Drum Corps Has Changed...

[PioneerWebmaster]

Reading all of the open letters and posts over the past couple days about how the activity has changed had me thinking...

A couple weekends ago I had my mom in town for a visit. It just happened to be the weekend of the Atlanta regional. We didn't have anything exciting planned for a majority of the day on Saturday, so just for the fun of it I hooked up the laptop and had the Fan Network live stream running in the living room throughout the day. We made a point of watching Pioneer since that was the corps I marched with for 8 years. After that, the stream just ran and we checked in periodically. We didn't have a schedule of corps to follow, and really didn't make an effort to see any other corps except Madison Scouts since that was always one of her favorites.

To my surprise, on a couple occasions my mom was able to identify the corps on the field by nothing more the style of music they were playing or the sound they projected. She was literally able to identify Phantom Regiment, Blue Devils and a couple other corps from a different room of the house just by hearing the beginning of their shows.

At the end of the night, she actually asked that we go back and re-watch many of the last corps of the evening.

In full disclosure... My mom hasn't been to a show since Stillwater in July of 2000. She did catch the ESPN broadcasts a couple years ago. In addition, a couple corps (including Cadets) stayed in her hometown the last time DCI was in Madison. Outside of that, her exposure to drum corps has been next-to-nothing over the past 12 years. Some of that was due to me aging-out, but largely it was due to my dad's declining health due to Alzheimer's. She always talked about going to shows, but caring for him took all of her time and there simply wasn't time for an activity that gave us all so much over the years.

While there's no disputing that the activity has changed, the fact that she was able to identify corps without even seeing them is proof that the activity hasn't changed that much. Many of the corps have stayed true to what they have done for years. And while other corps have spread their wings and tried different avenues, she still found them enjoyable. She still connected with the corps and at the evening was grateful for the fact that I went to the "extreme effort" of putting the show on the TV (Gotta love moms! It's really only 1 cable, but hey...).

If all goes well, we're going to make it a point to get her back to at least one drum corps show in 2013. So I guess you can count on at least one extra fan back in the seats next year in light of all of those who are "resigning" as fans.

[En929]

Reading all of the open letters and posts over the past couple days about how the activity has changed had me thinking...

A couple weekends ago I had my mom in town for a visit. It just happened to be the weekend of the Atlanta regional. We didn't have anything exciting planned for a majority of the day on Saturday, so just for the fun of it I hooked up the laptop and had the Fan Network live stream running in the living room throughout the day. We made a point of watching Pioneer since that was the corps I marched with for 8 years. After that, the stream just ran and we checked in periodically. We didn't have a schedule of corps to follow, and really didn't make an effort to see any other corps except Madison Scouts since that was always one of her favorites.

To my surprise, on a couple occasions my mom was able to identify the corps on the field by nothing more the style of music they were playing or the sound they projected. She was literally able to identify Phantom Regiment, Blue Devils and a couple other corps from a different room of the house just by hearing the beginning of their shows.

At the end of the night, she actually asked that we go back and re-watch many of the last corps of the evening.

In full disclosure... My mom hasn't been to a show since Stillwater in July of 2000. She did catch the ESPN broadcasts a couple years ago. In addition, a couple corps (including Cadets) stayed in her hometown the last time DCI was in Madison. Outside of that, her exposure to drum corps has been next-to-nothing over the past 12 years. Some of that was due to me aging-out, but largely it was due to my dad's declining health due to Alzheimer's. She always talked about going to shows, but caring for him took all of her time and there simply wasn't time for an activity that gave us all so much over the years.

While there's no disputing that the activity has changed, the fact that she was able to identify corps without even seeing them is proof that the activity hasn't changed that much. Many of the corps have stayed true to what they have done for years. And while other corps have spread their wings and tried different avenues, she still found them enjoyable. She still connected with the corps and at the evening was grateful for the fact that I went to the "extreme effort" of putting the show on the TV (Gotta love moms! It's really only 1 cable, but hey...).

If all goes well, we're going to make it a point to get her back to at least one drum corps show in 2013. So I guess you can count on at least one extra fan back in the seats next year in light of all of those who are "resigning" as fans.

I myself often complain that I'd rather see drum corps the way it was back in the 80s. I like the deep and dark sounds of the corps back then, and back when snare drums sounded like snare drums, and bass drums sounded dark, some corps just played some jams and it wasn't always about theaters, etc. and I like the idea of local recruiting and seeing more homemade drum corps, etc. (to me it's eating homemade cookies vs the corporate store bought cookies....fresh grown vegetables vs. genetically engineered vegetables, etc.). And I seem to always watch corps back in the 80s more than now (except for a few drumline videos, I'll watch those in any year). So thus, even though there are a few difference (amps, more corps using Bb horns instead of the G bugles, etc) and it seems like there's a little bit more flashiness than back then, yes I agree it's still drum corps as far as still having drums, horns, pit, colorguard etc. goes. But, I guess I just have my favorite era which will always be the 80s when drum corps seemed like it had more fortitude than now. But, that's just my opinion.

Edited August 13, 2012 by En929

[skywhopper]

Great post! It's heartening to know that DCI can still connect with fans who've been out of the loop for years. I know we've seen some folks on this board who've recently come back into the activity, in addition to those who are taking a break, for precisely this reason. It's also great to know that the web stream can serve a similar purpose to what the PBS broadcast used to serve: a chance for families who may not be able to attend a big show or finals to experience the best performances these corps can offer from anywhere in the country or now the world.

I agree that there is still lots that *hasn't* changed. Which is why it's disappointing for lots of long time fans to have seen such a willingness to change the rules over the past decade for the sake of "innovation" when there's still plenty of innovation that could be done within the existing rules. Adding elements that do little for the overall show while rubbing a lot of the core audience the wrong way is the wrong kind of innovation, alas.