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Would you walk away if DCI shows were like in the 80s and 90s


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Would you walk away if DCI looked like it did in the 80s and 90s  

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    • Yes, I would walk away if DCI reverted to 80s/90s type shows
      31
    • No, I would not walk away if DCI reverted to 80s/90s type shows
      225


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No, I do not. The people that walk away, do they drop all ties, or do they still maintain relationships through teaching, or even a minor interest in what's going? I guess if they were never previously invested, just casual fans, I could see them turn away. And have you turned away from "DCI?" If so, why? If not, why?

i'd say some have jumped to DCA if it's local enough for them, many may nose around here but no longer go to shows or sponsor kids. I know several that have shown no interest period, and they were longtime Friends of DCI members

I did turn away for a fewyears in terms of no attending shows. 08 gave me hope it may turn around, but I'm torn. electronics mostly ignore me, and it seems more and more shows do lose my attention. Pretty bad when at finals you read the program when the champion is on.

the finals venue too has really lessened my interest. my live attendance season will most likely end in Allentown next year.

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Lets keep in mind that while this forum's member ship might not walk, the same could not be said about high schools.

Band directors in the 80's and 90's were not as supportive of drum corps. Now they bring kids to shows by the bus loads. They may not buy as many t-shirts as Joe Eighties-Fan, but they are the future marching members.

Colleges were also more against the effect the "Drum corps sound" had on their students chops. It was common to see college profs pressuring students to not march.

but....fewer corps to march in, and I'm doubting that kids that dont make x big name corps will become a life long fan

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Would I walk away? Absolutely not--in fact, I would start spending more money on tickets, merchandise, etc. Personally, I feel the activity NEEDS a return to the 80s and 90s formats in order to break up the blandness and sameness we see and hear from corps to corps today.

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Would I walk away? Absolutely not--in fact, I would start spending more money on tickets, merchandise, etc. Personally, I feel the activity NEEDS a return to the 80s and 90s formats in order to break up the blandness and sameness we see and hear from corps to corps today.

Why? You don't like this years new title from corps x. This years show will be titled, "Palpable feelings of neurotic monks on planet Mars, with mirrors and a door in three phases of moon." With snippets of unrecognizable music by thirty eight different composers. Now sit back as we blastingly resort to putting you into the nicest deepest tranquil sleep you ever had.

Edited by 84skyrydr
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but....fewer corps to march in, and I'm doubting that kids that dont make x big name corps will become a life long fan

Not true on the second part. I've known many of my peers who never made their "goal" corps. Some marched elsewhere, some did not. All are avid fans years later.

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Would I walk away?

Absolutely not.

That said, I think we are all missing a point here. This activity is and always has been ever changing. Evolving. Pushing the boundaries. That is good. What I would really like to see is a sort of meeting of styles between the 80/90s and today. I do enjoy the fast pace of today's shows. The wow factor is immense... I just wish I could here more Brass, less Pit, no electronics and hear full completed musical phrases, not just 11 minutes of sound bites.

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Not true on the second part. I've known many of my peers who never made their "goal" corps. Some marched elsewhere, some did not. All are avid fans years later.

I would think, given the vast majority of band members out there, those friends are in the minority.

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Would I walk away?

Absolutely not.

That said, I think we are all missing a point here. This activity is and always has been ever changing. Evolving. Pushing the boundaries. That is good. What I would really like to see is a sort of meeting of styles between the 80/90s and today. I do enjoy the fast pace of today's shows. The wow factor is immense... I just wish I could here more Brass, less Pit, no electronics and hear full completed musical phrases, not just 11 minutes of sound bites.

i could live with this

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For me it was a combination of shows becoming less interesting from what was on the field and changes to my life. Also less shows in the area as I couldn't follow the corps like I used to. LOL, was working 3 weekends a month which killed going to most shows anyway.

Let me put it this way and let me know if you have any questions:

When I was gung ho on corps I was in high school and college, lived at home, no job, no spouse.

When I walked away I was working, married, had a house and just been pegged to be on church council. I left in the middle of a show thinking that corps shows had left me behind as I wasn't thrilled by them like I used to be. Also thought that my priorities in life had changed so time to move on.

I used to think I'd follow DC the rest of the life, then life and Drum Corps changed. I just had to experience it to realize it.

Jim, Though we marched about a decade apart, it sounds like our experiences are quite similar. I remember returning from my first deployment in the Navy and going to Dekalb in 88 and seeing the Scouts. Man, what a show. Due to area restrictions as well as military commitments, I didn't attend another show until I drove from NAS Whidbey Island in northern Washington to Concord to see BD in 95. Again, the horn line nearly made me wet myself. Though it was a darker show, it brought me nothing but pure, unadulterated joy.

Moments like that are fewer and further between. Now before I need to put my asbestos underwear, I do still get excited over the shows of today. Some things haven't changed. The staff and the marching members still bust their tails to put on the best show they possibly can. Lifelong friendships are still made. Marching drum corps still develops young men and women into better people for having had the experience and shows are still enjoyable.

That being said, I just plain don't like a lot of changes that have been made. Call me a dinosaur if it makes you feel better. I'm a big boy and I can take it. These changes are not, however, the sole reason I so rarely go to a show. Life has gotten in the way.

I think that no matter how you feel about the activity as it is today vs how it was "back in the day" (no matter when that was), we may all agree that something needs to be done to ensure the continued existence of the activity. DCI was formed for the purpose of strengthening the activity of drum and bugle corps. To make sure that kids had a place to march. Perhaps revisiting why we are all here and why we fell in love with drum corps in the first place will point us at an answer.

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LMAO, Jim Foster as our last names both have 6 letters and only letters 3-5 are different (mines awb).

And we've both been to Whidby Island (I'm a civilian working for the Navy). :smile:

I just wonder how my feelings would be if my background had been Junior corps. Or if these changes were hitting the All-Age (OK I do like the name change) world. Just something about seeing your old corps if you're lucky or corps you used to compete against.

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