paparazzi

The easiest solution for a niche event like this that has a widespread audience is to do a Web cast. Video compression has taken great strides in the past few years and now broadband is a relatively common in the household. A live mix is already being done for the multi-camera set-up and can be streamed via the net. The downside of course is that it won't be broadcast quality, but that does help to protect DVD sales for those that want a high quality version of the shows for themselves. I'm also sure there are copyright issues that need to be addressed, but the overall budget would be far lower than going "on-air". And since it is Web based, there are advertising opportunities that can help defer costs.

First off, before I go on I want to acknowledge that I think all of the kids are extremely talented and are doing their best to live up to the traditions of thier respective corps. So what I have to say is not targeted at them. These are also my personal observations and do not reflect the views or opinions of any drum corps organizations I have been involved with. (Uh-oh, you can see where this is going....) Now for the review part. I don't get it, I just don't get it. At what point are these shows supposed to be entertaining? Technically, I saw some great marching and playing out on the field, but the shows are so annoyingly dull that it's all lost on me. For example, musically, the Blue Knights show sounded like the same thing over and over. No distinction between the begining and end, just on and on and on. I checked out a couple minutes into the show. Now when Blue Devils came on, I was ready to shake it off. As a BD alumni, I look forward to their show every year, and I really want to like them, I really do. Some years are easier than others, but this year, sorry, just can't do it. Now I have nothing but respect for the BD staff, so it pains me to say it, but this show was just plain vanilla, blah, even dull. Simple Godfather themes repeated over and over just doesn't give these kids a chance to shine. Even SCV was swinging harder than BD this year, and that's just not right. Thank heavens for SCV and their opener, so it's still OK to open the show with energy and blow back the stands a little? The judges must hate that, not artistic enough I'm sure. So they were definitely my favorite of the night, but still not enough to really get me out of my seat. Now if we were going to have a symphonic band concert in the fall, I would probably have enjoyed this more. But it's summer and I want to have fun and have my face blown back and yes, gosh darn it, be entertained. Guess that's not allowed anymore. Too bad, because the talent, drive and commitment of the kids is a constant. I'm sad that for a corps to be competitive, the shows have to live up to some pretentious, homogenous standard that has sucked the very life out of this great activity. Some of us still remember a time when every corps/region had a distinct personality, now you could swap uniforms and do the shows and no one would know the difference. Well almost. As SCV prepared to enter the field, you knew exactly who they were. The way they carry themselves, their styly of walking, the very presence they bring, well I don't care what year it is, they lived up to their very proud tradition. They should feel really good about that. Now I'm sure there are going to be many that disagree with me on this. Fine, if you can be entertained by these shows, good on ya mate. My point is, can't modern drum corps incorporate a little of what made it great in the first place (hype, energy, incredible musical/show moments, personality) and still be successful? Guess I'll just have to get my fix at a DCA show. Sorry for the rant, but I know my feelings are shared by some other drum corps fans that were there with me. So what was the best drum corps moment of the evening? Listening to the 1975 DCI finals on the way home.

I think the answer is, go to a DCA show then decide for yourself. Seeing my first DCA show made me believe in drum corps again. It's similar to the discussion about the DCI Classic Showdown where some think the old 70's and 80's corps are boring and the modern "art form" is the bee knees. While I personally can understand the talent, musicianship and skill it takes to describe the death of Medea in mezzo forte, I'd rather get my face blown back by the '72 Kingsman. But hey, the kids were laughing at the old school and digging dancing horn lines, so it's too subjective to say which is best.

I'm looking for some used G baritones in decent condition. Please let me know if you can help with my quest. Thanks!

I all taken care of. Thanks!

Thanks for the info guys, it's great to have such excellent suppirt from the DCA community!

Hot City would like to be able to play at some of the local sporting venues to raise $$$ and we need a drum corps arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner. Does such a thing exist?

Is the Contra still available? Please pm me, thanks.

Thanks for all of the great ideas, just the kind of thing we're looking for. Basically, we're trying to find a way to fund the purchase of horns, especially contras and baris. As these are big ticket items, does anyone have thoughts on sponsorships or corporate support? We're also a mini corps, so we don't have a lot of members (yet!).

Done! To quote Lee Rudnicki, Tanks, Tanks you berry much!

I think I'd get an overwhelming nodding of heads if I said that raising money is one of the top critical issues for starting and maintaining a drum corps, no matter what its size. I'd like to start a string here to discuss what fund raising programs are working and which ones tanked. Where can a new corps go to find funds? What activities have a good return for the amount of time invested? Are there grants available? Is there a good way to go about getting corporate support? What volunteer activities are worth looking into? I like to respectfully request that everyone who posts here keeps this on topic so it can serve as a resource for us all. A best practices for any Sr./Mini/All Age corps looking to make it financially. OK, this is important, so lets get started and keep focused. Thanks!

Hi there, I'm looking for the music for the version of America used with massed horn lines (we wanna play too!). The thing is, I'm looking for both the G and Bb parts so our mixed line can play without sounding like a modern music ensemble. If anyone can help with this, we'd sure appreciate it. We have rehearsal this weekend and I'd like to get our hornline working on it. And yes, we know a mixed horn line isn't the optimum thing, but at least we're playing and having a good time. We're pretty much at the point if you can blow through it and it makes noise, use it. And, if you're in the Phoenix area and can play a horn, we want you! Check out our site at www.hot-city.org. We now have our core corps, and things are moving forward, but we still need more horns, especially bari's. Thanks Your friendly neighborhood Paparazzi

Never thought this thread would go this far, so ding, ding, ding, we're at 300 posts!

At the risk of doing a little shameless promotion, if you're interested in seeing a sample of the type of video Mighty Joe describes, you should check out the 2004 documentary I did for the Renegades. It chronicles the corps from the open house through the pre-season, the trip to DCM, and finally on to DCA. This is a very behind the scenes look at the Renegades and I think much of it tells the story of any drum corps. 2004 was a year of ups and downs, where the corps had to answer for themselves what the true nature of winning is. A good piece to share with your spouse or friends who don't quite understand why you spend so much time with the your respective corps. If you have seen it, I'd sure like to hear what you thought of it (good and bad). Having done this on less than a shoestring budget (a labor of love really), one of the biggest issues with the whole video thing is budgets, or lack thereof. To be broadcast quality is a big ticket item, and at the end of the day, there has to be a compelling return on invesment for the funders. Until that happens, I think we're looking at the status quo. There are other ways of telling the story of what you do and why you do it. I agree with anyone here who says the key to success is getting personal. I'd be interested in exploring some of the possibilities with interested parties offline, especially those of you who have previous media experience. In the meantime, support your corps (and your other favorites) by buying videos. The only way for those of us who'd like to see the quality of video improve is to have the resources, money and management buy-in to do it right. And that my friends is a result of demand and proven sales.

So how does one go about learning more about MCA? What's the deal?