wishbonecav

Read it again, Jeff. I know you cant wait to argue the point and be the smartest guy in the room, but "local band kids get in free" was a starting point. In my estimation, that's "something"; but I'm sure you'll maintain your 15 year track record of not giving an inch so you can dismiss it out of hand. It's boring and, not to belabor the phrase, a waste of time. If you don't want to expand on or root for other ideas or if you have all the answers, I can get you in touch with Allen. I'm sure you could do the same (or could have done the same long ago). Be well.

The marketing department? I'm not sure its understood what DCA actually is. It's a handful of people who are decent organizers and get paid either a small stipend or nothing at all (most hours are volunteer) and run the circuit from home. The marketing department is every member past and present deciding to spread the word. That's the most people and the most effective. Suggesting the use of the alumni lists as a starting point didnt get much traction here and I believe that might be from misunderstanding what "DCA" is in the first place. Yes, being on that team for several years (pay: $0) gave me the opportunity to see it first hand. In many ways, it runs with spit and glue.

But wait...i did. "Membership is mostly younger students (admit it), so the DCA schedule has to accommodate return to school for HS and college age people. That is mid-August. There is no real discussion that can start without this as a base line. Unless DCA suddenly attracts kids that aged out of junior from 2013-15 (and there are fewer of them than ever, especially on the east coast) then making this a bona fide WEEKEND activity for LOCAL kids who can actually PARTICIPATE without pissing off their band program is the only way to go. Then, i gave you the weekend schedule with the why's and wherefores. Good try, brother. Like I said, waste of time.

LOL. I forgot where I was. Fresh ideas or enthusiasm are not expanded or brainstormed further on DCP. Another sad waste of time.

How was regular season attendance? That might be a barometer of sustainability and a measure of the relationships the local organizers have with their community. You dont always need headliners to have a full house (see Rome, NY as an example) That said, its hard to host a show in a region where there are no more corps (Western NY) and the other member corps in the circuit are unwilling to bear the expense of travel. Appearance fees make the Buffalo, Rome and Erie DCI shows viable for all parties. Would the DCA down-staters go upstate for an appearance fee to have a show in Syracuse or Rochester? You cant reach fans if you dont reach out and meet them where they are. Central and Western NY and Canada are historically strong areas for drum corps. A mid season Saturday-Sunday slate in Rochester and Syracuse could be a cool happening for members and fans, alike. Vince subsidized the corps to get them to Rochester. Maybe that kind of shared risk / shared gate is a window to opportunity. I'd pay to see the Bucs and Cabs with 3 or 4 others. I might not travel very far to do it, but if the corps made an impression on that visit, I'd have good reason to consider making the trip to Champs to see them a second time.

Say what you will. Youtube search Renegades 2007 Minicorps at DCA and let me know if that looked like a good time. Not everything is for kids. The 24-35 set ripped everyone's faces off (and they are some of the best players ever in the activity...look it up) and the 35-54 set that threw babies at the end didnt need to babysit high school marchers that day in order to claim the event as "theirs." DCA has never been for kids, but not everyone in that convention hall showed up in a wheelchair or with a walker or cane, either. That said, if the 9000 people (and there were 9000) that cheered for the Westshoremen in 1996 or the full houses from Allentown and Rochester are just old farts that deserve derision, I'd say that's a pretty cynical way to treat fans and comrades. Not only doesn't it help, but knowing they are treated that way is part and parcel why people run from the activity. Bringing them back after the damage has been done falls on those who care enough to do so. Joe Cav DCA Contest Staff 2007-2010 DCA Sponsor Liaison 2008-2009 WGI Regional Contest Staff 2013-present FFCC Contest Staff 2011-present FMBC Contest Staff 2012-present CSJA Visual Judge 2009-present UCF Pegasus World Guard Staff 2013 Jackson Heights Winter Guard Show Coordinator 2016-2017 Pegasus Cadets Director 2018 Rochester Patriots 84-91, Rochester Crusaders 90, Empire Statesmen 92-96. Hilton Cadets, Williamsport Millionaires Visual Staff with Mr B

If membership is mostly post-college (and it WAS) scheduling isnt that big a problem. But DCA isnt 24-30 year old former junior members anymore. Membership is mostly younger students (admit it), so the DCA schedule has to accommodate return to school for HS and college age people. That is mid-August. There is no real discussion that can start without this as a base line. Unless DCA suddenly attracts kids that aged out of junior from 2013-15 (and there are fewer of them than ever, especially on the east coast) then making this a bona fide WEEKEND activity for LOCAL kids who can actually PARTICIPATE without pissing off their band program is the only way to go. Do you compete with DCI weekend? Of course not. That leaves the weekend after. A night show on Sunday is a tougher proposition without benefit of the holiday, but Kingston, Barnum, or PA still bring a crowd. It's 14 corps, for God's sake. Get em together, call it a Championship, and get the kids back to school. Here's the schedule: Friday Night Individuals start at 8, finish by 11. Everyone is in town anyway. If that isnt workable, nix individuals. We're fighting for the teams and circuit, anyway. Substitute could be an alumni party. Wear your colors. Cash bar. Saturday Prelims start at 10, finished by 3. Finals ticket gets you into prelims. Local band kids get in free (Mom and Dad can pony up, but $25 sounds reasonable). To make finals more interesting, no scores. Have a draw for appearance order on the 50 yard line with the top 5 being guaranteed a top 5 spot. If this idea sucks, and it kinda does, people will still be TALKING about it. Saturday Night Mini Corps and Alumni and a Corps Mingle with wristbands...over 21, under 21. Can start at 5 and go til whenever. Needs a name. Sunday finals start at 5. Corps that dont make finals get an exhibition run (because one and done SUCKS) so everyone attending is guaranteed two runs. Trust me, that has meaning...the 10th place corps was taking 10th anyway. This is NOT as big a deal as it's made out to be. Show done by 10. Buses roll at 11. Anyone that wants to hang til Monday? They can plan that ahead of time. Rates are cheaper anyway if its not a holiday weekend. Nobody misses band camp (that's usually during the week), fewer kids miss school or the start of school. There's PLENTY of time during the season to get some evaluations and do some show development. Win-win. My 02c to go with the other 04. 😛

We do have to give credit where credit is due. The Alumni show and Mini-Corps show at the big venue were DCA inventions. The 2009 Champs in Rochester were a 40+ corps happening (when you include the field, Alumni and Mini-Corps) and the place was a zoo all weekend. There was a palpable "must see" for the Mini Corps, the alumni came in droves and the locale was accessible to the Canadian and Western NY spectators who could just about walk to the venue. DCA's idea for the Alumni Show, however, has grown long in the tooth, as a concept and with the aging of the members. While St Joe's was a full corps of yesteryear performers when they did the DCI Exhibition in 1995 and the DCA show 14 years later, those members and fans that may have been in their 50's (makes sense if their corps was strong in the late 1960's) are now ALL 75 or older. The same goes for the members of Scout House, Skyliners, BAC, and Bayonne. The audience that appreciated those moments "off the line" and "8 to 5" no longer exists. Witness the total lack of response for Madison this year when they marched "off the line". In 2005, that move garnered a standing ovation. This year, it was not even recognized. A comparable "throwback" of 25 or 30 years TODAY takes us back to drum corps in 1995....which simply doesnt have the same nostalgic appeal. It worked at the time. Time for something fresh. Mini-corps? Still a great idea (DCI even copied it). But, moving it outside was a miss. Making it a marching contest was a miss. Having it emphasize competing with Star as opposed to promoting it as a loose, party atmosphere was a miss. When it was a spectator-focused happening (with the bars at each corner and a chance for people to visit), it was awesome. And with each group having the screamers in the high register, without attention to the sheets and taking itself too seriously, that's when the atmosphere invited the most people. DCA has to be an invitation to enjoyment. If it's all about the corps on the field, there isnt enough history around the existing corps that allows enough people to care. After Bucs, Bush and Cabs, there isnt much to garner past enthusiasm for old rivalries, etc. The Hurcs and Sun people...there is little resemblance of a "senior" unit there. Sabers, Atlanta, Fusion and Cincinnati might be good corps, but there is limited history or following. The small corps get credit for "keeping the faith", but few people go to the show to see the small corps. DCI's Open division has full corps in the top 5 and still have trouble selling tickets. So it can't be "all about the corps" anymore. DCA has to assemble an event that appeals to people that have the wherewithal to spend both their money AND a holiday weekend. DCI provides a guarantee of that investment. It's a closed roof, 40 corps and a week's worth of choices. There are many ways to get your money's worth. The same fresh thinking that brought the Alumni and mini corps into the fold can guarantee the DCA attendee get the same. I say it starts with an appeal to those alumni lists and a reason to get together. Does it make sense to have that locally? Would Statesmen alumni be more likely to attend a reunion in Rochester than in Williamsport, PA? Perhaps. But they wouldnt get the CORPS and the CHAMPIONSHIPS as a backdrop...so that becomes the selling point. More mini corps. Replace the Alumni event. More of a party than just a contest. My 02c to go with my other 02c.

DCA can certainly be around in 5 years if it sells its Championships as a convention or reunion that includes a competition, but where the contest is considered PART of the fun. The contest can certainly be the centerpiece, but the weekend as a bona fide convention event that includes alumni gatherings, corps reunions, dinner dances and additional entertainment options (think swing or cover band in a ballroom) can create an event atmosphere that invites past members to something that includes their participation as opposed to a simple spectator experience. A one-price ticket package that includes hotel, show admission and an invite to an alumni picnic (for example) might be the outside the box thinking that's required to reinvigorate the attendee experience. Every corps has alumni in the 100's and using those alumni lists to extend an invite to The DCA Convention might have more broad appeal than "that year's" championship. My 02c

As directors, we've all used a little spit and glue from time to time to get the corps down the street. That means driving a truck if you're a little short to pay a driver. That means floating a few kids' fees on your own credit card because they promised to pay by Friday but showed up without the check. That means, sometimes, trying like hell to look at the big picture of 100 people and doing what you darn well hope is the right thing so you don't let people down and throwing up a Hail Mary that things will get sorted out on the fly. Is that always super-prudent? You know what? Probably not. And one's heart in the right place sometimes runs counter to what's available on the balance sheet. If you've run a group, you've been there. There is no doubt about it. "We can get caught up with Thursday-Saturday Bingo" is a familiar phrase. It is what it is. They got there. They did pretty well. They looked the part. They got past some real drama to get there (and the expectation of payments due that did not come in left them in a tough spot). We go on. It isnt the first time we've seen it. It won't be the last. Understanding it means to do something positive (like we did with Bushwackers), make it right with the Corporate people (I'm sure Allen is on top of it and the Williamsport people are pros and will go to bat for the event), and let the new people at Sun build on the momentum that it looks like they created in short order.

@DCACorps on Twitter posting nice collages of the corps How's the crowd?

cant believe this is actually a conversation.

Stunned that communication caption still exists. A set of criteria woven into ge language and giving two judges 60% of the outcome. Yet to see a result where the ge caption winner did not also take communication caption. 3 years of over weighted scores and A sheet that is removed far enough from every other band or corps sheet as to be irrelevant. Sad.

Nobody wants to give their product away but there may have to be a larger macro view to 2016 that includes introducing new customers that can translate into a more successful 2017 event . If you offered a $25 all access wrist band good for general admission all weekend while still keeping your 40 to 40 premium seats at a premium rate is it possible that enough buzz and revenue and value would be created with new customers to have them come back again next year? if you ran this as a promo and kept a running count down of tickets sold on the Facebook page website or other portal it would create its own demand Imo

great. how many butts does that put into the seats this past year or next year? Ads in Annapolis or Indiana dont solve the current problem. Doesnt seem like that big a deal at this point.