wishbonecav

Is there a stadium in the USA that has 60,000 concert side seats? Nope. Looking at the picture, this was a hot ticket. Let's call Foxboro a sellout. How does it get better than that? Ah, yes...SEMI-Finals. Here's the competitive opportunity. Could SEMI's be held the previous weekend in a different venue? With the top 17 going to the big show? Kinda like the NFL playoffs are held 1 week prior to the Super Bowl. Then you could have 2 MEANINGFUL competitions. Not slot-fests like San Antonio and Indianapolis, but real competition with something to WIN and something to LOSE. Pair 'em up. Semi's in Allentown / Finals in Foxboro / DII & III go Friday Night for the Small Corps Title and 12-17 go right after for ONE SPOT in Saturday Night's show. Winner take all. Hmmm. Bombs Away!!

27th Lancers in 1994 had 'em throwing babies. Crown Imperial was ridiculous. Drum solo (27 snares). Danny Boy was just off the hook. Sustained standing ovation with many audience members in tears. Madison 95 comes real close to that impact with a sustained standing o for the last minute and a half (I timed it off the vhs tape). Once they hit the 50 and turned the wheel, it was out of its mind. The Empire Statesmen got that kind of response pretty regularly in the 80's and 90's when they did the color presentation. The GE combined with the patriotism and the smoke and stuff. Fans really dug it. Wildest ovation, though, was Two-Seven.

I've asked DCI for attendance figures and found out that it would probably take an true act of Congress to get it. I've asked DCI to post attendance as part of the Box Score for each show also, but no reply there, either. They tell me that different shows count fans differently. Some count the bodies, others count the paid bodies. Let's pick a standard and go with it. How about if the person comes in the gate and has a fanny in a seat, you count them? Or give a reasonable estimate of attendance...30 rows, 60 to a row, about 2/3 full...you had 1200 attendees. Or give attendance as a percentage of available seats from the 15 yard line to the 15 yard line...aka 'capacity'... and call anything beyond that a "SELLOUT"(which I think sounds cool). (I am of the opinion that the seats outside the 15 should be GA seats anyway because the entertainment factor for those on the outsides has lessened dramatically since we got rid of the "off the line" and "exit" songs. Call them overflow or SRO.) Now, attendance isn't the only factor in determining success, but I'd say it gets down to the short hairs. Lineup, Marketing, Advertising and PRICE always affect attendance. Who picks how these are done? The show people. If fans look at all the factors and then decide to show up, looks like the show people did something RIGHT. Only part out of their hands is weather. Given these factors, if DCI FINALS got to 90% of capacity and drew 24,000 paying customers to the Finals event, the result was likely considered a financial success (which is the 1st priority whether we like it or not). If that is the case, I say "Way to Go DCI". Now DISTANCE is important also. Regardless of all the marketing, the drum corps fan is not likely to travel more than 100 miles to see a show. Same as the NFL or College Football Fan. Fans go to "home" games. We are less likely to go to a regional if it is more than 100 miles away and even less likely to go to DCI...I don't care if the tickets were FREE. Ticket price is usually the last consideration. Is our Championship unique to the point where folks expand the 100 mile radius to, say 400 miles (a 6 hour drive)? Maybe. But the further one lives from the venue, the less likely they are to attend. Period. Especially if there are other choices (DVD, Regal Cinema, ESPN 2, local show with good corps in it, regional that is close-by) How's about we look at the WHOLE attendance picture to get an idea of where the fans are and how many of them are showing up? NASCAR is a success because they draw everywhere...not just at the Daytona 500. Same with the Super Bowl. When's the last time you went to the Rose Bowl? Football plus a parade plus warm weather in January? It never sells out and the tickets are cheap. Why not? It's too far away. DCI in California? Might be too far away, too. Fire away.

Real quick: I went to the Indianapolis show this year and wore a real cool Star of Indiana Alumni shirt to the show. It was bright pink with a big star on the front and it was, as I understand it, part of the Alumni's parade uniform. Where did I get the shirt? On E-bay. Long story short, I hear a girl shouting at me "Hey, Star person! I should know you! Who are you?" I recognize her immediately. It's Becky, the drum major from 86 and 87 (pretty sure that's correct). I tell her, "I know you, but I doubt you know me because I got the shirt on Ebay!" Well, her and her two friends and me had a good laugh and chatted for the better part of 10 minutes about corps and stuff. We reminisced about some common experiences and that was that. No awkward moments. No ######## stories. Honest from the get-go and a fun and a fun and sincere discussion. Keep it real. It's better that way.

More recently, I got a private message from a kid on a Honda forum who claimed to march SCV tenors in 2000. I asked him if he knew Rieko (their hot tenor chick in '99), and he said that he'll have to look up the name, and that he didn't quite remember him. Well, not only could you never mistake Rieko for a "him", but the fact that there was a girl in the SCV tenor line was quite a topic that year. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Here's the funny part about Rieko. She got her ridiculous chops in the 1998 Empire Statesmen playing with Donny (Dutch Boy alum), "Firestone" (SCV), Eric (Bluecoats), Lane (Regiment?) and "Junior" (who also went on to SCV). What is rare is having the listener to that story give proper credit to the Statesmen organization for that contribution. The assumption is that SCV is where the excellence exists. I would guess that some good players stretch the truth in their desire to get the credit they think they deserve. BTW, I marched Patriots, Crusaders, Windjammers and Empire (but not with Rieko). I have lied about marching with Dutch Boy, Avant Gard, Bridgemen, Crossmen and Boston and haven't been caught ONCE!!! But I WAS in the "Trash Can Trio / Jammitors" at Walt Disney World and was interviewed by Mike Boo in the 1998 DCI Program Update in Orlando!!! And I know Mike Cesario, too!!! :P

Saw the Bluecoats at a June rehearsal in Orlando. Best part about them? All class. Top to bottom. Staff to members to volunteers. They were welcoming to me and my family, friendly enough to invite us to stay for lunch and kick-### enough to put that fresh product on the field. Just good drum corps. And the 2nd time in my life that this corps has given me the old raised-eyebrow, open mouthed surprise. The first time? At DCI Canada 1987. Ivor Wynne Stadium, warm up after a lunch break. F-tuning by the hornline just outside the gate. OMG! I kept hearing, over and over..."Who is that?" The answer...the Bluecoats. That's when the Autumn Leaves blew in.

A truly evil reply. ^0^

It's so strange for me to see how sensitive drum corps folks can be. And how, often times, we assume that the OTHER person in the discussion is not educated about corpsdom. Think about it. Would ANYONE on this site be here unless they knew SOMETHING about drum and bugle corps? It's a small community. Alienate? No. Educate! Or, better yet...conversate (my word, hope you like it!) The CABS alumni corps is like a classic car. Some folks love the classic 1973 Dodge Challenger and some prefer a new BMW. Both will get you there in a certain style. And both can be appreciated for what they are. One is not necessarily "better" than the other and to have a debate about which is "better" misses the point. Royalaires Alumni (my fave!), Cabs Alumni, Erie Thunderbirds, etc. are all part of the DCA Alumni Corps Circuit that showcases at DCA every year. It's a big enough deal that the corps have their own separate event...separate admission is charged and some folks show up at DCA just to see the alumni outfits. That's good stuff! I mean, heaven forbid we reach out to the old-timers who were (and STILL ARE) part of our activity and give them a product they are willing to pay admission to see. DCA goes even further with the Mini-Corps. What's that? More than anything, it's standstill groups of 15-30 members who have just as much enthusiasm, but not the membership to compete with the big dogs. But DCA gives 'em a format and a chance to compete. None of 'em suck. Most of 'em are hardcorps veterans who can throw down good solos and pack an entertainment punch. Kind of like FutureCorps. Last point. The DCA prelims and Finals provide a great entertainment value. The top ticket price is $40 and fans get to see good drum corps, especially the top 6, but it extends through the top 12. Empire, Brigadiers, Minnesota Brass, Renegades, Buccaneers, Bushwackers, Cabs...all these corps have great packages and all of 'em have staffs and members that have competed in DCI so they know "good drum corps." DCA will never be DCI. To compare them is ludicrous. DCI will win the argument every time. But is that the point?

Can't we have both styles? I like Baskin Robbins because they have 31 flavors (but the bubble gum makes me sick EVERY TYIME!) If we keep on beating each other up, all we'll have left is the top 5 DCI and the Saxophone caption at I & E.

It's so strange for me to see how sensitive drum corps folks can be. And how, often times, we assume that the OTHER person in the discussion is not educated about corpsdom. Think about it. Would ANYONE on this site be here unless they knew SOMETHING about drum and bugle corps? It's a small community. Alienate? No. Educate! Or, better yet...conversate (my word, hope you like it!) The CABS alumni corps is like a classic car. Some folks love the classic 1973 Dodge Challenger and some prefer a new BMW. Both will get you there in a certain style. And both can be appreciated for what they are. One is not necessarily "better" than the other and to have a debate about which is "better" misses the point. Royalaires Alumni (my fave!), Cabs Alumni, Erie Thunderbirds, etc. are all part of the DCA Alumni Corps Circuit that showcases at DCA every year. It's a big enough deal that the corps have their own separate event...separate admission is charged and some folks show up at DCA just to see the alumni outfits. That's good stuff! I mean, heaven forbid we reach out to the old-timers who were (and STILL ARE) part of our activity and give them a product they are willing to pay admission to see. DCA goes even further with the Mini-Corps. What's that? More than anything, it's standstill groups of 15-30 members who have just as much enthusiasm, but not the membership to compete with the big dogs. But DCA gives 'em a format and a chance to compete. None of 'em suck. Most of 'em are hardcorps veterans who can throw down good solos and pack an entertainment punch. Kind of like FutureCorps. Last point. The DCA prelims and Finals provide a great entertainment value. The top ticket price is $40 and fans get to see good drum corps, especially the top 6, but it extends through the top 12. Empire, Brigadiers, Minnesota Brass, Renegades, Buccaneers, Bushwackers, Cabs...all these corps have great packages and all of 'em have staffs and members that have competed in DCI so they know "good drum corps." DCA will never be DCI. To compare them is ludicrous. DCI will win the argument every time. But is that the point?