What will help DCI become more entertaining

[Pete Freedman]

When a local concert band attired in white short sleeves, black pants, black dress shoes, at a summer outdoor band concert plays ( for example ), Jean Sibelius composition of " Finlandia ", are you concerned that the musicians were not dressed properly for the musical piece ?

They are trying not to make a visual statement. Since there is no visual component to the artistry, they must choose outfits that do not stand out. Notice, however, that they all dress the same way. They don't just show up with whatever they had on at the time. This means they are carefully selecting and fitting outfits, even with the intention of having them ignored. The outfit meets the intent. If, however, they were to wear clown suits, or military uniforms, I would certainly say they were not dressed properly.

Or, when the ( for another example ) Univ. Texas Longhorn Band in their white cowboy hats plays a theme show on music from the rock band " The Who ", do you focus on the uniforms of the band not fitting the theme and/ or music?

Do I 'focus on it'? No, but I do notice it. And I understand why what they wear doesn't fit the music. And, unlike the first example, there is a visual component to the show, so the show is indeed hampered by their organizational uniform constraint. It's a better show when the outfits match the music, right?

And when a Symphony Orchestra that is dressed in modern tuxedos, bowties, and tails, women musicians in formal dress attire, etc and a Conductor dressed in same, plays music from Gounod's " Faust " or Symphony #36 from Mozart from the 1700's, or plays music from the musical " Oklahoma " do you find the musicians and conductor on stage not dressed appropriately in concert with the history timeline of the piece or matching the music played itself ? Just curious, thats all.

And here again, they are trying not to be noticed except that they are taking it seriously (thus the formality). And also, symphonies generally play music with multiple themes during a performance, so there is no easy way to dress for the music. But, if the orchestra for The Nutcracker were to dress as nutcrackers it would be wonderful. You're proving my point.

[Pete Freedman]

The snobs & prancers hijacked the Drum Corp activity many years ago,

Thank God for that!

& the activity has been going downhill & getting closer & closer to extinction ever since. This activity must get back to its roots in order to have a chance to continue to exist.

A controversial statement. Based on other threads on DCP, it seems to me the internal motivation (and funding) increases each year, both in the form of raw numbers of students willing to audition and plunk down the ever-increasing tour fees, and in attendance numbers and ticket costs. A decline in external funding seems to be the culprit in the death of the poorest corps, but you are committing a false extrapolation error if you are predicting the demise of the activity from that cause.

This means having Drum Corp that have different styles & play music that is accessible that the fans recognize, like. Jazz, Spanish, Mexican, Scottish, British, etc...

...

This reminds me of the Blues Brothers movie, when they ask the bartender what kind of music they have, and the bartender answers, "Oh, we have both kinds... country AND western." So you're saying it's MORE diverse to play those kinds of music than to play the list in the 2013 Programs thread. Okay. I mean, it's still basically European and North American sources, I'll give you that much. But let's get one thing clear:

Spanish/Mexican music were essentially the same genre in drum corps, and focused on one mood: brash machismo.

English/Scottish music were essentially the same genre in drum corps as well, and focused on moods of passionate resolve and romantic nostalgia.

Jazz: sometimes big band jazz, sometimes Broadway showtunes, and sometimes Chick Corea/Chuck Mangione jazz. Jazz represented the biggest opportunity for the exploration of different moods, and I think this may be why BD rose so fast in those days. Jazz was the beginning of the era you are now complaining about.

You are saying that the following 2013 music is less diverse: Shostakovich, Billy Joel, Stravinsky, Barber, Queen, Michael Jackson, Mussorgsky, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Herrmann, Les Mis, etc, etc, etc. There's still lots of TBA. The number of unique moods running through an evening of drum corps today is vastly greater than it was in, say, the 70s. That makes it much more diverse emotionally.

To be even more diverse (in terms of sources), drum corps would have to play music from Africa, Asia, India, the Middle East, and South America, and find more regional and local variations within those areas. Not a lot of hip hop being played today either. Is that the diversity you're talking about? I didn't think so.

Perhaps what you really want is for drum corps to express only passionate resolve, romantic nostalgia, and brash machismo.

[MikeN]

Perhaps what you really want is for drum corps to express only passionate resolve, romantic nostalgia, and brash machismo.

I may be dating myself a bit here, but ... I'd be okay with that.

Mike

[BRASSO]

MikeD

Sure. Wouldn't bother me if they chose to go to show-specific costuming to broaden their entertainment appeal. They would still be The Cadets organization.

Would it be fair to say that if your former Corps ( Cadets ) brought in former alums from the earliest days up to recent years, and took a vote on either keeping the 75 year old Cadets traditional uniforms for the Corps proper, or scraping the traditional Cadet style Cadets uniforms for Circus style costumes ( or whatever ) that between 90-97 % of your Corps Alums would not be for scrapping the 75 year old traditional Cadet uniform for the Corps proper ? I recall you stating on here before, MikeD that " DCP'ers do not represent the views of the general Drum Corps fan base ". I don't agree with that observation, but in this case I do believe that the overwhelming vast majority of Cadets Alums probably do not agree with you on this.

Edited April 22, 2013 by BRASSO

[BRASSO]

It's a better show when the outfits match the music, right?

Heck, I think its a " better show ", when the Guard costumes " match " the Corps proper uniforms. I even like it when the colors of the costumes in the Guard tend to match the colors of the uniforms on the Corps proper. LOTS of times ( for example ) the " blues " colors in the Corps proper do not match ( for example ) the brown, green, and the pink colors on the Guard at all. But I've been able to look beyond this uncoordinated incongruity in the colors and the unis among the ensembles, and appreciate the overall spectacle.

Edited April 22, 2013 by BRASSO

[Pete Freedman]

I may be dating myself a bit here, but ... I'd be okay with that.

Mike

It's a beautiful part of history. I wish we had 1080P video from those days. Wow. Actually, maybe what DCI could do to promote entertainment has more to do with media and promotions than content. They could have put at least a 35mm film camera high on the 50 at finals for the last several decades. That would have translated to 1080P much better than trying to upscale the old video. (You wouldn't have the other angles in HD, but you could watch the show in HD going back to the 70s. And earlier.) And prior to 2010 there doesn't seem to be any HD (going by fan network.) But you could buy one for $300 at Wal-Mart. There's a glaring answer to the question "What could DCI have done in the past to promote entertainment both then and now." Perhaps that could give them a hint as to what to do in the future.

For example:

- Acquire rights to all film (video conversions) you can get prior to DCI and add that to the fan network. (some free, some fee presumably)

- Dedicate both the homepages of DCI and Fan Network to showing off the activity to newcomers. The existing fans will look for what they want, but newcomers need the promo front and center. They do have short clips from the corps buried below the screen edge, but they need a single promo video with the most impressive clips from recent years, and training clips, and a general description of the benefits of being in a touring drum corps.

- Don't use the word "viral" to mean Featured. It's just silly, and looks kind of sad. Every young person who sees that is laughing, guaranteed.

These things would help.

Edited April 22, 2013 by Pete Freedman

[N.E. Brigand]

Don't use the word "viral" to mean "featured". It's just silly, and looks kind of sad. Every young person who sees that is laughing, guaranteed.

Heh. Timely article: The Internet Catches a Viral Epidemic

[HockeyDad]

.

Perhaps what you really want is for drum corps to express only passionate resolve, romantic nostalgia, and brash machismo.

No, you're right. What dci needs is more prancing and dancing. The kind that makes you embarrassed to watch it. Let alone take a newbie to view the spectacle.

That, plus complete lack of melody line, are just what the doctor ordered.

[BRASSO]

. The number of unique moods running through an evening of drum corps today is vastly greater than it was in, say, the 70s. That makes it much more diverse emotionally.

.

While I will not attempt to defend the comments of the poster you responded too, it is my observation that there was considerable " diversity " of music played in " the 70's ", and from that standpoint anyway I see no less " diversity " of music selected and played in the era of the 70's to that of the music chosen to be played today. I see much commonality among the era's in this respect, than dissimilarities.

The Music of Spanish/ Mexican influences was never constrained to the " machismo " emotional tugs in the 70's, any more than it is today, imo. So I'd have to respectfully disagree with you that it was constrained to the " machismo " when it was a Spanish inspired musical composition. Corps played Ravel's Spanish inspired " Bolero " both in the 70's as well a recently. This is not a " machismo " piece at all. Even Mangione's seemingly much maligned " Children of Sanchez " is not geared to Spanish male " machismo ". I can easily think of 2 dozen examples of Corps in the 70's playing " Spanish- Mexican " musical commpositions that were not " male machismo" testesterone inspired compositions. Corps of the 70's also had Corps that offered " comedic relief " as its emotional tug appeal. Until Jersey Surf last year, ( and perhaps Cadets show with " Geoffrey") the activity was almost totally devoid of this comedic relief emotional appeal and tug in a show to counter balance the more serious approaches that all other Corps were conveying for a couple of decades. I do agree with you that Corps DO tend to gravitate toward the music compositions of Western Civ. inspired classical composers from hundreds of years ago, rather than the breadth of genres from other musical influences from around the world, both modern and yesteryear..... I also think its fair to say that the activity's uniforms prior to the the 90's for example were far more diverse than today's uniforms, particularly within the Corps proper among the Corps.

Edited April 22, 2013 by BRASSO

[Pete Freedman]

Heh. Timely article: The Internet Catches a Viral Epidemic

Nice article. Thanks.