New tour concept for 2011 proposed

[Rifuarian]

like i said, it's a trifecta - finances, placements, and fans

No, it's not. Placement and fans are vitally important, but only if the management of a corps can use these things to create a financially stable organization. Sadly, this does not always occur.

[bawker]

Reasonable people can debate the merits of this approach. What I find dismaying is the automatic assumption of malicious intent on the part of the directors who voted for this. No doubt the tone of the DCW article has played a role in that.

As has the fact that the corps press release glosses over a number of logistical and administrative issues to present only the rainbows and puppy dogs view.

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle . . .but the folks that are involved in this dust up aren't just doing it for the greater good of DCI and music educators everywhere.

[dcjosh]

I haven't read all 39 pages of this thread, so this might have already been mentioned.

Obviously money is at the center of this issue. These 7 corps are generating the most money for dci through ticket sales, merchandise, and media on the fan network. They think they deserve a bigger share of what dci hands out to the corps. I agree.

Also, this won't make most people happy, but I think that this is a step in the direction of the top corps becoming closer to a marching band. If they form their own tour they will be able to form their own rules which will eventually include woodwinds. Most purists will object to it, but the corps will be able to reach a larger (and younger) audience that way. It's probably still a few years down the road, but I see there eventually being a BOA type summer tour with independent groups like the cadets, bd, etc., and a seperate drum corps tour (maybe the hold outs joining DCA).

Edited May 20, 2010 by dcjosh

[Matt_S]

I haven't ready all 39 pages of this thread

I have, and that's a bit much for one night. I'm turning in... I wonder how many pages we'll be at by the morning?

[BigPapiBass5]

I have, and that's a bit much for one night. I'm turning in... I wonder how many pages we'll be at by the morning?

my laptops about to die so it looks like im done

[Bruckner8]

Just a question -

You stated earlier that if we knew you, we'd know that you would be pushing for a scoreless system. But doesn't that somewhat force it in to entertainment? Excellence is a term of measurement. If there's no measurement, wouldn't it be simply entertainment - a lesser term of measurement?

In my perfect world, every performer would do it because s/he wanted to be the best at that moment. That is, they wanted to be "the most excellent by any conceivable measure." That would ALWAYS result in pure entertainment, because the excellence itself IS entertaining (Again, I'm wowed be BD's performance every time, even though I don't always "get it." I like seeing them live, but they lose me on video/cd.)

If you take away the scores, the excellence will go down, because LOTS OF MEMBERS are purely motivated by SCORES, and not necessarily their own internal need for excellence. They NEED the score as "perfection motivation." Peer pressure is another motivator. I wish it were 100% internal, but that's very rare.

BITD Madison would pull me in with their energy, but I'd always be left with something that said "ewww" about their technical performance. (can't hear contras, sopranos out of tune, major imbalances within sections, major imbalances drums/horns)

IOW: It's possible to be ENTERTAINING w/o being EXCELLENT (Madison), but PURE EXCELLENCE is always ENTERTAINING by definition. (Case Study: SCV 09)

I prefer excellence. I'm cool with people who are willing to trade excellence for entertainment, but I won't be participating.

[Rifuarian]

My ### is there in the seats for every corps as well, as soon as I arrive. That's why I am able to speak about this first-hand. I've seen for myself the way the stands gradually fill in as the night goes on. It happens at every show. The G7 corps are the biggest draws in the activity. Maybe you wish it weren't so, but you at least have to agree that this is the case.

Now, having agreed to that much, how do we use that fact to better the activity? It should at least be conceivable that we grow the activity by marketing these draws over all other corps. We might consider establishing a minimum number of these corps to visit the west coast each year. We might consider an event format where these corps are able to perform not just a 12 minute show, but encores and concert pieces and the like as well. We might consider increasing the presence of these seven corps to band programs across the country, because, let's face it, those kids are engaging in the same actions as the marching members in drum corps and are more likely than any other demographic to become new fans.

Reasonable people can debate the merits of this approach. What I find dismaying is the automatic assumption of malicious intent on the part of the directors who voted for this. No doubt the tone of the DCW article has played a role in that.

Again, this already occurs. The proposals you make here are worthwhile, and if that's all these corps were proposing it wouldn't be so much of a problem. It's all the little things that were glossed over in the release that are concerning.

Edited May 20, 2010 by Rifuarian

[Fievel]

Don't know if it's been said, but someone should call Star of Indiana and tell them it's safe to come back now.

[AlexL]

"Discussions have been underway since January to explore how Drum Corps International (“DCI”) might better serve the interests of all drum corps, including those groups who have a history of success for the past 20 years or more."

Well if we're talking 20 years+, why isnt madison in this group? I mean, if its not all about recent placement. Over the last 20 years, madison's recent placements are the outlier, not the rule. This is a corps that has a title to its names and has a huge fan following. In the past 20 years, theyve averaged 8th place. Take out the last 3 years and that average goes up to 7th. Go a couple years back and you get to include their title year.

Hell, boston has a similar average the last 10 yrs. It wasnt that long ago (within the decade) that they were in that top 5-6 range and bluecoats were placing in that 10-13 range.

Edited May 20, 2010 by AlexL

[BigPapiBass5]

In my perfect world, every performer would do it because s/he wanted to be the best at that moment. That is, they wanted to be "the most excellent by any conceivable measure." That would ALWAYS result in pure entertainment, because the excellence itself IS entertaining (Again, I'm wowed be BD's performance every time, even though I don't always "get it." I like seeing them live, but they lose me on video/cd.)

If you take away the scores, the excellence will go down, because LOTS OF MEMBERS are purely motivated by SCORES, and not necessarily their own internal need for excellence. They NEED the score as "perfection motivation." Peer pressure is another motivator. I wish it were 100% internal, but that's very rare.

BITD Madison would pull me in with their energy, but I'd always be left with something that said "ewww" about their technical performance. (can't hear contras, sopranos out of tune, major imbalances within sections, major imbalances drums/horns)

IOW: It's possible to be ENTERTAINING w/o being EXCELLENT (Madison), but PURE EXCELLENCE is always ENTERTAINING by definition. (Case Study: SCV 09)

I prefer excellence. I'm cool with people who are willing to trade excellence for entertainment, but I won't be participating.

i saw a DCA show that was very entertaining and dirty