Mello Dude Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 and... c) 20 Tuba players, play their rear ends off... and a well balanced synthesizer blends and enhances the overall sound and energy they are projecting. Because you gotta have that third option. When that 3rd option becomes a standard reality..then yes. I'm not holding my breath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Fair enough. Don't go to shows. Don't follow the activity. No one is forcing you. The quote of mine you referenced was directed to people who DO still love the activity (or at least claim to), but seem to focus primarily on the negative. If you don't find anything redeeming in today's drum corps whatsoever, I wasn't talking to you. I'm well aware that it's different from back in the 70s. Wouldn't even need to have seen or listened to anything from back then to figure that out. Just about everything in this world is different from what it was 40 years ago. ... Crazy, I know. well, the problem is the negative to many is becoming over riding...and as a result are going less. Which is why you see attendance going down and DCI wondering where that next $$ is going to come from. guess waiting for those millions of band kids over the last 14 years of marketing solely to them hasn't panned out that well after all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWEST Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 and... c) 20 Tuba players, play their rear ends off... and a well balanced synthesizer blends and enhances the overall sound and energy they are projecting. Because you gotta have that third option. Did you see any corps before 1994? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1223 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Did you see any corps before 1994? LOL... have I!? What do you have against me filling out all of the possible options in Mellodudes hypothetical poll? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrothgar15 Posted March 4, 2011 Author Share Posted March 4, 2011 LOL... have I!? What do you have against me filling out all of the possible options in Mellodudes hypothetical poll? Well, you used the words "synthesizer blends." In that order. In the same syntactic constituent. So, there's that. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWEST Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 LOL... have I!? What do you have against me filling out all of the possible options in Mellodudes hypothetical poll? I can't wrap my head around "synthesizer blends". It doesn't compute in my head, it's like a drum corps oxymoron. Maybe I need a therapist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glory Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 (edited) well, the problem is the negative to many is becoming over riding...and as a result are going less. Which is why you see attendance going down and DCI wondering where that next $$ is going to come from. guess waiting for those millions of band kids over the last 14 years of marketing solely to them hasn't panned out that well after all. You keep using attendance as a barometer for audience acceptance of modern changes in drum corps as if the inexorable upward ticket-buying trend was suddenly reversed by the recent misguided liberal agenda at DCI. If attendance is only indicative of programming choices in recent years, wouldn't that be true as well in year's past? But the big dip in attendance in the mid-90s came a decade before synths and long before Bb too. The chop and bop arranging style hadn't yet taken hold. Indeed, Phantom was giving us Fire of Eternal Glory while Madison's glory was honestly earned with Latin jazz styles. Crossmen were Metheny hot and Cavies were exploring planets and other interesting places. And the fans weren't buying it. The great legacy of the 70s and 80s weren't turning up in the numbers of their decades. They sat it out because they understood that "the year that drum corps died" as the saying went had already passed. It had passed without Bb and electronics. Not to worry though, it had it's own rationale. And don't start with the Jackson, Miss./Orlando, Fla. geography and climate. Because we're not talking travel. We're talking correlation between programming and attendance which isn't as direct as some would wish it to be. In other words, if don't like drum corps today, you probably shouldn't be hanging around at shows. And while you're not at it, no need to hang around here either.* HH *Though this post began with direct reference to Jeff, this last graph isn't directed at him. His other opinions aside, it is clear he does like drum corps today. I for one appreciate his comments here and hope someday to meet him at a show. Edited March 4, 2011 by glory 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corpsband Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Mike...I see pro electronics people saying it too. Your blinders don't allow you to see that I think the goo is very strongly amplified by the listener's preference: if you hate electronics it definitely sticks out more. I didn't notice the goo nearly as much live this past season and it certainly didn't impair my ability to hear other parts when I did notice it. So IMO it already *is* getting better. FWIW I'm rather ambivalent about electronics. Use them or not -- I don't really care. So long as I can still hear the brass I'm good :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1223 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Well, you used the words "synthesizer blends." In that order. In the same syntactic constituent. So, there's that. Oh, I'm sorry that I wrote something you may choose to disbelieve and ignore. If you don't agree with option C there were two other options for you to consider. Thanks. I can't wrap my head around "synthesizer blends". It doesn't compute in my head, it's like a drum corps oxymoron. Maybe I need a therapist. It's quite an easy concept to understand, perhaps you are thinking too much about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 You keep using attendance as a barometer for audience acceptance of modern changes in drum corps as if the inexorable upward ticket-buying trend was suddenly reversed by the recent misguided liberal agenda at DCI. If attendance is only indicative of programming choices in recent years, wouldn't that be true as well in year's past? But the big dip in attendance in the mid-90s came a decade before synths and long before Bb too. The chop and bop arranging style hadn't yet taken hold. Indeed, Phantom was giving us Fire of Eternal Glory while Madison's glory was honestly earned with Latin jazz styles. Crossmen were Metheny hot and Cavies were exploring planets and other interesting places. And the fans weren't buying it. The great legacy of the 70s and 80s weren't turning up in the numbers of their decades. They sat it out because they understood that "the year that drum corps died" as the saying went had already passed. It had passed without Bb and electronics. Not to worry though, it had it's own rationale. And don't start with the Jackson, Miss./Orlando, Fla. geography and climate. Because we're not talking travel. We're talking correlation between programming and attendance which isn't as direct as some would wish it to be. In other words, if don't like drum corps today, you probably shouldn't be hanging around at shows. And while you're not at it, no need to hang around here either.* HH *Though this post began with direct reference to Jeff, this last graph isn't directed at him. His other opinions aside, it is clear he does like drum corps today. I for one appreciate his comments here and hope someday to meet him at a show. The mid nineties were the some of the worst years for drum corps; it's was like the dark ages for me with many of the esoteric, choppy arrangements. I've opined about it many times on here. There were a few gems each year, but many corps either lost their identities for periods of time ( Crossmen '95 or SCV '95 for example) after great shows a few years earlier, and esoteric shows were gaining traction: Magic '95 <relatively speaking>, Colts '95 <it's the arrangement, for me>, Glassmen '95, Crown '95, Magic '96, Cavies '96, Crown '96, Colts' 96. BD's continuation of their new arranging style was still off putting for many such as myself. Even BK '96s treatment and arrangement of previous favorite, Rocky Point Holiday, and treatment of Sonoran Desert Holiday were flat. '97 generally continued the downward overall trend of a few good shows coupled with a bunch of boring music. This overall trend continued until 2000, when the musically presentations improved, but many people had gone by then. For me, the first part of '00s were much improved, but have slipped to the chop and bop, quick phrases. The thunderous goo and over-amplified pit issue is also a newish offputting event. I like drum corps today, but hope it doesn't veer too much further from its uniqueness. Le 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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