cixelsyd
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Posts posted by cixelsyd
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If they do the 2023 show in 2024, that could give them a 12-month head start on copyright clearances.
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2 hours ago, IllianaLancerContra said:
DCI could really use something like an independent Inspector General. But to be effective they would need the power to force the member Corps to do things they may not want to do. And as our Mr Ream will point out, that won’t happen.
It reminds me of when I was in the Pentagon, you get to see how lots of Generals operate; and they just can’t bring themselves to discipline each other. It’s ok if a General is a serial adulterer, but if a captain or sergeant did it they would be court-martialed.Not only that, but given the number of times people cut a deal to suppress the charges/accusations, the activity really ought to have kept some sort of a do-not-hire list. Imagine if someone who worked for more than one corps became the subject of a lawsuit... and so did their multiple corps. Double trouble.
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14 hours ago, Slingerland said:
If you think every corps out there is full, you haven't been paying attention. And if anyone wants to start a local corps, you don't need anything related to The Cadets to do it, but amazingly, very few people will do so.
"Amazingly"? Between the astronomical costs (largely self-inflicted), and the systemic resistance to allowing new members into the private club that now monopolizes competitive drum corps in the Western hemisphere, most people interested in starting a corps end up either discouraged, unsuccessful, or redirected toward joining existing teams instead of starting new ones.
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14 hours ago, Slingerland said:
A totally new organization with zero ties to The Cadets in terms of personnel, Board members, etc, etc, would likely be safe, but at that point, what would really be created, and how would it be different from any other new Open Class or All Ages org?
The history of The Cadets has been a huge draw for 70 years, and minus that history, not sure what the point would be.If you are not sure what the point would be in forming a drum corps today, you may be in the wrong forum.
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3 hours ago, TheOneWhoKnows said:
I think it was more because the organization claimed the traditions, history, and accolades of the organization named in the lawsuit originally. Do I think a corps in PA/NJ could be named “The Cadets” or “Holy Name Cadets”, etc etc., no. No corps will be able to have that make and make a successful claim that they are different.
I suppose that had someone started a new corps back in October/November and brought most of the former Cadets members/staff together under a different banner (say, Magic of Meadville), then that would be okay?
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12 hours ago, TheOneWhoKnows said:
It has to be an entirely different entity and identity. They cannot claim any of the traditions or the history of the cadets if there was a new corps created. That’s how the judge allowed this lawsuit to go against them. Sure they have a new non profit and new tax ID, but they still claim all the history and traditions of the organization.
How far does that extend? Do we all have to avoid naming a corps "Cadets" from now on? If SCVC ever comes back, do they have to pick a different name? Will too much maroon and gold get you swept up in a lawsuit?
At least this explains why corps now change all their costuming every year.
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On 1/30/2024 at 10:41 AM, Keith Hall said:
Does anything last in Erie? I don't say that to be mean but corps seem to go away when in Erie.
That can be said about 1,000 other towns. But corps in Erie have also made comebacks. Not many other towns can say that.
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On 1/30/2024 at 11:06 AM, DFA1970 said:
SCV is in a better financial situation to come back after a year off. They own their own property and have two bingo locations. The property in Santa Clara is in the heart of Silicone Valley.
No, that would be Silicon Valley. Silicone Valley is further south...
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6 hours ago, KVG_DC said:
I'm wondering what happens with the Annapolis show going forward. I suspect this year is fine as Cadets are probably counting on it as a revenue generator for the org. It's always been a Cadets hosted show.
Going forward, it will be "DCI Annapolis - presented by attorney for the plaintiffs".
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24 minutes ago, PercSnare said:
I'm impressed though that most corps are still with us today and have managed to navigate the financial turbulence of recent years.
Most corps have folded. But I guess what you meant was that, out of the corps who made it to "recent years", most of them are still with us.
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1 hour ago, Jeff Ream said:
all businesses require someone elses money to survive in one fashion or another.
Yes, but there is a difference between charitable donations vs. revenue earned from providing goods/services.
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51 minutes ago, TheOneWhoKnows said:
Not sure I’d refer to either the designers or performers as “amateurs”.
I only meant that in a business context, where the distinction between amateur and professional is made. No DCI performer or designer is making a living (i.e. profession) in drum corps. There are a few designers who can subsist by designing for a wider array of marching arts, but most have other professions such as scholastic music education or some other arts field.
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6 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:
the guy has real world experience in a sporting activity with tons of contacts that could bring revenue in for DCI and maybe even help get it exposure which so many on here have screamed about.....and people want to freak because he;'s never done a high mark time?
there's no one IN DCI now with the business acumen to drive in the $$$ or things wouldn't be the #### show it is now.
"Business acumen"?
The activity operating model has never been much of a "business". It charges participants half of what the experience costs, then tries to make up the difference largely by begging for charitable support. In your context, "business acumen" is merely finding more ways to attract someone else's money to solve the chronic shortfall. Maybe instead, it should be having the courage and tenacity to challenge that model.
The activity product is derived from the music of others by amateur designers, and performed by amateur youth. Those immutable characteristics will prevent revenue/exposure from providing the sustainability solution all by themselves. Something else will need to change... something activity-specific. That seems to be the point of the post to which you were responding. And it seems that Nate recognizes it too, judging from his interview.
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VMAPA has a CEO now. Are any of these other VMAPA employees answerable to the CEO? Does he have the power to fire anyone?
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Amid the DCI Policies and Procedures, one of the triggers for an organizational review is "Signed request by five member representatives for an audit of an organization". If I was the representative for any corps who uses charitable gaming as a legitimate funding source, I would absolutely be one of those five right now.
If this is what it smells like, it could bring down far more than just VMAPA bingo.
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14 hours ago, Slingerland said:
FWIW, I always assume what people say publicly when they leave a job is not really what's going on. Grown-### adults on both sides of each equation are allowed to do what they do without having to report out to others.
If people believed your second sentence, they would not behave as described in your first sentence.
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According to this forum, this same person resigned his position as director at Blue Knights because career plans in another line of work would not allow such a time commitment. Anyone want to update, clarify or correct that?
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1 hour ago, Jeff Ream said:
the key IMO and we see it every year.....have the skeleton out there. add, fill in, tweak....but don't waste weeks of rehearsing the super dooper secret special ending that gets performed for 2 weeks tops. this method works.....BD proves it every #### year. in 18 SCV had the ending, they hold off on putting it out there for a while. and yeah Phantom 08, but how many other times did the super secret special ending actually pay off?
2015
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21 hours ago, IllianaLancerContra said:
Philosophical question- Is it better to have a standard that potentially members need to meet, even if that means a smaller Corps (say 100 members); or do you lower standards so you can march a full Corps?
Yes and no.
Sacrificing a little size for quality can work in your favor. But 100 vs. 165 is sacrificing too much.
It also depends on which standards are at stake. If a brass player or front ensemble player cannot play a certain part, they can be taken off of it. A snare/tenor/bass drummer cannot hide in that manner, so a minimum standard is more important there. Hard to hide anyone visually, so standards matter more there. And the most important standard is attitude.
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9 hours ago, LabMaster said:
To clarify, don’t start the season with an unfinished show if you’ve had camps, ST and a top notch staff designing and teaching. The top 15 should start with a full show. Beers on me if someone goes out without their full show.
When the season gets underway, you are going to be tapped out (so to speak).
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3 hours ago, craiga said:
Some folks here like to argue for arguments sake. To be clear, as a instructor/educator/mentor of students for more than 45 years, there is NOTHING more critical to me than member safety. Having said that, it is disingenuous to lump actual legal wrong doing into the catch basin of "sustainability".
Not when the law (or its interpretation) on "wrong doing" changes, and what once was standard operating procedure becomes categorically unacceptable.
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1 hour ago, IllianaLancerContra said:
It is kind of like the Titanic. It sank because too much water got into the ship. But water got into the ship because it ran into an iceberg which tore a hole down the side.
And it ran into an iceberg because...
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30 minutes ago, GBugler said:
If you believe that Pioneer will ever return to the field after being banned from DCI membership due to the Blenski's complete lack of action to safeguard members or to report abusers, then you aren't being honest about what my statement means. They're never coming back. It's a perma-ban by default. You think that Roman Jr. will do ANYTHING different than dear old dad? Excuse me while I try not to guffaw. Unless and until Pioneer is owned and operated by someone other than the Blenski family or any of the old guard there, they are defunct.
To my best recollection, Pioneer was welcome to return as long as they were under different leadership. So if there is any "perma-ban", it only applies to the person(s) in leadership. The corps was not permanently banned.
QuoteIn case you hadn't noticed, not many dead corps are springing back to life. Neither are there many new corps starting up and being successful. Because, you know, sustainability.
Quite possibly, yes.
QuoteAlso, I NEVER said, nor did I ever insinuate that member safety is not required for the activity's sustainability. Where the hell you got that from my post, I have no idea.
From the idea that corps failures in that area should not count toward evaluating activity sustainability. If that is not what you meant, I am relieved... but maybe your initial word choice was not the best.
QuoteSpeaking of rethinking...You need to rethink why you included four corps in your list of losses due to "sustainability," when the overall sustainability of drum corps had zero to do with their demise. It's completely a false equivalence and that's what I was pointing out.
All I said was "I do not think it is hyperbole to ask questions about sustainability, with that as our recent context". I was not contending that every single one of those 10 lost corps was proof that the activity is unsustainable.
That said, it is fair to point out that history usually gets rewritten by the survivors. The DCI boardroom does not normally invite the directors of the failed corps to their meetings, to learn from their experiences. So if the earlier assertion is true and the survivors have concerns about activity sustainability, that would be worth one raised eyebrow.
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45 minutes ago, craiga said:
That's not how I understood his post. I think he was saying the a bunch of those corps went away either because they were grossly mismanaged or guilty of terrible treatment of their members, which I agree with. Incompetence or inappropriate member safety is not the same as sustainability.
But they are inextricably related. And as a result, sustainability is a product of the relative availability and skill of corps managers, and the changing external demands of the society and economy. You cannot ignore those links and just assign blanket blame on "incompetent management" every time a corps ceases to operate.
By extension, a quick look at finances and member treatment in the past would suggest that ALL corps had incompetent management BITD. That would be a stretch... oh, look - that IS basically what you are saying:
QuoteThe same can be said for alot of corps going back in history as well. If you are not raising funds properly or taking appropriate care to safeguard your members, then as an organization, you SHOULD fold.
Then I guess they should have all folded back in the 19_0s. (Fill in whichever decade you wish.)
QuoteDoes anyone really think that the Cadets folded because they spent too much on props? On uniforms (which they didn't have to pay for for)? The drums(which they also didn't have to pay for)?
I do not think Cadets have folded. They are just taking a year off. Why the hyperbole?
QuoteNo, it was lack of fundraising and 40 years worth of alleged sexual abuse catching up to them. Nothing to do with the much bandied-about sustainability mantra.
Two thoughts on that:
1. I think the rising bar of a society that takes a more proactive interest in member health and safety is part of the sustainability equation.
2. Contrast Cadets with Shadow. As I understand it, as soon as Shadow discovered one of their staffers was grooming - fired. I cringe to even hint at how long Cadets management dithered (or worse yet, defended) in their case. Which corps had the better management?
A Great Article on The Cadets
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted
If it gets to a jury, do they really need to "prove"? Or will "persuade" suffice?