Who would like a DCA Unit from maine?

[Shenandoah Vibrato]

How about activating the Katahdin Rangers from Millinocit?

I'd love to seem them again. We used to compete against them in the early 60s'.

[Imperial]

We have had corps here before way back before Drum Corps Died persay. Ive been part of the last 2 attempts to field a DCI unit. I think DCA is the way to go. IF anyone has some tips and some words of wisdom or help feel free to send them my way!

Ok, I've read all the posts in this thread and I feel I, my corps, and our experience over the last 6 years qualifies us to offer you some advice which may be of some worth to you. I think we are the closest model to your idea, in that we basically started over from scratch and dug a long dead corps out of the grave.

Let me start with a comment and a question:

1. .Great... you have an idea.... a dream, maybe even a plan... Are you alone in this or do you have friends, former members or connections to actually propose something which would have traction?

2. How much funding do you have, or what potential do you have to generate funding?

2.a. Do you have a financial plan in place?

3. Members.... where would you draw from and who?

5. Drum Corps Species: What kind of "animal" is your corps to be? It seems you feel DCA all age has the best chance but from that, what kind of philosophy do you feel works best?

6. What's in a name? Probably everything if you are starting something entirely new. The right name could serve to attract, the wrong one could cause the whole idea to be stillborn.

I feel if you can answer the above questions and have a solution to them... then you stand a chance. A chance. I can tell you from our experience that the path is full of land mines. It's not easy to start a corps. Death lurks around every corner.

My corps, The Imperials, are a resurrection corps of a 1960's 70's junior corps. We have actually managed to get off the ground and so far we have avoided death but it's not easy. Sometimes I feel like the Wright brothers who have built this fragile plane that's barely off the ground, but the flight is tenuous and there is a sense that at any time we could wobble into a crash. We are a little steadier now, but it's only through stubborn determination that we haven't yet failed.

I dont' mean to go on about us, I only tell this story so maybe you can use the info to your advantage. Here are some of the things which allowed our unlikely seed to start growing:

We had an original corps and concept which had pretty good appeal in it's original form, so when we decided to reform, we felt the original concept and awards won had equity. We got to that stage because we had a reunion in 2002 which was successful. The idea of a reunion wasn't to start a corps but to just get together after 25 years of drum corps entombment. From that reunion that talk of resurrection started. So, we got some initial seed money and moral support from Alumni. That's all evaporated now but at least it got us off the ground. Our alumni -unlike lots of corps- didn't want to be back in the saddle and pick up equipment again. For whatever reason, they just didn't. They supported our efforts but we were left to our own devices to create a new corps. So we got to work, recruiting new people. That's been real tough, but we are finding ways to get it done. So, bringing back the name "Imperials" allowed us seed money because of the obvious sentimental angle with our alumni. I dont' believe our alumni would have ponied up the intitial seed money if we named ourselves "Mach 5" or something !

In addition, we created a board of dedicated people who just had no quit in them. We borrowed a motto "Failure is not an Option". I believe we still are walking the walk on that one. We also borrowed another motto: Conceive it, Believe it, Achieve it! That's a good one.

Then we set about recruiting a handful of people. Barely enough to march down the street. We felt we needed a minimum of 6 horns, 1 snare one Quint and 3 bass. That was the toughest thing to do. It involved us writing endless emails, making calls to people we know, etc. It was cold calling salesmanship at it's finest. A tough job indeed. But much to our surprise, we realised that if you look hard enough, you will find dedicated people out there willing to give it a shot. They exist... but they are few and far between. It's like panning for gold.... 300 pans of sand will yield one gold nugget. We needed doers and starters, not fence sitters and the faint of heart. That is the hardest part... asking someone to dedicate themselves to a concept they are largely unfamiliar with.

Lastly, goals. You need to set them, even if you don't acheieve them. I say keep your long term goals lofty but your short term expectations sober. We almost exploded into space on a number of occasions, but luckily, the sun came up the next day and everytime we did a gut check we learned that the inner core of the corps was intact.

So, at least for us, here we are, 6 years into our resurrection with only modest results to show for it. We are no less proud of what we've done. We are still along way from where we want to be but at least we are still here. We are finally growing and growing with the quality people we want. We are stabilized, debt free and we own all we have. Even though we believe in ourselves, I sense the drum corps community is still skeptical about us. Now we have to convince them if we are to ever attract any of them. You know, the tradional drum corps nuts, over just music people off the streets who don't know much about drum corps. But, if you look at our site http://www.pembrokeimperials.org you'll see our latest picture taken 3/15/09. It is a picture of a tiny but talented and proud corps. Now it's time for us to grow.

AGDrummer, If you think you can hang with this, then I applaud you. I just want to illuminate for you some of the trials and tribulations, obstructions, setbacks you may encounter.

Sincerely, J Stark - Director, Imperials.

Edited May 22, 2009 by Imperial

[ManchesterMuchacho]

Ok, I've read all the posts in this thread and I feel I, my corps, and our experience over the last 6 years qualifies us to offer you some advice which may be of some worth to you. I think we are the closest model to your idea, in that we basically started over from scratch and dug a long dead corps out of the grave.

Let me start with a comment and a question:

1. .Great... you have an idea.... a dream, maybe even a plan... Are you alone in this or do you have friends, former members or connections to actually propose something which would have traction?

2. How much funding do you have, or what potential do you have to generate funding?

2.a. Do you have a financial plan in place?

3. Members.... where would you draw from and who?

5. Drum Corps Species: What kind of "animal" is your corps to be? It seems you feel DCA all age has the best chance but from that, what kind of philosophy do you feel works best?

6. What's in a name? Probably everything if you are starting something entirely new. The right name could serve to attract, the wrong one could cause the whole idea to be stillborn.

I feel if you can answer the above questions and have a solution to them... then you stand a chance. A chance. I can tell you from our experience that the path is full of land mines. It's not easy to start a corps. Death lurks around every corner.

My corps, The Imperials, are a resurrection corps of a 1960's 70's junior corps. We have actually managed to get off the ground and so far we have avoided death but it's not easy. Sometimes I feel like the Wright brothers who have built this fragile plane that's barely off the ground, but the flight is tenuous and there is a sense that at any time we could wobble into a crash. We are a little steadier now, but it's only through stubborn determination that we haven't yet failed.

I dont' mean to go on about us, I only tell this story so maybe you can use the info to your advantage. Here are some of the things which allowed our unlikely seed to start growing:

We had an original corps and concept which had pretty good appeal in it's original form, so when we decided to reform, we felt the original concept and awards won had equity. We got to that stage because we had a reunion in 2002 which was successful. The idea of a reunion wasn't to start a corps but to just get together after 25 years of drum corps entombment. From that reunion that talk of resurrection started. So, we got some initial seed money and moral support from Alumni. That's all evaporated now but at least it got us off the ground. Our alumni -unlike lots of corps- didn't want to be back in the saddle and pick up equipment again. For whatever reason, they just didn't. They supported our efforts but we were left to our own devices to create a new corps. So we got to work, recruiting new people. That's been real tough, but we are finding ways to get it done. So, bringing back the name "Imperials" allowed us seed money because of the obvious sentimental angle with our alumni. I dont' believe our alumni would have ponied up the intitial seed money if we named ourselves "Mach 5" or something !

In addition, we created a board of dedicated people who just had no quit in them. We borrowed a motto "Failure is not an Option". I believe we still are walking the walk on that one. We also borrowed another motto: Conceive it, Believe it, Achieve it! That's a good one.

Then we set about recruiting a handful of people. Barely enough to march down the street. We felt we needed a minimum of 6 horns, 1 snare one Quint and 3 bass. That was the toughest thing to do. It involved us writing endless emails, making calls to people we know, etc. It was cold calling salesmanship at it's finest. A tough job indeed. But much to our surprise, we realised that if you look hard enough, you will find dedicated people out there willing to give it a shot. They exist... but they are few and far between. It's like panning for gold.... 300 pans of sand will yield one gold nugget. We needed doers and starters, not fence sitters and the faint of heart. That is the hardest part... asking someone to dedicate themselves to a concept they are largely unfamiliar with.

Lastly, goals. You need to set them, even if you don't acheieve them. I say keep your long term goals lofty but your short term expectations sober. We almost exploded into space on a number of occasions, but luckily, the sun came up the next day and everytime we did a gut check we learned that the inner core of the corps was intact.

So, at least for us, here we are, 6 years into our resurrection with only modest results to show for it. We are no less proud of what we've done. We are still along way from where we want to be but at least we are still here. We are finally growing and growing with the quality people we want. We are stabilized, debt free and we own all we have. Even though we believe in ourselves, I sense the drum corps community is still skeptical about us. Now we have to convince them if we are to ever attract any of them. You know, the tradional drum corps nuts, over just music people off the streets who don't know much about drum corps. But, if you look at our site http://www.pembrokeimperials.org you'll see our latest picture taken 3/15/09. It is a picture of a tiny but talented and proud corps. Now it's time for us to grow.

AGDrummer, If you think you can hang with this, then I applaud you. I just want to illuminate for you some of the trials and tribulations, obstructions, setbacks you may encounter.

Sincerely, J Stark - Director, Imperials.

Derek,

For whatever you think it's worth, this is excellent advice. John's story is a common one, the Muchachos have been where it sounds like the Imperials have been and we've gone through the same ups and downs. I really can't echo what John's saying much more, I'll reiterate one point, unless you have a 'critical mass' a lot of drum corps people aren't interested in joining a 'project', be prepared to put a lot of hard work into it. We're starting to get to where we set out to be about 5 years ago, so it's going to take patience and a lot of work.

John,

Stick with it, we're a fan of the Imperials, I'm glad you're making progress, hopefully some of those seeds you've planted will start to bear fruit. Best of luck this season.

[Imperial]

Derek,

For whatever you think it's worth, this is excellent advice. John's story is a common one, the Muchachos have been where it sounds like the Imperials have been and we've gone through the same ups and downs. I really can't echo what John's saying much more, I'll reiterate one point, unless you have a 'critical mass' a lot of drum corps people aren't interested in joining a 'project', be prepared to put a lot of hard work into it. We're starting to get to where we set out to be about 5 years ago, so it's going to take patience and a lot of work.

John,

Stick with it, we're a fan of the Imperials, I'm glad you're making progress, hopefully some of those seeds you've planted will start to bear fruit. Best of luck this season.

Thanks so much! All the best to you too!!!!

[brassomaniac]

Weren't they the "Pine Tree Warriors" ?

Yes, "Maine's Marching Ambassadors", I think, was their tagline.

We competed at their home show, in the late eighties. I remember them being a decent corps, on the field, and a nice bunch of people.

Edited May 25, 2009 by brassomaniac

[brassomaniac]

John, kudos to you and your team, and your perseverence with the Imperials. Just keep at it, and keep adding to, and improving what you've got.

Derek, best of luck with the new corps in Maine! We're toying with the idea of another I&E show in Albany, next February. Might be a first step in getting some kind of ensemble on stage. And not as far a trip for you as most other All-age events might be.

Edited May 25, 2009 by brassomaniac

[Imperial]

John, kudos to you and your team, and your perseverence with the Imperials. Just keep at it, and keep adding to, and improving what you've got.

Derek, best of luck with the new corps in Maine! We're toying with the idea of another I&E show in Albany, next February. Might be a first step in getting some kind of ensemble on stage. And not as far a trip for you as most other All-age events might be.

Thanks so much CB! Please keep us in mind for Feb!

[brassomaniac]

Thanks so much CB! Please keep us in mind for Feb!

Would love to see you!

I took a look at your site, and the corps looks great!

Edited May 26, 2009 by brassomaniac

[washingtoncorpsfan]

The more, the merrier!

[Imperial]

Thanks, Guys!