Lucas Oil Stadium Director Discusses 'Sound Ideas'

[Jeff Ream]

That's true, and I marched over a decade ago and the tour might be greatly different venue wise now. I just think that most of us remember the great stadiums of the summer (Madison, for example), and forget many of the tiny, mediocre high school or baseball fields we performed on. Personally I'm THRILLED that I never had to perform indoors (I think my age-out year was the first year of an indoor regional, but that was back when most of the regionals would be half the corps in, say, San Antonio and the other half in Indy, and we were at the outdoor place).

What I meant by personal opinion counting, is that DCI is not going to break their contract (I bet that's a pretty expensive proposition at this point) short of, say, a DCI BoD's revolt, the stadium burning down or coming under gross disrepair, etc: otherwise, it's going to reman in Indy, fan outrage or not.

i'll take any open air venue over a dome.

[Slow Adam]

i'll take any open air venue over a dome.

I'd take the parking lot at LOS over the dome.

[garfield]

And your opinion would be quite incorrect. I joined this forum during the summer while on tour.

It's interesting how when someone disagrees, personal sniping becomes the norm. That's the main reason I don't bother with many online forums as this is too often the case.

I never said that the sound was perfect in LOS. I also listed several other stadiums that have pretty decent acoustics. Actually my favorite sound in a stadium was Harvard quite a few years ago.

My point is that to beat the sound issue to death is pointless since, again, it's a football stadium. It was built to be a football stadium. It will never be anything but a football stadium regardless of what happens inside. Colts fans can complain all they want as the stadium was built for that team. DCI is merely a guest, sure, a paying guest, but a guest nonetheless.

With all the issues facing drum corps these days, complaining about the sound in one football stadium is really a waste of time and energy. Why not spend that time and energy trying to improve the activity in general for the benefit of all?

I can't let you go on any longer reading your blather. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT and YOU'RE COMPLETELY OFF-TOPIC! I've been to hundreds of stadiums over 35 years and have never experienced such horrible drum corps sound as at THIS stadium. Nobody here is talking about holding finals in Carnegie Hall. Almost everyone on this board has thoroughly, and sometimes profoundly, enjoyed drum corps in football stadiums. It's THIS stadium that's being compared to OTHER stadiums that's in discussion. Quit telling us we're stupid for not yet realizing (after 35 years!) that drum corps is held in a football stadium - as if we're idiots.

Jeesh.

The problems DCI has today are the same problems they've had since Warren, Royer, et al formed its roots. We, who have been around a while, have been solving problems (financial and otherwise) for the activity for years. I've been spending time and money solving those problems since I was in high school. But even if I wrote DCI a multi-million dollar check the inherent problems with playing drums and horns indoors remains. DCI hooked us into a problem that "I" can't fix. Only they can.

rant over. Now get back on topic to a solution to THIS problem.

[garfield]

And your opinion would be quite incorrect. I joined this forum during the summer while on tour.

You joined this forum in September of this year. Isn't that AFTER tour?

Points subtracted.

[IntheMood]

LOL.

Yes, it is a football stadium . . .and there have been some pretty ####### awesome acoustical environments at football stadiums along the way. I have the memories and the CDs to prove it.

. . .furthermore, you think people should spend money to build a stadium? Really?

Bloomington sounded good.

Denver sounded good.

Madison sounded good.

Hey, looks like we can save our pennies! Hooray!

Maybe I am very wrong about this.... But I thought I read on DCP somewhere that Mr. Bill Cook donated lights to Indiana university and in return they gave him free usage of the Stadium 10 times. And Mr. Cook used one of those times for DCI to hold their Finals there. Is this a true story? Or is this just a myth?

Dean

[Slow Adam]

You joined this forum in September of this year. Isn't that AFTER tour?

Points subtracted.

On September 19th?

[Grumpy]

I'd take the parking lot at LOS over the dome.

LOS has a parking lot????

[Just Another Sop]

Obviously DCI has listened to the complaints about the stadium. If not, the article with the judges saying it wasn't bad for them to be able to judge and score would not have been posted. It just makes me wonder if the sound truely is better where the judges are in LOS. If it is great, but how many of the people who paid $100+ for a ticket get to sit where the judges do?

Also, if the majority of the fans are complaining, and the fans bring in the money to support the corps, why don't the corps stand up to DCI for what the fans want? Rather than taking on the extra challenge of desigining for finals and sacrificing the rest of the seasons venues or fans, what would happen if say at least the top 18 or 20 corps decided to support the fans (read that as $$$$$)? Perhaps standing up and saying we do not want finals at LOS or even a boycott of finals. I know that would be slitting their own throats and not really possible, but if there are no corps going to finals, DCI is going to lose money and have to do something or die out.

Edited December 22, 2009 by Just Another Sop

[Jeff Ream]

Obviously DCI has listened to the complaints about the stadium. If not, the article with the judges saying it wasn't bad for them to be able to judge and score would not have been posted. It just makes me wonder if the sound truely is better where the judges are in LOS. If it is great, but how many of the people who paid $100+ for a ticket get to sit where the judges do?

Also, if the majority of the fans are complaining, and the fans bring in the money to support the corps, why don't the corps stand up to DCI for what the fans want? Rather than taking on the extra challenge of desigining for finals and sacrificing the rest of the seasons venues or fans, what would happen if say at least the top 18 or 20 corps decided to support the fans (read that as $$$)? Perhaps standing up and saying we do not want finals at LOS or even a boycott of finals. I know that would be slitting their own throats and not really possible, but if there are no corps going to finals, DCI is going to lose money and have to do something or die out.

um...the WC corps ARE DCI.

so you're saying they'd have to stand up to themselves

[deftguy]

In reading the recent comments from DCI about the acoustics at LOS I am convinced of one of either two things.

A) They do not know what they are going to do, because the problem is bigger than they acknowledge, or B) or they know they cannot really improve much of anything because it requires major structual changes that are too expensive. If you put up curtains for a rock or country music concert, the audio guys can adjust the EQ of the PA system to compensate for the loss of high frequencies. However that does nothing for a long bass reverberation, and it does nothing to address the fact that a drum corps show requires movement, which makes the acoustical problem change from moment to moment. Acoustics for a stationary group is much better to manage than for a largely unamplified group in motion.

A curtain is not going to cut it, and I think that DCI is just painting the most beautiful lips on the ugliest pig imagineable. Marching people out from the ranks to co-sign on this is really a #### off.