NEW ALL-AGE CORPS STAFF MEETING

[Mickk3]

You're welcome to show up, y'know!!!

i already printed out the information.

[darkman]

I think there's a DCI meeting in Chicago that weekend.

All directors and New corps must attend...

[84BDsop]

I think there's a DCI meeting in Chicago that weekend.

All directors and New corps must attend...

Ahhh....didn't know that...I'll contact DCI about it.

[Mickk3]

*bump*

[Mickk3]

84BDsop - what are your ideas? what's your philosophy for the corps?

[84BDsop]

84BDsop - what are your ideas? what's your philosophy for the corps?

Sorry about the delay....was giving a fencing lesson...and then it took a long while to write this (after I got home, in fact)!

Ideas and philosophies really have to be broken down into several areas:

Admin: A board of directors where everyone is on the same page re getting the product out on the field...I don't want or need any drama with a BOD member who's lusting for the power and glory of running the corps in order to make himself feel better....we've ALL seen that kind of thing kill corps all over the place. 'Course, that's a tough thing to do and probably represents the biggest risk factor....even more so than money and membership issues. I'm thinking of a 7 member board...Pres, VP, Sec/Treas, Corps Director, and 3 Members at Large....ALL with voting power on the board (I've never liked it when the corps director has no official say...makes him more of an employee that a driving creative force). Other ideas may crop up at the meeting....I;m certainly not stuck on any one idea ANYWHERE in the corps....I’m not a “my way or the highway” kind of guy...

Touring: Uhh....yeah....ain't gonna happen for a while. Startup corps -- and even some with a few years under their belt -- tend to be almost totally member-supported in the All Age ranks...and planning for a trip out of the region is a big financial drain. Right now I would like to keep it to a schedule like SoCal Dream had in 2002...anything within car pool range (a couple of hours from LA, basically). Would I want to go up north for the West Coast Showdown? Sure thing...but not if the cost of transportation and housing pushes the member cost up to the point where it drives people away. DCA???? Unless we get some significant fund-raising going successfully and consistently.....won’t be in this lifetime. I think it was Lee Rudnicki that said one year it cost over $100K to send Renegades back east....and a smaller corps like SoCal Dream STILL takes several 10s of thousands in air fare, hotel, equipment transportation – all across 3000 miles – and possibly rehearsal site rental. We'll probably stay a local, regional corps for the foreseeable future just to ensure we can survive and get to the point where we CAN consider a trip to DCA....but I refuse to kill the corps in the process of getting there. In a way, I'm taking a cue from the Pacific Crest and Academy touring models...something I wanted to do with Nightfire years ago, but never got the chance to implement (and you have no idea HOW happy I am to see TWO corps use a similar model to great success and stability...kinda validates my original 1994 thought process!)

Performance: I'd like to EVENTUALLY get to “old-Madison-entertainment-meets-Blue Devils-precision”.....but for now I'll settle for getting them on and off the field!! I want to put out shows that are fun to perform, fun to watch...I have no desire to get so serious and "important' that we lose any connection to the audience. For example...the first show I would LIKE to do is actually the same Beach Boys show I write for the high school I'm working with this year (primarily because I can't arrange in concert keys...only in G...so it's already written!)...this would give the high school kids who want to march (and their alums who are helping to tech them) a little bit of a leg up on the program as we help them adjust to the corps world. I have had a ton of other show ideas over the years (including a Billy Joel show from years back.....with a better musical selection than Cavies, IMHO)

Show creation & member usage: Here’s where I REALLY want to apply some ideas I’ve had over the years...some born out of experience with other groups, and which I an applying to the HS band. I believe in using what you DO have on hand....not trying to work with what you WISH you had. I have NO tuba in the band right now....but I DO have a bari sax (the line’s VERY small...) So presto...the bari sax will be playing the tuba line. I have only 2 trumpets....so the alto saxes will be split...one on a trumpet part and 2 on the mello parts. I’m writing drill for about 40 people....but over half of that is the dance team, so I CAN’T spread the winds out....they’ll need to stay fairly close together to produce a cohesive sound...and any drill moves that go long distance in a short time are gonna be the DT, since they can run. I have NO battery – well I do....but 2 snares, 1 tenor, and 2 basses is NOT a battery....it’s B-Bs and sneakers in a dryer....BLUE DEVILS couldn’t make that size sound good...so we’re sticking them in the pit....one guy on set and the rest on keyboard and other pit equipment (less drill people to teach and clean, and the drum track comes from a single location on the field)

Now if I suddenly get sufficient numbers of a battery, I’ll redo the drill....I’d LOVE to expand the winds in the drill.....but for now I’m not going to write for 25 winds and pray they show up....I’m writing for what I see in front of me this week.

I HAVE to be realistic about things (a strange thought for anyone who’s known me for awhile)...living in a drum corps fantasy world re numbers will only keep people from coming out if they see a product with holes so large it looks like a continual scatter drill and hear a top-heavy sound. We will perform shows that can be done with the likely number of brass....we will NOT try to play charts that require large horn lines if we only have 12 or so brass....I have YET to see a corps where that works (except perhaps FutureCorps). I have one show in particular that I have wanted to see done for over a decade...but U cannot pull that one out until I have enlogh on the field to make it worth it.

Musician-wise...I do not believe in the high school trap of putting your absolute strongest player on upper lead and go down the line as the skill level decreases...that only ensures a top-heavy line where you have a couple of 2nds and 3rds trying to properly balance 7 or so screaming upper leads....the top three strongest players would instead get slotted into the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd parts so EVERY part has support.

Sounds logical....but sometimes it isn’t done.

I believe I the aristocracy of talent....if we have a solo or ensemble I the show, it goes to whoever can play it...even if that person is a first year 4th soprano...if that person plays the part better than the lead sop, he gets it...period....no decisin based on field position, or a cute factor...simple talent on the parts.

For those who would LIKE to perform, but who cannot physically march a show...or for those who really feel their marching days are over, but who still want to play with us....we’ll find a place for you...and not by parking it in the pit. Those people could mosey around the field and be set points, or rotation points, or they COULD march, but have small steps and short distances.

I want to be inclusive and not have anyone feel they can’t perform because they feel they can’t hang with a modern marching program....I intend to be Old School about it...my musical arranging style is very 80s...I do not arrange with a Cuisinart, nor do I over-arrange to the point where the original tune is lost.....if the source music turns me on, I want to replicate it as closely as possible. Marching style should be something that won’t over-stress the body....I could’ve marched a modern style when I was 20.....not when I’m 43...so why not find a style that’s less impactful on the body? Eventually, advancing age will take all of us off the field...I see no reason to hasten that for the sake of a few more points.

Do I want the performance to be as close to perfect as possible? Sure....that’s what we ALL strove for in our Jr days, especially at the top of the food chain....but it has to be fun and not feel like work. I want people who WANT to come to practice....not dread it out of a feeling of obligation.

(Wow! I let a LOT of stuff out there.....but you asked!)

I may succeed in this.....I may fall flat on my face....but I’m going to do it MY way.

Edited August 22, 2007 by 84BDsop

[MarimbasaurusRex]

I’m not a “my way or the highway” kind of guy...

....but I’m going to do it MY way.

Maybe you could clarify this or elaborate a bit?

Seeing a lot of *I* and *MY corps* kind of approach here. All well and good, the best corps are guided by one solid creative leader (IMO), see Gail Royer. Just wondering about the particulars of how that works with a start up and all the help/people that will be needed to make it successful.

Not meaning to step on toes, just hoping for a good start and a great corps from the valley. :)

[Mickk3]

DCA???? Unless we get some significant fund-raising going successfully and consistently.....won’t be in this lifetime.

I think I must have missing genes or something.. because I can't get my head around why anyone would want to practice and toil (a rewarding part of the process) without taking it to the limit (i.e. DCA finals); without the ultimate goal in mind. What is it one strives for if not to compete? Parades?

I mean I get it with Alumni corps.. but why field a competitive corps if not to compete on the highest level you can?

[84BDsop]

Maybe you could clarify this or elaborate a bit?

Seeing a lot of *I* and *MY corps* kind of approach here. All well and good, the best corps are guided by one solid creative leader (IMO), see Gail Royer. Just wondering about the particulars of how that works with a start up and all the help/people that will be needed to make it successful.

Not meaning to step on toes, just hoping for a good start and a great corps from the valley. :)

No prob....There's a difference between not being "my way or the highway" and doing things "my way."

For the first....I may have certain ideas of howI would like a show to come together....but if someone else comes up with an idea that I think will work better, I;ll dump what I was planning and go with the other guy's idea....I'm dloing tha with the band show, in fact. I had a certain visual idea in mind for the very end of teh show...then the director made a comment on a visual idea HE wanted to incorporate into the show, so I dropped my original idea and will use his instead, because when I ran it through in my head, it worked better.

If someone suggests something that I believe will not work well, I'll explain WHY I think so and why I would rather not use it....but that also gives the suggesting party a chance to explain it further -- perhaps I missed something -- and my mind might be changed.

For the 2nd..."my way" means that I have certain ideas of how a corps should operate in an overall sense -- planning a performance tour that does not overburden the members financially, finding a way to incorporate someone who cannot physically march, being open to someone ELSE'S show ideas

So there's a difference in the 2 statements the way I look at it. Yes, I have a fairly solid vision (and i HATE that term) of how I want a corps under my directions to operate....but I am ALSO open to someone else's ideas if I think they'll be effective in the end...my way includes the flexibility to adapt to someone else's thoughts.

As for Mikk's question "I think I must have missing genes or something.. because I can't get my head around why anyone would want to practice and toil (a rewarding part of the process) without taking it to the limit (i.e. DCA finals); without the ultimate goal in mind. What is it one strives for if not to compete? Parades?

I mean I get it with Alumni corps.. but why field a competitive corps if not to compete on the highest level you can?"

Why work so hard and NOT go t the big show is a very valid question......but so is "why work hard, go to the big show, and then be UNABLE to even field the following season"?

I never said I would NOT EVER take the corps back to DCA....but I see no reason to make that sort a trip into a suicide mission for the organization. Keeping it local for the time being will allow us to build membership, fundraising, etc with the eventual goal of going to DCA.....when we can financially afford to do so.

That doesn't mean we won't compete....it just means we'll stick to DCI shows in the SoCal region for the time being, competing against SoCal Dream, Renegades, the new corps in Sacramento, etc.

The concern's valid.....but there IS such a thing as reaching too far and too fast.

[Mickk3]

DCA???? Unless we get some significant fund-raising going successfully and consistently.....won’t be in this lifetime

Ah. That threw me off (but I can be overly literal at times).