Progressive rule changes you would LIKE to see?

[It's Godzilla!]

Segways.

[Bob J]

Giant LCD screens on the field that could be used either for visual effects, or close-ups like at a rock concert.

[bluecoats88]

strippers

[Harvey]

I would like to see a rule change that limits the amount of fees a member has to pay to perform. If Mariska Hargitay can make $350,000 per episode for Law & Order SVU, I cannot understand why drum corps members must pay several thousand dollars a year just to perform.

[audiodb]

I think repealing amplification/electronics would be "progressive" change.

I'll bet that's not what the OP was looking for, so maybe some of the below ideas might be deemed more "progressive". These are from a post I made a year and a half ago:

1. Membership: Every corps that meets the financial and organizational criteria for DCI world-class participation should be a member corps (i.e. not just the top 21). (I believe this one has been implemented.)

2. Voting: Every member corps should have full voting rights (i.e. not just those who have made top-21 three years running). And of course, each corps should have an equal vote (i.e. one vote per corps). (Do all member corps vote in the new BOD elections? If so, this one has been implemented as well.)

3. Judging: The judging pot must be stirred to combat slotting. With all the qualified individuals that teach and judge America's 4000-unit marching band activity, why is the DCI judging pool so small? More fresh faces among the green shirts would certainly help.

4. Judging: Double the GE judges at major shows, averaging their scores so that no single judge has twice the influence of the rest of the panel. (This one has been implemented.)

5. Judging: Sequester championship-week GE judges so that they are seeing every corps for the first time.

6. Judging: Reduce GE from 40 to 30 points. Use "celebrity judges", two people of influence in the arts, entertainment, business and/or political world who are seeing every corps for the first time, each given five points to use as they choose, thus injecting a wildcard into the final scoring tally. I described this idea in more detail here.

7. Money: We all know that "appearance fees" are now equal for all world-class corps, but share money is still tied to competitive placement. At the very least, that should be leveled as well. Better yet, recognize the inherent advantages winners have in souvie sales and sponsorships/endorsements, and scale share payments to pay lower-placing member corps more to compensate.

[chaos001]

3. Judging: The judging pot must be stirred to combat slotting. With all the qualified individuals that teach and judge America's 4000-unit marching band activity, why is the DCI judging pool so small? More fresh faces among the green shirts would certainly help.

AMEN!!!

[Tom Brace]

glow in the dark spats.

That's it. That's all I want. Glow in the dark spats. Not so advantageous on the field...but...on the way to and from the field. Oh so cool.

Out.

[BRASSO]

We always hear about how the new changes and whatnot are bad, but what do some of you guys want to see in terms of rule changes?

For me, I'd love to see woodwinds and strings in the pit. I know that's a controversial idea, but that's what I think. I just don't think that it would kill drum corps if the Blue Devils had a sax player or if Phantom had a small string quintet. Could you imagine The Red Violin WITH VIOLINS? I guess I'm a little biased though, because I'd love to be able to go to a drum corps with my best instrument.

What about you guys? Anything you would want to see?

Overhaul of the General Effect Captions to take into at least SOME consideration the perceived show appeal on the part of the performers and staff designers to the paying audience. Some of these performers may one day perform before a paying audience in a professional capacity. It would be beneficial to all to concerned it seems to me for them to understand that success in a performance enterprise ultimately depends upon the response by the audience. ( unless one INTENDS to be obscure and financially poor, which of course there are lots of musicians, performers, and entertainers, artists, etc we've never heard of that fall into this category because their performance or creative endeavor is mostly unappealing to the general public )

Edited June 16, 2009 by BRASSO

[CitBos]

I would like to see Drum Corps progress to the point of not needing to rely on any type of electronics or amplification. I'm sure that the activity can get there someday.

You mean like what they use to do BEFORE electronics or amplification were allowed? I personally don't think they can do it. (I am, of course, saying this in a sarcastic way. )

[Lafalot]

1. If it runs on electricity, it's not allowed.

2. If an instrument is not brass or percussion, it's not allowed.

3. A judges is not allowed to know a corp's scores from previous shows. Ever. He or she gets a clean slate and judges a show on its merits, that night only, not as compared to a week ago or based on the fact that he or she got fired from corps XYZ in 1982 and it's time for revenge, or "this corps was not very good in the mid-90's, so they can't be good now", or "They ended last season with a 72.5, so there's no way they get a 75.5 this early in this season". In other words, slotting is illegal and punishable with lifetime banishment from judging.

4. Did I mention no electronics and no woodwinds or strings?

5. Am I cynical? Yep. I miss the days when DRUM and BUGLE corps was just that, not drum and bugle (and synthesizer and narrator and fat girl singing and fake radio show and political correctness and pushing my "love the earth" agenda and violin and saxophone and who cares if we entertain the audience, as long as we're artists, and "let's be just like BOA") corps.