xmen8081 Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 I wanted to offer some additional commentary on part the thread that was previously here (before the big crash) regarding the announcer at the 3 Nortwest shows I attended: Woodburn, Vancouver, Seattle. I've been attending DCI shows for 25 years, Northwest shows for about 15 years, have two kids in corps, and marched myself a (very long) time ago. While I appreciate and respect that this gentleman is an avid drum corps supporter, and has been announcing at shows for over a decade, these qualifications do not make him a good announcer. I appreciate and support all that he may have done and continues to do for the activity, particularly in the Northwest where drum corps been lean for a number of years. He is, however, by my estimation a very poor announcer, and represents the activity badly. - First, he announced three shows in four nights with the same six corps. Each and every night he read the same 100-word or so standard DCI paragraph about the activity, and every night he butchered it. It really seemed he hadn't taken the time to read it ahead of time to even understand what it said. - Second, each and every night he mispronounced a significant number of the kids' names - the same names each night, each time with a different very wrong pronunciation. For a drum-major, hearing your name announced before the show is an important recognition. Hearing it mangled three shows in a row in front of your parents, friends, and peers is frustrating at best. - Third, each and every night he mispronounced (badly) the names of the composers, pieces, and shows. These are pronunciations which are readily accessible and well known. These three problems would be easily avoided by a very little research and planning ahead of time, and the investment of effort would certainly pay off as the announcer at a show is generally representing the drum corps activity to hundreds or thousands of people, many who may be having their first drum corps experience and forming their initial opinions about the quality of the activity. These six corps had only ten drum-majors whose names could be checked in advance, pronunciations clarified, and notes made. If I were introducing these ten individuals three times in a row in three cities in front of thousands of people, I'd take that step. It is also disappointing to me that these same problems happened three shows in a row. We certainly have higher expectations than that from the kids on the field. We expect them to learn from each performance, spend time and energy addressing the problems, and come back the next time with an improved performance. This is, in my opinion, one of the essential lessons of the drum corps activity which follows these kids through the rest of their lives regardless of their career path. These lessons should be applied by those representing the activity as well. Like the previous poster, I also objected to the announcement when the Oregon Crusaders were taking the field that they were a "young and struggling" corps. This is not the message you want the kids to hear in 5,000 watt glory as they take the field for the first time in front of their home crowd. If the message was intended to generate financial or community backing for the corps, it was not the appropriate time or place. The staff works hard to instill a sense of confidence, pride and energy into the kids before the corps performs, and public belittlement while standing at attention on the field preparing to perform undermines those efforts enormously. Another key lesson of the drum corps activity is confidence and pride in your abilities and accomplishments, and those inside the activity should work to create an environment that fosters that. On a different level, I also was personally offended and troubled by his leading the crowd through the pledge of allegiance "in its entirety" with a loud emphasis on the "UNDER GOD" during the recitation. Regardless of my own personal religious and political beliefs (which I'll omit here), I don't believe this is appropriate. I believe DCI attempts to be a multi-cultural, multi-political organization. I think even the "International" in DCI's name is testament to this. Certainly the controversy regarding the american pledge of allegiance is both a political and religious issue that is divisive across many cultural and belief-system boundaries. I don't believe that holding the microphone at an event like this with kids from multiple nations, political persuasions, religious backgrounds, and belief systems forced to stand at attention and salute gives one license to promote ones view on a controversial political issue, even if one's position is popular or well-founded. Again, I respect any contributions this man makes to the drum-corps activity, but I believe he should not announce shows. Each person has to recognize what their own skills and abilities are and decide how they can most effectively contribute to the causes they support. There are many, many people who are avid drum corps supporters who could do a better job announcing these events, and the activity would be better served and represented as a result. PS> Ok, one more thing. After over a decade of announcing, and on the third show in four nights, he definitely, definitely should NOT have, in front of several thousand drum corps fans in Husky Stadium, said "Drum Major - is your BAND ready?"... Oh my goodness... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H. Turner Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 (edited) Remember this email address.... VKDM8687@AOL.COM My inlaws live in Gig Harbor, and you contact me ahead of time enough for me to arrange schedules, there's no reason why you can't have me come up and lend my talents! :) Remember.... VKDM8687@AOL.COM Shameless self promotion...and what of it? :P Ryan H. Turner The Voice of Southern California P.S. Regarding your post, mistakes invariably happen. God forbid I should rehash this...but let's just say that yelling into your microphone "Ladies and Gentlemen, The San Jose Raiders!!!" (as the very confused BLUE DEVILS WINTERGUARD was coming off the floor), in front of Mike McCool and Jay Murphy at a WGI Regional is one of my LEAST favorite things to do. But in any case, mistakes occur. I have NO idea how to say "Polovestan Dances" (I probably can't spell it either), which the Mandarins are playing this year. You'd think after, oh, a million years of me being a musician AND an announcer, I'd figure it out. I screwed it up at the Cerritos show, but very wisely edited it out at the Riverside show. One thing in defense of this announcer (who he is I know not), when it comes to names, that can be a little difficult to figure out. Simply because it's VERY rare when a staff member comes up into the pressbox. THEY know these things. But there's usually very little interaction between announcers and staff members. Speaking of staff members...why can't they all have Smith, Jones, and Turner as last names!!?!?! There are some DOOZY last names from some of the corps. I LOVE trying to figure them out. But yes...I agree...it's NOT RIGHT...it's just NOT RIGHT for the announcer to say "IS YOUR BAND READY!" Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee gads!!!!!!!!!!!! :P Plane tickets are pretty cheap ordered in advance....spread the word...I LOVE Washington state! Edited July 12, 2003 by Ryan H. Turner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowcone Posted July 16, 2003 Share Posted July 16, 2003 (edited) Aye, being called a band was... not fun. You should have seen the look on our DM's face when he turned to face us. He said something, and I knew it was something you don't say in uniform! But he was our annoncer when we wont he first NWMBC in 2000... ahh the memories..... Snowcone - Corps Nerd happy to be home 2003 - Oregon Crusaders - Mello Edited July 16, 2003 by Snowcone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicDC Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 Face the facts - that announcer is an idiot pure and simple. He must be paying to do the job. 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.