BRASSO Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 (edited) The attendance at shows is a huge part of the experience. Not really... The Legends Drum Corps of Massachusetts, for just one example, have an awesome 20 man snare line, and 70 or so brass that practices once or twice a month throughout thje year for the sheer enjoyment of continually perfectly their craft and the enjoyment of playing together. They perform , by choice, only once per year.. at the indoor induction ceremony of the Massachusetts Drum Corps and Music Educators Hall of Fame. Atendance might be 100-200 people.. tops. The " attendance " for them is a complete non factor in why they do what they do once or twice a week throughout the year. So " attendance " might be important for some Drum Corps participants, it is my no means the defining and unique exerience draw for many as you have erroneously concluded that it is. Edited March 27, 2014 by BRASSO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Not really.. not for a lot of Alumni Corps, for example. The Legends Drum Corps of Massachusetts for just one example have an awesome 20 man snare line, and 70 or so brass that practices twice a month for the sheer enjoyment of continually perfectly their craft and the enjoyment of playing together. They perform , by choice, only once per year.. at the induction ceremony of the Massachusetts Drum Corps and Music Educators Hall of Fame. Atendance might be 100-200 people.. tops. The " attendance " for them is a complete non factor in why they do what they do twice a week throughout the year. So " attendance " might be important for some Drum Corps participants, it is my no means the defining and unique draw for many as you have erroneously concluded that it is. Alumni corps, I would contend are a little different than Junior corps in that most of the people who perform in Junior corps are "kids" and kids thrive off the attention the audience gives them. Speaking from experience, there were many shows we had in 2000 where we felt like we didn't have a particularly "great" show if the crowd wasn't going nuts. It's about communication. We perform for the crowd, the crowd shows us love. Granted, this shouldn't be the primary purpose as to why a person performs the snot out of a show, but it does help. Everyone has their own interpretation of what drum corps should be about, but I think drum corps contributes to people being the best they can be at anything they do. Just my thoughts on what I've been thinking.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Not really.. not for a lot of Alumni Corps, for example. The Legends Drum Corps of Massachusetts for just one example have an awesome 20 man snare line, and 70 or so brass that practices once or twice a month throughout thje year for the sheer enjoyment of continually perfectly their craft and the enjoyment of playing together. They perform , by choice, only once per year.. at the indoor induction ceremony of the Massachusetts Drum Corps and Music Educators Hall of Fame. Atendance might be 100-200 people.. tops. The " attendance " for them is a complete non factor in why they do what they do once or twice a week throughout the year. So " attendance " might be important for some Drum Corps participants, it is my no means the defining and unique exerience draw for many as you have erroneously concluded that it is. That's why I said it's a part of the experience. That's what I wrote. It's not an erroneous conclusion, as you put it. And most Alumni Corps members had the experience of marching in front of the big audiences. They seem to do it now because of the love of the activity, something that seems to be missing from a lot of people nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 (edited) Alumni corps, I would contend are a little different than Junior corps in that most of the people who perform in Junior corps are "kids" and kids thrive off the attention the audience gives them. Speaking from experience, there were many shows we had in 2000 where we felt like we didn't have a particularly "great" show if the crowd wasn't going nuts. It's about communication. We perform for the crowd, the crowd shows us love. Granted, this shouldn't be the primary purpose as to why a person performs the snot out of a show, but it does help. Everyone has their own interpretation of what drum corps should be about, but I think drum corps contributes to people being the best they can be at anything they do. Just my thoughts on what I've been thinking.... I can accept that audiences are important to participants in DCI. ( although I 'll remember this thread discusion later when we are told that staff and members don't really care about what audiences think of their show. ) I also wish todays participants in DCI could receive the TV exposure live at Championships that previous DCI participants used to receive.......... also, on another point,, we all here might have disagreements from time to time on a variety of issues, but I think it goes without saying that there is probably universal agreement on here that all these participants work their tails off and in the process are developing life long skills that should enrich their lives forever and provide them added confidence and the mental strength to increase their odds of being able to effectively fight off any of life's future setbacks and adversity that might befall them. Aside from the legitimate debate on the instrumentation useage, the underyling benefis to the DCI ( and DCA ) participants in this activity still remain robust, imo Edited March 27, 2014 by BRASSO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 (edited) fsubone, I wonder... As drum corps progresses towards playing to empty stadiums for the benefit of the online, digital media-only realm, will the experience diminish for the marching members? As drum corps becomes more and more a one-year music major resume-booster, won't performance for an adoring crowd become less and less important for marching members? I think it's possible that, over time, Brasso's position will become more correct than yours. Edited March 27, 2014 by garfield 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BozzlyB Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 For me it was first and foremost only about the joy of playing in the line striving to be better. One of the best if not THE best drum corps memories I have was an awesome run through after a grueling 3 day mid summer death camp and watching the staff freak the #### out. The reaction we got from a mere 15-20 people was more gratifying than any reaction from any crowd I ever performed for. I think what defines the activity is different for everyone to a degree. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 fsubone, I wonder... As drum corps progresses towards playing to empty stadiums for the benefit of the online, digital media-only realm, will the experience diminish for the marching members? As drum corps becomes more and more a one-year music major resume-booster, won't performance for an adoring crowd become less and less important for marching members? I think it's possible that, over time, Brasso's position will become more correct than yours. Won't one-and-done mean the death of college basketball, since crowds can just stay at home and watch it on TV? No amount of TV exposure can compare to the live thrill of being there in the stands watching a line blow the stands back, or seeing the entire rifle line crack together. As far as I've ever known talking to alums that have participated since the birth of drum corps, the experience and rush of performing has stayed the same. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 fsubone, I wonder... As drum corps progresses towards playing to empty stadiums for the benefit of the online, digital media-only realm, will the experience diminish for the marching members? As drum corps becomes more and more a one-year music major resume-booster, won't performance for an adoring crowd become less and less important for marching members? I think it's possible that, over time, Brasso's position will become more correct than yours. how many singing artists have said no matter how successful their records are.....there is nothing like performing in front of even the smallest audience . Why do famous stand up comics..like leno go every week to small clubs......nothing like the human interaction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 (edited) The attendance at shows is a huge part of the experience. Performing in NFL stadiums to packed houses is incredible for the kids, and a big draw for them. Yes, I understood his question. Why be so patronizing constantly? The Ohio State University marching band performs in front of 100,000 people plus at every home game, which is more than corps do in a season, but that doesn't make them a drum corps. They even have very similar instrumentation now. That's somewhat of a similar experience; I wouldn't use those aspects of what is done in an activity to define the activity. That's just me though. Edited March 27, 2014 by jjeffeory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 The attendance at shows is a huge part of the experience. Performing in NFL stadiums to packed houses is incredible for the kids, and a big draw for them. Yes, I understood his question. Why be so patronizing constantly? When has DCI ever 'packed the house' at any NFL Stadium? Most I have ever seen in the stands at an NFL stadium is maybe 1/4 of full capacity, with all of the audience on just one side, and the other 3/4 of the stadium with completely empty seats. So, again I ask, when has DCI ever 'packed the house' at any NFL Stadium? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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