John Murray Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 welcome to Generation Y. I prefer DeGeneration X, but that's just me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 (edited) No one should be surprised by this. If you are shocked by this, then welcome out of Plato's Cave. The motivations of these directors, in proposing these rules is simple. A) Increasing the age limit will allow the Top 12 corps to absorb more and more of the talent pool. The top-tier talent will simply move into these corps. It will simply allow these corps to sponge what little talent that the non-Member corps have. Hopkins knows exactly what he is doing. Do you really think that some 23-year-old is going to decide to march drum corps, and join with some OC start-up? Of course not. They will try out for the Cadets, or some other top-tier corps. Even if they don't make the cut, it is more camp fees for Hopkins. Cha-Ching, Cha-Ching, Cha-Ching. I don't mean this to sound arrogant or anti-Open Class. But do honestly think that Hoppy, or a lot of the other member corps are worried about sucking talent away from an open class corps?! I think it's obvious why this is being submitted. For one, exactly what's in the proposal (to make the age-out date correlate with a calendar year, and not some arbitrary summer date). And for another, it would mean more cash flow at auditions: higher age-out rule means more eligible members which means more at auditionsl ) The addition of sound engineer really just cements the previous decisions that the board has made. It will make electronics a permanent fixture in junior DBC. The sound engineer will eventually become as important, if not more important, than the drum major. They will have just as big an impact on the audio performance as the drum major. Why? Because most of what you will hear is amplification. This decision will only increase the prevalence of artificial brass sound (ABS) in junior drum corps. (ABS is technically illegal, but clever sound arrangers have found ways around those rules.) Again, as I stated last year, I consider ABS to be a fraud perpetrated on the DBC community. Someone should call Eric Holder. Make no mistake: electronics ARE a permanent fixture in junior corps: it has absolutely no bearing on where the soundboard will be. As for "ABS," there isn't a sound engineer alive that can mask the sound of brass coming through a speaker, unless MAYBE the speakers are on the field and continually behind the majority of the brass 100% of the time. You're going to hear what's coming out the speakers (you know, like when nearly everyone on here posts about how loud and obnoxious anything coming out of the speakers is?) no matter what. The best sound engineer in the world couldn't change that. Until brass is mic'ed (and can't small brass ensembles or soloists use mic's anyway now?). Who will benefit the most from this charade? The member corps, who will do the majority of these domed stadium performances. OC outfits certainly won't. Do you think your average OC corps has money for a full-time sound engineer? No, they don't. This will only serve to put a bigger squeeze on the weaker WC corps, and the OC corps. Farrell and the other board members know what they are doing. You mean to tell me that if a rule is passed by the DCI member corps, it will be a rule that specifically benefits DCI member corps? Shocking to find that out... At least you have one sentence that seems to be legit: DCI board members know what they are doing. Edited January 21, 2010 by perc2100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomgolf8 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I can only say this: I hate it when people answer threads with just one word: "this". Makes absolutely so sense at all. Over and out. THAT!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Murray Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 I can only say this: I hate it when people answer threads with just one word: "this". Makes absolutely so sense at all. Over and out. I usually just say Co-sign Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooldbc Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 1) I think that the board would like to see OC die of benign neglect. They view it as a financial millstone around their necks. So if they can drain off talent (both performer and staff) from OC corps, it will only hasten the demise of OC. If they can do it AND increase revenue streams, then it will almost certainly happen. This explains a number of recent rule changes, such as increasing the corps sizes from 128 to 150. 2) ABS isn't produced by using a mic, and piping sound from the actual brass musicians. It is created a different way. You use a synthesizer keyboard, and tie it to the amplifier. Then you use an electronic patch that "sounds" like brass, but isn't labeled as brass. Then, when you play it, it sounds like you have a horn line of 200 people - even if there are only 80 brass musicians on the field. When I first say keyboards on the DBC field, I thought to myself, "Hmmm... this could be interesting. We may hear keyboard sounds, during the performance. I will approach this with an open mind." But I listened through entire shows, and didn't hear any keyboard music (piano, organ, etc.) Why? Because what was being pumped through the amplifiers was ABS. But here's the core problem. If you overdo ABS, it sounds like you've rolled 30 Mack trucks onto the field. And you really lose balance. The bass overwhelms the treble, and you wonder if an earthquake is happening. Basically, the audio portion of the portion can really deteriorate. Essentially, the ABS produces noise, not music, when this happens. Theoretically, a sound engineer can manage this, and prevent the sound from becoming unbalanced. Theoretically. Of course, theoretically, if electronics were banned from DCI - as they were for thirty years - we wouldn't even be having this silly discussion. We wouldn't have to put up with this outrageous fraud. Then I wouldn't have to play the Émile Zola of the drum corps world, shouting "J'accuse! J'accuse!" all the time........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccerguy315 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 and seeing that I often interview, hire and train "kids "(23 year old recent graduates)….I have a good take on the current generations work ethics, sense of entitlement, problem solving and skills in general which is why I try to hire folks not of their generation when possible – this current generation is really a disappointment in the business world and that’s not just my opinion - its pretty much industry wide. You know how much hand holding mid-mangement has to do now, and all the daily affirmations of praise and reward or the constant supervision or their in-ability to work alone, not on a team? you sound very bad at your job. I quit this board for a month b/c of a thread about how young people suck, I came back yesterday, and already there is another thread about how young people suck. Get out of drum corps if you think young people suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBadMadMan Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Hmmm....You're saying, that in your opinion DCI has "lost its way" shortly after you aged-out?! I sense a pattern... Well, since you've already assumed you know my bias, maybe I'll let you finish the argument for me. Except.... ...you'd be wrong. I began noticing the change while I was still IN drum corps. It was just that by the end of the decade ('98, '99ish), most of the drum corps world had embraced it. Then came the flurry of changes or "enhancements" to the activity that have done little to NOTHING to further activity in a way that was necessary or positive. Has nothing to do with when I aged-out, Douggie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexL Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 you must be new here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 you must be new here. I grew up outside Chicago and my grandma and father were Cubs fans. It's a hope thing. Despite the odds, it never gets stale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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