You know drum corps is dying when.............

[Tom Brace]

Really. Earlier this season, when I saw everyone was complaining that BD this year only offers the merest quote from the piece, I did go and listen to some of the 1979 or 1980 DVD; but for that, the bit on the field would have gone right by me. Stan Kenton, Chuck Mangione, and Pat Metheny are three performers whose work I wouldn't know if not for drum corps. "Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor" -- what's that?

Please listen again to the Finals performance...much of the first half of the show is based on Los Tontos...also they reprise it at the end of the show. Really there is much more of Cuban Fire Suite in the show than most people realize.

And if they could have gotten Asphalt Cocktail rights before Bluecoats announced they were doing it...I doubt we'd even be talking about the rest of Blue Devils show in a negative way.

[Tom Brace]

Well, DCI is dead to me. I voted with my feet and my wallet after 2007 finals. If I go to corps shows now, it's DCA. Of course, nothing is stopping anyone from forming a new drum corps circuit, with rules taken from AL and VFW rule books (but I guess with Bb/F instead of G horns). I wonder if anybody would go for it?

I hope you enjoy New York this September and I am happy you like DCA shows. Good for you.

[danielray]

I don't like the synths. But to say that "kids today are looking for an easy button because of how they were raised" is not a good argument, because the kids are not the ones putting the synth into the show.

There's a lot more to a synth than just the sounds coming out of the module.

Example: System Blue Xylosynth

In some ways, that is actually more difficult to truly master than an acoustic marimba.

With electronic instruments, it is easy to make a sound, but challenging to make music. I bought an Akai EWI awhile back and have been using that quite a bit. While it is easy to honk out some sound on it, it actually takes serious practice to master it.

Anyway, the way electronics are currently used in drum corps is more for texture or accent. I guess you think the kid in the pit playing wind chimes or a woodblock is looking for an easy gig?

[coats1952]

Is this "New Math"?

Maybe you'll want to go back and try this again. But before you do, replace the batteries in your calculator.

(Or maybe check your work before you turn it in.)

And, for the record, a TEP pays $7,500 (um, not $75,000) PLUS a per-corps fee depending on who's at the show and how they finished the season before.

Use $22,000 to $25,000 as a starting point before the gates are open. Then include that those costs must be paid before the first corps steps off the starting line.

And don't forget the costs involved with getting people in the stands...

Then make your point (because, despite your bad math, I think it's pretty good).

EDIT: And one more thing: "brochures"? Do you mean show programs? We GAVE away a 20 page program, had many left over, and found many more in the trash and on the ground after the show. This is a drum corps show. People don't buy programs. How many programs, at say $5 each do you have to sell to make up the $5m "nut" when you include the cost of printing, sponsorships, etc? Really, you need to understand local shows better before offering off-the-cuff solutions to the risk that TEP's take to sponsor a show.

I agree with you i am on the board of the U.S.Open witch had one of the biggest and longest running independent shows in the country.The last show we had it cost us over $24,000 and we lost around $7,000 you can't keep that up very long and it cost drum corps one of the greatest shows in history just like the World and C.Y O.They shut out D.C.M,East and West circuits so they have the only show in town and it's not for the activity but it's all about the money and what they can make.Drum corps is not a non profit organization anymore not when you have 40 staff being paid plus huge budgets and the kids pay to be the product.

[Jeff Ream]

I'd say generally the last year or so... top 7 is probably a better metric as there is a bit less flux there.

One thing I can say is that current placement does have an impact on merchandising. People love to back winners.

Also, corps outside of the TOP 6-7 would do better to focus on unique merchandise and more generic stuff. The reality is that their branded merchandise doesn't really have the volume of sales, and they could do a better volume with other things that could better appeal to either a broader audience or completely own some solid niche of attendees.

Back to general draw... there are some shows that always seem to pull well for a specific corps, generally within their home region. At the end of the day, I would suggest that a show with under 5,000 attendees is probably a waste of time. There is no reason why EVERY single show shouldn't be pulling 8,000-12,000 attendees.

If it isn't doing this, there is something wrong with the mix of groups performing, marketing efforts or the venue.

Again, a lot of these small shows under 5,000 are sort of stop-over shows, with corps traveling along the way. I say forget them, and just do the travel day and double up in the areas that can support the increase. This is one issue that is addressed by the G7 proposal, but instead of skipping the smaller shows, they are just adding to the schedule.

uh one of your precious top 7 corps directors admitted on Facebook his corps loses money, and if he didnt have a band circuit to bail him out, they;'d be in trouble. even if the cadets do lose money, coming out and saying it doesn't make you look like the greatest businessman

[Jeff Ream]

Same guy who did music for "Band of Brothers" did Regiment's music. If you knew the first two of Academy, you knew the whole show.

Yeah..seeing this list, I am about 80% of tunes I've heard before. Kenton's La Suerte De Los Tontos? Really?

not like BD really played it

[Jeff Ream]

and so is DCI. More WC corps this year and more OC corps this year too!

but down 20 from 10 years ago.

[Jeff Ream]

... the void of which was filled in less than 15 seconds by a new, currently teen-age, fan that will be a solid drum corps supporter for the next 30 years when they will transmit some virtual memo on the public telepath stating they voted with their feet and wallet after the 2037 finals due to legalization of nanoelectronics that allowed performers to emit frequencies that trigger CORPS (Cochlear and Optical Performance Stimulator) implants on each individual audience member's DEAD (Digital Experience Archiving Device), causing the GE caption to no longer be relevant.

Please do this. Seriously. Who knows, maybe there is a hidden demand for kids wanting to experience what their grandparent's life was like... sort of like when my grandma would make us dinner from old depression era recipes and ingredients so we could see how rough she had it in comparison.

you're far too confident thatteenage kids will be lifelong fans. some will sure, but not as many as people think.

[N.E. Brigand]

Drum corps is not a non-profit organization anymore; not when you have 40 staff being paid plus huge budgets

Really? I work for a longstanding not-for-profit arts organization (whose mission includes an educational component) that has a budget about twice that of YEA or two-thirds that of DCI. It has a year-round staff of 50 and an additional seasonal staff of 20. A few of those staff earn more than any salary I've seen listed here for DCI or corps positions. And it's a mid-size organization by the standards of our non-profit field -- all of these figures are perfectly regular.

[N.E. Brigand]

Please listen again to the Finals performance: much of the first half of the show is based on "Los Tontos"; also, they reprise it at the end of the show. Really there is much more of "Cuban Fire Suite" in the show than most people realize.

Will do. Just watched the top two corps from 1979 and 1980 DVDs again to get some historical context. (Now I'm wondering if Phantom was more deserving than BD in '79.) I won't see this year's show again until the new DVDs are out, but as previously noted, I enjoyed it when I saw it in Allentown. (And thanks for clarifying that it was "Asphalt Cocktail" that BD was scooped on; I'd seen lately here that they had a different choice for the 2010 season, but hadn't known what it was.)