wbargeron

Great question man... would like to know the answer myself... oh, this is my question.

What impact can the use of synths have with smaller corps?

Were the corps not entertaining?

I have corresponded with a DCI employee on a couple of occassions who was negative towards holding a drum corps show in Florida and I do think that it is a shame. They cited problems that dated back to the 1980's and the "trouble" it is for drum corps to go to Florida as if humidity and rain do not happen anywhere else throughout the summer. If you want to confine the activitiy to a specific region then that is not a positive to way maintain your product. I would like to see a combined DCI and DCA show in Tampa or Orlando as we now have two DCA corps. If the details surrounding the housing, location of the show, and other issues were a major problem with a show in Orlando, look at the show coordinators. Who handled that task?

No need to go too deep on this. I remember in 1991 my band director didn't like drum corps b/c he had students who did D/C and had a bad attitude about the school band. For some, providing housing may be a difficult one and for some it may be considered a typical part of the daily grind that is non-profit business. You have to know your communities' resources and sometimes people have negative experiences because their community cannot support the activities they like/love. Sometimes you have to think outside of the box and knowing the resources available can help with this. As already mentioned in the thread, developing a relationship with local colleges, universities, churches, YMCA's, armory's and county parks and recreation can provide multiple opportunities. Several have gyms, fields, and special rates for non-profits. Not an expert here, but no reason for negativity when the thread's potential value can provide brainstorming for solutions that may help rather than lashing out at two corps who have provided excellent examples to the activity.

Sorry to hear about the cancelled show. You have to do a lot of preparation throughout the entire year in order to have a successful event. I included a bunch of mumbo-jumbo in another thread you had open about inviting groups to your show. I still recommend that you contact various show coordinators and talk with them in detail about their events and what works for them. Also ask about what didn't work for them since these details, while unsuccessful for them, might be successful for you. This includes the event itself, the relationship with the corps and the hosting sites, and any local attractions that may provide some fun or interest for the kids. Anything that will make a positive experience for both the kids and staff in the corps and help them consider your event in the future. You probably know all of this. I just like to encourage positive business practices that will help our activity grow and discuss all the behind-the-scenes work that makes a show (and our activities) successful. When people think about a drum corps show, they may only think about 'what corps will be there? 'and 'how much does it cost?' And I'm always up for learning more about the business side of drum corps. My organization Synergy in Arts for Youth, Inc in Tampa, Fl researched the needs of putting on a show and our source at DCI was very discouraging and without DCI sanctioning it, our location works against us. DCI doesn't like Florida as much as the midwest I guess. Best of luck for 2011.

Pick up a phone and call the corps you think may be interested in competing in your show for 2011. Ask them what they look for and what is important to them when they schedule their tour. You can learn a lot that way. Call up other show coordinators and ask them about the process they go through from the end of their event until the first corps steps onto the field the next year. Maybe someone involved in that group would be willing to consult with you while you are setting up your event. Also, you could start a thread on here titled "How do you run a drum corps show?" DCP is full of people who are willing to put forth their knowledge and experience... some of which we can use. From what I understand, you need to develop a business plan that shows how you will manage and advertise the event, raise funds, local groups participating, maybe a local celebrity to MC and other vendors who may be present. After you have this in place, contact corps directors or tour directors in January and discuss your plan, show date(s), payout, housing and other benefits to the corps to sell them. Know the dates for the major DCI events. If you can get local sponsorships or hold fundraisers to provide a substantial payout for the corps, then your event becomes more attractive to corps. Develop a plan for instructional seminars participating corps can offer to local band and dance programs which will serve as positive exposure for Open Class Corps. If the event is managed professionally, a healthy rapport is built between your organization and the corps you are interested in, then corps can trust that their kids will have a positive experience by participating in your event. Also, your community will see the benefit of having you around. This equals positive returns for future fundraising efforts. I am not an expert and I may have misspelled something. But basically I think this is the gist of it. Picking up the phone will help a lot. Hope all goes well.

Good luck. Hope it works out.

There is online bingo, which would require a pretty substantial campaign to get a dedicated crowd to use in support of the corps. My group Synergy in Arts for Youth, Inc has looked into it but we are too small of an organization to launch such a campaign at this time. Question: What relationship does Freelancers have with their alumni base? I would think that this area has to be full of people who may be able to provide support and develop a strong fundraising program. I know nothing about the business side of Freelancers, but making your history work for you is an area that can help fundraising campaigns. Also, I would suggest a committee be formed to research a best practices approach to managing every aspect of the corps' business. If you fold five times you have to look around and observe any recurring trends or preventative measures that can help. Make this experience work for your organization not against it. I spoke with a Madison Scout alum at a winterguard show in St. Petersburg, Fl a few weeks back and asked him about his interaction with Madison. He said they reached out to him and that made him feel good about both his history and current place with the corps. A phone call and a newsletter can go a long way to build a support base that in turn can make an annual fundraising campaign filled with events support most of your efforts. Fundraising by non-profits must be reconsidered by a lot of groups these days, even the groups who only field guards or drumlines. I see some groups charging as much as jr corps to march indoor. Taking out a personal loan for equipment will not guarantee longevity for a group or hoping the kids dues will manage it. You have to build a strong leadership team and business foundation that can function in a healthy way before you ask anyone to give you a dollar for any service. I truly hope Freelancers can come back bigger and better than ever and be an example of success for other groups to learn from. Also, I apologize if I wrote too much and of course no I do not know everything, just in case the way I wrote something implies the opposite.

I've noticed that several pieces of music get recycled by DCI corps every other year or so. Appalachian Spring comes to mind along with West Side Story and a couple others. I imagine it is because these pieces of music, when performed well, bring about a good reaction from the crowds, be positive learning tools and may simply be fun to work with. There could be other reasons of course, but that might be beside the point. What I am wondering is whether anyone else has performed Phantom of the Opera? I do not think any other top 12 world class corps has or any WC corps for that matter. It is entertaining and has a lot of positive qualities so why wouldn't anyone else use it? Can anyone clear this up for me? Okay, I could go to corpsreps and look, but that takes away the possibility of discussion on DCP. Any thoughts?

Suncoast Sound's colorguard went barefoot in '89. No one else took that same step... I guess because at that point Suncoast already had one foot out the door. Maybe no one else sized up the possiblities or figured they would be a shoe-in for the top 12? Although Suncoast was able to pull up their score from the 40's up to I believe a 90 to make finals that year...quite a feet ( I know the spelling is wrong, but if I am really taking the time to reply to this post does it matter?

[-quote name=DRB' date='Jan 28 2010, 06:24 PM' post='2733123] 1979 Guardsmen quads (no, I was not in the line) 1980 SCV - 8 quads with 4 high pitch and 4 low pitch 1976 though early 80's - Phantom Regiment marching a 40" bass which I have never seen repeated Bridgemen drums solos - the left handed 16th notes and the blindfolds - never seen this attempted again 1976 Blue Devils and the North tenors 1979-1980 Blue Devils with the accent drums mounted on the snares (tried previously by the Kilties with limited success) A 40" bass drum? That's just mean. I can picture a 6'2" kid coming into audition camp only to end the season 5' 6" impacted spine and all. I suppose their arms would stay the same length so they would look kinda goofy. No offense to any 1976 through early '80's Phantom Regiment 40" bass drummers out there. I marched a 32" Stingray bass drum (synthetic drums, not wood) at Magic for the 1991 Christmas parade and decided that was not for me so my hats off to you select few. In hindsight.... I probably should have stopped at 'that's just mean.'

That's what I like about DCP... all you have to do is ask. Thanks

What changes were required with assymetrical drill in judging? I know Santa Clara placed lower in 1980 than usual with their talent level. I always heard it was because of using assymetrical drill near the end of their show and the judges were not prepared to evaluate it. So... following rule changes in DCI, Garfield got credit for bringing assymetrical drill to DCI with their 1983 show. Is this not correct?

Being in Tampa, Florida this has been a huge obstacle for having a show here. We were informed by DCI it could cost more that $45,000.00 for sanctioning the show alone, not to mention cost of facility which would be reasonable with a local university. From DCI to our organization... "coming to Tampa is very problematic due to the extra miles in and out. The corps don’t like coming to Orlando as it is so far off the beaten path, however do because the event draws so many and they make up in added revenues for this show. If we knew that you could pull 6-8000 people, which we have unfortunately proven to many times not to be the case, it just wouldn’t make sense for the corps to pull in light of the fuel situation and added costs we are now seeing." I like the part where the individual spoke on behalf of the corps. While I cannot comment on the level of support from DCI itself, I can say the drum corps community has been supportive in our efforts to build our organization.