JulesBry

So instead, we'll have it judged by institutional bias, because that's more fair? There's no perfect system. At least one that includes some level of audience participation might help to bring more people into the activity and/or keep them around longer.

So rather than taking on the hard task of plugging the hole in the bucket and finding a way to keep old fans and build new ones, DCI should perpetuate the revolving door of fans and give up on really growing the popularity of the activity? Plateaus are unsustainable. If you're not growing, you're declining. Right now, DCI is holding near steady, but that won't last long. One way or the other, support levels will change, and for the sake of the kids involved, I hope I'm completely wrong in sounding an alarm. Time will tell.

There's an important difference between the changes you described and the changes that bother me. Despite all of the differences, the activity was exclusively brass, percussion, and drill. And presented in combinations that rarely failed to "force pull" (love that image) audiences to their feet. Of late, the activity is no longer exclusively brass, percussion, and drill. We now have dance, synths, voices, talking (is that even music?), props, and all kinds of other things. And there seems (to me) to be no accounting for how well these new elements are used. That's a huge change from "BITD" And personally, I don't think it's for the better. Others are free to disagree and choose what they want to spend money on. The Fan Network for all of its greatness, simply can't represent even a tenth of the excitement of what I saw in person. Change just to be changing isn't always good. In many cases, it makes things worse because it can be change without adequate thought and planning. I'm all for improvement and experimentation, but only if there is room to be honest when it doesn't work. (and if the majority likes the new version, then so be it). I don't think DCI is being honest, and I think a significant number of fans are leaving. That's bad for the future of the activity.

Actually, as the OP, I think they are both deeply intertwined, and I had hoped that my initial post highlighted that. Apparently, I wasn't clear enough, though.

I'll give you that BD should be tops in execution, but you and I have a severe difference of opinion on the design. Are you telling me that absolutely every judge in DCI believes that BD is the best designed show off the year? Knowing what kind of disagreements there are here and in other places, doesn't that uniformity strike you as artificial in some way?

Guilty as charged. It's just my opinion, but it's also a gut feeling. Again, the uniformity of scores by various judges strikes me as improbable at best.

Maybe so, but Drum Corps has been adding new fans in all of its various incarnations. The question is how many old fans they may lose in the process. It's easier to fill buckets that have no holes than buckets with growing leaks. Look at the poll attached to this letter. Can DCI replace the 10% or so who are leaving? What about the other 30% or so who don't like the current direction, but are sticking around in hopes that it changes? If things continue in the same way, can DCI survive losing 40% of its fan base? I think that's a tall order in great financial times, much less today. This poll is unscientific, and only represents a small part of drum corps planet. Still, surely this is enough to say that DCI should be very careful going forward and do some honest market research about their future.

There is a need for knowledgeable judges--people who understand the detailed complexities of what it takes to perform drum corps. I'm not opposed to judging in general, but I am opposed to lockstep judges whose opinions never vary and whose minds never change. Giving the audience are share of the judging, though, isn't a bad idea to me. Perhaps they should give the general effect score.

Thanks for a well written and heartfelt view of the other side. For the many wonderful performers involved, I hope there are millions more people exactly like you. I fear that there are not. I also wish you could experience some of the great performances of the past twenty years or so to compare what DCI has been compared to what they are and where they are going. I think if you could, you would see how DCI could be even better than what you've seen (imagine that possibility). Again, I wish you and your son great success. Hopefully, I'll be able to love and enjoy future shows again. Just not this year.

I've thought about that a lot, too, and I don't know if I have a good answer. I suppose the best I can say is that I've tried to do that for the past several years, but now, I'm just tired of weeding through so many uninteresting shows to see the good ones. I tried to do it again this year, but I just couldn't stay interested. You can't change what excites you. If I could, I'd be glad to stick around. As a side note, what is the response to those same kids who work really hard on a show they believe in only to be beaten every night by a show that makes no sense to them? How do you explain that every judge in DCI thinks their show's design is subpar because it's too much of a crowd pleaser and not "artistic" (aka distant, strange, enigmatic) enough? Maybe I'll be at the fence next summer, but right now, I don't see that happening.

I'd be happy if even a few judges agreed with me. They don't all have to reflect my opinion. I just can't believe that every judge in every competition believes that BD has the best show in DCI this year. Unanimously? Really? I'm sorry, but that isn't my idea of a diversity of opinions.

Yes, but that's no what I meant. My point is that each corps general effect shows should vary from judge to judge based on whether or not that particular judge found the show effective.

I'm all for experimentation as long as we're all honest about our opinions and there is room for diversity. If you want exploration in an activity that is judged according to its "general effect", then there must be room for people, even judges, to disagree. That's not happening in DCI. Of course, if exploration is the supreme goal, let's get rid of judging altogether and let the art speak for itself. I'd also be fine with that for as long as the resultant product remained recognizable as drum corps (as opposed to a rock band or symphony orchestra).

Exactly. If there were some diversity in scores, at least in the general effect categories, I could stick around. But if every last judge believes that the general effect of every show is roughly the same, that suggests that either their opinions aren't honest or that my opinions aren't welcome in DCI. Either way, I no longer feel at home here.

If BD were tied with the Cavies, I doubt I would be leaving, because I would see it as a just reward for a poorly designed show. In fact, if they had finished even a few shows in seventh place, I wouldn't be leaving (yet), because I would see that there are people in DCI who share my opinion, and that would give me hope that things might turn around. As it is, I see the trends, and I don't care to see where things end up. To answer your question, here are the shows that I most enjoyed this year in order of their current standing. 2 Carolina Crown 97.450 5 Santa Clara Vanguard 93.700 9 Madison Scouts 88.800 11 Spirit of Atlanta 85.650 12 Crossmen 84.900 15 The Academy 81.900 17 Colts 79.200 20 Jersey Surf 75.450 23 Mandarins 71.600 Notice that most of the shows I liked were panned by the judges. I don't debate that these corps' execution levels are not as high as the top tier corps, but I have to think that their more traditional programs may also play a role. I went to a show where the Cavies followed the Colts. I remarked afterwards that the Cavies got a standing ovation because they're the Cavies (people stood up after the last note because it was protocol. The Colts got a standing ovation because people couldn't stay in their seats (people were standing and cheering well before the last note began, much less finished). This is the difference between the trend I see and trend I want to see. The latter is what will maintain and grow an audience.

It's also markedly different from Schoenberg. Electronics and indecipherable themes are to Drum Corps what serialism and atonality was to Beethoven. They are radical departures from what had worked for a very long time. We now see a return to more traditional art music, but too many people refuse to give it a chance because they've been burned by bad music in between. The same cycle will happen to drum corps. I only hope that when it comes back around, there will still be fans in the stands to notice.

You know, in many cases, you're correct. Unfortunately, no one can see or hear it because it's obscured by far too much frosting. Like a cupcake with six feet of icing. I would love to cheer for kids pushing the envelope of human achievement, but I can't get past the poor design choices made by their respective staffs. Again, if DCI at least reflected differences of opinion by allowing judges to express those differences in terms of scoring, then I could live with that. But the uniform acceptance of what I see as the epitome of what has been wrong with drum corps for the past few years is more than I can bear. Enjoy it while it lasts. I hope it can survive the loss of us "dinosaurs". But I really hope DCI will look for ways to allow for both innovation and tradition. The current situation is anything but that.

This long time Cavies fan agrees that their use of such things is also abrasive. But I still don't think they're doing it to the extent that BD is. On the other hand, perhaps the judges have recognized that flaw in the Cavies, and that's why they're uncharacteristically low in the standings. I only wish that all the corps who were offending in the same way were in a similar position. On the FB tally, a sixth former drum corps fan just posted an agreement with me there.

BTW, I posted this letter to my FB page, and so far 5 current and former fans from all walks of life have taken time to express their agreement. One of them used to be the biggest Blue Devils fan I knew. A couple had already walked away from DCI for similar reasons.

BTW, I wish my poll answers had been clearer from the start. If you answered "not really", and it will allow you to change your vote, please change it to one of the new answers I added if either reflects your opinion better.

Because they're the most flagrant offender both this year and in recent years. I could also have included the Blue Knights this year, and specific moments in other shows. Perhaps I should have done so. But the letter was already long, and what BD has done this season pretty well sums up what I see as the problem. They are the epitome, but not the only issue.

I also appreciate creative mash ups and arrangements when done well. The question is how do we acknowledge what is truly creative. I don't believe DCI is discerning enough. You can tell me that we all have differences of opinion, but that isn't reflected in the judging in any way. That tells me that DCI is of one, unified opinion: it's all good. If the Blue Devils (for example) won a few shows and lost a few shows, I'd buy the difference of opinion argument, but that's not what has happened. DCI, in my opinion, has become the Emperors New Clothes, and I can no longer support it.

I've done that already. My posting this summer has been far less than in previous years. And I doubt I'll post much more after this topic begins to fade (perhaps before it begins to fade). :-) I think what I'll miss most is being reminded of the speechless moment represented in your signature pic every time you post. Now THAT was innovative and entertaining. I nearly fell over (I was already on my feet) when I realized what was going on. :-)

And that would only prove that people read what they wanted to read, not what I actually wrote. Although their show this year and its critical success was a major contributing factor to my waning enthusiasm for the activity--I can't deny that--it was far from the only factor.

You know, I think this was the argument the Second Viennese School made for serialism. And I think the result of that argument is a general distaste by the general public for "contemporary music" that persists even to the present day. In other words, doing something new for the sake of doing something new had a profound effect on music, and one that was in many ways not positive. I'm cautioning DCI that they are headed down a similar path. Perhaps I'm wrong and they'll tap into a massive market for people who love synths more than brass and percussion and dance more than drill. But if they're wrong, it will be that much harder to recover. It's like arguing that we should move track and field events forward by introducing motorized vehicles.