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An Open Letter to JulesBry and to those


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I'm not going to comment on your letter, Kevin. It is how you feel and I'm in no position to say anything else about it. Just keep your eyes open and be willing to admit that you were understandably premature in your decision.

BTW, say Hi to Kevin Kimes when you see him at MBI. His father was my band director in high school.

If it comes time that I'm wrong, I'll come back and publicly apologize for jumping the gun on this, I guess we'll see. And yeah will do, going to watch the upcoming DCA finals. Hoping to head back to MBI next year, I miss being on the field.

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Remember everyone: garfield is a show organizer who knows staff in lots of corps and is connected officially to DCI. So I wouldn't be surprised if he has the inside track on some new announcement.

Also consider the announcement that DCI, DCA, WGI, and BOA folks were meeting to discuss possible "synergies" in Indy this year, and all of the suggestions that have been discussed here over this season.

DCI + DCA merger? Regional tours? Restructure of DCI classes? G7 finally departing? Better DCI support and coordination for show sponsors?

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Can't wait for the news

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Remember everyone: garfield is a show organizer who knows staff in lots of corps and is connected officially to DCI. So I wouldn't be surprised if he has the inside track on some new announcement.

Perhaps, but he needs to be a little less coy. There are announcements every year. Without being up front he can claim that any one of them was what he was thinking all along. Personally I have been through too many rumour mills and hype threads to take anything seriously if there's no willingness to cite the source.

Also consider the announcement that DCI, DCA, WGI, and BOA folks were meeting to discuss possible "synergies" in Indy this year, and all of the suggestions that have been discussed here over this season.

DCI + DCA merger? Regional tours? Restructure of DCI classes? G7 finally departing? Better DCI support and coordination for show sponsors?

I would be in favour of any or all - but especially the regional idea.

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Remember everyone: garfield is a show organizer who knows staff in lots of corps and is connected officially to DCI. So I wouldn't be surprised if he has the inside track on some new announcement.

Also consider the announcement that DCI, DCA, WGI, and BOA folks were meeting to discuss possible "synergies" in Indy this year, and all of the suggestions that have been discussed here over this season.

DCI + DCA merger? Regional tours? Restructure of DCI classes? G7 finally departing? Better DCI support and coordination for show sponsors?

LOL! If I were searching for ego-stroking this would suffice, but let's be real here. I'm not "connected officially" to DCI (Mike Boo has that title here). And I'm not on the "inside track". While the rest is true, I'm really only a guy who is anxious for the animosity that almost ripped apart the activity 2 years ago to end, and for the calm heads who ARE on the inside track to hold hands, sing kumbaya, and work towards keeping the activity vital, growing, and important. To that end I'm more optimistic than I have been in a long time.

And Grandpa, while I don't do coy, I do accept that, at times, it's best to say less than more so the people who have real impact can get their work done to save activity without the distraction of outside interference. There are new sherrifs in town and their solutions are little like what we've had in the past.

As is in my OP, those like JulesBry who won't be back next season are cutting off their proverbial noses.

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And Grandpa, while I don't do coy, I do accept that, at times, it's best to say less than more so the people who have real impact can get their work done to save activity without the distraction of outside interference. There are new sherrifs in town and their solutions are little like what we've had in the past.

I hope this is true. I really do hope it's true.

But at a certain age, when you've been led down the garden path once too often, you don't take anything at someone's say-so. A few details would help your case.

But again - I hope so.

Edited by Grandpa
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I'll believe it when I see it. And perhaps I'll see it if and when I remember to check in in a year or two. If things have changed for the better, I can always catch up on the Fan Network. If not, I'll have saved a ton of money.

I've always said that I hope things get turned around, and even if they don't that drum corps sticks around for the kids who enjoy and need it. I just don't know what else to do to make my point.

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I'll believe it when I see it. And perhaps I'll see it if and when I remember to check in in a year or two. If things have changed for the better, I can always catch up on the Fan Network. If not, I'll have saved a ton of money.

I've always said that I hope things get turned around, and even if they don't that drum corps sticks around for the kids who enjoy and need it. I just don't know what else to do to make my point.

The greatest impact you can make is with your dollar - either spending it or keeping it in your wallet.

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OK, this is most intriguing, to be sure, but...

When I read the beginnings of the Open Letter to DCI, I was preparing to head out to my 27th consecutive finals. My first reaction was that I feel sorry for JulesBry. Really sorry, because your timing is horrible.

Now that I've arrived back home, completely saturated with drum corps, I see that the JulesBry's thoughts are shared by 40+ people who took the time to green+ the letter's point. I presume that those 40+ people are now gone from drum corps. So what, I say. Big deal. You all have terrible timing.

1) You misunderstand at least some of those green-plussers. Having read Jules' thread just this evening, before having a look at yours), I up-voted it for eloquently expressing some of the same concerns I share about the design of today's shows, without either agreeing in total or planning to end my spectatorship. (In fact, I bought some souvenirs for the first time this year: shirts from Legends, SCVC, and Boston.)

2) You indicate later in this thread that the changes you darkly prophesy concern business rather than artistic matters, so it's not clear that they will help Jules out of this predicament.

3) How on earth could Jules and those supporting that thread be expected to know what you know?

That is to say:

Any serious fan of the activity who's been watching realizes that DCI is, structurally, at one of its lowest points in history. It is usually these times when significant change happens, usually instigated by the most serious thinkers and doers of the activity. This is the bottom, not the top, of the direction DCI's future holds.

Great! But what most strikes me about your post is the acknowledgment that things are indeed in trouble! This is not so far from Jules' thread, really -- tempered only by your special knowledge that this moment in time is the bottom of a curve (please let it be so) and not just a point on the further descent in to the abyss. What you say "usually" applies (in some fields) need not apply here. I daresay that most of humankind's institutions and creations have died and been lost, despite the claims of some along the way that better things were just around the corner.

I hope you are correct and I'm grateful for your hint of optimism, but I wonder if it might have been offered sooner, to forestall the departures of people who really do want to enjoy drum corps. Is the "terrible timing" theirs?

Edited by N.E. Brigand
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More ideas on what this could be:

* A subset of corps will soon be announcing a no-synths coalition.

* A billion-dollar federal arts grant will fund the startup and ten years of operation for two new corps in every state in addition to subsidizing existing corps.

* A massive deal between DCI and Viacom, who has agreed to a 10 year plan of broadcasting all competitions live in HD on the MTV family of networks, adding audience voting, celebrity judges, a spring reality show featuring aspiring members trying out for their favorite corps, a summer reality show following a different corps each summer, and a fall/winter reality show covering the show design process, advertising will be required on all corps uniforms, and The Cadets have committed to do 10-year 10-show Spongebob Squarepants epic cycle.

Edited by skywhopper
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