Is THIS the "Golden Age"?

[supersop]

More isn't better.

I'd rather fave fewer high quality corps (and I mean from an operations standpoint) then several dozen corps of Tragic of Orlando quality. We've all heard the horror stories of corps back then. I, for one, am beyond glad we've moved past that (for the most part).

It's fine to prefer that, but what you've seen is a paradigm shift. No longer are the multitudes of "lower" corps teaching kids off the street how to play a horn or march, or possibly prepping them for the "higher" corps. It's now being done by mostly band directors in the school systems who, GUESS WHAT, learned in those "lower" corps, marched in DCI and/or taught.

We've robbed Peter to pay Paul. I would think the fan$ would enjoy seeing corps who are up and coming, learned the hard way, not superb but better than high school marching band and they may be smaller but turn out higher quality players with phatter chops. What you have now are well trained high school kids taught by old DCI vets and in doing so, those teachers are retaining more kids in the summer for their own fall training at school.

Corps who folded like Magic or any other on the long list of the NOT FORGOTTEN .... was mostly due to the DCI machine. First tour regional circuits were killed ....... travel was longer, expenses higher, stress greater ..... bye bye home town corps. Making close to a million dollars every year for a non profit is entirely not easy. You can't charge corps who folded with the blame of being unable to run their organization. The game changed and it killed 90% of the corps in existence over time.

My opinion, I think it blowz. I'm all for having great marching bands in the fall. I'm all for the corps who survive being able to maintain financial viability and not dying off after 2 years out of the gate. But I think people fail to see how it has hurt the broader spectrum of the activity. All we have now are elitist corps and fan$ (for the most part). "How dare they make me pay $40 to sit through a show by some upstart corps who isn't capable of winning a title in the next years". You might not say it out loud, but your post screams it.

I think my fav shows of all time were from small corps back in the mid 80's. They were the innovators. They were very good. They just weren't big. Case in point: 1986 Boston Crusaders or even the corps I marched in before I went top 12. DCI and the newer fan$ have sold a legacy for a business plan.

That only adds 75% more suck in my book

Back on topic, I think there has been more than one Golden Age of drumcorps. I think there was a VFW/AL golden age and a DCI golden age that has long passed. I'm sure at some point, DCI will no longer be DCI because the instrumentation no longer meets the definition of a drum and bugle corps. It hasn't since 2000. When that happens there will be a WhateverCorpsInternational Golden Age that we can all talk about then.

For me it was the Mid 80s up to 93 as it pertains to DCI. I wasn't alive during the VFW fullscale days so I have no clue when that Golden age was, but I image it was the latter half of the 60's.

[luvs me sum mello!]

I don't want this to turn into an old vs new pissing match. I am in agreement with the OP.

Technology? Maybe not in terms of electronics, but instruments are a much better quality now then then. And in terms of communication. Like the OP said: Fan Network, instant scores and recaps, and this beloved forum. The fact that I can watch video from rehearsals without having to drive or fly several hundred miles to see my favorite corps is awesome.

Shows are awesome. Every year I think that this is the est year in DCI "across the board" in terms of enjoying shows. I go back even 1 decade and can pick out some amazing shows, but I can't watch a full finals set. Some of those shows bore me to tears. In this decade there are fewer and fewer shows that I just don't enjoy.

Anyone who thinks that the music quality of horn lines "back then" are better then the past few years has a serious case of nostalgia-glasses.

Again, I enjoy and respect where this activity has come from, but look forward to where it is going much more so.

[bmroth1]

Anyone who thinks that the music quality of horn lines "back then" are better then the past few years has a serious case of nostalgia-glasses.

It depends on what you mean by "back then". There were many G bugle lines that would completely outplay some of todays lines quality wise. G horns had a much different sound and when played well to me sounded much richer than those used today. As a whole though I would agree that Bb horns put out a cleaner sound.

[marchedmanymoonsago]

Good Question. I think context has a lot to do with it like you suggest, so it doesn't seem possible that NOW could possibly be considered "golden." I say so because DCI and the corps have become machines. The unique "flavor" of each corps has given way to different colored uniforms, but otherwise the same deal. The differences I have noticed:

Drill writing is electronic, and the result IMHO is that it all looks digital, and the genius required to create a masterpiece isn't there to the same degree. Aside from distinguishing technique (i.e. Cavaliers vs. HNC), the boxes all rotate, divide, reunite and collapse over and over again.

Shows of MY "Golden Era" didn't require themes, and the shows were musically driven. Musically, the shows of today are more like sound tracks for what the writer seems to think is a more sophistocatated and technically difficult PRODUCTION. I miss the beautiful melodies and uncluttered scores that were true to the composers instead of writers needing to make their mark on another's work.

Guard? What guard? Dancing with flagless poles and other indecipherable items from the stands adds no impact from the stands. The emphasis on dancing, and sometimes individual dancers detracts from the show instead of complementing it. There is nothing like beautiful silk-work to add visual impact. I'd like to remind corps that the vast majority of people enjoying their shows are in stands, not within a distance to "get" what the "guard" is doing. We think progress means adding lots of new things and making everything more complex. I beg to differ.

Further, I don't care for amplification or voice - at least how it has been done so far. It seems like everyone is trying so hard to distinguish themselves, and at what cost?

Just saying...

Edited July 2, 2009 by marchedmanymoonsago

[Rochester New York]

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

Yes, and when played by a champion-level corps, the G horns projected with a clarity and force that is now no longer heard. With today's B-flat horns, while the chords blend more warmly, at fortissimo volumes the sound actually spreads--i.e. becomes "blatty."

Personally, for me, the Golden Age will be the late 80s and 90s, when a few corps (BD 1987-88, Star 90-93, PR 96, SCV 97-99) came very close to PERFECTING the sound of the G horns--thus achieving a musical sound like nothing else in the world.

[bmroth1]

Yes, and when played by a champion-level corps, the G horns projected with a clarity and force that is now no longer heard. With today's B-flat horns, while the chords blend more warmly, at fortissimo volumes the sound actually spreads--i.e. becomes "blatty."

Personally, for me, the Golden Age will be the late 80s and 90s, when a few corps (BD 1987-88, Star 90-93, PR 96, SCV 97-99) came very close to PERFECTING the sound of the G horns--thus achieving a musical sound like nothing else in the world.

Thank you, you said very well what I was trying to get across!

[SF2K4]

Not to sound like a jerk, but more corps in this sense IS better. No, we don't want Tragic quality obviously... but there are already enough kids getting cut from the corps we have, could you imagine if we only had 12 corps? I think some people are forgetting who this activity is really for... it's not the fans or the staff or the designers, they're just icing on the cake... drum corps is for the members, for the kids having all those life changing and amazing experiences you get to have on tour. I think some people have forgotten that.

[bmroth1]

Not to sound like a jerk, but more corps in this sense IS better. No, we don't want Tragic quality obviously... but there are already enough kids getting cut from the corps we have, could you imagine if we only had 12 corps? I think some people are forgetting who this activity is really for... it's not the fans or the staff or the designers, they're just icing on the cake... drum corps is for the members, for the kids having all those life changing and amazing experiences you get to have on tour. I think some people have forgotten that.

amen to that!!

[Jeff Ream]

Fewer corps does not equal fewer fans.

Fans want quality, not quantity.

yet we have fewer fans than when we had more corps

[Jeff Ream]

It's fine to prefer that, but what you've seen is a paradigm shift. No longer are the multitudes of "lower" corps teaching kids off the street how to play a horn or march, or possibly prepping them for the "higher" corps. It's now being done by mostly band directors in the school systems who, GUESS WHAT, learned in those "lower" corps, marched in DCI and/or taught.

We've robbed Peter to pay Paul. I would think the fan$ would enjoy seeing corps who are up and coming, learned the hard way, not superb but better than high school marching band and they may be smaller but turn out higher quality players with phatter chops. What you have now are well trained high school kids taught by old DCI vets and in doing so, those teachers are retaining more kids in the summer for their own fall training at school.

Corps who folded like Magic or any other on the long list of the NOT FORGOTTEN .... was mostly due to the DCI machine. First tour regional circuits were killed ....... travel was longer, expenses higher, stress greater ..... bye bye home town corps. Making close to a million dollars every year for a non profit is entirely not easy. You can't charge corps who folded with the blame of being unable to run their organization. The game changed and it killed 90% of the corps in existence over time.

My opinion, I think it blowz. I'm all for having great marching bands in the fall. I'm all for the corps who survive being able to maintain financial viability and not dying off after 2 years out of the gate. But I think people fail to see how it has hurt the broader spectrum of the activity. All we have now are elitist corps and fan$ (for the most part). "How dare they make me pay $40 to sit through a show by some upstart corps who isn't capable of winning a title in the next years". You might not say it out loud, but your post screams it.

I think my fav shows of all time were from small corps back in the mid 80's. They were the innovators. They were very good. They just weren't big. Case in point: 1986 Boston Crusaders or even the corps I marched in before I went top 12. DCI and the newer fan$ have sold a legacy for a business plan.

That only adds 75% more suck in my book

Back on topic, I think there has been more than one Golden Age of drumcorps. I think there was a VFW/AL golden age and a DCI golden age that has long passed. I'm sure at some point, DCI will no longer be DCI because the instrumentation no longer meets the definition of a drum and bugle corps. It hasn't since 2000. When that happens there will be a WhateverCorpsInternational Golden Age that we can all talk about then.

For me it was the Mid 80s up to 93 as it pertains to DCI. I wasn't alive during the VFW fullscale days so I have no clue when that Golden age was, but I image it was the latter half of the 60's.

while the cost of paying to keep up with the big boys definitely hurt, it isnt the sole reason many corps went out of business.