DCI story on CNN.com

[madscout96]

This article is reminding me of 2002, when an article ran in the Capitol Times in Madison during DCI Finals week in Madison. The headline read, "Will the Scouts make it?", as the Scouts were headed toward their first failure to make top 12 in 30 years. A few weeks later Scott Stewart stepped down and the Madison Scouts brought in new leadership. I'm not saying that the article CAUSE changes to be made, or that the CNN article will cause any changes. Just saying that it illustrates the magnitude of what's going on and what might happen.

[BigW]

And whoever vandalized Hops car... You're a lowlife sack of.... you know.

Ditto. As much as I find Hop unacceptable in many ways and utterly disagree with him on most things, the last thing I'd do is vandalize his stuff. Not cool, not cool at all.

It almost makes me wonder if the vandalization was staged for the attention, given the way he operates and thinks. Even thinking that is also rather sad.

[Fran Haring]

Wow, DCI has been around since 1972 and it takes some drama for it to make CNN? This is why I don't watch the news.

I used to be in the radio news business.

There was a saying then..."if it bleeds, it leads." Meaning bad news/controversy/sensational stuff "grabs" people more than everyday good news.

I guess some things never change!

[barigirl78]

Drum corps has start to start thinking like a business. No business would continue to spend more and more to produce its product without knowing that it would increase revenue. If it doesn't show and ROI, you cut back.

Unfortunately, corps don't think of "return on investment" in terms of more people in the stands, they think of it in terms of the score recap.

As someone else said, the activity has done it to themselves. They don't need to spend as much money as they do except in some pursuit of an extra tenth of a point.

Drum corps could just as easily put a stop to it, but every rule change they propose adds to the cost of running a corps. The shows they put on the field have gotten to a level where they are less assessible to the average person. It's not a growth strategy or even a maintenance strategy. If I was to define it in business terms, they are becoming more niche than they have ever been.

[skywhopper]

You know, it is actually VERY easy to reject the G-7 if they make it happen - DON'T GO SEE IT OR SUPPORT IT FINANCIALLY!!!

It is really not hard to do at all.....

True. I'd rather not see DCI get destroyed in the process of their market experiment, though. It's also possible to stop dumb things before they happen.

[EllmerFUDD]

I don't get it. Are the big corps hurting for talent on the brass lines? Hopkins is always trying to up the age limits... I'm also surprised he straight out was calling for woodwinds. I didn't realize he was being that direct about it.

But wouldn't the better solution to all the expenses and demand for talent be to simplify? Eliminate electronics and amps and you save equipment money, transportation money, and you need fewer staff. Cut back to a smaller corps size you save a ton in food, instruments, and uniforms. Make props illegal, and remove the temptation to add that expense.

Most of this would suck

[fecontra]

I used to be in the radio news business.

The stuff they played at WPAT would never be allowed in a DCI Brass Book!

Even Phantom Regiment won't play " Phantom Regiment " by LeRoy anderson!

although WPAT radio and WOR TV would!

Edited August 13, 2010 by fecontra

[Fran Haring]

The stuff they played at WPAT would never be allowed in a DCI Brass Book!

Holy mackerel...I'm glad someone beside me and my old boss Ken Lamb remember those WPAT days. LOL. The old "Easy Listening" format. That was a great radio station in its day. They had a ton of listeners.

The WPAT gig was ostensibly "part time" for me... I was working full-time at another station. But as time went on, I was putting in nearly as many hours at the part-time gig.

I kinda miss those days!!!!

[N.E. Brigand]

Even Phantom Regiment won't play "Phantom Regiment" by Leroy Anderson!

Interesting to find that, according to corpsreps, they never have played it.

[DRB]

What people don't get about me is I love it the way it is, I reallydo," Hopkins said. "But it's not going to survive if we don't let otherpeople in -- the next big wall is woodwind instruments."

Really George? You think the way to SAVE Drum & Bugle Corps is by allowing the use of woodwinds?

I think the rest of the world would consider that KILLING drum corps once and for all.

Hell, I stopped going to shows after you ruined the activity with electronics.

For anyone who is really interested, here is how to get Drum Corps back on track:

1) Stop with the woodwind talk. Even the most progressive DCI fans realize that would be a HUGE mistake

2) Do away with the electronics. enough is enough already. OK, we tried them, all they do is allow corps to cheat horn parts and boost weak low brass sections. How about we just teach the kids to play.

3) Reinstitute the regional organizations DCE, DCM... so corps can stay closer to home for half the summer and save on travel costs.

4) Hold regional championships in Mid-July so new Corps just getting started can run a half season and still have something to shoot for.

5) Simplify the activity, not complicate it. The simpler the activity, the less it will cost to run. Brass, Drums, Guard. Thats all you need. If you really need electronics and gizmos then what you REALLY need is a better arranger/designer.

(prime example is 1991 SCV. They did Miss Saigon and recreated the sounds of helicopters. marching troops, and others using just a creative pit. No electronics. I am sure if that show was done today it would all be done on synth by pushing a button. Explain to me how that futhers the activity)

6) Get corporate sponsorship. Every drum and brass company on the planet benefits from DCI well beyond the amount they put into it.

7) Cap the amount of money that corps can raise from membership dues. There are other ways to raise money without bleeding the members dry.

8) Get back to what the KIDS expect and want from Drum Corps, not what the adults and designers want.

Doesn't sound that difficult to me. By adding more and more junk to the activity (electronics, synth, woodwinds) all that is happening is it gets more expensive to field a corps and the gap between the haves and have nots gets wider and wider. Simplify and get back to the corps of what the activity is about and it can flourish once again.

Brilliant.