cixelsyd

Really? That is good news. Bring on the sports league analogies, everyone! That is what I thought - but now we have people like you complaining when DCI does that. Regarding the "partnerships" (sounds like feeder corps) - feel free to discuss. Whether feeder corps or unaffiliated open class corps, they are both drum corps. As for where these farm teams play, there are a couple of glaringly obvious reasons why separating the farm league from DCI is not as wise or practical as with most sports leagues. For one thing, while other leagues have games involving two teams, DCI shows require more than two corps each; thus, they already need more teams on that account. And as we have just established on another thread, there is a widely held belief that regional circuits cannot succeed without the involvement of the top corps. Since those regional circuits (which no longer exist) have been earmarked for open class, but they cannot succeed without the top corps, then there is no way we can separate open class from the top corps, right? This is untrue on several levels. a. As said previously, stereotyping large, small, young, old, is inaccurate. There are very few corps at any of these extremes, with most corps overlapping to the point of inseparability. b. In fact, I suspect the overlap is such that it would not be obvious to the stranger on the street which corps are on which sides of the dividing line(s) you envision. Without any strangers on the street being interviewed here, we have no verification of your claim. c. "Assault" is not an accurate characterization. However, the repeated denial of the overlaps in age, size and quality seems to indicate at least a disinterest in determining the true characteristics of these corps, or possibly, a dismissive stance toward these corps. d. Again, if the division is so clear, please let us know where it is. Which corps are in, and which should be out? Name all the DCI corps that are limited to high school age, so that we know where these differences are. In fact, just start by naming one. Take your time.

So you do not know either. How disappointing.

Judging from reaction here, probably #2 (so to speak). You are wise to bring up these points. Remember, DCI is operating under a cloud of dissention. The G7 proposal made accusations of financial trouble, insisted on cost cutting, and demanded that every cost center be scrutinized. I think it was enormously clever the way these initiatives have been devised within those constraints. I am not surprised that reaction from the 7 shows jealousy over DCI coming up with better ideas than they have in their past three years of teleconferences. But I am surprised at how quickly 7 sympathizers abandon their own talking points in their desperation to criticize.

I am calling BS on this. The upcoming SoundSport/Drumline Battle announcements were no surprise to DCI insiders. In fact, G7 people knew this was coming while they issued their email to DCI requesting a top 12 BOD - and demanding that all other DCI business stop until the "The 7" email was addressed. If the timing and motivation of any event should be questioned, it should be that "The 7" email.

Yes, it was. Yes, there was. Of course, they had to use DCI.org, since they did not have their own website. But several shows were listed there as "Music in Motion" for awhile... then changed to TOC after the Janual. Maybe you cannot see it from Lithuania, but DCI definitely has a website. Looks like garfield has already debunked this. That is quite an overreach. Are you jealous? I mean, what else would explain your reaction to the SoundSport/Drumline Battle rollout? These programs provide just the kind of scalability you would favor. They show the spark of structural creativity that you advocate. They were launched with proper coordination, proper communication, and with clearly focused marketing messages. They demonstrated many of the attributes you G7 types admire. Plus, they made it to announcement day without a leak. And yet, you continue to try and poke holes in the ideas.

Gosh, you should talk to that Slingerland fellow and let him know, too.

Oh, this might help. All three periods of withdrawal from field competition took place in the DCI era.

Okay, next question. Imagine there is a corps that sat out at least one season of competition, came back, sat out again, came back, sat out AGAIN, came back a third time... and after all that, made DCI finals for the first time. Is there such a corps, and if so, name them. (Of course, if there were no such corps, why would I ask?)

And it is amazing how many corps have hit 13th three times. However, most 13ths goes to the Colts (5).

Dutch Boy was not 13th in 1990 semis. They were 13th in quarters, but moved up a spot to make the finals. Oh, and going back to that Russian Christmas Music question - unless I remember wrong about Velvet Knights playing strains of it in 1992, we have five different corps who have played it in DCI finals competition.

If I remember correctly, the Cavaliers had never appeared at VFW Nationals until 1956, making the 1957 show their second such appearance. Hardly a "regular attendee" at that point. Contrast that with St. Vincent, who in 1957 were the only corps to attend every VFW National since festivities resumed after World War II.

You may be right. I keep thinking that money is still one of the real issues. But either way, I would expect to see more focus on targeting those bottom few WC corps, and less of this open class derangement syndrome. There is more money in the appearance fees of the bottom WC corps than in whatever real support DCI still provides to open class.

Kind of goes against the G7 argument that open class corps should be evicted from DCI and handled through regional circuits, if you believe that those regional circuits cannot survive. So you have connected the dots for those who contend that the G7 proposal was a death sentence for open class.

Objectively? Oh, good. Then you can clear something up for me. No one else has been able to tell me what portion of DCI revenue each corps was responsible for. Since you know this objectively, you can settle the matter once and for all. Thanks.

Music in Motion, Inc., has been going much longer, and still does not have a web page.

Mission is not just emotional concern - it is the founding and defining purpose of the organization. You can look through your narrow prism all you want, but the mission of DCI does not disappear just because you do not see it.

I remember Crown singing and doing beat poetry, but not straight narration in 2004.

That is quite a change from your previous contentions. You said earlier that DCI would not be marketable to sponsors unless it was clear they were presenting the top X number of corps. A league based on multiple factors like that will not necessarily have the "top X" corps. I find it fascinating how all those people who objected to major league sports comparisons earlier are silent now. I think we have already discussed the American leagues here recently. Some are more egalitarian than you infer. Others are not, and they suffer on that account. As for soccer, that is a different animal because pro soccer clubs typically participate in national and international tournaments in addition to their league play (i.e. top English Premier League clubs compete with other top European clubs in the UEFA Champions League). That creates an incentive for the national league to pay their leading teams more, to enable them to become more competitive internationally. DCI corps do not advance to any higher competitive tournament, so they do not have that purpose for paying their top groups more. When it does make sense, sure. In a lot of cases, it is done because there is a concrete reason why the competitors are similar. For instance, a high school league has 14-18 year olds because those are the ages found in those schools. Little league sports have more specific age divisions. Some leagues divide based on school size. In DCI, we have had size divisions in the past, but not anymore because there is not much demand for it (few corps of that size). We have never had age divisions within DCI because there has never been demand from a set of corps with a distinct and different membership age. Of course, I should also mention that everything in this post so far is much ado about nothing, because the DCI divisions are very nearly in competitive order anyway. There is hardly any crossover, so why the fuss? No, DCI is not simply a business. They are also a mission-driven organization. They may be in the business of producing events, selling tickets and media, and returning revenue to the corps, but they are ultimately in those businesses to satisfy their mission of supporting member corps and preserving the drum corps activity. If DCI was a pure business without the mission, there would be a billion better products and markets in which to do business.

You are young, right? Drill was only symmetric for a brief period in the 1970s. Asymmetry was present from the first time a corps stepped onto a field for competition. Do not know about Kevlar. We are still waiting for multi-key brass. Right now, the only keys condoned for competitive use are the Bb/F standard band brass. But if that is what you mean, corps you have never heard of in local circuits have been using them all along (1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s). Narration depends on how you define the term. The first corps I recall literally narrating when amplification made that practical was the Boston Crusaders in 2004. Themed shows were done by a number of corps circa 1960.

You are correct about that. But maybe you should include yourself among them. Or G7 corps will lose talent who prefer to compete in DCI, and talent who prefer DCI drum corps to whatever derivative performance ensembles Music in Motion, Inc. become. And by "talent", that may well include staff in addition to marchers.

That depends on how much Cadets borrowed, and how much they paid back.

But they did provide real service to the corps who filled out lineups at other tour shows, receiving appearance fees in the process. Those fees might have been lower than the member corps rate, but every dollar is a dollar of real service.

That is how it is done currently. Wow - another one who thinks all those "other corps" are all the same.

But those sponsors only give them money because of the exposure they get from NASCAR sponsorship.

Well, what benefits do top corps receive from participation in DCI events? There is your answer.