The Roof Will Be Open

[Richard]

Call it what you want, but that first article was not an effort to inform and educate.

Please explain what it was then, and how it was that.

[Lance]

Call it what you want, but that first article was not an effort to inform and educate.

nevermind. i misunderstood.

[oldschooldbc]

It's not the existence of the critics that bothers me, it's the extent to which they perpetrate a falsified negative image of the activity to those who are less informed. And that's exactly what those who are steadfastly opposed to electronics and modern show design want: more people to believe that DCI is misguided and to join the legion of loud complainers. So they’ll find something to nitpick about each of DCI’s decisions to perpetrate that image of a bumbling organization. Now I know that sound pretty far-fetched and nefarious, but it's human nature to want to be proven right, either through facts to back up statements or through like-minded contributors who will agree with you and tell you that you're right. I enjoy every time Bob comes on here and says good things about the direction DCI is headed because it validates my viewpoint. I enjoy many of perc2100's, glory's, Kamarag's, and select others' posts because they often agree with my viewpoint. It feels good to feel like you're right, even if you being right involves your favorite hobby/activity struggling to survive. So if someone truly believes that amps and electronics are driving away enough fans of the activity to hurt it, then they’ll take some secret satisfaction if they’re ever proven right. Of course no one will admit to that because it's such an embarrassing and selfish viewpoint, but it's human nature.

I have tried to give honest and balanced opinions on this board. I see a long series of decisions that DCI has made over the course of its existence. They have fundamentally altered the activity, to the point that it is almost entirely different from where it was in the 1960's.

I have also seen the junior drum corps activity deteriorate badly, over the course of the past 38 years. DCI has had near exclusive control of that activity, for most of those 38 years. The VFW and CYO no longer have any influence, and the regional tours (DCM, DCS, etc.) have all folded. Again, by an metric, the number of corps, youth served, and shows performed, have shrunk dramatically, over the course of the past 4 decades. There may have been slight improvement over the past decade or so, but DCI has a lot of ground to make up, to recoup any of these losses from preceeding years. Again, we have 88% fewer junior corps today than in 1972; that is an appauling record, and there is no way to spin around that.

DCI has to be held accountable for this. Some in this forum have stated that "economic and sociological forces" are to blame for this decline. Even if the environment that DCI operates is getting tougher, that is simply no excuse. DCI should have proactively responded to these threats, and turned them into opportunities. For example, if the cost of operations is driving some corps out of business, then DCI should have implemented a new economic model much sooner, which was geared towards rapid revenue growth from new revenue sources. If the ethnic and racial makeup of this country is changing (and it is), then DCI should have reached out to minority groups, to recruit them into the activity. (By the year 2050, there will be no majority racial or ethnic group in this country. If the traditional recruiting base for corps is from non-Hispanic white people, then DCI needs to begin aggressively recruiting from minority groups, today.)

I can only judge performance by results. And quite frankly, if DCI were a for-profit, publicly-traded company, then massive changes would be in order. If a franchising company lost 88% of its franchisees, then the shareholders of that comany would be outraged. The shareholders of such an entity would not tolerate this performance. They would insist on a new board and management team, with a new direction and vision. Every shareholder would have his say in this, at the next annual meeting, where they would vote on the slate of directors. They would demand for a housecleaning in the executive suites - and they would have the power to get it.

(Unfortunately, because of DCI's closed management structure, there is no way to vote out the management team. That is why many people have simply voted - with their feet. They've simply walked away.)

Now, perhaps the tide is turning. Perhaps Bob, and some other enlightened DCI members, understand what is taking place in this activity, and are willing to take the necessary steps, to stop this downward spiral. Honestly, making the LOS more "fan friendly" may only be the first step. I expect that there will be more suggestions proposed at these "fan forums", and if DCI is truly changing, it will take advantage of these suggestions. To be honest, I am encouraged by some of these steps, although I think it will be a long time before we see their fruition.

I am reminded of the old Chinese proverb: "A journey of 10,000 miles begins with the first step."

Edited March 25, 2010 by oldschooldbc

[garfield]

We made the decision to kill the instructors' piece because – particularly after the judging article – we knew that it will be perceived as "too fluffy..." and we wanted to spare the instructors and designers who were nice enough to be interviewed the hassle of getting bombarded with negative comments from people who will inevitably accuse them of being shills for DCI, even though several of those instructors/designers commenting were outspoken with regard to their own concerns with sound issues. We didn't feel that it would break any substantial new ground on the topic nor would it achieve the desired effect of "openly examining the issue from various perspectives."

For the record, the judges' piece in that series was never intended to "sweep anything under the rug" and to deliver a "see, we told you it wasn't an issue" message. We didn't cherry pick guys who were saying nice things in an effort to save their jobs or anything dubious like that. We asked for input from guys who had an opinion, not knowing what those opinions would be. When we started the process of examining the sound inside the stadium, we simply wanted to get input from a number of constituencies, one of which was the adjudication community.

The bottom line: enough has been said on this subject... so rather than continue to upset people by offering additional perspectives, we've opted to focus our limited resources on improving the situation rather than pouring fuel on the fire in a never-ending debate.

Try new Shimmer. It's a floor wax AND a dessert topping.

To those who say DCI doesn't listen or pay attention to DCP, I say "Nuts" (hat tip to General McCauliff).

Bob's post says otherwise.

And some of us knew it all along...they ARE paying attention!

[audiodb]

DCI was making an effort to inform and educate the public. Their first attempt was met with so much criticism that they killed the rest of the series.

For the sake of accuracy, it was the second article of the series (judges) that drew the most criticism, and a third article (stadium director) did follow despite that.

[DrumCorps2008]

I'm surprised, or not surprised, that the thread about some of the good things DCI is doing or suggesting as solutions isn't getting much play on here....

http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/inde...howtopic=134627

[Richard]

Now, perhaps the tide is turning. Perhaps Bob, and some other enlightened DCI members, understand what is taking place in this activity, and are willing to take the necessary steps, to stop this downward spiral. Honestly, making the LOS more "fan friendly" may only be the first step. I expect that there will be more suggestions proposed at these "fan forums", and if DCI is truly changing, it will take advantage of these suggestions. To be honest, I am encouraged by some of these steps, although I think it will be a long time before we see their fruition.

While I take issue with your usage of the total number of corps as a metric for DCI's success as an organization, I'll set that aside for the time being.

In reference to your above reference to the tide turning: I believe it has already been turned in the past 10+ years. Surely the DCI decision makers of yester-year made some damaging mistakes, I won't dispute that, but carrying that distrust forward to the current leadership is unfair, in my opinion.

[Jeff Ream]

I'm surprised, or not surprised, that the thread about some of the good things DCI is doing or suggesting as solutions isn't getting much play on here....

http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/inde...howtopic=134627

or some of us already said our piece there

[TexasPRfan]

Wow, what a 33 page read! Just some somewhat random thoughts on the whole thing:

• I really, really appreciate Bob (AND DCI) starting to open up more on these topics, and it IS a good marketing strategy to do so.
  
• I also applaud DCI for at least trying to open the roof and see what happens.
  
• Count me among those that think it will not make much difference
  
• I also think there is little competitive advantage either way - our judges are too good at what they do for that to be the case.
  
• The judging article - I didn't see it as fluff or trying to sweep things other the rug - read closely, there were some valid points, and some points actually work against LOS & the direction of the activity: 1) the visual judges seemed to love the venue - no surprise there, and to me underscores a fundamental problem with DCI - a continued migration to too much weight on visual at the expense of music. 2) The judges felt like there was not a competitive advantage or disadvantage - agreed again - our judges are good at what they do. 3) Some openly commented that the fan experience was different for fans/listeners (and not positive)
  
• To me, the real problem was the decision to go to LOS for 10 years. I still believe this a musical activity that should NOT be indoors unless the weather conditions are just in-hospitable (San Antonio is the posterchild for the value of an indoor show). Second - as a fan, regardless of location, I still hate that we are going the same place for so many years.
  
• I tend to ignore all Mike's posts - makes this site more rational.
  
• Jeff was spot on with a key point - the emergence of Crown & Phantom with highly entertaining, MUSICAL shows has done a great deal to stem a potential tide of disaffected fans from leaving. The jury is still out on whether DCI course corrects there, or continues down to the path to an general ever increasing emphasis on visual and winterguard components. We'll see!
  
• I would NEVER recommend fans abandoning this activity, nor will I - I love it far too much, and have for all 21 years I've marched, then followed it as a fan, including 21 straight DCI Championships
  
• LOS as a venue is second only to Jackson, MS as a venue for finals. :( While I will continue to go, my enthusiasm has been measurably impacted by the fact Finals will continue to be there.
  

Just my random thoughts. Again, Kudos to a DCI Director willing to engage in meaningful dialogue! Great to see.

Harvey

[Jeff Ream]

great post Harvey, and yes, in many ways it does boil down to the decision on the stadium and show design. I've also said a few times on here that it's become to visual focused.