Official DCP G7 Proposal Discussion Thread

[OrlandoContraAlum]

Hey all, I may be wrong here, but I thought that the 3 year rule was only to get you knocked out of the G7... all you had to do was finish top 8 ONCE to get into G7. I don't have the PPT handy, but can someone check this?

[chaddyt]

I dont even know what my post count is. can you keep me up to date periodically on it? thanks

Pardon the interruption folks.

It's under your avatar, Jeff. You're at about 128,000 posts since October of '03.

Rounding up to 7 years, you're averaging about 18,300 posts per year.

Or 50 posts per day.

If we take into account the "dry" season here (October thru April-ish), that number is... most impressive ($1 Darth Vader).

I wonder if you even have time to drive the VW....

... And now back to your regularly scheduled post-apocolyptic drum corps discussion....

[Jeff Ream]

Good points, and you've forced me to back off my original statement.

Do the corps actually vote on fiscal matters? I was under the impression that would be considered an executive function. What sort of matters come up for a full vote of the member corps? I was thinking of more superficial matters, like rules proposals, and in that case I do think competitive success would give more weight to certain opinions.

does the BOD vote on how much office supplies should be purchased? i doubt it. But when it comes to big items, such as recording contracts, finals venues, etc, I'm sure they have a say. They don't just hand Dan a blank checkbook and say "go get em tiger"

[BigW]

I understand how YEA! has managed to effectively monopolize the shows in this region-- I don't know if that's a good thing, either. I'd personally rather buy the 40-50 dollar VIP ticket on the 50 in the sweet spot if the money was going to another charitable organization, but I guess that's just me.

The Hershey Spectacular was about the last non-YEA! event in the region, and a lot of us miss it.

Edited May 27, 2010 by BigW

[Jeff Ream]

This begs the question of who the G7 equivalent of "He Hate Me" is . . .

[Jeff Ream]

Same can be said of Dallas Cowboys/NE Patriots/Colts vs the Lions/Raiders... yet they seem to make it work. Should the Cowboys break away or play extra games outside the league?

well...since they are in Indy...maybe Irsay should be an outsider on the board, and he could show them how it's done

[BOBSMYTH]

Hey - aren't we almost ready for Official DCP G7 thread #4?

[MikeD]

I understand how YEA! has managed to effectively monopolize the shows in this region-- I don't know if that's a good thing, either. I'd personally rather buy the 40-50 dollar VIP ticket on the 50 in the sweet spot if the money was going to another charitable organization, but I guess that's just me.

The Hershey Spectacular was about the last non-YEA! event in the region, and a lot of us miss it.

DCI East doesn't count????

[Jeff Ream]

Then teach me. I admit ignorance of the inner workings of Pioneer. My perspective is that of a fan. I see Pioneer finish in last place every year, then I come to DCP and read directors and instructors from Pioneer state that there is more to drum corps than competition. That's fine, and Pioneer provides a great opportunity for kids to march, but I have yet to meet anyone in person who gets excited by or for a Pioneer show.

For all I know, Pioneer might be the wealthiest corps out there. Maybe they have more resources at their disposal than any other corps. I'm open to this possibility. But even if this is true, it's completely irrelevant. What matters is how those resources are used. I included the words "willing" and "presence" in my previous post for a reason. Pioneer may be fiscally stable, even thriving, but as a fan I don't see Pioneer willing to use their resources to grow their product. Character development is not a spectator sport. I can appreciate Pioneer's role in "supporting adolescent achievement towards the pursuit of excellence in all areas of their lives", but that by itself is not going to earn my dollars. Offer me something in return. Entertain me. Entertain the people I bring to the show. How else are we going to add new fans?

Maybe you consider drum corps to be a charity. I do not. In the debate over amplification and electronic instruments, I have always maintained that no one should spend money on drum corps if the product no longer entertains them. I value drum corps for the entertainment it provides. I consider drum corps to be entertainment. The G7 corps have just submitted a proposal which states unequivocally that they too believe drum corps to be entertainment. I have not heard Pioneer's statement on this proposal - but in the ten years since I have been a fan, Pioneer's words and actions have not demonstrated to me that they hold as a priority the crafting of an entertaining brand with national appeal. This is why I believe Pioneer's interests to be at odds with the interests of a forward-looking corps like the Blue Devils.

a question for you...if Pioneer is fiscally stable, and say, maybe BD isn't.....is that good for DCI? No...and then, would you be crying foul because BD bet the farm on bingo for life and spent beyond their means?

[jwillis35]

How is DCI restricting any individual corps from marketing itself to its local community? What corps have the resources to come up with "web-based solutions" on their own? Did you know that DCI pays for server space and offers it free to the corps? (For some reason, only a handful of corps take advantage.) Did you know that DCI pays Tom Blair for all of the things he does and then offers all of that material free to all of the corps? Where do you think much of the material comes from for all those DVD's put out by many of the World Class corps?

I completely agree, but all I am saying is that we need more openess here, not that DCI should stop handling the national web site.

Please define appropriate. The top corps (G-7) get the lions share of all money paid to the corps. Apparently, the G-7 think they need even more "appropriateness"?

Again, I agree, but for some reason they (G7) seem to want more money. I am not saying they should have it, I am only suggesting that we need a better method for this type of compensation.

Please get a copy of DCI's mission statement and read. DCI is a cooperative fraternity of its member corps. That is what all of the corps who participate in DCI sign up for. It appears that the G7 group has forgotten this.

There is a symbiotic relationship - DCI needs the corps and the corps need DCI. If DCI does not exist, the corps would have to replace it with some other, similar organization.

DCI is the corps and the office/organization serves at the wishes of the corps. If DCI is involved in an activity that you do not agree with, remember that it was one or more corps that requested that they do it.

I did say that DCI is a combination of its member corps. They are one and the same, so I completely agree that if the G7 decide to move on, they would have to form a similar organization. This is very tue. But I disagree that "Cooperative Fraternity" means sharing all resources. Rules of governance and guidelines for contents are certainly within their alliance, but how to run the corps, make money, when and where to tour, and all that good stuff should be left up to the corps and its Board.

Once again - fact check. DCI pays for the copyrights and licenses on behalf of the corps. From the front end "permissions to arrange" to the royalties based on the DVD's and CD's that are sold to the ASCAP/BMI fees for performing in front of live audiences to the fees associated with Fan Network downloads. DCI pays it all.

AND - the individual corps do have the right to record their performances and sell them. Several corps have their own CD's & DVD's. (I know, I own some of them.)

I actually think this should be the responsibility of the corps, not DCI. It's in their best interest.

You do realize that the reason that DCI has a Fan Network is because the corps asked them to? As a matter of fact, for quite a while now, there has been a "Digital DCI" committee that have played a large role in the development in the centralized web-site. The key members of the committee? Dave Gibbs - BD, Dave Glasgow - Bluecoats and Jim Coates - Carolina Crown. So... I don't think that these G7 corps would agree with your intrepretation of their proposal on this specific point. Otherwise the G7 is contradicting itself.

I knew all of this. I didn't care for it from day one, mainly because these corps are run by communities, not DCI. It's people who volunteer, as I did, that help to raise these funds. The whole centralized web site, while necessary to some extent, has flaws. I think this is what I was trying to say. But I agree with you, and I agree that the G7 has been contradicting itself. On one hand they want more control, but they also want sharing of resources. They want ONLY DCI and its member corps to control shows, but they want more revenue and yet do NOT wish to allow outside promoters to come in, people who could bring much needed cash. The want to promote their shows, their way, with encores and after-show goodies (yay), but what self-respecting non-G7 corps will attend those shows if all you are is a blip on the radar (as far as the G7 are concerned).

But - what if the struggling corps is a G7 corps? Should DCI have withheld assistance? (Oh - and actually, all of these groups are charities.)

Yes, if a G7 corps is struggling, they should go home and fund for the next year. DCI should not be in the saving-a-corps game. DCI, which is an association governed by its members, as you have pointed out, is there to set the parameters, help market and promote the larger shows and the activity as a whole. But it is the responsibility of each corps to fund and operate their organizations. If they can't do this, they can't take part. This will encourage better management.