2008: Worst Drum Corps Year Ever?

[hornlinemom]

Personally, I don't look too much into the plot/design/flaws of a show - any show (movie, DC show...) if I like it, I do - if I don't, I don't - but I still look up to the kids that are laying it out on the line every show.

Even if some designs are/were/will be 'interesting', I try to make an effort in keeping the kids in mind. That's what DC is about to me.

[DanjrusMcRynky]

Funny, Glassmen's closer in 2001 was a repeat of what Cavaliers played in 1996. I actually go the other way, I love when a corps plays new music and I'm disappointed when I read a show announcement that contains music I've already heard on the field. I think about all the great music I've been introduced to thanks to drum corps, and I'm convinced that the more new music corps play the better.

Agreed, though sometimes the pieces used just don't work. Which is okay, as long as they are trying to come up with fresh ideas.

Put it this way: If corps and bands didn't try new and not necessarily recognizable music, everyone would still be playing Sousa marches.

[Cardman]

What do I think?

I loved 2006 (except for a few shows)

I thought 2007 was pretty meh (except for a few shows)

I'm hoping to love 2008.

That's pretty much it...

[ShouldveMarchedAgeOut]

ummm...i have no idea what you are talking about...2007 was one of the best DCI years ever and i think 2008 will only top that...have you seen Phantom? i will leave it at that...wait never mind, how about every other corps, i feel that these past two years have been the greatest DCI has ever seen, i really have no idea how to place the corps this year...

[year1buick]

Thank you to everyone who made thoughtful replies. To everyone else: I can think of smart-### comments on my own. I'm looking for real input here.

Input or agreement? When you preemptively label those who may disagree with you as "pollyannas," this can happen. Especially 'round here.

As to your original question--I can see where you're coming from (to an extent), but I think a preponderance of eclectic programming has been around DCI long before the past two seasons. As Lance said, it's all a matter of personal taste. I used to be frustrated that many (if not most) of the shows weren't connecting with me and didn't have music that I recognized. But, things change, along with my own tastes. Back in 93, I hated Star's show--couldn't stand it. Now, it's one of my favorites. I have no idea what changed...I guess something just clicked. Even as much as I sometimes miss the old days, when I could hum along with every show on the field (e.g. 1989, my first real exposure to DCI, via the top 12 PBS broadcast) I'm not so interested in seeing DCI jump in the wayback machine and go back to the days of broadway tunes and classical "hits." It would eventually feel stagnated, I think.

Edited June 30, 2008 by year1buick

[Tupid_06]

So far I haven't liked many of the shows this year, but it's early...and I just recently started getting into more 07 shows (Blue Knights..........omg...I LOVE IT). Give it some time.

So far this year I like Bluecoats, Blue Stars, and Glassmen.

[Hup234]

Is it just me or has the quality of DCI declined significantly in the past two years? To me it doesn't seem to be the level of talent among the members of the corps that is lacking, but in the the designs of the shows themselves. It is especially apparent this year in the top 6 or 7 corps (Cavaliers, Blue Devils, Cadets, etc...). The narration in the Cadets' show is an unmitigated disaster, the level of sophistication in the BD and Cavalier shows is that of a high school marching band. The only two shows I saw with any sort of potential were SCV and Bluecoats, but even their shows have significant design flaws.

Here are a few specific things that I think need to be done in order to reverse this trend of vapidity and save DCI from destroying itself:

- NO MORE AMPS. period. Yes, there have been corps that have used them tastefully, but this narration crap has to end NOW.

- NO MORE MEDLEYS. This is something that only the music arrangers can fix. For once I would like to hear a complete song. Nothing sucks the life out of me more than listening to medleys. A perfect example is the Bluecoats' show this year. There was absolutely no reason in the world to mix in clips of "On The Waterfront" between the Rocky music. Very difficult to listen to and it makes no sense thematically.

- MORE MEMORABLE MUSIC. No more of this arcane and abstract crap that seems to go on forever. Maybe it will impress a bunch of highs choolers, but it's growing old on me. Also, no more shot notes every 5 bars, and no more drum breaks that last forever while the horn line is off in the back corner doing choreography just for the sake of doing choreography. If you pick music that people are familiar with, the will be able to relate to it more. You can still do a lot of crowd pleasing stuff without sacrificing difficulty.

- NO MORE PROPS. They're distracting to look at and they take up too much space on the field that could be used for drill. I have never seen a show where I thought the props enhanced the show in ANY way. If you need props (and narration for that matter) to help the audience understand the theme of your show, it's probably going to be a bad show anyway.

I hope there is someone out there who understands what I'm talking about here. With the exception of one or two shows, I felt 2007 was a bad year for DCI and I didn't think it could get any worse until I saw this year's shows. I know this whole post sounds very negative and pessimistic, and I know there's a whole brigade of pollyannas out there who will disagree with me, but I feel DCI is slowly metastasizing in to some sort of nightmare out of a BOA contest.

Well, you're absolutely spot-on, of course. Add to that the other problems: the cost of all the high-priced instrumentation the powers-that-were mandated upon the weak-willed who never protested, the decades-long erosion in the rosters, the lack of appeal to the average youth, the elitist "we're so artsy" mentality that turns off potential rookie beginners, and the Death Spiral I've predicted since 2000 on RAMD and more recently here has now reached overdrive. You've noticed too that the pollyannas-aplenty here who over the past several years had waxed so enthusiastically about an unbounded future have now adopted a worried tone, those who were so confident that the abandonment of years-past policies and principles was absolutely the right thing to do. And some others -- those who have the stethoscope pressed up against the patient -- are hearing the onset of Cheyne-Stokes Respiration.

[dciguy1987]

If you felt 2007 was a bad year for dci you need to get out from under the rock you're living under. Corps are far more talented than they were 5 years ago.

More talented? How does one measure that?

[beavs]

Well, you're absolutely spot-on, of course. Add to that the other problems: the cost of all the high-priced instrumentation the powers-that-were mandated upon the weak-willed who never protested, the decades-long erosion in the rosters, the lack of appeal to the average youth, the elitist "we're so artsy" mentality that turns off potential rookie beginners, and the Death Spiral I've predicted since 2000 on RAMD and more recently here has now reached overdrive. You've noticed too that the pollyannas-aplenty here who over the past several years had waxed so enthusiastically about an unbounded future have now adopted a worried tone, those who were so confident that the abandonment of years-past policies and principles was absolutely the right thing to do. And some others -- those who have the stethoscope pressed up against the patient -- are hearing the onset of Cheyne-Stokes Respiration.

I have a dream... that I'm marching cadets show and don't know the drill or the music but I'm ok at guiding so I hang in there long enough to realize I have no pants and am missing a glove that fell on the field but for some reason I keep trying to pick it up in the middle of the show thats over and now I'm the only one left on the field after rehearsal and the busses left without me to the show but its in walking distance so i run there still in uniform but with a Cavaliers aussi now and I wake up in the gym in the middle of the night and everyone is asleep still....whew, it was just a dream...but theres girls on the other side of the gym and no one told me they allowed girls this year and a real hot one is in my sleeping bag but shes still wearing her drum harness and its getting "in the way" so i take it off only to discover its my corps director telling me to not to go right to go left so I do the rep again but the box drill was in a different direction this time and I forgot so I get hit in the face with a contra bell SMACK...

...whew...its 3:30 am I still got an hour and a half before before we get to the housing site. Whos shoe just fell on me?

[dciguy1987]

I'd be willing to get some statistics on how much DCI music since, say, 1980 has been "recognizable." My guess is that overall, it's no more than 10%. Honestly, how many people saw the Blue Devils for the first time in 1982 being completely familiar with a small jazz vocal group called Singers Unlimited's "One More Time, Chuck Corea"?

1970's: almost every thing was recognizable, things are repeated in back to back years often.

1980's: vast majority is recognizable, many corps still choose to repeat songs back to back years if they worked well.

1990's: Early 90's similar to the 80's, late 90's things change a lot (Star drives this, Cadets some, Cavies some)

2000's: obviously the least recognizable decade (so far)

I also think it gets harder to bring new stuff to the table. The growth process in the music caption is difficult, it really is no longer "kosher" to repeat songs or do something another corps has already done (besides, most of the time it has already been done VERY well!) I realize these are generalizations, but I do think it is a growing pain the activity must go through and some designers will have to be bold enough to work their way back to using melodies that have development and length in order to get people (not music majors!) to leave the stadium remembering the songs they heard. Audiences attach themselves to things they understand.