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Why is DCI so unknown by almost everyone?


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for the same reason that most people don't know the difference between an english horn and french horn, and wouldn't care if they ever did stumple upon the knowledge.

Bingo!!! Tell them the difference between MB and DCI until they are blue in the face and it will still be "who cares".

There is just not enough interest by the general public and you cannot manufactor the interest.

Marching music as a whole is a nich activity. Years ago, when we watched Saturday Football games on TV, they would tevevise the who halftime show. Today, you might bee 10 seconds. If it drew people to it the producers would show thw halftime bands. Insted they have the halftime commentators.

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Drum corps needs to be able to appeal to any musically inclined person regardless of an association with marching band or drum corps itself, much like the symphony orchestra and opera do.

So let me get this straight. You are saying that Opera and Symphony both "appeal" a wide musical inclined audience, they sell out 60k seat venues on a regular basis, and they draw in the same massive amounts of people who go see U2, Carrie Underwood, Rolling Stones, Madonna, Clint Black, and Allison Krauss. Riiiiiight……

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How it is failing in that now?

Look at the makeup and any DCI audience, and found out what percent had or has ties to a marching band or drum corps or has close relatives who do. Now do the same for the symphony orchestra or opera.

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So let me get this straight. You are saying that Opera and Symphony both "appeal" a wide musical inclined audience, they sell out 60k seat venues on a regular basis, and they draw in the same massive amounts of people who go see U2, Carrie Underwood, Rolling Stones, Madonna, Clint Black, and Allison Krauss. Riiiiiight……

No.

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Like I said, oh well. It's fine if that's important to you, obviously it's not to me. Anyone can play loud. I can play ungodly loud, but so what? It's not impressive to me to blow your brains out, you know?

I think it's the ungodly loud, but still in control aspect that was being referred to. Drum corps has definitely evolved over the years. I think that even today, a majority of fans like the loud but also insist that it be a "good" loud, not just loud for the sake of being loud. The different dynamics are part of what makes our idiom musical.

I see a few venerable, normally well spoken and intelligent posters playing the role of nay-sayer. To you folks I pose a further question of "Is there anything we can do about this?" and moreover, "Should we?"

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Needless to say this saddened me to no end. I knew that drum corps was not very popular in america, but this kinda opened my eyes more to see just how little the activity is known. No one at my work (about 100 people) had ever even heard of the activity. It was so disheartening, to not only have all of these people not even know what the activity is, but then go on to say that it is just some "foot ball half time show lame thing".

All my friends know I love this activity. None of them understand it and some make jokes about - one in particular breaks into "Strike up the Band" pretending to crash cymbals every time I bring it up. Funny thing, she called me a couple of weeks ago to let me know that her husband ran into someone through his job who also loved Drum Corps. This guy described it as "an activity that once you get involved in remains with you for life." I just smiled.

Actually, a few years ago I was working for a small software firm here in Montreal and had my CDs laying on my desk (one said "DCI 2006 Finals" on it). A coworker sitting next to me asked me what it was and I tried to explain it as best as I could. Another colleague came over and said he knew all about it - his mother used to be one of the Directors for Les Chatelaines. You should have seen my reaction when I heard that.......

I was driving colleagues to lunch this past summer and had Bluecoats 2010 playing on my car stereo. Both of the people in the car thought it was a movie soundtrack. When I explained what it was, they couldn't believe it. I usually get a "can you turn that off" reaction.

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Look at the makeup and any DCI audience, and found out what percent had or has ties to a marching band or drum corps or has close relatives who do. Now do the same for the symphony orchestra or opera.

That's exactly why it's an unfair comparison. Symphony orchestras are comprised of professional musicians and perform at a much higher level with much more difficult music than drum corps and marching bands, so people go to listen to the best music performed at the highest level (obviously, some symphony orchestras are better than others, so yeah), not to "support their baby boy".

Edited by WOOHOO
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