BRASSO Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 (edited) Over the years, there has been criticisms of the DCI model of Drum Corps within some quarters of the DCA fan base, and within DCA corps even..... ie, expensive costs of participation to marching members,.... the exclusion and then rejection of thousands of willing try out participants at camps due to the try out marchers perceived lack of potental talent....., lack of diversity of shows,,...... , a lack of genuine camaraderie within and among Corps in comparison to DCA...... the" hired gun " model of DCI,..... lack of respect of what went before ( DCA honors and values earlier Corps, via active and growing Alumni and Mini Corps division )..... fewer soloists performing solos in brass in shows.... uncharismatic Drum Majors with little to no audience connection skills compared to many DCA DM's ......perceived inferior entertainment value in relationshp to ticket prices.... etc, ........and other criticisms we've all heard over the years. My question.... has your view of DCI changed ? Or not ? Please provide your comments on what you think of DCI organization, Corps, shows, their fan base..... both good and bad. How have DCA Corps been treated by DCI fans when on those infrequent occasions they have consented to perform exhibitions at DCI shows for their fans ? What do like and/ or dislike about DCI ? Edited April 27, 2010 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcpincollector Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Over the years, there has been criticisms of the DCI model of Drum Corps within some quarters of the DCA fan base, and within DCA corps even..... ie, expensive costs of participation to marching members,.... the exclusion and then rejection of thousands of willing try out participants at camps due to the try out marchers perceived lack of potental talent....., lack of diversity of shows,,...... , a lack of genuine camaraderie within and among Corps in comparison to DCA...... the" hired gun " model of DCI,..... lack of respect of what went before ( DCA honors and values earlier Corps, via active and growing Alumni and Mini Corps division )..... fewer soloists performing solos in brass in shows.... uncharismatic Drum Majors with little to no audience connection skills compared to many DCA DM's ......perceived inferior entertainment value in relationshp to ticket prices.... etc, ........and other criticisms we've all heard over the years.My question.... has your view of DCI changed ? Or not ? Please provide your comments on what you think of DCI organization, Corps, shows, their fan base..... both good and bad. How have DCA Corps been treated by DCI fans when on those infrequent occasions they have consented to perform exhibitions at DCI shows for their fans ? What do like and/ or dislike about DCI ? Why is this in the DCA forum? Isn't this about DCI? ........Oh, I forgot.............. Seems like the other thread similar to this did not start with a litany of criticisms (Did you check the list above to make sure you listed all of them? You wouldn't want to miss any!). I guess that this is in the proper forum. The DCA forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 DCI goes hot and cold with me. show design is mostly the issue, tho you can not deny the talent of the kids. My biggest issue is their finals site choice for the never ending forseeable future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted April 27, 2010 Author Share Posted April 27, 2010 (edited) Why is this in the DCA forum? Isn't this about DCI? ........Oh, I forgot.............. Seems like the other thread similar to this did not start with a litany of criticisms (Did you check the list above to make sure you listed all of them? You wouldn't want to miss any!). I guess that this is in the proper forum. The DCA forum. Well, yes, this is the DCA side of DCP. On the DCI side of this forum, there is an active thread asking those from DCI if their opinions of DCA have changed. The OP on that thread I thought did an effective job in his remarks stating that he had encountered many unsavory comments re. DCA from DCI'ers when he participated in DCI. He went on to mention that when he then later participated in DCA, that the negative caricatures that he had heard about DCA were not entirely accurate at all. So I thought it might be appropriate to see if DCA'ers opinion of DCI has changed lately. And if so, how. You are of course correct that I listed some of the critical comments that I have heard critical of DCI. But my thread question clearly asks posters to respond to ( my quote)... DCI " likes and/ or dislikes "... and the question asks posters on the DCA side of this forum if these DCI perceptions are accurate or ( quote ).. " not " accurate in their opinion.. The posters on this side of the DCP forum, similar to the DCI side, are encouraged to give their honest answers, and they are free to answer the question about whether their opinions on DCI having changed or not, one way or the other, in any way they deem appropriate. Edited April 27, 2010 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 a lack of genuine camaraderie within and among Corps in comparison to DCA Unless you are within the ranks, as a member of said corps, there is no way to make such a judgemental statement on what it's like within the ranks of another corps, whether is DCI, DCA or whatever. (Not saying YOU the author of thread said that..............I'm just saying :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 LOL. It depends. All I know is that when I had a choice to go to DCA Scranton or DCI Allentown this year, I decided to go to Scranton. Got fantastic seats and had a great time, ran into many people I've known, met some new peeps. Saw some really solid shows. I was happy with my decision. Since I didn't get my ticket requests into DCI in February, I knew I would've been consdigned to the 25 yard line seats, so that's also my fault. Money was tight, and I couldn't plan that far ahead. So be it. No real beef there. Still wish they had the Prelims/Open Seating concept but that's not gonna fly anymore, tho as a young fellow, I loved going to A-Town an hour before the show started to stake out my perch and get burned to a crisp and watch a bunch of corps, many that aren't around now.. Great memories. Always has been more expensive to perform in DCI corps, even 30 years ago. Never was an issue to me. Auditioning- the only problem is that now, you don't see the 14-16 year old kids getting the DCI opportunities like they used to. Now, these same kids have their competition HS band- if they're lucky to be in a decent one- to provide some of the experience for them. Then again, if they're lucky they can hit a DCA corps at 16 and get in if they have some ability like I did back in the day. Perhaps-- some people need to realize that with the death of all the local drum corps, those corps were more or less effectively replaced by HS Band competition programs. Coincidence? Likely, yes. Might be worth a research paper. DCI Drum majors- *shrug*. Kevin Hagopian of the Guardsmen and Doug Tholo of the Scouts back in the day were exciting and dynamic personalities. L'Insolite's DM was one wild, fired-up dude. The PR conductors are certainly dynamic personalities today. Don't paint them all with a broad brush. I probably dated myself with mentions of the Guardsmen and Tholo as a performer- didn't I!? Not every DCA Drum Major's a white-hot ball of fire, either. As for shows- hit or miss. I could say that for DCA as well. Seems some creative staffs understand the personalities of their corps and try and project it, others take a far more cautious approach trying to score/make finals/re-make the corps to suit their own tastes/innovate for the sake of change itself without understanding the change properly and usually fail miserably. I don't need to name names, we all know who's been guilty as charged. I see some groups/teams/corps (whatever term is in vogue) trying hard to connect with the crowd and put together exciting, AND thoughtful, AND innovative programs whether DCA or DCI, don't panic- some people still get it. Those that don't will still get the golf claps and end up at the bottom of their respective heaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted April 27, 2010 Author Share Posted April 27, 2010 (edited) Unless you are within the ranks, as a member of said corps, there is no way to make such a judgemental statement on what it's like within the ranks of another corps, whether is DCI, DCA or whatever.(Not saying YOU the author of thread said that..............I'm just saying :) Fair point. I did offer this up as anecdotal information shared with me by several marchers that had marched with a DCA Corps and a DCI Corps and it was their experience. This was also echoed by 2 posters on the DCI side of this forum on an active post that their personal experience with their DCA Corps from strictly a camaraderie aspect, for them ,was better than when they marched with their DCI Corps. But I do understand your point. And it's entirely possible that marchers in both DCI and DCI found in their own personal experience in their DCI Corps, that it offered them every bit, or more, of a feeling of family, cameraderie, and what have you with that Corps, as the Corps they marched with in DCA. Edited April 27, 2010 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdewine Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Does anyone remember the "Tie-breaker" show in Buffalo in 2001? Cadets vs Cavaliers, and Brigs vs Empire. Well, in addition to the contest being judged, there was a fan poll for "Favorite Corps in tonite's show" (more on that in a second) So the Brigs won the senior portion of the show, and I think the Cavaliers won the junior portion. Our corps was at the gate ready to come back on the field for a victory concert, and we were told by the DCI official running the show, that we would not be allowed to do our victory concert. When our corps director asked why, this DCI official ranted on and on angrily that, "If I have anything to say about it...a DCA corps will never follow a DCI corps on the field!!! Ever again!! There's NO WAY your corps was tonight's best corps!!!" (etc., etc.) The Brigadiers turned their corps around and went to the nearby tennis courts and set up in concert formation. Along one fenceline of the tennis court was a long line of Cadets. The Green Machine lined the fence that was perpendicular to the Cadets. Then, the Brigs proceeded to rip the faces off our DCI spectators!!! As a member of the Honor Guard, I was positioned where I could see the expressions on the faces of the Cavies and Cadets. Let's just say there was no mistaking the fact they were impressed. After our concert, ALL of their comments were complimentary. I remember thinking that if the members of the two best DCI corps think were pretty good, well then we must not be TOO bad. LOL So, as far as DCI / DCA interaction...Draw your own conclusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvscorps Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 My opinion has not changed. I loved DCI a while ago and still love it today. I loved DCA a while ago and still love it today. Two different versions of the same activity. Both awesome in their own right for what they do. What the members in each circuit accomplish amazes me every time I see it. And I'm always entertained. In different ways depending on what the corps is performing. Vive la difference! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skajerk Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Do I like some of the changes over the years in DCI? No. But I still love the passion and talent level that is put out there on the field and will go and WATCH any show I possibly can. I may not LIKE all the shows but I will WATCH them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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