Rise/Fall of Drum Corps

[davefan66]

I agree with you, esp. the last paragraph I highlighted. It is easy to lose interest esp. when well known music is done and arranged to the point the music is no longer recognizable (ie cavies Billy Joel show). It's hard to get people outside of the activity interested when they can't make a personal connection with what they see on the field. IMO, we need to see some more shows like PR's 2008 Spartacus, Carolina Corwn's Finis, 'classic' BD (Channel 1, La Suerte, One More Time...) etc....

Drum Corps is a great activity that could be made more attractive to more of the at large population, but imo, electronics, vocals, and saxes will never do it esp. when the show designs keep getting 'weirder'.

Thank you Phantom Regiment and Carolina Crown for the great 2008 shows! You helped renew my interest in this great activity!!!

I agree with your point on electronics and especially vocals. Those two things have done more to turn me off the activity than anything

else in the last 15 years.

Although I would prefer music I know, music I don't that is played well with energy and passion you can feel from the field works for me.

Intense energy, passion and shows the average non-musical major fan can understand would help reach out to fans who are leaving the

activity. Also toss in some type of promotion, like ESPN to bring DCI to the masses.

[Legolaus]

I will respond to this post on both ends. The rise of drum corps happened after World War I up through the 1970's. After WWI there were lots of surplus equipment, people were looking for pageantry in their lives and there were youth in need of positive activities. The cost of organizing and operating a group was very reasonable-to the point where a hand-full of good intentioned parents could get a group started.

The activity flourished because of all these factors and because the activity had a clear identity. The local base of the groups allowed them to became almost like community clubs. The members in the corps grew up with each other. Drum corps became something the participants and their families' lives revolved around. Members were drawn to a corps by their friends and neighbors. At one point in the 60's drum corps was the second most popular American past time next to baseball.

The drum corps activity has had, for quite some time an identity crisis. DCI tried to address this in the 1980's by developing the "Summer Music Games" concept. This attempt to market the activity as a sport was actually a good idea, but I don't think ever gained much traction. Certainly there have been other attempts to align our activity with a broadway show and other entertainment type activities to varying amounts of success.

On top of this identity crisis cost of participation has escalated. The cost to the individual group and the cost to the individual members. This includes the directs costs as well as the indirect costs. The indirect costs to the corps themselves include needing to hire a full time staff (at least one), vehicle purchases, etc... The indirect costs to the members include an entire summer activity preventing them from working, certainly if the member has to travel to get to rehearsals this will add costs quite quickly.

This has led to to the decline in the number of units performing. A decline in the number of units leads to declining number of alumni, a decline in the number of potential parents and fans, etc... As these costs increased the activity began to decline.

The controversial rules and show concepts have been a part of the activity for a long time and will no doubt continue to be a part, but this has also led to the identity crisis. This identity crisis leads to a huge marketing nightmare. How do you market the activity to people who have never heard about it? Typically I cling to non-descript comparisons to marching bands and such.

In my estimation the peak of the activity happened somewhere between 1979 and 1986. Number of competing corps, number of fans attending shows, popularity of activity in general seemed to peak somewhere in this time. Just my two cents.

[Martybucs]

I think another factor was the televising of DCI.

Neighborhood corps no longer had many places to compete, but now that people saw the top corps on TV, no one wanted to belong to the Hometown Cadets anymore.

If they were going to march, it was going to be a top corps.

Granted, not in everyone's case.

MikeD always points out that local high school bands have taken over the role of the old drum and bugle corps. He's right.

While I don't agree that it's the same thing because the old drum and bugle corps were just that, drum and bugle corps, the local school bands are essentially the only venue for those not able to do DCI or all age.

DCI corps are essentially bands now, (albeit very, very good bands), so I think the "Fall of Drum Corps" is pretty much a done deal already.

and those that want to argue over the exact definition of a bugle, go stick your mouthpiece ... you know where.

[BRASSO]

I agree with much of what you posted here. I found it interesting that when DCI attempted to market itself as a competitive sport and even used the term " shoot out at the ok corral "..... and even took the heartbeat comarisons with athletes, etc and so forth...... Corps began to hear boos at shows with a little more frequency. Well, hello !...... name me a sports competition with 18-22 year olders where we don't hear booing on occasion. So I agree with you. DCI was not quite sure if they REALLY wanted to be a competitive sport. Or at least not the competitive sport where booing is a natural byproduct in one degree or another with of 18-22 year old athletic competition in just about all sport competition venues too. So yes, DCI has been going through an identity crisis as to what exactly they want to be.

Edited February 2, 2009 by BRASSO

[Matt_S]

I agree with you, esp. the last paragraph I highlighted. It is easy to lose interest esp. when well known music is done and arranged to the point the music is no longer recognizable (ie cavies Billy Joel show). It's hard to get people outside of the activity interested when they can't make a personal connection with what they see on the field. IMO, we need to see some more shows like PR's 2008 Spartacus, Carolina Corwn's Finis, 'classic' BD (Channel 1, La Suerte, One More Time...) etc....

How many pieces from Phantom's show last year did you recognize? Had you heard any of those pieces before in your life? Had you even heard of the composers Rene Dupere or Loris Tjeknavorian before in your life? The pieces Phantom used had never been played in a drum corps show before, so certainly you didn't hear them there. If such a classic can be created while introducing new music on the field, I see no reason why any corps should be obligated to use music with which we are already familiar. Myself, I place great value on being able to discover new material each year, as the repertoires are announced.

In fact, even I doubt most any drum corps fan would know the 'classic' charts you listed if the Blue Devils hadn't created some great shows with them. I think the push to use familiar music overlooks the fact that much of the source material that we would think of as drum corps 'standards' didn't get that way until after someone took that piece and performed a great show with it. Any enthusiastic DCI fan would know who Don Ellis is, and would consider Strawberry Soup to be eminently recognizable, but can you think of anyone in your life - outside of those who are already drum corps fans - who would know the name Don Ellis? Now if there were an all-Don Ellis show on the field next year maybe they would enjoy it (hell, I certainly would!), but it wouldn't be because the music was "recognizable".

Thank you Phantom Regiment and Carolina Crown for the great 2008 shows! You helped renew my interest in this great activity!!!

I never enjoyed Crown's show last year. IMO, the ABCs of classical music approach ran into the territory of being trite and cliche. If every drum corps took this approach to programming, I would cease to be a fan of the activity. On the same evening in Bloomington though, I was completely captivated by the Blue Knights' 2008 show. I didn't recognize any of the pieces used (and have a feeling that the arrangement would have obscured them regardless), but that did not prevent me from enjoying the product placed before me on the field. This disparity, between what you enjoyed and what I enjoyed, is something that I consider very much to be a strength of the activity today. Even with different tastes, you can realistically say that there is something for everyone. I didn't care for Crown, but I know that many did and for that reason I am glad that their show existed. I loved Blue Knights' show so I am certainly glad that that program existed, even while many who post on DCP found them boring. Diversity is good, and the idea that all corps must play "popular" music to survive would instead sacrifice what brought many of us to this activity in the first place.

[BRASSO]

The notion that there was not a lot of " diversity " in earlier era's of Drum Corps seems not to be borne out when one takes a more exacting analysis. Take Troopers for instance....they were different than the Urban themed Bridgemen....... who could not be more different than the spanish themed Muchachos... or the Jazz themed Blue Devils........ who could not be more different than the popular themed 27th Lancers or North Star...... who could not be more different than the classial themed Phantom Regiment...... who could not be more different than the Americana themed Garfield Cadets....... who could not be more different than the Magic of Magic...... who could not be more different than the avard garde themed Star of Indiana...... who could be no more different than the Canadian- French Corps of De La Salle Oaklands, Dutch Boy......who could not be more different than tradition based themed Boston...... who could not be more different than the Southern themed Spirit of Atlanta..... who could not be more different trhan the caped Crossmen...... who could not be more different than the the all male member Corps Cavaliers and Scouts.... who could not be more different than the Broadway themed Santa Clara Vanguard.... who could not be more different than the Kilties ( look at those Kilt uniforms )......who could not be more different than the Velvet Knights ( look at THOSE uniforms of comical levity by comparison )..... who could not be more different than the Kingsmen ( and just look at THOSE uniforms comprised of military precision and polish by comparison )....... and the Color Guard unis of the Blue Stars ? ( no explanation needed if you were around then )......and so forth.

Later we had the originally military themed Troopers playing " the Theme from Aquarius "....... later still, the Cadets doing Twilight Zone material.... and so forth... and with many Corps uniforms becoming much more identical and with an increased blurring of the identity among Corps, etc.. There's a lot less diversity than what we have come to hear when we compare Corps on diversity in identity. It seems much more homogenized to me ( and others ) today than in eartlier era's.

Edited February 2, 2009 by BRASSO

[Martybucs]

Believe it or not, (going back a couple of posts), Don Ellis was fairly well known as a jazz artist and an experimental jazz composer.

I had heard of him long before any corps did any of his charts.

I think it's great that perhaps some people in drum corps circles are exposed to new or different artists because a drum corps performs the work of that artist.

However, the real question is; had Don Ellis ever heard of drum and bugle corps? Probably not.

And when will we hear a corps perform Ellis', "Bulgarian Bulge"?

[elphaba01]

I think another factor was the televising of DCI.

Neighborhood corps no longer had many places to compete, but now that people saw the top corps on TV, no one wanted to belong to the Hometown Cadets anymore.

If they were going to march, it was going to be a top corps.

Granted, not in everyone's case.

MikeD always points out that local high school bands have taken over the role of the old drum and bugle corps. He's right.

While I don't agree that it's the same thing because the old drum and bugle corps were just that, drum and bugle corps, the local school bands are essentially the only venue for those not able to do DCI or all age.

DCI corps are essentially bands now, (albeit very, very good bands), so I think the "Fall of Drum Corps" is pretty much a done deal already.

and those that want to argue over the exact definition of a bugle, go stick your mouthpiece ... you know where.

"Bands Now the Drum Corps Role":

Yep, he's right. So are you about the "DCI Corps being Bands". The "Drum Corps Activity" as we VERY "Olde Tymmers" knew it is all but GONE. The Alumni corps are about the last vestige of that era.

More power to them

Elphaba

WWW

[silvertrombone]

Good insights. Drum Corps will never become " more popular " if it does not play more " popular " music.

Good point!

I took a nice, long break from 98 to 03...no shows, no nothing. Girl and work...neither went too well in the end! Lesson: Never desert Drum Corps! But when I came back into the activity, the two things that struck me were the level of performance and the quality of musical selections. Now, by quality, that's kind of subjective--meaning personal taste. It really was the worst in about 05/06 before the last two years kind of started making a turnaround where you could actually identify some of the pieces being played.

DCI has seen a gradual decrease in number of corps, and as a result in number of shows. But simultaneously, as bawk pointed out, and much more recently, we have seen the advent of the Internet. DCI seems to have a pretty good presence on youTube, whether they like it or not. And quite frankly, they need to have more of an..."official" youTube presence, IMHO. Views = Interest. Interest = $$$'s! See also the Super Bowl of last night...anyone watch just to see commercials?

However, declining number of corps and shows has not directly led to a decrease in popularity. I think most people who have participated in DCI over the years are still fans. But like my absence, life reaches out and grabs most of us. If their kid gets into band, though, you watch--they'll be right there introducing their munchkins to DCI, too! And how many of the fannies in the seats are the bands within a 100-mile radius coming down for their annual "fix"? Lots of those.

Heck, we've got high schoolers auditioning at BK, among others. Now, the particular kid I'm talking about wanted to march battery and was offered (and rejected) a spot in the pit...oops. And I know this isn't the only case of this occuring. So the interest in young people is still there...just, a limited number of spots available...again, due to declining number of corps.

Unfortunately, and I don't mean to abscond with the thread on this one, the powers that be have a hard time dealing with new ideas off-the field. See also how long Fan Network has taken to get going. Several other corps have taken on non-corps related businesses like yea's USSBA in an attempt to replace Bingo revenues, which is promising--especially with BOA's recent financial episode.

One or two of you mentioned that DCI's purpose is not to grow popularity of the activity. Right. You are correct, and I suspect that in your saying that we are on the same page when I say that...duh--IT SHOULD BE!! (not saying 'duh' at you, btw) The NFL is there to make the NFL more popular...that's what Rozelle's job is...making it more popular so it makes the owners MORE MONEY!!!

So while DCI's purpose, nebulously undescribed as it may be, does not include certain things like ensuring that DC's are financially healthy, cash is flowing INTO the corps FROM DCI's initiatives, and the growing popularization of the activity in general...PERHAPS IT SHOULD ENTAIL THESE!! And maybe that's part of the problem...that it does not.

There is a product. There are consumers willing to 'consume' this product. There is a constant supply of new performers coming from the ranks of HS band programs. And its not just a regional thing in the Pac NW--its at least national, and as some of you mentioned...INTERNATIONAL in scope!! My point being, making it more popular SHOULD be part of DCI's purpose...so that threads like this one become unnecessary!! (no offense, OP)

Music is just one of these issues. I won't go into a rant about the de-evolution of the quality of music since the Baroque era as it went from being God-focused to...whatever it has become today. But my point of all of that would be that contemporary music just doesn't appeal to an audience of DC fans in general. Thus, using contemporary music probably isn't the best thing to base your corps' repertoire upon...which is one reason why Phantom Regiment has historically been so popular with fans if not with judges! I am not advocating that every corps go to an all-classics format, but perhaps the trend has run its course and it is time, as I have been advocating for at least 3 years now, for corps to return to a slightly more "popular" repertoire.

And you know what? If 40 corps came out next year with recognizable classical music...would anyone really complain? Just sayin'...not advocating. I think you get my point...good music will ALWAYS draw a good crowd. Make 'em tap their feet (or throw babies!) and you'll draw a big crowd every time.

[taters]

Well I know I might get Dinosaur status for saying this but here it goes. Visually, corps are very alive. They are doing unbelievable things from a GE standpoint. Its the music though that loses the fan and the formula is simple. I used to be able to walk away from a corps show and still have the melody stuck in my head. That in combination with he visual left a long standing effect. Now don't get me wrong I can listen to a show on the recording and hear the beauty and the intensity of it after listening to it over and over again. However, most fans are not going to do that. Corps needs to bring back music that is timely and relatable to what the crowds are seeing. I know its not a popular opinion, but I would be interested if they did a psychology study on it. to prove it right or wrong for once and for all.