Blah.

[karl E. Hungus]

The "massive volume of posts" are but a tiny fragment of the total fan base of drum corps past and present...and many of those posts come from the same small cadre of people.

your correct... wayback, do you believe that CO2 emissions cause global warming as well?

[zentropa]

While I have personally enjoyed this season more than any in recent years, I totally understand where LoveKathyG is coming from.

As restrictions are lifted you will see more and more of our traditions going by the wayside, that sucks.

In honesty we can't even call them Drum and Bugle Corps anymore, which should have been enough to tell us that it's gone too far.

If too much is allowed, Drum Corps will begin to look more like a Super Bowl half time show, I think she's right about that.

To many traditional drum corps fans this idea is sickening and I think some of us fear that.

But then again, change is good sometimes. I can remember when the new judging system was introduced, we all hated it. We really HATED it!

But in the end, it pushed DC to innovate and it was easily one of the best things for the activity.

I have come to accept is that DC no longer belongs to me, it belongs to a new generation. It's theirs to do with what they may.

The rest of us can either sit in the stands and applaud or not.

[Matt_S]

I've been around awhile, & I agree that corps still has a lot to offer. However, I think it's ridiculous to read the massive volume of posts re "the problem with drum corps" & think that there's no problem. To then attack anyone who expresses that opinion (telling them, in essence, "you shouldn't say that on my board - that's not what it's for") is kinda childish; like holding your hands over your ears.

I could make a massive volume of posts decrying the problem of shows in the 70's and 80's being boring. With a few exceptions, that's certainly how I feel. It's been a slow climb in entertainment starting with the late 80's to get to the shows of the past five/ten years, which is what I really enjoy.

If I started making those posts, would you take that as proof that there was a problem with drum corps in the 70's and 80's? Or do you prefer just to give credence to those posts that back up how you feel.

[George]

Yes, George, we're all well aware that you created DCP.

I was/am the project lead and director of a 15 million dollar data center project. However, I don't pepper my conversation with that fact each time someone disagrees with me on an IT issue

Dude - you were trying to inform US "why DCP was created"

As creator I have the right / obligation to correct that

My or your "job in the real world" has nothing to do with anything.

DCP was - in fact - created to discuss *todays* activity and get away from the constant bashing of RAMD re: "how today sucks vs yesterday"

Discussion is great. But coming on a site - registering - and then coming right back to state to all "I'm done with it - it's not drum corps anymore" is much more what was wrong with RAMD than what is right about DCP.

Edited August 7, 2007 by George

[ScribeToo]

As restrictions are lifted you will see more and more of our traditions going by the wayside, that sucks.

Just remember that every tradition we hold near and dear to our hearts was, at one time or another, a radical new idea that probably stomped all over somebody else's dearly held tradition.

DC no longer belongs to me, it belongs to a new generation. It's theirs to do with what they may.

The rest of us can either sit in the stands and applaud or not.

Best.statement.ever.

Stef

[bawker]

It isn't constructive. DCP was meant to be constructive debate.

Fair enough....but the OP isn't just a troll who hates everything. There's a measure of sarcasm in the post to be sure, but there's some obvious points that they still care about the activity, else they wouldn't have stuck around this long, or posted their thoughts.

Furthermore, if we're just here to discuss "todays product"...how exactly do we do that without using previous years/successes as a barometer? Barry Bonds still gets compared to Hank Aaron for better or worse...can we really expect people from generations ago to not do the same with what they see on the field?

I suppose I was unclear on certain things about the founding of DCP...and it seems I ascribed certain things to it that weren't there to hear the story told now.

...but, then again, if drum corps can evolve, there's no reason DCP can't either. B)

[JimF-LowBari]

Well you do know that because of the today's PCism, everything is now equal and good and you can't say anything bad, even if you're comparing them.

Great set up for a Monty Python sketch.....

Man (Eric Idle) and woman sitting a a table in a resturant.

Waiter (John Clease - who else): Would the gentleman like the lamb of the beef tonight?

Man: Hmmm, I'd prefer the beef.

Waiter (with that Clease snarl): WHAT!!! (imitating Idle with sarcastic tone) You'd prefer the beef. (sarcastic tone off) The lambs not good enough for you!! What am I going to tell the chef!! <stomps off yelling>

(later) Waiter comes back with the plates and drops (literally) on the table while muttering "Peasant!"

(later) Chef (Graham Chapman - RIP) comes in with butcher knife in his hand and crazied look: "How is the beef sir?"

Idle (look like he's crapping his pants): Ah, Ahh .... very good, VERY, very good.

Chef: The beefs good... but... the lamb.... isn't as good... (Runs off, sounds of a scream and body hitting floor like Chapman did himself in).

Yeah, I'm being over the top but the idea of people over reacting when you don't like something as much as they like it is (IMO) is equally as dumb.

[Whiskey]

So, I'm kind of done... I was at Stanford last weekend, and I gotta say it... In a lot of cases, too many cases, drum corps doesn't look much like drum corps any more. And if you're cool with that, then good...great...congrats. In all sincerity, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

For me, I'm kind of checked out. I left telling my friends and family that I'm tired of fighting it. I kind of don't care that much any more. Gibbskins or Hobbs or whoever you are...you win. Bring on the amplification. Bring on the electronics. Bring on the multilayered complexity and cerebral aestetics of a Supel Bowl half time show with thousands of aerobic instructors doing a really peppy routine as Melissa Ethridge belts out "Let's Get Physical" on a 100 foot phallus at the 50 yard line. Hell, let's make the rules changes this fall. Celeb musicians of any age need to be able to perform in drum corps, provided, of course, that they have at least one platenum record or People's Choice Award. I think Kajagoogoo really has something to contribute to drum corps. Talk about expanding drum corps' appeal, what high schooler wouldn't want to join their local drum corps if they had the opportunity to march alongside Peaches and Herb? (And as a quick aside, what are the chances Peaches and Herb are actually Ashford and Simpson redressed?) Come to think of it, maybe we better approve Patsy Award winners too. It probably isn't fair, after all, to exclude animal performers. I taught my dog to say, "I love you." With the pathos in that dog's voice...hell, he'd be a fantastic narrator.

Bottom line, I'm not gonna get all crazy claiming that I'm done with drum corps. I'll be back next season and the season after that, if only beause there are too many people I love who I don't get to see any time other than drum corps shows. But this stuff that takes us further and further away from what can reasonably be called drum corps (i.e narration, amplification, electronics, zippered pants, horseless carriages...just kidding on those last two...one must keep one's sense of humor in these trying times) really does bum me out.

Thanks for listening. I feel better now.

Kajagoogoo? Let's Get Physical?

Haunted by 80's?

Personally I'd love to see a 100 foot phallus at the Super Bowl.

[rut-roh]

Just remember that every tradition we hold near and dear to our hearts was, at one time or another, a radical new idea that probably stomped all over somebody else's dearly held tradition.

Well said. And just because something is a tradition, doesn't mean it can't or shouldn't be re-evaluated from time to time as the years go by and the world changes. Some traditions fade away or are replaced, quite frankly, because they are no longer relevant. Change for the sake of change isn't always good. Neither is not changing for the sake of not changing.

Edited August 7, 2007 by rut-roh

[dccorpsfan]

Though I do perfer the, I guess you could say "old school" sound and feel of drum corps, I don't see the use of whining about it. I mean, everything progresses through time. I'm sure there were plenty of folks in the mid-70's that said they were done with drum and bugle corps when mallet keyboards were allowed. I'm sure folks before that were "done" with drum and bugle corps when stopped using actual bugles.