An Open Letter to DCI

[Martin I. Zing]

You know, I think this was the argument the Second Viennese School made for serialism. And I think the result of that argument is a general distaste by the general public for "contemporary music" that persists even to the present day. In other words, doing something new for the sake of doing something new had a profound effect on music, and one that was in many ways not positive. I'm cautioning DCI that they are headed down a similar path. Perhaps I'm wrong and they'll tap into a massive market for people who love synths more than brass and percussion and dance more than drill. But if they're wrong, it will be that much harder to recover.

It's like arguing that we should move track and field events forward by introducing motorized vehicles.

You are correct sir.

If you can't hum it. It don't sell.

If it don't sell. You don't make money.

If you don't make money. You don't eat.

If you don't eat. You die.

Well you know the rest.

[JulesBry]

but there is no denying the level of performance and the level of quality from top to bottom is at a level never seen before. There are simply more excellent corps out there than there has ever been, even when there were several times more corps and kids these days are doing things that genuinely push the level of human ability.

But, if that ain't enough for you... Godspeed.

You know, in many cases, you're correct. Unfortunately, no one can see or hear it because it's obscured by far too much frosting. Like a cupcake with six feet of icing.

I would love to cheer for kids pushing the envelope of human achievement, but I can't get past the poor design choices made by their respective staffs. Again, if DCI at least reflected differences of opinion by allowing judges to express those differences in terms of scoring, then I could live with that. But the uniform acceptance of what I see as the epitome of what has been wrong with drum corps for the past few years is more than I can bear.

Enjoy it while it lasts. I hope it can survive the loss of us "dinosaurs". But I really hope DCI will look for ways to allow for both innovation and tradition. The current situation is anything but that.

[danielray]

You are correct sir.

If you can't hum it. It don't sell.

If it don't sell. You don't make money.

If you don't make money. You don't eat.

If you don't eat. You die.

Well you know the rest.

Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon is tied for the second highest selling album in history.

Not exactly Call Me Maybe hummable.

Give humans more credit.

[Martin I. Zing]

You can nitpick about use of a few bits of frosting here and there (and I don't disagree that some use of sampling is a bit "kid with a new toy"... but I think that will work itself out in a season or two), but there is no denying the level of performance and the level of quality from top to bottom is at a level never seen before. There are simply more excellent corps out there than there has ever been, even when there were several times more corps and kids these days are doing things that genuinely push the level of human ability.

But, if that ain't enough for you... Godspeed.

If I can speak for myself and all the other dinosaurs paying thousands of dollars to follow and support dci . . .

what "ain't enough for (us)"

is that if each of us sitting in the stands tonight had one vote to cast for the winner, Carolina Crown would be fighting it out with as many as 4 or 5 other corps including the Madison Scouts, but the BD or Cavies would not be among them.

And that is what's WRONG.

[jmc5682]

Would you still be leaving the activity if BD was in 7th place? I wonder, How many of the top 12 shows do you enjoy?

[JulesBry]

Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon is tied for the second highest selling album in history.

Not exactly Call Me Maybe hummable.

Give humans more credit.

It's also markedly different from Schoenberg. Electronics and indecipherable themes are to Drum Corps what serialism and atonality was to Beethoven. They are radical departures from what had worked for a very long time. We now see a return to more traditional art music, but too many people refuse to give it a chance because they've been burned by bad music in between. The same cycle will happen to drum corps. I only hope that when it comes back around, there will still be fans in the stands to notice.

[danielray]

If I can speak for myself and all the other dinosaurs paying thousands of dollars to follow and support dci . . .

what "ain't enough for (us)"

is that if each of us sitting in the stands tonight had one vote to cast for the winner, Carolina Crown would be fighting it out with as many as 4 or 5 other corps including the Madison Scouts, but the BD or Cavies would not be among them.

And that is what's WRONG.

I don't really seem much wrong with the current performances of DCI corps at all. In fact, they are more incredible than ever.

The disconnect between the older generation and the current is pretty much the same disconnect between the current generation and those older as it is related to popular culture and preferences.

Each generation wants to innovate, make their own mark. The previous generation thought it was absolutely perfect in their day, wishes it to remain frozen in their ideal, completely ignoring the fact the that the generation that came before them felt exactly the same way about them.

Nothing new here, nothing unique to drum corps. Never-ending cycle.

Time marches on... and the point is to support the idea of that same rush of innovation, challenge, pushing of limits and boundaries that you had in your day with in the current generation.

Again, nothing wrong with anything at all. Not a big deal if it "ain't for you", as no one really expects it to be. That isn't the point.

[Fan of D.C.]

Some may call me a BD hater, if they asked what I thought of their 2010 production "Through the glass darkly". In fact there were very few shows through the 2000's that BD did that I liked. I understood why they won when they did, it was just the productions they choose to present were not my cup of tea. I came to realize it was not the Blue Devils I hated it was the material they were putting in front of me. I can go back to the 80's and 90's and I for the most part loved BD. After disliking their shows for so long I was expecting the same this year. However, I must admit this year they have made me a fan all over again, I just love it!

Art and music are diverse and just like any trip to a museum or art gallery we can ponder it, see what emotions it engages in us and move on to the next exhibit. We do not have to like all of it! Like what you want to like, love what you want to love, and hate what you want to hate. They are all valid emotions and you are entitled to them!

Edited August 11, 2012 by Fan of D.C.

[theCHEZman]

My gripe is certainly with the judging community. They encourage design that most people don't really dig. Cronyism certainly exists and has not improved with new system. Judges not evaluating the "now" but the corps season. Gaps open up between corps that although not impossible, are highly improbable. The TRUTH in judging just seems to be gone and that really contaminates the entire validity to competition.

[JulesBry]

Would you still be leaving the activity if BD was in 7th place? I wonder, How many of the top 12 shows do you enjoy?

If BD were tied with the Cavies, I doubt I would be leaving, because I would see it as a just reward for a poorly designed show. In fact, if they had finished even a few shows in seventh place, I wouldn't be leaving (yet), because I would see that there are people in DCI who share my opinion, and that would give me hope that things might turn around. As it is, I see the trends, and I don't care to see where things end up.

To answer your question, here are the shows that I most enjoyed this year in order of their current standing.

2 Carolina Crown 97.450

5 Santa Clara Vanguard 93.700

9 Madison Scouts 88.800

11 Spirit of Atlanta 85.650

12 Crossmen 84.900

15 The Academy 81.900

17 Colts 79.200

20 Jersey Surf 75.450

23 Mandarins 71.600

Notice that most of the shows I liked were panned by the judges. I don't debate that these corps' execution levels are not as high as the top tier corps, but I have to think that their more traditional programs may also play a role.

I went to a show where the Cavies followed the Colts. I remarked afterwards that the Cavies got a standing ovation because they're the Cavies (people stood up after the last note because it was protocol. The Colts got a standing ovation because people couldn't stay in their seats (people were standing and cheering well before the last note began, much less finished). This is the difference between the trend I see and trend I want to see. The latter is what will maintain and grow an audience.