Drum Corps Midwest

[cowtown]

A huge part of the attendees were not paid attendance due to being corps members and staff members who were staying in schools.

Things have changed a little since I went to NIU for my masters degree, but there hasn't seemed to be an increase in hotels for years.

The students did pretty much fill up the stadium on game days.

DeKlab has changed a lot recently. New hotels on Sycamore road, new big box stores (Best Buy, Boarders etc…) and new chain restaurants…it looks more like Naperville now and less like Dixon. It’s become a regional shopping hub for the area usurping Rockford, Cherryvale, and Fox Valley for all the little towns around. Football games changed too, they have been selling out since they had that top 25 ranking a few years back, tons of alums return now but seeing they had a really bad past 2 years and look to be worse this year, that might not last. Coach Novak was retired and the football program no longer has the clout with the AD like it use to….also the coach was not fired for the Capital Regiment episode, the strength and conditioning coach was fired…he was leading an unofficial work-out (too early by NCAA rules to be official) so they are way more cautious about those too – so I don’t think its that difficult to book Husky Stadium if you do it early enough in the season. Heck, even I got the keys to it a few times. Really don’t think hotels are that big of an issue either as Rockford, Rosemount, Madison and Milwaukee were all relativity close, plus you have 100,000 hotel rooms just an hour west of DeKalb. The town was very supportive of DCM so were a few within the University / school district – better not let more of those connections die

I loved the DCM show, would meet my family there every year, and even saw 2004 and 2005 (concert at Hopkins Parks band shell was very cool). Use to also go to the Dixon show and take my sister’s family. I know without those 2 (3 if you count DCM prelims) shows, there are at least 30 less tickets bought by us Cowtown’s. My nephews and nieces both looked forward to those shows and they were at that age where if they were smaller, regional corps, I know at least 2 of them would have joined up. But they haven’t been to a show since those were ended, they are older now and I doubt they have much interest in Drum Corp any more, a few years is a lot in kid terms. I doubt I’d be involved in Drum Corps without the DeKalb show / DCM. It’s those little shows and little corps that make drum corps seem doable to those little town kids with crappy band programs. That’s now gone. More kids march in the tiny, not very good, none of the glory corps than in the big power house corps. That won’t be true soon the way things are headed

[KiltieBD3]

While the NFL/NBA drumline phenomenon is cool, it has nothing to do with DCI or DCM. If an individual drumline is developed in affiliation with a corps, it is because that corps seized the opportunity.

This is true. For example, the Bears line is affiliated with the Cavaliers but the Packers Drum Line is affiliated with no one particular group.

[Michael Boo]

Thank you, Cowtown, for the update on DeKalb's recent transformation. I've been to town a couple times since the new basketball arena, but haven't been in it. Might you have been inside?

It was an interesting town. I could never figure out if it was a small city or a large village.

I don't know if you saw the article in the Chicago Tribune (sometime over the past couple of days). The further out suburbs are taking a hit with the rise of gas prices. They've suffered the most with housing sales as people are re-evaluating living further out from where the jobs are.

I'm just glad that frozen custard place on Annie Glidden wasn't there when I lived just up the street.

[cowtown]

You mean the Convocation Center? Yeah, it’s functionally nice, architecturally a disaster but then so was Chick Evans, that’s been open a while.

DeKalb is a small town with a big University, w/out counting NIU’s numbers the towns’ populations use to hover around 12,000 (36,000 on the sign) now about 17,000. Enrollment at NIU is down this year mainly due to that shooting at Cole hall as typically, in tight economies enrollment would usually soar because it’s a very cheap school to attend (my sisters went there - I went to Urbana also a deal). Many wonder(ed) about the sustainability of the recent massive growth in DeKalb. Even prior to the housing disaster, houses in the Hillcrest area were abandoned because they could not sell them when all the new McManisons popped up. But as I said, much of the business development is fed by the small towns around it (Watermen, Shabbona, Genoa…) so if the town tanks, the stores will still be there. I liked the old DeKalb better the new version feels cheap and generic

I have family in DeKalb (and Dixon) so I still visit and get all the updates and gossip

But really, point being, DeKalb could easily host a big DCI show, much better than say Bloomington (take your pick Indiana or Illinois)

2 firsts for me Dekalb – I saw SCV do their first bottle dance and met Mr Boo for the first time ( I think it was your Jade year)

[notelvis]

I loved the DCM show, would meet my family there every year, and even saw 2004 and 2005 (concert at Hopkins Parks band shell was very cool). Use to also go to the Dixon show and take my sister’s family. I know without those 2 (3 if you count DCM prelims) shows, there are at least 30 less tickets bought by us Cowtown’s. My nephews and nieces both looked forward to those shows and they were at that age where if they were smaller, regional corps, I know at least 2 of them would have joined up. But they haven’t been to a show since those were ended, they are older now and I doubt they have much interest in Drum Corp any more, a few years is a lot in kid terms. I doubt I’d be involved in Drum Corps without the DeKalb show / DCM. It’s those little shows and little corps that make drum corps seem doable to those little town kids with crappy band programs. That’s now gone. More kids march in the tiny, not very good, none of the glory corps than in the big power house corps. That won’t be true soon the way things are headed

Mr. Cowtown,

Thank you. You've done a better job saying in one paragraph what I tried to say in 10.

Viva la drum corps for small town kids coming out of small town bands!

[WWonka]

Why would a kid...any kid...join any activity and spend the time and $$$ needed to participate, for the 'greater good'?

...if that is the 'they' you are talking about, at any rate.

No I was not talking about the members. I was referring to the body of directors, member corps especially. But that always breaks down into what is the mission of DCI and it's member corps. They are there to serve themselves and the other member corps. Fostering growth with additional corps has never been part of the mission as far as I know.

OT: I went to a big regional marching band show last Saturday night, 15 bands total, 8 6A bands.(had one of my kids marching). I do not look forward to electronics. I witnessed some tragic uses of a synth.

[Tom Brace]

Mike if the Open Class corps went to DCI and said "we want paid like you guys do", forget it. they are an afterthought in the big scheme of things.

so really, what say do they really have?

the answer would be the same as if any corps went to DCI and said we want to be paid more.

That answer...

GET BETTER.

[tommytimp]

the answer would be the same as if any corps went to DCI and said we want to be paid more.

That answer...

GET BETTER.

Well, (finger snap) that sure was easy. And to think, all I had to do was get better! I didn't have to raise dues to cover the cost of hiring staff to increase visibilty, thereby securing better endorsement deals, increasing the size of the membership to compensate for program flaws with sheer size, and overcoming already-existing judges' biases, or ANYTHING. We just had to "get better!"

I wonder if this approach will work for health care. Preznit Bush sez: "Don't get sick."

Edited September 24, 2008 by tommytimp

[forpetessake]

Well, (finger snap) that sure was easy. And to think, all I had to do was get better! I didn't have to raise dues to cover the cost of hiring staff to increase visibilty, thereby securing better endorsement deals, increasing the size of the membership to compensate for program flaws with sheer size, and overcoming already-existing judges' biases, or ANYTHING. We just had to "get better!"

I wonder if this approach will work for health care. Preznit Bush sez: "Don't get sick."

Lord knows we tried, eh Tommy!

[MikeD]

No I was not talking about the members. I was referring to the body of directors, member corps especially. But that always breaks down into what is the mission of DCI and it's member corps. They are there to serve themselves and the other member corps. Fostering growth with additional corps has never been part of the mission as far as I know.

Ah, I misunderstood. Thanks for the clarification.