Another open letter to DCI.

[nysader]

I said it in 1972, DCI sucks and it still sucks in 2012! Yet I still go. It made me think, I guess I suck too! Best shows,Phantom and BAC. Happy Xmen made top 12 again. Nuff said.

[MikeD]

Thanks for giving the benefit of the doubt. Others would not have been so kind.

A lot depends on what you mean by "best". As I've said before, if a corps chooses the theme "random", writes music and drill using random number generators, and then plays and marches exactly what was written on the page, do they deserve to win? They would have done the hardest thing ever put on the field, but it would look "random" and sound "random". That would mean they had accomplished their general effect. And if any judge questioned them about it, they would be sure to explain what they were going for, and the judge would "have" to give them high marks because they executed what was on the sheet.

Replace random with any concept you want. It doesn't matter if the concept is good or bad, only that the corps marches and plays what they said they were going to. And then we call it art. But no one can say, "This isn't art. It's trash." If they do, the corps "explains" it to them, and then they suddenly change their mind. It all seems rather fake to me.

Not at the far end of the spectrum as you postulated...but at critique staffs usually try and convince judges that whatever happened on the field is exactly what they wanted to have happen..."Sure, Mr Judge...that large circle we formed was supposed to have the left side flattened, with different intervals between the members." Next day... "Sure, Mr Judge...that large circle we formed was supposed to have the right side flattened, with different intervals between the members."

"Yes, we wanted that one 3rd baritone to hang over past the rest of the horn line's release...it adds angst to the phrase." Tomorrow, same phrase: "Yes, we wanted that one trumpet to hang over past the rest of the horn line's release...it gives us that Maynard effect we were going for with the phrase. Yes, I know he was only playing a 3rd space 'C'".

At annual circuit meetings (band and/corps) we would have those sorts of "outer limits" examples all the time. They generated lots of smoks, but very litle flame.

Aas long as there are criteria agreed to by all corps being used in the evaluation, I think the judges can figure out who performs the 'best'.

Perhaps this is the problem, then. If you don't "get it" just by seeing what's on the field (like the fans do), then you shouldn't give them high marks for general effect. If it has to be explained to you, then I don't think it's a good design. Maybe the "critique" should be from the judges without reply from the staff. Maybe we need more judges to get more opinions involved.

Maybe we need to change the name of the "General Effect" captions. Because that implies that the judge is judging whether or not the general effect is positive or negative. In other words, does the show "work"? To me, that sounds exceptionally subjective. And if DCI is art, then it should be subjective at some level. I don't have a problem with that being reflected in the scores. Perhaps others do.

At this level of competition, I have no issue with the judges learning about the shows during the season. I want the best and most experienced to be on the hook at champs time, with as much knowledge as they can get so they can form as accurate an opinion as possible. The evidence that it tends to work, to me, is that there doesn't seem to be all that much furor over the bulk of placements in general over time.

[MikeD]

Not necessarily. Here's what I propose as a compromise:

1. Make all non-acoustic instruments illegal, but continue to allow acoustic instruments to be amplified if desired. Create a place on the sheets for each music judge to judge balance of all amplified instruments related to their area (if the amp covers up the horn line, the brass judge comments, if it covers the percussion, the percussion judge comments, etc.)

I just do not see the need for anything special like that...balance is balance. It is already on the sheets in the ensemble area, which is the only place balance can be judged (not by the individual field level brass/percussion judges). If it is not being administered properly by the judges...then they need to be trained better...but it is up to the corps to make that determination during the winter meetings. If the majority of the corps think things are OK, then that's the way it is. I have not heard DCI tapes, so I don't know what is being said, but in the band world, as a judge I have made note of A&E balance issues many times over the 30+ years I have judged.

For the record, I disagree with your first phrase...

3. Involve fans in some way. Whether that is having them judge an element of the show (general effect?) as part (even a small part) of the overall score, creating a people's choice award, or creating a panel/focus group to have them give input to both DCI and the member corps along the way, give them a voice in the process.

A People's Choice award is fine...but I'd not want that kind of thing to impact the actual score.

How many fans would those three things alienate? Do you honestly think that people will leave because the corps aren't using synthesizers any more? Do people really go to shows just to hear pre-recorded music?

No, but those things help make the shows desirable to lots of people (not you and some here, obviously). I doubt very many people go to hear the orchestra bells...let's eliminate that too.

[barigirl78]

A People's Choice award is fine...but I'd not want that kind of thing to impact the actual score.

I've attended the Tribeca Film Festival and learned that film festivals have a fairly low tech way of deciding the "Audience Award". When you go to a film, they give you a piece of paper with a 5-point scale. You put a tear in the paper that indicates how you feel about the movie. They collect the paper as you exit the theater. The movie with the highest average score at the end of the festival wins the Audience Award.

Not surprisingly, they are often totally different films than what wins based on the judges panel.

I also think it would be interesting if DCI released the DVD's on an ala carte basis--one corps at a time. It would be interesting to see which corps performance sell better than others. NBC's The Voice uses iTunes sales as part of their voting.

I'm not suggesting this is for a reward or anything, but it would be interesting.

[Jeff Ream]

I understand a couple of the points you made and why you made them, but I don't think that the activity is dead or on the downward spiral by any stretch. That being said, you do not speak for the majority.

I am sick and tired of DCP whiners. Those of you who whine and say you are leaving are the #### problem to begin with. Believe it or not, DCI is not gonna just fold because you decided to leave.

Are there opportunities to improve? Absolutely. However, coming on DCP and telling everyone you are walking away doesn't show wisdom, it shows cowardess. It is time for the OP and anyone else who will decide to pontificate there way out of the activity needs to start offering solutions, get engaged and volunteer their time, talents and strengths to the activty to invoke the change they feel is warranted.

yes, silently sit there and just go away.

great way to keep a business alive.

[Jeff Ream]

I think you misunderstood what I was saying, and I could have been more clear. I am not saying Drum Corps is not entertaining. I find it very entertaining, and have for a long time. I am saying that my support for the activity doesn't depend on how loud the crowd is screaming at the end of the show. Do I love every show I see? Of course not. I was not a fan of The Cadets show at all this year. If the trend was for corps to start doing cheesy shows that seem to cater to young children, then I would probably not be that excited. But there aren't several corps doing what The Cadets did this year, just like there are not several corps doing what the Blue Devils did this year. I happened to love BD's show this year, but I have never been a big BD fan. I find their 2010 show much more incomprehensible than this year's show. I think they accomplished this year what they were trying to do in 2010, but fell short. While I haven't seen every BD show over the last 20+ years, I can't remember any that I really liked before this year. I am not a big fan of the type of music they usually select. But, even though I am not normally entertained by BD, I am not going to rant about "the general direction" of the activity and how DCI has lost its way. And why not? Because they decisions of one or two corps are a minor annoyance compared to the value that is provided the corps participants that depend on the support of people like you and me. Entertainment is a very important part of drum corps, but not important enough that I am going to withdraw my support because I find a couple shows a year cringe-inducing or boring.

I guess my point, boiled down, is that there are more things to consider here than just personal entertainment. Entertainment should certainly be considered, but the impact that leaving the activity will have on others (particularly the marching members) is also something that should be considered when deciding that you are going quit on DCI.

i am glad you find it entertaining...however, it seems more and more people aren't. However, those people do want to be loud at the end of the show, not feel like they aren't educated if they don;'t get it, and as such, they may be slowing down their spending on the product.

Birth of my daughter aside, this is the least Ihave spent on DCI since 1990. The only show I saw live was East. I didn't go to the theaterfor quarters. I got the cheapest version of the fan network possible to be able to watch live feeds.

Not due to cost. Even after last year, i felt that it may have been a one off in terms of more "entertainment" top to bottom, and it seems i was right.

See you mistakenly think entertaining has to be dumbed down and full of cheese. I suggest you go study many of the wildly popular shows of DCI's past, and you will see shows that had babies tossed from the upper deck without needing to be dumbed down not full of cheese.

My favorite DCI show of all time is 1992 Crossmen, Songs for Planet Earth ( part 1 of 4 ). So much to look for intellectually in that show, not one of the pieces of music had ever been on a drum corps field before, yet it had moments that had people go ####### nuts for it....and it was the 6th place corps!

personal entertainment for the prices DCI si charging is a HUGE factor that needs to be taken into consideration my friend. Drum corps is a business that sells a product, and if the product is not entertaining the masses, the money will dry up.

[JulesBry]

I know I've committed to trying to be more open minded, but I have to say I like 1 and 2.

3 - puts home field advantage at an all time high. If I'm in the stands, SCV wins, no matter what. That ain't good.....

Then let's at least make it a people's choice award. Imagine if a visiting corps wins a crowd award over the hometown corps. It would be a rare occurrence, but that might mean more to certain corps than a DCI championship.

And while you're being more open-minded, you might consider voting for someone other than SCV.

[JulesBry]

I just do not see the need for anything special like that...balance is balance.

Except that it seems to be judged sporadically. I've not seen the sheets, so I can't say for sure, but if the balance is so bad (as in the case of some Cavies shows this year) as to make the show unbearable for a large part of the audience, that should be grounds for a last place finish. Imagine if the percussion were so loud throughout a show that no one could hear the brass. How would that affect scoring? My thinking is, if you're going to use electronics, you had better use them flawlessly--especially if they're being run by a non-youth participant (which also gets under my skin).

No, but those things help make the shows desirable to lots of people (not you and some here, obviously). I doubt very many people go to hear the orchestra bells...let's eliminate that too.

So it's better to include things that almost no one would miss at the expense of losing certain fans than to eliminate something that almost no one would miss to keep more fans? Is that the trade-off that is best for DCI's future? To me, that makes absolutely no sense. I say plug the hole and fill the bucket faster.

[Grandpa]

Then let's at least make it a people's choice award. Imagine if a visiting corps wins a crowd award over the hometown corps. It would be a rare occurrence, but that might mean more to certain corps than a DCI championship.

I could see that - but I don't think it should factor into the GE score.

And while you're being more open-minded, you might consider voting for someone other than SCV.

There are some lines that my open mindedness cannot cross! It's always all about Vanguard!

[FlamMan]

Ok...lets be honest...when has anyone ever heard a fan in the stands say that they love the narration or amplification? Has anyone ever said this or heard someone else say this?

One thing that absolutely must change is the way corps are introduced & the whole pre show warm up & show beginning. This entire process is disjointed & confusing. The announcers are even confused at times. The corps takes the field & is announced, then they start their pre show warm up, then the announcer announces the corps again...the whole thing is odd & people don't really know when the show starts.

And for the love of God, PLEASE tell Brandt Crocker to stop the raspy voiced corps introductions. When he announces PR it sounds like gibberish. How about a Female announce with a nice voice who speaks in a normal tone & manner?