shostahoosier
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Posts posted by shostahoosier
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I totally agree with the OP.
I'm a dinosaur that can accept some DCI changes but I feel like with the shakos/aussies/helmets gone, we're watching a performance of individuals.
I realize seeing the marching members' emotions and expressions is part of the effect but then I thought that was what the changes to color guard were meant to allow.
It also feels like a cheap way to boost general effect. A performer doesn't need to turn to the audience and make an awkward face to telegraph that I should acknowledge and cheer for the fact that they just played a really difficult passage.
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I would say the Blue Devils issue was that they peaked in 1995. I saw that show a few weeks earlier on tour and they were playing lights out. But...like 1995, 2022 has 4 shows that all have the potential to win on the last night.
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1 hour ago, Smug Trumpet Guy said:
I still don't understand. Maybe it has to be spelled out for me. There are no barriers of entry regarding race or sexual orientation, only the tuition costs.
As welcoming as DCI is, racial diversity has not been one of its strong points. I don't know if "barrier" is the right word.
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5 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:
my point is if someone wants something bad enough they find a way.
i've been saying here for months excessive spring training lengths are budget killers. 5-6 weeks renting a facility or two, 4 meals a day for everyone, travel costs getting people in and out.....and not making a dime.
1. I think finding a way worked when corps fees were closer in relation to the minimum wage jobs that members could work during the off season.
2. I TOTALLY AGREE with you about spring training.
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5 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:
I had actually already read this article.
It doesn't answer my question about the average cost of a sports camp - it just says that they vary wildly.
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1 hour ago, Jeff Ream said:
yet thousands of middle class kids do sports camps that last a week and cost more.
The average sports camp is charging more than $5K a week? Because it seems like the average corps fee is this much.
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12 hours ago, DrummerParent said:
Exactly. Lowering costs = lowering the experience / expectations.
I don’t necessarily think this is the case.
I am amazed at how the Madison Scouts organization was able to keep costs low for so long while remaining competitive.
I attended university with a member who marched the year before and after Scott Stewart was replaced and his first thought was “we have an awesome new design team but my corps fees have doubled.”
Anyway I feel like corps fees will become a problem, especially for the smaller and middle tier corps. There needs to be a real discussion/solution and not just a “it’s cheap and if they want to march they will find a way.”
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50 minutes ago, DrummerParent said:
Yep. The problem is that performers want the $5000 drum corps experience but don’t want to pay $5000.
No. I think the problem is that the $5000 drum corps experience costs performers $5000.
I marched in the late 90s when corps fees amounted to about 10% of my full college costs for a year….now it would be a little more than 20% (with increased college costs taken into account).
Again, people will say “but look at what you get! It’s a steal!” and I’m sure it is…but $5K is $5K and is a for some income brackets.
I don’t think is sustainable.
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9 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:
housing is rarely free now. fuel. food. insurance. multiple weeks sitting at spring training not making $$.
yeah
Fuel. food. insurance. multiple weeks sitting in spring training not making $$.
these aren’t new things
no?
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This is a great move by Jersey Surf but while reading the article I saw this:
QuoteCorps members who have already paid their tour fees for the coming season will receive a direct rebate from the organization later this month, and all incoming members will receive a newly structured membership agreement, which reflects a total tuition price of $3400 for the full 68-day experience.
Is DCI really $4400 a year now?! And I'm almost certain that Jersey Surf is one of the better corps with keeping costs down.
I know someone will say "BUT DRUMCORPS IS CHEAP COMPARED TO WHAT YOU GET!!!!!!!!"
However at almost $5k - $6K the price is becoming less competitive compared to other summer actitivites that a kid in their late teens/early 20s might enjoy.
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April Gilligan (Garfield/Cadets). I was really looking forward to her return to the Cadets this year. Her guards were always amazing.
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2 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:
i haven't denied this. but look at the places the OC tour goes. many places don't even count as suburbs
Well...you got me there.
Even OC finals was in the middle of nowhere.
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On 7/2/2020 at 6:51 AM, Jeff Ream said:
look at the OC tour....not exactly going where people live
Nah...when I read reviews online...they often start with "Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it into the stands for the first few corps".
So even when smaller corps are opening shows for the bigger corps, people are still missing their performances.
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We never called you Skeletor at the old place. 😉
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This may be one of my favorite posts on DCP ever! I’m not a dinosaur opposed to innovation, but for me part of what made DCI special was how the designers could create sounds and visuals within the limitations that they had. Zingali’s “Cross to Cross” would be less impressive if the members did it on go carts.
On 1/14/2019 at 7:08 PM, jeffmolnar said:I disagree that there was pull and push outside of Texas. I went to a TX “BOA school” and followed the top groups at nationals during that time. Everyone was still chasing The Cavaliers in design. That corps designed circles around most of the top H.S. groups and their cheesy props, voice overs, silly costumes, etc. Cavies got their GE the hard way, without relying on external “crutches.” TX was obviously better about not giving into BOA nonsense, but nationally you still had bands like Carmel and Marian Catholic who would’ve fit right in at the UIL state marching contest.
Doing something wacky and different isn’t inherently “pushing the activity.” It’s just being wacky and different. Covering the entire field with a tarp isn’t a feast for my eyes, because my eyes are rolling into the back of my head. It’s such a juvenile demand for attention. Instead of generating interest with your actual performance, you demand that I pay attention to your giant prop that’s burning a hole in my retinas. Extremely lame, and so very “high school.”
Innovation is born from limitations. You mentioned sports, but I don’t think that comparison works like you want it to. In basketball they might slightly change the rules from time to time, but the court is the same size with 2 hoops at the same height. In soccer they might change how certain penalties work, but they still don’t let you pick up the ball with your hands and run. Coaches have to design their plays around each game’s limitations. That’s what makes them beautiful.
DCI giving in to the BOA prop arms race has been super disappointing for me to watch. That’s not innovation, that’s just claiming freebie GE points because you weren’t a good enough designer to get them the real way. I get why it’s done — it’s an easier, more reliable way of securing GE points. That doesn’t make it more impressive, though, and at the end of the day, that’s what I want out of a DCI show. To be impressed.
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I marched for drum corps for 4 summers and for two of them I had drum majors that had previously marched and for two of them I had drum majors that had just auditioned for the role.
From that experience, personally, I heavily prefer a drum major that is a vet. The drum majors that had never marched never seemed to fully understand what it was like to rehearse as a performer and sometimes even seemed to believe they were the highlight of the show.
I know plenty of excellent drum majors have never marched before, but I just always found it easier to identify with (and even approach) a vet-turned-DM.
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Well at the university I attended, sororities had a similar problem. The less popular sororities complained that the more popular sororities were offering callbacks to too many girls, and in the process hurting their chances of recruiting those women themselves.
The compromise/solution was that the more popular a sorority was during recruitment, the fewer women they could offer call backs to. This worked because the popular groups were less likely to have girls quit if they were offered a spot.
Though not perfect, I think this system could work for DCI. Corps could be asked to put a cap on callbacks based on retention of members from previous year +finals placement from previous year.
Though...I imagine this would create a problem for the members auditioning at multiple corps 😉
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11 hours ago, Brian Tuma said:
I think he was being sarcastic and referencing the Flomarching commentator who said something to the effect that all male corps could be pushed harder.
9 hours ago, kkrepps said:Because...you know...the entire color guard will want to take time off to go shopping or watch "The Notebook" or something.
Yes, as Brian mentioned I was channeling the Flo commentator as a joke:
The commentator (who was later fired), said during the Eastern Classic that as an all male corps, the Cavaliers have something up their sleeve for finals week because the fact that they're all male means the staff can push them harder than normal.
I hate when people ruin the joke by not getting it...now I hate that I'm one of those people
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4 hours ago, kkrepps said:
Big tactical error for the Crossmen, because when they get towards the end the season then the staff can't push them harder than normal.
Why can’t they push them harder?
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I predict a BD soprano player from 1984 will chime in and tell us BD has no need to change their consistent staff formula.
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Good luck tonight Regiment. SUTA
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This never gets mentioned but the book that Michael Klesch wrote for Phantom Regiment in 2001 was quite good,
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How much would $1,000,000 buy in today's drum corps world though?
It would do wonders for a small corps but it sounds like the big corps spend almost that much on a tour each summer. Starting up (without the sponsorships) would probably make things even costlier.
But I would be happy to be proven wrong if it meant Star would return.
Phantom Regiment 2024
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted
Sounds like what Shaw did when he arranged for Regiment before he left for SCV. The corps slowly built from 2002 to 2008 - placing higher almost every year.