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After reading through the thread it seems there's only one person getting "all up in arms" about the thread being in the WC forums.

A large number of DCI world class corps performers have come out of that band program. I know, as I have marched with and taught many of them. The actions of this superintendent very well may have far-reaching ramifications not only on the Ft. Walton Beach program, but those of the county as well. As such, you are absolutely wrong when you deny the possible long-term effect this may have on the pool of potential members. The absolute last thing any band program needs is meddling by high-level administrators. I really hope the director appeals the decision. I know I would. The good news is that since you're not a forum mod, it really doesn't matter if you think it's germane to the world class discussion or not.

The Red Knights Drum & Bugle Corps of Pittsfield, MA marched in the Holyoke, MA St. Patrick's Day Parade last Sunday. I don't have to tell anybody that was there how cold and windy it was. There was one warm spot ... in my heart anyways. As our corps had to move single file from one line-up position to another in the staging area, we had to march in front of the Hurricanes. I'm an Old School drum corps member, who competed on the field against the Hurricanes in the past. In all honesty, the Red Knights are a parade corps trying to survive. I want to thank the members of the Hurricanes who applauded us and motivated us on as we passed by them. As I said, there was one warm spot last Sunday ... Thanks Again Hurricanes ! By the Way, Scotty Williamson is from our home town, every once in awhile I run into him at WalMart or wherever and we talk drum corps ... Lol. Paul Christopher ... Director ... Red Knights Drum & Bugle Corps, Pittsfield, MA.

The ONE change that will put the Drum Corps activity back onto (or at least a chance at) a path of success is: Change the governance structure of Drum Corps International: Remove all of the individual corps directors from the Board of Directors (as they are really considered "interested parties"), and replace them with a brand new board that are: 1) Not affiliated with any one drum corps; 2) have a passion for the activity; and 3) are extremely successfully business people in their respective fields (i.e., Marketing, Business Development, Law, Technology, Logistics, etc.). THAT is pretty much the one and only change that will get Drum Corps out of the current "death spiral" ... IMHO!

You sound like Jeff Fiedler, hurling "status quo" around as the highest insult. Now, to dissemble your latest strawman: a. No changes to make the product better? We have been making changes at breakneck speed. Any-key brass, amplification, electronic instruments, a caption for colorguard, pre-shows, several judging system overhauls, and the TOC show format with instant encores, I&E performers, and a mass encore. There are many claims that these changes make the product better. Do you disagree? b. Every corps tries to step up their game every year. And honestly, do you think the corps of 2012 were no bigger or better than 10, 20 or 30 years ago? a. 15,000 paying a high price for those finals tickets, plus a sweetheart deal on the cost of staging the event. b. TV? We have the Internet and theater access now. Who needs a TV deal? Spend $100,000s to get on PBS? Does anyone watch PBS anymore? c. Dozens of sponsorships, constituting just one leg of the DCI stool, is far preferable to the activity becoming dependent upon a single, fickle title sponsor. But people associated with the G7 point of view think it is just marching band, too. Ask MikeD. danielray keeps referring to it as "kid's marching band". George Hopkins - need I say more? Leaders of the activity have driven us to align with marching band. Are you saying they were wrong? What do you want to do about this? Should we distance ourselves from marching band? Or should we set about improving the image of marching music, and do both activities a favor in the process? Giving up without even whittling down one firm idea of your own for change? SoundSport and Drumline Battle are next on the agenda. By the way, DCI has been improving revenue each year in a horrendous economy. I know you were just itching to say "status quo" one more time, but this was not the appropriate sentence for it. I was thinking more along the lines of $300,000 a year in cost savings among the corps who spend the most (and complain the most). But for some reason, those corps want everyone else to cut costs instead.

You're violating the spirit of the thread - no criticizing, just add your one proposed change.

Free Vodka.

Because we all know that most corporations that have skilled, visionary leaders - aka "most of the successful businesses out there" - are really no different from military dictatorships. The Hitler card has been played, so I'm not sure there's anywhere for this conversation to go but up.

Stu, Stu, Stu, Give it a break! This school band program is a top 5 program in Florida. There are probably some kids who march corps from this program...in any case, it is an interesting article and since we don't have alot to talk about on here anyway, why not? The Ft. Walton program has over 400 band students, 4 bands. The elected superintendant made a bad move!

Interesting Show Title Announcement from these guys. It's not what I thought it would be at all based on the music listed, but cool I guess. Interesting little video too. Can't wait till the rest of you find out what it is.

Stu, It'd be like a corps board member forcing a director to take a kid just because. it's very relavant

Impulse Drum & Bugle Corps is excited to announce that we are extending our summer tour with additional stops in Boise Idaho, Ogden Utah and Reno Nevada. DCI representatives indicated that they are excited to see Impulse taking the next step towards their goal of returning to a full summer tour. This extension to the 2013 tour will provide the instructional and support staff the opportunity to learn first hand about the real demands and logistics required to support 100+ persons in a traveling caravan.

Looks like ballet sacra is gone... If the Hans Zimmer piece is Chevaliers de sangreal, that would be pure genius. Not only does chevaliers look like Cavaliers and mean chilvary, but its a ranking of knighthood of brothers. Cavies founded 1948. Video was 48 seconds. Illuminati has 48 laws of power. Cavies teaser anagram was "reteach powers" which decodes to "we are the corps". Very impressive and well thought out by the staff. Curious to see what Badalamenti piece is. Maybe something from twin peaks?

I think the Stonecutters will be most offended.

there were a lot more than that at the start of Class A this past year.

True story. I was routinely elevated to advanced ensembles in high school. I was routinely acknowledged to be among the band's best players. Then in my senior year, after the regular auditions, my band director chose to place me instead in a lesser ensemble, the band we affectionately called "sweat hog band" (after the "Welcome Back, Kotter" TV show). No one understood why I wasn't in the top band. I certaintly didn't, especially since there was an open chair in my section. Then mid-year the band director approached me and said: Why are you still in concert band? Why didn't you come to me and ask? The only reason I put you in concert band was to send you a message.* And I responded: I like it in sweat hog band. I'm sending you a message too. My demotion was a great life lesson. I learned humility. I learned that some decisions are capricious. Some are stupid. I learned that no matter where I was I had to take my pride with me. I learned that life isn't always fair - and that I'm okay anyway. Situations like this make my blood boil. I don't have to know any particulars to know that there are too many parents in the world who don't understand that their primary job isn't to help their kids excel. Their primary job is to teach their kids to be independent and to be good. Most of us learn far more in failure than in success. Parents riding to the rescue isn't a lesson in anything worth knowing. HH *I think the message he was sending was about power. A lot of band members "listened" to me. The band director, I believe, was establishing clearly who was in charge.

If Hop, Gibbs, D-Ray, Slingerland, et al want to believe the drum corps activity can 'go to the next level' in the world of commercial pop entertainment and start competing with the big names within the commercial pop entertainment industry then I say take the G7/MiM and go have at it. However, my contention is that while updates and upgrades are occasionally needed to keep up with technology, no matter how much lipstick, make-up, and short skirt you put on the lady to make her commercially appealing in the main-stream pop culture, when the skirt flies up, and a marketing ploy such as a wardrobe malfunction occurs, she will still be shown as the 70 plus year old lady she actually is. So, why not continue to present her with a sense of class and respect similar to centuries old symphonic orchestras. These orchestras may not bring in the year-to-year revenue that Lady Ga Ga currently does, but I guarantee you that 200 years from now those orchestras will still be performing Mozart and Beethoven while the memory of Ga Ga will only appear in the archives of a collection of publications somewhere in cyberspace.

Going to go off topic a little here. Being in education, this story does not surprise me one bit. These sort of circumstances are the reason why many educators start questioning why they should stay in the field and not move on to another career. We talk about student's rights and their right to due process, but many people find it hard to see it from the educator stand point. Every year I deal with my teachers having to go through ordeals with parents because they felt their child was discriminated against, wasn't treated fairly, or deserved a better grade than what they received (and so on). In my experience as a teacher, we've all said or done something we regretted in class. Being the adult and realizing your mistake, you apologize to the class and explain why you lost your cool and move on. Most kids appreciate the candor and move on too like it was no big deal. But...every now and then, you have that student and parent who take it to heart and go bat crazy over the mistake the teacher made in the classroom. Or they use it as an "ace in the hole" sort of thing, and when necessary play their trump card when needed. It's all done with the argument of, "my taxes are paying your salary, so you work for me," type attitude. In a way, the public seems to have lost all faith in the decisions teachers make in the classroom. Back when I went to school, if your teachers told your parents you misbehaved in class, your parents put a whooping on you when you got home. They didn't question the teacher why or what might have been the cause for little Susie to act the way they did. I'm not saying it's not good for parents to ask questions, but today it just seems parents are so defensive rather than working collaboratively with the teacher. It's something we talk about often when I meet with my teachers and how to deal with today's type of parenting. I see and hear my staff's frustration. It's just sad that everything, including something as simple as audition requirements, has to be like an iron clad contract. It's also sad that parents cannot at times just accept that the teacher has a good reason to make the decision they do. I give an example of my own child. He is not the best athlete by far, but he wanted to play basketball this year. We told him to be prepared to ride the bench all year and that there are others who are way better than him, but he is also better than them at other things. He says he doesn't care and still wants to play. So it happens, he rides the bench most of the year. He plays on the varsity team, but occasionally to get more experience, the coach puts him on the JV team to get more playing time. He does not complain at all. In the end for the sports award banquet he receives the scholar athlete award for the highest GPA on the team and most dedicated (he never missed a practice or was ineligible). He knows he's better at other things such as academics, is a wonderful speller (made it all the way to the state spelling bee two years in row), and can speak four languages. We're not upset when we go to games and he does not get put in, we still support him and the coach. Everything happens for a reason. As a child it may hurt, but you also need to see it as a learning opportunity. Even when you fail or not picked to join, you still learn. Thanks for the rant!

I'm guess that the video will be out for mass consumption pretty soon. I think it's done pretty darned well! I will be interested in seeing how this concept and music will be compared to other recent corps who have done what some may consider to be similar concepts and music. I feel pretty good about what I've heard on the level of preparation and I'm happy with the current drill writer and visual team. I'm pretty confident that guard will be good too. Frankly, when the music alone was announced, I thought it had the potential to be similar to Crown or Cadet's show from this year. Now that I know the concept, they've got my interest even more.

The band director in question, Randy Folsom, marched with Southwind...so there's that.

While it is kind of a stretch to connect this story w/WC corps, I would MUCH prefer discussion about this than yet another "best 22nd place corps of all time," or "G7/Hopkins are the devil destroying drum corps" or other garbage DCP is littered with. Intelligent discourse is never a bad thing, even if it's only marginally connected with drum corps.

That argument has already been made..... I just enjoy seeing a new topic on here and, while very minimal, it could relate eventually to DC because one of these parents may not like a corps audition results and call into question the results with a lawyer in tow.

Any conversation about basic models of corporate governance that brings in the Axis powers - even as a tangential issue - is a conversation whose intellectual value has dropped into the single digits. DCI could stand a strong central voice that knows more about the businesses of sports and event marketing than the corps directors do. Right now, they don't have that. Dan A did a great job of pulling the organization out of a tailspin, but there's no plan out there (and the old 5 year plan didn't do this) that would move the organization back in the direction of being able to fill 25,000 seats for Finals (making the organization another $600k+ in one night) or getting the product into the sites of the types of corporate sponsors who can underwrite the expenses of building the audience base. It's not unusual for companies to change leadership when the needs change. Right now DCI needs a growth-oriented focus, with a team at the top who has the contacts and the experience to move it to the next level. But they're unwilling to spend the kind of money it would take to bring in someone who has those skills. The G7 idea was dumb, but at its heart, it was right about the central issue; DCI's stuck in the mud, and it's not looking good that anyone will ever be able to get a few of the directors involved on board with the idea of aggressively pursuing new avenues of income and professionalism.

We are not talking about a single one-person owned entity such as the Dallas Cowboys owned by Jerry Jones (a person who fits the bill of a D-Ray desired All Powerful Dictator). We are discussing a corporation responsible of coordinating many facets of other organizations within that corporate agreement structure like the Commissioner of the NFL. While it is true that any successful large corporation has to have a strong leader who has strong executive decision making power; it is also true that those same leaders are not All Powerful Dictators; they are Hired or Elected Leaders who are held accountable to a Board, the Stock Holders, or Both. I would agree with you if the name was brought into the situation out of context; but when a discussion arises on whether or not an All Powerful Dictatorship is a good idea or bad (and Daniel Ray said that a consortia never invaded or took over anything), avoiding the name of Hitler is flat dishonest. Moreover, it is a sad commentary on our society when items or names which are actually placed correctly in proper context are immediately shot down as supposedly playing a whatever card. Yet many people today want to avoid using certain historical names at all cost, even when it is placed in 'proper context'. This 'complete' avoidance within proper context throws honest debate right out the window just as much as using the name out of context throws honest debate out the window.

Actually, I agree with your plan as quoted here. It is logical, sensible, and actionable. I support it 100%. Speaking of 100%, I think the sales hire should be 100% incentivized (i.e. commission only, no salary). That makes the idea actionable, as no "down payment" will be necessary. Nothing else has to stop to permit this to proceed. No need to fire Dan Acheson, or throw 4 or 5 member corps overboard. No downside. How about you take the job, and show us how to land that title sponsor?

Yet somehow a few corps have been doing exactly that for years. Sometimes prior to finals week, sometimes during finals week.

For the record, the shows that I watched originally were all found on my own, I didn't really have anyone show me. :smile:/> Regardless that it has evolved some in style, it's still really different from DCI in my eyes, and that's what is really making me interested in it.

Out of curiosity, the thing that has kept DCI from going with that noble effort to fill the ranks of the Open Class corps was....a bunch of directors who no longer had seats on their Board? I never mistake words for deeds, and good intentions don't mean jacksquat unless there's been actual blood or treasure risked in the pursuit of those intentions. What were the actual results of that drive (or are the Illusory 7 somehow to blame for no one else carrying through on it?) Look, these are all nice people. Even a few directors I think are kinda d-ckish at times are, at heart, not bad people. But go back to something I noted a few weeks ago; the problem with drum corps is that it's driven by people who love the activity, but aren't in the position to make hard cold decisions regarding paths to growth. I got curious to see who was the head of US Gymnastics, since they've done a great job of growing their activity at all levels. A background in marketing and events management, and work in the broadcasting world. Nothing that mentions he ever did gymnastics himself, so I imagine it's safe to say that he was hired for his experience in sports/events/broadcasting, not his love for gymnastics. And yet, his success in growing the activity's profile with major sponsors has afforded his organization the means to invest more in grass roots growth and professionalization. If folks get away from the idea that drum corps becomes more visible and marketable, that those at the grass roots will pay the price, it seems to me there's a fair amount of room for agreement on a path forward.

I haven't seen any evidence, from anyone on this thread, that "corporate America" is at all interested in drum corps. In fact, the only reference that I've had to a corporate billionaire who IS part of corporate America made the contention that the only way forward is to wait for DCI to implode, then step in and pick it up for pennies on the dollar. Is THAT what we want for corporate leadership? WHO? Who else, that you can name by person or company or industry is interested in saving DCI? Name them!! for God's sake! All we hear is that we need the person who can find that corporate leader, but we have no evidence what-so-ever that that corporate titan actually exists.

Have you been studying at the knee of MikeD? Anyway, yes, that's how you reply when the results don't go your way. I would like to note, however, that you have no way of proving your claim. So let me simply say, yes they are a representative sample.

I'm sorry, but that's the biggest pile of 'weak' I've seen in a year. The DCI Hall of Fame? Are you friggin kidding me? Great men and women, all, but not a single one of them a person who can PICK UP THE FRIGGIN PHONE AND GET A DECISION MAKER WITH A TOP 100 BRAND ON THE LINETO FIGURE OUT HOW DCI CAN LAND A $200-250,000 A YEAR SPONSORSHIP DEAL FOR THE ACTIVITY. The problem is that they're all amateurs. In the root sense of that word. They "love" what they do, but none of them do it in the way a business person would do it. Not a single person connected with DCI knows the decision makers in corporate America, and no one seems to be willing to swallow their pride and pony up the kind of money it would take to hire someone who does. Until you fix that, you're dead in the water.

Nice. Another pejorative post designed to belittle and beat down the positions of those who believe that Roman has value to add to the activity. If you want to make your claim impactful and meaningful, you'll address the specifics of the plan, not cast dispersions at those for whom you, personally, have little respect. Is this the type of comment that describes how the VC business works? Is "bludgeon" the only operative word in your playbook?

You don't need my word for it. Even DCI agrees that they are not "fine". You should re-read (or read) the DCI 5- year plan that was summarily rejected by the Seven. It contains many, many proactive solutions to the problems you present. Don't have a copy? I'd be happy to send it to you. Just PM me. Then maybe you'll stop claiming that the O-15's position is that everything is just fine. But, I suspect you'll simply revert to your opinion that the DCI plan is unworkable, or won't attain the goals laid out there-in. Then you'll say Dan is a weak leader because of the plan. Your script is well known. The question is whether you can revise history to prove that the 5-year plan would not have worked, even though it attempted to address the needs of all corps and the activity simultaneously. Having never had the chance to implement the plan we'll simply never know if it would have worked.

And who would the performers be? You could likely not get enough kids interested in that to fill even one corps, let along a separate division. A lot of kids already think DCI is too far behind as it is. Kids want new.

Show me direct evidence that the President of a Board of a World Class Corps has stepped in and 'forced' a Director or Caption Head to place a youth into a performance position and I will concede.

I like the idea of a three day contest along with the parade. I agree that there is not a great deal of movement in placement, but I like the fact Open Class has an opportunity to compete in semi's if they score high enough. Also the excitement of Crossmen moving up after semi's and making finals last year made it very enjoyable. However, what I think would be interesting is to have the scores of prelims and semis be a part of the finals score. I am not sure how it works today, but years ago in figure skating I believe that the compulsories counted for a certain percent of the final score, the short program score was a certain percent of the finals score. It could mix things up a bit and it would make attending all three performances more worthwhile. Now as someone who does not attend finals each year, I'm not sure two days would make it worthwhile for travelers who do not attend each year, especially if finals is not held in a summer time tourist trap. Nothing against Indianapolis, the people are friendly, businesses welcoming, parking was easy and affordable, and I found it easy to get around the city by car, but it's not exactly a summer hotspot, and if it is, the tourism bureau needs to work harder at publicity. Now if Open Class prelims and finals could be held at a venue closer to Indianapolis held perhaps on Wednesday/Thursday rather than Monday/Tuesday then a two day prelims and finals for World might be interesting. Also another consideration would be "Big, Live, and Loud" broadcast on the Thursday evening. This is a huge draw and a big part of DCI's outreach. Would there be as many theater venues on a Friday night which is when new films usually open to the public?

I'd be up for that. Maybe take it a step further, so if DCI had the Top 6 already qualified for Finals, and the other 30ish groups are scrapping for the final 6 slots for Finals: a kind of winner-take-all, put everything into one last show type of vibe.

You know, after giving this a lot of though, I am starting to think DCP is in a downward spiral. I know that I am no longer willing to post show reviews, since anything other than sunshine and puppy-dogs results in ad hominem attacks and other nonsense, usually from someone connected to the criticized corps (especially when such criticism is warranted). I think some forums, the DCI World Class Forum in particular, are poorly moderated. I don't see nearly as many issues in the DCA forums (outside show reviews), but there isn't nearly as much traffic. I think one of the biggest problems facing DCP is that the site should never have allowed anonymous posting. That's the one advantage Facebook (or even Facebook integration) has over standard forum sites like DCP. Requiring folks to sign every post with their real name would cut the signal to noise ratio down considerably.

WGi, despite having hundreds more units, doesn't draw what DCI does. BOA draws moms and pops, a smattering of die hard fans and alums. DCI drawstons of alums and die hards, as well as moms and pops,

Here, let me provide you with one element of the 5-year plan: "The Participation Assessment Development and Education Committee (PAD) will tak a lead role to develop in 2010 and implement in 2011 an aggressive corps operational and artistic growth support plan as an extension of the participation review process. While respecting the autonomy of each organization, engage management and staff proactively rather than sit idly by. Opportunities exist to utilize DCI hall of Fame talent to offer development for aspiring instructors and designers. Deploy successful fundraisers, transportation experts, and business management advisors along with board development specialists. Commit a DCI staff position to corps development support." Now, tear it down and prove how this is just another part of a "weak" plan.

Grand! It seems that Pioneer and the Green Team aren't the only ones with lepruchans afoot. Cead Mile Failte (A Thousand Welcomes!) even though Hopkins is a bloody English name. http://www.yea.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=21854&news_iv_ctrl=1002

And you really believe that in May of 2010, when the G7 soundly rejected the 5-year plan that had been agreed on, that if Dan had said F-you and continued to execute that 5-year plan, we'd be anyplace different than where we are now? You really think that if Dan had barked and p'd off "some people in the activity" that the Seven would have said "Wow, this is a strong guy. We're sorry. Never mind", and would have suddenly become the passengers on the train? Seriously, I don't think you understand the structure of DCI or guys who lead the Seven. They rejected that plan. They took the power away from Dan and laid down the groundwork threat of leaving the activity. If Jack Welch had been in Dan's position and believed in the 5-year plan, his conviction would have only emboldened the Seven BECAUSE they disagreed with the plan, not the man. The plan voted on by all the directors. The problem does not lie with Dan or Dan's position. The problem lies in the power vested by the by-laws that allow the corps directors to fire their leader. It doesn't matter what the plan is if the Seven disagree with it. THEIR willingness to revolt and mutiny the activity and fire the leader against the wishes of the majority of the BOD is the source of the problem. We can agree on the greatest plan available, but if it's not the Seven's plan we find ourselves right back here in this exact position. You think a strong leader will pull the personalities into line. How can you possibly think that's the case? If there's irreparable harm, it's on the part of the Seven. Period. And you contend that the only way to fix it is to agree with their premise of exclusivity. Hogwash.

...and 13 years ago, Boston was in 5th, Crown was in 11th, and Bluecoats were in 12th. So the "G7" really depends on the year. In fact, Boston has been 7th or higher nearly half of those last 13 seasons. I do not understand why the G7 apologists don't get the fact that people who have been involved with the non-G7 corps feel so outraged by this scheme....if YOUR corps was being excluded from something which your organization had worked as hard for and for as many (if not more) years as anyone else, wouldn't YOU reject it? As I have said before, while we have a "Top 12", that is based solely on achievement, NOT edict. I wonder though, how would some of these corps feel if Cadets and BD declared themselves the "G2", which they certainly could rationalize based on their Gold Medals? Corps like Crown and Phantom certainly can't claim the competitive success that these two have----how would they feel? Folks, it's the same thing.

What's the point if the Seven only threaten to bolt if the leadership chooses a path not to their liking? Physician, heal thy self. Dan has the support of 15 of 22 corps. The necessary support according to the by-laws. The other Seven just didn't like their answer. That's 90% of this battle.

Very interesting post. You've said a lot. Kids get the strata, for sure, and it still doesn't deter them from trying out; kids get turned away by the droves each year so there's certainly demand to march even though more than two-thirds of the kids know they'll never make a "top" corps in their first couple of years and still choose to march an O-15 corps. That's instructive because it backs up that "flawed" research from Project Persona that clearly showed kids want to "march DCI" and not necessarily their favorite corps - they "march DCI". The strata exists. The tryouts are the proof. That we fill more than twice as many corps than the Seven each year - and turn away many more - proves that the brand *IS* DCI for more than twice as many marchers than march in the Seven. The Seven pokes easy holes in Project Persona, but the proof is in the kids marching non-Seven corps. The fact is there is plenty of demand to march. The problem is that there are not enough corps to march in, because it takes half-a-million dollars to make a corps competitive even in the second tier of the strata, and $350,000 every year just to be in WC. I truly believe that this is a "build it and they will come" activity - both marchers and their parents will happily increase if there were places for them to march. The Seven's answer is to increase to 200 marchers, and the math does work. 50 more kids per corps is 650 or more new marchers, and is 1500 or more new fans in family and supporters. That's almost 4 "new corps'" worth of kids soaked up by the existing corps. The problem with this solution is that it leaves the number of corps the same, just bigger. And that limits the tour size to the existing number of shows on the schedule, which means the same numbers of shows, albeit it with 1500 or so new fans. And the existing fan base in the seats now is not enough, apparently, to support the activity's financial demands. A better solution is more corps, doing more shows and, at the same time, appealing to a wider audience by not trying to ram down their throats what the artists think they should like in a show and, instead, giving them what they enjoy seeing. Coincidentally, having fans throwing babies instead of looking like :blink:/> does wonders for the spirits of the marching members and widens the appeal of marching NOT at their "favorite" corps. I can guarantee you that Surf's members weren't dampened at all by not placing high when they were standing on the field catching all those babies being thrown. The real answer is more corps and a wider tour, not fewer corps doing a smaller tour. Combining identity clarity with a wider distribution of BITS and eyeballs is the surest way to attract a fat corporate sponsor. That math works better from a marketing standpoint.

A brief survey of fans who are attending their first drum corps show. (This applies to DCA shows as well as DCI.) It would ask: "Would you pay to attend another show? If so... why? If not... why?" The answers might be interesting.