Fran Haring Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Being a 70's drum corps guy, I don't ever recall anyone ever complaining about the Bridgeman ruining drum corps. I do. I marched during that same era... and heard various folks complain about the way Bridgemen did things. "Too much dancing... too many props..." etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsfever Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 (edited) Were you in the NJ area back in 76? Because there was all sorts of complainig about how Bayonne was "not drum corps" and was the end of the world, so to speak, primarily by old-timers of THAT era. I thought they were amazing from day one, but there was a LOT of grumbling about them. That's interesting, though not surprising. As an Ohio guy, and teenager at this time, I don't recall any of my drum corps buddies considering the Bridgemen as "not drum corps". We enjoyed their funk - I suppose it was because they were relevant for our particular time. But, again, I'm not surprised that they would have ruffled some folk's feathers. I guess it's what people are familiar with and what they hold dear to their own memory and experiences. That's not a bad thing because those experiences that we have is often the engine for the passion we feel as fans. However, drum corps, like anything else, must evolve, adapt and change in order to grow. And it has done just that - and must continue to do so in order to prosper. Edited July 21, 2014 by drumcorpsfever 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skevinp Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Disco is ... over? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theyremovingit Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Disco was a bad era? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ducttapedgerbil Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 With the exception of amplification (electronics would be keyboards, synths etc. IMO) all the "stuff" listed as being "Crown-i-fying" of DCI started occurring well before 2004 and before Crown came along... The Bridgemen danced, had props, had funky guard costumes, horn members changed clothes, etc. ... they stopped fielding a corps in the mid eightes (If I am not mistaken)...well before the downfall attributed to Crown. but Bridgemen did it well......and they did not "emote" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somerville Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Personally I love disco and it never really died-just morphed into house, dance, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I don't necessarily attribute the changes to Crown; right now, they are looking at and listening to what the judges are rewarding -and then using the tools available and the current rules of the activity to do it better than everyone else (last year) and competitive with the other top contenders (this year). Most of these changes were not even proposed by Crown, but by Hoppy/Gibbs and others. My own opinion is that I am not enjoying DCI this season. Due to some personal circumstances, I didn't renew my FN subscription when it expired this year. I was planning on attending the Lawrence, MA DCI show and figured if I liked what I saw/heard, I could purchase it then and see the rest of the season. I have to say that I was extremely disappointed in the Lawrence show; certainly NOT the efforts of the kids on the field, but the product that they were tasked with performing. Crown was, in fact, one of only two performances that I enjoyed (the other was Blooo). I have sadly come to realize that I no longer enjoy what the activity has become, and to me it is no longer worth it to me to spend what I used to on something I don't enjoy. I will most likely continue to go to one or maybe two shows per year, and most likely will go to the theater for quarters, but that's a far cry from what I used to shell out. I will now look to DCA to entertain me...and if, as many predict, they head down the same slippery slope as DCI, then my memories and videos will be all I have left. I wish the corps and DCI well, and to those who enjoy the product that DCI has become, I hope you continue to enjoy and get amazed and entertained...just not my cup of tea anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Holland Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 So the alternative you want would have someone pay 3000 dollars to operate a sound board while wearing a corps uniform? And maybe hold interviews so they can find the best person that wants to pay 3000 dollars to operate a sound board? Atleast for the normal member there is an expectation to perform and be taught by world class staff members... that won't exactly happen as a sound engineer member. The system to have the sound engineer as non paying member is the best option. a hired gun for adjudicated performances is an interesting perspective however to me it is of no consequence. While much rides on the sound engineer during a performance, it leads to a better and more pleasurable experience for the members and audience members for him to be there and it is a logistical necessity to produce a DCI drum corps performance. But I am beyond the rose colored vision that judges only judge the members on the field. They judge arrangements, they judge cohesion, they judge technique, they judge sound, they judge balance, they judge design choices, they judge the entire corps. And everything on that field directly or indirectly is made possible by non-corps members. The food crew (members need energy to perform!), the techs, the prop creators, the sound engineers, the instrument manufacturers, the uniform makers, etc. To think that the sound guy is the "only" non-member influencing a performance is a folly. Entire corps organizations are judged on that field and that is 100% OKAY! It's a group effort that goes even beyond the members themselves and it shows that drum corps is even more of a wonderful group activity than it ever was before. If the mission statement of DCI is education, then why not? Why not give that student an opportunity to work with a sound designer and be the person that makes it happen? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1223 Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 (edited) Where did I indicate that I considered any of these things to be upsetting to me? I didn't. I didn't even nuance such a feeling in my post. Where did I defame the Crown organization? I didn't. Again, not even the slightest suggestion to be found. You failed twice now to read the content of my responses and glean the point that I'm making without bringing to it your own wishful thinking. So, I tried to make a general point with few words... then I made a list... so let me try to paraphrase again... Yo, OP dude, Crown didn't start all the things that you hate, so lay off. They are just playing the same game that everyone else is... only they did it better last year. Am I making sense to you now? I still haven't weighed in on the issues. But if you must... consider that I am a Bluecoats alumnus, a fan of their show this year... but recognize that nearly everything that they are doing this year has originated from some other corps at some other time, to some large degree... including the pitch bend effect. Your point, that bluecoats, crown etc. are doing things that originated from some other corps at some other time is just a pointless point. That's what I'm saying. It discredits what corps are doing on the field and makes it impossible for them to own what they do because everything on this planet creatively has its origination, directly or indirectly, from something else. You need to lighten up and stop over analyzing where an idea came from and "who did it first" and appreciate the variety and styles that corps have and eventually adopt to make it their own. The list you generated is SO GENERAL you would make it seem that everything that can be creatively done in drum corps has already been done! Having narration, hype effects, props, etc. is not in its self the single idea which once done is no longer new. All other uses of narration, hype effects, props etc. are not automatically derivative of the first. That line of thinking is recklessly general for no purpose. Everything you suggest is just in poor taste to the creative process. Bluecoats are owning their show, their style, their GE effects, and pitch bend and making it their own there by making it new and different. That's good enough and doesn't need dismantling by someone who wants to analyze the derivative nature of creativity and design in the most general and arbitrary way possible. And if OP wants to complain about Crown for their body movement telling him to not because "they didn't start it" just doesn't make any sense. How would that convince him to stop complaining about Crown? Edited July 21, 2014 by charlie1223 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frachel Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I don't really care who started certain things, but the thing that more bothers me is that a lot of what you mentioned have seemed to become "compulsories" in a show. Oh, there's the hornline swiveling their hips, doing pseudo-dance moves, lying on the ground for no reason whatsoever (and looking quite silly doing it). Oh here's the out-of-nowhere-without-much-relation-to-the-music brass runs.. up, down, up down, yay we can do chromatic or easy major scales (usually while standing still) fast, cool right? Solo or Duo guard members doing their own dance routines apart from everyone else to try and convey some "story" that I won't get out of the show anyway, check. Where's the vocals/narrator/synth patch sounds, I know they're coming at some point.. oh there they are, check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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