Where is DCI?

[Tim K]

Plus there are the thousands of competitive HS MB today that filled the space taken up by hundreds of smaller competitive corps that existed back at the start of DCI. I believe the number in the drum corps history book was 440 competitive corps in 1971; Today there are nationwide thousands of competitive bands across the country. Add to it the competitive corps in DCI and DCA, and you have a very nice mix of competitive marching/music ensembles.

You make some excellent points (as you often do), but what I find interesting is that it appears to me that the areas that have the best bands are not the areas where drum corps once reigned.

Personally I believe the void that disbanding drum corps created was filled by other means. Twenty years ago when I first had to begin scheduling around children's activities, it was not all that difficult. There were some sports football in the fall, basketball or hockey in the winter, baseball softball in the spring, and scouting activities. Today soccer is more popular and can go all year, AAU and club and traveling teams are more common. Drama is growing, boys and girls often take dance lessons, martial arts keep growing, and visual arts lessons are becoming popular. Add to all this tutoring and test preparation. Today there are far more choices for young people, which is both good and bad.

[MikeD]

You make some excellent points (as you often do), but what I find interesting is that it appears to me that the areas that have the best bands are not the areas where drum corps once reigned.

Personally I believe the void that disbanding drum corps created was filled by other means. Twenty years ago when I first had to begin scheduling around children's activities, it was not all that difficult. There were some sports football in the fall, basketball or hockey in the winter, baseball softball in the spring, and scouting activities. Today soccer is more popular and can go all year, AAU and club and traveling teams are more common. Drama is growing, boys and girls often take dance lessons, martial arts keep growing, and visual arts lessons are becoming popular. Add to all this tutoring and test preparation. Today there are far more choices for young people, which is both good and bad.

Drum corps in the greatest numbers back in my day seemed to be concentrated among the highly populated areas, esp urban centers. A lot of them were Catholic Church sponsored, and as that support faded away, there went a lot of the corps clustered in these areas.

If I look at the marching band scene here in NJ, as compared to, say, Texas, the difference is huge. For one thing, the sheer cost of living here in NJ makes everything expensive. Property taxes that provide most of the support to the local school districts have gone through the roof. Also, local control has been the way schools have been run forever here. There are lots of small HS with well under 1,000 in the student total population, versus some of the large HS in Texas. Just a different world. And, as you correctly say, there is just so much more available to kids today, and they have so much on their plates, it gets tougher and tougher. The HS band I work with is a prime example. We have 1500 students or so, and close to 200 in the concert bands and another 200 in the orchestras, but we struggle to field a MB of 50, including guard, due to the academic and other demands on the kids.

[UKSuperman]

All in the name of change, DCI is no longer enjoyable to watch or even listen to (not even for free on YouTube). I pray someone figures it out real quickly before the entire activity goes down the tube. If I wanted BOA, I can just wait until band season. Enough will all of the crap talking, singing, 3 value horns, strings, trombones and various other electronics/ musical instruments that was reserved for marching bands. The judging community could use a major facelift too.

Get in your Delorean, type in 1963, step on the gas, and make sure you hit 88 MPH. I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for and feel right at home.

Oh, and make sure the Flux Capacitor is working correctly and that it's full of Uranium. Otherwise you'll wrap yourself around a tree.

[mingusmonk]

110 W. Washington St., Suite C, Indianapolis, IN 46204

https://goo.gl/maps/sCf9efgonos

[luv4corps]

All this being said, I find this year to be more about just the music and drill - mixed with some audio effects, choreography & staging but to a lesser degree. There seem to be fewer props and less narration overall. Electronics seem to be more integrated into the soundscape and don't stand out as much.

Am I seeing/hearing things or has anyone else noticed this?

Edited July 18, 2016 by luv4corps

[C.Holland]

All this being said, I find this year to be more about just the music and drill - mixed with choreography & staging. There is less narration and fewer props overall. Am I seeing things or has anyone else noticed this?

I think the novelty of some things have worn off, but also, once you've thrown caution to the wind to add something new to your ensemble, you then have a better grasp of how to integrate it the next season. I think that's where we are at. A few years ago some corps jumped in feet first. And now many are using the tools better, because they've had a few seasons of trial and error under their belts to now understand what they like and don't like. And how to write for each of these components.

[luv4corps]

Personally I believe the void that disbanding drum corps created was filled by other means. Twenty years ago when I first had to begin scheduling around children's activities, it was not all that difficult. There were some sports football in the fall, basketball or hockey in the winter, baseball softball in the spring, and scouting activities. Today soccer is more popular and can go all year, AAU and club and traveling teams are more common. Drama is growing, boys and girls often take dance lessons, martial arts keep growing, and visual arts lessons are becoming popular. Add to all this tutoring and test preparation. Today there are far more choices for young people, which is both good and bad.

There is a bit of irony here. Modern drum corps provides youth with music, sport/fitness, competition, dance & drama - all in the same activity!

[Jake W.]

Ah yes, the proverbial sky is falling, and DCI, in its quest to mimic WGI & BOA, only has a few short years left on life support before not a single derriere will fill a stadium seat to watch these esoteric & unengaging works of blah. Choppy music, brass never places, too much dancing, and other tired arguments I can't recall immediately.

Meanwhile, BD is performing among the most tear-jerking, full-phrased ballad in their recent history, stands are completely full at all shows, 21 of the 22 world class corps are marching full or nearly-full memberships, young people are auditioning in droves, corps are pushing boundaries and expectations, and *ALL* 22 world class corps have varying levels of spectacular audience-loving moments in their shows this year, down to and including Pioneer's burning of Joan of Arc at the stake.

Today's drum corps have no obligation to cater to the entertainment of corps alumni. When they do, we get situations like Spirit where "old school" and "throwback" shows are deemed a good idea, and growth is bad. Corps alumni do, however, have an obligation to view their corps in a current perspective, leaving (and treasuring!) nostalgia in the past, and supporting competitive and healthy growth for their corps in an activity that changes so rapidly --- just as they wanted their predecessor alumni to do when they marched. Cries of timpani and xylophones being stationary are no different than cries of too much dancing today.

Fads come and go; the good ones will stick around and turn into expected changes that must be incorporated. The bad ones inevitably always fade. Why do the people who perpetuate these arguments not realize that the sky has been supposedly-falling in EVERY decade of DCI competition history? Every few years, the activity evolves in ways that makes it seem different people who marched even just a short time ago. This has been happening for 40 years. No different than those who marched in the 70s decrying and bemoaning the evolutions made in the 80s. The vast majority of alumni embrace this and still adore the activity years and decades later...while a small few seem to think that their magical spot in the evolution timeline of DCI (anything a decade before was "old school", anything a decade after is too modern to ever support or watch) is the way things have to be or need to be. Sorry, but corps are more talented than ever, even small shows have the stands packed, and if you're not entertained or moved by any of the 22 shows this season, then it's simply because your mind is closed to it.

Edited July 18, 2016 by Jake W.

[Wadep66]

Every year this thread on "DCI is Dying".

No one will want to go to Indy every year! DCI is Dying!

Electronics aren't drum corps! DCI is Dying!

Corps X doesn't even look like corps X has always looked! DCI is Dying!

This is too much like WGI! DCI is Dying!

no, it isn't.

[2muchcoffeeman]

All this being said, I find this year to be more about just the music and drill - mixed with some audio effects, choreography & staging but to a lesser degree. There seem to be fewer props and less narration overall. Electronics seem to be more integrated into the soundscape and don't stand out as much.

Am I seeing/hearing things or has anyone else noticed this?

At moments this year while watching corps I have found myself observing the same thing. Overall, across DCI, the look on the field seems less cluttered.

But there are exceptions, and the more I think about them, the more I discover. BAC, most obviously. Their props are a central point of discussion about their 2016 season. Cavaliers are prop-heavy. Cadets have yet another stage built in front of their pit. Bluecoats have monster props. Colts are continuing their prop-heavy ways with their lightboxes. SCV, never shy about screens and backdrops, are among the few corps this year using scrims, and they have a construction crew set up their tree (which is elegant and understated and doesn't intrude). BK just introduced yet another monster tarp. Academy relies heavily on set design. Madison is heavier with stage props this year than last. Blue Stars have toned it down a bit, though their lamps remain a looming oddity.

So, the more I think on it, the less I'm convinced that DCI has shifted fundamentally away from props.

As for narration, I think corps are getting better at it. Cavaliers are using it very effectively. Troopers are using just the right amount, and for the right purpose. BK's narration is just plain weird, though I suppose all their pieces finally will snap into focus on Aug. 12.