Growing Interest through Performance Diversity

[Michael Boo]

Drumming on skateboards was pretty cool.

Maybe drumming in crazy places or on crazy objects or mixing up marching drums with heavy guitars or turntables.... or....?

I can't deal with drumming in any place crazier than Allentown.

[MotoSurfBass]

I can't deal with drumming in any place crazier than Allentown.

There are crazier places than Allentown?!

[Michael Boo]

There are crazier places than Allentown?!

It's a theoretical comment.

[perc2100]

There is much talk about growing interest in the activity by trying to get people to the main drum corps shows. The opportunity for growth here is very limited.

Efforts instead could be focusing on building an awareness through more mainstream accessible programs.

For example... 125 millions viewers across dozens of countries watched this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYUmIUW-BLg

I think this performance is kind of weak, not necessary because it is so #### sloppy, but that it doesn't do much to take the medium into new territories.... just an old thing in a new environment, rather than a new thing for that specific environment.

What kind of shows can be written exclusively for mass media that are not exactly marching music.... but are inspired by or integrate marching music elements?

I really do believe this is the way to grow attention, interest and enthusiasm.

Well, 14.8 million people have viewed this Ohio State marching band video:

This is obviously pretty crowd-appealing, but is it the direction our activity wants to go? Do we want to go all-in to attempt to appease the masses? Do we want to stay the course and continue to innovate? Do we want to try to do both? Do we want to maybe have one class that is all about "innovation" and one class that is all about "crowd appeal" (maybe a "world" for innovation and "open" for crowd appeal) with different sheets & different standards?

[N.E. Brigand]

Well, 14.8 million people have viewed this Ohio State marching band video:

This is obviously pretty crowd-appealing, but is it the direction our activity wants to go? Do we want to go all-in to attempt to appease the masses? Do we want to stay the course and continue to innovate? Do we want to try to do both? Do we want to maybe have one class that is all about "innovation" and one class that is all about "crowd appeal" (maybe a "world" for innovation and "open" for crowd appeal) with different sheets & different standards?

And just because 15 million people watched something for free, does that mean they'll pay to do so?

[Tim K]

Are we certain that lack of "performance diversity" is the problem? In 2011, I attended East Coast Classic and sat near people who had never experienced drum corps. SCV was the first corps to compete. I have loved SCV for years, but I found 2011 to be somewhat less engaging then earlier shows, especially compared with 2012,and their performance that evening was not their best. The people in front of me were fascinated. The whole experience mesmerized them from the corps entering the field and needing tractors to bring some of the equipment, being blasted by a sound only produced by drum corps, and seeing the different field maneuvers. The entire experience amazed these first time spectators. I may have thought "Devil's Staircase" was not "Phantom," "Miss Saigon," or "Sheherazade" and may have longed for an impromptu "Bottle Dance," but for these spectators it was more than good enough. Whether this will be a one time only event for this group, or whether we gained new fans, I cannot say, but they were generally impressed with the experience? Their major complaint? Food selection at the concession stands.

Attendance is not as horrific as people claim. If we look at the numbers of attendees at most World Class shows, there are anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 people in attendance, depending on the city, corps involved, fan base, and publicity. The venues can seem empty, but in many cases the venues have been remodeled and are larger. For a musical event not showcasing headline performers, such numbers are great.

Also, the problem may not be fewer fans. Some of the younger people who post on this site readily admit they live too far away from shows to attend shows regularly, but do attend the shows they can. These same young poeple are as knowledgeable about what Kilties did in 1975 as what Cavies did in 2011. They access the Fan Network and watch live stream shows. It's not the same as being there, but I'm willing to be they still feel as if they are experiencing drum corps. Also events such as Big, Live, and Loud are great. While I can't speak for the entire nation, I do know that there are many opportunities to see Big Live, and Loud in the Northeast. I also know that when I attend (I didn't last year since I was in Indy where it really was big, live, and loud), if I have not purchased the tickets to at least a week in advance, I'm out of luck.

Some of the corps of my youth did have "personality," examples being 27th, Bridgemen, North Star, and Kilties, but if I'm honest, some corps of that era were also rather indistinguishable. I also regularly attended great shows of old such as CYO Nationals and World Open. While World Open was a drum corps lover's dream: two full days of drum corps between prelims and finals as well as a parade, and most in attendance were probably die-hard fans, especially at prelims. CYO Nationals probably did not have only drum corps fans in attendance. At the time the show was a major source of funding for youth activities in the Archdiocese of Boston. Parishes used to sell the tickets and I'd be willing ot bet, many in attendance loved the show but had no connection to a corps and probably attended to help a worthwhile cause and while some may have been repeat attendees, a good number probably only attended once or twice. Shows do face challenges in selling tickets and nurturing repeat fans may even be harder, but performance diversity is probably not the issue, because just like yesterday, there are some corps that are original and diverse and others who are carbon copies of each other. The product may not be the problem. Getting those who buy into the product via computer to venues is the problem. Perhaps the answer is finding out where these people live, make sure there are shows available, and see if we see increased numbers.

[ducttapedgerbil]

How about a different approach that blends the two ideas...

Propagate the activity by developing a path for small local groups to be purchased by existing drum corps. An aspiring drum corps businessman could then have a monetary goal for starting a local corps, even while he fulfills his desire to see kids participate.

If SS or DLB could develop local talent, and larger corps were interested in purchasing them to expand delivery of outreach, a local group could become a "wholly-owned subsidiary" of the larger corps and benefit from the more-experienced management and message offered.

This is done in corporate America all the time; part of the dream of starting a company is to sell it to a larger corporation, then take the profits and doing it again and again. There are many models where this works.

Why not in drum corps?

Drum Corps "businessman"??????? get real...just because you try to jam it into the mold of a "business" does not make it one....that's why drum corps has always been a not-for-profit activity...not because they chose not to make $$ but because there is no sustainable business model that would allow it to thrive and generate a profit as a business.

[bluesman]

There is much talk about growing interest in the activity by trying to get people to the main drum corps shows. The opportunity for growth here is very limited.

Efforts instead could be focusing on building an awareness through more mainstream accessible programs.

For example... 125 millions viewers across dozens of countries watched this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYUmIUW-BLg

I think this performance is kind of weak, not necessary because it is so #### sloppy, but that it doesn't do much to take the medium into new territories.... just an old thing in a new environment, rather than a new thing for that specific environment.

What kind of shows can be written exclusively for mass media that are not exactly marching music.... but are inspired by or integrate marching music elements?

I really do believe this is the way to grow attention, interest and enthusiasm.

Thanks for posting the video. There does seem to be a lack of performance diversity, but there is also a growing lack of diversity in regard to who we actually see on the field. If you go to the FN and look at the older drum corps performances you will see what I mean. The cost of membership has increased so much in the last 20 years that too many talented people can not afford to march making Drum Corps membership too expensive for a lot of very talented kids whose parents can't afford it. I don't want to sound too politically correct but I see a bit whitening of Drum Corps and that lack of diversity in membership is troubling to see.

Edited March 6, 2013 by bluesman