hairbear
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Posts posted by hairbear
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It makes sense. DCA no longer serves working adults that used to make up the corps membership. They serve high school and college students. Of course, you must also accept the fact that DCA gave up the "brand recognition" when they began to serve those young folks. Show designs that lean toward the DCI side of the activity being just one aspect of the changes.
Ohio has three DCA member corps today. In my day, Ohio had zero DCA member corps. The only Ohio corps that had a chance of making the night show from 1980 to 1983 was Ohio Brass Factory, and they didn't get in. I was a member of that corps for four years. That was a lot of money spent in order to sit in the stands on finals night, every year. I wonder how the Alumni corps will handle this change of venue and date?
* I might add that this change doesn't impact me in any way. I'm busy working on my "Bucket List". 🙂
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It occurred to me that when DCI was founded, and the touring drum corps model became imperative as a result, DCA wasn't competing with DCI for an audience. DCA had its own identity, audience and marching member base from which to recruit. The DCA corps were all in fine shape in the 1970's, 80's and 90's. DCI buried the neighborhood Jr. corps over time, when those corps lacked the extensive fan base of the big-name corps and naturally, the funding thereof. Even while this was going on, DCA thrived. Could it be that only when DCA began embracing the "DCI Lite" approach, attendance declined? I'm just trying to find the "elephant in the room".
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8 hours ago, Fran Haring said:
Your entire post is on the mark, Steve. But I wonder if the current brand can be grown (to get more fans in the seats, sell more souvie merchandise, generate more buzz, etc.) if the product is basically the same as the DCI product, except at a less-accomplished level.
Please... that is NOT a knock on the DCA corps, their members, and their staffers, who do amazing things in a short period of time. It's just a fact. The DCI product, at the World Class level, is nearly overwhelming (in a good way) these days... and with the DCI corps now apparently getting the memo about incorporating personality and various "bells and whistles" into their product (I think Vince Bruni would love seeing all the props....LOL), they have basically eroded the unique "we're a bit different here" edge DCA had, and had for decades.
If a drum corps fan, who does not have a kid or relative involved as a marcher or staffer, can spend 40 dollars to see Carolina Crown, Bluecoats, BAC, whoever, vs. spending that same 40 bucks on a DCA lineup, where is their money going to go?
Sorry if that sounds harsh. And I'm not saying DCA can't find a niche that brings in more paying customers than the current situation. But there are no easy answers here. I wish all my friends there well.
Sitting on the sidelines (no longer participating in the activity), it seems pointless for me to suggest a course of action. That's a job for the "powers that be". Empty seats are saying something. Somebody ought to listen.
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6 minutes ago, dbriggs said:
and even then, we feel young... ish
"I don't want to go on the cart!" (1 dollar to Monty Python) 🙂
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15 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:
everything has changed but the audience in the stands. at 53 i feel young in a DCA crowd
At 53 you ARE young! LOL! I'm 70.
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On 9/15/2022 at 5:59 PM, jjeffeory said:
There needs to be more effort made, as that circuit seems to be dying.
My partner and I went to championships for the first time in 10 years ( for me) where we met a good friend for prelims.
We sat through prelims.
...and then for finals came for the last 4 or so groups. The value proposition just wasn't there.
This needs to be "an event". There needs to be some hype. There needs to be some energy and excitement built up for the show other than some rude old man yelling "F off" to another fan in the middle of Cab's show.
Seriously, an old man with white hair, who was obviously rooting for Cabs got a bit too excited with the cheering. At first, I was like "Cool, he's happy and cheering Cabs". Then when he verbally assaulted the person sitting two seats away, I was really offended. It really ruined the night, even after the jerk and his wife left. They didn't come back the next night either....
...so yeah, some effort needs to be put into making DCA Championships exciting and an event.
Also, the corps need to step up. Hopefully they can recover. My partner and I are really on the fence about marching next year too, but we didn't really feel a pull or welcoming into DCAland.
I participated in DCA in the 80's and 90's. I remember regular season shows with attendance that exceeded attendance numbers at many of this decade's DCA finals. I remember when DCA had personalities that entertained and engaged the audience. This was DCA's uniqueness and its identity. I remember when almost everyone in the audience could name at least four or five of the drum majors. I also remember a time when competition could get, for lack of a better word, rowdy. This includes individual behavior in the stands. The finals awards ceremony of the 1990 season comes to mind. Behavior such as you described was not uncommon during my time in DCA; not frequently, but one could say occasionally. Your concerns are certainly valid when today, young folks populate the DCA corps and more than likely, their parents are in the audience. The behavior you and your partner witnessed is "out of place" within the current iteration of DCA. My point is that the product has changed, and that change is permanent. Creating and implementing a marketing strategy to grow the "new" brand, is imperative.
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9 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:
so you mean long term planning and a marketing strategy
Precisely. At a minimum, a marketing effort beyond occasional Facebook posts would seem to be a logical step.
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It seems to me that DCA has the corps members that want to do the "DCI Lite" thing. All that DCA has to do now, is find an audience that wants to buy tickets to see "DCI Lite". And if you're going to go in that direction, move DCA championships to a date that accommodates "DCI Lite" participants.
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Nothing out of the ordinary in my encounter with Ken. He located and purchased a trombone here in Cincinnati.
He sent me the money and I drove to Kenwood (suburb of Cinti), paid for it and shipped it to him, via UPS.
It was a special trombone, as trombones go. If it were a guitar, it would have been a vintage Fender Stratocaster.
I told my junior corps director about it, because when I was a kid, Ken Norman was number one in his book.
You never know where life will take you, or who you'll be introduced to. 🙂
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While still employed and not yet retired, I gave funds to several students who were participating in DCI corps, and recently, DCA corps. This was always in the form of cash directly to the marching member, sometimes before the season and sometimes during the season. One kid was polishing members horns for pocket change. The corps director pointed him out to me, and he didn't have to polish any more horns that season. Some were "full ride" cash grants that covered all fees and included spending money for tour, others were partial grants. I used money from playing gigs, overtime pay and/or tax refunds. I do know this: The kids I assisted are today: Gainfully employed responsible adults, mothers and fathers, teachers, medical professionals and more! It was money well spent!
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2 minutes ago, JimF-LowBari said:
Even with the love you had for this crazy activity still don’t know how you and your crew did it, year after year.
But God bless you for doing it. 👍Go back and read my post on this thread from June 10th. That'll give you the reason "why", but not necessarily "how". I don't know how I did it. In ten years from 1987 to 1996: no breakdowns, never hit a deer and only one speeding ticket.
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23 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:
To be honest I never figured out what west coast corps got out of going to DCA. Nice to see them and sure they enjoyed the chance to go against a number of corps. But weekend warrior type drum corps doesn’t fit a coast to coast travel plan.
Did pair of Saturday night/Sunday afternoon shows hours away a few years and 🤮. Getting home at o dark 30 and up for work Monday… 🤬
Try getting in your van and driving right to your employer's parking lot on a Monday morning for an 8 hour shift. I did that many times. It wasn't easy living 500 miles from Harrisburg!
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DCA has always been a self-serving organization. If you wanted to participate in DCA competition and you lived outside the Northeast of the country, you had two choices: 1: get in your vehicle and drive to a DCA member corps. 2: Join a senior corps that's not from the northeast of the country and roll the dice at prelims. Choice #2 was (with a couple of exceptions) always a disappointment. Case in point: Ohio Brass Factory Sr. corps from Alliance Ohio, 1980 to 1983. How much money did you want to spend chasing a slot on the night show? After a few seasons, you realized you were wasting your time and money. Choice# 1 was still expensive, commuting to the DCA member corps location, but your prospects for a rewarding season were better. That's the way it was when I was in the thick of it, commuting anywhere from 5 to 14 hours, one way.
Today, there's a DCA member corps 20 minutes from my driveway. The irony doesn't escape me, but I'm not a member. I'm not on the staff and I just retired from serving as a volunteer with them. I have health issues that make participating in any role, impossible. Moreover, I don't relate to the high school and college age kids that comprise the majority of the membership. The age gap is just too wide. I don't see interest today, from the 30 and 40-year-old DCI alumni that would raise the average age (and experience) of DCA corps membership. DCA will most likely find a way to perpetuate itself, but the product won't be (and isn't) what it used to be. Truth be told, I have little interest in what the product has become. That's because at this point in my life, my priorities have changed. That shouldn't be taken as a negative comment, or a verdict against current creative trends.
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Not that this is something I'm overly concerned with, but I'm wondering how a horn from Westshoremen and/or Westshoremen Alumni corps finds its way to a flea market in Southwest Ohio? I assume said flea market was in that area, based on the original poster's location of Batavia Ohio. As far as I know, I'm the only member of Westshoremen from this area. You never know what you'll find at a flea market.
Cozy Baker! Yeah... he'd go off the rails over a wall mounted vintage bugle.
Cozy Baker story:
After DCA finals one season ('08) Cozy stayed at my apartment for a while. That long commute is difficult, when we're no longer spring chickens. When I say "a while", I'm taking about weeks, not hours. I didn't have a problem with that. "Make yourself at home". Cozy bought a frozen pizza. I don't know why. I had Dominos on speed dial. 🙂
Am I the only single guy who stores pots and pans in the oven? Now that's something I AM overly concerned with. The pizza box said "preheat the oven", which Cozy did, but not before taking a look IN the oven. All of a sudden, he jumps off the couch and runs into the kitchen! I had a plastic cullender in there. Now I have a hot blob of yellow plastic.
"Cozy, your cullender is done!" 🙂
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8 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:
however, those two circuits primarily ran in the same region as DCA, usually in the smaller towns. if they run stuff outside of the NE, different ballgame. They have to build their markets though. I have asked at least a hundred times over the years what do shows outside the NE draw, and never ever get any kind of concrete answer. You can't depend on the DCI fanbase to instantly flock to a product they really don't know.
notice how marketing plays an overwhelming role in everything?
We found that out in Dayton and Chicago in 1989, as we discussed in another topic. "You want to compete in DCA? Get in your car and drive." That hasn't changed.
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3 hours ago, Fred Windish said:
Stldrmn1-
I understand, and share, your desire to see DCA become a nationwide traveling product. But, I’m convinced funds for that development are now, just not there !
Even a smaller DCA is struggling to continue on. There’s inadequate revenue coming in to both the corps, and to the DCA governing body. The Championship is no longer a big, end of year payout. There’s an insufficient amount of sponsorship dollars to DCA, a lack of added revenue from digital media products, etc. Beyond all this, travel costs for everyone concerned are rising rapidly. THIS is where DCA is.
In my opinion, the manageable, one way travel distance for everyone concerned is now limited to about an 8 hour drive. Beyond this radius, the experience is too costly, as you note.
Now is a time for DCA to simply BEAR DOWN.
There's another option: The Midwest/south could organize its own circuit and championships. This has been done twice in the past, with the RCA and ICA circuits. The problem with those two attempts was that a very strong DCA existed at the same time. The east coast corps had their reputations already established, years ago. They were the corps to beat, if one had the product. Understanding that I have always competed out east (with ONE exception), DCA today isn't as strong as it was in those days.
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3 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:
Well I’m from PA but only watch DCA weekend from the Internet....
And I'm from Ohio, but Pittsburgh claims me. 🙂
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40 minutes ago, Fran Haring said:
I remember the combined horn lines playing warmup exercises and whatever else they could think of quickly that everyone knew. LOL. That was a fun thing to see!
It was an F major scale, in rounds. 🙂
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1 hour ago, Jeff Ream said:
but that tie in 89
The most fun two corps in 7th place could have! 🙂
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2 minutes ago, Fran Haring said:
What was the year when SC and Rochester tied at Finals, and joined together to play themselves off the field at retreat? That was really cool.
That was 1989 DCA finals and it was FUN! I wore one of Cru's Phantom of the Opera face masks! We were trading uniform parts, flags... what a good time that was! Then in 1990 at Cru's show, we tied again!
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4 minutes ago, Fran Haring said:
"Welcome to the 1990 Stakes...." LOL
1990? We were in 8th place (SCA) Any drama up in the top box didn't apply to us. LOL!
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1 hour ago, camel lips said:
Pretty much what Fran Alluded to. Without some travel from some of the top corps outside the NE there was no growth in the activity. Its a proven fact now. The activity is dying. The activity had its chance and they blew it. So many chances to grow the activity to other regions and have it flourishing with new corps and new markets...instead..this is what you have.
Flourishing? In what way? Chicago 1988 and 1989: there were more people at a soccer game next to where the DCA sanctioned senior drum corps show was being held. Dayton 1989: More people in the corps on the field, than fans in the stands. I don't think that's flourishing. I don't think that even showed a potential to "flourish". I think those shows were failures, in terms of exposure and revenue.
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24 minutes ago, Fran Haring said:
I recall Sunrisers making that Chicago trip in 1988.
I remember attending a Sunday DCA show in NJ (Montclair) the day after that Chicago gig... some folks from Sun who had flown home were at the NJ show. They were like, "hey look... a show that actually has people in the stands!!!" LOL
1989 Chicago show: There were more people attending a soccer game at the field next to where the drum corps show was.
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4 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:
I know in 88-91ish, DCA ran shows out of the NE...I performed in the Chicago and Dayton shows in 1989. there were more people in the corps on the field than in the stands.
You with Westshore and me with Steel City, in 89. Steel City went to Chicago in 88, as well. Michigan in 90: Steel City and Minnesota Brass. Both Chicago shows were not well attended, Dayton was pitiful. Michigan show in 90 was alright....
Goodbye
in DCA - All-Age Corps Discussions
Posted · Edited by hairbear
removed a paragraph that was redundant.
Like others have said, my generation is growing old and dying. I suppose I'll grow old and die, too. I wouldn't want to disappoint anyone. 🙂 DCA is for high school and college kids now. Their friends and family can go to the shows and cheer them on to victory. Whatever DCA has to do to make that happen is fine with me. Let's hope more All Age Corps find their way to Indianapolis. It won't be what my generation remembers, but it will be what the current generation wants.