DC--why less presence in South?

[shostahoosier]

95 Magic of Orlando is one of my favorite shows ever.

Never really understood the Chemistry-diagram-like-drill...but man I loved the concept and the hornline!!!!

[shostahoosier]

sorry if my post seems non sequitur...it was directed at the USMPiano

[liebot]

was that the "what the ****" drum solo year, or was that 97? either way, both were good shows. I liked mid-90s Magic.

[dallasburgess]

Reconstruction...if not a complete failure...was much kinder to the south then it should have been...

Wow, some southerner must have made you mad.....After having been around the whole country through six years of drum corps and the Army, I rather prefer the south. People are actually friendly and nice to each other as opposed to being rude and self centered, not DC northerners, but your average, run-of-the-mill "yankee".

But I digress, I think that if Crown can maintain it's recent popularity, and Spirit keep doing what it's doing, mabey DC will start to become a bigger deal, I don't see much growth of Corps due to current financial crunches most seem to be going through, it's getting harder and harder to start a DC. I think the only successful way to start a Corps these days would be The Academy approach....just my opinion though....

[tubamann]

Alabama and North Carolina's corps both made World finals last year

Err..Technically Crown is from South Carolina. Just over the line from NC, but in SC. It is fair to say that CC is the Charlotte area corps, as the state line has really dissapeared as "metrolina" has grown.

[shostahoosier]

Wow, some southerner must have made you mad.....After having been around the whole country through six years of drum corps and the Army, I rather prefer the south. People are actually friendly and nice to each other as opposed to being rude and self centered, not DC northerners, but your average, run-of-the-mill "yankee".

But I digress, I think that if Crown can maintain it's recent popularity, and Spirit keep doing what it's doing, mabey DC will start to become a bigger deal, I don't see much growth of Corps due to current financial crunches most seem to be going through, it's getting harder and harder to start a DC. I think the only successful way to start a Corps these days would be The Academy approach....just my opinion though....

Nope...no southerner has made me mad...in fact my entire family is from the south except for me...I love the charm of the place...but facts are facts...and now and then are different conversations.

Either way...this is a drum corps forum so I'm not going start a historical debate.

I DO totally agree with the second half of your post.

[notelvis]

In terms of DCI corps, I always felt that the south was under-represented compared to the other regions of the country because our population was smaller than in the northeast, Chicago area, and west coast. Besides our weather during the summer months was the most unpleasant.

Pockets of southern corps have come and gone over the years though and there was an early Drum Corps South circuit in the very early 1980's featuring Spirit, Suncoast, Memphis, Southwind, Southernaires, Houston Nighthawks, Sky Ryders, Pride of Cincinnati, and Imperial Guard.....maybe the Black Knights from the St. Louis area came in too.

Regardless, it's all kind of moot now and the south is, in fact, home to more DCI corps than the northeast is with the loss of such old favorites as North Star, 27th Lancers, Defenders, Avant Garde, Alliance, Long Island Kingsmen, Bridgemen, among others and Crossmen's move to Texas.

[tubamann]

In terms of DCI corps, I always felt that the south was under-represented compared to the other regions of the country because our population was smaller than in the northeast, Chicago area, and west coast. Besides our weather during the summer months was the most unpleasant.

Pockets of southern corps have come and gone over the years though and there was an early Drum Corps South circuit in the very early 1980's featuring Spirit, Suncoast, Memphis, Southwind, Southernaires, Houston Nighthawks, Sky Ryders, Pride of Cincinnati, and Imperial Guard.....maybe the Black Knights from the St. Louis area came in too.

Regardless, it's all kind of moot now and the south is, in fact, home to more DCI corps than the northeast is with the loss of such old favorites as North Star, 27th Lancers, Defenders, Avant Garde, Alliance, Long Island Kingsmen, Bridgemen, among others and Crossmen's move to Texas.

I would also conjecture that the marching band activity in the south is much stronger than in the northeast and new england.

[LSU GRAD 82]

See my thread from a few months ago on the DCA section of DCP. I asked the same question about DCA corps in the south. Slim Pickings................

[Dave]

I think the point of the original poster was "Why aren't there as many corps in the South?" not "Are there any corps in the South?" or "Has any corps from the South ever done a good/memorable show?" I would say that the reason is probably in large part because the area which has been the most fruitful for corps--the Northeast--is composed largely of urban areas and, at least in the past, communities that were tied in together and necessitated the formation of groups to give kids there something to do. The South, at least during the time that civilian drum corps were coming into existence, was largely rural; kids had plenty to do in terms of working with their families to raise crops, make money, just get along from day to day. Likewise, in the Midwest, the corps that existed came out of urbanized areas. Things are different today with how much easier it is to travel distances and how much more urbanized even the most rural parts of the nation are, relatively speaking, but when corps was becoming a cultural phenomenon in the North, the culture just wasn't as geared towards that sort of use of time in the South. At least, that would be my guess.