DCI membership votes overwhelmingly to allow ALL brass instruments in

[Michael Boo]

I've been active in the activity since 1975 and have long stated, "Drum corps is whatever drum corps becomes."

[Michael Boo]

And yes, there are still a people honked off about every innovation that's ever happened, during and before DCI's existence. I've run into someone who got hot under the collar over the thought of drums being placed on harnesses instead of slings. I didn't have the heart to ask him about the death of calfskin drum heads.

[MikeN]

nm.

-MIke

Edited February 11, 2014 by MikeN

[DrumManTx]

The Madison Scouts may have proposed this change...but it was overwhelmingly passed by the vast majority of corps. So...don't blame the Scouts for this. I agree with the comment that the Scouts won't lose their fan base over this. Everyone loves the Scouts, and I guarantee that James Mason is going to do something fabulous with this new found freedom...He is one of the most creative and talented artistic directors in all of DCI. If the Scouts add other brass this season, I can't wait to see what they do with it. I predict that the fans will wind up loving it.

Thank God......someone reasonable. Amen to this.

[JimF-LowBari]

One person was allowed to play timpani prior to the pit, but they still had to be on the actual performing field, not the area in front of the pit.

A few memories about the evolution of the pit:

At first, only two mallet keyboards were allowed, worn around the neck of members who, with the exception of the concert standstill, were required to keep their feet moving. Those were allowed for the 1974 season, with the restriction that the instruments were bells and xylophone. For 1977, (my last year as a mallet player in Cavaliers), vibes and marimba were allowed, but still, only two players were permitted. For 1978, up to four players were permitted, but still wearing the instruments.

For 1981, the pit was allowed, but only between the 45-yard lines, in front of the field. Many corps did not take advantage of it. Then the pit was expanded to between the 35-yard lines, then the entire front of the field, then later behind the back of the field if someone wanted to treat it that way. (Think Carolina Crown's timpani and bass drums.) Then membership limits was increased from 128 to 135 to allow for more pit players, then to 150. (Either way, corps could employ the increase any way they wished.) Soon, the sound board person was permitted to be someone other than a corps member; so that person now could be in the pit.

Then, with electronics, synthesizers were added to the pit. What's next? Perhaps a judge just for the pit, seeing that the current on-field percussion judge often has to be clear across the field to sample the battery percussion, who anymore, aren't much (if any) larger than the number of pit performers.

Thanks Mike, missed how this changed in DCI. LOL missed some of the DCA evolution due to work and other things.

Just two points:

- One person could have played tymps pre-pit but they would be standing still (or more likely in DCA marking time in place) while playing. Either that of they would have been a REAL strong person. Which corps would have been brave enought to have someone not moving?

- Interesting DCI approved bells 1974 but DCA had them in 1970 (Boys of 76 - where are you HornsUp). I know at least one DCA corps (Yankee Rebels) using four sets of bells in 1976. Anyone wants to hear evolution of bells in Drum Corps check out the two drum solos that year as jaw dropping for the era. John Flowers was top of his game that year.....

Oh yeah, other reason for pit was to open up drumline drill and tymps/bell players could not keep up for some (hernia causing) reason.

Edited February 11, 2014 by JimF-LowBari

[BigW]

How do you lower operating costs?

I've been thinking outside any old box on this recently. Here's some food for thought. Don't kill me on this, please. I toss this out there to think about as well. I'm serious, not satirical in this, by the way. I have no wrong or right answer, your answers are more important than the questions here are.

If I have digital instruments- and I do now in DCI, I have a virtual compositional palette limited only by my imagination and by knowing how to alter waveforms and control the software and hardware. Why do I need brass or anyone playing an instrument on the field at all? I could use those bodies as guard people and absolutely fill the field with color and even more intense and exciting visual packages and concepts.

I'll keep percussion. Why? They appeal to everyone a lot more. they seem to have that X-Games "extreme" factor and "youth driven" excitement in the battery that the extreme sports proponents like to seriously tout because it's a very youthful audience that it brings to the venues. People see them used more and more at pro sporting events, people seem excited by the Drum Line battle concept, heck-- we had that corps style battery with C-Lo at the Super Bowl in 2012.

We could also do to indoor venues like Japan. No weather concerns, and we'd need fewer people. Using amplification would likely be easier to do and more reliable indoors. The venue would be more personal, people in closer if they wanted to be, and again, fewer people to fill the field.

If you want brass players, maybe, two options:

Mike them all and drop to a Disney Future Corps/Blast! size ensemble of around 16-24, and you really have the true creme de la creme of your audition people, or just keep a couple of sideline screamers/features ala DCA.

Maybe you cut a bus out of the picture and its fuel/maintenance costs doing this. Maybe an equipment vehicle, maybe. It would also "be innovative" and really push the "performance art" side that the DCI people seem very interested in delving into as deeply as possible. It could be argued this is what would draw more "normal" people in, perhaps.

By the way, J.D. Shaw's statement is very thoughtful and reasonable, but what if the people running the organization want to go more in this direction? Does he have any serious input, or would he be told to do what is asked or walk?

Again, food for thought. I'm trying to just get people to think right now, not drive them crazy. How people answer is what I'm angling at here, lots of thoughtful things said of late.

[Ghost]

No one's going to field a full line of sousas or going to march with concert french horns.

An you know this as factual?

[JimF-LowBari]

An you know this as factual?

Well we're not going to overuse amps or electronics either are we?????

[Jast45]

The Blue Devils in the last couple of years, The Cavaliers, and Phantom Regiment all used non traditional instuments for a solo spot (I believe a flugle horn, A soprano and heralding horns--am not sure of the names) and there did not seem to be a big reaction to it (mostly positive if i remember). ANd though it is difficult to imagine doing the drills corps do today with a line of trombones, would having one as a soloist really be that different from some of the other soli we have heard with different instruments? I am just trying to see the difference.

[N.E. Brigand]

How does one get ahead of something not yet made up? Besides, the weekly e-mailing is when things are addressed in depth. Until then, we'll likely see lots more active imaginations at work.

Is DCI's leadership so out of touch that they didn't realize that this news would result in an enormous outcry from the fans? It was obviously going to leak and need to be addressed sooner than the weekly email. When the director of our company (an arts organization) parted ways with us last year, our staff called all key constituents (several score people), sent an email to all our customers (many thousands of people), and crafted a statement for the press (a couple dozen outlets), and made members of the leadership team available for interviews, and all of this was completed in the same day. And we have a smaller budget than DCI.