Those of us that don't like the new rules

[dustyboo]

For those of us that don't like the new rules (myself being included), there is another way for our voice to start being heard. If you are like myself and are not planning on attending anymore DCI shows there is something you can do. When you get the postcard in the mail from a corps show asking you to purchase tickets, rather than just throwing it away, simply (and politely) write them a response back that you are no longer going to attend shows becuase you no longer find the activity entertaining or whatever your reason might be. Next summer when all the corps are begging for gas money, simply write them a letter stating that you are not going to donate because they could have saved money by not buying all the new electronics equipment.

Then lets all show up at DCA finals and get a larger crowd there than in Indy.

[silvertrombone]

For those of us that don't like the new rules (myself being included), there is another way for our voice to start being heard. If you are like myself and are not planning on attending anymore DCI shows there is something you can do. When you get the postcard in the mail from a corps show asking you to purchase tickets, rather than just throwing it away, simply (and politely) write them a response back that you are no longer going to attend shows becuase you no longer find the activity entertaining or whatever your reason might be. Next summer when all the corps are begging for gas money, simply write them a letter stating that you are not going to donate because they could have saved money by not buying all the new electronics equipment.

Then lets all show up at DCA finals and get a larger crowd there than in Indy.

Well, I disagree with your proposal, but agree that this is the proper way to handle it if you feel this strongly about it. Go to DCA shows in great numbers. Meet up before or after at a local establishment to discuss. Sign a petition and send it to the DCI show. Send $25 to the closest DCA corps. Better yet, go JOIN that DCA corps or volunteer in some way. Maybe if you're really gung-ho, get DCA to start a junior circuit of some sort. There are enough people on here who believe local corps and regional circuits are the way to go. Great! Do it.

Best of wishes to you, and please make sure to follow up on your proposals. Idle chatter is so unbecoming.

[Huntington Mallets]

[gjdavistuba]

For those of us that don't like the new rules (myself being included), there is another way for our voice to start being heard. If you are like myself and are not planning on attending anymore DCI shows there is something you can do. When you get the postcard in the mail from a corps show asking you to purchase tickets, rather than just throwing it away, simply (and politely) write them a response back that you are no longer going to attend shows becuase you no longer find the activity entertaining or whatever your reason might be. Next summer when all the corps are begging for gas money, simply write them a letter stating that you are not going to donate because they could have saved money by not buying all the new electronics equipment.

Then lets all show up at DCA finals and get a larger crowd there than in Indy.

Why would you do that? I would much rather see a junior corps show with woodwinds and electronics than a DCA show without them...

I mean, for real, the performance level is just so much higher....I don't really quite understand.

To each his own, I suppose.

[thewdude2]

For those of us that don't like the new rules (myself being included), there is another way for our voice to start being heard. If you are like myself and are not planning on attending anymore DCI shows there is something you can do. When you get the postcard in the mail from a corps show asking you to purchase tickets, rather than just throwing it away, simply (and politely) write them a response back that you are no longer going to attend shows becuase you no longer find the activity entertaining or whatever your reason might be. Next summer when all the corps are begging for gas money, simply write them a letter stating that you are not going to donate because they could have saved money by not buying all the new electronics equipment.

Then lets all show up at DCA finals and get a larger crowd there than in Indy.

Although I am not very happy about the new rules either, marching in a World Class/Div. 1 corps has been my dream ever since I first saw drum corps. I've wanted it more than anything else in the world, and now that I am finally getting to live out my dream, it saddens me that someone is thinking about making it so hard on a corps that I might not be able to even choose between DCI and DCA in 2009. Like I said, I don't like these new rules, and the thought that the sound I produce out of my horn might be overpowered by somebody plucking a string is absolutely frightening to me, but im sure there is another way to go about bringing our opinions to DCI.

[dustyboo]

Because if I want to see a junior corps with woodwinds and electronics I would go to BOA.

Edited January 27, 2008 by dustyboo

[dustyboo]

Although I am not very happy about the new rules either, marching in a World Class/Div. 1 corps has been my dream ever since I first saw drum corps. I've wanted it more than anything else in the world, and now that I am finally getting to live out my dream, it saddens me that someone is thinking about making it so hard on a corps that I might not be able to even choose between DCI and DCA in 2009. Like I said, I don't like these new rules, and the thought that the sound I produce out of my horn might be overpowered by somebody plucking a string is absolutely frightening to me, but im sure there is another way to go about bringing our opinions to DCI.

Well unfortunately since 2004 people have been letting DCI, directors etc know their opinions. This is the direction they want to go so this is the direction they have chosen. Time will tell whether it makes it more difficult for you to march but just the financial aspects of it alone is not helping.

[gjdavistuba]

Because if I want to see a junior corps with woodwinds and electronics I would go to BOA.

Why? once again, its all about the performance level for me. Even if corps get electronics, their performance level and attention to detail will still be MUCH higher than even the top BOA bands. Well, for the top 15 or so, at least.

All I care about is that there is a difference in performance quality.

[DCIHasBeen]

For those of us that don't like the new rules (myself being included), there is another way for our voice to start being heard. If you are like myself and are not planning on attending anymore DCI shows there is something you can do. When you get the postcard in the mail from a corps show asking you to purchase tickets, rather than just throwing it away, simply (and politely) write them a response back that you are no longer going to attend shows becuase you no longer find the activity entertaining or whatever your reason might be. Next summer when all the corps are begging for gas money, simply write them a letter stating that you are not going to donate because they could have saved money by not buying all the new electronics equipment.

Then lets all show up at DCA finals and get a larger crowd there than in Indy.

I can't say I'll stop attending shows, but I have made a few decisions:

1) No more monetary contribution to the corps I have been donating to

2) No more buying souvies from DCI corps

3) While I'll attend some local shows, I won't travel and I won't buy tickets from the DCI Web site, as a protest against those $4 per ticket "handling charges" that DCI has been ripping us off with and artificially inflating ticket prices.

4) No more trips to the movie theatre for DCI quarterfinals ... That I'll miss, but I'd rather not support DCI's efforts

Based on what I spent last year, that's well over $2,000 that won't be filtering into the activity in various ways. Probably not enough to make a direct impact ... But if enough people start cutting back on direct support to DCI activities, the impact would hit home pretty fast and hard.

Personally, I'm hoping that with all the all-age corps activity happening in California that we can see the start of an independent, wester regional organization that will go in its own direction. I believe it's the way to go.

[bawker]

Why? once again, its all about the performance level for me. Even if corps get electronics, their performance level and attention to detail will still be MUCH higher than even the top BOA bands. Well, for the top 15 or so, at least.

All I care about is that there is a difference in performance quality.

...and, for some people, instrumentation is what its all about. Or entertainment. Or education. Or any number of other things.

For better or worse, everyone has in their head what "drum corps" is...and draws their own line in the sand about what they like/dislike and need/want from the idiom.

This, even more than amplification, is a fundamental shift in the activity. That's not a "good" or "bad" value judgment...but at the very least, that type of upheaval needs time to be processed by the fan base. I hope instructors and educators within the activity will provide some sort of thought process as to usage, judging and so on in 2008, so 2009 arrives with people able to make a decision based on as much information from those "for" this as possible.