments about BAC "coming into money". Nothing can be further from the truth. It has been a painstaking, multiyear process by the BOD who literally have the motto "We will never die". There is nothing wrong with car washes and bake sales, but at the end of the day, it is all about community outreach and engagement. It is the long game that matters.

Hmmmm....if the DMs leave right away, but the corps doing the encore stays, it might make for a ragged performance by that corps if their DM is half-way to the next site.

I hope you're right. I just watched the Indianapolis WGI Percussion finals today and was very disappointed with the video presentation as it seemed amateurish. Surely, SURELY DCI is not going to entrust our beautiful drum corps competitions to this poor caliber of camera work.

Maybe referring the length of time of encores, full retreats after a show. They did make the night drag on

Good point but we've had DMs for scores for ever but yes, perhaps as they travel further distances between shows, that may be a factor. I'm just feel it's the $$$ to rent a field, stadium for a show.

So here's the next question. I've already paid $149 to subscribe to FloSports to watch collegiate Track & Field because my granddaughter is on the Sacramento State track team. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my $149 also let me watch the current WGI events, since, as Beckham noted above, it also includes FloMarching. Now I'm hoping that it will also cover all DCI events for 2017 as I paid for it back in February and I think it is a yearly fee. So on a positive note, the up side to this is getting to see music/marching events throughout the year with your $149. Now I will join all of you praying posters that they will do a better job with DCI than they did with BOA.

I don't know what it is but it does sound very 19th century. They have a complete different sonority this year from what little I have heard. Reminds me a lot of the type of choral that Crown would use but the soprano voice goes much higher in addition to the great mid and baritone voices.

http://www.flomarching.com/events Question answered. DCI events are listed at the bottom. I REALLY hope they have improved since BOA this fall or I am going to be incredibly dissapointed in this. I will give it a chance but I'm very cautious right now...

Yes but they play with enthusiasm

Crossmen do a golf tournament as well

Boston also has an investment type club that purchases their musical instruments. When they sell the items, the investors earn a dividend. At least I think this is the short version of what is done.

Just like the Boston Crusaders supposedly tweaked some with their Animal Farm show, it's time for some Dmitri Shostakovich who dissed the Communist Party with some of his symphonies.

Just a tip...you most likely need to stop and go in to experience live drum corps.

This would definitely move things along...I'm not sure why show sponsors have 'stretched" things out in the past...I say announce even before the encore...those that want to stay for the encores will do so anyway...At the very end of just about every show I've been to there is a mass exodus... If there is no more drum major retreat.....How would this effect the encore?

Yeah whoever runs their social media has to know that fans want to see a show announcement. A new food truck is a big deal, sure, and soliciting donations to equip it is necessary. But intentionally building up hype knowing your fans/people you want money from are expecting one thing, and giving them something completely different is a good way to turn people off. Maybe they should have done the video about the truck and announced their show at the end. "Hey we'll tell you our show in a minute but first check out this sweet new food truck!! Please help us in getting it ready to feed the corps!! And now for what you've been waiting for!!"

I'm the one who originally posted this information from Reddit but I don't know where the Reddit poster got his information. It's not out there anywhere on the Bluecoats' website, Facebook, etc. I hope it's legitimate - but too early to say. It sure sounds very "Bluecoat-ish".

This is actually a great idea, and brings forth the memories of the number of Sertoma "Regattas" I attended and worked. You're right: a private venue and a "membership fee" is a ticket to beer, brats, and poker. Be great in an old Elks hall, or Lions, or... Of course, today you'd also have to have a "powderpuff" version (can we even say that any more?) for women only. A closed venue and a membership fee can offer all kinds of "entertainment". I know a guy who's wife was so upset with him being at home after he retired that he rented a storefront in the center of town, put up an electronic stock ticker, put in beer taps, subscribed to every "man" magazine related to cars, hunting, and home improvements and sold "memberships" to his buddies. He opened the doors each morning at 6:30am - the same time he used to arrive at his office - and his retired buddies showed up for morning coffee, lunch sandwiches made by his wife, afternoon football and poker games. He closed the doors at 6:30 pm and went home to his wife. Now, if there's not a corps-funding business idea in that, then I don't know where to look.

Something else to possibly factor in that no one has mentioned is the drivers. There are mandated rules that affect the bus drivers. They can only be up, awake, and driving for a certain number of hours and the show hours count since they drive to the show.

Though a portion of this was done once (by Les Stentors in 1999 - thank goodness for corpsreps.com!!) this is a great piece that would be nice to hear on the field. It has a ballad portion in the middle and some nice brass moments near the end (horn rips at 8:35 scream JD Shaw).

It's not about the show. A few pages back there was a post that indicated that Madison would now be under a newly-named umbrella organization, Forward. This replaces the long use MADBCA. Under thew new umbrella the corps will remain the flagship, but there will be a SoundSport group, as well as an educational outreach program, with a major focus on students in Wisconsin, and specifically the Madison area. There will be other arms to the organization, but that's the basis of it.

What Boston Crusaders has done well is reach out to deep pockets without forgetting the small donors. They do a great deal of outreach to alums and connect alums with current marching members. They also do a good job at connecting with the alums from the wider marching community: the drum corps, drill teams, and bands of CYO, Eastern Mass, and Mayflower circuits, especially at shows, which reminds you of the activity you love and the importance of giving.

Which version? I love the Iain Matthews one.

I'm planning on passing by the March camp since it's the only exposure I will have this season other than the computer and was wondering if the corps was fine with alum attending. Also, is anyone on the thread going to be there? Ben

Well you're hardly, if ever, heading back to a housing site. Almost always headed to the next school/state.

We have recaps throughout the year this year, so that's what really matters to me after a non-finlas show.

1. Blue Devils 2. Santa Clara Vanguard 3. Bluecoats 4. Carolina Crown 5. Cadets 6. Phantom Regiment 7. Cavaliers 8. Boston Crusaders 9. Blue Knights 10. Madison Scouts 11. Crossmen 12. Blue Stars 13. The Academy 14. Troopers 15. Oregon Crusaders 16. Colts 17. Mandarins 18. Vanguard Cadets 19. Spirit of Atlanta 20. Blue Devils B 21. Genesis 22. Seattle Cascades 23. Pacific Crest 24. Jersey Surf 25. Legends 26. Spartans 27. The Company 28. Music City 29. Pioneer 30. Louisiana Stars 31. 7th Regiment 32. Guardians 33. Southwind 34. Gold 35. Raiders 36. River City Rhythm 37. Impulse 38. Shadow 39. Colt Cadets 40. Les Stentors

A non-professional local symphony that also happened to be in a location where a lot of very good musicians from the state retired. I remember our director almost scrapped it because the double reeds had such a hard time with the cuckoo clock timing in the 1st movement. I played clarinet, and I was one of the principal's students. All of the parts were for C clarinet, and I couldn't transpose on the fly back then. so I wrote out a lot of it for Bb clarinet on staff paper. It was the one and only time I ever got to perform with my HS band director, who made time for it because (1) it was Mahler, and (2) the director wanted either 8 or 10 horns, and we only had 5 regulars.