legacy Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 What we are seeing is the beginning of the dismal tide of financial failure... DCI really does nothing to protect these smaller corps in world and open and its going to bite the whole activity in the ###, but from how i see dci acting they arent really sad snout this in the least. When i marched div III in the late 90's they didnt care about us eithier.. In fact when corps folded in the north and tried to come back to have dci sanction them they wouldnt return calls or emails snd corps couldnt compete. It is not dcis priority and its actions speak that loudly. Smaller corps should compete in dca.. it seems poised to bring back the local circuits given the membership of more corps in the south and west... plus dca encourages a more entaertaining product and really is more positive then the dci experience onecwould get itvopen class with certain competitive levels. Just a thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGTech Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Forte is the FOURTH corps this year that couldn't make it to Indy. Teal Sound Racine Scouts Forte Velvet Knights Also, this corps could not make it member-wise to tour this year: Citations. Another poster made mention of people watching corps in the lot and not seeing the smaller groups. We NEED to support the little guys that struggle every year. We are each responsible in a small, indirect way for not helping these guys out. I say we start a massive fund-raising drive to help get the corps back on their feet by donating to them. It seems that corporate structure is not an issue, but money is. It's time for us as a community to band together and help those corps that need it the most, particularly the ones mentioned above. I'd like to see all of them on the field, IN INDY again in 3 years, tops. I think we on DCP can make that happen. In my view the best way to have OC groups and smaller WC groups thrive is to have them leave DCI altogether and create their own circuit. I don't say that without pause, but I do believe it is the only way for these groups to survive. DCI, for better or worse, is run in a manner that best suits the G7/G8 groups. The emphasis on national tours and large venues puts the smaller groups at a disadvantage. They simply don't thrive in that environment. Making matters worse is that the controlling parties of DCI don't think the very system they have devised is sustainable for all but the G7/G8. Why do the smaller groups stay in DCI when they know that doing so is a slow and certain death? Because there is nowhere else for them to go. The tragic thing about DCI is that although they attempt to cater to the G7/G8, eventually the G7/G8 is going to leave anyway. The only reason they would not leave is if they become the only ones left in the organization. If DCI is lucky the G7/G8 will leave soon so that DCI can then take the remaining groups and restructure in manner that doesn't bankrupt and kill off the whole system. If DCP is to band together and help the best thing we could do is put together regional show circuits with enough shows to make the DCP circuit an attractive option for the smaller groups. It would be best to do this while there are still enough of the smaller groups around to make a new circuit viable. With a good critical mass of existing groups it would be hoped that a new circuit could then attract the formation of new groups. We can all argue about the structure of a new circuit later. -kg 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyboy Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 After watching this I cleaned the house, washed the windows, mowed the lawn and paid all the bills for Aug. I'm gonna watch it again and start a new drum corps. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 After watching this I cleaned the house, washed the windows, mowed the lawn and paid all the bills for Aug. I'm gonna watch it again and start a new drum corps. Call is Eclipse, and run clinic camps with free parking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 OC needs to not run their own tour. it doesn't hit major markets, and it isn't promoted. Why? because OC has little say at the table. DCI is the WC corps. it's time to, if keeping them seperate, including them in more events with WC corps, or just combine it into one, but have the regional tour option available. Yes, many OC corps could do a better job marketing themselves. But DCI could help too. How many members currently in WC corps have OC experience? Enough that DCI should recoginze the importance of keeping it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 OC needs to not run their own tour. it doesn't hit major markets, and it isn't promoted. Why? because OC has little say at the table. DCI is the WC corps. it's time to, if keeping them seperate, including them in more events with WC corps, or just combine it into one, but have the regional tour option available. Yes, many OC corps could do a better job marketing themselves. But DCI could help too. How many members currently in WC corps have OC experience? Enough that DCI should recoginze the importance of keeping it I do! Two years worth, and wouldn't trade it at all. But I understand exactly what your'e saying. There are lots of shows with World Class corps, and maybe one or two Open Class corps. But the actual Open Class tour has really kicked off in the last week, and those shows were and are always really tiny. I think Open Class is the closest that DCI has to the old school community drum corps, they really should do everything possible to preserve it. I know when I first started auditioning, I was 16, and not really old enough, talented enough, or mature enough to handle a World Class tour, but Open Class was perfect for kids my age, and helped train all of us to be the best we could be, and get ready to some day move up to the World Class level. It's such a great teaching tool, and I know that there are many people who spend their entire drum corps career in Open Class corps, and couldn't be happier. I know the corps I was with had an age-out in 2007 that had been with the corps since 2001 or 2002. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 (edited) I believe that one serious issue facing Open Class Corps is lack of opportunity for local competitions due to fewer corps which may be why Open Class corps can have issues with recruitment. The national contenders have always toured. When I was growing up, we didn't see 27th Lancers, Boston Crusaders, or North Star after July 1st except when the DCI tour was in Boston. We'd see them again after DCI. While 27th, BAC, and North Star were touring, there were all kinds of local shows going on, and the corps everyone loved were the corps who had less extensive tours and competed at DCI in what was then Class A. "Drum corps nuts" as fans were sometimes called attended the great national shows in Boston: CYO Nationals and World Open, but also attended circuits shows. Both DCI shows and local shows contributed to the overall drum corps experience. Today there are about as many Open Class corps as World Class corps, and competing means traveling a great distance. For a smaller corps, this is next to impossible. Until there are more local opportunities for competition, Open Class corps have a choice of extensive fundraising to compete, or have fewer competitions which means a loss of interest among members. Now, for fans who leave when Open Class corps perform or fail to attend shows, a few weeks back I was supposed to go to an Open Class show in Manchester, NH, but something happened at the last minute and I was unable to attend. Two of the corps I missed (7th Regiment and Spartans) have been neck in neck this season, are heated rivals, and usually give all they have--in other words I missed great drum corps action. So support the major players--we love them and need them, but ignore Open Class and it may be at your own peril! Edited July 26, 2012 by Tim K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustyboo Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 Forte is the FOURTH corps this year that couldn't make it to Indy. Teal Sound Racine Scouts Forte Velvet Knights Also, this corps could not make it member-wise to tour this year: Citations. Another poster made mention of people watching corps in the lot and not seeing the smaller groups. We NEED to support the little guys that struggle every year. We are each responsible in a small, indirect way for not helping these guys out. I say we start a massive fund-raising drive to help get the corps back on their feet by donating to them. It seems that corporate structure is not an issue, but money is. It's time for us as a community to band together and help those corps that need it the most, particularly the ones mentioned above. I'd like to see all of them on the field, IN INDY again in 3 years, tops. I think we on DCP can make that happen. But wait, electronics are going to save DCI! That is what we were told a few years ago. There will be more kids and fans than DCI will know what to do with. How about corps go back to being corps as the first step. I know a lot of people and money that has left the activity in the last 4-5 seasons due to the electronic issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 I do! Two years worth, and wouldn't trade it at all. But I understand exactly what your'e saying. There are lots of shows with World Class corps, and maybe one or two Open Class corps. But the actual Open Class tour has really kicked off in the last week, and those shows were and are always really tiny. I think Open Class is the closest that DCI has to the old school community drum corps, they really should do everything possible to preserve it. I know when I first started auditioning, I was 16, and not really old enough, talented enough, or mature enough to handle a World Class tour, but Open Class was perfect for kids my age, and helped train all of us to be the best we could be, and get ready to some day move up to the World Class level. It's such a great teaching tool, and I know that there are many people who spend their entire drum corps career in Open Class corps, and couldn't be happier. I know the corps I was with had an age-out in 2007 that had been with the corps since 2001 or 2002. exactly. but that doesn't fit the G7's plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted July 26, 2012 Share Posted July 26, 2012 exactly. but that doesn't fit the G7's plans. Oh, yeah. Forgot to mention, I marched Open Class and a G7 corps. So they still let us little kids from Open Class in, so they're not trying to kill them all off. It's still a very important recruitment tool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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