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

[Tom Brace]

Not if DCI keeps pulling videos off there and going after sites that link to them it's not.

Performance rights suck don't they? Protecting the product of the artist/composer...yeah, that's sucky.

[bawker]

Performance rights suck don't they? Protecting the product of the artist/composer...yeah, that's sucky.

No, DCI not having an official web presence on YouTube for fan uploads, lot clips and the like to hook people on shows or Fan Network . . .that's sucky.

[atlvalet]

Just reading between the lines

Well, yes, BD 2010 qualifies and so does Cadets '07 and a few other corps.

[WOOHOO]

Well, yes, BD 2010 qualifies and so does Cadets '07 and a few other corps.

How come it's always corps that do well competitively that are so publicly ostracized? In 2005, Cascades did a show with heavy narration, but no hatefulness. Not to say they deserve to be harassed, but I don't think the others should be treated so disrespectfully either.

[Todd Tanji]

I love the music of Miles Davis, but I personally think the be-bop era is when jazz started to die off. The reason? It was common for jazz musicians (Davis included) to turn their backs on the audience and play to the band members. The audience members eventually felt they were no longer important to the people making the music.

There are parallels to what's been going on in drum corps. If the fans don't believe they are important to those who create the product, there will be dissatisfaction.

Yet Miles Davis' post-bebop album, Kind of Blue, is the highest selling jazz album of all time. He continued to be popular with

younger audiences well into the 1980's. It was actually after this era that jazz popularity died off to the very small

segment it is today.

The problem is that jazz is turning its back to young people right now.

Edited August 30, 2010 by BDUFLS

[edbrigade]

You know drum corps is dying when……………

You replace your marching instructor with a choreographer.

You try to improve your front line sound by buying a new amp

You publish your repertoire and you play no RECOGNISABLE songs from it

You feel the need to amplify your soloists

You have to make room in the food truck for the 30 tons of props you are hauling around the country

The fans are in the stands complaining that they have to wait for an “exciting” corps……..And they are at the World Finals!!!

You have to make room in your corps budget for MICROPHONES

It stops being about the corps members and becomes all about the corps administration ego

It stops being about horns, drums and pageantry and more about a stage production

You cancel a show because your singer lost her voice.

Your "The Who" theme show involves smashing your amp at the end.

You ditch your Navy oxford shoes for jazz slippers.

You have more brass on the field than ever and still need amplification.

Your field show cures insomnia.

Your drum line cannot execute a single rudiment but moves like Cirque du Soleil.

Your color guard makes male figure skaters look brawny, rugged, and manly in comparison.

Jazz Running?

Your drum major doesn't use a baton or a mace but yells, "Plug it in!"

to start the show.

Your drum corps auditions includes a voice lesson

Your music is not recognizable ……….. by anyone

High mark time marching is unique and original

someone hears DCI and thinks of old Titleist irons.

there are more people in the pit than on the field.

rain cancels a show for fear of electrical problems.

judges give recaps like Bruno Tonioli critiquing a celebrity on "Dancing With the Stars."

drills look like a strand of DNA.

the music you play is so obscure the composers forgot they wrote it.

You hear comments like “I play third violin for the Troopers.”

You think WGI is the bomb but never heard of drum corps.

A soloist blames cracked notes on his #### reed being too dry.

They give I&E medals to flute and saxophone performances!

They start referring to drum corps as BAND!

You are a lifelong drum corps nut and you actually question whether you want to go a competition

You mention the 27th Lancers, North Star, Freelancers, or the Muchachos to “a drum corps fan” and they say “Who?”

The goal of the corps directors is to win a Tony Award

Your show requires an MC to explain what is going on.

The crowd as a whole does not yell and scream anymore during the performance.

People start to compare drum corps sound to that of a concert band

The corps is concerned with conveying nuance rather than giving “that chill”

Can any one think of more?

[Todd Tanji]

Not if DCI keeps pulling videos off there and going after sites that link to them it's not.

Agree. That is why the activity needs to get control of music rights.

[Todd Tanji]

I do want to point out that the highest percentage there was 18%, so it was never that high

That's a whole lot of people though. But the key information is the decline over time.

[edbrigade]

I can only add AMEN. I still remember the old St. Vincent's Cadets of Bayonne, NJ.How about st Kevin's Emerald Knights, Preston Scout House,

Toronto Optimists? Let's keep drum corps as drum corps. Why all the keyboards in the pit?

Esp. Electronic .And amplification? ludicrous.I understand there is a G7 movement afoot to create an "elite" touring gang.

I attended a show here in Rio Rancho NM 3 World Class Corps and one Open class. Not worth the 20 bucks.

This used to be a blue collar activity.Church and Legion and VFW sponsors. Sad.

I find myself spending half a corps show trying to figure out what they are up to.

Play recognizable music. There is such a rich inventory of stuff out there.

Madison Scouts got it right this year. Let's hope it's the beginning of a trend.

[AmFlag61]

Wow, this is the best parallel to DCI that I've seen written. IMHO, it's EXACTLY what's happening...turning the back on fans.

Well shucks! Didn't we give them mirrors to overcome their loneliness?