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Dave: Thanks for the validation! Sometimes I think people don't believe me when I talk about this stuff, because its far more fun to blame DCI for everything! It is a reality that starting any company is tough... and starting a conventional not-for-profit in which you must be satisfied with "incremental success" on every front is even tougher. To be honest, when the Jersey Surf started, we never thought much past the first few years. We had a realistic one year plan, and a somewhat optimistic three year plan... and we even created a five year plan because someone told us it would be a good idea; that those looking to get involved with us as sponsors or housing sites or instructors would need to see the vision for where it was headed, the time line and the benchmarks for measuring our success. Based on the experience we've gained over twenty years and knowing what we now know, we can see how naive we were! In hindsight, I guess we should be glad we were so focused on creating something sustainable... or else we would have gone the way of the 173 junior corps that have gone out of business since we started. It is my personal opinion that the demise of many of these groups is due to their desire to focus too much on the "on-the-field" side of the equation, while not devoting enough resource and brainpower to the other 300 days in the year. The temptation to throw everything into the on-field product in a given season is tremendous... but if you buy into the current ideology that we're entering the "experience economy," a recalibration of thinking on what the "customers" (corps members) are receiving at the individual corps level perhaps puts start-up groups in a better position for sustainability than ever, if they're focused on getting "the journey" right and don't think and plan based solely on "the [competitive] destination." Perhaps it's time for the pendulum to swing in the other direction, and the best practices can be shared to cultivate growth in the number of units. There are quite a few folks who are currently working to create opportunities to that end.

Mike: The level of support provided to the corps is based largely on the needs/desires/situation of the corps applying for membership. Believe it or not, it has been my personal experience over the years that more than a few start-up groups feel that they "already have it all figured out," and are focused on things like how they can bypass the Open Class and evaluation process and jump directly in the deep end of the pool with World Class competition in year one of their existence. In other words, they don't really want to discuss "the boring stuff" like forming a corporation, raising money, getting liability insurance, raising money, recruiting a board of directors, recruiting corps members, raising money, establishing community roots, building–maintaining–motivating–retaining a volunteer base and infrastructure, etc. Besides the physical resources (such as the reference manual and other "best practices" documents, etc.), there are additional resources such as printed materials to use in corporate solicitation and as leave-behind literature when speaking with school administrators, band directors and generally uninitiated folks; there are video products such as the superb multi-purpose "sizzle reel" to explain the activity in a nutshell, a copy of which is located at www.dci.org/about, professionally printed presentation folders and other collateral materials and supplies, etc. Possibly the most valuable resource, however, is the formal and informal mentoring which takes place between the DCI office (including Dave Eddleman, the Open Class Coordinator) along with other corps managers, and the group seeking eventual membership. Once the new group has reached out to the DCI office, representatives are invited to attend meetings far in advance of their unit's initial appearance on the field of competition, and are given an opportunity to meet their colleagues who in most cases have already traveled the road of building a new program. There are numerous opportunities for direct contact, unfiltered questions and answers, and a wealth of information-sharing... all for the price of little more than an airline ticket or a day's drive, and a hotel room. There are many examples of well-intentioned, passionate folks attempting to start corps and focusing on the competitive success of their groups on the field, without giving a proportionate amount of thought and attention to the fact that they are, in fact, starting a demanding company which needs a well-defined, rational and realistic business plan and a pretty serious amount of due diligence in order to have a shot at success. I would expect that there will be even more attention paid to the needs of start-up groups in coming months, and additional resources are currently in development to this end. Stay tuned for additional information. Hope that provides a little insight. All my best, Bob

Whenever a prospective corps contacts the DCI office, they are immediately directed to someone who can help guide them to the start of the road which will eventually lead to the prospective corps entering the "Drum Corps International Participation Review" process. The reference manual is but one of the numerous resources offered to start-up groups. In the near future, it will be easier than ever to obtain information on starting a corps in your area. Stay tuned to DCI.org and the pages of DCP for additional information.

DCI has done this and is in the process of updating it. It's a substantial collection of more than 350 pages of resources, and it was made available once again to all of the Open Class directors at the recent Las Vegas meeting.

This is the third year that the U.S. Army All-American Marching Band has afforded commensurate honors to deserving color guard members. It's far from a "joke."

A Point to consider: One of our most cherished and proud notions is that we are most assuredly NOT marching bands. The length of this particular thread serves to underscore the passionate discourse on the very topic. Long before I got involved with trying to assist the marketing efforts of Drum Corps International, I would imagine that I spent several thousand hours teaching my parents, family members, business colleagues and associates and friends all of the reasons why they shouldn't ask me "how the band is doing" whenever they ran into me at the office, in public or when I was attending a family event. One of the biggest challenges we have in marketing "Drum Corps: The Activity" is trying to explain what it is... and more specifically, all of the ways that it is NOT marching band. This begs the question: besides those of us who are a part of this secret society, "Who really cares?" We know the differences... and if we can get our prospective guests to check it out, soon they will too. But, do we really need to front-load the conversations pounding this stuff into the heads of everyone with whom we come into contact? Perhaps – and I need you to have an open mind here for a second, dear Mr./Ms. Passionate Fellow Drum Corps Enthusiast – we could make some progress in "spreading the good word" if we could drop all of the "World's Most Elite and Exclusive Marching Music Ensembles for Student Musicians and Performers" stuff and cut to the chase: Drum Corps International – The World's Best Marching Bands. Heresy, you say? I beg your indulgence in an attempt to understand my unique point of view... When we work to refine our "elevator pitch" to the imaginary millionaire who may just be willing to help fund us if we can explain what we are in the time it takes to get from the penthouse to the lobby, (or more realistically, to the not-so-imaginary corporate sponsor to whom we are making the Power Point-enhanced pitch for a partnership in success in fifteen minutes or less), it gets REALLY tough to explain all of the i-before-e-except-after-c rules that are related to "no woodwinds or trombones and our tubas aren't sousaphones and the french horn must be bell-forward and is therefore replaced by a mellophone" blah blah blah. Most people don't have the "mindspace" for all of that extra information... especially on our brisk elevator ride as it nears the ground floor. Most "civilians" could care less. Really! I contend, however, that most people DO have the mindspace to understand what "World's Best" means and they certainly know what a marching band is. They can get excited about knowing someone who knows something about the World's Best something-or-other... especially if they had never considered such a thing existed until they met you! I further contend that if we can get past the semantics, enable them to feed off of our passion and to experience for themselves the power, the precision, the grace and the athleticism which are the hallmarks of our "shared addiction," we may actually be able to enter a new period of growth by getting folks excited rather than intimidating them by a bunch of "rules" about what they can and can't call us, or by boring them to sleep with details that they find may just find trivial at best. Therefore... I propose that perhaps we only use the "drum corps is not a marching band" mantra as we give each other the knowing glance with a wink and the secret handshake, since we've already been successfully transformed into the ranks of the "enlightened;" and proudly use the "World's Best Marching Bands" philosophy as the sneaky bait in public to lure our unsuspecting neighbors into our lair (otherwise known as the ubiquitous "Stadium Near You"). When I take out of town guests to South Philly, I tell them not to worry about getting yelled at when they order a cheesesteak from one of the famous streetcorner sandwich joints. If they want a classic Philly cheesesteak with onions, all they need to remember when they get up to the window is "Whiz, with." If only it could be so easy getting my friends to understand how to make polite conversation about where I spend my summers... but I think I've made them paranoid from years of telling them what we're not.

Great response. I know this may have been trotted out to the point of ridiculousness in situations like this, but for the sake of this specific discussion, here's people's exhibit A: John Cage 4'33" Is it music? Is it effective? This begs the question (and probably a new thread): Does drum corps have any obligation to be anything other than "entertaining?"

It's important to note a few things: – When an OC corps competes at a "mixed" show along with WC corps, the OC corps get a paycheck. – The OC directors decided years ago to (A) stop paying each other's corps at corps-sponsored shows, and to (B) eliminate the "corps pay" component of the contract for non-corps-sponsored events. At the time, our thinking was that having to interrupt our often-fragile cash flow to pay the corps to come to our shows was silly when we'd only be getting our money back from the same corps anyway. (Of course, this only works if everyone hosts a show and the "round-robin" approach is executed by all participants expecting a payday). The elimination of the corps pay from the contract was done to drive the price of the shows considerably lower as an enticement to band parents' and other civic groups to host shows to assist us in "connecting the dots" as the Open Class tour moved toward the World Championships. We felt that getting the shows and a night or two of free housing was more important to growing the tour than a very small paycheck. Further, we hoped that the money the Tour Event Partner would be saving on the contract would at least in part be used for advertising... and with a larger potential audience came the increased opportunity to sell souvenirs AND give the corps members a better experience by having more folks cheering them on.

Making that choice depends on a few things, such as: – How you define "exposure" – How well marketed the show is, regardless of competitive lineup – Opportunity for the corps to have a high-quality and positive experience – Geography (as in: is this a tried and true drum corps region, or will the show be attended by mostly new fans?) – Future possibilities for greatly exaggerated stories on the back of the staff bus If, for the sake of this discussion, we're going to define "exposure" as the opportunity to perform in our region in front of prospective future members (which has often been a consideration as the Surf program has grown throughout the years), it may sometimes be prudent to go on early in a show even if the show has an OC-only lineup. The rationale there is that uninitiated audience members haven't yet been jaded into believing that "they save the best for last," and are usually more responsive while they're fresh and fired-up. If the corps was going to be performing in a locale where there was a long-established audience base, such as Allentown for example, the "traditions" are also well-rooted, and many folks are still in the park or walking from their cars when those of us on the "Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave" tour are getting ready to start. [A similar thought holds true for us with regard to recruiting in the forums of DCP. We don't look for members here as a general rule, since most of the people we'd be going after don't even know that DCP exists. Yet. ] We didn't have huge expectations when we took the field very early in Atlanta this year... but we were pleasantly surprised to see a very sizable crowd already seated in the audience when we came through the tunnel. This was true at several other tour stops as well. Who knows?... it may have been "The Evil Knievel Effect." Some folks got there early to see how well we did in our WC debut season, and others got there in time just in case we crashed and burned!

Dean: I haven't had too much exposure to the Six Sigma system, but in general, I would say that I'm a student of "designing with the end in mind." I am committed to decision-making based on verifiable data, and I'm trying to help that process through some of these posts. Now I'm going to have to find a few extra hours to start learning about this stuff! The conversation on here tonight is quite fascinating to me. Thanks!

The key to member recruitment is member retention. So... not only must there be strong brand awareness, there must be a strong program to make kids want to stay... and bring their friends the following season. DCI is a marketing organization and an event management organization... it does not, however, control the operations of the groups of which it is comprised. We can produce slick videos... equip the corps with beautiful collateral marketing materials... but if you think about it, the bulk of the responsibility for making the drum corps experience attractive to a prospective member has little to do with the folks in the Indianapolis HQ. I offer another point to consider, particularly as it relates to growing an Open Class corps. I should be clear: by "growing," I don't necessarily mean making the program bigger. I mean growing by every measure... quality of experience, retention of members, recruitment of volunteers... all of the "leading indicators" plus a few more. Consider this variation on your sentences above: "The problem is that so much of our model is focused on competition, rather than being everywhere else BUT competition, so I don't think enough care and attention goes into instilling in each corps the need to be a great youth organization first, and a highly competitive one second. Maybe if we can start to reverse this trend, we'll see some of the indicators moving in the other direction, i.e. more membership, more corps, more donations, more volunteers..." Let's not get too crazy: competition undoubtedly drives the excellence that we enjoy as a hallmark of the drum corps experience. So many folks, however, get blinded by the need to score points on the field, they don't stop to build a strong foundation that transcends rules changes, trends, and all of the other trappings on the performance-side of "the activity." It has been my experience that many folks starting drum corps don't want to talk about any of this sort of stuff... because they often seem to believe that instant competitive success is the key to strong recruitment. I've included this in several presentations, and I believe it: build it and they will come... but build it RIGHT and they will stay... and they'll bring their friends. Member retention is the key to member recruitment. Make the experience great, and the drum corps will be great. It just takes patience and "purity of purpose."

There's a book that was recommended to me by a mentor a few years ago when I was lamenting the same types of statistics. It was truly enlightening. Check it out here. The parallels are interesting, to say the least. There is considerable debate published within the forums of Drum Corps Planet outlining the "DCI killed drum corps" vs. "DCI is drum corps" arguments. I don't wish to add to that pile tonight. One thing that I don't think can be debated: Over the course of DCI's history, the world has changed considerably.

Hmmm... I must say that I've never heard of such a rule or gentleman's agreement... there have been many years that we've performed as an Open Class corps in multiple shows in New Jersey.

I can't really speak to the intricacies of the scheduling process because I'm not involved in the details of how it works. I know that it's a massive undertaking and that there are many, many factors and elements to juggle as things are being taken into consideration and as the framework of the tour is established. Some of them are: – Safety of the corps (mileage between shows) – Corps travel plan (connecting the dots, and getting the corps to "must do" events... such as "home shows," etc.) – Wishes of the Tour Event Partner (contract limits, honoring requests to the degree possible, etc.) – Balance within the lineup of an individual event – Fairness in the distribution of shows – Housing considerations – Prior experience with a given event and so on... I know from our experience in the Open Class that toward the end of the season, the Open Class-specific shows were established to give corps the opportunity to perform together with the adjudicatory pool from which the championships-week panels would be selected. There was a period of time years ago when corps were getting what some would say were a considerable number of "first reads" during championships week... somewhat unavoidable at the time due to geographic considerations, regional tour schedules, individual corps travel plans, etc. By creating Open Class-only shows, it became more feasible to minimize the "first read" situation and give corps an opportunity for meaningful critiques as they were preparing for the World Championship events. Plus, the head-to-head competition helped to create buzz and provide great opportunities for social interaction between corps members of different regions. As the director of the Jersey Surf, I can tell you that we're asked to submit our "wish list" once the first very rough draft of the schedule is published in the fall. As show dates start to firm-up, there is dialogue between the corps and the folks that handle the scheduling process, advising of shifts in location or in a sequence of shows, additions/deletions to the schedule or whatever. Sometimes, you get the shows you hope to get... sometimes there are more corps requesting a specific show than a Tour Event Partner is able to accommodate. Some corps wish to compete as many times as they can, while others are more interested in specific shows for recruitment or other purposes. In our situation, for example, it makes sense for us to participate in July 4th parades in and around the Philadelphia area because they're great fund-raisers and they help to increase our visibility in our home market. When we're requesting shows prior to and immediately following July 4th, we share this information with the scheduling folks so that our desire to "be home" for this important fund-raising day are factored into the schedule. This is just one tiny aspect of many involved in the creation of the schedule. It has been our experience that the folks at DCI who are responsible for managing the schedule do an excellent job with a task that can be described as "incredibly challenging." It is important to note, however, that the schedule is not "handed down from on high." It really is a give-and-take process... and by its very nature, I feel that this process provides a great incentive for Open Class corps in particular to improve their "acts" every season. The more appealing the corps, the more "in-demand" they may find themselves... which is great for everyone.

Perhaps we can get a new forum created... the "Fireside Chat" forum... complete with "no-spin" facts and do-it-yourself rumor debunking kits. One of the challenges with life inside a "fan forum," for sure. But... the good news is that there is passion. From that comes the opportunity to achieve great things. Whether or not we're able to maximize that opportunity is another story altogether. There is little doubt that some of the most passionate – and vocal fans – are "regulars" at this establishment. I used to take the stick- and stone-throwing a lot more personally, until I started reading other fan forums for a variety of activities which also possess passionate, vocal and engaged followings. Sometimes I laugh when I realize how crazy this must look to "outsiders" or "civilians" who stumble upon our "World" one way or another. In this forum, I endeavor to share some insights... to help beat down some of the misconceptions by giving folks as much of a dose of the truth as I can. I really try hard not to inject too many of my own personal opinions here for several reasons... but when I do share my opinions, I go out of my way to make sure that they're labeled as such. My motivation is simple: I want to be part of the solution, and not a part of the problem.

Old School... I've gotta tell ya that you're a riot, dude. Here's the big secret of the day: WC corps can make more money doing 4th of July parades than WC shows. I don't think it's asinine... I think it's FORTUNATE! That's why my corps does (at least) 3 of them every July 4th!

The operative may have taken "his" corps to WC, but the operative ain't necessarily going anywhere, in terms of supporting the efforts of the OC... particularly in trying to find answers to the marketing challenges addressing the unique needs of the OC while trying to help support the mission of the whole shootin' match as well. I can tell you first-hand that the marketing efforts of Drum Corps International are designed to promote ALL of the corps of Drum Corps International. Yes, it's sometimes difficult to explain the differences in the i-before-e-except-after-c world of what constitutes a World Class corps vs. an Open Class corps... but we do think globally as we craft our message. I've been a part of the OC for quite a while... and I can provide some background perspective that few others can, based on how long I've been sitting in the room taking it all in. There is a tremendous amount of passion for promoting OC by many folks... but what does that really mean? How much "promotion" is enough promotion, and how do we craft a strategic message and supporting tactics that will position the Open Class corps in such a way as to celebrate the diversity across the division without confusing the message? [Just for the record, it's 1:48 in the morning as I write this, and I would still be thinking about this kind of stuff tonight even if I wasn't writing this. I'm obsessed with it, and I'm not the only one thinking about it by any means]. How do we address the challenge of many companies: trying to put forth a visionary marketing plan without having a lot of cash to really achieve some sort of meaningful penetration? For example: The cost of designing, printing and mailing a simple post card mailing can run into the thousands of dollars once we start really opening up the mailing list to be all-inclusive... and will a post card cut through the clutter of a band director's desk to motivate him to engage his or her students to attend a show or participate in a corps this fall? How many times do we need to mail that post card to the same address before it gets noticed? Can we afford to do multiple mailings? How can we bypass the director and speak directly to the students? Should we even be trying to go down that road? Perhaps we produce a glossy magazine several times a year and distribute them into more than 60,000 classrooms in the US, three times a year? [pssst: we do] Perhaps we advertise in other music education publications where band directors are likely to read and understand our message? [we do this, too!] Perhaps printing a descriptive bulletin board poster will do the trick? At a cost of over two dollars to print and mail, how many can be sent out and what effect will they have? What do we want the recipient to do when they get it? Get kids to join? Attend a show or a workshop? What if when they arrive at the show, they're expecting a big, loud drum corps that they've seen on the DVD but are met with a smaller, younger, somewhat quieter cousin? [we print posters... we find folks to help fund them... they're great... but they're expensive] Perhaps we should invest in creating a DVD specifically for music educators to use in the classroom, explaining the drum corps activity and sharing some of the tremendous personal success stories that have come from within our ranks? [we do this through our "Commitment to Excellence Program" for music educators] Perhaps we should invest in attending trade shows around the country and discuss ALL forms of drum corps with music educators? Perhaps we should engage in partnerships with other entities who share our commitment to providing outstanding opportunities for young people to achieve great things through involvement in marching music? [we do, and we do] Some seem to envision an iron fortress with three big iron letters riveted to the drawbridge: DCI. It's not. From a marketing standpoint, there are two ways of looking at it: 1. The DCI marketing department is made up of 1 full time person, 1 part-time consultant, 2 folks who have other responsibilities in addition to marketing, and a few seasonal interns. OR 2. The DCI marketing department is made up of tens of thousands of deputy evangelists, each of whom has the power to share the passion for drum corps and to prospective new fans in the process. It is a personal goal of mine to serve as an "agent of change" to be able to share information, truly for "the good of the order." I hope that folks will be able to use the information to assist with the effort of creating a new generation of drum corps fan, which will grow into a new generation of drum corps participants... which might just lead into a new generation of drum corps. But... this stuff takes patience... which is something often in short supply in these here parts. Go ahead... say it... "Patience? DCI has been a blight on the planet for 40 years now... yadda yadda." Ok, I get it. Let's move on. There are a few things you need to know about some of the back-story that has led to some of the thought processes you're witnessing today, relating to the Open Class: – We (the OC corps directors) decided years ago that it was better to move the World Championships later in the week, rather than having our season end in an empty stadium on Tuesday or Wednesday night. This was most certainly NOT forced on us by the World Class nor by the DCI office. The rationale behind the decision was (and is, presumably) several-fold. In no specific order: a. consolidating to later in the week saves additional days of stadium rental, enabling us to come closer to covering the expenses of staging an OC Championship since some of our costs would be absorbed into the existing event budget. b. the audience – including many of the parents of participating OC corps members – had (and have) an easier time taking off a few days to make for a long weekend than they do/did taking off the additional days earlier in the week to attend a Tuesday or Wednesday finals. We knew that not everyone who would already be in town would be attending our championship... but we knew that our chances of getting die-hard drum corps fans to come see us was markedly better on Saturday than it was at any other point in the week. c. With the competitive season previously ending on Tuesday or Wednesday, corps' supervisory resources were stretched thin as there was no longer a reason for rehearsal, and as such, many instructors returned home to start band camps, etc. This translated to having to keep corps members engaged in something positive – yet inexpensive from a sightseeing standpoint – for four more days until finals was over and the trip home could begin. Some corps opted to leave as soon as competition ended, but disappointed corps members in many of these units wanted to stay to see the WC finals... putting the corps in a difficult situation, as they didn't want their members to feel that they were missing out. d. we liked the concept of having all of the champions crowned on the same day. e. we put an end to the tradition of competing at WC Quarterfinals because we had fought long and hard to have our own adjudication standards. We didn't see the logic in aspiring to a level of achievement that would not recognize excellence within the Open Class. Without a long dissertation on the intricacies of judging, we wanted to reward the very best of the Open Class based on standards which we developed in a partnership with the adjudication community, using educational language that gave all of the corps in the OC what we felt to be a blueprint for success. This was our decision, and we were thrilled that finally our best corps would end the season in our own "Box 5" and our least experienced corps would go home with a score and judge commentary that would give them a great starting point for the following season. Footnote: the Madison Wednesday night phenomenon was a one-shot deal. The "Opening Ceremonies" which were held that year, were designed (if my memory serves me correctly) to replace what had traditionally been the parade around the capital which was pre-empted that year due to some sort of logistics issue (construction or some such thing). The audience that resulted in having a Wednesday night event, coupled with thousands of free tickets distributed into the neighborhood, was something that was an incredibly happy surprise. I'll never forget the look on corps members' faces as we turned the corner (before it was filled with a new building) and walked down the "tunnel" driveway onto the field... looking up at a virtual wall of people. The logistics and expense involved in staging a Wednesday night event in subsequent years in other cities caused the one-shot deal to remain just that. Enough for tonight. Seriously, here's the deal: from this point out, before picking up the rock or molotov cocktail to hurl in the direction of the marketing office, send me an e-mail with your question or concern. I'll do my best to get back to you as quickly as I can... or I'll be happy to post stuff here for everyone to see. Although some of the statements on this board are really entertaining to read, too many of them of late are nothing more than total fabrications. I'm pledging to do my part to be the SNOPES.com of as many of these pieces of folklore as possible. The drum corps activity has enough challenges these days. Having to constantly defend half-truths, rumors and outright fabrications is a drain on the already overtaxed resources. I know some may not want the truth to get in the way of a good rant... but I'd rather harness the passion in a different direction. Seeya on the 50.

This is patently false.

Dean, I would like to respond to you publicly as both a part of the marketing effort at DCI and as a long-time Open Class corps director of a unit that recently made a transition from the Open Class to the World Class. I, too, want the Open Class Division to be successful and to grow. I don't know ANY OC Corps Directors who "could care less" about the Open Class Div. I know MANY OC Corps Directors who have their hands full, volunteering (in nearly every case) to keep their corps alive, to keep recruiting members, to keep developing staff and to continue to raise the funds necessary to pay the bills for insurance, fuel, food, uniforms, equipment and all else. I don't know any corps directors still active in the game today whose only concern is passing the WC evaluation... and I've been around the Open Class Division for many years. I think there is a direction and a vision in the Open Class Division and that under the stewardship of coordinator Dave Eddleman and the passionate corps directors who help to steer the ship, the Open Class will continue to improve the opportunities for the corps operating in this division. I would like to also respond to your suggestion about the Food Network: We have been working through various means to collaborate with the Food Network for several seasons on several different projects. One of the roadblocks to our ability to forge ahead with something very cool is the fact that very few of the corps rolling kitchens would actually look good on television and pass muster on a number of required fronts. We'll keep working on this, however, and we'll be sure to save you an apron and a spatula once we hit pay dirt.

The reality is actually this: sponsors aren't making donations to DCI... they're making advertising investments. Advertising investments are generally based on "cost per thousand impressions." Simply stated, DCI's combined audience doesn't generate enough impressions to excite the "major consumer goods" companies with their "colossal advertising budgets." That is where a little creative thinking comes into play. There is no lack of direction and vision, nor is there a lack of expertise... just a lack of resources. At the end of the day, DCI is still an association of non-profit groups, and is charged with making things happen with more brainpower than spending power. If Mr. France would like to stop by and lend a hand, we'd love to have a chance to put him to work on our behalf.

Wow! So many people have sent me e-mails about this thread, that I figured I should probably read it. I want to thank everyone who has shared their thoughts in the past few weeks, in this forum, and to us privately... regarding our corps, our touring model, our business plan and our vision for the future of our organization. I'd also like to share a few thoughts to enable folks to better understand the view from our side of the street. To cut to the chase, drum corps competition is not our only organizational goal. As a matter of fact, in some ways for us it's a means to an end. We understand and embrace the fact that the competitive aspect of the drum corps art form is what drives its achievement of excellence. While we certainly endeavor to design a program that will give the corps an opportunity to be competitive with the world's elite marching music ensembles, the scores, caption awards and results on the final day of the season are most certainly NOT the primary reason for our existence. We have realistic expectations for what we can achieve each year within this format, and we are very open about these expectations in our discussions with the corps members. In fact, the corps members help to establish these expectations and define the metrics that will be used to assess our progress throughout the journey each year. If we had more of a competitive focus, perhaps we would recruit our members differently, tour for the entire summer, raise more money, spend more money... and we'd figure out how to make the full tour work for us. Our primary focus, however, is to provide an opportunity for participation in a professionally-run organization, with great instruction and all of the trappings of the modern-day drum corps experience in an ALTERNATIVE format, whereby marching members, instructional staff and volunteers can also take part in summer classes, summer employment, college visitations, family vacations, etc. By and large, prospective members join the Jersey Surf because we provide this alternative format. Some wish to "learn the ropes" so they can eventually fulfill their dreams of becoming a part of a full-time-touring corps. Others are in situations where the ability to work through May and June as well as the two weeks we are home in July are essential to their ability to pay for school, etc. We don't feel that we are depriving the corps members of anything, since we are quite transparent in what we're offering. We believe very strongly in this format, and we are committed to continuing our efforts to refine our operation and continue on the path of serving Jersey Surf members with a program that continues to grow and thrive. - We have winter camps once a month. - We rehearse every weekend in May and June in lieu of a lengthier "Spring Training" - We have one week of every day rehearsals prior to our "first tour." Combined, this accounts for about 18 days on the road together at the start of the season. - We usually have two weeks "off" in July. Corps members, staff and volunteers return home, rehearsing only on weekends during that time. - Our "second tour" lasts about 3 weeks, and runs from the last week of July through the World Championships. I'm sure that some may find that to be a cop-out or a rationalization for our competitive placement. Obviously, we disagree with that assessment. Some drum corps fans, as indicated in some of the notes we've received, seem to find our thought process to be in some way a self-righteous editorial on the approach taken by other drum corps. I can assure you that this is not the case. We have nothing but respect for those with whom we share the field, and appreciate the tremendous challenges that each corps must surpass in order to provide their members with a World Class experience in keeping with each group's mission statement. We simply focus on making our program better each year in every measurable way, and to living up to our own high expectations. If there is some day a new division of some sort for corps who don't tour for the full summer, we'd be happy to jump in there. Under the current divisional setup of Drum Corps International, we feel that participation in the World Class provides us with the best opportunity to serve our members in a dynamic environment promoting their growth as individuals and ours as an organization. Our application to the Drum Corps International participation committee and our subsequent decision to move into the World Class was the next logical step for the growth of our organization. We've enjoyed immensely our sixteen years of participation in the Division II/Open Class setting, and we hope to continue to work with Dave Eddleman and the fine people who lead the corps of the Open Class, to help new corps to pour a strong foundation for their success and to learn from the many mistakes we've made throughout the years. In closing, I'd like to once again thank all of those who have taken the time to write to us. It's quite flattering that so many passionate people are engaged in the drum corps activity and are willing to share their thoughts so openly with us. We appreciate the support and the criticism, and we look forward to continuing to work hard to create opportunities for participation in this great activity for some who may not be able to enjoy its benefits otherwise. We hope to see you in Indianapolis. Regardless of which day brings an end to our season, it's been a fantastic one for all of us. We hope you'll have the chance to share the excitement with us. Warmest regards, Bob

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Jeff, the licensing fees on all of the recordings since 72 would likely be far in excess of the amount of revenue that would be generated through the sale of the downloads.

Thanks, Tom. The response in just over 24 hours has been pretty incredible. We're looking forward to "sharing the love" and a few pretty sizable collections of some really interesting stuff, as soon as we can organize the group and inventory all that's out there. Please feel free to drop us a note if you're interested in helping the effort... regardless of background, experience or affiliation, we're really looking forward to bringing together a bunch of folks who share a love for the drum corps activity. It's going to be a lot of fun... and a labor of love. All the best, Bob

Although I don't frequent DCP very much these days, I'd like to answer your question, since it was brought to my attention this afternoon. As we were completing our evaluation for World Class status, the Jersey Surf discussed with Drum Corps International that we would not be participating in the Texas portion of the tour in 2009. Rather than sitting at home rehearsing or performing in some other form of non-competitive opportunity, we offered to continue to run an Open Class show as we have in the past, to keep the Open Class corps on the east coast working that weekend and to give the Surf the opportunity to shine in exhibition in its own backyard. It is our hope in the future that we are able to add trips to the southwestern- and western United States (and beyond), while still following our program's format. What everyone needs to understand is that our business model has been established, and continues to be refined, to provide a high-quality alternative to the full-time summer tour. We fully understand that our decision to participate in the World Class while remaining "less than full time" with regard to the tour could potentially put us at some sort of a competitive disadvantage. Our business decisions are made, however, on factors which have far less to do with competitive outcome of drum corps shows and far more to do with offering a program of the highest possible quality which enables the greatest number of people to participate while living within our means and our mission. Yes, we want to be a great and competitive drum corps for eight weeks every year, but we want to be one of the best in the world at what we do for the other 44 as well. I'd be more than happy to discuss this with anyone and everyone who cares to learn more. Please feel free to PM or e-mail me at any time. Warmest regards and Happy Holidays! Bob