Hup234 Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 If DCI is something you no longer enjoy, what are you doing on a drum corps discussion board? You're not appreciative that someone away from the trees takes time to advise you on the state of the forest? The Church appoints Devil's Advocates to find fault with would-be saints, the Roman emperors had slaves repeating "All is fleeting" in their victory parades, the Ash Wednesday services are mantras of mortality --- and you object when those who've seen all sides of this activity and don't like its direction speak up? Ah, that's okay, Eyeroller; it's clear that your kind of thinking is prevalent here. (That's not a compliment.) But in my case, I speak up when a buddy forwards something that I might find fun to respond to. I'm not quite young enough to where I know everything. It's also interesting to me that we have people pounding the table and screaming that their tastes are being ignored, yet these same people are demanding that DCI ignore the tastes of those who march in and cheer for the shows of today. You had your era of drum corps, and guess what? Your era was in turn vastly different from the era before, no matter when you marched. Let us now have our era. We enjoy the shows we see, and as long as we're around, we'll make sure that DCI doesn't die. That's a very positive thought but doesn't reflect reality as the 'we' of your contemporaries is a far, far lesser-in-any-numbers entity than the 'you' of your predecessors in any period of D&B history. Your activity continues to shrink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimedrummer Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 So your whole deal is it's all interest and no fact...If that is the case, then how come I don't see Bridgemen, 27th Lancers, Muchachos, Ambassadors, Belleville Black Knights, Black Watch Highland Regiment, Bristol Kingsmen, Crusaders of Ottawa, Eau Claire Sundowners, Selden Cadets, St. Rocco's Cadets, Suncoast Sound, Surfers, Swords Excaliber, The Knights, Woodsiders, Capital Regiment, and Magic on the list for competing corps'???? Probably because of poor management. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Thanks for the Kool Aid, but I'll pass. I was replying to your statement.... "Back then" DC's consisted of neighborhood kids who didn't know how to play their instruments--by Old School members' own account. That is 100% wrong about MANY corps at every level..and I started in 1964. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Some old-timers on here need to get a grip! No, DCI is not dying. Old corps die. New corps replace them. Attendance numbers are at all-time records! Entertainment levels and value are at an all time high! And performance levels are off the charts! This oldtimer agrees 100%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Well, having marched both, and taught high school color guard, I can find ways to disagree with this statement. For example, "higher level of quality" is highly subjective. When I marched corps, the tick system force a much higher concentration on execution of a move, as opposed to the idea, itself. And I think that distinction is quite clear when watching today's drum corps and/or marching band vs. corps of the '70s. It doesn't mean that one is necessarily better than the other. What groups are being required to do now is much more difficult, so a fair bit of technical execution falls by the wayside. But, because of the attention to detail necessitated by the tick system, I do think it can be argued that what corps pulled off in the '70s was more accurately executed than pretty much what anybody is doing now . . . because they had to be. Exept that the quality of a performance is a LOT more than 'clean execution'. This old-timer agrees with Daniel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 WOW! You must be a Bando huh? And you know that band programs TODAY are a higher level than drum corps in the 70's HOW? Did you march back then? I don't see any of your affiliations so tell me where you were in...1976? Note that he said "band programs are often at a much higher level of quality than many corps in the 1970's."....bold is mine. I was there back then, and he is correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 I really think that's apples and oranges, going by the respective judging systems. As long as each corps member is trained to perform according to the expectations of the judging system, then I think s/he will perform to those levels. Now, granted, the musicality of much of what is being done now is quite different. But, by the same token, the rudimental drumming techniques -- again, executed as an ensemble, at the level required by the tick system -- would pose a significant challenge to many drummers who do quite well under today's system. And, given the different instrumentation, it really does become apples and oranges, as a corps member from the '70s would have to learn a significantly different instrument from what s/he played . . . and vice versa. I disagree...the snare drummers in DCI today would have NO problem with the old stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brassop Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 (edited) ...Things need to change, but are there other ways of doing it that don't change absolutely everything about drum corps?... Yes: it should be mandated that the flutes, clarinets and saxaphones that are coming soon - and are the last nail in the coffin of real drum corps - should be retro-fitted for bell-front, to give the illusion that the activity we knew and loved is not in-fact dead and gone. Edited August 13, 2007 by Brassop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 On a slightly different line. I do think DCI is dying in a certain sense. It seems to me that the whole activity has become about the elite corps. I've seen many posts on DCP where people state they will tryout for Cadets next year. What's wrong with marching the local corps (Raiders, Surf, Spirit of New Jersey) this year? I think that DCI has evolved to such a state where it has become a "major league" activity, but the minor leagues seem to have much less focus. This is no different than the 70's. I did all my teaching and judgikng in the Garden State Circuit from the mid-70's to around 1980. Local corps were dying right and left due in part to a lack of bodies. The corps I taught struggled to find members, and many GSC shows were held in nearly empty stadiums...some not even IN a stadium at all, just a marked out piece of real estate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12L Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 I disagree...the snare drummers in DCI today would have NO problem with the old stuff. You're right...I don't think snare drummers are necessarily more talented than any snare drummers were during my day (early 90s), but there are way more talented snare drummers today than there were then. Almost every drumline in the top seven or 8 corps is loaded with talent. A couple of decades ago you could probably only find that kind of talent in one or 2 corps a year, depending on the year, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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