Leaderboard

My town used to have THREE huge Catholic churches. Now, we share one church with three other towns. My parents used to go to Saturday evening dances at the local GRANGE Hall where my grandfather was the DJ. Now, the Grange no longer exists (around here at least). The local Saint Louis Community Center here was just sold to a local bakery, and all five small, local drum corps here in Southern Maine vanished in the last 1960s....BEFORE DCI cast a vote. The society, for better or worse, continues to change.

I knew you were going to say that.

Spot is overshooting his four count turns. 😂 ✅

Was on council of a city church that was going downhill (doors since closed). Went to sessions on why the problems and what can be done. Why… changes to society and the area over the decades. What can be done… nothing really. Amazing how many other activities have hit the same thing for the same reasons... including drum corps

For the last several years, when BAC holds their auditions in the Boston area, they have the folks from 7th Regiment in attendance, complete with video setup and even a mannequin wearing a uniform. Their corps director and several caption staff are also present to speak to possible members who just may not yet be ready for WC. I do not know if other WC corps do anything like this or not.

That’s part of the issue from what I read. BITD members had more of a chance to march more than one season. Today due to cost and other conflicts a good many can only do corps for one season so they try to make that one time really count

“Like” is not how the show is judged. Does the show/performance check off the criteria the corps have decided is how they want to be evaluated? That is how judging works. You rank and rate your caption against the various criteria. Personally liking a show is not part of the mix.

None

5 options: you forgot does the show meet the criteria on the sheet? like's got nothing to do with it

Considering I am a newly retired Navy Leader, that would be embarrassing lol. Can't expect my Sailors and Marines to know if I don't myself lol.

For the record, I was one of the founding staff people for the 20th Maine, and actually lived in Oakland and it is nowhere near southern Maine. Neither is Lewiston. But, glad I have been able to give you a convenient target. Ironically, EVERY corps listed here went away due to horrendous mismanagement, which makes my point. The only corps from Maine to ever have any DCI involvement was 20th, and after a brief 3 year life (including 2 DCI tours, btw) they folded because the chief fundraiser turned out to be a con man from Ohio who was wanted by the FBI. So again, DCI had NOTHING to do with these corps going away.

Then we have the declining number of American Legion and VFW Posts and membership. But on other DC social media sites some are saying things can be like they used to. 🙄 I can name two or three Posts where the bar and social members are keeping them going. One is the Post for a dry town but is located across the alley from the town line. Some friends of mine call it “the club”.

https://youtu.be/4ZfpwfQ58Ds

I dunno, Boss.....kids today, who can figure them out. They're missing out on so much. Not to plead BITD, but I'll plead BITD, I went from a smaller corps to a much larger/much more successful corps for one year, didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the small corps and returned to the small corps the next year.

How many bottom end corps will disband because of this?

Correct. Transportation is the biggest cost. Adding 11 paying members without adding transportation expenses equals a considerable net positive. Corps I know of use BSA for insurance (hence the reason they are BSA Explorer Posts). That insurance was super cheap (~$2 a person). It’s gone up considerably with all of the lawsuits against BSA but still <$50 a person. Uniforms are pretty cheap. After transportation, food is the next biggest incremental cost and it’s not more than $1500 per person. At $4500 for tuition, I think these 11 would bring in a net positive of $2000-$2500 per member.

Your "criminally inaccurate" is so over the top that it virtually negates every other thing you said. As for the numbers in the 70's and 80's and the financial prowess of many of those smaller drum corps, I need no lectures from you about the activity then. I spent my teen years immersed in the Massachusetts drum corps scene specifically, and very few, if any had working BODs and financial plans. And, I am not just referring to the Braintree Braves, who had a total membership of 8 and travelled to shows in a station wagon. Even the 27th Lancers, who were a fierce competitor at the highest levels of DCI ended up having to throw the towel in because, as George Bonfiglio told the audience at a show one summer, the busses were simply unsafe to travel on. Lastly, I wasn't insulting ANY corps, simply pointing out the fact the the activity is completely different now than it was 45 years ago, and the DCI Rules Congress has had little, if any impact on the groups without money. DCI had nothing whatever with the old Mayflower Circuit, CYO Circuit, or the Eastern Mass Circuit folding their tents. Any suggestion to the contrary is pure fabrication and revisionist history.

It could be a great discussion but it zeroed in on the negative in my humble opinion. Same here on the rating. I have not used it and did not know about it until it was mentioned on another thread. I was not complaining about your thread topic just the reactions.

Ok this is way out of date but 10 or so years ago I asked if someone misses the cut of a top corps why don’t they join a lesser corps. Responses were mostly 1) so expensive not worth it to join the lesser corps 2) lot of people can only do corps for one year (saving up money, etc) so it’s top/dream corps or forget it.

Here’s some video of “Spot”. https://www.kbia.org/2021-10-01/spot-the-robot-to-perform-with-the-mizzou-marching-band-during-football-halftime-show

AND some worry about electronics, props or a sock color..lol..kidding aside, over the next decade or 2 we will see more and more things available to corps I believe. Who would have thought we would see what we already do only a few years ago. It's coming for sure, the good or bad of that. Depending who one chooses to talk to..lol

guilty

i didn't like it at the time.....took me a good 5 years til i grew to fully appreciate it.

Don't forget that '93 Star almost won DCI and at least 2/3 of the audience either didn't understand the show or flat out hated it.

The primary questions of a drummers mind: 1. Can it be drummed on? 2. Can it be eaten?

no, they probably don't either

Why so negative? This thread is sad

DCP gets a bad rap for "angry " too, imo. This is angry 😂

nope. visual people, cause you know, facial expressions are everything to judges in the box at the 500 level

I'm not blaming the kids. Everything goes back to leadership, or lack thereof. With regards to the original topic of uniforms, a couple of things; 1. I would love to see drum corps return to going with a uniform for 5+ seasons. This is how you establish an identity and following. 2. Who thought it was a good idea to stop wearing hats-helmets-shakos-ausies, etc? The headpiece completes the uniform.