State of drum corps manifesto

[93Bluecoat]

Let me start by saying that I fully realize that with some of the things I’m going to write in this rant will alienate me with about 90% of the activity and even some of my Bluecoats family. I’m ok with that because I think, publicly, what I have to say needs to be shared. Its definitely being mutter by fans, alumni, and many people surrounding the activity and I think if its ignored, the activity faces losing generations of fan base. With that being said NOTHING in this rant represents the Bluecoats, their opinions, beliefs or anyone associated to that organization.

My background in the activity encompasses initially being a fan (my brother marched before me), a member of a world class top 12 corps, and a board member and loyal alumni supporter. I’ve taught music at all grade levels in 4 different states and am currently a professional in the music industry.

I served on the board of directors of the Bluecoats after they fell out of the top 12. I was there to watch the corps (and the activity) go through many changes, and the organization as a whole is in MUCH better shape today than it was 10 years ago. In many respects, organizational health has improved for many groups over this time span. However, we have seen many changes to the activity in this same time span that has torn at the fabric of what the drum corps really is. It’s no longer about entertainment, competition, aesthetics (I’ll be using this word a lot because that’s the key to what’s missing), or the fans.

The music of the Classical era (the time of Mozart and Haydn primarily) was defined by clarity, simplicity (in form mostly), and melody. Some of the grandest music composed came from this roughly 70 year span (1750-1820). Certainly brilliance in music history surrounds this period. The music of Bach and the baroque era was typified by ornamentation and an almost stoic nature. The music of the romantic period (set off by Beethoven) expanded chromaticism and expression as well as form. Music has constantly evolved (just as drum corps seems to have evolved from its almost archaic past….remember, we used to only have one line on the field). I look at what is going on today in drum corps as the kind of movement from a “classical style” of drum corps to a more elaborate form of the idiom (I don’t want to call it “romantic” because that’s not really what it is). However, the activity as a whole really isn’t better.

I’ll use my own personal stories and recent observations as my only proof to what may otherwise seem offensive to some. This activity spoke to me (and many that I grew up with) on a strong aesthetic level. I attended shows all over the Midwest in the 80s while growing up, and was a fan of MANY organizations because their performances, design, and execution were so powerfully emotional. At one of my first DCI finals ever I can recall being at quarters and semis and watching as corps after corps make the audience lose their mind. Corps finishing in 15th, 16th, 17th place were getting standing ovations in the middle of performances. As a Bluecoat homer, I can recall going nuts for the ’89 Cadets show as they performed what I thought was one of the most original shows in the last decade (Les Miserable). This was common place across the activity. Competition and rivalry were fierce but healthy respect permeated the activity because it seemed EVERY corps was achieving some level of aesthetic excellence (even early in the season). I see none of that in 2010. I see fans literally at a loss when shows are performed. Four times at the last show I attended, people around me turned to one and other and mumbled “is it over?” The shows are FAR more athletic than ever….so much so that it really is impressive. It also seems like drum lines and color guards have reached a new level of excellence/cleanliness….but it’s not aesthetic. Technical achievement is at an all time high from top to bottom for sure. So why are audiences so ambivalent towards what is going on?

Is it that to fully understand what is going on, we need a libretto? If the staff of each corps has to go to the judges and explain just what in the heck they are looking at on the field, how do they expect the average fan (Mom and Dad who are factory workers, accountants, and teachers) to fathom anything they put out there? The current trend in education is state testing. Many educators have blasted this because it doesn’t generate any positive results because the way it’s structured forces teachers to teach to a test. Isn’t drum corps now simply designing to the judging criteria? I think so. To prove it, take any show this year and listen to their ballad. Every corps has one, and it seems to have been mandated by the judging community. They all sound the same and each one is just as forgettable as the next. Design philosophy is even identical from corps to corps (drum lines don’t play, the horn line start doing glorified aerobics instead of marching, and the color guard drops the flags and rifles in favor of extended dance segments). You could argue that some find this incredibly moving and entertaining. Really? My evidence to the contrary is how the fans react and in each case over the last few years, its been with polite applause and yawns (that isn’t hyperbole either).

I once heard music arranger Jay Dawson talk about his philosophy on arranging for “tension” and “release” and how visual designers do the same. His arrangements have stood up for many years (previously in drum corps and now with many marching bands as he writes exclusively for Arranger’s Publishing now) as a model for generating great excitement. I’ve see none of it in modern drum corps going on 3 years now. It would appear that show design is not done to generate excitement anymore, but rather to appease what the judging community (or maybe its drum corps staff?) thinks scoring criteria should be based now.

I was never a fan of the A&E rule when it was instituted but I understood it as a natural progression of the activity. It’s been used well (see Carolina Crown this season, very well done) and it’s been used in what I can only describe as excruciating fashion (see Teal Sound this summer and whatever year Crown did the Rent show). The drum corps community has now mandated (maybe its not a written rule, but by golly, everyone is using it now) that you have to use this in some fashion to be competitive and apparently creative. Is it being “creative” if everyone is using it in a similar fashion? Is it being “creative” when you mic your soloists? Is it even necessary in this regard? The Bluecoats are using an EFX processor to alter the brass sound electronically on their soloists. It’s different. Does it add significantly to interest, excitement, and interpretation of the show? I don’t think so. Furthermore, I witnessed the Cavies mic a trumpet trio (and man, they can really wail, great players down there) at the end of their show. Why? What did that add? Balance? We would have heard those three guys without the mic just fine. Through the microphone it changed the tone color and the blend was musically absurd (some call it distracting). I sat shaking my head in disgust as did others around me (I had no idea what corps affiliation these people had either). What immediately went through my head was that this was kind of like the enabling musicians on what should be an otherwise achievable musical outcome (playing with good balance, blend and intonation).

One could argue that having the ability to use A&E in whatever manner the corps sees fit opens the door to so many creative opportunities (I agree). However very few corps seem to doing anything that actually enhances the “drum corps” sound (Crown and a few others from last season have used it tastefully). Rather, most seem bent on throwing in sound effects and unnecessary additions to what could be quality performances otherwise. They will tell you that arrangers now get to utilize tone colors once never available to drum corps (like pianos, sound effects, and so much more). Following that line of logic, we should have woodwinds and strings out there (wait, are we synthesizing those now?). If expanding the musical possibilities to the genre is the desired outcome then why restrict anything? Because then it would be BOA marching band……we already have that don’t we. We have effectively destroyed the drum corps sound and along with it an entire idiom that was powerfully aesthetic. Need proof? I wish I could have recorded the crowd reactions in Dublin, Ohio last night…..

So what does all this mean? Well, I paid $50 for myself and my girlfriend last night to see a drum corps show (we were excited to be able to walk up and buy such good seats on the 40 yard line near the top) and for the first time in my life, left a show thinking I may not come back to see another. I’ve never left a show and felt like this. I actually felt like I was owed a refund. I’ve always left wanting more, excited about the next time some close scoring groups would compete. Now? Ambivalence. The activity has become a manufactured entity shoved down our throats like so many unwanted products in the free market system. We’re told “It’s ART!” When asked why, its shouted back “BECAUSE WE SAY IT IS!” In reality we (DCI as a whole) now have a product that is cookie cutter, formulaic, uninteresting, and disconnected to its very own market/consumer.

Please don’t attribute my ramblings here to me devaluing what the members of each corps are doing. I genuinely am awed by what they are physically doing on the field. The immense talent, hard work, and things that all these kids are learning through the drum corps experience are certainly commendable (for all of us who marched, we all know what we gained). It’s an amazing thing to experience. However, from a purely business perspective, I don’t think I’ll ever pay $50 again to see this product in its current form. Your product is no longer worth what you charge.

I hope I’m wrong. I realize there is a counter argument to everything I’ve mentioned in this diatribe. I’ve heard them all and really haven’t heard a compelling argument to the contrary. I hope I don’t sound like angry old drum corps guy because that wasn’t what I was shooting for. Just felt like someone needed to relay some sentiments that are being rumbled rather freely at the last few shows I’ve attended, and wanted to share my own thoughts.

[rkfdPRphan]

FIRST, I must say that although I am a Phantom Regiment PHan, I AM NOT speaking on their behalf.

I just want to add my thoughts to this discussion.

I'm not a music major, but had the chance several years ago in Champaign IL to attend judging school.

1. I wish DCI would do this again for the fans. It gives you a great perspective on what the judges expect a corps to do.

I agree that the overall Drum Corps 'product' has changed ... a lot in some instances.

My thoughts on why:

2. Many, if not all, of the older corps music and visual arrangers have retired or passed on. They produced a sound and vision we recognized in the 60s, 70s, 80s. Now its a younger group now, with a different perspective of drum corps. The generation running drum corps has changed.

3. Many, if not all, drum corps members are music majors! They have studied music in high school and most are doing so in college. The music and the presentation of the last generation doesnt appeal to these kids that see music differently.

4. The older generation has the money to buy the tickets and sponsor the kids/corps. What will happen when this support ends?

I have such a different reaction to the music and presentation of drum corps than the younger people that sit around me at music events. I compair the music to symphonies I have attended while they tell me about a rap concert.

Its not BAD.

Its just a BIG CHANGE that I feel drum corps is going through right now.

....just my 2 cents.......

Edited July 8, 2010 by rkfdPRphan

[dbc03]

3. Many, if not all, drum corps members are music majors! They have studied music in high school and most are doing so in college. The music and the presentation of the last generation doesnt appeal to these kids that see music differently.

Many are. Not even close to all are.

[Lance]

Yes, I want drum corps the way I like it, too.

[dbc03]

Personally I think most corps have become more accessible over the last few years. Corps like BK and Boston that normally I haven't enjoyed have put on some great shows. Blue Stars have burst back onto the scene with enjoyable shows as well. Last year and this year The Cadets have shifted more back towards fan friendly shows and Crown has been rising through the ranks with accessibly shows. Plus, 2008 had one of the most popular winners in who knows how long.

[Ed from Kansas]

I am another that doesn't care for the synths or microphones on the instruments. I marched drum corps in the AL days and it was a totally different animal. The corps today are better trained and much more athletic than we were and their musicianship is, overall, better. On the other hand, I find it difficult, in many cases, to follow the music and drill as it relates to the name of the show. Where is the recurring theme in the shows today? In many cases, it is impossible to find.

There are a few corps that still try to tell a story that the average fan can follow, but they are fewer and fewer and place lower and lower each year. Sometimes modernization is not the best thing. On the other hand, my son marches in a corps and we will continue to go to the shows and applaud the kids for their terrific effort. Now the show designers and arrangers need to take a look and, just maybe, rethink the direction the activity is going.

We need to continue to support the activity but we also need to make our voices heard about what we like and don't like. DCP is a good forum for this because everybody involved in drum corps reads these forums.

If you love the activity like I do, you will work with the folks in charge to help move the corps in the direction you want them to. Become more active, not less. Complaining doesn't solve a thing. Positive action and support does.

You had many truths in your post but you didn't offer solutions. Involvement is the solution.

[93Bluecoat]

If you made it through all that, pat yourself on the back.

DW

Let me start by saying that I fully realize that with some of the things I’m going to write in this rant will alienate me with about 90% of the activity and even some of my Bluecoats family. I’m ok with that because I think, publicly, what I have to say needs to be shared. Its definitely being mutter by fans, alumni, and many people surrounding the activity and I think if its ignored, the activity faces losing generations of fan base. With that being said NOTHING in this rant represents the Bluecoats, their opinions, beliefs or anyone associated to that organization.

My background in the activity encompasses initially being a fan (my brother marched before me), a member of a world class top 12 corps, and a board member and loyal alumni supporter. I’ve taught music at all grade levels in 4 different states and am currently a professional in the music industry.

I served on the board of directors of the Bluecoats after they fell out of the top 12. I was there to watch the corps (and the activity) go through many changes, and the organization as a whole is in MUCH better shape today than it was 10 years ago. In many respects, organizational health has improved for many groups over this time span. However, we have seen many changes to the activity in this same time span that has torn at the fabric of what the drum corps really is. It’s no longer about entertainment, competition, aesthetics (I’ll be using this word a lot because that’s the key to what’s missing), or the fans.

The music of the Classical era (the time of Mozart and Haydn primarily) was defined by clarity, simplicity (in form mostly), and melody. Some of the grandest music composed came from this roughly 70 year span (1750-1820). Certainly brilliance in music history surrounds this period. The music of Bach and the baroque era was typified by ornamentation and an almost stoic nature. The music of the romantic period (set off by Beethoven) expanded chromaticism and expression as well as form. Music has constantly evolved (just as drum corps seems to have evolved from its almost archaic past….remember, we used to only have one line on the field). I look at what is going on today in drum corps as the kind of movement from a “classical style” of drum corps to a more elaborate form of the idiom (I don’t want to call it “romantic” because that’s not really what it is). However, the activity as a whole really isn’t better.

I’ll use my own personal stories and recent observations as my only proof to what may otherwise seem offensive to some. This activity spoke to me (and many that I grew up with) on a strong aesthetic level. I attended shows all over the Midwest in the 80s while growing up, and was a fan of MANY organizations because their performances, design, and execution were so powerfully emotional. At one of my first DCI finals ever I can recall being at quarters and semis and watching as corps after corps make the audience lose their mind. Corps finishing in 15th, 16th, 17th place were getting standing ovations in the middle of performances. As a Bluecoat homer, I can recall going nuts for the ’89 Cadets show as they performed what I thought was one of the most original shows in the last decade (Les Miserable). This was common place across the activity. Competition and rivalry were fierce but healthy respect permeated the activity because it seemed EVERY corps was achieving some level of aesthetic excellence (even early in the season). I see none of that in 2010. I see fans literally at a loss when shows are performed. Four times at the last show I attended, people around me turned to one and other and mumbled “is it over?” The shows are FAR more athletic than ever….so much so that it really is impressive. It also seems like drum lines and color guards have reached a new level of excellence/cleanliness….but it’s not aesthetic. Technical achievement is at an all time high from top to bottom for sure. So why are audiences so ambivalent towards what is going on?

Is it that to fully understand what is going on, we need a libretto? If the staff of each corps has to go to the judges and explain just what in the heck they are looking at on the field, how do they expect the average fan (Mom and Dad who are factory workers, accountants, and teachers) to fathom anything they put out there? The current trend in education is state testing. Many educators have blasted this because it doesn’t generate any positive results because the way it’s structured forces teachers to teach to a test. Isn’t drum corps now simply designing to the judging criteria? I think so. To prove it, take any show this year and listen to their ballad. Every corps has one, and it seems to have been mandated by the judging community. They all sound the same and each one is just as forgettable as the next. Design philosophy is even identical from corps to corps (drum lines don’t play, the horn line start doing glorified aerobics instead of marching, and the color guard drops the flags and rifles in favor of extended dance segments). You could argue that some find this incredibly moving and entertaining. Really? My evidence to the contrary is how the fans react and in each case over the last few years, its been with polite applause and yawns (that isn’t hyperbole either).

I once heard music arranger Jay Dawson talk about his philosophy on arranging for “tension” and “release” and how visual designers do the same. His arrangements have stood up for many years (previously in drum corps and now with many marching bands as he writes exclusively for Arranger’s Publishing now) as a model for generating great excitement. I’ve see none of it in modern drum corps going on 3 years now. It would appear that show design is not done to generate excitement anymore, but rather to appease what the judging community (or maybe its drum corps staff?) thinks scoring criteria should be based now.

I was never a fan of the A&E rule when it was instituted but I understood it as a natural progression of the activity. It’s been used well (see Carolina Crown this season, very well done) and it’s been used in what I can only describe as excruciating fashion (see Teal Sound this summer and whatever year Crown did the Rent show). The drum corps community has now mandated (maybe its not a written rule, but by golly, everyone is using it now) that you have to use this in some fashion to be competitive and apparently creative. Is it being “creative” if everyone is using it in a similar fashion? Is it being “creative” when you mic your soloists? Is it even necessary in this regard? The Bluecoats are using an EFX processor to alter the brass sound electronically on their soloists. It’s different. Does it add significantly to interest, excitement, and interpretation of the show? I don’t think so. Furthermore, I witnessed the Cavies mic a trumpet trio (and man, they can really wail, great players down there) at the end of their show. Why? What did that add? Balance? We would have heard those three guys without the mic just fine. Through the microphone it changed the tone color and the blend was musically absurd (some call it distracting). I sat shaking my head in disgust as did others around me (I had no idea what corps affiliation these people had either). What immediately went through my head was that this was kind of like the enabling musicians on what should be an otherwise achievable musical outcome (playing with good balance, blend and intonation).

One could argue that having the ability to use A&E in whatever manner the corps sees fit opens the door to so many creative opportunities (I agree). However very few corps seem to doing anything that actually enhances the “drum corps” sound (Crown and a few others from last season have used it tastefully). Rather, most seem bent on throwing in sound effects and unnecessary additions to what could be quality performances otherwise. They will tell you that arrangers now get to utilize tone colors once never available to drum corps (like pianos, sound effects, and so much more). Following that line of logic, we should have woodwinds and strings out there (wait, are we synthesizing those now?). If expanding the musical possibilities to the genre is the desired outcome then why restrict anything? Because then it would be BOA marching band……we already have that don’t we. We have effectively destroyed the drum corps sound and along with it an entire idiom that was powerfully aesthetic. Need proof? I wish I could have recorded the crowd reactions in Dublin, Ohio last night…..

So what does all this mean? Well, I paid $50 for myself and my girlfriend last night to see a drum corps show (we were excited to be able to walk up and buy such good seats on the 40 yard line near the top) and for the first time in my life, left a show thinking I may not come back to see another. I’ve never left a show and felt like this. I actually felt like I was owed a refund. I’ve always left wanting more, excited about the next time some close scoring groups would compete. Now? Ambivalence. The activity has become a manufactured entity shoved down our throats like so many unwanted products in the free market system. We’re told “It’s ART!” When asked why, its shouted back “BECAUSE WE SAY IT IS!” In reality we (DCI as a whole) now have a product that is cookie cutter, formulaic, uninteresting, and disconnected to its very own market/consumer.

Please don’t attribute my ramblings here to me devaluing what the members of each corps are doing. I genuinely am awed by what they are physically doing on the field. The immense talent, hard work, and things that all these kids are learning through the drum corps experience are certainly commendable (for all of us who marched, we all know what we gained). It’s an amazing thing to experience. However, from a purely business perspective, I don’t think I’ll ever pay $50 again to see this product in its current form. Your product is no longer worth what you charge.

I hope I’m wrong. I realize there is a counter argument to everything I’ve mentioned in this diatribe. I’ve heard them all and really haven’t heard a compelling argument to the contrary. I hope I don’t sound like angry old drum corps guy because that wasn’t what I was shooting for. Just felt like someone needed to relay some sentiments that are being rumbled rather freely at the last few shows I’ve attended, and wanted to share my own thoughts.

[MarimbasaurusRex]

Very well written post and it surely speaks to the feelings of many. I would like to explain my view of WHY this is happening. Those who teach, direct, and judge drum corps live in a cloistered world of high school and college marching bands. They seem to have lost any sense of what is enjoyable, or considered cool, to the general public. It is a very inwardly directed activity, inbred in so many ways that I expect to see corps with crossed eyes and buck teeth. I believe this trend will continue, as it has for decades, until there is some serious infusion of teaching talent from a world other than drum corps. Their idea of innovation is incorporating elements which were, in the larger scheme of things, innovative 50 years ago (see amplification among others).

The corps still in existence are here solely because they have been willing to play the game by the rules of the perennial winners. This in itself is stifling and will not change any time soon, until they allow others to determine how the game will be played.

[93Bluecoat]

BK, Boston and Blue Stars have three of the most formulaic shows out there in 2010.

Personally I think most corps have become more accessible over the last few years. Corps like BK and Boston that normally I haven't enjoyed have put on some great shows. Blue Stars have burst back onto the scene with enjoyable shows as well. Last year and this year The Cadets have shifted more back towards fan friendly shows and Crown has been rising through the ranks with accessibly shows. Plus, 2008 had one of the most popular winners in who knows how long.

[SFZFAN]

Read the first two lines. And done.