cixelsyd

I think the corps who resell their instruments understand the value of taking particularly good care of the horns. Common practices include rehearsing with gloves, periodic cleaning, never putting horns down on pavement, and storing in cases for transport. I know much of the wear and tear you describe is inevitable, but describing it as abuse is not entirely fair to all the corps.

I am with you. I do not think solos have ever really influenced the outcome of competitions. Whether solos are nailed or botched, or added or removed during the season, you do not see changes in caption scores on that account. This is not just easing the burden for a member. The eventual beneficiary of this incentive may not be a member yet. As I said before, my concern is with the long term implications of this behavior. I am not necessarily opposed to drum corps pursuing talent with such incentives. They can pay the performers for all I care - if they can afford to. But there is where my concern lies. How far will we slide down this slippery slope? Will corps make a habit of this sort of thing? Will talented musicians be incentivized to remain free agents until the good offers come along in April? Will top corps get in bidding wars over the best players? Will other corps be priced out of the talent market? And most importantly, for all the corps who have nurtured their winter programs into educational experiences and revenue generators, will that whole concept go the way of the dinosaur? If the activity could afford to indulge in this behavior, I would have no problem with it. But that is not the case. To balance the books, the educational component of the drum corps experience needs to be emphasized, promoted and monetized. So is teaching the people you have how to become exceptional performers. Or should I change that sentence to past tense? You are correct - the difference is in making such an overt incentive offer, and at such a late stage in the seasonal cycle. Like you said, had the Cadets announced their solo plans in the fall and invited mellophone players to audition in November for the featured role, we would not be having this conversation.

Syracuse Brigadiers? Gulf Coast Sound?

That was going to be my question. Jupiter was a student grade supplier for many years before they introduced the Quantum product line. Some of those student grade trumpets probably still sit in music stores today. Is that what prompted this whole rant?

Differences in quality between top corps are really rather small. The difference between 100 and 150 members is more obvious. I do not see a 100 member corps winning DCI world class if other top corps have 150 members. In open class, quality can vary more, so it is possible there.

I thought people would realize just from my screen name that I sometimes get things backwards. I was wrong. Speaking seriously now, does anyone think that at prelims in Indiana, the Jersey Surf hornline was 10 decibels louder than the hornline of the Blue Knights? The closer you look at those numbers, the less sense they make. Besides, if we are really measuring peak sound levels, percussion must have more impact on the results than brass.

The irony here is that while you applaud the Blue Devils, you fail to even mention that the Freelancers had designed their 1993 show with even more great solos to showcase this talented player.

I admit my attempt at humor was an epic fail. Trying to correlate those numbers with hornline volume would be another epic fail.

Oh, that settles it once and for all. Pioneer is the loudest hornline in DCI. (Either that, or peak decibel meter readings say nothing about hornline volume.)

That is why I said "doing this so overtly, and at this late a stage" - because no other corps has made a soloist offer like this so overtly, and at this late a stage. I am aware that similar deals have occurred behind the scenes, but that is a different story.

I hope you believe loyalty and work ethic are also attributes worthy of reward. That is where I begin to question the wisdom of this approach. Someone above said that making this type of offer is a game changer. I have to agree that doing this so overtly, and at this late a stage, is sliding another yard down the slippery slope of devaluing the off season training program. In the same vein, corps have recently been found passing over their own regularly attending, fee paying alternates to fill spots in May or June with fresh talent. The more we reward talent in this manner, the less reward there is for auditioning in November, loyally attending winter camps, and paying all those fees that keep corps alive through those months. My concern is that if we slide too far down that slippery slope, we find too many prospective members opting out of winter camps. To the defenders of this idea - if it is such a great idea to offer a $1,500 incentive and an open audition in April, why are no other world class corps doing it?

Boston Crusaders competed in Bayonne twice in 1977, twice in 1978, and once in 1979. The 1978 and 1979 shows are listed on the fromthepressbox website.

When was your day? Back in the days before DCI, western corps could meet top corps on their home turf when VFW or AL held their championships in western states. Maybe there was no practical way to make that happen. They appear to have tried, with Blue Stars and Madison Scouts touring to California in 1972, Blue Rock killing themselves to go there in 1974, 27th Lancers doing it in 1975, and then both Madison and 27th in 1976. But these tours were long on miles and short on paydays. This is where that population density map is worth another look. Those sparse areas in the west do not support weekday shows as easily as the eastern half of the country. All those weekdays with high gas bills and no money coming in created a major obstacle to traversing the Rockies. For a western corps, it could be worth it to make that crossing for a multiple week tour in the east or midwest. For a corps east of the Rockies to make that crossing just for a weekend or two in the west, that would be a different story. By 1977, the championships drew everyone to Denver, yet only the Blue Stars bothered to head any farther west on their way there. Bear in mind that in the first years of DCI, there were really only two corps proven capable of taking a national tour every year - Troopers and SCV. Perhaps you could say three, as by the time Anaheim was sidelined in 1975, the Blue Devils were in their third year of perennial touring. The rest of the corps limited themselves to shorter trips that would not meet our current definition of a national tour. Some top eastern corps like Muchachos and Garfield Cadets went on like that for years even as DCI members. Maybe you see that as crying poverty, but that was more the norm back then. I am not opposed to the idea, but finals are set for Indiana for the next 6 years. So I suggested reversing the tour to take everyone west after San Antonio. I am not seeing much interest in that here so far.

But as others have pointed out, corps do not just take a trip to finals. They tour, sometimes from coast to coast. Geography is unfair. Any corps that is not centrally located is going to have to travel farther out of their way to join the tour, every year, no matter what. Is this really about the economics for the corps, or is it about western fans wanting to see late season shows? What if finals stay in Indianapolis, but we reverse the tour so that weekend focus shows go in this order: Minneapolis Allentown Atlanta San Antonio California Denver Finals I know there will be questions about the practicality, but I would like to know if western fans would be happy enough with this idea to make it worth serious consideration.

You know, the first thing I thought of when reading this was the amazing support Michigan City has been providing over the years for their open class focus show, championship preliminary contest, and now both prelims and finals. The second thing I thought of was that while Indianapolis has pluses and minuses, there is no doubt that they offered a lot of tangible support to DCI with long term deals for stadiums and headquarters. In that sense, DCI has taken the activity to areas that support it.

This is a fun conversation. But to translate this from talk to action, someone will need to follow the advice of Jeff Ream and submit a bid. Ultimately, economics dictate where DCI finals are held. Weather and the travel costs for corps and fans are taken into account, but a host city can offer a sweet enough deal to trump that. You would think Florida would be the last place we would go for an outdoor event in August. Yet DCI has held championships there six times, because the hosts made DCI offers they could not refuse, in the form of up front economic incentives.

The areas I notice where marching band activity does not correlate to past drum corps activity are all up north, like New England, Wisconsin, or Michigan's upper peninsula. These are areas where the weather makes outdoor activities more preferable in the summer versus the fall.

There is a difference between "can't" and "didn't". Often, that difference is the loss of key people involved in running the organization. As an example, Esperanza was a large organization with a WGI top class finalist winter guard and other programs in addition to the drum corps at the time when they were accepted into DCI world class. By 2007, all the key individuals involved in running that organization had left. The corps was fully sustainable when there were people there to run it. But any corps would fail if they have no administrative staff. In your previous post, you said several corps needed to move back to open class from a financial and business standpoint. That does not appear to be a problem for the one corps you mention here. They have operated continuously for 50 years, and taken to the road for national competition in 45 of those years. They have had their ups and downs competitively and in recruiting, but they have been financially solvent and responsible the whole time, and may set the all time record for leadership longevity. If you have specific concerns about the financial or business health of any world class corps, I would like to learn more. If your only issue is the number of members they field, then I will be relieved to know there is nothing else to worry about.

On the contrary, it seems to me that most corps that have moved to world class were ready when they did it. The issue is sustaining that level of health. I find this statement fascinating. I see 8 corps currently in world class who came from lower classes. Which of those corps do you think should go back to open class? And is it correct to assume that you believe the other 15 corps all to be sufficiently healthy from a financial and business standpoint?

Perhaps because there are no competing all-age corps in Texas at the moment.

The spots are filling so fast that by the time the OP did the math, there were only 4 left?

I would like to see the angel uniform from last year, with gold trim changed to green.

Your thread here does confuse me a bit. If you were seriously considering open class, you would not be making that decision in February. Therefore, let me be the first to wish you the best in your pursuit of the 2012 DCA class A title. If your corps is ready, willing and able to take on more than 65 members for 2013, then announce your "intention" to make the 2013 corps an open class entry in September of 2012. If potential members really will fall from the trees the instant you are no longer a class A corps, that announcement will shake the trees prior to that first rehearsal. After that, remember that the deadline to declare class selection is June 1. You do not need to make that declaration until then. And if you have 65 or less members at the end of May, it is still your choice which class to enter even if you originally "intended" to go open class. It is okay for any corps that attracts under 65 to go class A, and it is okay for any corps that attracts over 65 to go open.

I am confused about this. If all these things you point to caused drum corps to shrink, how did marching band mushroom at the same time?

If managements think this is a good time to add this expense, then they are free to do so. I doubt that is the case right now.