Why do You Stay?

[GUARDLING]

What's wrong - panties in a bunch cause someone said something that was negative and might hurt someone's feelings? If something is bad, and someone calls it bad, what's the problem? This is the problem with this world and kids today - we are so #### politically correct that we can't be blunt and honest with someone without having to sugar coat it.

Just because you see something one way, and I see it another doesn't mean that either of us is wrong.

NO! anyone can have an opinion just be adult enough to know when and how to use that right. Nooone has to candy coat anything. And dont worry about the kids , I dont know 1 staff that works that way. These kids know the reality of it all to well 24/7

[GUARDLING]

Because all of you little #### ants need a good ### whooping - and I've got the paddle. Line up kids, daddy's home!

Seriously, was this posted with the purpose of starting a fight? I could counter with the question - why are you so put off with what we think? The fact that you cared enough to post this suggests a bit of insecurity on your part.

The fact is this - some of us grew up with this activity, just like you did, and it will always be a huge part of each of us. Just because we love the activity doesn't mean we have to love what's happening in the activity. This isn't a mutual admiration society, and I think it's telling that there is such a large number of people that are worried about the direction of show design and the activity in general.

Im 25 years removed from marching - and while that makes me an old timer (I'm not THAT old) I also see things from a different perspective than I did way back when. Now days, drum corps has to compete with other forms of entertainment and activities to earn my patronage. I have three children and while I was excited to introduce them to the activity several years ago, because the recent on field offerings have done nothing but bore me, I have been less than motivated to bring them to a show. In fact, my 12 year old, who is the only musician in the family (he plays baritone) has told me he has no interest in going to a drum corps show because he's not interested in learning how to dance (his words not mine). He loves the videos from the early 2000's and went to a few shows when he was younger, but doesn't like what he sees now.

#### , talk about panties in a bunch. well its also to bad for your kids. he just might be missing out on something . If not there are other things Im sure because its not going back to 2000. Also did you realize your marching years people felt the same..yes many believe it or not. How do I know ,I was teaching then also, see I think I might be older than you .

As other poster have said including you, other things compete for you $ and you are totally right. take it there, there's no need to sit in the stands and hate something you pay for....just makes sense to me.

so the topic was and you can answer for your self " why do you stay "

Edited June 29, 2014 by GUARDLING

[BRASSO]

dont worry about the kids , . These kids know the reality of it all to well 24/7

So there it is... nobody apparently gets all that worked up on what is said in opinions except a couple of us old Mother Hens here on DCP (... haha!)

Edited June 29, 2014 by BRASSO

[GUARDLING]

So there it is... nobody aspparently gets all worked up on what is said in opinions except a couple of old Mother Hens here on DCP ( haha!)

no i meant the reality of the 12 hour rehearsals, their staff, their director their piers..dcp gets a whole other reaction.lol,, I think the OP view was also from an audience member standpoint being he never marched, but he can answer for himself if he chooses. but you could be right..noone cares....lol

Edited June 29, 2014 by GUARDLING

[geluf]

I stay because I'm a designer for marching bands and need to keep up with the ever-changing paradigms in design philosophy to stay current for my clients.

Other than that I stay because I'm not bothered when things change. DCI still gives me the essence of what I want to see and I still enjoy it.

[perc2100]

Why people stay, a (hopefully) short dissertation/attempted explanation.

There is a VERY strong sense of entitlement in drum corps fans/alumni. This is not uncommon, as people in many aspects of entertainment have the thought of "I invested time and money into this activity, I think the activity should mirror my own personal ideals and if not I'm going to complain because I don't have time/resources to do anything but complain." We often think our "era" of participation (be it as a MM or as a hard-core fan) as the gold standard, and when the activity trends start to stray too much from that golden era many fans don't like the change.

I started noticing drum corps in the late 80's, became an uber-fan in the early 90's, and marched in the late 90's. I think of that golden standard as late 80s-early 90s: those shows are some of my all-time favorites. I personally feel like I marched in a darker era of the activity, with a small amount of corps (one year I marched there were only 17 or 18 WC corps) and not a ton of great show designs. I aged out right before brass instruments of any key were legalized, and right before corps sizes rose to 135 (and then 150). For whatever reason, be it I got occupied with adult life, married, moved across the country, etc. I stopped being interested in the activity. I came back when I started teaching HS, with colleagues teaching WC Champion corps, students marching corps, etc. I realized that the activity was NOT ABOUT ME, it was about EVERYONE. That epiphany led me to let go of some of my misgivings and embrace the cool stuff I liked about designs: I realized there were FAR more cool things than annoying things.

I think people who the OP is talking about haven't been able to let go of the activity yet. Most of them don't march, they don't volunteer, they don't teach, they don't serve in an administrative or director role, they don't serve of a corps BoD, they don't design. They do nothing except maybe by tickets, FN, and/or other souvies and then feel entitled to voice their opinion. It is FAR easier to vent on an internet forum pseudo-anonymously w/out actually trying to do something to change: it's really the tools of the weak, in this situation.

That's why the stick around: they are passionate about the activity, passionate about the activity wanted to be run "correctly," but not really passionate enough, or able, to be involved as more than a fan.

[27Claymore]

It's like your Daughter getting hooked on drugs, you don't Love her any less while she is on her misguided journey of exploration. If anything you Love her more as you try to guide her back to the Light.

[HockeyDad]

Why people stay, a (hopefully) short dissertation/attempted explanation.

There is a VERY strong sense of entitlement in drum corps fans/alumni. This is not uncommon, as people in many aspects of entertainment have the thought of "I invested time and money into this activity, I think the activity should mirror my own personal ideals and if not I'm going to complain because I don't have time/resources to do anything but complain." We often think our "era" of participation (be it as a MM or as a hard-core fan) as the gold standard, and when the activity trends start to stray too much from that golden era many fans don't like the change.

I started noticing drum corps in the late 80's, became an uber-fan in the early 90's, and marched in the late 90's. I think of that golden standard as late 80s-early 90s: those shows are some of my all-time favorites. I personally feel like I marched in a darker era of the activity, with a small amount of corps (one year I marched there were only 17 or 18 WC corps) and not a ton of great show designs. I aged out right before brass instruments of any key were legalized, and right before corps sizes rose to 135 (and then 150). For whatever reason, be it I got occupied with adult life, married, moved across the country, etc. I stopped being interested in the activity. I came back when I started teaching HS, with colleagues teaching WC Champion corps, students marching corps, etc. I realized that the activity was NOT ABOUT ME, it was about EVERYONE. That epiphany led me to let go of some of my misgivings and embrace the cool stuff I liked about designs: I realized there were FAR more cool things than annoying things.

I think people who the OP is talking about haven't been able to let go of the activity yet. Most of them don't march, they don't volunteer, they don't teach, they don't serve in an administrative or director role, they don't serve of a corps BoD, they don't design. They do nothing except maybe by tickets, FN, and/or other souvies and then feel entitled to voice their opinion. It is FAR easier to vent on an internet forum pseudo-anonymously w/out actually trying to do something to change: it's really the tools of the weak, in this situation.

That's why the stick around: they are passionate about the activity, passionate about the activity wanted to be run "correctly," but not really passionate enough, or able, to be involved as more than a fan.

Is that broad brush of yours heavy? How presumptuous of you to claim to know the motivation of drum corps fans/alumni, then to cast them (those who don't share your views) in a very negative light based upon your own personal bias. Why don't you stick to answering why You stay. Edited June 29, 2014 by HockeyDad

[BoyWonder1911]

I would say to anyone who has never been any part of DCI except for a spectator, or has been involved but many years ago, go and volunteer for a corps.

They can always use someone. Doesn't matter. Just go and say "I'm here to help out" and they will be overjoyed to find something you can help with.

I bet you will find that there is more to drum corps than just show designs and competition, and that the latter is actually among the least important parts of the activity.

Sometimes we lose our perspective on things, we forget what matters most.

Edited June 29, 2014 by BoyWonder1911

[GUARDLING]

Why people stay, a (hopefully) short dissertation/attempted explanation.

There is a VERY strong sense of entitlement in drum corps fans/alumni. This is not uncommon, as people in many aspects of entertainment have the thought of "I invested time and money into this activity, I think the activity should mirror my own personal ideals and if not I'm going to complain because I don't have time/resources to do anything but complain." We often think our "era" of participation (be it as a MM or as a hard-core fan) as the gold standard, and when the activity trends start to stray too much from that golden era many fans don't like the change.

I started noticing drum corps in the late 80's, became an uber-fan in the early 90's, and marched in the late 90's. I think of that golden standard as late 80s-early 90s: those shows are some of my all-time favorites. I personally feel like I marched in a darker era of the activity, with a small amount of corps (one year I marched there were only 17 or 18 WC corps) and not a ton of great show designs. I aged out right before brass instruments of any key were legalized, and right before corps sizes rose to 135 (and then 150). For whatever reason, be it I got occupied with adult life, married, moved across the country, etc. I stopped being interested in the activity. I came back when I started teaching HS, with colleagues teaching WC Champion corps, students marching corps, etc. I realized that the activity was NOT ABOUT ME, it was about EVERYONE. That epiphany led me to let go of some of my misgivings and embrace the cool stuff I liked about designs: I realized there were FAR more cool things than annoying things.

I think people who the OP is talking about haven't been able to let go of the activity yet. Most of them don't march, they don't volunteer, they don't teach, they don't serve in an administrative or director role, they don't serve of a corps BoD, they don't design. They do nothing except maybe by tickets, FN, and/or other souvies and then feel entitled to voice their opinion. It is FAR easier to vent on an internet forum pseudo-anonymously w/out actually trying to do something to change: it's really the tools of the weak, in this situation.

That's why the stick around: they are passionate about the activity, passionate about the activity wanted to be run "correctly," but not really passionate enough, or able, to be involved as more than a fan.

there's definitely some truth to all this. At least from my own experience. My motivations for staying run in all directions including times when I really wanted out and be done with it all to experience more in life. I have seen all of what you are saying including a multitude of other reasons . This is why sometimes I think I have a different perspective than most. Not a better outlook , just different. I was from BITD as a member ( very young ) especially to be in the corps I was in, became a very young instructor, branched off from playing soprano ( in those days ) to guard because guided by George Z. and telling me the future was going to go wild into visuals, that's where I wanted to be. I had my 1st top 5 guard by the time I was 24 ( a time when there were only 1 or 2 instructors for a section, not 15) did DCA corps, bands coast to coast , Judged in almost all arenas. Many WGI medals and finalist in every class., including percussion....................Why do I say this? not to preach my own experience. Iv'e been here on DCP for quite a while and almost never mention any detail of what I do ( on purpose ) it's just to show different times, different outlooks, different perspectives. I see and have experienced it all.

I guess I'm one of the ones many talk about stepping down, hell I do it myslelf and I do try to make room and nurture others. Maybe that and a few other reasons may be the reason I HAVE STAYED.

I 've lived through all the changes and adapted, ( had to if I wanted to continue ) many times put my own spin on it, educated the young on the ones who came before them, tried to also show my own piers from my marching days of the similarities, not the differences. Longevity is not easy in this activity , although many may think that because of some who have been around since dirt, it's actually very hard and something one works on constantly to stay relevant. Maybe again.

That's why I stayed.