For Dinosaurs Only

[soccerguy315]

I didn't see anything where bluesman said anything about anyone not having experience. I have to say, I hate it when people come to DCP, go to someone's question and start name calling and using attacking language (for no reason), instead of just simply answering the question that the original poster posted. There should be a rule against that.

maybe you didn't see it because you didn't read all the text.

[soccerguy315]

OP,

You sound like a dick. Just saying... this thread could've happened without bashing people that didn't march at the same time as you.

Edited September 3, 2012 by soccerguy315

[Tim K]

Back in the day when I didn't drive and begged any relative possible to drive me to shows, most often it was my father who had little interest in the activity except when 27th Lancers played "Danny Boy" but that was due to his love for Irish music, not a nod to one of the most beloved corps of all times. I'd think the stands were full, he thought they were pretty empty. Unless we have records of tickets sold and those who attended--remember many people probably purchased tickets to support a corps but never attended the event--the stands may not have been as jam packed as we remember. Also, many of the venues have been remodeled and are larger today than in years past.

Now to get to the point of the post, after sitting like a sardine for two evenings in a hot and muggy Allentown, and attending East Coast Classic where again I was cramped, CYO Nationals Tribute where it was rather cozy, Beanpot Invitational where we all complained there was no room, and Mission Drums where it was a bit more spacious in my section until a bus load of people who got stuck in a traffic jam arrived, I'd say the stands were filled. I'm not complaining. What I do know is that the organizers of the events in Greater Boston: Boston Crusaders, Citations, and Beverly Cardinals Alums, make all alums of the CYO Circuit units, Eastern Mass, and Mayflower circuits which probably included well over 100 marching units of bands, drill teams, and drum corps, feel as if the show they are attending is their show too. It becomes a reunion atmosphere.

Not all areas have alums to draw on to attend shows. If you take the total number of people once involved in marching activities in the Boston area, without adding school programs, you probably have a base of 25,000 to 50,000 people between the ages of 40-70. New Jersey probably has a similar number. Places where shows take place today do not have these kinds of numbers. I know DCI has a show in Atlanta that's a highlight of the season. My guess is that many of the people who attend are not Spirit alums and Atlanta is part of a vacation trip. Spirit has a growing number of alums, but not the number of alums from the Northeast. Also just because someone marched does not mean they want to attend a show. If former high school athletes attended school events, every school in the country would have to build larger venues.

The problem is not attracting alums, its attracting a younger audience that didn't grow up on drum corps.

[fsubone]

I believe that reaction happened due to the topic's subtitle, "A topic for of us with real experience." Whether or not that was the intention, I can see where that, followed by, "I decided to ask a question of those of us who were around when the stands were full," might lead someone to believe the OP meant if one wasn't marching back when the stands were full, then they didn't have real experience.

I believe the respondent will correct me on this if I am wrong.

And for what it's worth; I marching in the mid-1970s and performed at plenty shows when the stands weren't full. But then, I also performed at plenty of shows where the stands were full. And many of those stadia were so small, it didn't take much to fill them. I also never performed in the Alamo Dome or the Georgia Dome, or even J. Birney Crum Stadium. We did perform in the Pontiac Silverdome once, for DCI North 1976. At least we pretended to do so...the inside of that place had such a bad echo I suspect part of our show was performed to the resonating beats of the corps before us. As far as having real experiences; that is one I'd love to forget.

Thank you Michael. You got it perfectly. yes, if the person who originally responded to me had actually read everything, they would have seen the same stuff we did. The OP said this thread was only for Dinosaurs with "real experience" who were only around when the stands were full. That is a terrible and back-handed way to say, "I think things were better when I marched."

[En929]

I believe that reaction happened due to the topic's subtitle, "A topic for of us with real experience." Whether or not that was the intention, I can see where that, followed by, "I decided to ask a question of those of us who were around when the stands were full," might lead someone to believe the OP meant if one wasn't marching back when the stands were full, then they didn't have real experience.

I believe the respondent will correct me on this if I am wrong.

And for what it's worth; I marching in the mid-1970s and performed at plenty shows when the stands weren't full. But then, I also performed at plenty of shows where the stands were full. And many of those stadia were so small, it didn't take much to fill them. I also never performed in the Alamo Dome or the Georgia Dome, or even J. Birney Crum Stadium. We did perform in the Pontiac Silverdome once, for DCI North 1976. At least we pretended to do so...the inside of that place had such a bad echo I suspect part of our show was performed to the resonating beats of the corps before us. As far as having real experiences; that is one I'd love to forget.

I'm sorry, I didn't notice that part. But still, I think all of the name calling, etc. is uncalled for. Maybe he was just joking. But anyway, what you said was my experience in drum corps as well.

[BRASSO]

I decided to ask a question of those of us who were around when the stands were full. What could we do to bring back corps fans and alumni who have driven away by the current direction of drum corps which I believe is more about technological achievement as opposed to entertainment or talent.

Merge DCI and DCA.

My guess, it'll happen ultimately as a consolidation. Not tomorrow, but it'll happen. I believe GH's foray into DCA with Cadets2 was a harbinger that he sees the future and he wants his organization to be positioned well in the mix when the inevitable occurs. They'll be a combination and an accomodation of the Traditional and the Avant Garde in the merged entity. This will allow fans of all stripes to experience what they want in their favored form of " Drum Corps ". Thats how I see this all playing out in the future, anyway. DCA and DCI are already doing collaborative joint work together that would have been unheard of as recently as just a few short years ago.

Edited September 3, 2012 by BRASSO

[Grandpa]

Merge DCI and DCA.

My guess, it'll happen ultimately as a consolidation. Not tomorrow, but it'll happen. I believe GH's foray into DCA with Cadets2 was a harbinger that he sees the future and he wants his organization to be positioned well in the mix when the inevitable occurs. They'll be a combination and an accomodation of the Traditional and the Avant Garde in the merged entity. This will allow fans of all stripes to experience what they want in their favored form of " Drum Corps ". Thats how I see this all playing out in the future, anyway. DCA and DCI are already doing collaborative work together that would have been unheard of as recently as just a few short years ago.

That's interesting.

I would like to hear how you see this coming about. What would happen to instrumentation in (what used to be) DCA - age restrictions in DCI, tour management, etc.

[MikeD]

I decided to ask a question of those of us who were around when the stands were full. What could we do to bring back corps fans and alumni who have driven away by the current direction of drum corps which I believe is more about technological achievement as opposed to entertainment or talent.

The stands I marched at were mostly small HS stadiums in my day. The big venues were few and far between.

[BRASSO]

That's interesting.

I would like to hear how you see this coming about. What would happen to instrumentation in (what used to be) DCA - age restrictions in DCI, tour management, etc.

Both DCI and DCA already have in place separate Divisions within their own organizations to accommodate different approaches to Drum Corps competition and performance exhibition ( I& E ). These things will be voted on, similarly as to how they are worked on, proposed, and voted on now. We already have DCA Corps performing in exhibition at DCI shows. At one time, there were shows with Senior Corps and Junior Corps competing at the same show, same judges, different divisions.. so the concept is not unheard of. Minnesota Brass performed this year at a primarily DCI show. This'll all come together and details worked out, imo. There are duplicative costs that can be consolidated, and the merged DCI and DCA can conceivably be mutually beneficial to work in tandem..... as opposed to separate entities. The future financial landscape will provide the proper environment for a merger of DCI amd DCA to occur, imo. I think the merger of DCI and DCA is inevitable. Its not a question of " if ", in my view....just a question of " when ". It won't happen tomorrow. But thats where this is all headed, imo.

Edited September 3, 2012 by BRASSO

[HockeyDad]

You evolve or you die, it applies to all walks of life including Drum Corps.

I've seen this argument about 1000 times on DCP over the years. Kinda like saying - it's changed because it has to change, so, get over it. Other than the fact there's no way to know if this is true or not, I'm not so sure I agree with it. Because, what is the crowd at a drum corps show - a lot of parents, family, and recent ageouts are there. Whatever path drum corps takes, you'll always have this base attending shows, like any other niche activity. Choral competitions, diving, field hockey games... stuff that's not mainstream but has a following. So, when thinking about "how low can you go" - I think there's an absolute minimum following for dci. How close are we to that? I don't know. I suppose if somebody was really serious about market research of this activity they could figure it out. But I don't think anyone has.

Just this morning I was watching a video of the Ohio St marching band at the 2010 Rose Parade. (and as a Michigan alumnus this was a weird moment). Anyway, they were playing a Sousa march (Stars and Stripes Forever, maybe). And I'm thinking - have they evolved?? Are they surviving? Do they have a loyal following? You bet they do. Some would say they're the best damm band in the land. (obviously crack-heads, but I digress). Yeah, they're the entertainment at the main event, the football game, so maybe they don't "need to" evolve. Or maybe the football audience is too non-musical to realize they shouldn't be enjoying it. What if BD played Channel One Suite 40 years in a row? Yikes.

Anyway, throwing away melody and justifying it by "needing to evolve" is something I haven't bought into yet. I think you can appeal to the audience and evolve at the same time. This is an interesting activity for sure - in a way, at times I get the feeling almost hostile to the paying audience in what they put on the field. Maybe "hostile" is a bad word choice - how about "indifferent." Not sure that's a winning forumula for growing audiences, if that's one of your goals. I'm not even sure that's a goal for dci.