Where is DCI?

[FlamMan]

I'd sure like to hear more about how your idea of a "more regional" show schedule would increase interest by fans and MM's! I'm all for it! There are just over 100 shows in the current tour season and I wonder how more regional shows might increase interest.

I really don't think that drum corps only want the top music majors. In fact, I've never seen an admission requirement of music education of any sort to gain a spot. Quite the contrary, I know of many MM's who are not music majors. I'm quite certain that if a non-music major competes well in November he'll get the same contract as a similar-qualified music major.

But really, how would the west corps staying in the west, the midwest corps staying in the midwest, and the eastern corps staying in the east draw more attention to the activity?

I'm merely trying to get people here thinking out of the box & brainstorming. I don't have a business plan written yet for the regionalization model so I certainly don't have all the answers. I want to see this activity not only continue, but prosper & grow as well. DCI has presided over an activity that has gone from 500 drum corps to what, 65 or so? A 35 year trend like this in business gets you and many others fired. Its time to think and talk about doing things differently.

[Jeff Ream]

All in the name of change, DCI is no longer enjoyable to watch or even listen to (not even for free on YouTube). I pray someone figures it out real quickly before the entire activity goes down the tube. If I wanted BOA, I can just wait until band season. Enough will all of the crap talking, singing, 3 value horns, strings, trombones and various other electronics/ musical instruments that was reserved for marching bands. The judging community could use a major facelift too.

bye

[Jeff Ream]

That may be due to the fact there are less corps...............

yet thanks to Soundsport, we're seeing the trend reverse itself.

[Jeff Ream]

It may also be due to the fact that these kids want to march that kind of show.

People can cite less corps today than in the "good ole days," but why is that? Did today's modern shows chase away the old corps? No. Did today's modern rules chase them away? No. Some cite the national tour model, but the last time I checked you are not forced to do a full tour.

Most of the older corps from yesteryear that we no longer enjoy were lost because of poor management, poor funding, failure to adapt to the times, the laws (such as insurance and proper tax reporting), and some didn't treat their kids very well. I've heard more than enough stories about corps that couldn't feed their kids well, that couldn't afford buses, paid their staff next to nothing, and the overall quality of tour was nothing to write home about. Sure, many old timers like to cherish those stories today and talk about how they were "men" back in the day and how it made them great to have it so hard...blah, blah, blah.

I'm 51 and have watched this activity for a long time. I prefer today to yesterday. Oh I loved the 80s. I can get very nostalgic about them, but in general I think the teaching, the training, the funding, the facilities, and the quality of tour is WAY BETTER today. The activity is doing a lot of things right, so if I have to put up with some electronics and some amp issues from time to time in order to support these young kids, then I will.

bravo.

i admit when the electronics first came about i #####ed more than anyone. then the narration, the bleed over from indoor...ugh.

then something happened...corps started figuring it out...and doing it well. Sure I still have some complaints, but it's more about specific corps design, not that they're using it. trombones have yet to really wow me. I really just dont like the instrument in general. But corps will make it better yet.

better yet, the DCI leadership has finally applied some long forgotten lessons....entertain, find ways to rope fans in, using things like Soundsport to help facilitate growth....and the dark days of even 10 years ago seem like a distant memory.

Is everything perfect? No, never was. I've learned nostalgia tends to shade one's perspective

[N.E. Brigand]

I, probably like most here, don't care for some of the extremes we see right now. Many of those extremes—overuse of electronics, poor balance of volume, "jazz running" instead of marching, narration that bores like a drill unto your skull—I chalk up to the newness of the opportunities.

But even if I hate all of it, I just don't think there is any doubt that the kids love the new direction. And at the end of the day, this is an activity that exists for the kids, not for the age-outs and (way) up.

Also, it wasn't all that long ago that most in this activity wondered if DCI would last another year. Now, you see crowds growing, merch selling, lot warmups packed, and (obviously the reason for it) some truly unique shows that at times don't even look like drum corps shows.

If at some point the trends start to reverse, you'll see things change. But my guess is this is the beginning of a new wave of creativity in "marching band" across the board. The best part of high school for me was band, and now it's widely scoffed at as a waste of time. But I don't care WHO you are, you go to any of these top 12 shows, you'll walk out the door with your head spinning about what takes place in 11 minutes on a football field. And while it may well mean the end of what we used to call drum corps, I say bring on the changes and let's see where the kids take us next.

I'm not convinced that "the kids" necessarily want, e.g., more synth bass and less tuba, or to take one of your examples, poor balance of electronics. Is there some way to test propositions like that?

[3PoC]

Not as many corps as bitd but WGI seems to be doing well. The corps I marched with doesn't field a DCI corp anymore but survived to become one of the elite WGI guards. WGI has a lot of the regional circuits with groups consisting of local talent and the best performers often do DCI as well, providing nearly year-round training for kids attracted to this art form. I know there is a lot of resistance to the WGI influence here but that's where a lot of the best trained performers are coming from these days, especially percussion and guard. With WGI Winds and Soundsport growing, I think we need to look at how the activity is growing today and not try to force it to return to the old model. Perhaps we should let DCI World Class be the major national league best of the best and let the indoor groups be the regional circuit that gives more kids access to the activity.

[N.E. Brigand]

Not as many corps as bitd but WGI seems to be doing well. The corps I marched with doesn't field a DCI corp anymore but survived to become one of the elite WGI guards. WGI has a lot of the regional circuits with groups consisting of local talent and the best performers often do DCI as well, providing nearly year-round training for kids attracted to this art form. I know there is a lot of resistance to the WGI influence here but that's where a lot of the best trained performers are coming from these days, especially percussion and guard. With WGI Winds and Soundsport growing, I think we need to look at how the activity is growing today and not try to force it to return to the old model. Perhaps we should let DCI World Class be the major national league best of the best and let the indoor groups be the regional circuit that gives more kids access to the activity.

Since what particularly appeals to me about drum corps is live melodic music performed on a massive scale, I've never been able to work up much interest in WGI.

[GUARDLING]

Not as many corps as bitd but WGI seems to be doing well. The corps I marched with doesn't field a DCI corp anymore but survived to become one of the elite WGI guards. WGI has a lot of the regional circuits with groups consisting of local talent and the best performers often do DCI as well, providing nearly year-round training for kids attracted to this art form. I know there is a lot of resistance to the WGI influence here but that's where a lot of the best trained performers are coming from these days, especially percussion and guard. With WGI Winds and Soundsport growing, I think we need to look at how the activity is growing today and not try to force it to return to the old model. Perhaps we should let DCI World Class be the major national league best of the best and let the indoor groups be the regional circuit that gives more kids access to the activity.

Edited July 19, 2016 by GUARDLING

[garfield]

Not as many corps as bitd but WGI seems to be doing well. The corps I marched with doesn't field a DCI corp anymore but survived to become one of the elite WGI guards. WGI has a lot of the regional circuits with groups consisting of local talent and the best performers often do DCI as well, providing nearly year-round training for kids attracted to this art form. I know there is a lot of resistance to the WGI influence here but that's where a lot of the best trained performers are coming from these days, especially percussion and guard. With WGI Winds and Soundsport growing, I think we need to look at how the activity is growing today and not try to force it to return to the old model. Perhaps we should let DCI World Class be the major national league best of the best and let the indoor groups be the regional circuit that gives more kids access to the activity.

Perhaps. And what of DCI Open Class. Or Soundsport?

[jwillis35]

I started in drum corps in 1964, as a 10 1/2 year old drummer in a parade corps. The issue to me is not so much the failure of corps...that happened all the time back then. The issue is that it is far more difficult to start new corps, so fewer and fewer corps started to replace those that failed.

Just off the top I can think of all sorts of national class 'A' level corps that failed before DCI ever started....a few of them: St Kevin's, Chicago Royal Airs, St Joe's (both Batavia and Newark), St Rocco's, St Vinnie's, St Lucy's, plus a few that barely made it to the DCI era, like Blue Rock, Blessed Sac, St Rita's Brassmen, NY Knickerbockers (who did spaghetti western music before Crown!),

Add all of the small corps that sprung up, existed a few years, and then folded, only to see another one nearby spring up for a few years, and you had a very fluid activity going way back.

The realities of today make that sort of thing pretty much impossible on a grand scale. Soundsport is a great way to develop some interest at the smaller level; we'll see what happens long term.

It is imperative that the corps that DO exist today be supported well enough to hang around, given that lack of new groups. If you look at, say, the World Open finals from 1971...7 of the 12 finalists are still competing, which IMO is actually pretty amazing given the changes in society since that era.

Mike's write up here is really good. It illustrates how many of the corps "back in the day" were not really built for long-term success. Lots of neighborhood corps back in the day, lots of parade corps, and the competition structure was different, too, with less national touring. Even the Class A corps could tour regionally early then hit the national shows.

I think the argument over what style people prefer (from different eras) is not really the issue. My first ten years watching DCI were 1979 - 1989, so those years are special to me. I also enjoyed some of the 90s years and consider the 1992 Finals in Madison one of my greatest memories of corps and a great finals.

But to me, no matter what era you prefer, I just think the financials and the facility issues are handled better today. We don't see as much growth. But what we do see is a bit more stable and long term. The emergence and growth of corps like Genesis, Legends beginning to boom, Pacific Crest becoming so healthy, Oregon Crusaders, the re-emergence of Seattle Cascades after we lost them for a while, and the new corps from the state of Washington (forget the name right now), even the growth of Jersey Surf over the years, is very encouraging. Academy's growth and success financially and competitively over the years has been wonderful to see.