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

[StuStu]

My responses are in bold.

Seriously, I don't think any of that (your comments and my responses) were completely necessary, but it does illustrate the split between the three groups of drum corps people:

1. Fans who only love the old shows and hate what drum corps is turning into.

2. Young fans who love the newer shows because they can relate to them better.

3. Fans who love drum corps and music in all its forms.

Drum corps is band?

[liebot]

My prior post regarding a 20 man tuba line. Add the synth bass to the mix = easy button.

Turning the volume up on the synth at high impact moments = easy button.

This is comming from an ex tuba/hornline member.

Somehow I knew this would turn into a "Kids these days. . ." shtick.

Hey, look outside. I think there are some young people playing PSP on your lawn. Go shake your fist at them and yell. Take your dentures out first. The whole "old and weird and wrinkly looking thing" really freaks them out.

[bawker]

Right, but to 90% of the general audience that saw Blast!, those standards are new pieces of music. Things they'd never heard. So, in drum corps with an audience that's more knowledgeable and has heard those tunes already, you need to find new pieces of music that the audience hasn't heard before.

I don't know if I'd go that far . . ."Bolero" was ingrained in the national consciousness back in the 1970's with the movie "10", and I gotta think most people heading to see Blast! would at least have some familiarity with "Simple Gifts".

However, you make a good point on the "drum corps audience", though . . .I think we've all seen about enough West Side Story and Metheny for now.

[liebot]

Drum corps is band?

Well, is drum corps not a band of marching musicians? I think it's fair to call them a marching band then. It's like the whole square/rectangle thing. Every drum corps is a marching band. Not every marching band is a drum corps.

[ContraJohn]

Well the dinosaur comment started it first!!!

Besides, the reason they sit on my front lawn is because of the Pink Floyd music blaring from my stereo.

Somehow I knew this would turn into a "Kids these days. . ." shtick.

Hey, look outside. I think there are some young people playing PSP on your lawn. Go shake your fist at them and yell. Take your dentures out first. The whole "old and weird and wrinkly looking thing" really freaks them out.

Edited August 26, 2010 by ContraJohn

[Iplaytimpani]

First of all, meh.

Secondly, Blast isn't drum corps.

Thirdly, they did a LOT of things wrong and as semi-successful as it has been (I say "semi" because usually successful broadway shows actually pay their performers more than a pittance...though in true drum corps fashion the producers and staff made a lot more cash than the ones doing the actual work, lol), I think there are plenty of examples of corps on the field surpassing what they put up on that stage in many ways (BD 2010 being one example outright, plenty of other examples abound).

Blast is neat, I like Blast. But to call it the "pinnacle" of drum corps is ridiculous. They're just one successful iteration of marching band stuff (and so far removed from drum corps instrumentally AND programming-wise that they really ARE more like a marching band than an actual drum corps, too).

Having said all that, I think Blast is great, so don't get me wrong.

Don't worry not taking your post wrong, but let me reply.

What is your meh in regards to? Just don't agree that that's the direction or what? Elaborate please.

Blast! not being drum corps, I disagree. We can agree to disagree. To me, that's drum corps, just in an indoor venue with some different goals. But that's still drum corps. And when I need to explain drum corps to someone that doesn't have a clue, I start there. And they are at least in the right area of thinking.

As far as if it was successful or not, we'll again have to agree to disagree. I look at something like Blue Man Group, where the performers are not Union and do not get paid anywhere near what the people behind the scenes do. But, I have to say that BMG is certainly successful. And I don't know how you can say something that wins a Tony wasn't successful. As far as corps surpassing what Blast! did, I agree, but disagree. I think Blast! could have certainly put on a higher level product than they did, but in doing so, would have lost a larger portion of the general audience. They had a great formula of high level performance and simplicity, all in one.

So overall, hey two drum corps people seeing things in a different light. I stand by Blast! being the pinnacle of drum corps. They took our stupid marching band activity to the main stream. That's the pinnacle to me.

[Todd Tanji]

OP, the DCA Alumni Spectacular is where you belong.

[Iplaytimpani]

I don't know if I'd go that far . . ."Bolero" was ingrained in the national consciousness back in the 1970's with the movie "10", and I gotta think most people heading to see Blast! would at least have some familiarity with "Simple Gifts".

However, you make a good point on the "drum corps audience", though . . .I think we've all seen about enough West Side Story and Metheny for now.

The beginning of Bolero may have been recognized by some (I've never heard of the movie 10, but I'll leave that to not being old enough to know the reference) but I doubt that most of those could have told what the piece of music is and knew much past the beginning of the piece. As for Simple Gifts, yeah that's one that is certainly recognized by most people, I won't argue that. But, I'm glad you can see the "drum corps audience" perspective versus a "general Broadway audience".

[StuStu]

Right, but to 90% of the general audience that saw Blast!, those standards are new pieces of music. Things they'd never heard. So, in drum corps with an audience that's more knowledgeable and has heard those tunes already, you need to find new pieces of music that the audience hasn't heard before.

The challenge is to find innovative music that engages the crowd rather than alienating it. Blue Devils were fantastic this year - their execution was a thing of beauty. But the show didn't really reach out and grab you.

I remember a time when I had to make sure there were no young kids near me when Blue Devils came on, because there was a good chance that at some point during the show I would reflexively jump to my feet and start screaming profanity involuntarily. They hit you with so much fire you couldn't help yourself. This is similar to the all-but-forgotten concept of "throwing babies."

This year, the primary response of the audience was polite applause.

To me a large part of drum corps is about grabbing the audience and giving them those explosive moments. That seems to happen less and less.

[CROSSMENCORPS30]

Very rarely, if ever do I post on topics like these but here I go...

I was born in 1975. The son of a 50s, 60s, 70s drum corps father. I still play with him to this day. With that said, I was raised with drum corps all around me. My sister was in Crossmen as well from 79-82. Before I began to perform I was completely surrounded by drum corps 24/7. I'm sure many of you out there have had this same type of rearing; haha.

But anyway, I've seen enough to know that the corps from the early 80s through the mid to late 90s were more entertaining than those we have currently. That's not to say that the corps today aren't better, just not as entertaining as they once were.

I totally appreciate the corps of today. At DCI East this year I was one of the few that supported Teal Sound's use of the electric guitar. I thought it worked, just my opinion. I'm an "entertainment" kind of guy. If it's entertaining I'm in. I don't really care what the rules are or who is using what. If it's awesome it's awesome...but to make a choice on which corps were more exciting or which corps gave us more of those "moments" I would have to choose the corps (OVERALL) from the past.

I don't want anyone to think of me as a dinosaur, I'm only 34. I can't stress enough how much I appreciate the work the kids put in year after year. They truly deserve our respect. I love them all for it. I just wish that instead of looking forward to a few corps at a show I could look forward to seeing them all. The show coordinators need to do a better job with their designs. That's not to say I want to hear old arrangements, signature tunes, rifled spinning coming down the 50, Battle Hymn or any of that...it's THEIR job to give us new moments that we'll be talking about for years & years...that my friends is what this activity needs more of..

Cheers everyone!