ussglassman Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 (edited) There are 19 corps competing in Michigan City Open Class Quarter Finals. An all time low. Open Class is not growing folks. Nothing is "growing" right now. No one has the balls to commit their credit and their resources to a huge program, relying on finding funding and people to perform and participate as staff. If someone decided to start a drum corps, or "buy out" a currently failing drum corps, they would have to have an unending blank check, that would never pay itself back. Also, they would need to expect that the program would SUCK competitively for a few years if it got off the ground at all. This is not 1986. This is not the world and the time where a person with deep pockets can just start his own personal powerhouse drum corps. Having ran my own, I can tell you that the biggest issue is finding people to perform. I spent 3 years committing my entire life to developing a program and the biggest corps I ever performed, in a parade mind you, was 14 people. Kids these days are just lazy, and they don't feel like committing to anything that isn't guaranteed to win. Unless new circuits are created who FOCUS on letting small corps compete closer to home, all small drum corps will die off. DCI has no interest in the Open Class because they don't sell tickets to shows. DCI packs the house for the top 12 corps and that's it. All this talk of creating new circuits is great, but it needs to be a national program where every region has its own tour and championships, where corps can travel to maybe 6 or 7 shows through the summer, and compete in a sectional championship. Edited April 24, 2009 by ussglassman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 There are 19 corps competing in Michigan City Open Class Quarter Finals. An all time low. Open Class is not growing folks. Are you considering those corps that don't do much touring to begin with?? BDC, for example? BDB only goes out every other year. You can't just look at numbers at one show and state open class isn't growing without looking at at other factors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Dude.. I SO want to be marching on 12/21/2012. "All right guys, horns up to the stars and 1, 2, ready..." Mabe with the final epic chord ringing out just as the sun and galaxy align... Awesome. Dang, there needs to be an emoticon representing Epicness. Anywhos, I think that with as many open class corps there are in So. Cal I think one or two should merge for a season and mabe come back when the economic weather is better. I'm sure that's a lot easier said than done but it's just a thought. How have mergers been in past years? Generally smooth or Rocky? How have they done in competition? They're hit and miss...very few work out well...Crossmen is usually the go-to example of one that worked. Others die after the first year...if that long. The issue sometimes is not the members....it's the mix of staff...no one wants to give up their slot to the other guy. As for the SoCal groups merging....much as that seems to be a viable optoin, I don't see a merger happening....we all want to be our own group. The only way any "merger" would happen would be if one corps folded and the memebship went en masse to another local corps...like if Mystikal folded and they all went to City Sound. The economic weather is a major reason why we're holding off on En Garde for awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardCorp Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Some good points/ some bad ones Good - It is financially illogical to start or take over an Open Class corps - Open Class corps do not sell tickets. Bad - Blanket statment like "kids are lazy". No, they are more discerning as to how they spend their money for group related activities. Open Class corps cannot just announce they exist and plan on attending chamopinships Nothing is "growing" right now. No one has the balls to commit their credit and their resources to a huge program, relying on finding funding and people to perform and participate as staff. If someone decided to start a drum corps, or "buy out" a currently failing drum corps, they would have to have an unending blank check, that would never pay itself back. Also, they would need to expect that the program would SUCK competitively for a few years if it got off the ground at all. This is not 1986. This is not the world and the time where a person with deep pockets can just start his own personal powerhouse drum corps. Having ran my own, I can tell you that the biggest issue is finding people to perform. I spent 3 years committing my entire life to developing a program and the biggest corps I ever performed, in a parade mind you, was 14 people. Kids these days are just lazy, and they don't feel like committing to anything that isn't guaranteed to win. Unless new circuits are created who FOCUS on letting small corps compete closer to home, all small drum corps will die off. DCI has no interest in the Open Class because they don't sell tickets to shows. DCI packs the house for the top 12 corps and that's it. All this talk of creating new circuits is great, but it needs to be a national program where every region has its own tour and championships, where corps can travel to maybe 6 or 7 shows through the summer, and compete in a sectional championship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Brace Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share Posted April 24, 2009 Nothing is "growing" right now. No one has the balls to commit their credit and their resources to a huge program, relying on finding funding and people to perform and participate as staff. If someone decided to start a drum corps, or "buy out" a currently failing drum corps, they would have to have an unending blank check, that would never pay itself back. Also, they would need to expect that the program would SUCK competitively for a few years if it got off the ground at all. This is not 1986. This is not the world and the time where a person with deep pockets can just start his own personal powerhouse drum corps. Having ran my own, I can tell you that the biggest issue is finding people to perform. I spent 3 years committing my entire life to developing a program and the biggest corps I ever performed, in a parade mind you, was 14 people. Kids these days are just lazy, and they don't feel like committing to anything that isn't guaranteed to win. Unless new circuits are created who FOCUS on letting small corps compete closer to home, all small drum corps will die off. DCI has no interest in the Open Class because they don't sell tickets to shows. DCI packs the house for the top 12 corps and that's it. All this talk of creating new circuits is great, but it needs to be a national program where every region has its own tour and championships, where corps can travel to maybe 6 or 7 shows through the summer, and compete in a sectional championship. The issue with finding performers is a regional issue I believe. Corps in Wisconsin/Michigan had potential members for a couple of years...just not enough money to go out on the road. It's money more than members in some areas of the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Brace Posted April 24, 2009 Author Share Posted April 24, 2009 Are you considering those corps that don't do much touring to begin with?? BDC, for example? BDB only goes out every other year. You can't just look at numbers at one show and state open class isn't growing without looking at at other factors. BDB has gone consistently for the past few years....once was in their own backyard, but they went to Indy last year and I understand they are going again this year too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadacorps Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Some good points/ some bad onesGood - It is financially illogical to start or take over an Open Class corps - Open Class corps do not sell tickets. Bad - Blanket statment like "kids are lazy". No, they are more discerning as to how they spend their money for group related activities. Open Class corps cannot just announce they exist and plan on attending chamopinships I agree that blanket statements are bad, however, the gentleman said he dedicated 3 years of his life to building that group. That doesn't sound to me like he just announced he existed and planned to attend with his new group. I'm sure that he spent a large amount of time, effort, and money on recruitment. Unfortunately, sometimes getting members is partially up to luck. You never know which kids are going to respond to which particular ad, membership poster, pamphlet, presentation etc. or whether they will be willing to invest the time and money if they are interested. Marching corps costs a lot more these days than it used to, and we are now competing with much more than we did in the past in terms of extra-curriculars and home entertainment. Also, marching music is just not as popular as it used to be in some areas. The world is changing. We can survive and thrive though, it just takes a few REALLY stubborn people who will stick with you through anything, some creative solutions, and community support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardCorp Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Well the "one " show considered is the World Championship prelims. Only a few years ago there were over 40. There have always been a handful of corps that do not attend. Either way you slice it, the amount of Open Class corps is shrinking every year. Not growing at all. What other factors would you consider? The average height of members in a corps? Sorry, it's a fact. Less corps every year means shrinking. Not growing at all. Are you considering those corps that don't do much touring to begin with?? BDC, for example? BDB only goes out every other year. You can't just look at numbers at one show and state open class isn't growing without looking at at other factors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWonka Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 I hope it doesn't happen but you have to admit there has been some major shrinkage in the last couple of years alone. I watched my '06 Div II/III Finals DVD earlier and on the liner it said 28 competed. This year they are saying 19. That's a 33% drop in 3 years... Go down that list of 28 and see who is missing now... I'm just glad there has been a start up or two and a returning or it would be even worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ussglassman Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 I agree that blanket statements are bad, however, the gentleman said he dedicated 3 years of his life to building that group. That doesn't sound to me like he just announced he existed and planned to attend with his new group. I'm sure that he spent a large amount of time, effort, and money on recruitment. Unfortunately, sometimes getting members is partially up to luck. You never know which kids are going to respond to which particular ad, membership poster, pamphlet, presentation etc. or whether they will be willing to invest the time and money if they are interested. Marching corps costs a lot more these days than it used to, and we are now competing with much more than we did in the past in terms of extra-curriculars and home entertainment. Also, marching music is just not as popular as it used to be in some areas. The world is changing. We can survive and thrive though, it just takes a few REALLY stubborn people who will stick with you through anything, some creative solutions, and community support. I appreciate your kind words. I didnt even charge my kids anything, and they still wouldnt show up. I had just started putting kids on the field when it fell apart. Giving up 3 years and all the $ i would have spent on college is enough of a sacrifice to prove to me that kids are lazy. Kids parents are lazy. It could be a regional thing, but it could be bigger than that. I think its a generational thing. Why do you think the big corps have to recruit all over the US? If they just took kids from their own area, every top 12 corps would be gone in a year..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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