charlie1223 Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 ah yes...the for the kids approach in the first paragraph. but, while it is for the kids in many ways, it's also for the paying customers as well. you cant have one without the other of course, the mysterious balance rears its head again. Drum Corps is all about balance... OMmmm.. OMmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Hey guys, current member here. Reading this stuff sucks. It really does. I've got a pretty thick skin, but some of this stuff can really get at you. As someone else said, we're the ones out there performing night after night for the people in the stands. It's a bunch of kids and young adults, doing the exact same thing you were doing 20 or 30 years ago. We still go out and sweat on a football field all day, spending hours on end rehearsing the same chunk of show over, and over again, rehearsing the same passage of music until it's perfect, then going out every night under the lights and performing for the people in the stands. Give it a rest. Sure, it's not on G bugles, and it's amped, but when did everything else become different? When did the day-to-day activities start changing? When did the passion and drive to go out there day after day go away? Seriously everyone, think about it. The big logo still says DCI, the kids are still the same, it's all the same. Just let it go. People who can't accept the change and leave are the reason DCI is dying, it isn't the change, it's the people abandoning it because they can't accept the change. Someone said earlier that it's the directors that don't care about DCI, maybe it's the fans who can't stop #####ing that are the ones who don't care. Look at yourselves, and clean your own house before looking at other's. Let only he who is without sin cast the first stone. well....people pay to see what they like. and if they dont like what's being put out there, then that's their fault?? sorry I dont buy that. I'm all for supporting kids, and even with my current dislike of more than half of what goes on the field, I'll still help sponsor kids. but if fans stop liking something, it's NOT their fault. Remember, in the 90's hanson was hot. then they weren't. Hootie and the Blowfish were huge...then they fell off the face of the Earth. is it the fans fault they stopped liking them? no. it was the "artists" fault for not putting out a product people bought. that's not the kids fault either. as usual, when it comes to a great thing for kids, it's the adults that #### it up. see Little LEague, youth soccer, marching band, you name it 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 I get that.... but... It's just that I feel with so much talk about "un-entertaining" shows and disliking Bflat horns for their sound, and synths and electronics... with all of the "hate" of those aspects I think those people are forgetting that as we speak drum corps is currently a part of that. The kids were the one's performing the shows people think are "un-entertaining", they are/were playing synths that people find "offensive", there are/were people marching trumpets that people think don't sound as good as another trumpet. You can disagree with it, its your right, and discussion is good, but sometimes I think if you have such a strong opinion like that that you just need to be little more diplomatic about it. Have your opinion but just remember to always respect the current members who obviously love the activity the way it is or they wouldn't be marching in it and spending so much time and money on it. That's always at the back of my mind. But if someone says a show was "boring" or they say they "hate" the sound of this or that, that's fine, but just try to respect the kids currently working their but off to perform a show for you with those mechanisms that you say you hate... It's just a fine a line. I'm not accusing anyone of anything, I just think strong opinions are tossed around without respect for the current members, that's it. I'll even try to be better about it... One thing I hope current members understand when they read some of the post here is how little those people matter. A couple hundred thousand people love what they do...a few loud people on the internet who can't accept drum corps for what it is should not have any impact on their experience. Many of those thousands are legacy fans, by the way...just go to any show and you see a mix of dinos and young fans. Yes, it's sad that these loud complainers can't enjoy what the members do, but it's a reflection on themselves, not the current MM and designers and staff members. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 of course, the mysterious balance rears its head again. Drum Corps is all about balance... OMmmm.. OMmmm... yes it is. yes you need the kids. but you need paying customers too. amazing how that works. try having DCi finals week, knowing that DCI makes the biggest bunch of it's annual income that week, with less than 10,000 fans. then tell me what kids will have to pay because of it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 Huh ? If people don't post, then how do we know WHAT they're thinking... one way or the other ? How's that work ? You're right. I can't say for sure how many. I happen to know dozens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 well....people pay to see what they like. and if they dont like what's being put out there, then that's their fault?? people who like it aren't actually people, evidently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 One thing I hope current members understand when they read some of the post here is how little those people matter. A couple hundred thousand people love what they do...a few loud people on the internet who can't accept drum corps for what it is should not have any impact on their experience. Many of those thousands are legacy fans, by the way...just go to any show and you see a mix of dinos and young fans. Yes, it's sad that these loud complainers can't enjoy what the members do, but it's a reflection on themselves, not the current MM and designers and staff members. Cesario disagrees. http://www.dci.org/news/view.cfm?news_id=b02b1971-d3ec-4104-b5d0-e7cdd1df032b 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 people who like it aren't actually people, evidently. I disagree. I'm tired of being told I'm wrong if I dont like it. So are many others 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actucker Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 I think the problem that exists in this conversation is that some of us seem to think that there is only one thing that the fans want. That's simply not the case. Some fans want flashy, theme driven and charismatic shows. Others like shows with more (for lack of a better term) intellectual shows. Some like crazy drill and virtuosic music. What is entertaining to some fans is boring to others. I know plenty of people who absolutely loved the Cadets show last year. On the other hand, I know plenty of people who hated it. I know plenty of people who loved SCV last year, and plenty of people who hated it. So to say DCI needs be more entertaining really means that some groups of people have decided that they want all of the top 12 shows to be exactly what they want, and that's their answer to driving ticket sales. I understand the concept of the crowd reaction, but having gone to a lot of drum corps shows with a lot of different drum corps fans, I can tell you that in my experience, the people who like shows like SCV's show from last year, aren't as vocal during shows because they are more driven by little nuances and don't want to miss those little details in the show. Others who are more into the showy flashy types of shows tend to cheer louder because they are looking for a more primal kind of experience. The fact is, some corps try to be intellectual and appeal to the nerds in the crowd. Other corps try to wow the audience and go for the more surface level reaction. Still others try to draw an audience with sheer amazing things that they can do with their instruments. There are lots of ways to design a show, and sometimes these methods work really well, and sometimes they fail. But if you really think that what you want is what the entire crowd wants, you are mistaken because DCI's audience is way too diverse to pin down exactly what entertains them. The crowds aren't there because the economy sucks, and because DCI is trying to hard to make the activity a mainstream art form, which it will never be. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted February 2, 2011 Share Posted February 2, 2011 (edited) yes the economy sucks. but there's a lot more reasons the crowds are down. the economy sucked in the late 70's too, and crowds were bigger than today. and while yes, you have shows that meet all of the above you list, the percentages of shows that fall into each category are far more towards the type that are turning people off than the type that are turning people on. Edited February 2, 2011 by Jeff Ream 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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