Barifonium Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 So why can't a corps just buy a cheap piece of land somewhere nearby and use it to rehearse on and make a tent city for everydays? Real estate prices should help with that... Invest in a few solar panels and there you have your electricity, and pack some waterless soap that hunters use to wash themselves. Just a few ideas off the top of my head. Nothing too well thought out here and I'm sure it will show; FFTA (Feel Free to Tear it Apart) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 So why can't a corps just buy a cheap piece of land somewhere nearby and use it to rehearse on and make a tent city for everydays? Real estate prices should help with that... Invest in a few solar panels and there you have your electricity, and pack some waterless soap that hunters use to wash themselves.Just a few ideas off the top of my head. Nothing too well thought out here and I'm sure it will show; FFTA (Feel Free to Tear it Apart) What about on tour??? That's where the real problem's going to lie. It's not like DCA where everyone can afford to rent a hotel for the night...and going from show to show doing all the sleep on the bus isn't feasible either...people need real, restful sleep, and the bus doesn't always provide that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyRyder_FMM Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 Dont the corps pay some kind of utility fee? No. Show sponsors are required to provide corps with housing. If there is no show, then the corps is responsible for securring their own housing. This may involve paying for housing, but it all depends upon facts and circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glory Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 Is it going to come to the point that when corps going on tour, they just camp along the sidelines for the fields whenever they can't find a housing site?Aside from electronics and showering, i don't see a big issue with that... Water and power ARE a big issue. They are fundamental to feeding the corps. Then there is sanitation for 200 people - and I'm not even talking showers. HH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glory Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 So why can't a corps just buy a cheap piece of land somewhere nearby and use it to rehearse on and make a tent city for everydays? Real estate prices should help with that... Invest in a few solar panels and there you have your electricity, and pack some waterless soap that hunters use to wash themselves.Just a few ideas off the top of my head. Nothing too well thought out here and I'm sure it will show; FFTA (Feel Free to Tear it Apart) Buy? Invest? When there's not enough money for gas and food much of the time? No, this is a real dilemma for drum corps. And it's also another external factor that helps explain why today's drum corps isn't yesterday's model. HH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplattSCV Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 Buy? Invest? When there's not enough money for gas and food much of the time? No, this is a real dilemma for drum corps. And it's also another external factor that helps explain why today's drum corps isn't yesterday's model.HH I see a new reality show in there. "Flip This Gymnasium". It will follow corps during the summer where they take their vast amounts of discretionary cash and buy gymnasiums and vacant lots throughout the country. Then they will use the seemingly infinite supply of 18 year old labor to transform these gyms and lots to then sell them for a profit. Its very simple really if you just don't think about it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BozzlyB Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 You ignore the trend of housing getting more difficult...partially due to what Tom pointed out, and partially due to corps damaging the grounds....our own worst enemy, in a way. Maybe it was harder to see given the two corps I marched with, Colts and Blue Stars, had a philosophy of leaving each housing site better than we found it, and it was strongly enforced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BozzlyB Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 ...and, if there are certain corps who are notorious for trashing housing sites and it's affecting everyone's ability to find housing, why doesn't DCI identify said corps and call them out and demand a higher standard? You leave the school trashed you stayed in? No money from the show that night. Money talks, BS walks . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplattSCV Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 (edited) Maybe it was harder to see given the two corps I marched with, Colts and Blue Stars, had a philosophy of leaving each housing site better than we found it, and it was strongly enforced. I think all the corps had that philosophy. You can leave it better than you arrived 100 times but leave it with a button broken on the coke machine and that's what will be remembered and that's the news that will propogate. The overwhelming majority of the time, I will bet, it is accidents that leave things damaged and not neglect. Maybe some organizations are more stellar than others, but I believe that every corps puts forth tremendous efforts in keeping thing their own reputation and the reputation of DCI in general intact. But, based on what I know of school district finances, penny pinching is king and they will put the brakes on much quicker. This is truly not a new issue, but it must be more difficult nowadays. There are fewer shows but there are more performing corps at many of them then there used to be. Dallas and Houston shows, for example, have been around for ~30 years+. Even before they became 2 night shows there were typically 10 corps performing, when there used to only be 6-7. As they get up to the 12-13 corps per night there are are 5 or 6 more housing sites that are needed. That's more difficult right off the bat. I remember being at shows where there were only 5 or 6 performing corps. That has to be tons easier when arranging housing. Edited April 13, 2010 by jplattSCV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandguy Posted April 13, 2010 Share Posted April 13, 2010 I'd like to echo what some of the posters have mentioned and add a bit more insight into things. I've been hosting drum corps at my school(s) since 1989. I've hosted just about every world class and most of the open class corps during that time. I can tell you every single one of them handled themselves in a courteous and professional manner. There was one year that due to housing issues I wound up with three corps on the same day. On the surface one would think that would be a nightmare, but the solution was simple; I told the directors to get together and plan the day to their best advantage. They got together and decided rehearsal time for our stadium, when they would shower, etc. and the day went smoothly. There are obviously some corps that are more "needy" than others. The corps with the older members seem to run smoother than the corps with the younger members, but that should be expected. The younger corps members are still learning how to be in a corps. I mean to say there's a difference between my freshmen and my seniors, so why should I expect any different from a drum corps? I had heard some gossip about corps X that they were "way too demanding" with a housing site. Yes, we all would like three full sized practice fields and use of the stadium (with lights), but corps in general realize that probably isn't going to happen. And they will make do with whatever they are given. Now, I've spoken with some directors who tell me they cannot host a corps because of a bad experience their school system had. I ask them when it happened and I will get answers like 1978, 1982, 1991 and the like. I agree, I don't see the sense in that thinking either - it's 2010, for goodness sake. To summarize - I don't think anyone should place any housing blame on the corps behavior. I just haven't seen any evidence of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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