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2000 - 2010 , what have we learned?


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I must say that I agree with a lot of this. It will come across as someone being way too negative, but honestly when you look at each one of your comments by themselves, it really is hard to disagree.

Humans have made some errors here. Nothing new. We humans know how to do this. The key to almost everything you bring up is this: how do we move on and fix what needs fixed, and tweak what needs some improvement?

Overall I think Bb/F brass was fine. You're right about Soprano G bugles. They were the best outdoor "trumpets," but overall I think the passing of the Bbs and Fs was the way to go. It is easier on the manufacturers and allows the corps more choice and a better means of selling when they are done with the instruments.

Amping - I am ok with providing it's done well, but most corps are giving us way too much pit.

Electronic Instruments - Still not sure about, at least for me. I do like hearing some piano, or bass when needed, or strings, guitar, etc. But I guess it comes down to construction. People seem most offended when those instruments are too loud or used as primary voices in the orchestration.

Narration - Has never really been accepted by the audience. At its core, drum and bugle corps is a musical activity, not spoken theater with acting and narration.

Acting and Central Characters - This has also not gone over well. The lone exception was the 2005 Cadets show with the Catholic school girl. In most cases, however, I believe fans find the central character as an assault on the senses and on the totality of the show where, in their minds, brass and drums and guard should be the focus. So anything that takes away from that focus is damning to the senses, especially if that character is used too much in the show. The Fred Austere character in Phantom Regiment's 2005 show, used very sparingly and when needed, was also an exception.

Allowing 150 max per corps was a bad move. Perhaps good for the corps that can get it (extra income without one additional bus), but it has hurt smaller corps, and I find the extra bodies not needed. Go back to 138 or 135.

Singing - Not well received.

Music Arranging - Too much chop shop, pop corn, let's start a phrase and see how quickly we can go into something else, or pardon me but have you seen how many melodies we can put into 11.5 minutes of show?

Visual Design - too much running around like chickens with heads cut off, and usually to whole notes and half notes. Too much clutter and free form and scatter and WAY TOO MUCH posing and rolling around on the ground. Just exactly what effect was I supposed to get from all the poses and the floor rolls? I ask because I don't care what the pose is, it does nothing for me. Do corps really get GE bonus for this stuff?

Dance - I don't mind dance, but it works best when done in large groups (10 flags, 20 flags), and much less so when it's one individual dancing and posing and pointing to the sky, the clouds, waving arms across one's face as though they are creating some meaningful moment. I can never figure that out and get nothing from it.

General Effect (music and visual) - needs to be better defined and we need to have better methods for judging it. To some extent, this caption HAS to reward shows that are reaching the fans in a positive way providing they are clean and have box 5 demand.

Economics - If your corps needs more money, you need to do what ever it is, within the law, to bring in more cash; but you can't do this by robbing from the poor or taking more from DCI which you claim to be your money in the first place. If you don't have cash in the bank, then you spend too much. Where you place and what you spend on a show/staff should not matter, the corps's health is what matters. All drum corps need to learn how to raise funds for themselves, not by taking a bigger cut from a large pool of income that was designated for the entire show or for DCI as a whole. There are ways to fundraise, and from that point on a corps must work within their budget. Stop saying you need more money when you spend TOO much as it is. Cut expenses, manage better, fundraise better, cut back on travel if you have to, more local shows and events would not be such a bad thing.

:thumbup::lle::worthy::worthy::whistle:

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...Increasing member limits consolidated members into the top corps, making it harder for lower tier corps to recruit. Going from 128 to 150 means there are 264 more marching members in the top 12 than there were in 2000. That definitely had a negative impact on lower tier recruitment...

Not sure I can agree with this verse from the DCP Bible. While recruitment surely was an issue for some corps, and while the extra spots afforded some members choices they otherwise might not have had, I'm not convinced 150 is the issue. I have a couple of thoughts around why.

First, the evidence is abundant that many of those who audition want to march with one corps only. They pre-decide for whatever reason that corps X is not just the right one but the only one. Should they not make it, they sit home. The numbers show this without doubt.

Second partly explains the first. There is a trend in our society that causes many of our young people (and their parents) to seek out status in addition to experience. Be it travel soccer or an elite drum corps, many young people prefer not to have any experience rather than experience what they perceive to be second-tier status. If they can't march with a winner, they won't march at all. Or to put it another way, the smaller corps or the historically lower-placing corps never stood a chance.

We also should take note of the surge of accomplishment and prestige of certain corps even during the 150 era. Blue Stars' progress wasn't impeded by 150. Academy has grown strong during this time. Troopers restored some glory. Crown and Bluecoats both found new highs in the era. You might even go so far as to argue that for a new generation of drum corps fans, those two corps have displaced old-time stalwarts such as Madison and perhaps even SCV or Phantom in the elite category. That sort of competitive rotation is the sort of change many drum corps fans think is essential. And it happen not in the 90s but in the 00's with 150.

For that matter, we should take note that Bluecoats success also comes at a time when that corps has shown a clear willingness to experiment with electronics and voice. (This might be true to lesser extent with Crown.) The disdain represented by DCP hasn't been an impediment, apparently, to recruiting there.

HH

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Fixed that for you.

You must work for the government. For someone who didn't start marching DCI until 2004 (I think you discredit yourself on the G sound/projection debate). I chuckled for a second until I read everything you crossed out. Speak for yourself next time :) kthx

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You must work for the government. For someone who didn't start marching DCI until 2004 (I think you discredit yourself on the G sound/projection debate). I chuckled for a second until I read everything you crossed out. Speak for yourself next time :) kthx

I thought exactly the same thing. I have issues with somebody editing another posts.

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Located in Indianapolis. :thumbup:

did you notice the wooshing sound over your head ?

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Pre-recorded vocals are terrible. Singing, poetry, talking and color shouting(aqua) through a microphone is terrible.

Synth bass is terrible.

Nobody has ever walked away from a show scratching their head saying "Wow, did you hear those electronics and the voice-overs" ?? "I think I wanna join that corps"

G

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Pre-recorded vocals are terrible. Singing, poetry, talking and color shouting(aqua) through a microphone is terrible.

Synth bass is terrible.

Nobody has ever walked away from a show scratching their head saying "Wow, did you hear those electronics and the voice-overs" ?? "I think I wanna join that corps"

G

shhhhh don't kill their marketing campaign with truth :thumbup:

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It's been actually 11 years of shows from 2000 to 2010, a full decade of DCP and DCI, plus midway through the past 10 years add in Facebook, MySpace, tweeting and You Tube. Drums Corps is about as exposed as possible. So, what has been the biggest surprise in 10 years, advancements and huge mistakes???

Advancements like amps and synths have been great additions. Biggest surprise? Can't think of a HUGE mistake, though the G7 thing might qualify as one depending on what happens. Biggest surprise? The wonderful rise of Crown and Bluecoats into the top echelon.

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I would say overall, we've learned that we're going in the wrong direction. For those who don't agree .......... I don't know when you were born, how well you know your history or what your opinion is of a "successful business model", but DCI is NOT success and has continued a downward spiral since the turn of the millennium.

Wow....DCI has been doing a great job at keeping the junior activity going...and in the right direction. I was born in 53...I do know my history...I started marching in 64...DCI is, IMO, the only reason we have ANY of the junior activity left.

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