Note from Exec. Dir. of Music City

[Toby]

Or maybe become " Nashville Music City 2". The "2" in this case, could be for using "Music City" & "Music City Legends" people.

With DCA Corps in: Cincinnati, Atlanta, North Carolina, Virginia and Florida. Seems to working for "Cadet's 2" in their area. Or, Even if you had to start small in Class A. That worked well for "Carolina Gold" and "Cin. Tradition".

Oh well. Let's Hope they can come up with something.

Keith wanted nothing to do with Legend.

[drilltech1]

How is pointing out my opinions and some facts almost a conflict of interest? (And I don't work at the office.)

Well, Boo, it looks like you turned out your Hoosier Highlanders from the DCI office staff to red neg me. It doesn't matter to me whether you have a desk next to Dan Acheson or whether you write in your jammies from Chesterton. But it is a legitimate point to raise that if DCI subsidizes you in any way for all the articles you write for their website, or situates you with most preferred seating for the big contests while others have to pay for those seats to assess the same opinions, then you come off de facto as an official spokesperson and not the common person in the stands. Given all the questions about the cost of the activity, it is legitimate to ask if DCI funds your travel, housing, meals, snacks during intermissions, etc., the same as it is legitimate to grumble on DCP if the paying audience is getting the bang for the dollar with the ancient judging panels who are ensconced now almost four decades (Oliviero, Czapinski, et al.) I don't care whether it is two dollars or two peanuts. That's a battle for others to fight, although I do hearken back to the days when everything associated with DCI was volunteer, at least on top of the table. Then the offices in Lombard and suburbs changed all that. And corps are folding as the gross costs have grown so high and corps can't afford DCI participation or their own reasonings for existence.<br> Despite your being affronted, you still have not publicly stated here what your rationale is of charging some DCI participants and not others(?)

Why charge newcomers more for what for forty years others, including you when you played your glockenspiel in the Cavaliers, got for free? Your reaction almost sounds like that those who disagree with you are disloyal to DCI, rather than admitting that there are no corps, and thus no DCI without these same people donating their monies.

I won't even get into the resentment some have about your blogging this year about you taking potshots at some units (like the Cadets' drumline moving props) and almost none about your alma mater in a very down year.

You may not get a full time salary as a DCI front office employee but you set yourself up as a person in the know with big connections there into the backdoor DCI thinking in the office. That's why your limited answer to a variant opinion is unsatisfactory.

<br>You may be a very nice person with all the best intentions, but this needs to be spelled out further. <br>Why charge Soundsport participants to watch the corps when we don't do that elsewhere to others in the activity the same way except for Finals?

Edited August 24, 2013 by drilltech1

[Toby]

Maybe because the groups that are there in World and Open Class have paid a membership fee to DCI. As a member of MCL, when we had people running a booth at Murfreesboro, we had to actually purchase seats if we wanted to have a break to watch a specific group. Did we moan about it on here? Nope. We bought the tickets and still got names for prospective members.

Also, Boo does not speak for the front office of DCI. He writes liner notes for the CDs and DVDs, provides a live blog during finals, and does some interviews.

Now, please, back on topic...

[drilltech1]

Maybe because the groups that are there in World and Open Class have paid a membership fee to DCI. As a member of MCL, when we had people running a booth at Murfreesboro, we had to actually purchase seats if we wanted to have a break to watch a specific group. Did we moan about it on here? Nope. We bought the tickets and still got names for prospective members.

Also, Boo does not speak for the front office of DCI. He writes liner notes for the CDs and DVDs, provides a live blog during finals, and does some interviews.

Now, please, back on topic...

MCL refers to Music City Legends, the all age corps, and not Music City, the Open Class corps.... ....am I correct?

[Toby]

MCL refers to Music City Legends, the all age corps, and not Music City, the Open Class corps.... ....am I correct?

Singular, yes.

[normy diploome]

I think these questions are pertinent to the larger questions and the matters which Keith Hall, CEO of the open class, raises about DCI as an organization and why his corps has folded.

Edited August 24, 2013 by normy diploome

[Toby]

I think these questions are pertinent to the larger questions and the matters which Keith Hall, CEO of the open class, raises about DCI as an organization and why his corps has folded.

And you're asking the wrong guy about it. Ask Acheson, or Jacobs, or someone in the office with actual decision making capacity.

[Stu]

And you're asking the wrong guy about it. Ask Acheson, or Jacobs, or someone in the office with actual decision making capacity.

The way DCI is structured the DCI Executive Director and the rest of the DCI Administration really have no major 'decision' making power; they are in charge of implementing and managing the decisions made by the voting WC member corps; thus Acheson, Jacobs, Sue, etc... can only make managerial determinations which support the dictates of the WC voting member corps.

[cixelsyd]

Well, Boo, it looks like you turned out your Hoosier Highlanders from the DCI office staff to red neg me. It doesn't matter to me whether you have a desk next to Dan Acheson or whether you write in your jammies from Chesterton. But it is a legitimate point to raise that if DCI subsidizes you in any way for all the articles you write for their website, or situates you with most preferred seating for the big contests while others have to pay for those seats to assess the same opinions, then you come off de facto as an official spokesperson and not the common person in the stands. Given all the questions about the cost of the activity, it is legitimate to ask if DCI funds your travel, housing, meals, snacks during intermissions, etc., the same as it is legitimate to grumble on DCP if the paying audience is getting the bang for the dollar with the ancient judging panels who are ensconced now almost four decades (Oliviero, Czapinski, et al.) I don't care whether it is two dollars or two peanuts. That's a battle for others to fight, although I do hearken back to the days when everything associated with DCI was volunteer, at least on top of the table. Then the offices in Lombard and suburbs changed all that. And corps are folding as the gross costs have grown so high and corps can't afford DCI participation or their own reasonings for existence. Despite your being affronted, you still have not publicly stated here what your rationale is of charging some DCI participants and not others(?)

Why charge newcomers more for what for forty years others, including you when you played your glockenspiel in the Cavaliers, got for free? Your reaction almost sounds like that those who disagree with you are disloyal to DCI, rather than admitting that there are no corps, and thus no DCI without these same people donating their monies.

I won't even get into the resentment some have about your blogging this year about you taking potshots at some units (like the Cadets' drumline moving props) and almost none about your alma mater in a very down year.

You may not get a full time salary as a DCI front office employee but you set yourself up as a person in the know with big connections there into the backdoor DCI thinking in the office. That's why your limited answer to a variant opinion is unsatisfactory.

You may be a very nice person with all the best intentions, but this needs to be spelled out further. Why charge Soundsport participants to watch the corps when we don't do that elsewhere to others in the activity the same way except for Finals?

To answer your question - as far as I know, the default policy is to charge admission to shows. Judging from responses in this thread, not even all members of competing field corps are allowed in the gate free of charge - that privilege is only extended to competing junior corps.

DCI creates and promotes events based on lineups of competing WC (and OC) corps who hold membership in DCI at one of those two levels, and who commit to their appearances many months in advance. SoundSport groups and exhibition units do not have that sort of advance commitment, so why should we expect them to get the same privileges?

Now, when a show is DCI sanctioned, but run by an external sponsor, that show sponsor controls the gate. If they want to let someone in free of charge, they can make that call. If they can lure an exhibition corps to perform at their show for no pay, in exchange for giving them free seats to see the contest, they can do that.

(Judging from the rest of your post, I doubt you really wanted an answer to the question, but here it is anyway.)

[dcibrando]

To answer your question - as far as I know, the default policy is to charge admission to shows. Judging from responses in this thread, not even all members of competing field corps are allowed in the gate free of charge - that privilege is only extended to competing junior corps.

DCI creates and promotes events based on lineups of competing WC (and OC) corps who hold membership in DCI at one of those two levels, and who commit to their appearances many months in advance. SoundSport groups and exhibition units do not have that sort of advance commitment, so why should we expect them to get the same privileges?

Now, when a show is DCI sanctioned, but run by an external sponsor, that show sponsor controls the gate. If they want to let someone in free of charge, they can make that call. If they can lure an exhibition corps to perform at their show for no pay, in exchange for giving them free seats to see the contest, they can do that.

(Judging from the rest of your post, I doubt you really wanted an answer to the question, but here it is anyway.)

let's say there are 7 open class and world class corps performing at a show

SoundSport XYZ is performing an exhibition prior to the show - wouldn't they be missing a good portion of the show getting out of their uniform, putting instruments away, etc. SoundSport I thought was a part of or under the umbrella of DCI, but I guess they wouldn't be considered a performing group at the shows in this case?

We really have no idea what organized performance opportunities SoundSport groups will have (other than possible DCI shows at the moment)...so let's say a group charged $250 per member to be a part of a SoundSport group... do they come back later and say "hey we got approved to perform at 2 DCI shows...the transportation will cost more and oh yeah we actually have to buy tickets at each show to perform, so we'll need an extra $100 from everyone now"? Is this really how we want to grow the activity?

I understand what some are saying about SoundSport not being an official member of DCI, etc. etc. I get that... I just think this is a VERY wrong step to take for a new outlet to potentially help grow the activity long term....just my opinion though. I could really see loyal DCI fans applauding for these groups when they perform knowing how hard it is in today's world to do something like this and for their effort and participating in the activity as a whole... no matter how big or small it is.