ScoutMello

We just call that 'Minneapolis'.

While I think SoundSport might be a good venue for minicorps to perform, I think it's a mistake to classify SoundSport as minicorps. It's a much more broad concept than that.

Another thing I just thought of (For Drumline Battle, anyway) Music rights. When you're restricted to battery, is that even really an issue? I don't claim to know, but my gut says "NOPE" which is another really good thing.

Because its totally impossible for these new activities to accommodate a variety of groups at a variety of skill levels/time commitments. Or for adults to bring a high level of skill to their recreational activities without it consuming their lives. (*cough* Star United *cough*) I'm curious how DCA fits into your worldview... Or maybe adults are free to spend their time however they darn well please.

What about all of us who have careers, families, and adult lives that include Drum Corps participation? You know, for fun? I hope you never spend any of your time or money on things not directly related to your career, cause that would obviously make you a hypocrite.

That was mostly snark. :P I think DCI's recent announcement is VERY promising.

Maybe DCI is realizing that traditional drum corps as we know it isn't sustainable long term and will let them ride it into the ground?

There's a good possibility these could make the 'I' in DCI actually accurate. I'm all for that.

I'm having a very hard time coming up with any criticism of the concepts here. Scaling back ensemble size: Good thing Scaling back venue size: Good thing Leveraging new technology (The interwebs) to reach a wider audience AND reduce travel needed for groups to compete: Good thing Delivering shorter, more focused products: Good thing Also confirmed: No age restrictions. VERY interesting.

Wasn't Madison entirely volunteer in the 90's? (Or darn close)

That would only be true if marching technique migrated away from a heel-strike in a big way. Some corps are doing this already, IIRC. Using a toe-lead for a majority of movement, and I think it's an excellent idea.

Not read the entire thread yet, but my 2c. This is not an electronics issue. This is not a sampling issue. This is an issue of available repertoire. These rights issues can/will discourage the use of modern works that non-drum corps people would find relevant. This will make it harder and harder to grow an audience if it's not addressed. Designing around it isn't in the best interests of the activity, and won't affect adoption/usage of electronics and sampling at all.

You are making a broad generalization based on the statements of a few people. DCP is not the entirety of the Drum Corps population. It's not even a representative sample of the drum corps population. For every poster here, there's likely a dozen more people who have never registered on these forums. (And they likely think that one guy is a loudmouth and should shut up) You also need to keep in mind that the people with extreme views on either end of the spectrum are a vocal minority. The people at the edges scream and stamp their feet, but the mass of people in the middle go about their day and don't bother to post about how they have no strong opinion on DADA.

From what I understand, the warmup area is far enough away from the stadium that corps will be bussing from warmup to the gate. Something to keep in mind.

I am shocked that you would imply that a cellphone is incapable of adequately capturing the full detail and nuance of a drum corps performance.

But even when corps uses old music, the way it is arranged and the show it is incorporated into is based on current design sensibilities. The Blue Stars take on New World Symphony in 2012 is wildly different from Phantom Regiment's version in 1989. Compared to a symphony orchestra which when playing work, is playing the original work. Even with each orchestra putting their own interpretive spin on it, they're playing the original composition note for note. That's why I don't think it's a valid comparison. Think of some of the classic drum corps musical moments you've witnessed in your time in the activity. Those will never be heard again live. Ever. Those are things people newer to the activity will never witness. I think that's a shame is all.

I think it would be a very good thing for drum corps to establish it's own repertoire musically instead of relying on adaptations. Compositions would be better fitted to the ensemble, and could be better integrated with the visual package. And it would add a sense of legitimacy to the form for outside observers. However, there are challenges: Good arrangers are not necessarily good composers. That kind of talent is not as prevalent in our activity, so there would be growing pains. Composers writing for a drum corps are going to have their composition performed by one ensemble for 3-4 months. At best. It likely won't get published, and even if it did, the potential market is minuscule. That's not a situation that attracts talent. Could you imagine an original corps show composed by Eric Whitacre, for example? It would be amazing, but what incentive is there for him to put in that effort when he could spend that time writing for wind ensemble or choir and market the work to thousands of performing ensembles. For something like this to happen, we would have to adjust our expectations for show content. (Specifically, the re-use of material) No one looks down on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for playing Mahler 6 after London played it the year before. We would have to adopt a similar mentality for original compositions to really work. If, say, the Glassmen do a piece that was originally commissioned and performed by the Cadets a couple years before, that should be okay. (And could be seen as an opportunity for a group to explore that work in a different visual context) This could have a happy side effect of reducing operating costs for newer or financially unstable organizations as they would have access to decent quality 'box charts' to build a show on, instead of bearing the financial cost of a good arranger. (Or the quality cost of a cheap arranger) The other thing we need for this to be viable is more corps. Lots more corps. They would be the customer base for these original compositions.

This is a very poor comparison. Symphony Orchestras routinely play music that was composed hundreds of years before. Drum corps shows are new every season. Even if a particular piece is replayed, it's using a new arrangement and in a new show context. Better to compare change in drum corps to change in symphonic compositions over time. (And on a side tangent, I think it's kind of sad that there is such negative connotations associated with the re-use of arrangements in this activity. Even the best work gets it's one season performance run and is then shelved in perpetuity, never to be performed again.)

Keytars.

Drum Corps could learn a thing or three from Cirque. Especially in non-verbal storytelling and effective characterization. They're excellent at it.

I was actually having a similar conversation with a friend of mine in the off-season. It seems that with the greater emphasis on body movement and characterization from all the performers, the traditional military-style uniforms are becoming more and more nonsensical. Putting the full corps in show-specific costume is really a logical next step. I actually thought BD was on that path when those first pics of their costumes came out. But then they put on the jackets and shakos mid-show. Back to the topic at hand: While I'm not a fan of BD's overall show concept, I agree that their movement technique is amazing. And their drill program might be hinting at the next big trend in drill design. I like how theres a very deliberate direction to the overall flow of group, as well as an underlying pulse that seems to run as an undercurrent to the entire production. The show feels like it has these longer underlying visual phrases that are then layered with more detailed transforms. Hard to describe, but the more I see it the more I respect what's going on there.

You missed the point of what Madison was trying to achieve then. The program was extremely successful in many ways: 1) They were consistent finalists 2) They were consistent crowd favorites 3) Their year to year membership retention rates were extremely high (90% zone IIRC) 4) They were able to consistently bring in more than they spent on tour The membership loved what they were doing, the audience loved what they were doing, and they were financially and competitively successful. As a performing ensemble, how much more really matters?

Agreed! Next time you watch a blu-ray on a decent home theater system, pay attention to the soundtrack and audio. Then wonder why you can't get audio recordings at that quality. :( It's one of the aspects of the DCI Blu-rays I really appreciate. You can't get audio at that quality level on any other format, really. (There are some online services that have higher quality offerings, but they're rare)

With that though, they're likely getting double benefit. Their parent likely passed on wealth originally earned with the IP, AND they're getting fresh revenue from it. Double-dipping, effectively.

Ah, okay. So it's somewhat off-topic from the start. I'm not even getting into that bag of worms. IP is enough. :) EDIT: I'm still waiting for a response to this question: Why is it okay for todays artists to use the works created before them, while at the same time preventing subsequent artists from using their work? Why is it okay to take without giving? Why is that sense of entitlement okay?