Mick Krackin'

DCA has lost four of its champions in about the last 10 years. Something has to be put into place to help keep corps afloat during lean years or other crises that arise. Without enough corps, there simply won't be enough people in the audience at shows, especially prelims and finals. As for recruiting, which has been mentioned by several other people already, this is the very most important characteristic of any successful drum corps that I have ever been a part of. Recruiting must go way beyond setting up tables at marching band shows. Networking with as many band programs and following up with contacts in a positive way is essential. Drum corps need to have their very best people in charge of the recruiting effort. One aspect of recruiting that I think is sometimes not given enough priority is retention. Retaining existing members is a part of a successful recruitment effort. Drum corps need to treat their existing membership well and let them know that they value their time and efforts. Marketing. I have been a band teacher for 23 years and I have never received 1 piece of mail, email, or any other kind of media regarding DCA. I would guess most band directors aren't even aware of its existence, or if they are, they only know of the stories of past decades, which would it be very helpful for the new image of all-age drum and bugle corps.

Congratulations to the 2019 Reading Buccaneers and Carolina Gold!!! Both corps were true champions tonight. I got to see most of the corps perform tonight on Box5, (when my wife and I weren't putting the kids to bed), and I was impressed with the level of competition at just about every match-up. Lots of interesting and entertaining performances on display. Fantastic job once again by the Buccaneers Design Team, Admin Team and Corps Members! It's astonishing that this corps has been able to continue to excel and push the boundaries of the weekend drum corps activity for so long. We're All Good Men...

Go Bucs!!!

Can somebody from DCA fix the incorrect date for the Alumni Show? It should be Sunday, September 1, 2019. Surely just a typo, but still. Also, I just saw on the DCA website that it says "Prelims moved to Saturday, 9/1 at 10am; Finals moved to Saturday 9/1 at 6pm" http://dcacorps.org/ Saturday is August 31

To quote a seasoned DCP vet, "Submit a bid." ; ) I am neither defending or opposing the current DCA site, although I have always thought of that part of PA and all of upstate NY as Canadian. I agree that location is a major deciding factor for a lot of people. The more central to most of the corps, the more likely their friends and family will come a long for the ride. So, I guess I see it as a multi-faceted equation. No matter where the show is, the people in the seats are mostly (like 70%+) going to have some direct connection to someone on the performance field. If it happens to be somewhere easy to get to, then more of them will show up for the weekend. But, I understand that "DCA" is actually just the Member corps themselves. I think it behooves them to grow the fan base from within as best they can. The Buccaneers did a great job with this when I was there. They had a bus load of people that went to several shows a year, including DCA Finals. It can be done, and really it should be done this way, IMO. As for the mass marketing advocates on this thread, DCA just isn't the kind of thing that many unaffiliated people are going to see advertised online or on tv and say, "Hmmm. That sounds like something I want to go and see. I think I'll buy a $30-50 ticket, even though I don't have the first clue what it is." Someone that knows what a good time going to the shows and other parts of DCA Finals weekend can be needs to invite them to come along. Corps need to reach out to members' families and friends and offer an easy way to go. Reasonable bus, food and lodging packages, so all they need to do is say, "Ok, I'll go. Sounds like a fun trip"

Interesting discussion, even without a lot of name calling and hurt feelings. Still, I'll join in... ; ) I believe DCA will be around in 5 years, There are still many strong, stable corps as Members. That's what DCA is. The Member corps. They vote on the rules. They choose leadership. They decide where Championships are held. I've been to several annual meetings and rules congresses. It's an all volunteer group, for the most part, and they have done a pretty good job of sustaining this activity for over 50 years. While I have been out of the loop for awhile, I remember that while there was always discussion about how to move forward, I think most of the people involved also recognized the fact that DCA is largely an insider activity. A lot of people talk about growing the base and appealing to more marching band kids, but to be honest, I think that has to happen within the corps themselves. They are going to be better able to reach out in a positive way to marching bands within a few hours of them, and build the participation level from within their own programs. More members equals more spectators at shows, because let's be honest, the vast majority of people in the audience are family and friends of the performers on the field. People that do not have any connection to DCA, other than they are or were in high school band just aren't going to buy very many tickets. As s former show sponsor, I can say that the model for growing new shows could be further developed. At our show, we were fortunate enough to have a very generous business sponsor that allowed us to be profitable from year one. Without that support, our shows would have barely broken even, after many many hours of hard work by a lot of people. I have always thought the corps could do more to help build the audiences at the shows that they go to. They could fill their empty bus seats with their own family and friends. As a show sponsor, I would have been more than willing to offer a fair split on pre-sold tickets with the corps that were in the show. Bigger crowds lead to even bigger ones the next year, if one is running their show well.

DCA had a large number of very talented corps in the Mini-Corps, Class A and Open Class divisions this season. Many have said it was the best crop of corps from top to bottom that they have seen in years. The level of competition is and has been rising for many years now. Corps that placed 2nd, 3rd or 4th could have been champions just a few years ago. Corps that didn't make Finals this year could have been in the Top Tier of their division. To the 2015 Champions: THE READING BUCCANEERS THE GOVENAIRES and STAR UNITED... Congratulations on an exceptional season and THANK YOU for once again raising the bar of EXCELLENCE.

Caption awards are based on the average score of Prelims and Finals in each respective area. Prelim scores from each judge are kept secret from the public and the Finals panel to allow them to judge what they see and hear that night.

THROUGH THE HORN, COOLEY!!!! DCA!!!!!!! :)

[q...Has a DCA corps ever won the championship (after 1965) without first placing third or better? 1986 Bushwackers. Finals was the first DCA show they had ever won, let alone a top 3 Finals placement.

Best ever? Who knows? However, I would like to throw 89 Steel City into the conversation. STEEL!!! We tied for 7th with Rochester that season, leading to the first (and only?) combined trooping of the stands in DCA history. Still one of my favorite years that I ever marched, this corps was talented and the show was a blast to play. "Scream Machine", "Malaga" & "Blue Bossa" were all rock solid and the fans loved them. The closer, "Conga", never quite came together as we hoped that it might. Strong horn line, drum line and (spandex!) guard. 1989 Steel City had the whole package. Check this show out, if you get a chance.

If you want to have a beverage with your first ever drum corps brass instructor, find the Bucs Staff bus. Golden Lancers reunite!

I can't wait for the Bucs to have another great weekend at Downingtown! The corps was really firing on all cylinders on Sunday after Secaucas. They are eager to give the "Home Away from Home Show" audience the best performance of the year (so far) on Saturday night. Many thanks to Mr. Otto for all the help he has given us with using this great facility. Amy & Co. always put together a great show, and with the Commandant's Own performing this year, it will be better than ever. Seriously. Buy a ticket and go to this show. www.downingtownclassic.com or email downingtownclassic@yahoo.com.\

Having run two DCA shows in 2007 & 2008 at Chambersburg, I can tell you that without significant business/patron sponsorship, the numbers are really tough for show committees. Both of our shows had approximately $25,000 budgets, almost all of which was paid for by our regional McDonald's owner. We brought in about the same amount of revenue from each show, so without the strong sponsorship, the shows would have broken even, or taken a loss. Because we did have a sponsor, the band parent group made a lot of money from the shows. Sponsorship doesn't have to be a single patron. I have seen many shows where there were multiple sponsors, each one sponsoring a corps in the show. Individuals can also be sponsors by purchasing ads in the program. Whatever it takes to have the show paid for ahead of time and not by ticket & concession sales. I get the impression some may think that significant sponsorship is great if a show committee can find it. I think it is essential and should be in place before the show even leaves the drawing board. "Build it, and they will come" does not apply to running drum corps shows.

Spring Preview X in a little less than a month! Can't wait for the drum corps world to hear the 2014 Bucs unleash BREAK ON THROUGH!