MidwestGiant

http://www.southernknightscorps.org/ Out of Birmingham.

Ok, I'm through beating a dead horse. Most of us aren't decision makers for DCA corps anyway. No one wants a single trip to fold a corps, obviously... All I'm saying is that it is important (if we see the all-age activity as a national one) for Eastern corps to invest in that concept and travel every once in a while. This should be done in a well supported, well thought out manner every few years. Doing this would increase the brand of DCA and make the overall activity better. It should certainly be done in a fiscally responsible manner, but roadblocks and current situations shouldn't limit DCA from being a national organization. If being a national organization isn't really a priority, then that is fine, just stop saying that it is.

Yes

Yes, there is an indispensable service being performed. It strengthens the activity when more corps are better and connected to each other. It is hard to quantify, but the value is there and not just for the traveling group. It is good for the whole activity when All-age groups excel. Certainly, it would be best to have multiple strong regions. DCA corps traveling doesn't take away from the potential of strong regions. That is the point. Even with the generous help from show sponsors, corps like MBI don't break even on these trips out east. Not even a 5th of the cost is covered. It is an investment that is being borne by non-eastern corps alone. It is fine that the Eastern corps don't see the value in DCA becoming a national organization and don't want to lose their geographical advantage. It is a valid argument. I just feel that it is a bit shortsighted and in the long run, will hurt the potential of the activity.

I don't disagree that in the short term there would need to be some investment and small gains, but having real competition and more quality would encourage attendance and awareness of the DCA product.

Is it for the "good of the activity" that non Eastern corps travel to finals and other East shows every year? I would say that it is. The expansion of the all age brand throughout the nation has lead to increased exposure and quality of all DCA corps. Do you feel that the Bucs would be as good as they are if MBI wasn't around? Would class A be better without the Govies? Renegades, CV, Alliance,etc. they have all brought something great to DCA. Losing non-eastern corps from finals would hurt the activity. I would say that it would have the same result eventually if eastern corps perform in different parts of the country. That competition and exposure of the true quality of the all-age activity would lead to increased awareness, financial support, recruiting, audience, and branding for DCA. It may encourage more to take an interest in the weekend model for drum corps, one that I feel may be the future for our activity, and therefore increase the quality and size of our participants. Sure, when you think on the small scale of what is best for this year, "our corps," or our region, it makes a ton of sense to keep with the status quo. It works well for the Eastern Corps, but does it work well for the future of the all age activity? I think that it would be better to take the longer view. The one that is beyond the one bus bill, or the 200 extra people in the stands. The view that we all get better when we support each other. The view that even though it is a pain, traveling brings the non-eastern corps together. It is a model that can work if there is a priority to growing the activity and not just looking out for ourselves. Obviously, it takes planning and can't be done every year initially, but shouldn't we be spreading our brand of drum corps in as many parts of the country as possible? We have something great to offer. I think that if it is an established show with a decent facility and audience at first it might work. Maybe a new show eventually, but not for a while.

Absolutely not, but it has been in the best interest of MBI and the All-age activity to have the corps out twice a year. It is time that the Eastern corps take their responsibility in marketing and growing the all age activity nationwide seriously. No one is saying that the Eastern groups should do it every year, or that they never have, but maybe every 5? It obviously isn't easy to do, but it is doable. The growth of the all age activity has largely been outside of the NE over the past decade. It is important for the NE corps to recognize that growth should be supported for the better of the whole activity. Otherwise, DCA should just continue to be a nice regional circuit and corps like CV and MBI should do something else.

I would have to say yes. I think that having it done earlier frees up the final weekend of the summer for people with families, makes the school/college transition easier, and connects the drum corps audience better to DCI. I think that having it three weeks later isn't as strong of connection to the main audience for our activity. They've moved on to Marching Band. Certainly, we could figure out how to prepare our groups to and earlier end of the season, and not lose shows.

I have never said that the proper champions were not crowned ANY year. The fact is that the East Coast Corps got a seeding score on a weekend that everyone else in the activity cannot. The other fact is that it is advantageous to be on in prelims as late as possible. That is undeniable. Therefore it is unfair and the rule needs to be revisited. nothing more...

Three ideas: 1. Draw by score band(someone else was talking about it) 2. Designate a weekend where everyone( or nearly everyone) is out as the seeding weekend. 3. I'm fine with seeding based on last year's finals. It is the only benefit for doing well last year, and was the last show that the corps were judges in the same place at the same time. That is as fair as it could be in my opinion.

How do you figure? No sour grapes here, but the one time MBI went on after the Bucs, due to a hurricane no less, was the only time that they won. Going on later changes the mindset of the performing group and the perception of the ensemble. It may be the difference between playing with the sun in your face. It does matter and should be decided on a weekend that everyone has a chance to compete. Another system would be better.

Which is why it is inherently flawed. It is not possible for non-eastern corps to have a travel weekend the weekend before the biggest travel weekend of the year. They would get home on Monday and then have to leave for out east on Wednesday. So essentially that gives the corps who have shows a weekend before finals, and a smaller travel budget, a really large advantage in getting the highest score. While going on last in prelims isn't a guarantee of a finals victory, certainly it is an advantage. That is undeniable. There should be a better system than one that is based on scores from shows thousands of miles away on different weekends.

No worries, Not a complete rewrite. Just ramping up the end and the story line. It is much better already. MBI 2012 is a great drum corps and will be a force to be contend with by DCA. In many ways this corps is much better than last year's. Should be fun!

I think that it could start with the drumline and eventually expand. I teach the Minnesota Vikings Skol Drumline and we are professional rudimental drummers. We get paid and are sponsored by Best Buy. I believe that currently there are at least 20 NFL teams that have drumlines. There are also numerous NBA drumlines as well. We are very popular and well received by the Vikings fans. The group is made up mostly of MBI and other corps alumni. I could see in the next 5 years competitions developing between these groups as an offshoot of NFL branding. There is a lot of time to fill on the NFL network It might be the way to get the marching activity closer to the mainstream, but our shows as we currently write them aren't ever going to have that kind of popularity. They just are simply too artistic at times. You don't see orchestras or ballets on non-public TV either. We would have to sell our souls a bit. It would need to be something more geared to the masses and embrace all of the technology available. Even amplification and electronics Joel MBI

MBI is in our 5th year of competition with the Winter Drumline. We have placed as high as 5th in the Percussion Independent Open Class at WGI. It largely a separate group from the Drum Corps other than we share equipment and much of the staff. The DL has its own schedule that works around the summer group. The age range for the Winter group is 16-22. We have about 10-12 of the winter group kids that also do the summer corps. The reason that isn't higher is that some of the other WDL kids march juniors, have schedule issues with the summer, or don't make the Drum Corps. We started the WDL 5 years ago to have a next level winter ensemble from Minnesota and train teachers for our local circuit. There weren't too many good local Independent groups at the time. The benefits for us have been: Better training of percussion overall in the state. The kids come to us better than ever. Increased local and national exposure for the corps. A solid recruiting vehicle to present at winter shows. More of a youth focused activity to build bridges with local schools and performance/money opportunities. We have turned over our talent much faster for the summer because the kids in the winter drum more. We haven't had have huge lulls in our talent pool for the summer DL. The guard is in their second year of competing nationally. They have had guards in the past that were senior guards, but now it is a Independent Open ensemble in the same vein as the WDL. The results for the guard and corps have been very positive as well. It isn't easy though. It is a challenge for the organization to support 4 performing ensembles (including the mini corps). Financially and schedule wise there are always glitches. But overall it has been a great thing for the organization IMO. Joel MBI Program Coordinator