hurdra

This is a quarter century overdue. It is SO wonderful to see Phantom Regiment win the trophy outright, after so many years of watching them put on the best show yet be handed silver or bronze. And it is particularly sweet to see them win with THIS show. May this be the first of many!

Truer words were never spoken.

For some reason, this also makes me think of "WHAM" - "Wake me up, before you go go . . . " Maybe the folks that decide to go to DCI shows this year should yell "EWWWW" and hold their nose instead of yelling "Boo" . . .

This post made me smile for the first time in days - thanks

If you must do this, the obvious choice is a tombstone with the DCI logo engraved on it. But I'm like others here that feel that if you buy one more ticket, one more CD, one more download, DCI cries all the way to the bank - and you become a SUCKER. The best way to show your displeasure with this is to CALL DCI and tell them the divorce is final - YOU'RE DONE. Now if you want make and sell these tees to support DCA or something along that line, then I'd be far more apt to buy one.

You know, I first saw this "innovation" when my own HS band decided to amp a "fiddle" to do "Devil Went Down to Georgia". The year - 1982. It sucked then, as has every other single attempt at this that I've witnessed since that time. Yeah, you can blather on about technology is better now, etc., etc., but the fact remains that amped music outdoors does not have the same quality of sound as acoustic performances on instruments DESIGNED to project outdoors - drums and brass. That's the thing I just cannot get over - how SILLY this latest development (amping brass solos and ensembles) is. It goes to simple practicality - its just not NEEDED, and it does NOT improve the quality of the performance.

By getting the audience directly involved in the judging of the performances. DCI has put entirely too much emphasis on "innovation" and technical proficiency and not nearly enough on entertainment value. Adjudication of shows, as well as performance and educational goals, are therefore out of balance. DCA could provide themselves with a very appealing market focus that, in the long run, should also provide higher quality shows by splitting the judgement of shows between technical achievement (judged by traditional judging staff) and entertainment achievement (selected members of the audience). I am absolutely certain that had this sort of system been in place at DCI, not only would we not even be talking about amps today, we would also not have had the ties, the "locking out" of crowd favorites from medals placement, etc. that is the REAL cause of show stagnation, declining support and fan base in the DCI market. The judging, in general (no need to break this down to subcaptions at this point), could look something like this: Technical Achievement (quality, demand, technique etc) (traditional judges): 10 - Brass Technical Achievement 10 - Percussion Technical Achievement 10 - Musical Repetiore Achievement 10 - Guard Technical Achievement 10 - Visual Design Technical achievement Entertainment Achievement 10 - Brass Entertainment Achievement 10 - Percussion Entertainment Achievement 10 - Overall Musical Entertainment Achievement 10 - Guard Entertainment Achievement 10 - Overall Visual Entertainment Achievement Audience members are randomly selected, then given a short instruction session prior to start of the show (programs could include this as well). Audience judges would simply rate the performance on a 1 to 10 scale - no need to make it complex with sub-captions and such. With this system, technical achievement and audience appeal are given equal weight, thereby balancing "technical innovation" with "market appeal".

For those of us long term, loyal paying customers who are ready to say good-bye to DCI over this needless escalation of the amps issue - please select the course of action listed that best describes how you feel we should proceed.

That is absolutely an inaccurate statement. First of all, marching band contests, even "sport like" ones, have been around for many years - this is not new. Yet, as it has been from the beginning, fall marching band activities are centered around creating a show performed at halftime at football games. The band competition aspect has always been, and continues to be, subordinate to the "support the team spirit" role.

Certainly. Be happy to. Marching Band performances are designed and conducted for the entertainment of football fans, and are technically meant to be an "educational" experience for students of "traditional" musical instruments, many of which are designed for traditional stage performance, rather than for outdoors. Unfortunately, the musical experience is quite limited and marginally productive at best, for a variety of reasons. First, in order to appease the sports-minded audience, performances are often dominated by concerns regarding "supporting the team" or "mass appeal," with visual routines and music centered around "pep" songs or watered down versions of pop music familiar to the audience from common radio station play. Certainly, some marching bands attempt to play more sophisticated music that is more appropriate to the instruments being used. Unfortunately, because many of the instruments used were designed for the stage, rather than for outdoor performance, even the best marching bands can only achieve a certain level of performance quality can without the use of amplification - which, being outdoors, typically degrades, rather than enhances, sound quality. More importantly, the audience, having paid to see a football game - not a marching band - is largely disinterested and unsupportive of the group's efforts, regardless of the program's content or quality. All of this, combined, makes the intended "educational experience" moot, if not counterproductive. On the other hand, drum and bugle corps performances are designed and conducted for the entertainment of audiences that have specifically paid for the opportunity to see and hear such a performance, making the performance experience much more rewarding for both performer and musician alike. The shows are (at present) performed on instrumentation (namely, brass and percussion) that is specifically designed to project sound with both power and finesse over long distances outdoors without the need of amplification, providing the audience with a rich, unique quality of musical sound unmatched by any other musical genre. For the performer, especially ones lucky enough to qualify for upper level corps, the full days of practice, the traveling from town to town, and the nightly performances to audiences that have paid to see THEM, not a sports team, all provide a far more realistic taste of a career in music than marching band, either high school or college, will ever be able to provide, resulting in a more meaningful and relevant educational experience.

The proposal to stop being DCI customers is indeed the most appropriate choice at this point. It is time to face facts – DCI has made it loud and clear that they do not value the opinion of you, the paying customer. For years now, a majority of fans – many of whom are loyal, long-time customers – have expressed their dissatisfaction with amplified sound. Not only has DCI seen fit to ignore our complaints, in the run-up to this weekend, it has seen fit to mock us. One has only to look at the carefully selected image accompanying Michael Boo's lop-sided, innacurate article on the “no amps” proposal to understand their pointedly negative view of you and your views. To DCI, you are just a poorly dressed malcontent that they wish would just “die hard” and go away – but not before purchasing their new legacy downloads – now available through 6th place! It is time for us long-time fans to step back and truly understand our relationship to DCI, and there is really only one term that’s appropriate – co-dependence. This is turning out to be the classic co-dependent scenario – we continue to hang on and try to make this work, thinking that we can “change” them into seeing our way of thinking, and they continue to treat us with disrespect. As of this weekend, it’s obvious that DCI is not going to come to any sort of reasonable compromise on this issue – and they are no longer going to give us what we, as customers, have been asking for – and paying for – beautiful, passionate performances powered by the human breath, human motion, and human emotion, rather than the plugged in, worn out clap trap we can get at anytime on the radio, on TV, or on the internet. But as Bawker so rightly states, there is so much more to the drum and bugle corps art form than DCI – and here, fellow fans of real drum corps is where we can make a difference. Rather than simply stop being DCI customers, and walking away from the musical genre we all love, we should give the “educators” at DCI a lesson in Marketing 101 – the customer is ALWAYS right. I propose that we start our own foundation, similar to “symphony societies” dedicated to providing start-up capital for a new drum and bugle corps organization that: preserves the art form as musical presentations performed on acoustical instruments designed for the outdoors – namely brass and percussion promotes wider participation through more regional circuits, and smaller groups promotes BOTH the concepts of “innovation” AND “entertainment by splitting the adjudication of performances between career professionals (technical judging) and selected members of the audience (general effect) promotes democratic governance principles and PREVENTS back-room deals through strict “sunshine” regulations regarding the discussion and planning of organization rules, regulations, and operating procedures. For this to work, we need the following: A legal expert to help formally draw up the papers as a non-profit organization A governing body (of us, the fans) A web site to promote the organization, take donations, and generate letters to like minded individuals and drum and bugle corps to come join us. I can do the web work; any properly credentialed legal professional who’s interested should please contact me through this web site. In the mean time, it is vitally important to contact DCI directly (preferably by phone, but at the very least by regular mail) no later than Friday of this coming week and let them know that you are NO LONGER INTERESTED in their products, that you will no longer be supporting their organization, financially or otherwise. I suggest you do the same to any individual drum and bugle corps organization that you've supported over the years that insists on promoting amplification. Folks, we know from the numerous surveys on here, from the numbers of us in audiences at shows, and even from DCI’s own “talk back” segment that a MAJORITY of fans do not support amps, and that a good number of drum corps would like to continue to provide us with the unique brand of entertainment that we’ve loyally promoted – and paid for – for years. We have two choices – continue this co-dependent relationship with DCI – and get little or nothing that we want out of it, or use our money to revitalize the drum and bugle corps activity as something meaningful and rewarding to both performer and paying fan alike. It is high time we realize that the latter choice, though difficult, is now the best one.

I just saw this, and I just read the proposal. I am quite literally in shock. Slide 15 is nothing short of an announcement of a coup. This proves what I've thought since 2005 - George Hopkins has morphed from an intelligent innovator to a selfish, power-hungry maniac. But I think it's important to point out that, while he's certainly the ring leader, he's not alone. If his introductory slides are to be believed, the directors of the other top seven corps (Blue Devils, Cavaliers, Phantom Regiment, Santa Clara Vanguard, Carolina Crown, Bluecoats, and Blue Knights) have ALL conspired to take power for themselves and away from anyone other than the "elites". All so George can keep his plug-in toys. God, how I HATE this man - and how I hate the rest of them for listening to him. What I don't understand is why the other corps don't pre-empt this and eject the top eight from DCI? They're actions warrant it - and their own words indict them. Surely the existing bylaws would permit it?!?! I am very literally in tears - this is sad on so many levels. But I don't think we should stop going to corps shows - quite the contrary. We should show up - then LEAVE THE STANDS when ANY of these corps perform. Better yet, BOYCOTT their souvie stands. Since most often these corps go on last, I think they'll get the picture LOUD AND CLEAR when everyone gets up midway through the show, buys a Blues Stars or Troopers t-shirt, and LEAVES the place to the crickets. Lets see how many of these "band kids" that want to play guitar stick around for night after night of THAT. I have Web skills - and I plan to use them to launch this campaign. PLEASE, if you care for the unique, wonderful musical genre we know and love, JOIN THE FIGHT TO SAVE IT! And most especially - if you're a marching member of ANY of the offending corps, or a parent or friend of same, PLEASE consider organizing the REMOVAL of these directors from your corps.

Great idea - my complaint has been sent!

Memphis Blues Brass Band (MB3) 1980. No doubt about it.

I'll tell you how to get rid of amplified voice once and for all - do MORE, not less, of it. In other words, do a VK/Bridgemen type show that that RIDICULES it. I would LOVE to see someone do a show where the entire corps has microphones - and they each take turns spouting nonsensical phrases like "Bla. Bla-bla bla-bla. Yakkity yak bla. Bla-de bla-de bla bla bla!" Both individually, and as mock conversations. Once the audience gets the point, they could even come up into the stands and let audience members join in the fun! I guarantee you that at least 50% (if not more) of the crowd would STAND AND CHEER (if not stomping and screaming as they cry with laughter) - at EVERY SHOW - if someone did this. And Hopkins - as well as DCI - would FINALLY get the point - the MAJORITY of audiences HATES this crap - so much so that we're LAUGHING AT THEM about it. Watch how fast the microphones disappear from everywhere but the pit the following season (where, if anywhere, they belong) . . .