Grumpy

I was involved with an Alumni corps back when the AS started...about 2 years into it, Mickey "invited" us to participate but we were told that we would not be paid. The corps members decided that they (collectively) could not afford it, especially for a non paying gig and we politely declined.

When the Alumni Spectacular began, corps were not getting paid but I thought that changed a while back and they get a percentage of the gate for it now...perhaps someone "in the know" can confirm or dispel this? One big reason that hasn't been mentioned as a possible reason for the small attendance at AS...many of the competing units, and their staffs, companions, etc. are somewhere rehearsing and preparing for their championship performances, or for those that didn't make it to the big show are on their way home so they don't have to pay an extra day's fee for their buses.

So did I...but the fact they were available there was not well publicized. I wouldn't have known about it myself if I hadn't already been in line for next year's tickets.

Many of the Alumni corps originally re-formed for a "one more time" gig, big parade or local celebration of sorts, kind of like when 27th Lancers got back together to do the DCI championship performance in Foxboro back in '94. A portion of those "one more time" folks decided that they wanted a "few more times" and kept them going, but I think after a few years the slate of performances, parades, and especially rehearsals starting wearing on the older bodies and life and families got in the way. People got it out of their systems and went back into fan only mode. I know some of the members of Light Brigade expressed as much when they made their decision to disband several years ago. Even with corps that have "active" feeder units, the Alumni units are "local" and the marching members of the "feeders" may not be...case in point, Boston Crusaders-how many current members of the DCI Crusaders hail from the greater Boston area? My guess is a VERY small minority. I think one of the things that certainly didn't help the shrinking attendance at the Alumni Spectacular is the fact that a couple years ago, DCA stopped including that event in their ticket packages...now, those who attend have to make a decision as to whether to purchase a ticket and attend, rather than "we paid for it anyway, we might as well go". Inclement weather will REALLY leave a lot of empty seats, fortunately that hasn't been an issue YET. Having to hike half way around the stadium to get to the box office from the parking area, especially for a target audience that is not getting any younger and has mobility issues to begin with, certainly doesn't help matters any.

DCI's web page has a story on this and a video link for the Kidsgrove encore performance, in it's entirety. I watched it and it brought me right back to Rochester! Congrats to Kidsgrove, I thought they deserved more than what they got at DCA and it's a shame they can't make the trek EVERY year!

Jeff, I wondered the exact same thing and in fact I turned to my wife when I heard it and said it had already failed to get permission when Madison played it.

I know it was mentioned MUCH earlier in the thread, but I was disappointed with the updates, or lack of, on the website. My wife and I attended the mini corps event on Friday night, after spending the majority of the day on the road, we left after the last performance rather than waiting around for the scores...I figured I would do as I have done at DCI championships in the past and just check the website back at the hotel. When I checked right before going to bed, nothing...not even on DCP! The following day, I was able to get the scores-from DCP, nothing on the DCA site. Similarly, I kept checking the site during the day Sunday in hopes of getting a Finals performance schedule, but with no success. We didn't even know when or if there was a scheduled intermission, or that the first performing corps didn't hit the field until 5:40. The DCA booth had no updates to provide, either. Obviously, there were no results from the prelims posted...which didn't really matter, I already knew but if I hadn't been able to make it for prelims or watch on FN there was no way to know who ended up where or with what score. As has also been mentioned earlier, a little advance publicity in the area wouldn't have hurt...just for s & g, when I received the e-mail from my hotel "reminding" me of my upcoming stay about a week and a half before our arrival, I went to the hotel website and checked out the "local events and attractions" and there were a handful of local events listed, but nothing about the DCA championships. I was noticing this year that even at our hotel, there didn't seem to be much of a drum corps crowd. At Allentown, breakfast was always full of fellow drum corps folks...everybody had dc shirts, Heat Wave even used to practice out in the hotel parking lot...stayed at same hotel as Cabs Alumni one year in Scranton, Sky Alumni and Bush stayed at same hotel we did in Annapolis. I didn't see ANYONE at our hotel this year who was clearly in town for DCA (Alliance stayed in hotel next door to ours, that was about the closest connection I could make). Clearly, the local community has to get more informed and involved. Back when DCI championships returned to Madison in the late 90's after an absence of several years, there were signs in our hotel "Welcome back DCI!" and the desk clerks at the hotels were all wearing buttons expressing the same...the local newspapers had front page pictures and stories every day on the previous day's results, the evening news always had something. Even in past years in Rochester, the championships usually at least warranted a mention on local news...nothing this year.

:peek:Never mind, just saw the thread on prelim schedule...forgive me, only 1 coffee so far

FYI Fran...Mega Millions is up to 214 million for tomorrow...

We have had DCA in the past in Allentown, while the fair was taking place...I don't recall having a problem getting a room. The problems were the stadium itself (although I understand it's been renovated since the last time DCA had championships there) and the even bigger problem is parking-spectators, but from a previous post it looks like the corps would have a problem too. I don't recall where I & E were held, and mini-corps weren't that big of a deal back then.

I recall when DCI was held in Orlando, and there were "special pricing for the band programs" for quarters. IMO, it was nothing more than a huge social event in which the vast majority of them weren't the least bit interested in what was on the field. There was so much noise coming from the "band sections" that at times it nearly drowned out the quieter parts of some shows. I would like to see increased sales too, but just not too confident that this is the right avenue to take. I think the greatest potential for growth lies in the streaming product-but there needs to be an investment in technology (on the stadium AND the production sides) so that a reliable and quality product can be delivered.

NASCAR's "big event" might lead off their season, but their CHAMPIONSHIP is not determined by that race. If you want to use that analogy, what we now know as Prelims should lead off our season, and each corps should earn "points" for their placements for the following shows during the summer to determine the champion. The only way THAT would work, would be for ALL corps to compete against each other at EVERY show during the season-think about what a logistical nightmare that alone would be, then you are also eliminating MBI, Govies, Kilties, Alliance, CV, any California corps and pretty much any international competitors who don't have the resources to spend the entire season essentially on tour (which is probably why some members are marching there to begin with, because THEY can't spend the entire season on tour). A much more workable solution would be to schedule several "majors" during the season, like DCI does with Atlanta, San Antonio, Allentown...where you essentially have everybody. Once again, however, no matter where the final choices might be there are some corps that just won't be able to swing it. Remember when Renegades used to come to championships, that was their one BIG trek east during the year...Kidsgrove and Inspires (when they used to make the trip) have to skip every other year to muster their resources. Interestingly, the only places I can recall in the last 20 years or so where DCA performed on football fields at championships were Allentown and Annapolis. Scranton and Syracuse (and Rochester in the 90's)were baseball fields, Rochester since has been the soccer stadium.

So...it sounds like you won't be participating in DCA this year either? Happy you're still around, but would love to see you back in DCA.

We need a mini corps named "The Gerbils"

Ticket prices have absolutely become a factor-$30 to $40 times 2 (or more, in the case of families) people is a pretty hefty chunk of change. For those of us "die-hards", we live with it. For the casual, once-a-year fan, probably not so much-especially when perhaps half of the performing corps are playing obscure music that only the judges and music majors in the audience can appreciate.

I was not in favor of this back when DCI passed this, and what has been put on the field since then has not changed my opinion. I have essentially "walked away" from DCI, simply because I'm not entertained any more. I go to one local show, and the quarters at the movie theater, and that's it-no more 4 or 5 shows, championships every year, Fan Network, media products. Do I expect that this will suddenly make DCI reverse their decision because of this lost revenue? Hardly...I just have no desire to spend my hard earned money on a product that I no longer enjoy. I still enjoy and find DCA entertaining...but for how much longer? IIRC, back when DCI shoved this through, one of the big arguments was that it would give designers more creative license...I've stated this before, but a truly good designer should be able to design a show that is demanding to the marchers and entertaining to the audience within what were the parameters before this passed. Think of a competency exam-for anything (CPA, real estate, driver's license). Should the exams be made easier simply to ensure a higher passing percentage? "The kids want this"...about 10 yrs ago, I was in an alumni corps and we had several high school kids join the corps...they said they wanted to do something that was "more than band". Electronics never entered the equation. Of those five, two more continued on into DCI corps and one went on to The Commandant's Own (pretty sure there's no synths there!). Although I am hopeful that this rule change doesn't change at least my personal enjoyment of DCA, I'm not optimistic. Yes, the numbers have to change-but I'm not confident that this is the magic wand.

It's all GH's fault!

I was VERY surprised to see that some of Mangione's music was pulled...he's one of our biggest supporters; also BD '94-I remember somewhere in my memory that either BD played this for Corea or he heard them perform it, and he was very pleased with it.

Oh, he11, there goes the neighborhood...

Exactly what Fran said, ticket prices...that's the main reason I have taken a pass the last few years. I just don't have the disposable income, especially with the holiday season bearing down on us. I love my drum corps, but along with our "mature years" comes the wisdom to live within our fiscal means and set priorities. I don't know the specifics now, but several years ago there was a major restaurant there that sponsored the event. If they are no longer involved, the organizers need to reach out to others in the community to pitch in. The whole area gets a real shot in the arm to their local economy,

As Tim K stated above, Star was NOT the last corps to use Disney music...IIRC, Cadets 2000 championship show used ALL Disney music, although not the Disney music that many are familiar with. As for the original topic, here in NH the PBS station didn't use the DCI telecast for fund raising...it was shown every year on the day after Thanksgiving, in the middle of the day-hardly a prime time slot, and let's face it by the time we get to Thanksgiving, the "casual" drum corps fans that might have tuned in during a late summer broadcast had long since shifted their attention spans elsewhere hence I'm sure viewership numbers here were nearly non-existent.

I also recall the consideration that there would be no way to stop the curtain from blowing around...even if you could get it tied down pretty well, it would still end up billowing every time the slightest breeze came through. Unfortunately, I think if you really want outdoor finals you will need to go to DCA. I would be very surprised to see DCI championships return to an outdoor venue, even after the contract is up.

You may want to contact DCI ticketing, they were in Rochester selling them...I've got the same seats for next year. One thing they were NOT able to tell me, however, is if the scheduling is reverting back to the old format (I & E Friday night, Saturday night prelims, Sunday A.M. Alumni, Sunday night finals) or if the format used this year will remain. That information could significantly impact people's travel plans.

In the section where I was sitting (NOT with the Bucs homers, I might add) there were more cheers than boos when 3rd was announced.

I had not seen any DCA corps this year prior to prelims, and I was really looking forward to see what it was that Cabs were doing that kept beating Bucs all season. Prelims left me scratching my head, as I and most of my neighbors where we were seated (none of whom I had ever met before, and NOT in the middle of the Buc's fans) didn't see what the judges saw. Sunday night, however, the Bucs were in a completely different dimension. One theory that I have on this, is that save one year, the Bucs have been champions for a long run...which means, they know how to win. They absolutely left everything on the field with their performance. Cabs haven't been in the top spot for a bit, and I'm sure there were some nerves; like someone going out of bounds (if it had been happening prior to Finals, why wasn't there a penalty imposed previously?) and both my wife and I saw at least two equipment drops. What was most obvious, however, is that Cabs, MBI, and Fusion are not content to sit idly by as they have stepped up to the plate in terms of show design and performance to seriously contend with the Bucs. Top to bottom, this year was most memorable in terms of entertaining and audience friendly shows and Finals was anything but a runaway. I hope that next year we will see another Championship go right down to the wire again!