How About Tweaking the Activity Name?

[BOBSMYTH]

We haven't had a good name change thread in at least a month or two.

I mean, c'mon!

Why does the name need to change to accurately reflect the evolution of an organization or activity?

Does Winter Guard International need to change its name because it doesn't actually start until Winter is partially over and it carries over into the Spring? And - how do all those drummers fit in with the word "Guard" in the name?

Does Music For All / Bands of America need to change its name to Music For Some of the Bands who put on a field show and sign up for our Regionals?

Does the United States of America need to change its name to the United States of parts of North America (and some islands)?

And - what the heck is a Honda?

[Michael Boo]

Sorry. I don't get on here too often.

Please come around more often. We need threads that stimulate us, even if they've come up before. As Mies van der Rohe said, "We don't invent a new architecture every Monday morning."

[Michael Boo]

It really doesn't matter WHAT you change the name to. Most people outside of this activity will still refer to Drum Corps/Drum and Bugle Corps/Drum and Brass Corps as MARCHING BAND.

And most people inside the activity will still refer to it as "drum corps."

[BOBSMYTH]

The cows are out of the barn now , so it's too late...... but maybe it might have been a good idea for DCI to have adopted 2 divisions. One division for " The Classic " approach and the other division for " The New Wave " approach.

Let the " New Wave " division of competing Corps bring in marchers, staff, instrumentation, music, etc that was as progressive as they wanted. Let the " Classic " division remain a bit more traditional in terms of music, marching, instumentation,etc.

I recognize the obstacles in such a 2 division style approach. Financially it might be undoable. Judging captions might be very problematic, as it would require overhaul to make it work within the 2 divisions in a satisfying manner. At the end of the day, it probably would be literally impossible to effectively implement.

But conceptually anyway, I like the idea.

I don't know.

This approach didn't work too well for Coke.

[ranintothedoor]

I like the idea of maintaining the identity of "drum and bugle corps". It differentiates the activity from "marching band" in that it is an elite marching unit with direct ties to traditional and historic "real" drum and bugle corps.

Besides, I like the learning opportunity that the name presents, personally. It's important to teach what guarding colors really means to the colorguard kids in my band, even if we don't do it anymore. It's a respect thing.

[Geneva]

Sorry. I don't get on here too often.

It is OK. Certainly it is a legit question that bears refreshing from time to time even if for some of us it may seem that it has been beaten to death.

I entered in the mid-60's, and sure, it was a lot different back then...G/D valve rotor chrome bugles, neighborhood/regional membership base with regional pride and and rivalries, summer jobs and more weekend competitions, members who entered with much less talent on average, corps that "presented" the flag with honor guards, music that everyone recognized, drum lines that were like non-stop rudimental engines, legion conventions with parades, inspections, and competitions...

But, some of the most important things are the same. I see the pride and the striving for perfection, the excitement in movement, color, sound with impact, and performance. I see today's corps standing on the shoulders of past traditions and paying homage to those traditions by calling themselves drum and bugle corps and continuing to explore what can be...and I am OK with the nomenclature.

[BRASSO]

We haven't had a good name change thread in at least a month or two.

I mean, c'mon!

Why does the name need to change to accurately reflect the evolution of an organization or activity?

Does Winter Guard International need to change its name because it doesn't actually start until Winter is partially over and it carries over into the Spring? And - how do all those drummers fit in with the word "Guard" in the name?

Does Music For All / Bands of America need to change its name to Music For Some of the Bands who put on a field show and sign up for our Regionals?

Does the United States of America need to change its name to the United States of parts of North America (and some islands)?

And - what the heck is a Honda?

Why are folks that are most supportive for massive change in most areas of Drum and Bugle Corps, so resistant to changing the name of the activity from Drum and Bugle Corps to something else ? I don't get it. What's up with THAT ?

And a " Honda " is still an automobile. BUT.... if you replace the auto trany with a jet engine , put wings on your Honda, take that sucker out onto an airport runway, and launch that Honda into the sky................

but then try and tell people you still have a Honda" automobile," . Well, good luck sticking to the term and convincing your rational and intelligent friends that your Honda there is " still an automobile ",...and not an" airplane " now. Besides, what's the big deal with changing the name of DCI units to represent what they are now, anyway ?

ps... and nobody disagrees that performers are still performers, and WHAT they do is superlative, and the values they learn and all the intangibles of doing " whatschamacallit " havn't changed much. This thread is not about renaming the " performers ". They really havn't changed at all that much in 50 years..... not really. And that's the best news yet.

Edited March 1, 2010 by BRASSO

[Blackstar]

I think the name change should be DCI becoming DCA, Drum Corps America, since there are no or only 1 or 2 Canadian Corps and DCI has no standing outside of North America. I know it would be confusing with DCA (Associates) but being called International is a little pretentious now a days.

[BRASSO]

I think the name change should be DCI becoming DCA, Drum Corps America, since there are no or only 1 or 2 Canadian Corps and DCI has no standing outside of North America. I know it would be confusing with DCA (Associates) but being called International is a little pretentious now a days.

The marchers come from all over the world now. That alone seems to make sense to retain " International ", it seems to me. And who knows, perhaps some day again, they'll be more Corps from Canada ( and from other countries ) in DCI.

[Michael Boo]

I think the name change should be DCI becoming DCA, Drum Corps America, since there are no or only 1 or 2 Canadian Corps and DCI has no standing outside of North America. I know it would be confusing with DCA (Associates) but being called International is a little pretentious now a days.

Corps from wherever they are located are always welcomed to come to the DCI World Championships; unlike baseball's World Series, which is only open to the teams from North America.