Dear Dinosaurs

[Jeff Ream]

Considering you (I believe) marched in the Dino era, carrying a Dino instrument, I am curious how you managed to evolve whereas some (like yours truly) did not?

Boo didn't evolve. he molded like cheese

[coats1952]

So, first of all, let me just say that the Fan Network rocks. Being able to pull up anything on demand and check it out or see live shows... well worth the subscription.

Anyway, just interesting to see a lot of dinos on here complaining about things these days, when much of what they complain about today is stuff that has been around for ages.

It was really the 80's and early 90's that were the most radical in terms of change in drum corps.

Those complaining about props and costume changes seem to have a very selective memory and might want to check out SCV 87.

Those complaining about out there color guard uniforms and chop/bop music need to remember Suncoast Sound 88.

Those complaining about dancers out there need to check out Cadets 87.

Those complaining about no shako's or jackets need to watch Blue Devils 92.

Those complaining about singing need to go back and watch Cadets 84.

Those complaining about about mashing up tunes seem to have forgotten Cadets 89.

Point is ... I remember those already extinct complaining about all those things above in my day, how those things killed drum corps. This is no different than the current generation of old timers complaining about the current state of the activity.

Drum corps has always changed, will always change... a younger generation will dig the #### out of it... while an older generation will nonsensically complain about it. This is the cycle. There is no crisis here. The sky is not falling. This is nothing new.

Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was....

Always remember if not for us dinosaurs you would still be one cell swimming in that big pond looking for a way out we got all the wheels turning for you plus we got to see the 60's,70's upto now so listen a little and learn from the wise someday you will be the dinosaur and maybe they will look to you as wise one.

[Mello Dude]

So, first of all, let me just say that the Fan Network rocks. Being able to pull up anything on demand and check it out or see live shows... well worth the subscription.

Anyway, just interesting to see a lot of dinos on here complaining about things these days, when much of what they complain about today is stuff that has been around for ages.

It was really the 80's and early 90's that were the most radical in terms of change in drum corps.

Those complaining about props and costume changes seem to have a very selective memory and might want to check out SCV 87.

Those complaining about out there color guard uniforms and chop/bop music need to remember Suncoast Sound 88.

Those complaining about dancers out there need to check out Cadets 87.

Those complaining about no shako's or jackets need to watch Blue Devils 92.

Those complaining about singing need to go back and watch Cadets 84.

Those complaining about about mashing up tunes seem to have forgotten Cadets 89.

Point is ... I remember those already extinct complaining about all those things above in my day, how those things killed drum corps. This is no different than the current generation of old timers complaining about the current state of the activity.

Drum corps has always changed, will always change... a younger generation will dig the #### out of it... while an older generation will nonsensically complain about it. This is the cycle. There is no crisis here. The sky is not falling. This is nothing new.

Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was....

I take it you don't like forums then right? Why on Earth would you want to come to a forum and have a bunch of bobble heads confirm your ideas on the universe? (The Huffington blog does that already) The only problem with your thesis doctor is that the "dinos" surely have numbers to back up there are fewer corps now than then. The BIGGEST problem you have is that all the changes enacted haven't changed anything from this downward spiral.

IMHO the problem the drum corps faces is listening to small groups of elitists that think they know what everyone wants. You know the types, they either are "friends" with people in high places OR stayed an a Holiday Inn Express. LOL The activity has been morphed from one that was inclusive to one that is exclusive. This is the one fact that eludes most people that think anyone that disagrees with them are "dinos".

[Michael Boo]

Considering you (I believe) marched in the Dino era, carrying a Dino instrument, I am curious how you managed to evolve whereas some (like yours truly) did not?

This is a very honest question and doesn't deserve the multiple red marks you've received, IMHO.

I stayed involved every year in some capacity. The first two years, I was a spectator. I didn't plan on going to the DCI World Championships my first year after aging out, until the last moment. But that was an important decision, as the result demonstrated to me that I could enjoy myself as a fan.

I never thought it would be as a writer for DCI until that happened. At first it was with Drum Corps News and then Drum Corps World. Because I was always at the Rules Congresses, I got to be exposed to the changes first-hand before I had to see them occur on the field. Having sat in on the discussions and voting, I suspect I better understood the reasons for the changes.

It also probably doesn't hurt that I came into drum corps as a mallet player, even though I marched the first year filling in a hole in the horn line. (I did, however, play mallets in the two post-DCI shows.) For me, mallets had always been allowed during my drum corps tenure. Having a bad back from carrying the instruments, I was perhaps more receptive to the concept of the pit. And since I experienced people who hadn't gotten used to the addition of mallet keyboards, I didn't want to share that same reaction to other "new" instruments as they became allowed.

The change I've witnessed each year was incremental. In those early years of DCI, if someone took off even just a couple years, the activity they'd come back to would be very different than the one they left behind. I also think it's natural to take ownership of an activity that one falls in love with. And when that activity changes, it sometimes is sort of a slap in the face to those who invested their love, time and money...to see it change so much. It's a challenge to remember that the activity is a living, breathing creature, and as such, it's going to reflect changing times, just as evolutions in clothing styles do.

I've long said, "Drum corps is whatever drum corps becomes." What I mean by that is drum corps, no matter what developments occur, is still going to be something I embrace and wan to pass on to new generations. They deserve the experience as much as I hope I did. The car I was driving in 1977 didn't have power windows or speed control. I can't imagine owning a vehicle today that didn't have those features. Familiarity with something breeds comfort with it.

Consequently, perhaps, instead of becoming what some would term a "dino," I feel energized and refreshed anew each year when I see the corps on the field. The changes and evolutions keep my mind young, at least when it comes to corps. While everything else about me reminds me I'm not as young as I once was, the attitude I've embraced regarding drum corps serves to keep me in tune with the times and eager to experience what's coming next.

I think I can honestly say I love drum corps more and more each year. And that makes me feel eternally young and open to the new, while still embracing and enjoying that which is more traditional. But no matter how traditional those features may be, they're still not static. Drum corps remains that living, breathing creature I referenced earlier. As long as I'm living and breathing...drum corps and I have that in common.

[Michael Boo]

Boo didn't evolve. he molded like cheese

We turophiles prefer to think that we become more valuable with aging.

[glory]

...Consequently, perhaps, instead of becoming what some would term a "dino," I feel energized and refreshed anew each year when I see the corps on the field. The changes and evolutions keep my mind young, at least when it comes to corps...

This reminds me of a recent conversation. A young father, marveling at his baby daughter, asks his own father how, with a love so strong, it's ever possible to let a child go. The father surprises his son with the answer: Your relationship with your children changes over time.

Though I have yet to let my own baby girl go to make her own way in the world, I can attest that our relationships with our children do indeed change over time. That's as it must be. And it's okay.

Drum corps too. It doesn't have to be the same for us to love it.

HH

Edited August 29, 2012 by glory

[IllianaLancerContra]

If that's the case, I had a full summer of drum corps from A-Z this year. My vacation started with East Coast Classic. The next day I went to Allentown, then East Rutherford. Made a side trip to DC and then headed to Williamsburg and saw the fifes and drums at Colonial Williamsburg. From there I headed to Indy. So I saw everything from the activity's colonial ancestors to Dada. Things have changed.

I do seem to recall hearing a few years back that a drummer from Colonial Williamsburg was marching with a World Class Corps. I don't remember which corps. I suppose marching straight ahead in spite of tourists blocking you and trying to get your photo, cannons and muskets being fired while you perform, and maintaining straight lines in spite of the gifts left behind by horses is great preparation for DCI.

Maybe "real" drum corps still is local - we have the Yorktown Drums & Fifes here in Yorktown VA (about 7 miles as the crow flies). Those bums in Williamsburg are their rivals!

[IllianaLancerContra]

This is a very honest question and doesn't deserve the multiple red marks you've received, IMHO.

I stayed involved every year in some capacity. The first two years, I was a spectator. I didn't plan on going to the DCI World Championships my first year after aging out, until the last moment. But that was an important decision, as the result demonstrated to me that I could enjoy myself as a fan.

I never thought it would be as a writer for DCI until that happened. At first it was with Drum Corps News and then Drum Corps World. Because I was always at the Rules Congresses, I got to be exposed to the changes first-hand before I had to see them occur on the field. Having sat in on the discussions and voting, I suspect I better understood the reasons for the changes.

It also probably doesn't hurt that I came into drum corps as a mallet player, even though I marched the first year filling in a hole in the horn line. (I did, however, play mallets in the two post-DCI shows.) For me, mallets had always been allowed during my drum corps tenure. Having a bad back from carrying the instruments, I was perhaps more receptive to the concept of the pit. And since I experienced people who hadn't gotten used to the addition of mallet keyboards, I didn't want to share that same reaction to other "new" instruments as they became allowed.

The change I've witnessed each year was incremental. In those early years of DCI, if someone took off even just a couple years, the activity they'd come back to would be very different than the one they left behind. I also think it's natural to take ownership of an activity that one falls in love with. And when that activity changes, it sometimes is sort of a slap in the face to those who invested their love, time and money...to see it change so much. It's a challenge to remember that the activity is a living, breathing creature, and as such, it's going to reflect changing times, just as evolutions in clothing styles do.

I've long said, "Drum corps is whatever drum corps becomes." What I mean by that is drum corps, no matter what developments occur, is still going to be something I embrace and wan to pass on to new generations. They deserve the experience as much as I hope I did. The car I was driving in 1977 didn't have power windows or speed control. I can't imagine owning a vehicle today that didn't have those features. Familiarity with something breeds comfort with it.

Consequently, perhaps, instead of becoming what some would term a "dino," I feel energized and refreshed anew each year when I see the corps on the field. The changes and evolutions keep my mind young, at least when it comes to corps. While everything else about me reminds me I'm not as young as I once was, the attitude I've embraced regarding drum corps serves to keep me in tune with the times and eager to experience what's coming next.

I think I can honestly say I love drum corps more and more each year. And that makes me feel eternally young and open to the new, while still embracing and enjoying that which is more traditional. But no matter how traditional those features may be, they're still not static. Drum corps remains that living, breathing creature I referenced earlier. As long as I'm living and breathing...drum corps and I have that in common.

I did 21+ years in the USAF, and now teach college. I have a real thick hide.

But thanks

[Tim K]

Maybe "real" drum corps still is local - we have the Yorktown Drums & Fifes here in Yorktown VA (about 7 miles as the crow flies). Those bums in Williamsburg are their rivals!

I've seen the Yorktown Fifes and Drums too, both in Yorktown and when they visited Boston, maybe three years back. After their performance, a few were still in uniform and walked around Quincy Market. Tourists began asking them questions, probably assuming they were part of the Freedom Trail. Now is this cross state rivalry as intense as Blue Devils and SCV?

[IllianaLancerContra]

I've seen the Yorktown Fifes and Drums too, both in Yorktown and when they visited Boston, maybe three years back. After their performance, a few were still in uniform and walked around Quincy Market. Tourists began asking them questions, probably assuming they were part of the Freedom Trail. Now is this cross state rivalry as intense as Blue Devils and SCV?

More like the two ends of the Colonial Parkway (the 17th version of the Jersey Turnpike)