Carolina09Spirit Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I still say, like I did in my last post, improve show locations. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skywhopper Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I still say, like I did in my last post, improve show locations. This, OR, if you are going to have a show in a tiny, cramped high school stadium, don't charge $30-40 for decent tickets. And unless you're selling out every year, the seats outside the 30s ought to cost like $5. Fill the stands and you'll generate more demand for next year's good seats. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolina09Spirit Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Bring back the "regional tours." I remember one year, the shows swept through the Southeast. It last only about a week, but that was plenty of enough time for the fans down here to get a chance at catching a show. Now, we're lucky to drive 3 hours to see one. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 This, OR, if you are going to have a show in a tiny, cramped high school stadium, don't charge $30-40 for decent tickets. I think this is set up by the show sponsor, not DCI. They need to cover their costs, plus make some $$$ for their organization. if it is being hosted by the Cramped HS Band Boosters, for instance, the location of the show is pretty much a done deal...and unless they can make a few $$$ for the band program, what would be the point of hosting a show, with all the work it entails...and the risk of bad weather costing them a great deal of $$$. And unless you're selling out every year, the seats outside the 30s ought to cost like $5. Fill the stands and you'll generate more demand for next year's good seats. Again, covering the nut of hosting the show often dictates the revenue they need to bring in. Ticket sales had better not be the only thing they have going for them, but it is part of the pie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlamMan Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Drum Corps need to return to recruiting the majority of their members locally. Recruit local kids instead of college music majors. It would also be nice if corps actually practiced in their home city. Not doing so hurts local recruiting & fundraising efforts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Drum Corps need to return to recruiting the majority of their members locally. Recruit local kids instead of college music majors. It would also be nice if corps actually practiced in their home city. Not doing so hurts local recruiting & fundraising efforts. how do you do this...communitities used t support alot of things BITD and dont now...churches support, vfw or legions are all but gone, schools cant even use their own facilities. Dont get me wrong it was great BITD...weekday rehearsal....10 min to practice...friends you went to school with you marched with.........I also miss 50cents for gas.......different world 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkjazzaxe Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I think the shows themselves could be more entertaining (speaking about the actual "event" production, not the corps shows). Most the shows I have attended recently have been pretty bland, no "pro" touches that create the vibe of a professionally produced event. Attend any minor league baseball/hockey/etc game and check out all the action that makes it a real show. Drum corps shows used to have each corps trooping the stands after their performance, now most just march off to a tap- boring! Too much silence/dead space between corps. Give the show more of a competitive vibe- people love competition. I remember hearing "on the starting line..." and I always thought it sounded so cool. I think drum corps needs to play on the raw power/competitive nature more to capture the general publics attention. Melt peoples faces with power, move at blistering speeds, toss stuff way up in the air... in the end that is what drum corps does better than anything else and what it's hook is. Get back to "Summer Music Games" and market the music-as-sport elements. The more it becomes a big summer marching band, the less of a niche it has. The more the power and precision is lost for the "high art" aspects, the more the general public looses interest. The general public doesn't really care to see a bunch of people prancing around playing pianisimo amidst an overly complex plot, give them more in-your-face drum corps! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlamMan Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I couldn't of said it any better. Prancing I think the shows themselves could be more entertaining (speaking about the actual "event" production, not the corps shows). Most the shows I have attended recently have been pretty bland, no "pro" touches that create the vibe of a professionally produced event. Attend any minor league baseball/hockey/etc game and check out all the action that makes it a real show. Drum corps shows used to have each corps trooping the stands after their performance, now most just march off to a tap- boring! Too much silence/dead space between corps. Give the show more of a competitive vibe- people love competition. I remember hearing "on the starting line..." and I always thought it sounded so cool. I think drum corps needs to play on the raw power/competitive nature more to capture the general publics attention. Melt peoples faces with power, move at blistering speeds, toss stuff way up in the air... in the end that is what drum corps does better than anything else and what it's hook is. Get back to "Summer Music Games" and market the music-as-sport elements. The more it becomes a big summer marching band, the less of a niche it has. The more the power and precision is lost for the "high art" aspects, the more the general public looses interest. The general public doesn't really care to see a bunch of people prancing around playing pianisimo amidst an overly complex plot, give them more in-your-face drum corps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I couldn't of said it any better. Prancing HMMMM I remember marching instructors actually teaching " PRANCING " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funkjazzaxe Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I marched in the 90's, I did my fair share of prancing too hahaha... my point is that drum corps is a unique thing, and the elements that make it unique and entertaining (in my opinion, of course) are the blend of sport and art- the raw power and sound, the velocity and precision. Those things are universally entertaining to pretty much everyone. I am all for the "art", but I think it is the raw "sport" that seperates it from marching band and creates a hook for the general paying public. Add in flutes, pop singers, etc and scrap all the power for "creative movement" and you've lost everything that makes drum corps bad ### and awesome to people on the street. Back when I marched in the 90's we did the early season on the DCM tour- smaller more accessible shows. Perhaps a smaller regional tour model would be better, one or two headliners and one or two small corps- keep ticket prices down. Current ticket prices are very expensive, for my family of four to attend the Louisville show it was $100 for the cheap seats. Count on gas/food/etc and you are easily looking at over $150... yikes! The entertainment value and "production" of the event had better be GREAT for that kind of money, especially to capture the general publics hard earned dollars. For that money I want trooping the stands, I want full retreats, I want sound/action/fun to make the event a true professional production and different from a high school band show, which is basically how the event "feels" if that makes any sense... I served recently on the board of directors of a world class corps, and we ran (past tense) an annual drum corps show. Even with good attendance we were lucky to break even. Stadium rental/DCI fees/etc are really steep. Most the audience were people with marching music ties- high school band kids, corps alums/parents, etc. With corps arriving in the middle of the night, rehearsing during the day, and not appearing to the general public until showtime there was never an opportunity for any exposure to the public. Take away retreat, trooping stands with cadences, etc and the audience basically sees each corps a whopping 15 minutes at most. It is tough to build an audience that way. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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