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Death of Corps


T man

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I hate the way DCI is being defined by the top 3 corps every year.... There are tons of drum corps doing great things every single year.

This discution started with someone saying that Hopkins did great things for DCI..... I wholeheartedly dissagre. When you talk about the great drum corps show of the past 7 years what made them great? The moments people get goosebumps from every year do not come from stupid sound bites or having a narrator read you a story. The drum corps moments that people remember are when a Corps playes great music perfectly.

You were talking about how people will lose interest... Do you think cadets showes in 06, 07, 08 were things people would enjoy? Do you think if I showed that to people who had never scene drum corps befor they would want to go to a show? I think people would rather come watch DCI if corps focus there showes on playing music well. SCV, PR, Crown, Bluecoats. I am not saying that anyone making DCI finals does not play music well. but I see too many showes designed to make it story time. Let music speak for itself. If you are the person who needs to have people talking and telling you what happens the whole time than you dont get what this activity is about. Hopkins has not made the activity better..... there are fewer and fewer differences between DCI and BOA..... This is not supposed to be high school band part 2.

In my opinion DCI neds to reward the showes that are focused on great players playing great music. Not how abstract and "artistic" the showes are. When the corps that comes out on top is playing a show that people who have never scene DCI befor enjoy aaannnddd the people who have been around it for years also enjoy then DCI will grow. Pushing the envelope is not the problem..... some corps are pushing it the wrong direction.

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I leave this as a warning for you with DCI connections:

Push the envelope

or DCI WILL DIE.

But what do you mean by "Push the envelope?" Was BD's "Cabaret Voltaire" not cutting edge enough for you? Or do you really mean "program shows that I like or I'll predict the death of the activity on the DCP forum?"

(PS. If anyone thinks a show from 07-12 tops 05 Cadets or 06 Cavies, then I want to know. Leave a comment.)

Sure. To name a few recent offerings, I loved BD's 2010 "Through a Glass Darkly" and Cadets' 2011 "Angels and Demons." I thought this year's Carolina Crown show was killer as well. Respect to your faves, and to the many other great programs we've seen over the years. But these are as good as anything I've seen, past or present.

Peace,

Fred O.

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I hate the way DCI is being defined by the top 3 corps every year.... There are tons of drum corps doing great things every single year.

Thank you. And you aren't the only one.

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Is that what an elderly Phantom Regiment phan is called?

No silly. They are called "Old Phart-icus". As a fan of Drum corps, you should have known that !!! :doh:

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This is fairly ridiculous. T Man, how old are you? I ask because your statements come off as uninformed, uneducated, and incredibly bias to me.

2012 BD = crap drill ... Whoa, you are clueless. The transitions are flawless. You watch that show and tell me your eye doesn't follow where the musical interest occurs. It's so good, that it happens effortlessly. Yes, it was abstract, but that was the intent of the show.

The personal taste you present of influential shows are all simple easy concepts. Thats good and all, but thats gets boring too. I am not a huge fan of BD's dark and strange concepts the past few years… but the construction and design is at of the highest level… championship level.

These shows seem up your alley… all strong products.

Crown - Rach Star

Cadets - Angels and Demons

Bluecoats - Metropolis

Bluecoats - Criminal

Madison - 9/11 show

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And I thought I got all the red negatives. This is one of the worst initial posts I believe I have ever read. I have absolutely no idea what T man is talking about??? I have seen some incredible shows in the last several years in DCI. Does this mean that I like every show I've seen? No. Does this mean that I think BD should have won all the years they recently have? No. But, I have seen some wonderful stuff put on the field, and I have seen some corps really put their members to the limit to put out good products. Do I think there need to be changes in how DCI and some corps run the fiancial aspects of their organizations? Yes, but T man's statement seems exaggerated to the point of obsurdity.

I have strong opinions myself about the trajectory of the activity is going, especially when it comes to the staff of various corps taking too many risks with their creative ideas and the members literally paying for having to perform sub-par shows on the field. Right now, I am thinking of the Cavies show this past summer, and I know some people think the Cavies show was really good, although such an opinion does not seem to be the consensus. I think members and alumi should have more say over shows their corps perform, because the members especially are the ones paying the money to perform, but I cannot in anyway agree with this initial post. The activity is too complex to make such blanket statements.

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In 1978, Phantom performed excerpts from Stravinsky ballets and I recall a Drum Corps News review of DCI East where the writer thought that the end of drum corps was near. I've been reading DCP posts (though only commenting for about the past year) where the end of drum corps has been predicted. It didn't happen in 1978 and it hasn't happened yet.

For most of us, there are peak and valley years, and more often than not personal taste is the deciding factor. We also have our own glory years. For me, some of the years mentioned by the original poster as great are not what I would consider the banner years. I'm less likely to see them as innovative or forward moving. Yet others sing the praises of these years, all a matter of taste. I can also say there has never been a year where I have not seen at least one show I've loved, and even if I haven't loved a show, seeing high school and college age students performing at such a high level is impressive on its own.

However, what I do disagree with the OP is the critique of current years, particularly 2011 and 2012. I believe in the last two seasons we have seen shows that are challenging, audience friendly, and innovative. The last time I believe we saw similar quality shows by nearly every corps (based on the standards of that time) would have been the years between 1987-89. The comments made regarding the unnamed winner, BD and "Cabaret Voltaire," it's not a sign of things to come. Only BD could pull off such a show, anyone who tries to duplicate it will be seen as copycats. Chances are even BD will not be able to repeat it. It was a one time only deal like Star's "Medea" and PR's "Spartacus." It was hardly my favorite show, especially since I wanted last year to be Crown's year, but it was nearly flawless, and even if you didn't appreciate the show itself, it can't be denied the "Hula Hoops" were great.

The OP also seems to be lamenting the influence of bands on drum corps. I still think it is the other way around. My guess is that more band directors were watching what happened at DCI for show ideas than DCI directors watching what the bands at BOA were doing. They may have been there to recruit, but not copy shows. Also, we don't have feeder corps anymore. It used to be a corps formed someone into a musician or color guard member. Now the experienced musician or performer joins a a corps and is formed into a Boston Crusader, Bluecoat, or Madison Scout. It's been this way for about 25 years so it's not new.

I'm an old schooler at heart, I wish there were more corps of all abilities, corps with more distinct personalities, etc., but I appreciate what we have today, because in a few years, today will be old school.

Edited by Tim K
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