Leaderboard

http://nicholaspayton.wordpress.com/2011/11/27/on-why-jazz-isnt-cool-anymore/ Read it a couple of times before knee-jerking. And then think. Now. . . drum corps. . . Chuck Naffier Melody Fan

27 weeks 5 days til Drum Corps Season!

Speaking of the QB everybody loves to hate...

Hello. What is your name? My name is Glen Johnson. There are four executive officers that run Drum Corps Associates. I am one of them. A few months ago, I received an email from a guy named George Hopkins. He said he wanted to put together a new drum corps made up of people aged 16-25. He asked if he could compete in DCA. I said "yes" . DCA has no age rules. And that, was the end of that. I don't know why Mr. Hopkins wants to create a drum corps and put it in DCA. There is one person on planet Earth that knows the answer to that question. That person is George Hopkins. His email address is hopkins@yea.org . If you ask him, he may tell you :) Glen

OP ....Your point is taken by others. The others don't post on DCP, ( to which they would support you). But they are out there marching in All Age corps and have felt somewhat slighted like you. I will offer some of their opinions in this post-as there are two sides to every coin. I don't agree with them entirely, as I support Cadets2 decision to go DCA. But because I don't see many coming here to defend your thoughts, I thought I would mention some opinions in support of yours. . Perhaps their thoughts will make others think too.... When announced by YEA....Like the OP, I didn't like the concept of Cadets2 going to DCA. This because I felt Cadets2 could help DCI Open Class make a comeback on the East Coast. I wanted something like the Garden State circuit to happen, where, like a "Target in a strip mall", Cadets2 considered themselves an "anchor corps". Thus, Jersey Surf, Spartans, 7th Regiment, Spirit of Newark, and Raiders would have a stronger Open Class audience in the Northeast. When Crown, Cadets, and Boston were not your anchor corps after July 4th.... Open Class corps could hold their own in providing a great show for fans. I wanted to see the East Coast Open Class scene, become like the West Coast Open Class scene. The West benefitted tremendously in Open Class when the Rose Bowl was DCI's site for Finals in 07.. 4 corps Open Class corps in the Southern California formed around this time, including two Alumni groups in Kingsmen and Freelancers. Post Rose Bowl- there is a great regional touring model. and a DCI Pacific Open Class Championship. My bottom line.....I want to see DCI have more regional touring models like California. So why do I agree with Cadets2 decision? .... In the absence of what was the Garden State Circuit, DCE, and DCI South - The reality is the East has DCA to supplement that model. It has experienced a "Renaissance" in DCA corps coming to field in the same way the West experienced it in DCI due to Finals 07. Windsor, Fusion, Gold, Alliance,, ...and now Cadets2. More corps, more regional touring opportunity. Hence, Cadets2 more than enhance that model. The reality is not DCI- but you still have marching opportunity, and that is what we all want to see. So....Win. Now, in support of other views....When I hear from friends and others who I either march with am fellow fans with- This is what I often hear.... They don't get why Cadets2 will cap their age, and are more importantly, allowed to do so, when all other corps they compete against allow all age to everyone. why are the Directors of other corps not speaking up at the DCA meetings or otherwise to vote against this? Also, they ask why someone must audition for a DCA corps...it's a foreign concept to them. They also see that being able to come in as an affiliate to the " Marching Music Major League World Champion" - presents an unfair advantage in recruiting. This, when many corps already struggle to find members. And lastly.....the obvious. ...Cadets changed the way everyone marched drill in the 80s and they believe in Music is Movement. So will they change drill in DCA to a point...where like "pricing out", they " drill out" other corps.? Will those corps die off because they fall behind those that adopt? The result of changing drill begins to force out the "old guard" in many corps Those individuals who were that nucleus that started the corps - quit. They are the individuals who are most loyal to keeping it going,- These are the guys you count on year after year....while some come and go- this "nucleus" comes back. Now....gone My friends are not afraid to march, over these opinions, as alluded to in a prior post. But what I think they are seeing with this is a point of being "disenfranchised" so to speak. They march DCA and are not in their early 20s.... So they don't feel it's right to be competing against a corps that will for the most part be- for youth. They feel in many ways there is DCI for that- and that that DCA should be an alternative to that youth mission of DCI. On an extreme side, they feel it's a gray area that needs to be worked out between DCI and DCA, The worst part about this...they stop marching cause of a feeling of no longer wanting to be there. I think it's like being in a marching purgatory for them They are not yet wanting to standstill and play as alumni...but at the same time dont want to march 150 to 200 pages of drill to march against a corps that has an average age of a DCI corps. They are somewhere in the middle.of the current state o things. They would march DCA2 - " The Senior Division but not yet Alumni Division" if there was one. I will be marching this season. At 34, I am not yet in " marching purgatory.". I look forward to seeing Cadets2 play "To Tame the Perilous Skies" and bring back 92......Well, one can hope. But what I don't want to see is friends of mine give up, nor others blow up after we see the results in Annapolis. I am having a hard enough time convincing friends to march because they already feel that DCA has gone the way of youth. Now with a corps that has an age cap...it has become harder.... But, I guess if they don't march,,,,,thats them, Not me.

I know no one will pay attention to this but I'll put it out there anyway. Why is Punkin Chunkin (PC) on TV and not DCI PC is Stupid and doesn't take alot of thinking to watch and appreaciate. 77% of the people watching TV don't want to think PC is TV perfect. It can be edited to show 2 to 4 chunks before a commercial. Almost anyone can be a chunker, young, old black (no yet) and white, Rich or poor. PC is growing not dying. It started in Delaware (my home state) and now had teams from 10 different states. People are wearing funny hats and people love funny hats. Everyone has a chance to win and I mean everyone. Theres alot of interesting back stories. DCI wants you to figure out why a show is called Purple when the music hasn't anything to do with purple until someone explains it to you. A DCI show runs what 10-12 mins. That means they can only show 4 corps per hour. Less commercial time for sponsors which less money for the network. Editing a show kills the product becuase now you have to do more explaining about the show. Back in the day a PBS show was 4 hours. The attitude is that only certain people can march DCI (true) and showing this All American Kid (usually white, usually good looking which makes people will think he/she is rich) in background stories doesn't work. Are you going to show how some kid is struggling to march while his Dad is out of work....really. Or the kid who travelled across country to fullfil her dream of marching in the best of the best. Excuse me while I go to the food bank. ARe you going to show the top 4-12-17-25. theres only so many corps. So who gets on TV. Once again the top 12 win out and the corps who need the exposure lose out. The hats on corps aren't really that funnny and people like funny hats. 9 times out of 9 1/2 we know who will win. There will never be a tiime in Drum Corps when a 4th 6th 9th place corps comes from behind and wins. People like to root for the underdogs to win. That doesn't and never will in DCI. See above about back stories. Now is not the time to talk about people paying thousands of dollars to march in a band (becaue that what people think it is)

When was the last time you saw a DCA corps live at the end of the season? You've put your misconceptions of DCA out here time and time again, been corrected, and still keep spouting them. For someone so into researching how to do things right, you'd think you'd actually research DCA some before you continued to speak as you do.

dude,................check out the website photos and video,.........................reading comprehension is needed,.......they had 25 - 30 people on snare drums alone,................not as many horns as you seem to think,.......and they had guard there, they said they would not be back until April

Of course, Mr. Eldridge. I couldn't let you have all the fun.

:laughing: In that case, the demons would win.

best of luck to one of my favorie corps!! I cant wait to see you guys this year.

I just do not see WHY this thread keeps continuing. (Cadets2 question - "Why DCA?".) The answer is because they want too. They are no different than any other Corps under the Curent DCA Rules. (Not that what they are planning please's me. It does not.) But they do have every right to do what ever they want. As far as I know there are no "Rules" that say anything (must have or can not have), about an Upper Age limit, Sex, Race, Religon or National Origion of members in any Corps In DCA. So if you want add, change, remove, or re-word anything. 2012 IS a Rules Congress year. That is where this and any other thing must be done.

No C2's numbers were not higher than most. If anything, they were below average. Most of the Top 5 corps will have upwards of 150 bodies at their first camp. This is usually a well rounded number of 50% brass, 35% percussion and 15% guard. If C2 had largely percussion there and their brass numbers were low (half of what other corps have) than they have their work cut out for them for now. Unless they plan on fielding a 30 person battery and 30 person front ensemble, they will have to balance out their numbers. Look: anyone who has been in this activity long enough will tell you the first camp weekend mean nothing. An open house is exactly that: an open house.... A no commitment required first rehearsal for prospective members to check out the program. What makes the difference is what their January- March numbers are. Those three months are key to building a championship drum corps. With all the C2 hype in the region and with the closed recruitment at the large USSBA shows I would have expected a much better turn out. That's maybe the only thing one can take away from the first camp.

I thought "Little Jeffery" was a Blue Devils age-out.

What we've seen very clearly here in the past few posts is the absolute futility of making any kind of a meaningful projection in November or December about next summer - especially when those projections are based upon hype, propaganda, wishful thinking, and/or fantasy. They had seventy horns... or maybe it was twenty... or possibly it was thirty... Why don't we all just get together in Wildwood on the third weekend in June and count them.

The only thing I see when watching that are endless plume casualties.

I've always held the belief that the top OC corps can be very dangerous at the WC championships. Please don't take that the wrong way. What I mean is that they're not on the bubble and have nothing to lose, they can just go out there and throw it down. Contrarily, if I were a WC corps on the bubble I would be looking over my shoulder becuase they could hurt me. Maybe that's what Drum Corps needs right now. There's nothing like a wake up call,

Although I understand that many Corps have these type rules. All I am saying is, that someone in the "Know" start putting up other Posts. So that many of us can skip this one. If we want, maybe come back to it later to read. There have been SOME interesting things said about the "C2" way of things. Could not, "C2" at least post. A "PR" person of some kind. Maybe a parent or friend of a member, or an in the know Alumni type person Post. If just saying they read on "Cadets" - "C2" site, with some up to date, Factual info. Then have all this: They Can, They May, They Could, They Should, They Must, Stuff on this Thread. Oh, and I am NOT saying that this thread should not be. But it has way tooooooooooooo many different things in it. Like I also said. I have never been a Cadets fan in any form Fan. BUT, I still like to keep up with things, yes even the ones I do Not Like.

Some more perspective to help frame this discussion… First, slight correction regarding the comment above as it pertains to the Cavaliers Alumni Corps…there were some “millennium” (i.e., 2000s) alumni, but they were a small percentage overall. For example, although we had members from all 60 years, we only had one from 2007. The distribution of members was roughly a bell curve centered over the ’79-’84 seasons. There is no right or wrong formula regarding alumni corps, and pretty much all of those that have performed at DCI have been successful and entertaining, perhaps to different degrees. The secret is exploiting the corps’ unique emotional connection with the audience. 27th got the largest crowd reaction for a couple of reasons. First, they performed in front of the largest crowd – Saturday night, upstaging the competition in the opinion of many (maybe that’s why the alumni slot is on Friday now). They also brought back a beloved defunct corps. A bit of an aside… Some “purists” will claim that by allowing non-alumni, 27th wasn’t really an “alumni” corps. So what? The people who were in 27th Alumni all shared one thing – they loved the old Lancers, whether they marched there or not. Furthermore, eastern Massachusetts is unique in the sheer number and density of corps that used to exist; many of the alumni of those countless, small corps were able to recreate a bit of magic under the respected banner of the Lancers, the regional powerhouse. I bring up this point because Bridgemen aren’t an “alumni” corps either, but that should make no difference in whether or not they perform at DCI. Star, Anaheim, and Royal Airs shared the same emotional hook as 27th – resurrecting inactive corps. SCV and Star did basically stand-stills, but they played beautifully and the guard did their thing. Star was helped in that their oldest alums aged out in ’85, so they didn’t have to train piston-rotary alums who don’t read music! Star’s use of the integrated video was also smart and compensated for the fact that, unlike other corps that have performed in the Friday night slot, they had less of an “identity.” This is not a negative comment, just an observation; Star had a short history and changed their look and style often. Their unifying theme was the excellence year after year, but the videos helped complete the story. Madison and Cavaliers (like SCV) represented existing corps and (like Royal Airs and Anaheim) marched full shows. The emotional impact of Madison’s performance is undeniable. The corps has historically been in-you-face, exciting drum corps, so the MSARP was huge and in-your-face, and the hometown crowd loved it. Cavaliers have been so phenomenally successful in the last 20 years, it is easy to forget the other great moments the corps has provided in its 60+ years. So, CAC chose NOT to perform anything from after the ’92 season (Mars and Jupiter were played in ’95, but also in ’85). In addition, a stand-still just wasn’t an option for a corps with the Cavaliers’ visual tradition, so the 1960s opener “Bully” was set to a Mike Gaines drill complete with diamond-cutter at the end – with septuagenerian members. But when you think of the Cavaliers overall, you think of integrated, machine-like execution. In my completely biased opinion, I think CAC had the most balanced and best performed of the alumni shows. The point of this overly-long review is that there a few lessons for the Bridgemen… 1) A Bridgemen DCI performance should be something special, not a continuation of business as usual. The Friday not spot is usually a one-time spectacular. Thousands of DCI fans have seen the Bridgemen at Allentown since ’06; unless the corps is going to do something more than a larger version of that, there’s no need to bring them to Indy. 2) People remember Bridgemen for being wildly entertaining and humorous. But they weren’t entertaining just because of the humor – they were entertaining because they executed fantastically across all sections. Just watch/listen to the shows from ’77-80 (and the drum lines beyond that). Schtick is no substitute for quality. I know several of the members – the good news is, they are more than capable of bumping it to the next level in execution. 3) I agree with others who have said that the current corps needs to vastly improve its visual program and guard over what they have currently. There are definite cultural issues to overcome first regarding the latter. 4) Humor will still be important, but I also agree that things like the San Diego chicken are facile and the reference doesn’t age well. The twin geniuses (Kerchner and DeLucia) are completely capable of coming up with a fresh way of presenting this essential Bridgemen ingredient. I also hope they do it with Surf this year without playing a single actual Bridgmen tune. If Surf does a Bridgemen tribute, then what role is there for the Bridgemen? Finally, I think it is a mistake to use modern corps criteria and recent Bridgemen performances as the indicator as to whether or not Bridgemen are even worthy of consideration. Remember that 27th was created from scratch in two years. CAC and MSARP, although representing existing organizations, created their corps in even less time. The Bridgemen have had an organization since 2005, and that provides a very solid base on which to build. There is no reason to believe that a Bridgemen grand reunion at DCI couldn’t be unique, emotional, and completely entertaining. Of course they should be invited! Rick Bridgemen '06/'07 CAC '08 27 Lancers Alumni '94

As I said BEFORE. " Now this is about the 3rd time we have been through this. Page, after Page, after Page, of the SAME thngs, Over and Over............ " The One and ONLY answer is: " Cadets2 have every Right to Start, and Do, WHATEVER it wants to do, under DCA Rules. End of Subject. " " THEY will be somewhere between: " the Greatest thing that has ever happened to DCA - or - just another (NEW) Corps added to DCA " " I am NOT, and never have been a Big, "Garfield Cadets, Cadets of Beg. Cnty., The Cadets fan. "AHHHHHHH, but what a Great History all of that is. A History, MANY Corps, could only Dream of having." " Now a New Part of that History is to start. " Come on " C2 ", Members, Staff, Parents, Fans. Make some posts about what "C2", IS, and will be doing. Seperate from this NEVER ending Twisty, Turnry, Spininning, thread of page after page, on and on, STUFF. All the Factual things, about first camp/meeting etc., Numbers that showed up, possible music/show deaign, ARE all getting LOST in this thread. What they (C2) Do, is up to them, and with the History of the Org. they are connected too. I am sure it will be of the Highest Quality product. (Though one I will WAIT and see, if I like whatever they do IS. )

Again, there isn't anything you can't find on this thread except who stole the SCV flag and the colonel’s secret receipt.

Overhype....overated Music City.

None of my plants were alive in 1985. However, some were alive in 2002 when Seattle Cascades played it.

Now this is about the 3rd time we have been through this. Page, after page, after page, of the SAME thngs, over and over. Come on DCP add them all in One and Close this. The One and ONLY answer is: Cadets2 have every Right to start, and do, WHATEVER it wants to do, under DCA Rules. End of Subject. They will be somewhere between: "the greatest thing that has ever happened to DCA - or - just another Corps added to DCA" I am Not, and never have been a Big "Garfield Cadets, Cadets of Beg. Cnty., The Cadets fan. AHHHHHHH, but what a Great History all of that is. A History, MANY Corps, could only Dream of having. Now a new part of that History is to start. Lets move on. Look what Should be a "Stand alone Post" about C2. " about 100 attended,.............seems the guard won't be back till April,.............Battery had what seems like 30 - 40 applicants.............pit about a dozen,.............staff quotes include they want more brass and guard,...............", lost in all that other stufff.

Come on folks, the Bridgemen are ...well... the BRIDGEMEN! They march to their own drummer (no pun intended) and always have. I can honestly say that back in my junior days (about a million years ago) they were the corps that we feared the most. You never know what the hell they're going to do. Would I pay to see them? You bet!

MARWAN!! . . and Liz and Rob I miss wearing coat #97 just about everyday. As the Renegades say, "the view is better from the field." The naysayers may have piled in but I bet the hotdog chompers, true fans and member-supporters would enjoy the enthusiasm and showmanship that the banana men ALWAYS deliver. oh yeah, and . . HYPE!

Yes, given time to prepare for that big "one time only" performance, I think any alumni corps would deliver a show just as good as previous alumni have done.

I had a great, rewarding time while I marched in the post competitive Bridgemen! Many, MANY great moments...on the field & off. That said, in reference to what this topic is supposed to be about, NOT BRIDGEMEN BASHING, but I'd have to say that the Bridgemen would have to up their game if they were gonna do semi-finals. If they were to do semi-finals I'm certain they would throw in the kitchen sink, get alot of people back & be successful. This topic has come up several times since I first marched Bridgemen in 2006 & I'd be willing to bet that if in fact they were invited to do the gig, accepted, that they would get a big corps going...the world may never know either way. Madison 2006, 27th in 1994...there are your 2 huge benchmarks. Unreal. People will always be talking about the heart and soul that went into those 2 performances by those wonderful groups...I think the Bridgemen, or any alumni corps, would need a good amount of time to get their numbers up, recruit like hell & polish their show. I am heavily involved with the Reilly Raiders, as their Program Coordinator, trying to grow the business, keep our great name alive, while having fun...but, I told my people 2 years ago that if Bridgemen were to do semis that I'd be in. This has been my "Jordan Rule" so to speak... As for the bashing...if you bash the Bridgemen I feel like your bashing all alumni corps...like we're delussional for wanting to keep being active & contributing to a great activity. I've competed, both with Crossmen & Sunrisers...I feel like I don't need to compete PLUS wouldn't want to do it shotty due to working/family etc etc. DCA is a young man's game now. I'd have to, and should anyway, get into serious shape to be able to get thru legitimate rehearsal blocks in a competitive corps! LOL...just keeping it real. I'm not alone. The alumni acitivity is filled with adults of all ages that want to practice once or twice per month, forget about the bills & troubles we all have on a daily basis, and put the horn to the chops...for the love of the game baby! OK..let me wrap it up. Just felt like Bridgemen were getting a raw deal with some of these comments & wanted my 2 little pennies heard... Take care everyone & Happy Holidays!

Yep, we have had some awful moments, but I'd say we have come a long way since '07. We do the best we can, we accept everyone, regardless of their skill level, no one gets cut, and we have a GREAT TIME!!

+1 to the long response to BobH as that's the feeling I get too from my corps. And we're one of the groups that doesn't do a field show (or that well known either). As long as there are people out there who enjoy it, what's the problem? DCA is different from DCI is different from Alumni-type is different from Mini Corps is different from.....

Or something different for anyone under... (won't say the number).... Wow.... some of these posts are just insulting to DCI fans IMO. Make it sound like "If it's different from todays DC, people won't like it or will hate it". Just makes the fans look very closed minded. PS - if anyone judges an Alumni-type corps with competative corps standards they are really missing the point (and missing out also).

Looking foward to the Plymouth weekend this year again but I am sorry to see that BS Golden Knights are not scheduled this year. I believe this has to be the first time they will not be at the show that started in the 90's. They even came to the show when it was in Boston one year. I think each year they even serenaded a family in a house in Plymouth when they lined up for the parade, used to know the story behind that but I forgot.. Also miss the Conn Alumini Drum and Bugle corp that used to be at this show. One of the few times you could see this corps. Pete

This sounds like...state government running education. The DCI BOD have done a great job throughout the years. MAYBE some decisions weren't very popular but the corps run DCI. I don't see any reason to restructure.

From their website, as of today (14 OCT 2011): 1991 saw the emergence of “America’s Hometown Celebration” and all the exciting things that have become synonymous with “AHTC”. Voila! The birth of what has now become one of the premiere events in the "Drum Corps world." Drum corps’ from far and near vie for a spot in the lineup. This year introduces you to the “Musical Ambassadors of New York”, the Westchester Brassmen, hailing from Harrison, NY. Also new, all the way from Quebec, Les Diplomates. The “Reunion Concert” Saturday evening, November 21 will present to you some of the legends of Drum Corps. Our 2011 Lineup, thus far: The Bridgemen Crusader Senior Drum & Bugle Corps Defender, Rockland, MA Hawthorne Caballeros Les Diplomates Park City Pride Reilly Raiders Westchester Brassmen Barbara “Gobbi” DiRusso, Producer & Musical Coordinator - Reunion Concert

This year will be my first trip to the Plymouth event. I've heard so many good things about it over the years, and I am very much looking forward to it. A great weekend of drum corps. And New England seafood!!!

WOW what a line up. This Thanksgiving Event, is Alway's one of the best. Both the Concert and the Parade.

Sounds like a great line up. One that Many will enjoy and have a good time. (Still will miss BSGK though.)

Well so far it looks like we have 4 groups in the concert. St. Kevin's, Bos. Crusaders SR, Defenders, and I think Haw.Cab's. Anyone know when the Official List will be out? BOTH the Concert and Parade are a High Lite of the Alumni type Corps World.

Some assumed data, some real data, and some pro-forma projections to go along with the flat out assumptions: The 2009 DCI 990 shows that program revenue was $7.5million. For discussion lets assume that number is currently accurate. Working backwards and making some assumptions (and because DCI doesn't release these actual stats) (my assumptions are open to discussion/modification): DCI holds over 100 shows per year, but let's call it 100 for easy math...an assumed 3500 average attendance and an average $22.00 ticket price gets you a little over $7.5mm dollars. Our show, one of the 100, is between Atlanta and Allentown in 2012. All eight of our corps are coming from and heading to those locations. For the top corps (BD, BS, etc) we pay DCI $5500. I don't know how much of that goes to the corps. Most of our corps are staying just one night and then heading to Allentown. Most will do one other show along the way. One of our corps is staying two days, and maybe three, at our show so they can head directly to A-town. It's presumed that most corps will collect two additional paydays between Atlanta and A-town. earning them something between $4400 and $10,000 between those two shows. In Dan Ray's vision, only Major regions would hold a show. I'm not even certain that A-town would keep their show in this scheme, consider that, as I understand it, our show had better one-night attendance than A-town did last year, but let's assume that A-town stays in the Super Circuit. It's reasonable that our show would not be on the schedule unless we can negotiate with The Ohio State University to provide a venue (they have several that would probably hold "regional" attendance), but let's assume that our show, and one other between Atlanta and A-town are eliminated. That would make A-town responsible for producing twice or more revenue per corps. Still with me? Here's the rub. Back to some assumed math: Let's assume the Super Circuit has 25 shows around the country instead of 100. Also let's assume that average ticket cost nearly doubles to $40. It will take 7000 fans at A-town, and at each of the other 24 shows to generate the same $7.5mm that 100 shows does now. Is that reasonable (remember my friend and his nephew). I can guarantee that band kids from central Ohio are not going to go to A-town, so the next-closest show would be Akron (2 1/2 hours away) or Tennessee (6 hours away). It's very difficult for us to get band directors to bring their kids to our local show; is it reasonable to think those directors will take their kids 3 hours away and pay twice as much? I don't think so. What the likelihood that parents will drive to see their kids perform? At least, you can say the odds are lower than if there's a show in their own home town. What about fans? Well I'm as rabid as the next guy, but I'd be hard-pressed to make the Akron show, let alone A-town, TN, or Atlanta. Are drum corps fans really Dead-Head types that follow corps around for the whole season sleeping in bus stations or paying for hotels? Doubtful. Attendance will be local and, at best, regional. Less shows means less attendance. Less attendance means less marketing, less souvie sales, etc. DCI is now handling a 100-show circuit (which is why they have the expertise to sell - YEA! runs a 200-show season!). So, fill in the blanks, Dan. I agree with much of what you say, but this notion that corps should be chopped off and the circuit shrunk to generate more revenue just doesn't make sense to me. A reasonable assumption is that corporate "sponsorship" or involvement will make ticket revenue less important. But that ticket revenue represents the cash flow to an investor. That cash flow is an important part of discounting future values to get present value that determines whether the investment has viability. I just don't see how marketing a less-frequent cash flow, at larger ticket prices, makes a more viable argument for investment than does a 100 corps season. And FINALLY... If a deal can be struck to big-league market 15 corps, why can't that same model be leveraged up to market all DCI corps (and DCA partner corps as well)? If "sponsorship", or "investment", or "involvement" by corporations works for 15 corps, what makes it un-adaptable for 42 corps and the leverage attained spread among all 42 instead of just the top 15? (Whew. Sorry so long and full of questions. I've been thinking about this for several hours.)

How exactly will it cause corps to fold? As I see it, it would strengthen the operations and improve sustainability. I'm not a fan of world class corps doing loads of local shows. Doesn't make financial sense. Shows need to be where the greatest potential for revenue is, not simply covering the country equally. There are places that have several large shows and could support even more with a different lineup. Something to think about... if all of the current open class corps went away, and there were only say 15 world class corps performing on the highest level.... the activity will still thrive. There will be no less fans (fans are attracted these days though their school programs, not through participation in corps), no less stability. But... if these top corps went under and it was only corps performing on the level of open class corps or the bottom tier of world class... the activity is done. Priority needs to be placed on the top performing corps, as this is what keeps the activity going. Secondary emphasis should be to get corps in world class performing on a more equal level. Again, bar should be higher on all levels.

Rain.

Some of the VOD videos aren't loading for me, and I'm wondering if anyone else has the same problem. The shows I have tried watching are Bridgemen '77 and Blue Stars '05. Also, yes I have emailed DCI about it. It said they would reply within 24 - 48 hours - it's been a week.

Pioneer and Troopers do it right.

They "shuffled" (looked like crabbing) a little more than 8 counts... and while playing too - one of the hardest segments of any show in '09 imo.

One of the best designed shows I have seen in any marching arena. Incredible.

Interesting: http://www.bostoncrusaders.com/news/214-kennedy Who will replace him as brass arranger for Boston?

Well, what do you expect? DCI has eliminated just about everything that made Drum Corps a unique form of entertainment, and then they wonder where the fans have gone.

haven't read the whole thread, but here's my vote fwiw no... IMO, DCI, like colleges and universities, is a great example of a successful self-governed organization. Drum corps is a very unique, hybrid activity involving highlyk specialized expertise. Corps directors and others who have devoted their professional lives to the activity have the greatest expertise in the activity and are in the best position to govern it. What on earth is the fascination with business people? How does working in business qualify you to govern anything? For cripes sake in this economy, there are serious doubts about whether experience in business bodes well for your future potential in business let alone in some activity you know nothing about.

There may be an audience for that, who knows? It just doesn't really overlap well with the current DCI audience. Sure, there is a nostalgia bit, but what percentage of the audience was even born when the Bridgemen were around? How many kids marching today have ever even seen the Bridgemen on video? I marched 20 years ago... and even then most kids I marched with hadn't ever seen them even on tape. So, how could there be that much of a nostalgic connection with the current members and audience?