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mlubandgroupie

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Posts posted by mlubandgroupie

  1. Yes it MOST certainly is. However why should the finals corps be exempt? They are the ones who are raking in the proceeds. Get out there and parade for the locals and the fans! And all this concern about the parade affecting the night show finalists is just plain silly. Since when can't a talented group of teens and twenty-somethings not walk for a mile or two and play four or five tunes? Get over yourselves!

    I agree most on here need to get over themselves. During my short duration on this site I've read lots of complaints about how DCI is no longer fan friendly, and here they are attempting to do something fan friendly and DCP complains. LOL.

  2. OP great post. Another fan is always a great thing, even greater - that father and daughter have common interests that they can enjoy together.

    Don't worry about the negatives on this group, they will only be happy when there is no longer any form of DCI/DCA, etc. Then they can sit back with arms folded and bask in their "if they hadn't started using this keyed instrument, electronics, etc." DCI/DCA, etc. would still be around.

    The big 40 is coming on faster than I'd like, but I've accepted that time will not stop, or reverse...that things change. I can either change with them, leave them, or stay around and become that bitter old man that know one wants to be around. When DCI is know longer enjoyable for me - I hope, I can exit gracefully.

    I often wonder what drum corps like those that perform at the Edinburgh Tattoo think of DCI, etc?

    Long live DCI!!!

    • Like 1
  3. This will be the first time I've seen a non-North American corps live - what kind of show (quality) can be expected, will they be scored or is this just an exhibition, etc. (Noticed they are performing after receiving a message from TicketMaster about the ATL show time change.)

  4. Does it matter? Will a return bring back ALL the legacy viewers and bring in new viewers? Will finals be shown on ESPN or PBS again? Will DCI have national recognition (ie: NCAA Football)? Will stadiums be sold out? Will "geek" never again been mentioned in the same sentence with "band"?

    OR

    Is someone just trying to relive their youth? I'm new to DCI (saw my first show in 2005), but for an activity y'all profess to LOVE, I think y'all have crossed that fine line and now HATE. We all hate getting older, but that doesn't mean I have to HATE the activities I once loved when I was younger - no matter how much those activities have changed?

    OR

    Have I just spent a minute or two feeding a troll?

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  5. Slightly off topic:

    From the what-it-is-worth department to the who-the-heck-cares department....

    Prior to this discussion, I'd heard of Frank Ticheli and enjoyed his compisitions, but never put the local Ticheli's and the many roads, etc named after - with this Ticheli. Thanks to Wikipedia, I now know that Frank is a native son of my small town.

    Now back to regular DCP...

    • Like 1
  6. Be careful of the "I-am-educated-so-I-get-it-attitude." Make sure your attitude doesn't turn any potential future Drum Corps fans away. At times it can seem that there is a preconceived idea among some music majors, if it "doesn't have lyrics" or played on Top 40 radio, the general public can not or is not willing to "get it".

    After, watching Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" I told a music major aquaintance I wanted a tee-shirt saying "I survived Tristan und Isolde". He preceded to tell me that Wagner is "high music" and I just don't get "high" music due to my lack of music education.

    His snobbery did not turn me away from opera...just from discussing any music related art form with him. Some times such attitudes do turn listeners/viewers away. I'm proud of your knowledge and you should be too, but if one does not have the same knowledge as you and/or does not appreciate the same art forms as you - does not make that person any less intelligent.

    The way to educate someone about an art form is to NOT make them feel ignorant...

    I work with a former member of Grambling State band. I made the MISTAKE of saying that GSU wished they were as good as a top 12 DCI corps. Guess who will never watch a drum corps show.

    Edited because I can't spell "intelligent" among many other words...Oh the irony...

  7. Understanding and/or knowledge.

    The masses dont know it and would not understand it anyways. Unless you have a music back ground, marched in school or knows someone who is involved in the activity, you just dont understand it nor do you give it a thought.

    Go ahead, put it on at prime time on ESPN. See what the viewership numbers are. Pretty low. The general pubic just dosent care. But lest say DCI has a huge budget and can afford to market itself heavely. Still wouldnt get a ton of interest. The avarage person just dosent care nor do they understand the activity. Not do they care. The viewing public would not be able to tell you if BD was better then x-men or if the Cavies are better then Pioneer. It all really looks the same to the untrained eye. There is also not a lot of knowledge of the activity so the public dosent know and cant tell just how good many of the performers

    are. To them its Marching Band.

    I know you probably didn't mean to, but you came across as a bit condescending. I meet your criteria for not understanding/caring or being able to tell which corps is better. I do care and IMHO I can pick which of the above mentioned corps are better. Due to my "uber" love of all things DCI, my co-workers/friends/family know about DCI. If we get a show back in the area I live many say they will attended just to see what has me so hyped.

    I wonder if one of the reasons people might not be turned off, because of the "opera snob" attitude some DCI alumni unwittingly seem to have. I'm a bando, proud to be, and do not consider being called one an insult.

    Long live Drum Corps.

    After posting this I read post #68. Thank you fo saying, what I've thought...even experianced, much better than I could.

  8. Not a kid...never marched! Matter of fact, I may have shoes as old as you that I still use! Uh oh, dodging that DCP pigeon hole!

    I was responding not so much about the boring (for me it wasn't) but about the manner is which some fans (half, by the OP's reconning) reacted to the announcement. It may have been your response, if so you are under my brush, if you didn't you're not. Now the other "just go back stuff"...proven hog wash, foisted by the bitter. "their kind"?? :guinesssmilie:

    Finally, you may want to go back and read some of the Star of Indiana MM's comments in other threads about fan response to their hard work on the field back in the day. If what they said speaks to you...then you will understand, if not...read it again!

    Again, WOW. I left the Atlanta show after "Battle Hymn" was played, but before any scores were announced. I guess I'm a rude southerner.

    The way to fight classlessness is to be classy.

  9. A simple more "understanding" response on your part might have been: "I'm from the mid-west and I agree that there were many thoughtless fans who left after the announcement of 2nd place...I personally remained seated and applauded after the winner's announcement and score and then departed as I had no plans of watching the encore. Saying that all of us in the mid-west are sore losers is far too broad of a judgement."

    That would have put me in my place as the hate monger that I am. :guinesssmilie:

    Simply, WOW. Please tell me you are attempting to make a joke or write some form of satire.

  10. As long as the quality of the shows stayed the same. YES! The quality is what attracted me to drum corps.

    I tell my friends/family that it is like a semi-professional marching band. Those that I've begged, pleaded with, and bribed to attend shows with me have no knowledged of the past rules or the current wars, but are impressed with the quality of the shows. (ie: the quality of sound, difficulty of the music, the speed and cleanness of drill, the dance/acrobatics/etc of the guard)

    This site has introduced me to a new group of people...Drum Corp Snobs. :-)

  11. Some great ideas. But? Will any of these changes bring brand new non-band/corps fans? Will your friends and family who just grin and nod their head with the OMG here she/he goes again, have an epiphany and fall in love with drum corps?

    I enjoyed Madison's show. It was simply just fun - put a smile on my face. I was caught up in the standing ovation of the crowd at Atlanta, but how much of the "chill bump" enducingness of that program was from the show or the hx/etc behind the corps?

    Is drum corps really on its last breath or is it just drum corps of years past that is circling the drain? Will a push either forward or backwards bring back the great crowds? Who is the future of drum corps? Has a survey/study ever been done on where current MM come from (marching band, wgi, etc.) and where future MM might come from?

    Yes, I as a ticket buyer I should hold a bit of sway with the future of DC, but if there are no performers what will I be paying to see?

  12. That is where you are wrong young grasshopper. Who says performance art has to evolve? How much has opera changed in the last 200 years? Do they now mic their performers? How about the symphonic orchestra? How many have added synths to the mix? In fact the instrumental make up of the symphonic orchestra is basically the same today as 100 years ago. Ballet? In truth most performing arts groups find a niche and exploit that niche. Sure they grow. There’s different staging and interpretation in ballet, opera and symphonic music, as well as the new works. Yet the core of the art form stays the same. I think it is highly unlikely you will see the orchestra start dancing the next time you go to a concert.

    DC has forgotten what makes it unique. The pure, hair-raising sound from an all brass choir, the intricate precision of a rudimentary drum line and the movement on the field. Although the pit can be a nice supplement, it has become dominate and polluted the pure brass sound. Everything else is unnecessary.

    If a performing arts group wants to survive it must never forget its audience. What’s the point of performing if you have nobody there to witness the performance? I think what most dinos object to is the changes have not made DC more entertaining, but less.

    Opera and orchestra may not have forgotten their audience, because they don't have much of an audience to forget.

    Seriously, that is why the MET is trying ever thing it can think of to grow its audience. (ie: updating the old classics, modern operas, young beautiful less full figured female leads, handsome young male leads who are closer to a six pack than a keg, new sets, nudity for nudities sake, simucast in movie theaters, etc.)

    A tough time for the arts.

    A couple of questions. How big of a following does the traditional drum and bugle corps have? (ie: Edinburgh tattoo style). One wonders if some on here who cry "drum corps is dying" are not wishing that it does die so they can, stand self-rightously with arms fold, say "I told you so." I hope not.

  13. I'm sure at some point, a baby dino said that as he stood on all 4 legs for the first time, just as the lava flow reached his nest.

    And that is why I made the statement about hoping to age in drum corps as I'm trying in life - with grace.

    If drum corps ever becomes gray haired and bald to me, I hope I never try to dye it and cover it with a rug to regain my youthful image of drum corps. Just accept that change happens and if I can't handle the change then gracefully exit field right.

    All those that think drum corps is dying, what era do you think would bring back the crowds? Yes, it might bring back some former fans, but will they be able to replace the fans lost and the new fans never gained?

    Or is it a bigger problem that ALL performing arts seem to be experiencing? For instance, all the local marching bands (high school and college), in the area I live, are having problems recruiting members.

    To the outsider arguing over key changes, electronics, etc is eye-roll inducing.

  14. It may be dying to you...but to this n00bie bando it has only begun to come alive.

    To that group of preteens/early teen kids, standing on the platform, after the Atlanta show, waiting for the train, talking about how they can't wait to march for BD, Cavies, etc drum corps is not dying for them.

    It might not be the drum corps of your past, but it is the drum corps of their future. Will their life lessons, learned at the hands of drum corps, be any less than yours because - they played a different keyed instrument, marched in a different style, or performed a show not to your liking?

    Does that mean the old drums corps is any less relevant than the new style, NO - just means all things must evolve or they die.

    I hope I can age in the Drum Corps world as I am attempting to in life - with grace.

    It is ok to dislike a particular show, and that does not mean you have to dislike that corps or drum corps as a whole. (ie: I loved BD's 2009 show, but not their 2010 show. I loved Cavaliers 2010 show, but not their 2009 show.)

  15. Well, if you've actually been READING Tom's posts, you would know that what he WANT'S from Pioneer is for them to return to the degree of competitive success they experienced in the 90's.

    As for the bolded section of your post, I have to assume that given Roman was at the helm when they WERE competitive, they still had the special things that set them apart.

    I feel like I've stated a thousand times that the unique Pioneer experience and being a competitive drum corps are not mutually exclusive, as they proved in the 90's. The drum corps scene is vastly different now than it was 15-20 years ago, but Pioneer is exactly the same, thanks to Roman. There is your answer in black and white.

    I have read of Tom's desire for Pioneer to return to the competitive success of the past. At what cost? Are the directors/etc the sole reason BD won this year, that PR won drums? Changing leadership will instantly make them (Pioneer) better or do they need to change the way they recruit?

  16. Simply put...the corps is a shadow of its past excellence and that needs to be addressed.

    I have put forth ideas and have been attacked.

    So, am I negative toward the corps. I've really turned from indifferent to negative by the over the board reactions from some people according to them "are associated with the corps or are in the know."

    Ed from Kansas and I have had very vibrant discussions both during and after the season about Pioneer's current situation. We have never resorted to taunts or name calling.

    I can be negative without being disrespectful.

    Pioneer needs to get out of the past. Relics become museum pieces and I am sure we can all agree this is not what we would want for this once great corps.

    I was extremely negative...for almost 5 years toward the Madison Scouts organization. BoD members and their Exec Director contacted me directly...asked my opinion and sought my support. I didn't make the huge difference their alumni did. But, I also...fairly....applauded the efforts the Madison organization made over the past 5 years to turn the ship around. I don't rant about Madison anymore because they've done an excellent job of avoiding becoming a relic.

    I don't understand your negativity toward a corps that you say you do not support finacially. Please help me understand the negativity.

    What do YOU want for Pioneer? To be a G7 corps? Continue to provide a marching experience for those that might not be able to march for a G7 corps or may not want to march for such corps? Or do you want them to be competitive with G7 corps but still be able to provide a marching experience for those might not be able to march for a G7 corps or want to march for such corps?

    If you have such a passion for the corps (positive or negative), wouldn't your energy be more environmentally friendly (on DCP) if you actually helped the corps become what YOU want?

    As of now, I do not support any corps. I may not like a particular show that a corps does, but unless I have a child in said corps, am an alumni of, volunteer for, or contribute funds too what reason do I have to speak so negativly of them-especially if that corps is allowing kids to march who otherwise may not get to march?

    From what little hx I know of drum corps...wasn't education and helping kids the original intent? If so, and if Pioneer is still keeping this tradition, what is wrong with that? IMHO, I think it is a great thing they are doing - helping kids from SA and Mexico to march.

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