garfield Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 That is not quite accurate. I can only conclude you have this impression as a result of that finals attendance data you were just discussing here last week. DCP has had previous discussions about overall attendance trends, though, and based on what little feedback has been made public, it appears that a brief uptrend in attendance early this past decade took a U-turn around 2004 (and like you say, we really don't have any info on overall attendance for the past three years). Unless more data is forthcoming, that's really all I can conclude. I admit that the data shown here: http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/inde...=141767&hl= is limited to only finals attendance, not the whole season, and that it ends with 2007's numbers, but I can't see from the numbers shown how you can contend that that there was some "bump" in attendance early in the decade, or that it took a "U-turn" around 2004. Again, I realize that this data does not present the last 3 years, nor is it representative of times prior to '95, but by any definition finals attendance has, in fact, been consistently increasing since '97. (Part of the reason I did this chart, and am working on others, is because there's lots of "discussion" on DCP about attendance changes as a result of various influences, but very little actual data to support those conclusions. Thanks to MikeD for pulling these numbers sources together.) What are you seeing in the data that's not apparent to the rest of us making attendance contentions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ContraJohn Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) The following quote is what is pushed me to the same conclusion: .... Then came the hornline doubling synths. I just can't enjoy it anymore... From the standpoint of a horn line fan and former horn line member regarding the Madison 20 man tuba line, the synth was merely a castration of good players put on public display for all to see. Using the synth to double horn lines and create artificial dynamics was the last straw for me. I only attended finals last season due to being an alumni of one of the finalist corps. Unless the keyboard/synth is removed entirely from the field, the only show I will attend in the future will be my corps home show. But, hey, I am only one voice that DCI is not interested in hearing from. Edited October 11, 2010 by ContraJohn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbevillekid26 Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 sorry i'm not a huge sarah brightman fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catan Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 The following quote is what is pushed me to the same conclusion:From the standpoint of a horn line fan and former horn line member regarding the Madison 20 man tuba line, the synth was merely a castration of good players put on public display for all to see. Using the synth to double horn lines and create artificial dynamics was the last straw for me. I only attended finals last season due to being an alumni of one of the finalist corps. Unless the keyboard/synth is removed entirely from the field, the only show I will attend in the future will be my corps home show. But, hey, I am only one voice that DCI is not interested in hearing from. I am I in the minority here when I say that I sometimes enjoy the bass synth doubling brass chords? (if done and blended well) I thought some good examples of this were: end of SCV 2009, Crown 09, Cadets 10, some of BD 09 and 10. Bad examples: parts of SCV 09, end of school for scandal Cadets 10, mandarins 10, etc... just my thoughts and of course, there are some corps out there that do not double the bass voice often: Bluecoats, Phantom, Boston, BK, etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrothgar15 Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Phantom Phantom's bass doubling was some of the more offensive of the season. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craiga Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 After the Lynn show in July, Boston had a fan walk up and rant about how drum corps has changed too much and that would be his last show...ever! His specific beef: we had one member playing all four timpani on the sideline, rather than four guys carrying one each.....it was July of 1980. The activity continues to evolve, but the passion from the participants remains the same. So too, does the flow of fans in and out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hup234 Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 The path was laid down over 40 years ago when instructors became designers and squads, flanks, etc etc became a thing of the past and creativity and visual exploration became a priority. The pre-1972 American Legion/VFW Uniformed Groups regulations did keep a lid on such things. D&BC was then a symbolic and abstract recreation of military battle: a powerful charge from the left, movement across the theater of action, and then final retreat until the next contingent appeared. It was all a bit like a Warner Brothers Michael Curtiz-directed epic with great, thundering music by Erich Korngold .... you know, "Charge of the Light Brigade"/"The Sea Hawk" stuff that stuck with you forever. D&BC was then all traditional, proud, strutting in-your-face fake-military heroics on a simulated field of honor - with self-generated music, no less. And when the D&BC "Young Turk" powerbrokers replaced the Michael Curtiz-type ideal with the likes of Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini and Luis Bunuel, well .... The former squads, flanks and company fronts at least stood for something. Today's random scurrying, sidestepping, tippytoeing and hunched-over 'Groucho Marx' running, and all that constant unintelligible 'wind-chime' dinging from whatever percussion instruments are responsible ... but then who's to argue taste, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaylogan Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 After the Lynn show in July, Boston had a fan walk up and rant about how drum corps has changed too much and that would be his last show...ever!His specific beef: we had one member playing all four timpani on the sideline, rather than four guys carrying one each.....it was July of 1980. The activity continues to evolve, but the passion from the participants remains the same. So too, does the flow of fans in and out. Thank you for some perspective! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) Think of planting a sapling and one year you notice how big it's gotten. Compare that to waking up one day and finding out someone planted a 20-foot tree in your front yard while you were asleep. Dance was the sapling. Amplification and other electronics were the tree that suddenly appeared. Granted, we knew someone was going to plant that tree for a full year before it happened, but it was still a lot for some to absorb once it happened. (Okay, maybe I should go back to bed.) " GET OFF MY LAWN !! " ( haha! ) Walt Kowalski, ( Clint Eastwood, movie " Gran Torino " ) Edited October 11, 2010 by BRASSO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankBeMe Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 When the season finally rolls around, don't we all feel like first-time fans again? Actually...no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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