Is THIS the "Golden Age"?

[bdlykdad]

Now I know for most former MMs, the Golden Age is the era during which you marched.

And I also know that many fans don't like some of the recent changes (amplification, electronics, etc.).

HOWEVER, a neutral fan (such as myself) might come to the conclusion that the Golden Age is NOW!

To wit:

(1) OVERALL QUALITY

While there are fewer total corps than there were years ago, I would argue that there are MORE GREAT corps than ever before. The talent level (at both the MM and staff level) and quality of design and execution has never been better. Each of the "Top 7" corps are outstanding and can challenge for the title. And there will be several corps that don't make Finals this year that are really good (only 2 out of following 6 corps will make Finals: Blue Stars, BK, Glassmen, Troopers, Scouts, Spirit, Crossmen, Academy).

(2) MUSICIANSHIP

Has never been better. Some lament the loss of the "take a kid off the street and give him a horn" approach of yesteryear, but for fans, having talented and experienced performers greatly increases the thrill factor. Brass sound quality is MUCH MUCH better than the "old days." (Listen to some old shows if don't believe me.) Percussion writing has improved immensely and the talent level of the performers is amazing.

(3) TECHNOLOGY

Today's technology is great for fans. With the Fan Network, corps web sites and other sources, we get to see much more of all the corps, including show performances, warm-ups, practices, and "behind the scenes" stories. We get scores and recaps instantly (although never fast enough...). And we get real time reviews and comments from things like Twitter. DVDs are great as well (hi-def someday?).

Thoughts?

Yes, there are fewer corps, and for a variety of reasons. As someone who has seen drum corps change through the years, one thing I miss is the variety in the corps identities. What the members do individually on the field today is absolutely amazing. No doubt .... Is this the Golden Age? Yes and No, depending on one's perspective. And the brass quality being better? Probably so. We don't have as many people "off the street" participating any more. There ARE many more activities for everyone to do today. One thing that I don't want to see is a lack of respect for what it took to get the activity where it is today. Much like I would hate to hear Lebron and Kobe talk about how crummy the athletes were back in the day. I would hope that each corps member would appreciate the history of individual corps, see where they came from, and how time has changed the activity.

Maybe it's the way that I took it when I read it, but I hope the original poster can appreciate the "old days" and the people that participated then.

[BOSMarcher]

It all depends on how you percieve it. If you compare the number of Jr. Corps in 1965 to todays numbers it's more like the "ice age" than the "golden age".

Of course, that opens up the topic of what high school marching bands have done to local corps. Not as many marching bands in 1965. High school programs are the teachers, where as drum corps used to be. Almost an apples to oranges approach.

[jjeffeory]

There's a WHOLE lot more for people to do now than in 1971.

Really? There were DIFFERENT things to do then than now. This reminds me of a little side story...

Growing up in Ohio ( and then living many years later in Wisconsin, Texas, Louisiana) I used to watch a segment of the 11 o'clock news sometimes called "football Friday night" where the local sports anchor would go from school to school and talk about the local high school football games and even bands each Friday night. Living out in California, Utah, and Las Vegas... They don't do that so much... It was weird to me... Did these people not CARE about their high school sports? My only conclusion is that high school football is more popular in Ohio, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Texas.

I have this friend who thinks that California is just sooo much better than Ohio, or Texas, or the planet because there "are a whole lot more things to do there than other places"... I talked to him about this and his reply was: "That's "all they have to do there. In Ca, people go to the beach, yada, yada, yada..."

This made me think of you, Tez.

If you want to sit down and make a list, I bet you could find just as many things "to do" 'then' as there are to do 'now'. I think that certain things are more popular to do now than then. Things certainly are more homogenized now. I guess that means maybe there are less things to do now? People only now do the mostly popular things and there are less fringe things to do? Nah...

Edited July 2, 2009 by jjeffeory

[pearlsnaredrummer77]

True to an extent. But corps also create fans. As in FMM's and their relatives. I wonder how many fans around now were members of SkyRyders, Freelancers, Dutch Boy (the big one), Star, 27, Suncoast, Wave, etc. etc. You get my point. But maybe the corps increase in size will offset some of that. But unless things have changed Alums make up a huge segment of the fan base. Less corps, less alums.

Also, less corps means a more cookie cutter experience. Too many fans it seems all that matters is about the top five corps. When there were over 65 corps like those that attended shows like the AIO back in 75 (before my time-but we had over 50) there were a number of different dramas going on besides who will make DCI finals. Man-big dramas in the regional championships. Plus the thrill of pre-lims the struggle to see who would make finals in a regional show!!! There were so many great mid-level corps like Avant Garde, Royal Crusaders, etc., who would be duking it out at that level. Then Class A even had a bunch of tiers. Also, in those days, you always had the chance of seeing a corps that you had never seen before. I mean there was just so much variety. It's a shame some of the folks that diss the pre-1990 era couldn't take a ride in time back. But then again, if you only like the top 12, well, that's one thing. But if you LOVE drum corps, there was a lot of excitement when there was a lot of corps.

BTW: I marched in the mid-80s and from what I can tell the Golden Years were not when I marched, but probably in the 1970s.

[Tez]

Really? There were DIFFERENT things to do then than now. This reminds me of a little side story...

Growing up in Ohio ( and then living many years later in Wisconsin, Texas, Louisiana) I used to watch a segment of the 11 o'clock news sometimes called "football Friday night" where the local sports anchor would go from school to school and talk about the local high school football games and even bands each Friday night. Living out in California, Utah, and Las Vegas... They don't do that so much... It was weird to me... Did these people not CARE about their high school sports? My only conclusion is that high school football is more popular in Ohio, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Texas.

I have this friend who thinks that California is just sooo much better than Ohio, or Texas, or the planet because there "are a whole lot more things to do there than other places"... I talked to him about this and his reply was: "That's "all they have to do there. In Ca, people go to the beach, yada, yada, yada..."

This made me think of you, Tez.

If you want to sit down and make a list, I bet you could find just as many things "to do" 'then' as there are to do 'now'. I think that certain things are more popular to do now than then. Things certainly are more homogenized now. I guess that means maybe there are less things to do now? People only now do the mostly popular things and there are less fringe things to do? Nah...

I see your point, and I wasn't trying to bash the 70s or anything. It just seems to me that the majority of activities people do for entertainment now were not even around that long ago. I actually disagree with activities becoming more "homogenized." A person now has so many choices with what to do with their free time. This is why things like TV ratings for professional sports have been declining recently. I guess the internet is mostly responsible for this. I heard a stat the other day that most Americans spend 80 to 90 percent of their day when they're awake staring at a glowing screen.

I believe above all other, this diversification of entertainment and activities is what has led to the decline in the number of drum corps participants and fans. Of course there are many other reasons, I just think this is the most important. I could be wrong however... What do you think is the primary reason for this decline?

[bmroth1]

The corps from 12 - 20 or so are the best ever, and while we may not go 30 some deep at prelims as in the 70s, we may yet make it back seeing groups like Jersey Surf (relatively recent, having started during the early '90s) and others digging in and becoming successful, we may get back to those big numbers of corps.

Actually, for the 70's try 60 some deep.

[bmroth1]

(2) MUSICIANSHIP

Has never been better. Some lament the loss of the "take a kid off the street and give him a horn" approach of yesteryear, but for fans, having talented and experienced performers greatly increases the thrill factor. Brass sound quality is MUCH MUCH better than the "old days." (Listen to some old shows if don't believe me.) Percussion writing has improved immensely and the talent level of the performers is amazing.

I'll disagree with you about the Brass Sound quality sounding much better now than the "old days" depending on what your comparing it too. There are some Brass lines from the not much recent past that I would say were as good if not better in quality sound then many of the top 12 corps that will come out this year.

[Wadep66]

True to an extent. But corps also create fans. As in FMM's and their relatives. I wonder how many fans around now were members of SkyRyders, Freelancers, Dutch Boy (the big one), Star, 27, Suncoast, Wave, etc. etc. You get my point. But maybe the corps increase in size will offset some of that. But unless things have changed Alums make up a huge segment of the fan base. Less corps, less alums.

I agree. I remember my early fan days in the mid-late 80's when making semi finals was a big deal because there were nearly 30 good corps competing in quarters. I enjoyed Florida Wave, Dutch Boy, the Marauders, and the many others. They didn't have to be in the top 3 to be good. There was more appreciation for what the kids were doing than some of the cut-throat "you're top 6 or you suck" mentality we have now.

[pearlsnaredrummer77]

I'll disagree with you about the Brass Sound quality sounding much better now than the "old days" depending on what your comparing it too. There are some Brass lines from the not much recent past that I would say were as good if not better in quality sound then many of the top 12 corps that will come out this year.

Agreed and the G horns were harder to play from what I understand.

[pearlsnaredrummer77]

I agree. I remember my early fan days in the mid-late 80's when making semi finals was a big deal because there were nearly 30 good corps competing in quarters. I enjoyed Florida Wave, Dutch Boy, the Marauders, and the many others. They didn't have to be in the top 3 to be good. There was more appreciation for what the kids were doing than some of the cut-throat "you're top 6 or you suck" mentality we have now.

That's so true. Florida Wave, Dutch Boy, Les Chatelaines de Laval, Canadian Knights, Belleville Black Knights, etc. It's a shame that Canada is literally out of junior drum corps. I really miss the regional championships-with prelims. Now Allentown is about all that's left, and it's just a hodge-podge....

I realize a lot of folks weren't even born back then, but don't knock it because you don't know it.... I never saw Blue Rock, but I'd like to get on a time machine.