GUARDLING Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 hearing it has nothing to do with it. it's evolution. that's all that matters. just ask all the people that support it. you got it all wrong. this is all about becoming as close to a band as possible. let's all face it. the band people are taking over and that just sucks. Alot say that BUT the way it was is...Drum corps people actually invaded the band scene ( mostly for the money ) and then those same people are taking things and people from that arena back to drum corps. This is fact, I can name many top designer in DCI, WGI as well as DCA who have and still do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomPeashey Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Alot say that BUT the way it was is...Drum corps people actually invaded the band scene ( mostly for the money ) and then those same people are taking things and people from that arena back to drum corps. This is fact, I can name many top designer in DCI, WGI as well as DCA who have and still do it. I was waiting for someone to say that... here's the timeline Senior Corps begot Junior Corps (Junior corps were invented to provide talent for the senior corps and very much to provide work for a whole new class of instructor/arrangers) With the success of drum corps in the later part of the 1950's and 1960's... more and more band directors turned to drum corps people (a group that were far more numerous) to produce something more than halftime bands... competitive high school marching bands began to thrive in the late 1960's and 1970's... BOA was born... There were several key people in all this who were upfront on the trend and one of them might not be so well known to many... Bruce Burritt was the band director at West Genesee High School in Camillus NY (Syracuse)... he created - through his own ability and that of his drum corps friends including Fred Gebhardt - a powerhouse high school band that remains as one of the "storied" high school bands of all time... Bruce did teach Brigadiers for a short time and retired early from the tremendous pressures of a competitive program of that stature... Quietly, he became a Superindent of Schools for several districts in upstate NY (Avon NY) but kept his hands in Marching Band by judging/advising BOA... he was a major force in the early success of BOA... Bruce Burritt is a perfect example of how drum corps begot Marching Band... (and how they fed off each other) Small aside... I was also close friends with his cousin Hugh Burritt who played all the "Al Hirt" solos with the Fulton Gauchos in 1963 and 64... was a previous pro trumpeter in Doc Sevrenson's Tonight Show Orchestra ... and for several decades was head of the music department at SUNY Oswego... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camel lips Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 I'll agree with Jeff on this. If the product isn't what I'm willing to pay for, then I simply won't pay for it any more.As an example, I haven't attended a single DCI contest in the past seven or eight years - simply because I'm no longer entertained by the product. It isn't that it's right or wrong; it's just that I'm not entertained by it - so why should I pay for it? Ive not paid for a DCI show in a long time. Usually have someone give me tickets or get in on a wrist band. That said there have been some very entertaining shows the last 7 years but they are few and far between. 2009 was a very exciting year and there were more shows that touched my heart that year than many in the past. In 2010 I was completely bored for the most part and really hated the electronics issues. Other than Scouts it was pretty much a bust. On the DCA side of things I am seeing more and more that I do not like on the field. The shows where the only thing I have something good to say is "I see what it was they were trying convey to the music educators in the audience" are starting to become more prolific. There were very few DCA corps I really wanted to see live in 09. Even less in 2010. I hate to see DCA going that direction but its up to the directors to decide the fate of DCA. I guess we will revisit this topic here and there and see where DCA stands in the next few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 You do have the power! We all do! DCI will never see another Penney from me, and many others that don't like what the product is. If DCA is dumb enough to follow DCI,, then they would loose me and many many others. DCA couldn't tolerate that kind of financial hit. DCI can't afford it either, and have felt it. the only thing saving them was moving HQ and finals to Indy....and it isn't slowing them down at all. here's the problem....art meets business. those two arent often on the same page when it comes to financial sense. Show me an artist that is huge, and most other artists will call them sell outs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Jeff is stating that he has "no power". That is the ultimate power, you not buying a ticket! as I stated in my previous post;"You do have the power! We all do! DCI will never see another Penney from me, and many others that don't like what the product is. If DCA is dumb enough to follow DCI,, then they would loose me and many many others. DCA couldn't tolerate that kind of financial hit." I just believe that it's wrong to make such a Fundamental change to drum corps. I'm very passionate about it also,, see my previous post. add in the fact fans hate the Dome, and DCI attendance hasn't seen 16k in attendance there since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 agreed, .........................I gotta tell you, every regular season DCI contest I've attended in the last several years has been in a venue where the amplification simply wasn't needed at all,.............................If you can't hear 12, 14, 16 or so people wailing on pit percussion, you got a problem.................. well, they claim they have adjusted technique ( in limited cases) and gone to softer mallets ( in many cases.) but softer mallets and no technique adjustment doesn't make it softer when plugged in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayBackBuc Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 well, they claim they have adjusted technique ( in limited cases) and gone to softer mallets ( in many cases.) but softer mallets and no technique adjustment doesn't make it softer when plugged in I really have a hard time digesting this whole change that’s happening before our eyes, (and before you start with the "Dinosaur" thing go back to romper room and play,,, Men and Women are trying to talk intelligently here) I find it so hard to believe that the so called "experts" cant hear what’s going on,,, They’ve processed the emotion out of the shows! What’s next ?,,, for any quick drill move on the field the pit will insert a "ZAP" or "POP" sound effect like the muscle woman dance competitions on ESPN 2-Venezuela at 4:00 AM? I pitty the Director that makes the first move to plug DCA in. I'm done now,,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donincardona Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 I really have a hard time digesting this whole change that’s happening before our eyes, (and before you start with the "Dinosaur" thing go back to romper room and play,,, Men and Women are trying to talk intelligently here) I find it so hard to believe that the so called "experts" cant hear what’s going on,,, They’ve processed the emotion out of the shows! What’s next ?,,, for any quick drill move on the field the pit will insert a "ZAP" or "POP" sound effect like the muscle woman dance competitions on ESPN 2-Venezuela at 4:00 AM? I pitty the Director that makes the first move to plug DCA in. I'm done now,,,, they will do it. it's just a matter of time. it dosen't matter anyway. if attendance get's any lower they won't be able to pay the corps. then what happens? now i'm done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegalEagle50 Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 .... (and before you start with the "Dinosaur" thing go back to romper room and play,,, Men and Women are trying to talk intelligently here) Well you just lost ANY credibility in my book and I'm going to guess in a bunch of others as well. Telling a 40 year old to go back to romper room?? You most certainly couldn't have been referring to yourself then when you said men and women were trying to talk intelligently. Maybe if you put your hearing aid in and your eye glasses on you would see it's not marching band people as you would so like to blame, but drum corps people working with marching bands, who have brought these changes into both venues.... What? Don't like it when the insults you toss out are directed right back at you? I pitty the Director that makes the first move to plug DCA in. You are behind the times. It was already made a couple of years ago. Come on ~ if you want to talk trash at least be up on what's going on.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skydrummer9 Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Well you just lost ANY credibility in my book and I'm going to guess in a bunch of others as well. Telling a 40 year old to go back to romper room?? You most certainly couldn't have been referring to yourself then when you said men and women were trying to talk intelligently. Maybe if you put your hearing aid in and your eye glasses on you would see it's not marching band people as you would so like to blame, but drum corps people working with marching bands, who have brought these changes into both venues.... What? Don't like it when the insults you toss out are directed right back at you? You are behind the times. It was already made a couple of years ago. Come on ~ if you want to talk trash at least be up on what's going on.... You have a lot of good points. I have seen first hand all age corps going more so to high schools rather than colleges to fill their ranks. With the ever continuing budget cut backs towards music education in public schools, and funds disappearing from corps themselves, there has to be some kind of an impass. It boils down to the administration for each organization questioning their needs and sacrifices for the survival for their corps. If it means changing from G to Bb, then it has to be done. If they see people wanting to go to a corps who have already started adapting what "traditionalists" believe does not belong in the activity, than more corps might have to hop on the "band wagon" (pun intended) and evolve to gain the membership. Music and Fashion evolve in a massive circle. I for one believe there needs to be a definitive line between what my definition of drum and bugle corps from when I started almost a decade ago, and to the evolved activity it is now and is becoming down the road but in order for the survival of the organization. Sacrifices need to be made.... Who knows, maybe if drum corps follows the pattern of popular music and fashion, their might just be a rebirth of what we call "traditional" drum corps or even"Alumni style" drum corps on the competitive field. But in the mean time We still have a solid handful of alumni corps to preserve the history of not just their individual corps, but for drum and bugle corps in general. <----- to forward progress without forgetting our roots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.