Jeff Ream Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 There are FAR fewer venues of this type than there are available stadiums. If you are going to scale it down, your only practical option is a gym. agreed. and let's be honest...the types of facilities that do exist have a far heftier price tag to rent. I know what it costs to rent the Giant Center in hershey for a day...roughly 18k. I doubt any show host is paying that much now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Jim, As you well know, everything is relative. It is possible to provide all the "rock 'em, sock 'em" drum corps moments in a smaller, yet more workable, setting. These are difficult times for our activity. We need to adjust. The arena thing is just one concept. A better concept could be out there. Let's hear it, discuss it. The current model is showing some cracks. What shall we do? to make it work on any kind of standard arena floor, you're going to need a Blast style ensemble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 let's not go to far in the future. DCA may not exist in 5 years. On the contrary. Pit amplification is coming. If DCA makes it to 2014, everything will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 There are FAR fewer venues of this type than there are available stadiums. If you are going to scale it down, your only practical option is a gym. The problem with a gym, even for a relatively small marching band with a full WW section, is that the sound just booms around and becomes one big mush. Sometimes in bad weather a band show is moved indoors during the fall. Small bands can make it work, but put a larger band with a large contingent of brass and percussion in a gym...it becomes VERY overbearing to listen to. I also recall judging some indoor drum corps shows out on Long Island back in the late 70's...it was loud, to be sure. That's about the most you can say for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Thus, the smaller corps size. Maybe even smaller than 80. When I think of arena DCA, I think of many more participating groups, less buses, more spectator comfort, special effects, lighting, shared equipment, more than one show per date, etc. We really should examine this type of thing. Agree? No. There is no reason we should examine it. Those of you who are interested in it can examine all you want. I have seen you posting about this vision of yours for some time now. You must really be interested in this concept. Have you checked out SDCA? They have already started an indoor drum corps movement, with several regions providing series of events. Seems like exactly what you are talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 (edited) I'd say the DCA product we see now won't exist in its present form (obviously), but what about a DCA with maximum corps size of 80 performing inside a hockey-type venue? Fire away! I seem to remember an early season indoor DCA contest out east just a couple/few years ago,.........no? Edited December 18, 2012 by Gary Matczak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Gary, You might be thinking of Wildwood, NJ. The indoor convention center hosted almost full field sized DCA shows there. Even though the corps weren't engineered in advance for that setting, it was a good night of entertainment. Looked to be many non-drum corps types present. Sound was different, but not a significant problem to my ears. The view is this. Over the past several years, even top-tier DCA corps are having difficulty filling their ranks. Crowds are smaller. If this trend continues, the football field stage becomes less effective. Does the activity adjust, and how? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donincardona Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 (edited) On the contrary. Pit amplification is coming. If DCA makes it to 2014, everything will be fine. no your wrong. just because of amps in 2014 is not the reason i'm talking about. the cost of doing drum corps as a performer is getting to much the payout to corps by DCA is to little. the dwindeling crowds. if you don't see this then get your head up and look around. but being in denial and saying everything is alright is just not reality. Edited December 18, 2012 by donincardona Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 (edited) no your wrong. just because of amps in 2014 is not the reason i'm talking about. the cost of doing drum corps as a performer is getting to much the payout to corps by DCA is to little. the dwindeling crowds. if you don't see this then get your head up and look around. but being in denial and saying everything is alright is just not reality. Costs are my concern too. Each hit of higher price of equipment/transportation, cost in time and money to members who seem to be further away from their corps each decade hurts. Add to problem of getting harder to create new corps and bring in new fans for various reasons including (IMO) mostly money just makes it harder for the activity to survive in the long term. Not a gloom and doomer but just being a blunt realist. DCA has gone a long way up since the 13 corps Prelims 20 or so years ago but what is needed to keep large corps going is just insane. And smaller corps needs are only less insane. Edited December 18, 2012 by JimF-LowBari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldStyleCorps Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 back in the mid to late 60's we used to have a show at the war memorial. it is a hockey arena. it was a compition we held in the early spring. cru , brigs, geneva and some juniors would compete in the show. peashey probably remembers it. it worked fine. in the spring the corps were smaller then the summer. it was fun to do. we had a compressed drill and we sounded really loud. so when DCA is doing it's collapse they can finish up doing that. so yea it's possible. Yes, there was a Big one in Boston (early 1960's) also. We took a few car loads of us (Asbury Park,NJ - Hurricanes Jr Corps) up from the New Jersey shore area. It had Both Jr and Sr. The one's I liked best were Garfield Cadets and St. Kevin's in Jr and Princemen in Sr part. Garfield won Jr part, and got a Trophy as big as the Drum Major. (A photo of it was in Drum Corps News) I know ther were about 5 Jr and a few Sr part. (and had a Horrible ride back home. Hit a bad Snow Storm in CT on the way back home. Then also had to sit in one of those stupid rear facing back seats they use to have in "Station Wagons" back then. I was in one of the Indoor Wildwood shows, which was more of the stand still type, and as I said elsewhwew on here. The Madison Square Garden main arena full field show on the Hockey floor.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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