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Saving Drum Corps Part II(a): The solution


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Preface: I would ironically like to thank a college music library for having every DCI DVD from 1974 until 2008 and all those SOPA intended youtubers for allowing me to artistically catch up and review with Drum Corps since DCI stopped on PBS

Today, millions of Americans commuted around their hometowns going past fields and buildings that their pre-collegiate/artistically sophisticated/George Hopkins era drum corps used to practice. What is considered evolution apparently means that it is better that The 2010 Blue Devils were champions (I hate even using that word with BD) of a field of 40 other corps. Yet, 35 years ago, they equally unjustly won over Phantom and maybe up to 700 other corps.

While most every policy that George Hopkins is responsible has reduced the number of Drum Corps people to virtually non-existent.. My policies would constantly expand the number of Drum Corps people with the intent to have at least one drum corps in every city.

College music majors should start drum corps at their universities as a school function, like their symphony orchestras, marching bands, choirs (vocals in Drum Corps, gag me with a spoon). Drum corps with college music majors is like Love Story’s early scene with Oliver borrowing a book from Jennifer’s school library, College music schools and their universities have many fields, many gyms, probably several auditoriums and everything else they need to operate a Drum Corps. High school era Drum Corps used to have to ask for donations of garbage bags for the road.

I found it bizarre reading profiles of drum corps music majors. That for example, a family member in North Canton could go to Harvard and their first audition mass applied online is for the Blue Devils. There used to be a Cambridge Caballaros where those who were MIT or Harvard students could just walk to rehearsals from their dorms. Not take airline trips across country. And why couldn’t the North Canton student just march with The Bluecoats and go to Ohio State University. And even better march with a OSU Drum and Bugle Corps and let the Bluecoats be mostly from Stark or Portage County high schools.

SERIOUSLY, ALL YOU COLLEGE MUSIC MAJORS WOULDN’T YOU RATHER JUST WALK ACROSS CAMPUS AFTER CLASSES, SLEEPING AFTERWARDS IN YOUR DORM’S BED WITH A SHOWER INSTEAD OF FLYING ALL OVER THE PLACE SLEEPING ON SOME GYM FLOOR THAT MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT HAVE HOT WATER ? AND DON’T YOU FEEL A BIT GUILTY TAKING FUNDS THAT COULD BE HELPING SOME HIGH SCOOLER PERFORM MUSIC IN A SCHOOL DISTRICT WITH DROPPED MUSIC PROGRAMS DUE TO LEVY FAILURES ?

The NCAA and DCI could engage in a joint effort to have something like Big Ten, Pac 10 et al. Drum Corps Conference, succeeding where The VFW, AL and CYO failed thus resulting in DCI. Those who attend Gail Royer’s “Wilcox High School” would be in SCV, those who attend Stanford would march in the Cardinal Drum Corps. There would be separate national competitions for each NCAA and DCI corps where the top 30 or so of each would meet for a joint competition-sort of like a Drum Corps Super Bowl.

In the Illinois Championship there could be really cool arguments between who will score better the super sophisticated Northern Illinois University Corps, or the mostly entertaining should have been 1977-1980 DCI Champion Phantom Regiment (I’m sorry but I cried four years in a row).

I even have a new scoring system that will be revealed in my next posting. It would challenge ol schoolers to realize that old school park and blow drum corps really wasn’t very challenging or visually interesting (1975 Scouts, why bother to WATCH the DVD and not just LISTEN to the CD). While have the post reverse z-pull era corps realize that modern corps is way too intellectual with drills that follow the slogan, “If you can’t dazzle (the spirits of former MM judges) with brilliance, baffle them with fast paced bs.

Freeze frame most fast paced drills and you could “write them off the M and M sheets” in a single picture. Yet, I’ve formulated some great drills for some of Drum Corps best concert numbers. As much as classic drum corps nuts hate fast paced drills, in 1993, my beloved Phantom did a much more interesting drill for their 1979 Into Concert number.

The long term vision of non collegiate Drum Corps should be to have at least a few corps in every metropolitan area comprised, by rule, of 75% of members no older than 18. The other 25% would be either collegiates from universities too small for a drum corps or not even collegiates.

From the finals in the joint DCI/NCAA Drum Corps Championship to the beginning of the DCI season the DCI corps would have to perform at 12 local events. Anything from the full corps performance at a local BOA competition to a small ensemble doing Christmas carols at the local mall. Those that didn’t couldn’t compete.

Each DCI Corps could figure out how to fulfill their performance requirement logistics regarding residency rules.

In addition to the public disconnect to Drum Corps occur as more preppies invaded a youth activity in the late 1980’s. There evolved an artistic disconnect with those ol schoolers with way too intellectual, cookie cutter drills that became the staple, initiated by Star, Cavs and Garfield. It’s a tragedy that when Star and their bizarre 1993’s Barber and Bartok “thing” didn’t end the intellectual era of Drum Corps. One would have thought Jim Mason would have been perceived as Dr. Frankenstein.

The History of Drum Corps by Steve Vickers volume I page 167 et seq. offers insight better than I can explaining how in 1993 entertainment disappeared from drum corps, replaced with programs you had to understand and be educated. As entertainment disappeared so did fans and PBS viewers who simply cried for a good old fashioned Rockford File or Civil War Depiction where the south wins, the Phantom disappearing or get tears hearing the best music ever or Spirit’s simply beautiful 1980 “Let It Be Me”. not the fast paced obsessed finale from the 2003 Spirit of Jacksonville State University.

Drum corps were artistically tortured in the pre-DCI Era with VFW and AL performance rules that apparently was the reason for Drum Corps greatest night-August 23, 1966 where The I.C. Reveries sit down inspired the 27th Lancers, North Star, SCV and indirectly others. Drum Corps and their Level 1 through Level 5 drill difficulty, has created the same type of requirement situations.

There is literally no difference in drill design from the reverse z-pull to the present. It’s like drum corps are competing in a figure skating short program like mentality with “required elements”. The next paragraph appears mandatory elements to be in World Class.

A rotating block. Small 360 degree pivots inside a parabola changing into a rectangle with the “small pivoters” joining the block. Four blocks forming one then rotating into a diamond then evolving into a company front to music that is to completely “undramatic.” There are “required elements” that have been endlessly repeated since Garfield beat the beautiful SCV’s beautiful rendition of Carmen in 1990.

Golden Era corps (1979-1989) had their own identities with drills and guard work that looked like a human thought what would fit the music. I would rather watch th 1987 Sky Riders or 1984 Garfield Cadets or 1981 Bridegemen West Side Story than the Amped up, way too fast and complicated 2009 Cadets.

It’s time that Drum Corps get over the VFW and AL rules and realize that if you drop a rifle, or crack a note, be out of step(or phase), are too close or too far, or out of line it should matter. Yet realize that there’s nothing wrong with a third valve(1987),picking up a rifle(1980) and performing asymmetrical drills (27th,1979).

Which seques to my scoring system for my next posting.

Steve Bayt

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Preface: I would ironically like to thank a college music library for having every DCI DVD from 1974 until 2008 and all those SOPA intended youtubers for allowing me to artistically catch up and review with Drum Corps since DCI stopped on PBS

Today, millions of Americans commuted around their hometowns going past fields and buildings that their pre-collegiate/artistically sophisticated/George Hopkins era drum corps used to practice. What is considered evolution apparently means that it is better that The 2010 Blue Devils were champions (I hate even using that word with BD) of a field of 40 other corps. Yet, 35 years ago, they equally unjustly won over Phantom and maybe up to 700 other corps.

While most every policy that George Hopkins is responsible has reduced the number of Drum Corps people to virtually non-existent.. My policies would constantly expand the number of Drum Corps people with the intent to have at least one drum corps in every city.

College music majors should start drum corps at their universities as a school function, like their symphony orchestras, marching bands, choirs (vocals in Drum Corps, gag me with a spoon). Drum corps with college music majors is like Love Story's early scene with Oliver borrowing a book from Jennifer's school library, College music schools and their universities have many fields, many gyms, probably several auditoriums and everything else they need to operate a Drum Corps. High school era Drum Corps used to have to ask for donations of garbage bags for the road.

I found it bizarre reading profiles of drum corps music majors. That for example, a family member in North Canton could go to Harvard and their first audition mass applied online is for the Blue Devils. There used to be a Cambridge Caballaros where those who were MIT or Harvard students could just walk to rehearsals from their dorms. Not take airline trips across country. And why couldn't the North Canton student just march with The Bluecoats and go to Ohio State University. And even better march with a OSU Drum and Bugle Corps and let the Bluecoats be mostly from Stark or Portage County high schools.

SERIOUSLY, ALL YOU COLLEGE MUSIC MAJORS WOULDN'T YOU RATHER JUST WALK ACROSS CAMPUS AFTER CLASSES, SLEEPING AFTERWARDS IN YOUR DORM'S BED WITH A SHOWER INSTEAD OF FLYING ALL OVER THE PLACE SLEEPING ON SOME GYM FLOOR THAT MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT HAVE HOT WATER ? AND DON'T YOU FEEL A BIT GUILTY TAKING FUNDS THAT COULD BE HELPING SOME HIGH SCOOLER PERFORM MUSIC IN A SCHOOL DISTRICT WITH DROPPED MUSIC PROGRAMS DUE TO LEVY FAILURES ?

The NCAA and DCI could engage in a joint effort to have something like Big Ten, Pac 10 et al. Drum Corps Conference, succeeding where The VFW, AL and CYO failed thus resulting in DCI. Those who attend Gail Royer's "Wilcox High School" would be in SCV, those who attend Stanford would march in the Cardinal Drum Corps. There would be separate national competitions for each NCAA and DCI corps where the top 30 or so of each would meet for a joint competition-sort of like a Drum Corps Super Bowl.

In the Illinois Championship there could be really cool arguments between who will score better the super sophisticated Northern Illinois University Corps, or the mostly entertaining should have been 1977-1980 DCI Champion Phantom Regiment (I'm sorry but I cried four years in a row).

I even have a new scoring system that will be revealed in my next posting. It would challenge ol schoolers to realize that old school park and blow drum corps really wasn't very challenging or visually interesting (1975 Scouts, why bother to WATCH the DVD and not just LISTEN to the CD). While have the post reverse z-pull era corps realize that modern corps is way too intellectual with drills that follow the slogan, "If you can't dazzle (the spirits of former MM judges) with brilliance, baffle them with fast paced bs.

Freeze frame most fast paced drills and you could "write them off the M and M sheets" in a single picture. Yet, I've formulated some great drills for some of Drum Corps best concert numbers. As much as classic drum corps nuts hate fast paced drills, in 1993, my beloved Phantom did a much more interesting drill for their 1979 Into Concert number.

The long term vision of non collegiate Drum Corps should be to have at least a few corps in every metropolitan area comprised, by rule, of 75% of members no older than 18. The other 25% would be either collegiates from universities too small for a drum corps or not even collegiates.

From the finals in the joint DCI/NCAA Drum Corps Championship to the beginning of the DCI season the DCI corps would have to perform at 12 local events. Anything from the full corps performance at a local BOA competition to a small ensemble doing Christmas carols at the local mall. Those that didn't couldn't compete.

Each DCI Corps could figure out how to fulfill their performance requirement logistics regarding residency rules.

In addition to the public disconnect to Drum Corps occur as more preppies invaded a youth activity in the late 1980's. There evolved an artistic disconnect with those ol schoolers with way too intellectual, cookie cutter drills that became the staple, initiated by Star, Cavs and Garfield. It's a tragedy that when Star and their bizarre 1993's Barber and Bartok "thing" didn't end the intellectual era of Drum Corps. One would have thought Jim Mason would have been perceived as Dr. Frankenstein.

The History of Drum Corps by Steve Vickers volume I page 167 et seq. offers insight better than I can explaining how in 1993 entertainment disappeared from drum corps, replaced with programs you had to understand and be educated. As entertainment disappeared so did fans and PBS viewers who simply cried for a good old fashioned Rockford File or Civil War Depiction where the south wins, the Phantom disappearing or get tears hearing the best music ever or Spirit's simply beautiful 1980 "Let It Be Me". not the fast paced obsessed finale from the 2003 Spirit of Jacksonville State University.

Drum corps were artistically tortured in the pre-DCI Era with VFW and AL performance rules that apparently was the reason for Drum Corps greatest night-August 23, 1966 where The I.C. Reveries sit down inspired the 27th Lancers, North Star, SCV and indirectly others. Drum Corps and their Level 1 through Level 5 drill difficulty, has created the same type of requirement situations.

There is literally no difference in drill design from the reverse z-pull to the present. It's like drum corps are competing in a figure skating short program like mentality with "required elements". The next paragraph appears mandatory elements to be in World Class.

A rotating block. Small 360 degree pivots inside a parabola changing into a rectangle with the "small pivoters" joining the block. Four blocks forming one then rotating into a diamond then evolving into a company front to music that is to completely "undramatic." There are "required elements" that have been endlessly repeated since Garfield beat the beautiful SCV's beautiful rendition of Carmen in 1990.

Golden Era corps (1979-1989) had their own identities with drills and guard work that looked like a human thought what would fit the music. I would rather watch th 1987 Sky Riders or 1984 Garfield Cadets or 1981 Bridegemen West Side Story than the Amped up, way too fast and complicated 2009 Cadets.

It's time that Drum Corps get over the VFW and AL rules and realize that if you drop a rifle, or crack a note, be out of step(or phase), are too close or too far, or out of line it should matter. Yet realize that there's nothing wrong with a third valve(1987),picking up a rifle(1980) and performing asymmetrical drills (27th,1979).

Which seques to my scoring system for my next posting.

Steve Bayt

On Facebook

You must feel a bit like Diogenes with his lamp, searching the darkened city for an honest man. I wish you good luck.

See, for me the "Golden Age of Drum Corps" was 1946-1972. The Legion and the VFW began their version of competitive drum corps as an in-house activity for their own members. It was originally for Senior Corps only. It was some years before Junior corps were officially sanctioned. Prior to that Junior corps used the vets rules because they were a vast improvement over the "beauty contest" system that went back to just after the Civil War with the Grand Army of the Republic.

The veterans organizations put in all that "military stuff" because it was what they were familiar with, and, to them it seemed appropriate. Drum corps was never conceived as an "art form". It was an activity that was designed as a contest of skills. Musical talent, while considered a plus, was not a requirement. Corps members were instructed by other veterans whose only exposure to it was through their experience in the military. Some of those instructors had considerable musical talent. Many did not. Brass playing and drumming were taught as skills, like reading, or swimming, or driving an automobile. Field programs were the equivalent of obstacle courses. Everything was perfected by a demand for effort, and constant repetition.

As with everything, the people with talent did it better than others. Virtually every corps had kids who could play well, and kids who could barely play at all. The corps that won simply worked harder, or smarter. No kid was turned away.

The vets didn't hate drum corps. In truth, they really didn't GAS about it. But they never put in rules that favored the corps with money. They never set out to drive corps out of business for the benefit of the wealthy.

Under the veteran's system a corps with 21 bugles, playing relatively simple music could outscore another corps with 48 horns that played a more sophisticated book. Each corps had to play the best stuff they could execute reasonably well. The big corps would still win the show because they would get higher scores in General Effect. But a small, well trained unit might beat them in Execution. They might never beat the bigger corps, but a first in one caption, Execution Bugle, mean't something to them. It validated the hard work they'd put into it. It gave them hope. It gave them a reason to carry on.

Under the veterans most contests were won "in the woodshed". Given that the instruction was roughly comparable, the corps that worked hardest usually won.

Today, if you don't have the money for professional instruction, top shelf equipment, and hoard of virtuoso musicians, you have no chance. EVER.

Edited by reallyoldfrt
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Under the veteran's system a corps with 21 bugles, playing relatively simple music could outscore another corps with 48 horns that played a more sophisticated book. Each corps had to play the best stuff they could execute reasonably well. The big corps would still win the show because they would get higher scores in General Effect. But a small, well trained unit might beat them in Execution. They might never beat the bigger corps, but a first in one caption, Execution Bugle, mean't something to them. It validated the hard work they'd put into it. It gave them hope. It gave them a reason to carry on.

Read your profile so know a bit about your "pedigree". Was GE even considered before the 60s in AL/VFW shows? Have a collection of 50-70s recordings and trying to match what I hear with the judging results.

Oh yeah.... have some early 60s Prince... :worthy:

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Do I sense that you have it in for "college music majors" who are members of drum corps?

Why is is George Hopkins fault? Doesn't the ENTIRE BoD have to vote on changes in rules? Let the blame, if that is what you are trying to do, lie with the people that voted these things into the rules.

In 1977 I wanted to march with Seneca Optimist and in 1981 I wanted to march with either Squires or the Cavaliers instead of marching in my local corps. What was wrong with that?

I think maybe this idea you have might have been looked at in the early 80's but now? NO

Preface: I would ironically like to thank a college music library for having every DCI DVD from 1974 until 2008 and all those SOPA intended youtubers for allowing me to artistically catch up and review with Drum Corps since DCI stopped on PBS

Today, millions of Americans commuted around their hometowns going past fields and buildings that their pre-collegiate/artistically sophisticated/George Hopkins era drum corps used to practice. What is considered evolution apparently means that it is better that The 2010 Blue Devils were champions (I hate even using that word with BD) of a field of 40 other corps. Yet, 35 years ago, they equally unjustly won over Phantom and maybe up to 700 other corps.

While most every policy that George Hopkins is responsible has reduced the number of Drum Corps people to virtually non-existent.. My policies would constantly expand the number of Drum Corps people with the intent to have at least one drum corps in every city.

College music majors should start drum corps at their universities as a school function, like their symphony orchestras, marching bands, choirs (vocals in Drum Corps, gag me with a spoon). Drum corps with college music majors is like Love Story’s early scene with Oliver borrowing a book from Jennifer’s school library, College music schools and their universities have many fields, many gyms, probably several auditoriums and everything else they need to operate a Drum Corps. High school era Drum Corps used to have to ask for donations of garbage bags for the road.

I found it bizarre reading profiles of drum corps music majors. That for example, a family member in North Canton could go to Harvard and their first audition mass applied online is for the Blue Devils. There used to be a Cambridge Caballaros where those who were MIT or Harvard students could just walk to rehearsals from their dorms. Not take airline trips across country. And why couldn’t the North Canton student just march with The Bluecoats and go to Ohio State University. And even better march with a OSU Drum and Bugle Corps and let the Bluecoats be mostly from Stark or Portage County high schools.

SERIOUSLY, ALL YOU COLLEGE MUSIC MAJORS WOULDN’T YOU RATHER JUST WALK ACROSS CAMPUS AFTER CLASSES, SLEEPING AFTERWARDS IN YOUR DORM’S BED WITH A SHOWER INSTEAD OF FLYING ALL OVER THE PLACE SLEEPING ON SOME GYM FLOOR THAT MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT HAVE HOT WATER ? AND DON’T YOU FEEL A BIT GUILTY TAKING FUNDS THAT COULD BE HELPING SOME HIGH SCOOLER PERFORM MUSIC IN A SCHOOL DISTRICT WITH DROPPED MUSIC PROGRAMS DUE TO LEVY FAILURES ?

The NCAA and DCI could engage in a joint effort to have something like Big Ten, Pac 10 et al. Drum Corps Conference, succeeding where The VFW, AL and CYO failed thus resulting in DCI. Those who attend Gail Royer’s “Wilcox High School” would be in SCV, those who attend Stanford would march in the Cardinal Drum Corps. There would be separate national competitions for each NCAA and DCI corps where the top 30 or so of each would meet for a joint competition-sort of like a Drum Corps Super Bowl.

In the Illinois Championship there could be really cool arguments between who will score better the super sophisticated Northern Illinois University Corps, or the mostly entertaining should have been 1977-1980 DCI Champion Phantom Regiment (I’m sorry but I cried four years in a row).

I even have a new scoring system that will be revealed in my next posting. It would challenge ol schoolers to realize that old school park and blow drum corps really wasn’t very challenging or visually interesting (1975 Scouts, why bother to WATCH the DVD and not just LISTEN to the CD). While have the post reverse z-pull era corps realize that modern corps is way too intellectual with drills that follow the slogan, “If you can’t dazzle (the spirits of former MM judges) with brilliance, baffle them with fast paced bs.

Freeze frame most fast paced drills and you could “write them off the M and M sheets” in a single picture. Yet, I’ve formulated some great drills for some of Drum Corps best concert numbers. As much as classic drum corps nuts hate fast paced drills, in 1993, my beloved Phantom did a much more interesting drill for their 1979 Into Concert number.

The long term vision of non collegiate Drum Corps should be to have at least a few corps in every metropolitan area comprised, by rule, of 75% of members no older than 18. The other 25% would be either collegiates from universities too small for a drum corps or not even collegiates.

From the finals in the joint DCI/NCAA Drum Corps Championship to the beginning of the DCI season the DCI corps would have to perform at 12 local events. Anything from the full corps performance at a local BOA competition to a small ensemble doing Christmas carols at the local mall. Those that didn’t couldn’t compete.

Each DCI Corps could figure out how to fulfill their performance requirement logistics regarding residency rules.

In addition to the public disconnect to Drum Corps occur as more preppies invaded a youth activity in the late 1980’s. There evolved an artistic disconnect with those ol schoolers with way too intellectual, cookie cutter drills that became the staple, initiated by Star, Cavs and Garfield. It’s a tragedy that when Star and their bizarre 1993’s Barber and Bartok “thing” didn’t end the intellectual era of Drum Corps. One would have thought Jim Mason would have been perceived as Dr. Frankenstein.

The History of Drum Corps by Steve Vickers volume I page 167 et seq. offers insight better than I can explaining how in 1993 entertainment disappeared from drum corps, replaced with programs you had to understand and be educated. As entertainment disappeared so did fans and PBS viewers who simply cried for a good old fashioned Rockford File or Civil War Depiction where the south wins, the Phantom disappearing or get tears hearing the best music ever or Spirit’s simply beautiful 1980 “Let It Be Me”. not the fast paced obsessed finale from the 2003 Spirit of Jacksonville State University.

Drum corps were artistically tortured in the pre-DCI Era with VFW and AL performance rules that apparently was the reason for Drum Corps greatest night-August 23, 1966 where The I.C. Reveries sit down inspired the 27th Lancers, North Star, SCV and indirectly others. Drum Corps and their Level 1 through Level 5 drill difficulty, has created the same type of requirement situations.

There is literally no difference in drill design from the reverse z-pull to the present. It’s like drum corps are competing in a figure skating short program like mentality with “required elements”. The next paragraph appears mandatory elements to be in World Class.

A rotating block. Small 360 degree pivots inside a parabola changing into a rectangle with the “small pivoters” joining the block. Four blocks forming one then rotating into a diamond then evolving into a company front to music that is to completely “undramatic.” There are “required elements” that have been endlessly repeated since Garfield beat the beautiful SCV’s beautiful rendition of Carmen in 1990.

Golden Era corps (1979-1989) had their own identities with drills and guard work that looked like a human thought what would fit the music. I would rather watch th 1987 Sky Riders or 1984 Garfield Cadets or 1981 Bridegemen West Side Story than the Amped up, way too fast and complicated 2009 Cadets.

It’s time that Drum Corps get over the VFW and AL rules and realize that if you drop a rifle, or crack a note, be out of step(or phase), are too close or too far, or out of line it should matter. Yet realize that there’s nothing wrong with a third valve(1987),picking up a rifle(1980) and performing asymmetrical drills (27th,1979).

Which seques to my scoring system for my next posting.

Steve Bayt

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I have a copy of the 1986 letter that George Bonfiglio wrote to the Two-Seven membership in which he indicated that DCI had evolved to the point where "money buys titles" - only corps that had deep sponsor pockets could compete successfully: ranking & seeding could be predicted by looking at spending budget at the start of the season.

The local corporate sponsor pledged to reimburse 1/2 of the 1985 operating budget but never did, leaving the Bonfiglio family responsible for paying almost $80,000. He indicated that -- since he could not generate more than $300,000, the exist debt load plus anticipated cost for safety-repair the buses meant the 27th Lancers would cease to exist as a competitive corps.

That's not at all what he had in mind when he helped found DCI for the 1972 season. (I was there in '71 and '72 when he openly shared his vision with us.)

Edited by Navillus WP
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I was in the Avant Garde their first year, and we made the top Twenty Five, which meant touring where DCI told us to tour the following year. When our corp Director notified the powers that be, that we could not afford to tour that year, he was told that if we did not tour then we could expect no help from DCI what so ever. None of us knew what that meant until that year. We had been scoring in the high 60's and low 70's the week prior to the DCI Prelims, but that day, although we thought we had done our best job of the year, we scored a 61. Money buys more then championships,, so you see this goes way beyond Mr. Hopkins. He should not be vilified for all of Drum Corp woes.

Edited by BariBrian
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I was in the Avant Garde their first year, and we made the top Twenty Five, which meant touring where DCI told us to tour the following year. When our corp Director notified the powers that be, that we could not afford to tour that year, he was told that if we did not tour then we could expect no help from DCI what so ever. None of us knew what that meant until that year. We had been scoring in the high 60's and low 70's the week prior to the DCI Prelims, but that day, although we thought we had done our best job of the year, we scored a 61. Money buys more then championships,, so you see this goes way beyond Mr. Hopkins. He should not be vilified for all of Drum Corp woes.

You are right. George is not responsible for the current, catastrophic condition the the DCI administration has, possibly unwittingly, led the activity into. Not George alone. There is more than enough culpability to go around. However, George is unquestionably THE prime mover. He is a drum corps guy. He grew up in the activity. And he is undoubtedly a thoughtful, intelligent, and persuasive advocate for what passes for "forward thinking" in DCI. He is very influential. And he is an astute businessman.

As I said; he IS a drum corps guy, not one of those "outsiders" whom the ol' skool people like to blame for "destroying" drum corps. So, I believe that he, and his coterie, have very carefully calculated each and every step they have made along a long planned out path toward the current situation. There is no doubt that the quality of today's drum corps is at an all time high. I count that as small consolation when weighed against the virtual destruction of the activity..

Under DCI's stewardship over 95% of the pre-DCI corps, many of whom were in existence for many decades, and who were very successful at the National level, were wiped out. Examples would include BSGK, NorwoodPark Imperials, Belleville BK, Audubon, St Kevins EK, 27, Des Plaines Vanguard, Sky Ryders, Argonne Rebels, Anaheim Kingmen, and many more. Others were reduced to relative competitive irrelevance by their inability to generate millions of dollars in operating costs. You all know who they are.

Drum corps today costs megabucks to operate. Every "refinement" DCI has put in place increases those costs. This is being done quite deliberately to keep out the "riff raff". This puzzles me greatly because, BITD, we were all riff raff.

Seriously; today's pitifully few corps generate millions of dollars annually. This we know. What we don't know quite so clearly is; where is all this money going? Even the richest corps are just glad to make their "nut" with a few bucks left over for the year ending banquet.. Someone is getting rich here! If it isn't the corps, then who? Well there are the instrument manufacturers, the uniform and equipment suppliers for sure. A good potion goes to the instructors, to the judges, and more of it goes to the DCI for staff salaries and office expenses, to the corps directors for their salaries and expenses. Unless these folks are living very high off the hog there should be a hell of a lot more unaccounted for. In any case, somebody is getting rich, and it sure as shootin' isn't the kids who pay a fortune to break their ##### for the privilege of marching in drum corps.

That's why things won't change. Somebody's getting rich here.

Edited by reallyoldfrt
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Here are Pages #1 and #2 of the May 1987 letter from George Bonfiglio to which I referred.

294377_2225721557621_1085234485_2603683_8006689_n.jpg291963_2226656580996_1085234485_2605239_2288564_n.jpg

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Here are Pages #1 and #2 of the May 1987 letter from George Bonfiglio to which I referred.

294377_2225721557621_1085234485_2603683_8006689_n.jpg291963_2226656580996_1085234485_2605239_2288564_n.jpg

All I read was, "We can't make enough money to be good blahblahblahblahblah..." It sounded great until it was stated that money and placement were PROVEN to be equated.

There is a reason some corps aren't here anymore.

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Before we jump to quick conclusions, keep in mind that the person who wrote this letter mentioned mortgaging his home to keep his corps alive. George Bonfiglio spent off season as a public school teacher. Most teachers I know struggle to pay a first mortgage, speak less of multiple mortgages where the funds are given to a non-profit organization.

27th would have had a difficult time raising the necessary funds to keep afloat at the time it disbanded. The economy was in rough shape nationally, the “Massachusetts Miracle” was not as spectacular as it was hyped to be, and many non-profits were in a similar bind. It happened to North Star a few years earlier and Boston Crusaders almost folded at the same time. Ironically, the end of 27th may have been what saved BAC. Many drum corps alums and fans mourned the loss of so many beloved corps and wanted to make sure at least one of the greats survived.

There may be good reasosn why some corps did not survive, but to me the loss of most corps is rather sad.

All I read was, "We can't make enough money to be good blahblahblahblahblah..." It sounded great until it was stated that money and placement were PROVEN to be equated.

There is a reason some corps aren't here anymore.

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