Legoman

Imagine being a "civilian" not knowing the first thing about drum corps. Your kid comes home and is super excited about this thing their BD was talking to them about, really wanting to audition. So you decide to get on Google to find out more info, and you see that TWO (so far) different corps have been under some sort of investigation by the media, and what appears to be the main organization looks somewhat incompetent at handling the situation. That's what really sucks about all of this, and is why I think something drastic needs to change.

I think if there were a centralized governing body, "DCI", then there would be more at stake than just being allowed to compete. There's sponsorship, branding, marketing. Basically, if you don't meet the regulatory standards, and follow the direction of DCI, then you are out of the organization.

I'm suggesting that DCI, and all involved, work together to fix things. Yes, this would require corps to give up a lot of autonomy, and give DCI a lot more power, but it would create standards that all corps would have to follow, and could help with things like safety, transportation, and housing. I'll put it this way: I have 3 kids. My oldest will be 11 next month. She already plays violin, piano, and clarinet. She may want to march at some point. My youngest is 8. He is already a huge drum corps fan, and will likely want to march. My wife is not a bando at all. She "doesn't get" drum corps. I've been trying to get her on board for 12 years, and it's just not something she'll ever be that interested in unless we have a direct interest in it. Now, with all of this stuff coming out, if my kids were a little older and were getting ready to audition for a corps, it will be #### near impossible to get her blessing or approval. I'm sure that's the same story for thousands of families around the country. It was already hard enough for kids to convince their non-drum corps knowledgeable parents that there is actually value in spending thousands of dollars and 3 months of your summer riding around the country with 200 strangers, throw in the scandal stuff and it's going to be a hard no from a lot of people. We need drastic changes, and I think the only way to ensure that every single corps can/will provide the same level of safety and positive experience will be to have one central governing body and some tight regulations that cannot be sidestepped for convenience, "tradition", or whatever other reason.

This, I think, is a huge problem. From reading all of the news, responses, statements, and such since April, It seems that DCI is (or is at least trying to appear to be) nothing more than an organizer, bringing together various separate entities for specific events. The thought process, and it may have "worked" in the past, is that each corps is an individual business and can run things how they want, with the only form of regulation being blocking access to certain funds or appearances. I think DCI needs to become a true governing body, which will give one point of access for regulations that all corps will have to follow. Simple things such as requiring (maybe even providing) at least one full time athletic trainer and a compliance officer would go a long way toward fixing some of the issues. Also, having a single entity in charge, they could coordinate housing, food, and transportation, which would relieve the burden on the individual corps, and also would help prevent issues like Atown this year.

You mean the nepotistic Pioneer BoD? Yeah, they're going to side with him, no matter what.

Oh, I'm sure that's just the address used for mailing, contact, business, etc. And it was probably a simple, "we have to have an address, we'll just put mine down." But it comes across as pretty weird (to me, at least) that there is no neutral office space. It's probably pretty common though.

But the implication is that RB owns everything: the corps, the equipment, the land. There is no Pio without RB.

So, then the argument swings to considering cutting shows. If there is a definite benefit to having more time between shows, in terms of cost, health, and quality, then should the number of competitions be lowered? As a fan, I know that if there was a show that comes anywhere near me, and DCI decided cut it, I'd be upset at missing out, but I also know that there's a lot that goes into a DCI tour each year. Also factor in the growing issues with housing, busses, and trucks, and we start to see where less may actually wind up being more in the long run.

Just heard back. Their track is under reno, and they can't even have band camp on the field next week because of it. Do consider them next year though, the new BD is a Bloo alum.

I've reached out to Twin Valley. They have a new band director, and I have no idea what the district's policies are, but it's worth a shot. Not sure when or if I'll hear back.

I wouldn't even limit "legendary" shows to just those that won. Looking at you Tilt and Inferno (among many others).

My issues with anything pre-recorded are: 1. How do we know that the actual performer is the same as the one who was recorded? They could've recorded a professional voice actor or musician. Aside from the issue that the person recorded is probably not under 21, it's a huge disservice to the actual kids marching, that they aren't good enough, we need to replace them with a pro recording. 2. When something is pre-recorded, they have many takes until they get it perfect. The clip can be chosen from the absolute best tone, quality, accuracy, everything that is judged on the field. There is no issue with fatigue, heat, or any random thing that may pop up during an actual show. So it will always be perfect. I brought this up in another topic yesterday, but got labeled a purist and it seemed like most people disagreed with me. They even started with the whole "the MMs should whittle their own instruments in the spring, lul!" Is it so bad to think that anything performed on the field should be live and by a member of the corps? If it's ok to have a 40 year old professional sound engineer creating clips that a MM then just has to time right during the show, that to me doesn't highlight the members' talents, but the staff's. I get that other corps in the past have tried to go the "purist" route in a field of others using recorded stuff, and it cost them, but that's why I think the rules need to be straightforward about it. If you're going to say that a corps can only have 150 members on the field, and all members must be under a certain age, then why not go further and say that a penalty will be assessed for any part of the performance where the performer cannot be verified as being one of the 150 members and under that age?

I'd like to add my humble opinion here. I don't really mind the mics when they are used to create balance. But I also believe that everything heard and seen on the field should be corps members, not staff, and performed live. That includes any live sound mixing, vocals, effects, whatever. I understand that in some cases certain soundbytes can add to the effect of the show, but I just don't see the talent involved in pushing the play button on a computer at just the right time. These effects, prerecorded clips, "lip synching" and such are judged as part of GE, whether explicitly or not. So I just think they should be a live, active thing. Mic up a member of the pit to read off some names and shout "guilty" while setting for bass/gong or something, at least that takes coordination, timing, and talent, and means that it has a chance to be imperfect, just like any other live performance.

As far as timing goes, it's likely that the #metoo movement sparked a little courage in a few of these women. Then, as the word was getting out that people were ready to talk, someone probably bridged them together, like a mutual friend or acquaintance that knew of or had heard something may have happened. A lawyer was hired, who then likely found ways to identify other potential victims and reached out. This culminated in lodging a complaint to the YEA board, and the lack of satisfactory response probably led to bringing in the reporter. There is no motive regarding the timing, the spark was kindled months ago for all.

Thanks! I figured it was such. I know of Tresona, the various notation and drill software. As far as being stored and archived electronically, I'm guessing that means an external hard drive that can be passed around to the various staff needing access? How often do the designers go back to past work to bring back some past favorites (think Malaguena, last year's pre-show announcements for BD, etc.)? I'm probably taking what is a simple, straight-forward process that individual corps have handled for decades without even thinking about it, and applying institutional norms that aren't necessary in the current structure of the activity, but as I said earlier, I'm taking what I'm learning, applying it to a situation that I am somewhat familiar and one which I feel might be underserved, and trying to see if it is something that can solve a problem (if one even exists) or if it would just create a problem. Certainly, even if the corps have been operating smoothly, it's probably better to leave things as-is, but would DCI as a whole (and even DCA) benefit from having a way to take all of the information from a given season, all of the video, judge tapes, audio, scores, design media, placement data, etc. and cataloging all of that and archiving it for future use or historical purposes?