Why do DMs Corps-Hop?

[normy diploome]

When Jim Mason and crew sought to re-brand the Madison Scouts, John Lee resigned as veteran assistant DM with the Blue Devils to assume the podium for the Scouts. His homestead's move to the Midwest made the shift sound reasonable. John did such a great job with the Scouts that DCI named him the Jim Jones Award winner for that season and Scouts named him a tour leader for the next.

In the past, podium changes were rare or due to the folding or merging of corps as is the case of this season's Glassmen's major assuming duties with B.D. But since John Lee, podium shifts and corps jilts have seemingly become more common. The major at Crown was previously a major at Crossmen. The "in-line" major for Blue Stars left to join the Cavaliers. PR's last season's poster boy/blogger/ assistant conductor is staying home in Tenn. to be the DM at Music City. And last winter, after DCI's leadership weekend for DMs, both majors at the Cadets resigned the podium and the activity, followed out the door soon by almost all the section leaders of that corps; the horn sgt. had to move to the podium in a hurry and the Miss did a very fine job.

Where once being a corps' DM or officer was considered akin to being the corps' public face, model member, and unit loyalist par excellant, there now appeaars to have been a drastic culture shift!

Have corps administrators failed to do due-diligence in their selections? Is all this due to some corps no longer promoting within veteran membership but auditioning like any other position amongst recruits, other rookies, and even rook-outs and one-and-dones? Has the role of DM become too heavy shepherding larger memberships almost as assistant directors, more complicated shows and charts, more photo-ops and press interviews with Dan Potter et al., and reporting to overly-stressed adults now becoming more cut-throat CEO business tycoons than educators and counsellors for teens and young adults?

Each of the above named student leaders (deliberately left unnamed respecting their ages) has a narrative and personal rationale for the transfers. Without disecting the individual, what prompts this recent trend affecting at least 10 major corps?

Is the trend a fluke of history or are other factors changing and shaping member leadership?

Why do drum majors/conductors/officers corps-hop? What happened to unit loyalty?

[BRASSO]

What happened to unit loyalty?

In a nutshell, " unit loyalty " has given way to a DCI culture that embraces unfettered freedom on the part of marchers to transfer anywhere and at anytime with no formalized transfer restrictions in place whatesover among staff and marchers, nor Corps to Corps. This is of course, quite unusual in just about ALL other youth sports. The fact that now even DM's frequently Corps hop is just part of the accepted " evolutionary change " that has taken place. The fact that some do not see that this has created some of the instability that we are witnessing now in the activity, does not mean that such policies have NOT created instability in the activity. It just means that some appear to have not quite acknowledged this destabilizing impact upon the Drum Corps activity at large, thats all.

Are you in favor of this ? If not, what do you propose to change this culture of Corps hopping ?

Edited April 8, 2013 by BRASSO

[bill]

It may be the fact that members in certain performing positions would like to be and would like to enjoy the aspect of just simply being "one of the guys" when outside the performance aspect. Added responsibilities, oversight, etc. off the field can place a member "out of the loop" of that very important social aspect of the activity in some organizations.

[ranintothedoor]

For the some of the young adults that corps tend to draw these days, their resume is very important to them, especially for those music ed kids.

IMO, I think the role of DM seems to have become more and more administrative and doesn't necessarily include the kind of rapport building and fire-em-up role that it used to... that's been given to the techs and caption heads now. So there's less emotional incentive for DMs to stay with their corps.

One exception is the head DM for the Blue Knights... I keep seeing him when I think he's already aged out. lol :) Lot of respect for that one! BK stayed at my school for the last two years and he was a great leader to watch.

As for the "upward" mobility of members and even DMs, I think it's just a symptom of all the other major issues that face drum corps now.

[Michael Boo]

There was a case a few years ago when a drum major of one corps left to march another position in another corps. In an article on another website, this person was quoted as stating they did so because they wanted to march a top-12 corps, which created a buzz on DCP. And then, come the World Championships, their corps fell out of Finals.

That reminds me of the story of a sister of someone I know who left one corps that had never been in the World Championship Finals who left that corps to march in a corps that was a perpetual finalist. The corps she left literally knocked her new corps out of Finals. (In the mid-1970s, the second day of Prelims, the day of Finals, was devoted to corps that weren't in Finals the year before, and her new corps was the last unit to perform in Prelims. Before the era of cellular communication, her new corps didn't get the message and they were standing outside the stadium in full uniform when we got off our buses for Finals. That had to be awkward.

[normy diploome]

In a nutshell, " unit loyalty " has given way to a DCI culture that embraces unfettered freedom on the part of marchers to transfer anywhere and at anytime with no formalized transfer restrictions in place whatesover among staff and marchers, nor Corps to Corps. This is of course, quite unusual in just about ALL other youth sports. The fact that now even DM's frequently Corps hop is just part of the accepted " evolutionary change " that has taken place. The fact that some do not see that this has created some of the instability that we are witnessing now in the activity, does not mean that such policies have NOT created instability in the activity. It just means that some appear to have not quite acknowledged this destabilizing impact upon the Drum Corps activity at large, thats all.

Are you in favor of this ? If not, what do you propose to change this culture of Corps hopping ?

Because I am not always a diplomat (wise chooser of words, not the Canadian corps, ha, ha), I have to tread lightly and pick my words well here.

The loss of unit loyalty coincides with the greater societal shift where 50 per cent of marriages now end in divorce within five years. These kids have grown up in that culture where not even their families are stable and as often, not loyal. The corps on the whole are not local and are more geared toward filling the spots with the greatest talent rather than building the talent from within as in the old neighborhood corps. Once corps left the confines of the parishes, veteran posts, fire departments, and scout troops and became their own entities, the culture changed dramatically. Membership boundary lines were the first to go in DCI. Transfers were next. "Why force kids to march where they didn't want to?" was the rationale. These kids grew up in a culture where family binds flex, employer-employee relationships change monthly (who works for only one company their whole life today???), sports figures come and go from teams as often as we change socks, and even the corps change their home base to benefit themselves not the neighborhood youth (Cadets from Garfield to Bergen County to Allentown in a different state; Crossmen from Pennsylvania to Texas; Crusaders from Hyde Park /Boston to Florida, Madison and Blue Stars now in Indiana, etc., etc.)

I remember talking with George Bonfiglio, the DCI HOFer who founded 27th Lancers after the demise of the I.C. Reveries of sit-down fame. George B. struggled whether to accept kids from outside greater Boston because he knew the availabilities and loyalties would not be the same again. I had a similar discussion with Drs. Cinzio and Santo, consecutive directors at Garfield before a young George Hopkins made his now famous trek to the Gulf Coast to bolster Garfield's membership. In recapping these conversations with Jerry Seawright, founder of the Blue Devils, Jerry said to me,"Everybody in California is from someplace else"! as he pointed his thumb at Gayle Royer, founder of the Santa Clara Vanguard and himself a transplant from Iowa.

Unit loyalty being different in culture is the macro-economic at work here. Choosing the clarinetist, saxophonist, violinist or college conducting major for DM to direct a more difficultly arranged piece of music than what the neighborhood corps played is a different dynamic. The activity has benefitted with such stellar stars as a saxophonist/pianist in Will Pitts for example, but not always.

That the financial dynamics now constrict many to few years of marching at all is another major consideration.

We will not return to the old world certainly But not choosing established veterans for the podium while pressuring them to be the public face through TV interviews and media spots is a whole new universe.

It is though I believe, why alumni no longer donate/feel attached/stay loyal to the new units today because the units don't breed that loyalty.

Bluntly, Brasso, to answer your question, "I am not certain" which is why I ask and started the thread. This current trend does seem to be building the activity on the macro level but is raiding other units for the benefit of a few.

[normy diploome]

It may be the fact that members in certain performing positions would like to be and would like to enjoy the aspect of just simply being "one of the guys" when outside the performance aspect. Added responsibilities, oversight, etc. off the field can place a member "out of the loop" of that very important social aspect of the activity in some organizations.

I believe one of the veteran Cadet majors who resigned agreed with you when he wrote to the corps, "Drum corps is supposed to be fun, and it's not." His personal perception, not that of others. But it underlines your insight.

[craiga]

Because I am not always a diplomat (wise chooser of words, not the Canadian corps, ha, ha), I have to tread lightly and pick my words well here.

The loss of unit loyalty coincides with the greater societal shift where 50 per cent of marriages now end in divorce within five years. These kids have grown up in that culture where not even their families are stable and as often, not loyal. The corps on the whole are not local and are more geared toward filling the spots with the greatest talent rather than building the talent from within as in the old neighborhood corps. Once corps left the confines of the parishes, veteran posts, fire departments, and scout troops and became their own entities, the culture changed dramatically. Membership boundary lines were the first to go in DCI. Transfers were next. "Why force kids to march where they didn't want to?" was the rationale. These kids grew up in a culture where family binds flex, employer-employee relationships change monthly (who works for only one company their whole life today???), sports figures come and go from teams as often as we change socks, and even the corps change their home base to benefit themselves not the neighborhood youth (Cadets from Garfield to Bergen County to Allentown in a different state; Crossmen from Pennsylvania to Texas; Crusaders from Hyde Park /Boston to Florida, Madison and Blue Stars now in Indiana, etc., etc.)

I remember talking with George Bonfiglio, the DCI HOFer who founded 27th Lancers after the demise of the I.C. Reveries of sit-down fame. George B. struggled whether to accept kids from outside greater Boston because he knew the availabilities and loyalties would not be the same again. I had a similar discussion with Drs. Cinzio and Santo, consecutive directors at Garfield before a young George Hopkins made his now famous trek to the Gulf Coast to bolster Garfield's membership. In recapping these conversations with Jerry Seawright, founder of the Blue Devils, Jerry said to me,"Everybody in California is from someplace else"! as he pointed his thumb at Gayle Royer, founder of the Santa Clara Vanguard and himself a transplant from Iowa.

Unit loyalty being different in culture is the macro-economic at work here. Choosing the clarinetist, saxophonist, violinist or college conducting major for DM to direct a more difficultly arranged piece of music than what the neighborhood corps played is a different dynamic. The activity has benefitted with such stellar stars as a saxophonist/pianist in Will Pitts for example, but not always.

That the financial dynamics now constrict many to few years of marching at all is another major consideration.

We will not return to the old world certainly But not choosing established veterans for the podium while pressuring them to be the public face through TV interviews and media spots is a whole new universe.

It is though I believe, why alumni no longer donate/feel attached/stay loyal to the new units today because the units don't breed that loyalty.

Bluntly, Brasso, to answer your question, "I am not certain" which is why I ask and started the thread. This current trend does seem to be building the activity on the macro level but is raiding other units for the benefit of a few.

Just for clarification purposes, Boston did NOT move its organization to Florida. The corps office has never left metro-Boston. I assume you are alluding to BAC having winter training in Florida (like the Red Sox). For the record, the corps had its December and February camps in Florida this year, with one more weekend(in May) to go. So, it is obviously a stretch to claim a drum corps has moved its organization to FL based on three weekends.

One final point....nearly half of the corps members you referenced who left to go to another corps were members of the Cadets. Perhaps you should ask them why they left.

[normy diploome]

For the some of the young adults that corps tend to draw these days, their resume is very important to them, especially for those music ed kids.

IMO, I think the role of DM seems to have become more and more administrative and doesn't necessarily include the kind of rapport building and fire-em-up role that it used to... that's been given to the techs and caption heads now. So there's less emotional incentive for DMs to stay with their corps.

One exception is the head DM for the Blue Knights... I keep seeing him when I think he's already aged out. lol :) Lot of respect for that one! BK stayed at my school for the last two years and he was a great leader to watch.

As for the "upward" mobility of members and even DMs, I think it's just a symptom of all the other major issues that face drum corps now.

As one who was a secondary school administrator who helped win the Federal Blue Ribbon at two schools where I taught, I had a great hand in choosing new teachers. Resumes are a tool but so is the great distinction between depth and width. Running from unit to unit (width) to list various instructors who have taught me (as in the "I studied under" citations) never quite matched the depth of maturity and development of character aspects necessary as a music ed teacher. That so many young music ed teachers bail on the vocation within a few years is not coincidental. To develop persons and programs from fledling rookies into champions is tougher than ring-chasing for sure. Unfortunately, too many are seeking the jewelry and not the character development that is requisite and hopefully comes in time, like mastering the scales first.

[normy diploome]

Just for clarification purposes, Boston did NOT move its organization to Florida. The corps office has never left metro-Boston. I assume you are alluding to BAC having winter training in Florida (like the Red Sox). For the record, the corps had its December and February camps in Florida this year, with one more weekend(in May) to go. So, it is obviously a stretch to claim a drum corps has moved its organization to FL based on three weekends.

One final point....nearly half of the corps members you referenced who left to go to another corps were members of the Cadets. Perhaps you should ask them why they left.

If my memory is correct, the Crusaders began practicing in Florida when Mr. Weinstein was director............himself a Florida resident, wasn't/isn't he? Not a spitting match, but you put the emphasis on only part of the sentence to which you took offense.

What does the current Crusader corps do for the kids of, let's say Most Precious Blood neighborhood in Hyde Park? or is the corps' focus solely on the current membership of the current corps??? The current membership is far from being a Boston based corps, although I do acknowledge that an audition was held this year at Boston U on Commonwealth AV., the first in greater Boston in several years.

Regarding your pot-shot on the Cadets, confer my response to Bill (who likes the Kilties in this same thread. I quote one of those Cadets. I did not mention previously the coincidence that the assistant director of the Cadets left at that time to become assistant director of the Crusaders but now is moving back to the Cadets and has publicly said so in interviews and postings on their website.

By the way, I proudly carry in my wallet the laminated card with the Red waldo on oneside and the black waldo on the other which card was given to the BAC membership several years back. The author of the card, with the director's awareness, acknowledged the number of Crusaders I have sponsored in past years.

I look to enjoy a wonderful 2013 Crusader season, wherever they are.