stevie89phan Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Adding new fans to the fan base shouldn't mean we have to keep adding more things to Drum Corps i.e. woodwinds, vocals, electronics, etc. Electronics CAN add excitement to a program. IF it is done creatively it can add alot to the effectiveness of the overall show. But that doesn't mean EVERY show needs it. As far as woodwinds go there's just NO point. Being a fan now for over 20 yrs I am very excited over the new direction in show programming. And yes I AM for Drum Corps evolving. I LOVE that the visuals have gotten so complex and like body movement in alot of the shows SO no I'm not just an old fart who doesn't want ANY change. I think it DOES have alot to do with the accessibility of the MUSIC combined with the arrangements. When I was in band watching videos of the Corps from the 80s I was so impressed I wanted to go out and buy all the music I was hearing. Even if I didn't know what the music was, something about those performances made me want to learn about whatever musical or movie the piece was from. EVERY band kid in America should know about Drum Corps. I assumed that was a no brainer but certainly every band director should at least introduce their students to Drum Corps. Also, a big selling point for me was the fact that I would be travelling for the 1st time in my life on the road with a corp. That and the fact that there are so few Corps to join make DCI MUCH more competitive than band in my opinion. SO it HAS to start with band directors I believe. And maybe if we could reach PARENTS more directly to show them just how much of a life-lesson their kids would be getting if they marched. Parent/Instructor conferences? Is there currently such a thing? I know my dad wasn't sold until he saw how much like being in the military our rehearsal was. Also any FREE standstill performances in busy areas like shopping malls or shopping centers help alot. DO ANY CORPS PERFORM AT OUTDOOR ART FESTIVALS? Seems like that would be a good idea. Not sure if this helps at all but just my 2 cents. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Participation is a large factor when comparing current DCI vs proposed DCI. A summer tour with any D1 corps offers far more than even the best high school programs. So participation will increase as well as long term attendance. Obviously the 150 limit would change. Well, then, we could get more participants right now by raising the 150-member limit. No woodwinds required. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barigirl78 Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Well, then, we could get more participants right now by raising the 150-member limit. No woodwinds required. It makes much more sense to me to focus on having more drum corps than bigger drum corps. More drum corps means the opportunity to have more shows. More shows have the opportunity to attract more people and be visible in more communities. They should investigate ways to make it easier for drum corps to start and to survive financially. Limits on drum corps size and drum corps spending might help. (I reallze that's probably something the bigger, wealthier corps would never agree to) Currently, the corps spend money with scores in mind. The activity as a whole has to examine whether this money is well-spent from an income and ROI perspective. For instance, there probably wouldn't be any fewer people in the stands if there still weren't electronics. But, the electronics add yet another instrument that the corps have to buy and maintain and lug around. I hear the complaints of corps about the cost of running a corps, but I don't see anyone really examining that cost is worth it on a financial ROI. The spending of the bigger corps acts as a negative incentive to starting new corps. We're already seeing shows with a really low number of drum corps. All we need is a few more corps to fold and you'll have to reduce the number of shows. I know a lot of my thinking is different from the way DCI thinks, but I work in a business where financial ROI is crucial. No business adds to the cost of making their product unless they can make more money in return. Yet, drum corps add costs to what they do for no other ROI than the hope of an additional tenths of a point. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Agree with the above execpt where I don't understand finances..... Still trying to 'get' the reasoning that many here on DCP have that if it isn't full sized and/or near the top it isn't worth to watch. We'll never be able to go back to the day when it was cheap enough and enough warm bodies showed up to have local corps on the field. But that doesn't mean the opposite extreme is what DCI and we should be shooting for. Still surprised that OC in DCI has nothing to do with number of members and some of them are at max or trying for it. It's like DCI has said they don't want to consider smaller corps in their part of the activity. <Not posting thoughts on DCA Class A and entertainment.> Let's face it only new corps coming out will be smaller sized to start. Need more corps to be able to have more shows and more of a presence "out there". Not working with biggest and best only mentality. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 It makes much more sense to me to focus on having more drum corps than bigger drum corps. More drum corps means the opportunity to have more shows. More shows have the opportunity to attract more people and be visible in more communities. They should investigate ways to make it easier for drum corps to start and to survive financially. I nominate barigirl78 for a spot on the DCI board. Limits on drum corps size and drum corps spending might help. (I reallze that's probably something the bigger, wealthier corps would never agree to) We do have a limit on corps size, and that should stay in place. (I only brought that up earlier to show where Shadowtron's logic would lead.) However, I don't see how we could reasonably try to limit what all corps spend, as they raise a significant portion of that money themselves via dues, donations, souvenir sales and external fundraisers. We're already seeing shows with a really low number of drum corps. All we need is a few more corps to fold and you'll have to reduce the number of shows. That is what was happening in past years. I know a lot of my thinking is different from the way DCI thinks, but I work in a business where financial ROI is crucial. No business adds to the cost of making their product unless they can make more money in return. Yet, drum corps add costs to what they do for no other ROI than the hope of an additional tenths of a point. That's one of the things that made the phenomenon of drum corps possible....in the earlier half of it's history, drum corps was particularly adept at doing big things on small budgets. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corbin Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 This is a complex issue with many sides that need to be examined. For me, the issue is entertainment. I thought last year was more entertaining years DCI has seen in many of the last several. This year has been awful for me, as a former member of a corps and as a contemporary fan. I have seen very few shows by which I have been entertained. There are corps that are doing amazing things, no doubt. The question is, however, if they are entertaining? I say, for the most part, no. I don't pay money to see corps roll around on a football field and dance or play a lot of notes simply because they can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 (edited) This is a complex issue with many sides that need to be examined. For me, the issue is entertainment. I thought last year was more entertaining years DCI has seen in many of the last several. This year has been awful for me, as a former member of a corps and as a contemporary fan. I have seen very few shows by which I have been entertained. There are corps that are doing amazing things, no doubt. The question is, however, if they are entertaining? I say, for the most part, no. I don't pay money to see corps roll around on a football field and dance or play a lot of notes simply because they can. yet many are entertained by dancing and rolling around. It may not be your kind of entertainment BUT thats what makes this activity totally subjective. Youre right though , it is a very complex issue , mainly because no matter whats done many will never be pleased or think they know a better way. Always been that way Edited June 30, 2012 by GUARDLING 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 I nominate barigirl78 for a spot on the DCI board. We do have a limit on corps size, and that should stay in place. (I only brought that up earlier to show where Shadowtron's logic would lead.) However, I don't see how we could reasonably try to limit what all corps spend, as they raise a significant portion of that money themselves via dues, donations, souvenir sales and external fundraisers. That is what was happening in past years. That's one of the things that made the phenomenon of drum corps possible....in the earlier half of it's history, drum corps was particularly adept at doing big things on small budgets. we did things on small budgets because thing were alot cheaper BITD.....try getting any school or facilty to give you a space without spending a fortune.....many schools cant even get it and its theirs....what we may have done in the past can not be compared to now in any way shape or form. I taught , marched , directed back then as a newbie instructor and still do so I can see all this 1st hand ( the challenge ) its amazing our small niche of an activity even exsists today............so many other things far bigger than drum corps have gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 dont doubt you at all BUT I can tell you I can say the same when the pit was formed, or guards stop having an american flag section ( many ) people leaving not liking one thing or another has happened long before now , the issue is there is less replacing them those changes were far less polarizing...DCI was getting larger crowds even after the changes than they are now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 those changes were far less polarizing...DCI was getting larger crowds even after the changes than they are now. Yes but there was alot more people interested in the activity then so I believe the impact SEEMED less. Yes DCI got larger crowds and on the other end lost also...its all relative Lost people now....noticeable Lost people then....not so much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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