Why is drum corps so weird now?

[Mello Dude]

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "weird." The only thing I can really understand, is when you mentioned uniforms. While some corps have changed in the last five ish years since you aged-out, there aren't too many 'weird' uniform designs that I see. Crown might come the closest, with a uniform design that is close in concept to a WGI uni design.

But as far as show designs, I think there are a lot LESS brooding show designs this year than in past years. We have BD doing Burt Bacharach, Cavaliers doing 'extraordinary' things, Crown doing Queen & other rock music, Phantom doing Romeo & Juliette, Blue Stars doing Bourne Identity stuff, Blue Knights doing concert band standards, BAC doing a popular Broadway musical, and Madison Scouts doing R&B music! Cadets might be doing something considered 'dark' (though it's really a good vs evil type show and I think the light side is represented as much as the dark side), as are maybe SCV and Bluecoats. But I think most corps in Finals this year are doing 'brighter' shows.

I guess in answer to your question , the simple answer is because DCI has been there/done that and must move past that in order to evolve. Kind of like why the Oakland A's can't go back to the 'moneyball' era: everyone else in MLB has caught on to that formula, and if the A's want to get back to winning pennants they must find a new formula in order to be competitive.

Also, I think that a) DCI has been in 'band territory' now for a LONG time: since far before you started marching. And b) design trends seem to be cyclical. Over the years there seem to be swings of way esoteric show designs, where designers are stretching themselves to design 'deep' shows conceptually, and then years that swing to fan-friendly type show designs. I think that right now the pendulum is closer to the fan-friendly side than the esoteric side, and if some of the scuttlebutt is true about changes of the sheets for the next year or two, we might see the pendulum swing even further into audience friendly territory.

This +1

[audiodb]

Am I just the old fart that I despised back when I marched? Why can't we go back to the days of Summertrain Blues Mix and Frameworks :-(?

All the way back to 2004? Anthropologists say 2004 was the year DCI discovered electricity.

[perc2100]

Bingo!

It's the style of arranging! The change happened Pre-'94 and Post '4 BD.

It's probably why I do NOT care for BD '94. That's really the show that changed the arranging style for all. I'm not sure if it was influenced by Star and Cadets '93, but probably a bit.

...and the DCI activity has never recovered from this.

And I think if we're going to be really accurate, the "season X" that was the turning point was 1993. I honestly believe that Star of Indiana 1993, more than any other drum corps show design since, has single-handedly changed design philosophy (you could argue that the design shift began in 1992 with the body sculpting Star began, but 1993 was the show that was the ultimate change). They took a design that the staff KNEW would likely upset audiences (as described, at least, by Bill Cook on his Star of Indiana website) in order to bee 100% control of emotions being 'manipulated.' They took a very minimalist approach design-wise in order to maximize the effect of their starkness (especially musically, while the members' body sculpting greatly enhanced the visual design). The Star 93 design staff did all of this while having the horses to perform nearly flawlessly: essentially they took a super bold show design when they knew they had a very talented corps that would max out the performance aspect. Star didn't quite win over enough judges to take home their 2nd World Championship, but they were close.

And their trend took off like wildfire the following season: both the visual aspect of corps performing body sculpting and other body movements other than marching, as well as minimalist arranging (which, I think, took longer to really catch on than the visual stuff). Blue Devils 1994 definitely benefitted from Star 1993, and after BD's great success in 1994 there was no turning back or them. 1994 was the year BD TOTALLY revamped their visual program (with, by no coincidence, Star 1993's Vis Caption Head) which finally caught up to their outstanding brass (Scott J. also came into the mix as Perc. Caption Head which brought their drum scores up significantly from the past several years). You're right: after 1994 their design shift was completely changed, and hasn't looked back since. They dominated from 1994-1999, winning 4 of those 6 seasons. Cavaliers came onto the scene in 2000 with their own design shift (which started for them around 98) which again completely changed design trends in DCI for several years. In 2005 BD changed their own design 'formula' up a bit once again shifting trends: their current 'formula' has still been unchallenged for the most part, with Devs winning 3 Championships with their current formula.

And in my opinion, the current trend can be traced back to Star 1993's radical shift (their design shift, IMO, is still the most radical change since 93), and I think their shift was the most radical since the Cadets of the early 80's: a statement that isn't so bold considering Star's history.

[audiodb]

I'm still not on board with hearing things other than brass or percussion at a DCI event, but the pre-recorded crap HAS to go. What's to keep someone from recording the entire show as a sample/patch, having one person hit one key, and marching the show without playing a note? Is there anything in the rules/on the sheets to prevent this?

Would it make any difference if there was? The current rules are not being enforced.

[cowtown]

I haven't really watched any shows since I aged out in 2007, and now that I'm watching current shows on the DCI Fan Network I'm pretty shocked by how much things have changed. It's the amps, it's not the electronics and synths, I actually like all that stuff. But the uniforms, the show designs, everything, wtf is going? It seems like every corps now does a "brooding and mysterious" preshow, and everyone is doing A LOT of dance movement as opposed to actual marching. Am I just the old fart that I despised back when I marched? Why can't we go back to the days of Summertrain Blues Mix and Frameworks :-(? I know when I was marching we were already on the path to Bando-dom, but man is the top 12 in bando territory now.

Interesting OP and follow-up

Of course we get the old/ne… dino/current debate but what this OP screams to me is noticing trends in drum corps and how uniform the shows become when all are following the same trends. Sure, there is variety in approach but like fashion, that variety is within very narrow and acceptable boundaries….I think that is often why people claim shows look the same which is countered by Mr. Chocolate Bath as nope, there is great variety in the shows. One corps does a ton of body movement, has a scowling guard in individual street club clothes, uses tons of thunderous goo at the big bass hits while trying to get out of hell and another corps does a ton of body movement, has a scowling guard in individual street club clothes, uses tons of thunderous goo at the big bass hits while being Rach Stars, and yet another corps does a ton of body movement, has a scowling guard in individual street club clothes, uses tons of thunderous goo at the big bass hits while acting out the Bourne movies… see variety !!!

Drum corps has been this way as long as I can remember but the trends come and go more quickly now due to the quicker distribution of information…it’s one of the reason this ‘we designers need wider range of palettes’ hypes so annoys me because they don’t really use much of the range they already have and of course, it’s all justified by being competitive which is funny because they dictate how they want to be judged…if you think about it and I suggest you don’t, it also shows a way to maintain positional tiers a la g8

[BoyWonder1911]

Drum corps has been this way as long as I can remember but the trends come and go more quickly now due to the quicker distribution of information…it’s one of the reason this ‘we designers need wider range of palettes’ hypes so annoys me because they don’t really use much of the range they already have and of course, it’s all justified by being competitive which is funny because they dictate how they want to be judged…if you think about it and I suggest you don’t, it also shows a way to maintain positional tiers a la g8

Wow. I think this wins.

[perc2100]

Interesting OP and follow-up

Of course we get the old/ne… dino/current debate but what this OP screams to me is noticing trends in drum corps and how uniform the shows become when all are following the same trends. Sure, there is variety in approach but like fashion, that variety is within very narrow and acceptable boundaries….I think that is often why people claim shows look the same which is countered by Mr. Chocolate Bath as nope, there is great variety in the shows. One corps does a ton of body movement, has a scowling guard in individual street club clothes, uses tons of thunderous goo at the big bass hits while trying to get out of hell and another corps does a ton of body movement, has a scowling guard in individual street club clothes, uses tons of thunderous goo at the big bass hits while being Rach Stars, and yet another corps does a ton of body movement, has a scowling guard in individual street club clothes, uses tons of thunderous goo at the big bass hits while acting out the Bourne movies… see variety !!!

While I think we could always argue about the amount of variety from one show to the next, I agree with a lot of what you're saying. The corps that win/place in Top 3 or 4 almost HAVE to revolutionize design in order to make an impression on the judges. Everyone outside the Top 3 or 4 (i.e. everyone not competing for 1st) is just trying to move up the ranks and/or maintain where they're at. When a corps revolutionizes show design, everyone else tries to copy it (or, to put a better way, marry the winning design formula to that of the lower-placing corps' design scheme). That's why, I think, we have so much homogenization in our activity. Most corps have their hands full marching & playing flawlessly without setting new design standards on top of it all.

Drum corps has been this way as long as I can remember but the trends come and go more quickly now due to the quicker distribution of information…it’s one of the reason this ‘we designers need wider range of palettes’ hypes so annoys me because they don’t really use much of the range they already have and of course, it’s all justified by being competitive which is funny because they dictate how they want to be judged…if you think about it and I suggest you don’t, it also shows a way to maintain positional tiers a la g8

I'm curious what you mean by this: do you mean because of the internet (for example), design trends are seen quicker by everyone and thus copied quicker (leading others to change quicker)? I agree that it does seem like trends come and go faster now than, say, in the 90's but I honestly haven't really thought about why that is.

[Spin Cycle]

I had to register for this thread, since it echoes my sentiments pretty well.

I went to West Chester this year after not following DCI for a year or two. I have the 2002 - 2006 DVDs, went to Allentown a few years, and went to 2005 Finals in MA. I have been watching since around 1998-1999, and saw some "legacy" shows on VHS. All in all, not a complete newbie, but admittedly not as well-versed as most people here.

Anyway, at WCU, I was so shocked that everyone is doing this artistic guard-heavy shows now. In particular, it seems like hardly any corps actually PLAY for a majority of their show. I'm a huge Cavaliers fan, but seeing them march to a recording of themselves ... WTF? Even worse in my mind, though, is when instrumentalists march guard and/or carry props. BD has one section where a group is picking up and laying down posts in different formations. It was SO distracting from the rest of the corps! I like the Cadets' show this year despite having mixed feelings on the corps overall, but then there's that "battle" where everyone is using shiny poles ... it all just lost me.

It's just strange to me because I think back to "Frameworks" in 2002 ... people in the crowd went crazy for the "Fight Club" sequence because it was unexpected to have the instrumentalists put down their horns and dance. In 2005, "The Zone" won presumably because the Cadets went full-on concept and guard when everyone else was trying to ape the Cavaliers. Now, even the Cavies are starting to move away from their trademark style. The intro to "XtraordinarY" is xtraordinarliy frustrating because everyone's just posing for a good 30-40 seconds.

I guess I'm not saying much that hasn't been said already, but it IS staggering to see how different the shows are now. Ironically, at WCU, the Madison Scouts got the biggest applause of the night. I know MS plays to the crowd anyway, but I think a lot of people miss the days of "play 3-4 songs that people like listening to".

Whoever in here was talking about the "pendulum" ... I sure hope it swings back to actually PLAYING for most of your show! No more putting down your instruments for 5 straight minutes, carrying around props, having dance choreography outside the guard, etc. PLAY!

[Fran Haring]

is weird.

Apparently the use of LSD was still in vogue when that video was made.

[danielray]

...while the members' body sculpting greatly enhanced the visual design.

That term (same as pageantry) really creeps me out. Doesn't make me think of choreography, but more like...

Well... just do a google image search for body sculpting.

Now that you've seen that, can we agree to stop using that term?

For the record it was Suncoast '88. Go back and watch that show. It could still work now.