ShortAndFast Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 As much as I'd love more drum corps in the Northwest, asking the full tour to add thousands of miles to cross the Rockies and then go back to Championships just isn't financially reasonable. So there are basically two possibilities: 1) Finals on the west coast. DCI knows it will draw a great audience, but does that cover the increased costs? It doesn't seem too many groups are eager to repeat the 2007 tour. 2) Status quo. A couple of finalists do an early west coast swing, maybe with some assistance from DCI. This seems to be working pretty well, although I'd love more groups to do the NW tour rather than staying in CA. The last 3 non-BD winners have all come west, so there's possibly some competitive advantage to early-season comparisons with BD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Thunder Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 there are fewer corps on the west coast, therefore there are fewer shows. qed Actually California had twice as many active junior corps in 2013 as the second highest-producing state did. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 I know I love it when the West Coast drum corps come as far east as Boston, and have a special appreciation when corps such as Troopers, Mandarins, Pacific Crest, Cascades, and Academy trek this far since it is probably a greater challenge financially than it would be for Blue Devils or Santa Clara. And when BD and SCV are in town, shows often sell out quickly since it is a once every four or five years, if that, and often for just one appearance. As a matter of fact, Boston Crusaders went west in 2012 as a thank-you for the corps coming east, as Crown did in 2013. It is important for West Coast corps to be exposed to eastern audiences. It's also important for corps based in the east to see West Coast audiences. Personally I think it will be crucial for Oregon Crusaders to make a full East Coast trip in the next year or two. I know that a full tour would be impossible given both costs and time constraints. What would work is if corps agreed to make a journey to the opposite coast every three years or so. This would add to the variety for West Coast audiences and East Coast crowd could see our friends west of the Mississippi. If a corps knows it is making a west coast or eats coast trip a few years in advance, it would be easier to raise funds and finance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommynev Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 We were fortunate enough to tour CA twice while I was a member, once in 93 and again in 97. The crowds were amazingly receptive to us, I'm pretty sure a Midwest corps was a rarity back then. We had some really neat experiences that you couldn't get in places like Streator and Otsego. We got to do a full ensemble practice at Mars while BD looked on and then share a meal with them. We also got a free day in SF, the only time I've ever been there. That said, both years we went there were tough on the corps. Extremely long bus rides (a lot of bus break downs too), which led to limited rehearsal time and even less floor time. I think those first few weeks of tour are so crucial to set a rhythm in the corps schedule, (so much learning and improvement goes on, especially for new members) and we didn't really get that. And after a week and a half we still had to drive back to the middle of the country and compete in DCM. It was exciting to go out West, sure, and kudos to our org. for giving us that experience, but I think it hurt us in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerriTroop Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 For those that advocate a "regional" model, consider Troopers and BK. That's really it in the "region" of the Rockies. Where do those two corps go for their "regional" tour? West coast? Midwest? They are right there in between both. Do they get a "regional" tour, ever? Not really. There are the Casper and/or and Denver shows, and Boise, possibly. The point is that Troopers and BK already have to travel West or Midwest every year. BK goes West a lot, Troop goes Midwest a lot. In fact, Troop has a good deal going with their second home at the fairgrounds outside of Indy. They play the Indy 500 Parade on Memorial Day weekend and that money helps keep them rooted at the fairgrounds every year. That is financially responsible - what would happen if they lost that income and went West? I know they'd find a way, but it would definitely be more difficult. I wish they would go West, actually, but to stay financially responsible it may be best that they don't. So, let's consider how to create a region for BK and Troopers. Do you pull in the Texas corps to create a "region" tour? It's about 16 hours from San Antonio to Denver. I wouldn't call that a "regional" tour. What about Academy? Ok, so now we have Academy, Crossmen and maybe Genesis added to the mix if they can afford the swing to the Rockies region. Well, that's a pretty small show to sell, but it's not bad - but people want a major headliner from the top 6 if possible to help sell the show. Ok so maybe Phantom, Cavies... By now it should be obvious that we are no longer talking "regional" tours for some corps. And thus we have the current touring model in which corps like BK and Troopers have to leave their region from day 1. We haven't even touched on the Pacific northwest where it's already hard enough to even have a corps since high schools get out as late as June 15. Anyway, the "regional" tour idea always sounds good where there are larger concentrations of corps, but in reality some corps just don't have a "region" in which to stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDale Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 You lost me at "the disrespect that DCI and the eastern-based corps show to fans and corps west of the Mississippi pisses me off." Uh...Dubuque is west of the mighty Mississippi... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasgre2000 Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 (edited) For those that advocate a "regional" model, consider Troopers and BK. That's really it in the "region" of the Rockies. Where do those two corps go for their "regional" tour? West coast? Midwest? They are right there in between both. Do they get a "regional" tour, ever? Not really. There are the Casper and/or and Denver shows, and Boise, possibly. The point is that Troopers and BK already have to travel West or Midwest every year. BK goes West a lot, Troop goes Midwest a lot. In fact, Troop has a good deal going with their second home at the fairgrounds outside of Indy. They play the Indy 500 Parade on Memorial Day weekend and that money helps keep them rooted at the fairgrounds every year. That is financially responsible - what would happen if they lost that income and went West? I know they'd find a way, but it would definitely be more difficult. I wish they would go West, actually, but to stay financially responsible it may be best that they don't. So, let's consider how to create a region for BK and Troopers. Do you pull in the Texas corps to create a "region" tour? It's about 16 hours from San Antonio to Denver. I wouldn't call that a "regional" tour. What about Academy? Ok, so now we have Academy, Crossmen and maybe Genesis added to the mix if they can afford the swing to the Rockies region. Well, that's a pretty small show to sell, but it's not bad - but people want a major headliner from the top 6 if possible to help sell the show. Ok so maybe Phantom, Cavies... By now it should be obvious that we are no longer talking "regional" tours for some corps. And thus we have the current touring model in which corps like BK and Troopers have to leave their region from day 1. We haven't even touched on the Pacific northwest where it's already hard enough to even have a corps since high schools get out as late as June 15. Anyway, the "regional" tour idea always sounds good where there are larger concentrations of corps, but in reality some corps just don't have a "region" in which to stay. In my opinion, there is a place for regional tours ... Open Class. World Class should be a true national tour. If you can't do a national tour and stay competitive, then go to open class. I know some will say that will make World Class too small. I don't agree. I think DCI will be better served by remembering that it has fans in the west. There are 22 DCI shows in the states of Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin this summer. There is one each in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Arizona. 2 in Washington and Oregon. 8 in California. Are there more drum corps fans in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota than the entire western U.S. combined? It's doubtful, given the success of the California corps. Even if there were more fans in the midwest, it would only be a result of DCI's neglect of the west. Why not let some of those superfluous midwestern shows die and give fans a real national tour? Surely tradition cannot be that important, can it? And again, for those that continue to bring up costs and long bus rides ... the western corps deal with that every single year, and they are competing at the highest level of the activity (and sometimes a level above that for BD). And it isn't just the G7 western corps that do it. Almost all of the WC western corps appear at Allentown almost every year. That isn't exactly "on the way" to Indy. I just don't think there is any really good reason not to do a true full WC regional in California and/or Denver. The real reason it doesn't happen is because the eastern G7 corps don't want to give up the money they make from their shows close to home and the money they save from not having to bear the same travel costs as the western corps. They make their token trip to the west every decade or so, but it is only a token. The G7 could afford to do a full national tour every year if they wanted to, but they are too greedy to do it. Edited July 15, 2014 by jasgre2000 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 I'll apologize ahead of time for the rant that is about to follow, but I feel like venting about something. I always appreciate it when an eastern corps makes the trip out west to start the season, like Crown and BAC have recently (and The Crossmen this year ... although they are based west of the Mississippi). But lets be honest ... these corps are only doing something once every decade or so that BD, SCV, BK, etc. do every single year. People claim that it is too expensive to have all the eastern corps travel to the west coast each year, but that is exactly what the western corps do every year and they don't seem to be struggling more than anyone else. When I lived in Virginia, I attended the DCI show in Salem where I could usually see six or seven corps, including three or four corps that were likely to be DCI finalists for $30. Last time I went, I saw Crown, The Cadets, and BD in the same show for $30. Salem is near Roanoke and there are about 300,000 in the area. If I couldn't attend that show, I could travel a few hours in the other direction and attend a similar show in Northern Virginia. Now, I live in Utah, and for the same price as the Salem, VA show I can see a show with a SCV, BK, and several open class corps and world class corps that are unlikely to be finalists. BD is even skipping the Ogden show this year (they will be in Illinois on the same night). I don't mean any offense to the corps that will be at Ogden this year. I am very excited to see them perform and am happy to pay $30+ to see them, plus money spent on concessions and other souvenirs. With that said, I would be willing to pay even more to see the corps at the very top of the activity. Ogden is near Salt Lake City on the Wasatch Front where over 2,000,000 live. I've been to the Ogden show for two years in a row before that, and it is always packed. High School students come from as much as 2-3 hours away, or more, to see the show. The next closest show is in Denver, which is 8 hours away. The first year I went to the show, I didn't get tickets until about a month before the show and all the best seats were sold out. I had to settle for tickets on about the 20 yard line. Last year I ordered tickets as soon as they were on sell in order to get closer to the 50 yard time. When I bought tickets in the first week, the center section of the stadium was almost sold out already. This was during the height of the recession. I just checked if there were still tickets available to the show this year (next week) and was able to buy four tickets right next to each other in the same row on the 50 yard line. Clearly tickets are not selling as well this year as they have the last couple years. I don't understand why DCI neglects everyone west of the Mississippi. There are a lot of fans in the west and several storied drum corps with a long history of success in the activity. California is the most populous state in the country. The population of other western states is growing rapidly. The handful of shows that are in the west are well attended, and that is without a full lineup of top corps. It seems to me that DCI is leaving a lot of money on the table, and missing out on a large potential fan base, by refusing to support any major shows in the west. The claim that it is too expensive to have corps travel west does not hold water, as the western corps travel to the east coast every year (including non-finalist corps like The Academy and the Mandarins). There should be a major DCI show (where nearly every corps attends) in the bay area and Denver every single year. I know this will cause some of the early eastern shows to go away, but so much more will be gained by having a true national tour. It is just common sense. If we could still give thumbs down, I would welcome as many thumbs down as you want to give. I know this post is annoying, but it is the one thing that I feel the need to get on my soapbox about. I love nearly everything else about drum corps. I live in the East and I'm with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockEuph Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Florida would like a word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelloMatt Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Florida would like a word. Agreed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts