Meaghatron Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 No; that's high school band. High schools took over that role, and drum corps became the next level.BTW, for those of you talking about "rich activity", let's look at what it costs to participate in some upper-echelon BOA groups, huh? Whether it's dues, higher property taxes or both... it's not cheap either. FWIW, a 5A band in my county supposedly has a band fee of $1500. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillygwm Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 I personally believe that this is what needs to be adjusted for corps to fill -- make membership cheaper. Imagine for a moment that marching at... oh... let's say Cascades... was now $0. Do you believe they'd fill? With quality? Oh you better believe it. Instead, corps keep focusing on bigger staff paychecks to the "names", and buying more brass and uniforms. Knowing the strain it takes, it would be very interesting for corps that aren't filling to go after kids for less money. It's sort of like athlete salaries in reverse -- if it's cheap, and roughly the same experience, a lot of kids might go towards a corps that is willing to let them in on talent alone... I'm not sure this premise is correct. Sure, it worked for Star way back when (OK, dues weren't zero but close enough) but they also brought a first class staff to the table because the operation was largely underwritten. So let's say that a corps could assure members that they could do the summer for some nominal amount, but they have less experienced staff, not the best known design team, uniforms that are several years old, etc. They'd probably fill, but make top 12? I'd doubt it. Kids will sacrifice to march at the corps where [insert name] will be their caption head. They already do this, flying cross country when many could march closer. It's human nature: when possible, people will sacrifice to choose a larger house over a smaller or accept a larger car payment to drive a Lexus versus a Kia. Drum corps is no different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcat Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 I'm not sure this premise is correct. Sure, it worked for Star way back when (OK, dues weren't zero but close enough) but they also brought a first class staff to the table because the operation was largely underwritten.So let's say that a corps could assure members that they could do the summer for some nominal amount, but they have less experienced staff, not the best known design team, uniforms that are several years old, etc. They'd probably fill, but make top 12? I'd doubt it. Kids will sacrifice to march at the corps where [insert name] will be their caption head. They already do this, flying cross country when many could march closer. It's human nature: when possible, people will sacrifice to choose a larger house over a smaller or accept a larger car payment to drive a Lexus versus a Kia. Drum corps is no different. Sure, but there are lots of Kias. There aren't lots of "Kia" drum corps. You have to start somewhere. There's never going to be parity when you can't even get the 150 kids in the door... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillygwm Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 (edited) Sure, but there are lots of Kias. There aren't lots of "Kia" drum corps. You have to start somewhere. There's never going to be parity when you can't even get the 150 kids in the door... There are a lot of inexpensive corps, relatively speaking. Many Open Class corps are affordable. Of course, if you need to do the full DCI tour and expect to perform on Saturday night, that's going to cost more. The context of my original post was simply that, even if there WERE an inexpensive World Class corps, there will be a lot of people who choose to go into debt, look for sponsorship, etc. to march somewhere that isn't the most cost effective option. Just curious, what's the dues structure for the lower-ranked World Class corps as opposed to the top 5? Edited November 22, 2007 by Phillygwm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrappyslap Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Man I could never march today. When I marched our dues were $200. I use to give plasma to pay that. I also went on tour with about $30. Different time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueemrld8 Posted November 22, 2007 Author Share Posted November 22, 2007 As someone who is still paid for most of his years in drum corps through student loans I say THAT was the best decision I could have made. Haven't regretted it for a second despite the fact I missed out on summer internships and I'll still be paying for it for several years to come. I borrowed the money to march from my future self, and my future self is now my current self and my current self is happy to pay the money he owes for the experience my past self had. HU???????.... And at the same time I completely understand your sentiment!!!! This post made me soooo happy when i read it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueemrld8 Posted November 22, 2007 Author Share Posted November 22, 2007 7. Money: We all know that "appearance fees" are now equal for all world-class corps, but share money is still tied to competitive placement. At the very least, that should be leveled as well. Better yet, recognize the inherent advantages winners have in souvie sales and sponsorships/endorsements, and scale share payments to pay lower-placing member corps more to compensate. What is this "share money?" sorry, like i have said before... still learning the activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumCorpsMom Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 I don't know if this will help or not, but I was able to claim camp fees on my income tax. It might be helpful if all corps structured their fees to allow tax deductions that would make it a lot easier for families. Just a thought.... any tax consultants out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cainan Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Jeez... When I marched, I wasnt local to Sacramento so I moved there... and got a job. I actually lived in the corps hall for a few months til I found my own place. That said, tour fees for us at the time were roughly about $400. Relatively easy ask really! In Freelancers, our corps makeup was roughly half and half... Half from Sacramento and half from SoCal. So we just ran a bus every camp weekend and the SoCal kids paid a few bucks to get them to camp. Looking back, I guess it was a much simpler time. A bit more rugh around the edges but pure and simple. I guess I am looking at DCI and thinking that it may just sooner than we all know it price itself right out of existence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cainan Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Man I could never march today. When I marched our dues were $200. I use to give plasma to pay that. I also went on tour with about $30. Different time I am feelin you... I think I actually had something like $75 for all my spends in 1989... And I came home with enough change to get the Regional Transit bus back HOME!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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