SUNCOAST RETURN!

[noduttingoutloud]

You are kidding, right?

Have any of these "corps" competed in ANY circuit? Or do they jus have websites, corps jackets and a show picked out - but never field a corps?

OH!

Right. Gasparilla (St. Pete), Florida Brass (Lakeland/Tampa), Sun Devils (Sarasota), and Genisis (Inverness) don't Count.

They are not DCI, there for UN Worthy of note.

[paradiddle]

You are kidding, right?

Have any of these "corps" competed in ANY circuit? Or do they jus have websites, corps jackets and a show picked out - but never field a corps?

Sun Devils

We haven't competed....yet...... but have all intentions and are having active rehearsal camps. We are much more than a web site and presence on this forum. We are a serious effort.

ps: we don't have any corps jackets or t-shirts, we're spending all our time practicing.

[HoltonH178]

Tampa Bay, right now, is a fruit that is pretty ripe for plucking by drum corps, especially with the changes over the last few years with Magic and Boston. Hillsborough County is the 8th largest school district in the nation, and Pinellas County is the 23rd. Competitive programs for marching have a much stronger foothold here than most any other areas in the country, with two nationally competitive programs in Pinellas and several state finalists throughout Tampa Bay.

Besides this, Tampa Bay is one of the only economic regions in the country that is still seeing huge expansion and growth. It's the third largest metropolitan area in the Southeast United States, and speaking as a kid who grew up in the Detroit metro in the 90s, there's money and opportunities for a non-profit in Tampa unlike anywhere else I've seen.

Bringing back the Suncoast "brand" would be quite a feat, but if it could be accomplished, I think it would stand a much better chance of success than any of the recent efforts in FL for drum corps. I believe this state has the talent to put out a Championship corps, I just don't know why it hasn't happened yet.

[GMKuzma]

So rather than asking the questions you've asked, you need to be ready to answer the following:

1. Why and for whom would it be beneficial to start a new corps in the Tampa area?

2. Would there be enough support from educators in the area?

3. What are the means of income and fund raising

4. How does the community benefit, what can we give back to the community?

5. What's the motivation?

6. Is there interest from the community?

7. Why?

If the words "becasue it would be cool to have Suncoast back on the field" were in any of the above answers, slowly back away from the keyboard and resume your life.

Being from Florida, having marched in the mid-90's, and having experienced several years of managing an Open and World Class drum corps...I can tell you that this proposal is a double-edge sword.

Of course, we would all love to see Suncoast Sound back in DCI. Especially if things are done right with the planning and with patient management.

Here's the hurdles I see for "reviving a drum corps from the grave":

- Overcoming Negative Image: I believe it was already mentioned on here but one issue will be overcoming the very negative impression of drum corps in the Tampa-area as well as in Florida (in general). When Suncoast had a mid-season collapse in it's last season (1995, I believe), it was pretty traumatic to the members. Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones who felt "betrayed". The local band directors, parents, and drum corps people in general all had a pretty sour taste in their mouth. Even last year, when I was on tour, people talked about that last season as if it happened last year. When I was a marching instructor/drill writer in the Tampa-area in 1998-2000, talking about drum corps with most band directors was not usually a positive experience. I can only hope that at least some of those music educators and administrators have forgiven what happened over 13 years ago because most of them will not forget. Perhaps a poll could be sent out to the Tampa-area band directors to get their feelings on supporting a drum corps and if they'd be willing to support Suncoast's return?

- Management: This is key for any organization but especially true for drum corps. Whoever decides to be the director and/or financial manager of a revived Suncoast is going to have to overcome some major obstacles support-wise in the Tampa-area. Another area of major concern will be funding. That's great that a sponsor may be interested in supporting this revival but how far are they willing to go to ensure 100% success? I agree with the other posters on here who note the vital importance of taking it slow and ensuring the plan is carried out properly before an audition camp is considered. The business of drum corps is exactly that--a business. Expect to do a lot of planning and number crunching before you start acquiring equipment and staff.

- Alumni: I've told a lot of people that I would love to see a "dead" drum corps back, like Velvet Knights. Sure enough, that's happening today which is fantastic. I look forward to seeing them grow and return as a power in World Class some day. One thing that has really helped VK was their alumni support, just like Gary in Vegas said. The only drawback might be that some Suncoast alumni may be a bit weary of the return of a drum corps that endured a lot of pain for it's staff and members in it's latter years. Bringing the alumni in and garnering their support will be key in Suncoast's return. Recommend contacting the VK folks to see how they did this.

My $0.02 cents. Hope that helps...Good luck.

-GM

[NSBNole]

To be completely honest....

Suncoast in a way is making a come back....in the form of another corps.

It has sound in the name......and has to do with a color.

Just look at some of the staff and management.

[CrunchyTenor]

Recommend contacting the VK folks to see how they did this.[/u]

It really wasn't too hard to get VK alumni involved since a lot of us felt we had been robbed of our corps by one individual's mismanagement. It also helps that the members of the corps respect the alumni and love to hear stories of their drum corps' heritage. (Some of that sentiment could go a long way here on DCP.) So, it's really been a two-way street.

I have to give credit to Impulse, too. Quite a few VK alumni served in various capacities with Impulse over the years, and that kept us involved in drum corps. VK's Executive director served for several years on the Impulse BoD. So did I.

I will also admit that not all alumni are behind it, but my feeling is that most are based on a forum run by one alumnus and a mailing list I maintain. VK never had an alumni organization before. We do now!

Here's hoping the Suncoast Alumni rise up to support this effort.

Garry in Vegas

VK Alumni Coordinator

Edited February 22, 2008 by CrunchyTenor

[ssorrell]

Newseditor44 posted:

Not to be the total pessimist but I think there are much more serious questions that need to be asked outside a discussion forum. Before bringing a corps back, there are several things that have to be determined, and former staff and alumni should be considered and consulted as well. But most importantly, a corps shouldn't be brought back just because it seems like a good idea. If you want to succeed, there are hast to be a higher purpose involved, and a willingness to disassociate yourself and ideals from that which once was. In essence, you would be creating a brand new drum corps based on the Suncoast Sound, not actually reviving the corps. So rather than asking the questions you've asked, you need to be ready to answer the following:

1. Why and for whom would it be beneficial to start a new corps in the Tampa area?

2. Would there be enough support from educators in the area?

3. What are the means of income and fund raising

4. How does the community benefit, what can we give back to the community?

5. What's the motivation?

6. Is there interest from the community?

7. Why?

SUNCOASTFAN responded with:

Best post yet!

Answers:

1) Students in the area and corporate exposure

2) If you look at some of the current educators in the area a lot are Suncoast Alumni, we would hope so.

3) Start-up cost (est 250k) would be available and then 100k for an additional 4 years. Fundraising, perfomornace fees and other sponsors would be the responsibility of the operational management. Adhere to the budget given.

4) Local support in the community with high profile performances during the year.

5) Personal fan of the activity and Director of Marketing for firm. No other motive other then to give back much in the same as we give to the United Way and Boys and Gilrs Club of Tampa.

6) Not sure, probably not at this point.

7) Why not?

My response:

1. Corporate exposure? Haven't we learned that relying on corporations isn't a good thing? Heck, that was one of the things that killed Suncoast the first go around...Circle K pulling its support in the 80s. Drum corps doesn't give corporations the kind of support they need or desire, and if a corps is "lucky" enough to land themselves a corporate sponsor, once the corporation realizes they aren't getting enough in return, they bail. How can a resurging Suncoast be assured that corporate dollars will be available for 4-5 years as you elude in item #3? What happens to the corps after year 4? How will the corps make up the $100k loss?

2. Really? Are there really THAT many Suncoast alumni in the area that are music educators? I find that hard to believe. Heck, Spirit had a much longer life in Atlanta than Suncoast did on the Florida coast and we've got maybe a half dozen alumni in the area that are band directors. Shoot, even some of the Spirit alumni are not supportive of their kids marching in corps...even those that had good experiences in the corps.

3. Start up costs...$250K? Have you brokenn that down? I'd like to see the breakdown. Newseditor's question was what was the means of income, to which there was no answer. Having start up costs covered or partially covered isn't the question...where will the daily operational budget come from? Is there a plan? You can't start a corps simply because you have the start up covered...there has to be a plan for longevity. You can't simply pass the buck to the operational management; they have to be IN PLACE with a working plan.

4. What kind of high profile performances do you have in mind? And don't forget...most any drum corps can only provide a quality public performance from May (?) through August. What about the other 8 months of the year?

5. Giving to the Boys and Girls Clubs or United Way has a much greater meaning to the public than if you gave to a drum corps. If a corporation gave to Suncoast, would that give the corporation the "goodwill" it might expect as a result? I don't think so. If it did, we'd see more corporations clammoring to sponsor a drum corps possibly. But instead, we've seen sponsorships that have been very short lived. Why? Because they didn't work for the sponsor, or at least they didn't get what they desired.

The other problem I see in ressurecting a once great corps, is that now that a newly formed corps has to enter DCI at the lowest level and work its way up, anyone joining the new Suncoast might have certain expectations based on the corps' history. I know that if I knew that if the corps snagged most of its former legendary staffers to come back to build the corps again, expectations would be high. You might expect very talented players to come to the corps. But, if those highly talented players had to wait a minimum of 3 years before they had a chance to play in DCI World Class and possibly a chance in semis or finals, would they be that patient? Would they come and stick with a corps for such a duration, in the name of bringing that corps back? And of course, keep in mind that kids that would be eligible to march in a corps today was at most 1-2 years old when Suncoast last made it into finals, so there might not be much sentiment among today's youngsters to stick it out in hopes of bringing back a once great drum corps...a corps that they never saw live.

Edited February 22, 2008 by ssorrell

[whitedawn]

2. Really? Are there really THAT many Suncoast alumni in the area that are music educators? I find that hard to believe. Heck, Spirit had a much longer life in Atlanta than Suncoast did on the Florida coast and we've got maybe a half dozen alumni in the area that are band directors. Shoot, even some of the Spirit alumni are not supportive of their kids marching in corps...even those that had good experiences in the corps.

all great points in your post, and very eloquent.

the answer to this question, strangely, is YES. central florida is crawling with suncoast alumni. it is actually pretty amazing. plus, two of the key suncoast staffers are band directors in pinellas county, where the corps was headquartered.

the biggest problem i see is that $250k just isn't enough to start a drum corps in a sprawling metro area. it just isn't.

Edited February 22, 2008 by whitedawn

[ssorrell]

If a Tampa area corporation ( former Suncoast supporter ) was to support a Suncoast Sound return to DCI with some working capital, musical equipment new for all sections, a business Board of Directors in place, new uniforms and transportation to start out of the gate:

Going back to your first post, and responding somewhat to whitedawn above...

You mentioned later a $250K start up budget.

Musical equipment for all sections. Wow...that could easily cost $80-100k just for brass alone. Add in drums and pit and you've nearly blown the start up budget.

Uniforms...full corps, even if you get a great deal, the minimum will be around $300+ per uniform = $35k+.

As far as I'm concerned, those two things alone will wipe out the $250K.

Travel...if you charter, you're looking at over $80K for a full tour.

Now, there's certainly nothing left for "working capital".

Not to mention that marketing this new corps would cost money too. They can't come to a corps if they don't know it exists.

Edited February 22, 2008 by ssorrell

[CorpsLife]

Well i'll tell you right now is that the bigest thing is that in Tampa (Hillsbrough County) the music programs aren't that great, the music people in the county the big thing is concert band and other stuff, not marching band, theres a reason a BIG band in the bay area is 120-150 thats it.

But in Pinellas county, Where Suncoast made its home, you have Tarpon Springs, Seminole, Largo(which is, from what im told, where Suncoast got its start), Countryside(Who is up and coming with a WGI Guard and a Decent indoor line), East Lake(Who's former director is Jay Emmert from Phantom). When I was living in Clearwater and teaching, I ran into so many Alumni from Corps. Where I lived, we had 4 Boston Crusaders Alumni in 1 block, none of which had known the other was there. It was kinda Funny. There was also a few Suncoast Alumni, a few thunder Alumni, a KK alumni.

I was teaching at Countryside HS with 2 Suncoast Alumni, 3 Crusaders, 1 Cavalier, 2 Cadet, 4 Kiwanis Kavaliers. Pinellas is a Hub of Drum corps people. People who have lots of respect for the activity. People who would love to see Suncoast come back. You should see us at shows, a large group of Drum Corps Alumni, hanging out afterwards at the local eatery. Its always a blast.

I Honestly think with the right Management that Suncoast could make a comeback. A Solid Foundation is a must! Please don't rush and try to get a full corps out for the 09 season. Take your time and build it right. That was what we didn't do when we were trying to rebuild KK. :(