Tim K

In private school settings, paid tuition includes money collected and scholarships. This is done so unpaid tuition can be written off as a loss. So complimentary tickets, excluding marching members, may be included in paid tickets, unless it is considered an operating expense or perhaps an advertising expense if the purpose is to grow the audience, but a $0 ticket may be listed as paid. I can also recall when a school I was involved with put on "Godspell," we had to include complimentary tickets in the paid ticket category because the number of people in the audience determined how much was due to the publisher. You could do a production for the school as an assembly that could include students, faculty, and staff, but if anyone outside attended, they had to be counted as a ticket holder. My guess is this was due to abuse. I don't say this to stir the pot, but complimentary ticket holders outside of marching members do promote the health of the activity. They most likely increase revenues since many will make purchases and in all likelihood will attend again. With the success of some TOC shoes, increased attendance at regionals, and healthy attendance in Indy, not to mention Big, Loud, and Live, things are looking positive and we were not saying the same thing as little as ten years ago. Let's enjoy it.

In theory, you may be correct in stating that the G7 proposal was for the good of all corps, but if that's the case, the messengers did a pretty lousy job of relaying it, and as they defended it, some rather ugly aspects surfaced. There were implications that the non G7 corps were draining DCI resources. It was implied people who attended shows only wanted to see G7 corps even though the fan base of Madison and Boston Crusaders and perhaps Troopers was larger and more loyal than some G7 corps. It was thought only G7 corps would place in the top seven in the future, which Cavaliers showed in 2012 would not be the case and ruled out the possibility of another darling coming along which Blue Knights proved incorrect as they made the top seven and gained new found fans. The TOC shows are successful, but I don't see how they are responsible for attendance increases in Atlanta, Allentown, and San Antonio. I can't see how they are responsible for record tryouts for non G7 corps.

I'm not sure this is always the case in professional sports and I'm not sure it works in drum corps either. It really depends on the individual. I know a young woman who marched with what was then a Class A corps, but wanted a taste of being in a Top 12 corps and she marched her age out year with one of the best. She loves this corps, but her heart is with the Class A corps she once marched with, she still donates to this corps, and credits much of what she learned about drum corps to this corps. I know of a young man who marched with Glassmen in 2012 and a top 3 corps in 2013 who told me he was really a Glassmen. I've heard similar sentiments from kids who go from OC to WC and from lower placing WC corps to stronger finalists.

In another thread, people disputed the accuracy of attendance numbers at finals going back to the 70's. Maybe Flomarching provided those numbers too. PS: Do any iPad or iPhone users have spell checks that want to change Flomarching to Florida March?

The numbers are interesting, or at least I find them interesting. I'm not surprised at some, namely BD and SCV who always seem to have a number of age outs and do not have trouble recruiting talented new members. BAC and Cadets surprised me a bit. It did not look like either had that many participate in the age out ceremony, though that is a rough count at best, but I thought that with both corps, the youth was often stressed. For some of the corps that place lower, the smaller number of age outs may be encouraging, but these are also corps that tend to lose members to higher placing corps. The numbers that do alarm me are Blue Stars and Phantom. I've really enjoyed Blue Stars the past few years and hoped fewer age outs might put them in a better position next year. Phantom has been struggling a bit the past few years, so recruiting may be a bit more difficult for them, not so difficult they'll fall from finals, but will they recruit enough talent to give upward momentum?

Very often when budget cuts are needed, symbolic or visible things are the first to go so that in can be shown cuts have been made. Rarely are these cuts significant and often save little money when budget busters that may not be needed are saved. A second way is saying every department has to make, let's say a 5% cut, making it appear everyone is tightening their belts when successful business leaders usually are more strategic and look across the board to see where cuts need to be made. I'm not sure cutting military music programs would save all that much. Another point. A young marine recruiter at semi's a few years backwho had fun at my expense by making me attempt to do a chin up before giving me a free CD told me DCI is a great place to recruit. Could the young man recruit without the Commandant's Own performing at finals? Most likely but I'm sure it did not hurt matters.

If you buy tickets through a block, you generally do not get the survey because the purchaser is the block organizer, but if you contact DCI and mention this, they'll send you the survey. My guess is the same would hold true for people who buy more than one set of tickets with a credit card. Only the cardholder would get the survey.

No, all I can report is no corps has approached me about being on staff.

It does seem as if you hear about more business majors and engineering majors in drum corps today, and while you do still hear about music education majors, you hear less about musical performance folks.

It is off the mark and it's not off the mark. Many drum corps were founded in working class communities, but they were not necessarily poor and the kids did not always come from rough backgrounds. At the time some of the areas were solidly middle class. Not all, certainly, and there were corps from poorer areas, but in many cases, especially where Catholic parishes are concerned, the drum corps was part of a larger parish community that included athletics, social activities, most likely a school which was staffed by nuns who did not get paid and priests often organized and directed the corps and they was paid very little. The parents often volunteered. What we did see back in the day was an effort to make sure anyone who wanted to march could march. While I do agree drum corps has become an activity where the majority of marchers are from, if not well to do backgrounds, at least are from financially comfortable families. I graduated from high school in 1981. I knew kids who marched with corps that were good, but not as competitive as the local corps who toured: 27th, North Star, Boston Crusaders, and Holy Family Defenders. According to some, these corps were for "rich kids" who did not have to work to pay for college. I knew people who marched with all four corps, they never claimed to be rich kids and would say the corps from California and two from the Midwest, none of whom will be named, were spoiled rich kids. Drum corps did have a broader range of marching members, no question, and fewer kids can march today, but the perception of it being an activity for the rich is not entirely new.

My understanding has always been that Cadets has a good retention rate of marching members, but I also know the landscape is changing and more corps are vying for the most talented people, and when you place 7th, you may not be the corps of choice. That being said, 2017 Cadets was not one of my favorite shows to put it mildly, and while some have claimed that Cadets did not get the talent level they usually have, I don't think talent or lack of it has been responsible for 2017's placement or 2015 and 2016 for that matter. I think the kids work hard and it's their talent that has gotten them as far as they've gone. I see design flaws and excess as the issues. 2013, one of my favorite Cadets show, was in many ways pretty basic, but the power of the corps blew me away and riveted me each time I saw the show. 2014 had more too it and while I loved it (I'm a history buff), it was not everyone's favorite, but again it had moments of sheer power. 2015 could have had it, but a uniform change got in the way. 2016 could have had it but statues and wedding cakes got in the way. 2017 might have worked if there was not an "everything but the kitchen sink" approach. Just my ramblings, and since no one has asked me to design a show yet, that may be all they are, ramblings.

When it comes to our memories of numbers, we need to be careful before we say we remember numbers as larger or smaller. Gillette Stadium in Foxboro where finals was held in 2005 is much larger than the old Foxboro Stadium where finals took place in 1994, but I recall the crowd in 2005 being larger but the numbers said the opposite, even if the 1994 numbers include marching members as some have suggested. Most likely the reason Gillette appeared larger is the space between seats. In Foxboro you were jammed in the place. Gillette is roomier. We also need to take some caution when looking at the numbers and not judge the health of the activity solely on these numbers. Take the early years in Indy--pretty low and not that convincing that LOS was the best venue, but when you also add in that this was also at a time unemployment was high and we were in a recession, that most likely plays a role in lower numbers. If there's a reason the numbers were so low in Orlando in 96-98, I've forgotten, but even though there are tons of hotels in Orlando, some are booked way in advance. Add to that the crowds and traffic. This likewise could be a factor. Numbers were very healthy in the 70's and 80's, but how many corps did we lose in those years, some of whom were the most iconic and beloved corps the activity has known. People have noted that recent numbers at finals, as well as regionals and TOC shows are healthy, but we also hear of declining numbers at smaller shows. Numbers are important, but they do not always tell the entire story.

Perhaps your PBS affiliate is old and stodgy, but in some markets you are incorrect. I mentioned "Downton Abbey" as an example in another post. It had a huge appeal on college campuses. Do too does "Call the Midwife." PBS is the vehicle of choice for the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic. As much as we all love drum corps, does DCI have more of an international stature than these two institutions? People who love Broadway and the stage turn to PBS. DCI has good sales of DVD's and CD's, but Andre Riu was an unknown in the US prior to PBS picking him up. After, his music sales and tickets for his shows skyrocketed. Don't underestimate PBS for arts and entertainment or the buying power of the niche audience that tunes in.

When PBS first began airing DCI, WGBH Channel 2 did have phones open for donations, but in 1975 when finals were first aired, the kinds of specials we associate with PBS fundraisers: Yanni, Botti, Josh Groban, Libera, Andre Riu, etc., were not used. This development came in the late 80's and early 90's. Prior to that time, pledge drives interrupted regular television. When finals was no longer aired live, I seem to remember it being aired around Thanksgiving. That's not a major pledge time. Usually that happens in December when Christmas and holiday shows are aired for PBS. Those who have said people at PBS said DCI fans did not pay their pledges may be correct, and I have no reason to doubt what they say, if it did not air in March during membership month, August when they close the booksehicg it had not in a while, or December when the most popular shows are aired, it was probably not a major fundraising tool. Interestingly, WGBH used to air "Blast" in March and around New Year's Eve, so that must have been a money maker.

Much of what you say is correct, young people do get their information in a variety of ways, but what will appeal is very unpredictable and being on network TV still bears weight. I often ask middle and high school students (in a school setting) what they watch on TV. Ten years ago none of them would have said they watched "Masterpiece Theater" unless it was a school requirement, but when "Downton Abbey" aired a few years back, lots of kids knew who the Crawley's were. They pick and choose all sorts of things and watch at their convenience so DCI returning to PBS could get audience.

Today PBS tends to buy material already made rather than produce it on its own specials such as Yanni, Celtic Women, In Volo, etc., and broadcast it at pledge time. Where PBS would no longer have to film or produce finals as they did in the early WGBH days, a rebroadcast could be a possibility. Not a live broadcast perhaps, but showing it either in December, or during membership month, could potentially be successful.

I usually use all my vacation time in the summer, so my sight seeing, family time, etc is usually around late June and early July. I take time in August too for Allentown and Indy. Allentown and Indy are just for drum corps so things outside of drum corps don't matter that much, but if I did not have the option of using my vacation time in a staggered way, going to Indy every year and hoping to do other things would get old fast. Indy is not a summer destination.

Personally I think a God is a fan of all the corps equally, but it's not the Cavaliers that make me think religious thoughts when their show is over, it's Blue Knights. Since "Avian" in 2012, as soon as BK finishes, I always have the same the same thought: "God only knows what that show is about." Only kidding Blue Knights fans. I'm sure God was a Cavies fan in 1990 with one of my favorite Cavies moments, their amazing arrangement of John Rutter's "All Things Bright and Beautiful."

If it's Roger Goodell is enforcing the rules, Boston Crusaders would become an all age corps, this past season's ending would be practice for next year with new recruit Roger Goodell as the one at the stake with Tom Brady and Robert Kraft making sure a real fire is used. Maybe it could be a joint production with Crusaders Senior, 7th Regiment and Spartans!

As I think I said earlier somewhere, this has to be more a policy than a rule and I'm not sure how it can be enforced, at least right now. My understanding is this was discussed at a winter meeting. Chances are most staff contracts were signed prior to the meeting and this policy was not written in contracts and while a contract can be amended, employment amendments often do not stand up in court. While a word of mouth agreement should be fine, if it is not written in the contract, obliging a staff member would be difficult. If a director says something after the policy is in place, perhaps the corps could be fined, but can you really suspend a corps or penalize them on the field? I suppose you could suspend the offenders, but will that do any good?

Judges tapes would be critical for improvement earlier in the season, no question. However, at DCI judges tapes would be critical too. Judges tapes give insights as to what judges are thinking and in theory justify scores. Also, there is always next year. Unless a corps is going to have 100% turnover of staff and marching members, what worked and did not work in a past year's show could be crucial for the following year. I knew there have been tapes where a judge has a love fest and affirm-a-thon with the corps and butchers them on the sheets and cases where the corps has been criticized for crazy things and wins captions, but knowing what a judge is thinking in real time is always important.

While there are many Cadets supporters on DCP, and no doubt some who are supporters of George Hopkins, I would hardly call DCP an echo chamber of the George Hopkins fan club.

I have always enjoyed Les Stentors. Most years they begin their tour in New England and I've chatted with some of the kids and instructors. Fortunately they are more fluent in English than I am in French (which is less than minimal in my case). They are pretty versatile musicians, the kids are taught as beginners, and they really seem to enjoy what they do. For those of us who are in our seats when prelims begin, you can see they perform their hearts out. I hope this campaign is a success.

This is not meant to be a dig at Cadets. The Bernstein Estate, not all that different than those who own the rights to Richard Rogers music, is very protective of how the music is used. I do not question that the use of "Mass" was agreed upon during the winter, but we have seen on more than one occasion that agreements have been made, composers, publishers, etc. have a different interpretation, and portions of shows are blocked out or omitted. If anything, this has more to do with copyright issues. Also, I doubt that DCI has lost all that many sales of DVD's and BluRay because shows have had portions blacked out or missing.

Cadets may be limited as to what they can do by the Bernstein estate. As has been recounted on DCP in the past, and as any school or local theater group that has wanted to do "West Side Story" knows, they are extremely protective of the integrity of his works, as they have every right to be, and it would not surprise me if there are some objections by the Bernstein estate to portions of the show being distributed on DVD this year. It could be a Madison "Empire State of Mind" all over again. Then again, "Mass" is not as iconic as "Candide," "On the Town," or "West Side Story" so maybe there will be no brouhaha at all. Traditional means different things to different people. I think traditional if it is indeed traditional can always work, but style can change, so a 90's stylistic show would not work, but if Cadets returned to their tradition, great music performed well with incredible drill, audiences would love it and they could be pleasantly surprised. They have not medaled since 2014 and while I enjoyed that show (I know, many did not), some would argue they have not had a show that has worked well for them since 2013, which I saw as having all of Cadet' strengths.