Northern Thunder Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I can't speak for Sam.... but perhaps he's referring to the years when PC only did the early-season California shows, with no regional or national tour... even though they were clearly a solidly competitive corps, in terms of their on-field product. Yes, Pacific Crest first showed up in '93, when they did one exhibition and no contests. They didn't even leave the state of California until 2000. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lcarlton Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Thanks for those actual numbers, lcarlton - it's so difficult to get good hard data. Looking at those numbers, though, about 1/4 of your $4,770 costs are registration fees to appear at two DCI shows - I just don't think that's the best way for DCI to encourage growth. Edited: to correct my math Eleran, it depends on how you leverage the experience and what you're getting out of it. If you consider the registration fees are usually just the price of discounted tickets then you get to see a show and perform at it. The real cost will be getting instruments, paying staff, and insurance which can be done for cheap if you have a group of people willing to buy in. If you're diligent with your social media, recruiting, and more it's a great way to get into the lower level DCI / Drum Corps Sphere, garner interest for growth and begin to develop your program. Guardians, Watchmen, and Southwind are 3 good examples of what is possible with sustained growth and focus. Nearly all of the SoundSport groups that we (Columbus Saints) Competed with last year have shown a large amount of group in a year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevingamin Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I received a direct message from Liberty Drum Corps out of the United Kingdom. Two of their members had flown to the USA to march with Costal Surge. They now have no corps. Help them find some place to march the rest of the summer. LibertyDrumCorp (Liberty Drum Corps) Hi...arrived in USA today to watch our 2 Brit kids at coastal surge. Arrived to news of corps disbanded. U know who might have a spot .....For a percussionist (plays snare in UK , rack and bass 2 in USA) and a guard member? Can get to Atlanta. Currently in Charlotte NC. Absolutely gutted for them....every penny they had spent on flights. 3 trips to USA for drummer lad this year to get his spot. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcorpsfever Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I received a direct message from Liberty Drum Corps out of the United Kingdom. Two of their members had flown to the USA to march with Costal Surge. They now have no corps. Help them find some place to march the rest of the summer. LibertyDrumCorp (Liberty Drum Corps) Hi...arrived in USA today to watch our 2 Brit kids at coastal surge. Arrived to news of corps disbanded. U know who might have a spot .....For a percussionist (plays snare in UK , rack and bass 2 in USA) and a guard member? Can get to Atlanta. Currently in Charlotte NC. Absolutely gutted for them....every penny they had spent on flights. 3 trips to USA for drummer lad this year to get his spot. Music City? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrivateDash Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Really nice class from Music City. The Instagram page for their Euph section posted a picture of the word RTNSurge written on their arms 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Holland Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I've watched a corps go from DCM Champ, Div 2/3 silver, and DCI quarterfinalist in one year, to folding a season and a half later. Its financial management & planning, knowing what "touring within your means" is, and revenue and sponsor generation that keep a corps moving forward. Running a corps isn't easy. dues only cover so much. now you can only blame DCI so much. yes, there are little to NO appearance fees for Open Class at OC events, only world events. Many OC staffs (and some WC staffs) do not take fees beyond what covers travel. Some take none at all. In short, its up to the corps admin to evaluate costs of the corps (food, gas, insurance, housing...etc), travel between shows, operating costs, and contingency money (for in case of... because something will ALWAYS break) and be able to say yes we can do this, or no we can't. And then they need to say, we can go to these shows this season, and finals. (or not... like some this season already showed us they can generate membership without going to finals) Could DCI find a way to generate some more revenue to up appearance fees paid to OC Corps at OC shows?... of course. And they should if they want this #growdrumcorps malarky to continue. (yes, that was me being snarky in case you missed it) But the corps' admin have to do their math, know what living within their means is, find ways to secure sponsorship and revenue aside from member dues, and plan to operate within that as well as contingency. And say NO, when they are asked to go out of their way to burn money in attempt to play a show that is out of their travel budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevingamin Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 If you know of ANY openings for percussion or guard, preferably at the same corps, please reply or message me with the corps, contact name, and phone/email they can be reached at. I will pass that information along to my Liberty drum corps contact who is communicating with the kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 (edited) I can't speak for Sam.... but perhaps he's referring to the years when PC only did the early-season California shows, with no regional or national tour... even though they were clearly a solidly competitive corps, in terms of their on-field product. That is EXACTLY what I was referring to. I remember when people here were practically BEGGING Academy to go to finals (2004??) because their program was so strong...but the corps' management said they were sticking to their touring plan so as not to put them in a bad financial position. Just like PC....that plan helped them to solidify things financially so they could exist. I think a lot of people running startup corps have forgotten the bad old days of touring yourself into oblivion. Edited July 23, 2015 by 84BDsop 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Holland Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I think this was the same concern for the NH show this year. Ten years ago when there were more shows in upstate NY, MA, and the rest of the region, you could financially make that track both up and back and be ok. But since its just one show, way up in the woods, its tough for even the closest east coast corps since there's no payout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totaleefree Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 (edited) I think that the SouthEast may just be tough for small corps. All the Florida Corps have had issues, Spirit of Atlanta has reconstituted several times. Crown is the lone exception for SouthEastern DCI corps. In California they can do a decent 2 week tour in state. For a corps like surge there is one Atlanta show and One in Winston Salem, and I am not even sure that they would be invited to those. All Open class shows require going to at least PA or Ohio. So in this case I think Geography may be bit of the problem too. And as a previous poster has asked It would be good if someone could post some good news about the members finding new Corps homes and making it to finals. Edited July 23, 2015 by totaleefree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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