A letter to Open Class Corps folks

[Tom Brace]

I'll be much shorter in length than in previous posts, but my words in the topic regarding the Inactive status for Captial Regiment bear repeating.

The Open Class arrangement was made a few years back and was ratified by ALL OPEN CLASS CORPS DIRECTORS.

This was the bed they chose to lay in.

Please, if you are unhappy with the status or alleged mistreatment of Open Class corps, please do not waste the bandwidth whining and complaining about it.

There are great corps in Open Class. They need to be supported. So, support them. Do something about the predicament they find themselves in. DO SOMETHING.

The days of whining are over....long over. Do something.

[Kamarag]

I'll be much shorter in length than in previous posts, but my words in the topic regarding the Inactive status for Captial Regiment bear repeating.

<snip>

The days of whining are over....long over. Do something.

So, Tom, what do you perceive as the problems Open Class corps face, and what exactly have you done about it?

[Tom Brace]

So, Tom, what do you perceive as the problems Open Class corps face, and what exactly have you done about it?

great questions, both.

First, the biggest problem Open Class corps face is monetary resources. In this, they are no different than any drum corps. All drum corps need money. In fact, drum corps eat money. Give a drum corps more money and they will need more money. It's just part of the deal.

And yes, other than offer advice...like skip starting a new bingo game at this stage. I do donate money to Open Class corps and to members outwright.

Now, let's talk ideas. Why would a corps ever go inactive? There are hundreds of local performing opportunities, yet directors and staff feel this is a waste of time. Let me ask you. If you had a local parade to perform where 5000 people were going to see you...reminder...local 5000, then why is this a waste of time. I find the current Open Class schedule with 8-9 shows and a smattering a fans who decide to show up for OC finals kind of a waste...especially because...there's no payday involved.

Open Class corps should perform. 90% of their performances should be local. DCI should be an afterthought. If you can afford it and it's worthwhile for the organization then do it, otherwise...and take note from SCVC...skip it and stay home. Trust me, SCVC is not lacking for members this summer.

Think local, raise money from performing. Skip DCI if it's not in the cards. In short, survive. By the way, I have never bought into the old...well, if we don't tour, we won't have kids. There will always be kids...maybe not as talented...maybe not the kids who want to go on tour in DCI, but, there will be kids. Staff just has to....wait for it...teach. Yes, not just 10 minutes of music, but how to play and how to march and how to perform at a high level.

So, there. My 5 minute thesis on what OC corps can do to survive...and note it does not depend on DCI for survival. Lower tier WC corps have a hard enough time doing this and they get paid for performances.

What's next?

[MikeN]

Good post, Tom.

I know WC tours are a pretty much national affair, but I don't think OC corps need to be. They're struggling to fill a niche that, quite honestly, is already filled by the larger corps. With school housing getting more and more restricted and the cost rising each year for travel - I'd say this is a chance for the OC corps to get *ahead* of the game, for once.

Were I king-for-a-day, i would restrict OC corps to regional performances + championships only. And I'd narrowly define "region." On the flip side, I would add the OC corps to the WC shows, where if even they're not getting the full crowd exposure that the end-of-night corps get, is still going to be better than they're getting now. And let's face it, with less than 20 OC corps across the entire nation now, that's hardly going to be adding a staggering increase to a show's lineup.

Mike

[drumcorpsfan4567]

great questions, both.

First, the biggest problem Open Class corps face is monetary resources. In this, they are no different than any drum corps. All drum corps need money. In fact, drum corps eat money. Give a drum corps more money and they will need more money. It's just part of the deal.

And yes, other than offer advice...like skip starting a new bingo game at this stage. I do donate money to Open Class corps and to members outwright.

Now, let's talk ideas. Why would a corps ever go inactive? There are hundreds of local performing opportunities, yet directors and staff feel this is a waste of time. Let me ask you. If you had a local parade to perform where 5000 people were going to see you...reminder...local 5000, then why is this a waste of time. I find the current Open Class schedule with 8-9 shows and a smattering a fans who decide to show up for OC finals kind of a waste...especially because...there's no payday involved.

Open Class corps should perform. 90% of their performances should be local. DCI should be an afterthought. If you can afford it and it's worthwhile for the organization then do it, otherwise...and take note from SCVC...skip it and stay home. Trust me, SCVC is not lacking for members this summer.

Think local, raise money from performing. Skip DCI if it's not in the cards. In short, survive. By the way, I have never bought into the old...well, if we don't tour, we won't have kids. There will always be kids...maybe not as talented...maybe not the kids who want to go on tour in DCI, but, there will be kids. Staff just has to....wait for it...teach. Yes, not just 10 minutes of music, but how to play and how to march and how to perform at a high level.

So, there. My 5 minute thesis on what OC corps can do to survive...and note it does not depend on DCI for survival. Lower tier WC corps have a hard enough time doing this and they get paid for performances.

What's next?

In my experience, nobody does DCI for the parades. Kids come up from high school marching band programs that compete on football fields and grow up hating the memorial day parade. There won't always be kids, and often the kids who are already "found" (for the brass line, anyway) have never played brass instruments before in their life. Who are these other kids you're finding? Even if you did find them, telling the staff to just "teach" is disingenuous. The staff of open class corps teach anyway; why wouldn't they? If they can't teach the more talented kids they have every year to beat the BDB's of the world, then how are they suddenly going to just teach new, less talented people to the same level?

[magonigal]

GREAT post and topic! I could not agree more with both of you! There are so many chances for exposure outside of the DCI tour. Theme parks, festivals, performing arts circuits and CLINICS just to name a few! Yes Clinics, even in the Open Class realm, are not only great sources of recruitment, another opportunity for your kids to perform as well as an opportunity for your staff to gain valuable teaching experience and spread a higher level of education to some schools that maybe don't get that kind of exposure. In addition it sets your group up for future support. If groups continue to look to a DCI tour as their only means for their kids to perform they are not giving their communities or their organizations what they deserve. There are so many chances for future revenues through exposure within this activity. In the end the activity was founded on education and therefore should fully support any opportunities to educate more than just its members with a 10 minute show. It's not an easy journey to say the least, but it becomes harder if your vision is focused on one path.

Good discussion. :)

Chris Magonigal

Executive Director

Genesis DBC

www.genesisdbc.org

[MikeN]

To DC4567 - I would submit (and again, I'm talking with no experience in corps administration or anything like that - just a fan) that the whole point of OC isn't to be a mini-WC corps. The current touring model just isn't working. You're saying "well look at the experience the members are getting" - I'm saying "look how few members are getting *any* kind of experience now."

Mike

[drumcorpsfan4567]

To DC4567 - I would submit (and again, I'm talking with no experience in corps administration or anything like that - just a fan) that the whole point of OC isn't to be a mini-WC corps. The current touring model just isn't working. You're saying "well look at the experience the members are getting" - I'm saying "look how few members are getting *any* kind of experience now."

Mike

If the point of OC isn't to be a mini-WC corps for people who aren't ready for WC for whatever reason or don't have as much experience on their instruments but still want to do corps, then what is the point of it? The solutions Tom are proposing just do not sound to me like they would be popular with the recruitment base (high school band students).

[s3si1u]

In my experience, nobody does DCI for the parades. Kids come up from high school marching band programs that compete on football fields and grow up hating the memorial day parade. There won't always be kids, and often the kids who are already "found" (for the brass line, anyway) have never played brass instruments before in their life. Who are these other kids you're finding? Even if you did find them, telling the staff to just "teach" is disingenuous. The staff of open class corps teach anyway; why wouldn't they? If they can't teach the more talented kids they have every year to beat the BDB's of the world, then how are they suddenly going to just teach new, less talented people to the same level?

Make it one of our good ol' souther california parades (none of that pep music or jazz on the street, just awesome marches and drum majors with a baton or mace) and i'm in

[Toby]

If the point of OC isn't to be a mini-WC corps for people who aren't ready for WC for whatever reason or don't have as much experience on their instruments but still want to do corps, then what is the point of it? The solutions Tom are proposing just do not sound to me like they would be popular with the recruitment base (high school band students).

Then why should these kids pay nearly as much money to an OC corps when they can go to a DCA corps and pay half as much in dues and get just as many performance opportunities while still working a job?

This current model of touring with the big-boys and seeing nothing financially in return is not fiscally sound. And, unfortunately, life-experiences don't pay bills. I've tried to cash a few of those at a bank before. Where do they get the money to survive, dues alone? From a couple corps I've had the chance to get to know, dues only make up a fraction of the total revenue needed to survive on tour. Souvies even less.

Going back to a regional touring model and giving the recommendation of performing locally and gaining face-time may be what's needed to rejuvenate Open Class.

Clinics during the summer for those marching band kids can be a great way to earn a few bucks. It also puts a face to a name. Those kids who go and participate may want to join up next year. Dip their toe in. Get the idea of what drum corps is (even if it's not the grande tour of ye old US of A). Mom and dad will get a chance to see them in a few parades. A fair or two. This is something that they can fill that neither World Class corps nor a few DCA corps could fill because of membership that travels or just doesn't live near where they are based.

It may even be a great idea for these World Class corps to revive their feeder corps (or work with a local Open Class corps). Get those local performances and face time. Tell the kids that got cut to go work out with the B corps. You're still in the family, and you can bust ### to make the top tier. Ask the Colts, BD, SCV. The kids in all levels are in it together, regardless of Cadet, B, C, or A.