btwa

Before I comment, a little about me ... I never marched DCI (but almost did!), but have been a fan for quite a while. In addition to being a brass guy, I play guitar and bass, and have run sound semi-pro for a lot of years, so I'm not at all opposed to the concept of amplification, microphones, etc. - in fact it's a passion of mine, and I know my way around mic technique, power systems, digital boards (i can make the Behringer X32s that a lot of corps use dance). I love synths, love a big loud rock concert - I'm no luddite. When I was growing up, the church I went to had a big old pipe organ, and I loved that sound ... loud, earth moving, resonant, with a sound that enveloped you. While I was in college, that church replaced that pipe organ with a "great new electronic organ, state of the art!" ... and when I first heard it, my heart sank. Sure, it was loud, and it could do things the pipe organ couldn't do - but the soul of that room was gone. There are a bunch of pros and cons on this issue, but to me the big one is what the essence of drum corps is. There are always changes, and I think a lot of them have been good: I think today's corps have the best brass and percussion lines ever, doing things the "classic" corps 20 years ago never did with better quality and intonation. The visual programs are way more involved and sophisticated, and that's a good thing. The things that scares me, though, is that one of the fundamentals of drum corps is the visceral feeling of a loud, but natural, group of instruments playing together with precision. A loud drum corps is a totally different animal than a loud rock concert - neither is right or wrong, but they are different. To me, that difference is a corps part of the identity of drum corps: the feeling, and knowledge, that what I'm hearing is a natural, organic thing is a key part of what this activity is. I saw a video the other day of a bunch of kids sitting in a Carolina Crown circle as they let it rip - and seeing those kids' jaws drop is what will make those kids lifetime fans (and members). If we lose that and "loud" is just somebody buying 1000 watts more amp than somebody else, I'm afraid that drum corps will devolve into being just another amplified stage show. Change can be good - but as we change we always need to be thinking about what we want the identity of the activity to be. While some will fight every change, I think many of them are good - but the notion of amplifying entire ensembles I think is one that we should step back from, and make sure that we're keeping some of those "corps" attributes solid.