Jeff Ream Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Absoltely agree.Kids today are SO much more on the ball than we ever were. One small example...in the band I teach, one of our members linked in a video as a psych for our band the week of nationals; it was a Coats video...I had no idea this young lady even heard of drum corps at all, let alone was watching Blue Coats videos.One of our recent snares came INTO HS from 8th grade as an avid drum corps fan from watching on the internet. kids know far more today than ever before when they get there. If they didn't, corps at the top wouldn't have such high audition numbers 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappybara Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Like Jjeff said, I used to love BD. They were my fav Corps. Their style,execution and music were fantastic. 88' was one of their pinnacle years for me. Absolutely loved that show. There have been a few since I liked as well, the 04' train show was good as were a couple since. But they have gotten really bizarre and 'hollywood'ized in recent years. Just off the wall weird. There were very very brief elements of this show I somewhat liked. The rest, forget it. The guy on the tables dragging his leg, Quasimoto, you can keep it. All the crap on the field, coat racks AGAIN. So friggin much clutter and crap. I don't believe their drill is difficult at all. They park and blow a ton. I've been through this over and over. They get the benefit of the doubt with the judges. And I saw 93' Star in personal a few times. Loved that show. It was difficult. It was darned near flawless! But at least it wasn't off the friggin wall bizarro world like Devils is headed. They're in some strange class by themselves. And believe me, I ain't the only one noticing. Heard many former marchers mention it the last few years. You either love them or hate what they're doing.....don't hate them myself, because I know they could put out one helluva killer show and they don't and THAT is what pisses me off the most. Rant over.... Why is "bizarre" and "weird" associated as a bad thing with the older crowd? Is there no tolerance for something new and exciting? I'm not trying to bunch a group into one stereotype because obviously, with everything, there are exceptions. But this is the general trend I've noticed on this board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Freedman Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 What makes you think kids are choosing sight un seen. Schools as well as staff of schools ( most of them drum corps people ) do show corps as well as arrange for trips to shows. Kids dont spend 3 grand plus to do anything sight un seen. At least thats been my experience and I get involved with some bands literally coast to coast. Kids are way more savvy today than we ever were bitd. Most I believe know exactly what they want as well as what they are getting into. You are assuming that today's member doesn't like what is being designed. You may be right, but the only way to see a drum corps video is to pay $70 for FN, ($40 during the discount period), watch someone else's FN or DVD/Blu-Ray, watch a shakycam video someone took at a show (which doesn't really count as seeing a corps IMO), or acquire an illegal copy of DCI's product somehow. All of these require either a financial investment, connections or copyright violation (and luck). All of these probably do happen as you and Mike attest. The question is: are there kids who don't have access but who might join a corps if they have access? Going to a show isn't enough - especially if the corps you are considering isn't on the bill. DCI should do whatever it can to make it easier for a kid to choose a corps and audition. This would help and would cost basically nothing. I agree it's a stretch to say it would encourage corps to do better visual design - that effect would probably be slight, but since it's a good idea anyway I threw it in 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brichtimp Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Well, I don't find the BD execution or design choices strange at all.....the quality of their soloists (brass and pit) make them seem like studio cats compared with advanced college musicians in the other top corps. The slow dance steps we saw in the 2014 show were very exposed for possible phasing errors, yet they executed at an almost pristine level. I really respect the chances they have taken in the past few years....Bacharach to DaDa to Stravinsky to Nino Rota....it's all cool and slick. I'd love to see and hear them do something totally different (for them)....how about excerpts from Mahler 8 :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Freedman Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Why is "bizarre" and "weird" associated as a bad thing with the older crowd? Is there no tolerance for something new and exciting? I'm not trying to bunch a group into one stereotype because obviously, with everything, there are exceptions. But this is the general trend I've noticed on this board. I'm divided on this. I simultaneously love what they do now and wish they would do straight ahead shows like the old days. That's a paradox, but there it is. The thing to do is use a time machine to go back to the 80s and 90s with a bunch of 1080p cameras (make it 8K UHD while you're at it) and rerecord it all. Barring that, 2011 was a pretty good compromise of modern approach with simple passions. And 1080p! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Why is "bizarre" and "weird" associated as a bad thing with the older crowd? Is there no tolerance for something new and exciting? I'm not trying to bunch a group into one stereotype because obviously, with everything, there are exceptions. But this is the general trend I've noticed on this board. Older crowd? Better clarify, everything over 21 may be older to some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Freedman Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Older crowd? Better clarify, everything over 21 may be older to some. There is much to take issue with in Sportster's post, and Cappybara rightly points out that the terms weird and bizarre are used as presumptive negatives. But yes, the point about age is separate and more debatable. I do suspect that if market researchers polled average Americans in shopping malls they would find that people respond better to older BD shows with simple, powerful jazz orchestra themes, as opposed to modern shows making more subtle artistic statements (massive videography improvements notwithstanding). If you were to videotape the reactions, you might find there are even different ways a person can be impressed by a drum corps show - for example, grinning and saying "cool" is a different reaction from opening one's eyes wide and saying "Wow!". So what people get out of drum corps may be different today. Different louds for different crowds. (Erm, sorry.) Anyway, I agree with Sportster that there are fundamental changes in what a drum corps show is, and I wish shows like the older ones could still do well. But the modern shows have more moods-per-show, more subtle (and difficult) moods and mood transitions, and so it's not surprising they are getting record high scores. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seen-it-all Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Depends on which part of the mall you go to. The areas where the younger crowds hang out would probably skew to the more modern take on drum corps IMO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Why is "bizarre" and "weird" associated as a bad thing with the older crowd? Is there no tolerance for something new and exciting? I'm not trying to bunch a group into one stereotype because obviously, with everything, there are exceptions. But this is the general trend I've noticed on this board. Well, I am 61, and I LOVED BD this year. Might be my favorite BD show ever; I first saw them in 76. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 (edited) Depends on which part of the mall you go to. The areas where the younger crowds hang out would probably skew to the more modern take on drum corps IMO. I can't prove it, but if we ask the kids sitting on Mall Santa lap which ERA's DCI Corps shows they like better, I think that 2012 Cadets would win, but in 2nd place would be the'80 Bridgemen with the clowns, duck and happy dancing bears, etc. No telling however what Santa himself and his Elves would prefer in their Drum Corps styled shows if polled at the Mall there however. Edited November 26, 2014 by BRASSO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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