LisaLisaMoMeesa Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Thanks for clarifying your priorities. It's a good thing the corps directors who founded DCI in order to wrest creative control over the activity from their VFW sponsors had a bit more confidence in the art form's inherent worth, otherwise we'd all still be presenting the colors and counting ticks. So much for the artistic argument. Yes...and we all know how horrible it would be to present the colors. :::shudders::: what a particularly odious concept: presenting the colors. ::::shudders::: glad we're not doing that anymore. Something you need to understand, or at least, you probably won't understand until you have the opportunity to organize a corps' finances. There's the art and its inheirent worth....and then there' the bills you have to pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyTenor Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Issue #1:Dancing with wooden guns don't make sense. Dancing on a football field doesn't, either, but that won't stop anytime soon. Leave it to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Garry in Vegas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDMOM Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 This is why we love Deb. That and she's a TOTAL M.I.L.F. Woo hooo!!!! :P We love you too Lisa! Please ban all rifles, it will give me a reason to quit this ridiculous addiction, stop breaking fingers and invest my money in something that gives me more of a ROI than the photo-seeking, attention grabbing, it's all about me attitude I seem to have picked up the past few years. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
octavia9299 Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Can't believe a moderator starred this thread. It's ridiculous. I starred it because Daniel brings up interesting points and it's caused a lot of people to dig into what they think is important about the activity. AND people are discussing things in a civil manner. ...for the most part <**> That said, I don't understand why person after person assumes that his argument is actually about gun control and wussification and the supposed fact that it bothers him to see rifles on the field for this reason. READ HIS ARGUMENT, people! Reading comprehension is important. He says (and I'm not sure if I agree, but I'm tired of watching it interpreted and argued incorrectly) that in the big wide world, corporations and lawyers are not concerned with art, they are concerned with potential liability, and potential bad image. Do any of us here really think wooden guns are a bad thing? No. But people SOOO FAAAR removed from the activity and without the time or care to investigate are going to assume it would be bad for public image. Remember the Rosie O'Donnell thing? Just the same. People would react before finding out. Some of you say you don't care what "outsiders" think. What a bunch of silliness -- in order for the activity to survive and flourish, we need new sponsors, new blood, new people in the activity. That's reality. Mostly, his question is "Why rifles?" and our answers should have to do with tradition and aesthetic enjoyment and the possible merits of the balance of a piece of wood shaped like that and what it would be like to have to fracture known technique into a billion pieces of equipment for students to handle. But some people can't think outside the box of hairtrigger kneejerk about the words "gun control." Now, for the old CE peeps, someone please allow me this liberty: 1. fabricate outrage 2. be incredulous when others dont feel your outrage 3. ridicule history and tradition as meaningless 4. label anyone who's ignoring your issue as "completely out of touch" Tee hee, I feel like we're in CE again and talking about the war! haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielray Posted August 23, 2007 Author Share Posted August 23, 2007 However, rather than giving in totally, I think corps should walk the fine line of getting corporate sponsorship on their terms in as much as it is possible. Lest we have the Monster.com Cadets or the AT&T Caveliers. I mean, I'm not entirely certain that a potential sponsor will hold back because an organization that has its roots in the military is spinning a chunck of wood that looks like a rifle. I'm thinking more a long the lines of a tour sponsor, rather than individual corps. All shows would revert to a common tour name (kinda like the Vans Warped Tour), for example, something like: Zune Sounds of Summer Tour They would underwrite the costs of each venue, rather than paying cash directly to DCI or the individual corps. Individual corps would get an additional fee for having all of their trucks painted with the tour theme (actually all trucks for all corps would be painted with the same master template, with a sort of blank area for the common sponsor, which would be done in vinyl... so can change from year to year without heavy costs). Anyway, this sort of thing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumlaw80 Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 George Hopkins tried that in 2001, using what can best be described as comma-shaped guard equipment. I assume they had the same basic feel and weight as a rifle so there wouldn't be much in the way of transition for guard members. Cadets switched back to rifles in 2002 when they did their 9-11/WWII/1995 Cadets show and has been using rifles ever since.Thanks to corpsreps.com, here is a picture of the corps with guard members holding the "commas". By the way, how do you answer those questions when they come up? Maybe drum corps should only be allowed to use guard equipment that is shaped like punctuation. That way, no one will get offended, except for maybe the illiterate crowd ... and they probably won't notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaLisaMoMeesa Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 I'm thinking more a long the lines of a tour sponsor, rather than individual corps.All shows would revert to a common tour name (kinda like the Vans Warped Tour), for example, something like: Zune Sounds of Summer Tour They would underwrite the costs of each venue, rather than paying cash directly to DCI or the individual corps. Individual corps would get an additional fee for having all of their trucks painted with the tour theme (actually all trucks for all corps would be painted with the same master template, with a sort of blank area for the common sponsor, which would be done in vinyl... so can change from year to year without heavy costs). Anyway, this sort of thing... People (especially those who marched in a different time a different world) are going to be highly resistant to your suggestions. There will be hair lit on fire. THere will be mentions of <insert drum corps great from 1973 here> rolling over in his grave. People will scream that when they marched (30+ years ago) they hitched a ride to camp and ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all weekend (and they marched uphill in the snow, too). Just warning you to what you already know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84Cadet Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Maybe we should replace rifles with other cool things that fly... like Lawn Jarts for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
octavia9299 Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Maybe we should replace rifles with other cool things that fly...like Lawn Jarts for example. HAHAHAHA!!! Good one. We had those when I was a kid. Mom wouldn't let me anywhere near 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galen Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 There are few sounds in drum corps as satisfying as the CLACK of a group toss being caught in unison. Time for rifles to go? Nope- next question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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