kdaddy Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 (edited) jwillis: Not that this is a BD thread BUT I do remember them far superior in fundraising, salaries etc etc as far back as the mid to late 70s. BD just knows business as well as membership, staff retention, expansion of their brand and how drum corps could lead to other opportunities instead of staying in a bubble. etc etc. Seems they have continually won in more than just a DCI championship. In addition to all that has been said, BD is benefited from its geographic location. Fundraising efforts (e.g., a System Blue corporate performance) are a little easier in San Francisco. BD has been good at taking advantage of this where SCV has, perhaps, not been as forward thinking. One would think the Cavaliers could take advantage of Chicago in a similar way, though BD also benefits from (i) mature membership that moves to the Concord area (that I suspect the Cavaliers don't have), (ii) a "cool" reputation, and (iii) a staff that has the smarts to design corporate event kinds of performances (also helps to have continuity in staff for stuff like this). Edited October 18, 2015 by kdaddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quad Aces Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Depends on how you do it. BD transitioned from Wayne doing all the brass arranging to now it being Shawn Glyde (who was a pitster in 84 with me), and John Meehan took over the brass cap head duties a long time ago. I'll agree that Wayne ScoJo, and Chandler are getting long in the tooth, but they're 1) still producing good, solid, and winning work and 2) if you think they haven't been training their replacements for a LONG time, you're wrong. They found the formula that works decades ago, and anyone coming up through the instructional ranks will be on board with that. When the big guys leave, I don't think we'll see that much of a placing issue. Can you elaborate a little on what involvement Wayne still has with the music these days? I was under the impression that he still did the brass arranging/orchestrating. Is that not true? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenoris4Jazz Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 While I agree with the over-arching premise of this statement, we need to be careful about saying that because BD wins is why they collect more revenue. Winning DCI shows doesn't give you a bunch more revenue than does coming in 2nd, 3rd, or frankly top 8. This was, in large part, the wishes of the G7 and TOC ideas. The goal was that all those corps did get paid more, but that they were splitting equally the profits. The bigger point is that revenue generated from gate fees etc. do not account for much of the bottom-line budget for these corps. The Blue Devils make a ton of cash running a Bingo game 7 days a week (because California allows them to). In Ohio the Bluecoats can only run theirs 2 days per week. Tour dues account for a good bit, as does alumni giving, other fundraisers, sponsorship, and more. The Blue Devils grew their organization not by winning shows (although that helps with reputation, no doubt) but by establishing great fundraisers, partnerships, sponsorship, dues, local youth activities, etc. Honestly, who the hell is playing Bingo these days???? Does anyone under the age of 35 even know what that game is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwillis35 Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Honestly, who the hell is playing Bingo these days???? Does anyone under the age of 35 even know what that game is? If the Blue Devils are running it 7 days a week (and they are) then a lot of folks must be playing bingo. Have you ever seen their bingo hall? I call a number of times for the Bluecoats, mostly in the spring and summer, here in North Canton. Bluecoats do really well from bingo, and while we are not always packed, we are pretty darn close to it most nights. As people get older they like to play bingo. For a lot of our older folks it's kind of a night out for them. It's a social club of friends and neighbors who enjoy getting out a few times a week, seeing their friends, and taking a chance at winning some money -- and all for a very low startup cost. Go ask Fred Morris of the Troopers about the importance of Bingo. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Honestly, who the hell is playing Bingo these days???? Does anyone under the age of 35 even know what that game is? Most likely the number of people who play BINGO depends on the proximity of casinos. The more casinos, the less likely BINGO will be a draw, at least that what seems to be the case in the Northeast. That combined with most states in our area not allowing smoking in facilities that host the game. Regarding age, if it is a fundraising activity, does the age of the players matter? Remember too, we are now living with the largest number of senior citizens at any time in our history, so doesn't it make sense to tap this audience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Can't compare " sports teams" with DCI Drum Corps ( for a myriad of reasons ). All competitive sports in the world have sensible transfer policies in place. DCI has none. As such, DCI/DCA Drum Corps are singularly unique in the world in this regard. As good an organization as BD has been the last 4 decades, could they have won as many titles as they have if they were subjected to the same transfer policies that all sports in the world have ? Of course not. No " team " has dominated a " sport " like BD has in DCI. You can't find such domination by any other " team " in any other " sport " in the world the last 40 years. ( and BD will continue to dominate over the next 40 years in my opinion in this system if unchanged. ) I've resigned myself to this, as the prevailing sentiment sems to be that developing reasonable and sensible transfer policies that all sports leagues have ( from town Little League, Pop Warner, Soccer, etc all the way up to the Colleges and then even to the Pros ) is unthinkable. Ok, so BD's domination of the DCI Titles ( or as Runners Up ) it will be, for the next 40-80 years too. It is what it is, and so it will continue to be, imo. Lets face it, when it comes to DCI Championships ( or Runners up ) its really the Blue Devils................ and then everybody else. You're missing the point... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Fundraising success for example, is directly tied to winning. In most sports enterprises, fund raising revenues increase the more you win. BD's bingo revenues were not tied to competitive success...the revenues were because they had the only bingo game in Contra Costa County for years...and it ran 6 days a week. When I was in the corps, it was ALWAYS packed with people. BD made money in bingo because it was bingo..the vast majority of the regular players had no connection to drum corps outside of playing bingo at the BD hall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 (edited) BD's bingo revenues were not tied to competitive success...the revenues were because they had the only bingo game in Contra Costa County for years...and it ran 6 days a week. When I was in the corps, it was ALWAYS packed with people. BD made money in bingo because it was bingo..the vast majority of the regular players had no connection to drum corps outside of playing bingo at the BD hall. You're missing the point. BD's on field success was never tied.... " to Bingo ". Bingo was never tied Drum Corps either. Bingo was a method by which the Blue Devils Drum Corps successfully raised money for their Organization... no more. no less. Lots of organizations in the past, including Drum Corps, have utilized the proceeds from " Bingo" as one method of fund raising for themselves. But their " bingo " operations never translated into on field competition success. Many of those organizations, both Drum Corps and otherwise, are no longer in existence ( but their " Bingo " remains still, in some cases ) My remarks above, as a consequence, have nothing at all to to with the Blue Devils " Bingo " operation. Since this is a " Cavaliers " thread, let me point out that when DCI was formed, there was no essential difference at all in the revenue stream that the Cavaliers ( and some other Corps ) could provide to themselves that were less productive than what the Blue Devils could produce in fund raising revenues. Heck, closer to home, if you know anything at all about the communities of Concord, Calif. with that of Santa Clara, Calif, you know that Santa Clara is far more affluent a community, and region, and as such, the available financial resources available to the SCV Organization in their region was certainly not in a disadvantaged position compared to the BD Organization. And SCV wasn't financially disadvantaged in comparison to BD at that time either. No, it was in fact the DCI winnings, that came from the on field yearly successes, that was the catalyst that, over time, had BD separate themselves from all the other Corps organizationally.... and for the reasons I cited above. Without any systemic changes in DCI the foreseable future, it is very likely that the disparity between the Blue Devils Organization successes and all other DCI Corps will only increase even more over the coming years. It would be illogical to conclude otherwise, imo. Edited October 19, 2015 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snare_guy_83 Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Maybe every corps should do Bingo and really test this out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Maybe every corps should do Bingo and really test this out. It would be nice, but some corps would have to move their organization base. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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