Why now is better than before, new better than old

[caliswift]

BTW: I have been attending multiple shows just about every year since 6th grade, which is almost 40 years now, so I've seen quite a bit in drum corps.

Translated: I'm long in the tooth so my opinion is valid.

[DarrenE]

Translated: I'm long in the tooth so my opinion is valid.

How did this add to the conversation? Quit trolling.

[DarrenE]

If I had the opportunity to watch a show from 2014 or a show from 1981 there would be zero question in my mind- 2014 is far superior.

If you changed this earlier year to 1988 I at least would give a different answer.

[DarrenE]

My biggest issue with changing to regular band instruments is that the tone is completely different. One of the biggest appeals of the Drum and Bugle corps for me was the different sound from standard marching bands. Many of the comparisons seem to be made from 2000+ to the seventies and talk about how the music quality is so much better and then ignore the late eighties and into the nineties when the music performance level increased dramatically but they still had the bugle sound.

I think one reason people that are new (meaning in the last 14 years) don't understand the complaint is that they have never actually heard the live sound of a 70 bugle brass line. It is totally different. You can argue whether it is better or not but there is no question in my mind at least that it is tonally a very different different sound.

My biggest issue with amplification is if it is going to be used it should be judged and if it sucks because of technical difficulties it should be reflected in the score. It doesn't seem to be from what I can see. I was at one show this summer where one of the corps had a major malfunction with the narrator and it basically destroyed the show because it was so distracting as the sound cut in and out throughout the whole show. It didn't seem to matter in the score. I see a lot of talk from DCI about how this is a sport but then they give a pass when something gets flubbed up. I've never seen a football game where the officials gave someone the touchdown because they usually would have have made it to the goal line but through no fault of their own tripped and fell short. Is it an elite competition or isn't it?

To be fair you couldn't do what the Cavaliers are doing with their marimbas moving around on the field without amplification and that is pretty awesome. This from someone who has never like that particular group. I also think it is funny the people having panic attacks about the trombones but nobody seems to care about the euphonium in the cavaliers show.

[Lincoln]

Translated: I'm long in the tooth so my opinion is valid.

Why do you have to respond that way? It's not the first time.

Edited July 19, 2014 by Lincoln

[zigzigZAG]

I'd definitely agree with this - One thing, there were more younger people in the top corps (I was 14/turning 15 when I was in Garfield). There were more than a few people in that '87 hornline that were pretty much brand new to brass instruments. I remember at least 2 3rd sopranos writing in the fingerings, learning the instrument camp-by-camp. I seriously doubt you'd find that in a top 5 corps nowadays.

A friend of mine was a 3rd sop in '87 Cadets, and all this is true. Today something like that at a top 3 corps like the Cadets would be unheard of. There is much more consolidation and centralization of talent than even 20 years ago.

This subject came up in another thread - there were MANY more corps back then, and the top corps benefited from other corps nearby folding, so the talent level in top corps rose.

Just in the Cadets' neighborhood you had two other top 12 corps that folded just as the Cadets rose to the top of DCI - Bridgemen and 27th Lancers. And other corps in the area folded too.

Edited July 19, 2014 by zigzigZAG

[zigzigZAG]

To some of the young people posting here about how now is better than then.

This sort of discussion has been going on since who knows when and pretty much transcends almost everything that defines society.

I sincerely hope that when the time comes for you to be on the other end, that you remember that you as well tried to further define your youth by negating what has passed before you. We did the same thing at your age.

I think there are so many great things about life now that didn't exist before. I also think there are some things that older people can be very proud of.

One day you will understand.

I'm a child of the 70s and I suppose my teeth are getting long too.

I'm not "negating" anything that was going on in the 70s, just stating a fact that the demand and complexity and skill level required today of a top-12 show is several levels higher than back in the 70s or 80s. Watch any show from the 70s, then watch one from today - about five times as much is going on in today's shows as back then, and that complexity is much more demanding and requires much higher skill levels from all members.

As I said earlier, demand and skill levels of pretty much any human endeavor I can think of just keep rising, for many reasons. That's not negating the fact that Jessie Owens would get smoked in the 100 m today. His world record time was 10.3 seconds. He'd finish in last place today. In fact, he wouldn't even come close to making the olympic team. He wouldn't even make it to the finals of the NCAA championships. Here are the finalists from last year's NCAA meet:

1 Charles Silmon SR TCU 9.89 3.2

2 Dentarius Locke JR Florida State 9.91 3.2

3 Isiah Young SR Mississippi 9.96 3.2

4 Diondre Batson JR Alabama 10.01 3.2 10.006

5 Aaron Brown JR USC 10.01 3.2 10.008

6 Ameer Webb SR Texas A&M 10.14 3.2

7 Aaron Ernest SO LSU 10.17 3.2

8 Reggie Lewis SO Clemson 10.24 3.2

You'll see the times for olympic champions just keep dropping http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-2172945/100m-Olympics-history--Jesse-Owens-Usain-Bolt.html

That's not negating the past or Jessie Owens. He's a Clevelander, like me, also from the east side in fact, so I love the guy, but that doesn't mean that everyone in general doesn't keep getting better at every competitive endeavor.

I love DCI shows from the 70s and early 80s too, but by and large they hold my interest less than the more complex and more demanding shows that came later.

Edited July 19, 2014 by zigzigZAG

[JimF-LowBari]

In response to caliswift your opinion is valid too. Difference here is being able to compare BITD and today based on personal experience. Keep that in mind around 2040 when someone younger trashes what you say.

May be long in the tooth but at least I don't have to take 'em out at night.....

Edited July 19, 2014 by JimF-LowBari

[MikeD]

Translated: I'm long in the tooth so my opinion is valid.

Or...I've seen a lot of drum corps shows of all eras, and I am able to form an opinion based on my experiences.

Tim and I do not agree on some things, but that's OK. We both base out opinions on what we have personally experienced.

I probably agree more with the basic gist of the OP's post than not, actually, and I saw my first show in 1964, when I was 10 1/2. What does that make me?

Give me Crown 2013, BK 2012, Cadets 2011....etc...but also give me Blessed Sac 69, Garfield 71, Blue Rock 71, Muchachos 75 and the 27th Lancers 1981.

[drumno5]

Give me Crown 2013, BK 2012, Cadets 2011....etc...but also give me Blessed Sac 69, Garfield 71, Blue Rock 71, Muchachos 75 and the 27th Lancers 1981.

Well said. More than enough room for all of those groups in the pantheon.

peace,

Fred O.