Todd Tanji Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) 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. I have many stories like that from as far back as 1976. That is why I don't take ANY of the complaints about modern drum corps seriously. Some people are going to "age out" as fans because things ain't what they used to be. That is their choice and there is NOTHING that can be done about that. The important things is that the activity continues to appeal to new younger fans. Edited October 11, 2010 by BDUFLS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 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? Well, let me try to summarize. DCI claimed that attendance was on the rise in the early part of this past decade, specifically in 2002 and 2003. Press releases on DCI.org gave a few specific attendance figures, and general analysis such as in an August 9, 2003 article - "Attendance at DCI shows is up again this year, and the fan base is growing." In all the years since, DCI has never again made that claim. They continued to publicize a few cherry-picked milestones each year 2004-2007, but never enough to even suggest that overall attendance was still on the rise. In the past three years, we haven't even been given any cherry-picked highlights. If you have the stomach to dig deeper, we've had threads on this before (like this one). Drawing comparisons from our limited data actually paints an even uglier picture than reality, I suspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Actually...no I do. I'm so giddy for the season finally arriving it's like I'm discovering drum corps all over again, and it's the one thing I can't stop talking about. It's like I was introduced via DVDs and can finally see it in person...it never fails to be thrilling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) I have many stories like that from as far back as 1976. That is why I don't take ANY of the complaints about modern drum corps seriously. Somepeople are going to "age out" as fans because things ain't what they used to be. That is their choice and there is NOTHING that can be done about that. The important things is that the activity continues to appeal to new younger fans. There is little evidence to support the contention that" new, younger fans" support the activity after they reach 22. The demographic of current fans at DCI events that are in the 23- 33 age bracket is very tiny from all appearances. Additionally, the number of " new, younger " fans giving a ticket to a ticket taker that was between the ages of 16- 18 in my movie theatre to watch the preseason DCI Cinemacast, was outnumbered by the number of employed ticket takers in that cinema that were of similar age. And there was nobody in the cinema to watch DCI Drum Corps that appeared to be under the age of 16. THAT'S " the important things " that I 'm witnessing with the current activity re. the fan base, anyway. Edited October 11, 2010 by BRASSO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ducttapedgerbil Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Actually, I pay piles of money to be able to go out every night in front of thousands of people and give them my everything on a field to entertain them and hopefully make some awesome memories for both me and the fans. Thanks When I marched I did not do it for the fans, neither did a lot of people I marched with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) When I marched I did not do it for the fans, neither did a lot of people I marched with. I don't think any era Drum Corps marchers did Drum Corps primarily for " the fans " either. Neither did the ones I marched with. It was the compelling need to do your best with like minded marchers, do well competitively, get better with the playing your musical instrument, and advance your Corps. That said, it was inconceivable of wanting to march with any Corps whose show was not designed to primarily thrill and entertain the fans and get them up and out of their seats either after the opening, or by the latest, concert. Also, there are few, if any, commercially successful Performing Artists that do not believe that the audience is everything. Any enterprise.... ANY..... that does not respect and value the customer to the upmost degree is headed to oblivion. That's just Basic Economics 101. Edited October 11, 2010 by BRASSO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 Where one fan leaves, another one comes. I'm not worried at all.....yet. Life goes on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BozzlyB Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 oh well. no big loss. there are still thousands of other people who are still into it. The really sad part of this kind of thinking (not to mention the extreme level of disrespect and 3rd grader attitude towards your own activities history and alumni) is that you fail to recognize that this person represents a large number of current fans who are within one or two straws of their own broken camel's back. DCI needs all of its fans. Every. Single. One. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) The really sad part of this kind of thinking (not to mention the extreme level of disrespect and 3rd grader attitude towards your own activities history and alumni) is that you fail to recognize that this person represents a large number of current fans who are within one or two straws of their own broken camel's back. DCI needs all of its fans. Every. Single. One. What's sad to me is how many people here seem to think the activity is all about them. People keep talking about how DCI has lost fans over the years. Many people make it seem as if they're trying to get rid of fans. Things evolve, and I see it as they're trying to do whatever possible to keep the activity alive. But some people seem to think that because the activity doesn't cater to them specifically, then we should walk on eggshells when they "announce" their departure. Hell if you're gonna leave, LEAVE. Don't announce it. And don't get angry when people aren't nice with their comments. Edited October 11, 2010 by 2000Cadet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BozzlyB Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) Good bye and good riddance. These threads are the epitome of fishing for an ego boost. Ugh. And how exactly would you label this particular coment? Constructive criticizm? Contributive discourse? I'll take someone's heartfelt "C-ya", over someone else's less than pointless comment in the same thread. Edited October 11, 2010 by BozzlyB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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