E3D Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 I mentioned this at the end two seasons back about a soloist midfield for a top tier corps and was soundly (pun) dumped on by all his homers that a corps would never do that. They said that about corps ever having overage members too. Funny you mention the overage members. I was going to link my post to that say like SVC in the late 80's. Yeah why not. You can do anything with today's tech and the way it is wide open in DCI. My opinion but that is the way I see it. If I would have been here I would have been with ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 I have seen THE FUTURE of drum corps in the Oil Can. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwillis35 Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 TV exposure : good thing No TV exposure: not a good thing. Take a poll... ask any marcher of today's TOP 12 Corps in DCI , if they'd prefer their show to be on TV, or not on TV. Sure, I think most of us would take some TV exposure, but not at the cost of doing other things that are better for the infrastructure of DCI. If that kind of money is better invested in LIVE and other web services, then I'd rather they continue to expand options. TV is expensive. Even during the tail end of the PBS glory years the telecast didn't fair as well and the show times were no longer live and often not a convenient time for family. ESPN required shortened versions of shows and not everyone got on TV. That was the case with PBS in their later years, too. Usually only the top 5 or 6 got on TV. For DCI Finals alone, the LIVE feature amounts to what is pay-per-view, and it's a pretty good experience. People can simply purchase the Finals package only. They can stream to their TV from an iPad or other tablet, they can HDMI from a laptop to TV, or they can watch on computer. I honestly prefer this to PBS or ESPN. My problem with PBS and ESPN isn't just cutting up the shows or fewer corps making the telecast, it also has to do with real marketing vs thinking we're somehow going to sell the entire nation and world on our product. The activity doesn't need to try to reach 500,000 to 1 million people in order to succeed. Most of the money spent for TV would produce little difference in helping DCI popularize itself. And we must ask "what do we seek from this popularity?" Are we looking for a different audience? If so, why? I think it's far more important that we grow slowly. I feel DCI is the kind of activity that the right kind of people will find. This "right kind of person" is typically someone who loves the arts, smart, educated, and is not looking for a fall marching band kind of experience. It's certainly not limited to this, but that would be the stereotype. Many of the young, smart, arts-loving people will likely be found in our schools. Middle school and high school students in band, choir, and orchestra are a perfect target, and that's why BOA and other local-regional band circuits are important to DCI. We don't need TV air time to reach these people. Finally, for the cost of what it takes to log into DCI LIVE, setup an account, and buy the minimum regular season show package ($69) that may give us 14 or so shows to enjoy, I just find it hard to believe that die-hard lovers of the activity will not eventually turn to that. It's such a value. And for the non diehard people that enjoy some drum corps, it's not that costly to buy a single show. If they really wanted to see drum corps on their TV or computer screen, they would do just that. If they are not willing to spend $22+ for a show and will ONLY watch on a free PBS telecast, then I have to question how much they love drum corps. For many who might catch a telecast, like ESPN, often they like it and then we hear nothing from them again. Simply put, they are not true fans. DCI doesn't need to try and expand the activity like we're some common commodity sold on store shelves. They don't need to market to everyone out there. We are a niche activity. We need to carefully market and target those who have an interest in what we do. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hook'emCavies Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 DCI headquarters is located in Indianapolis. Haha couldn't help it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 TV exposure : good thing No TV exposure: not a good thing. Take a poll... ask any marcher of today's TOP 12 Corps in DCI , if they'd prefer their show to be on TV, or not on TV. Its a no brainer Well, sure, if you only have a binary answer set. But if you include live streams and/or on-demand streams as a third option, and your result will change *dramatically*, especially with young people. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummer5485 Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 The data is there. There are fewer Corps, fewer participants, fewer people exposed to DCI Finals Championships today than in previous decades. Don't shoot the messenger here. I speak with all the hundreds of my friends... some Hall of Famers, some former judges, some former Corps Directors, some former high level staffers, show designers, and they are heedless to my advice to give modern day DCI another look, another chance. They know what they like, and what they don't like, so nothing I can say to them... and believe me I do try, all the time too... is going to change their opinions on this. Even many of the Corps biggest donors will write Corps a check, but won't go to the shows. I know lots of them like this... personally. Talk to the Cav alums.... Troopers alums,.... Cadets alums... Madison alums... Bluecoats alums... other Corps long time alums... they'll confirm this for you. They'll tell you of the hundreds of people that'll write large checks to their Corps,out of their benevolent generosity, but have no interest in going to, nor even watching these DCI shows any more. If that is something you are not previously aware of, then I have just shared this with you, in order that you will be better informed. If you ARE aware of this, then you should know that neither you, me, nor anyone else on here is going to bring these people back, no matter WHAT persuasive skills we think we might possess. So thats that, and I don't know what else to tell you on it. I'm a Cavalier Alum and I spent 9 hours in the Alamodome last Saturday. I didn't go to a tailgate, I barely saw people I knew or marched with, and I enjoyed every show I saw (which was all of them, yes even Soundsport). There is a Cavalier Alum Facebook Page and most of the members on it (that are close enough) go to at least one show a year. And nobody watches TV anymore, streaming is the now. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeN Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Wrong. Drum corps & marching bands were verrrrry different BITD. They really weren't. They just thought they were. Mike 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 (edited) I'm a Cavalier Alum and I spent 9 hours in the Alamodome last Saturday. I didn't go to a tailgate, I barely saw people I knew or marched with, and I enjoyed every show I saw (which was all of them, yes even Soundsport). There is a Cavalier Alum Facebook Page and most of the members on it (that are close enough) go to at least one show a year. And nobody watches TV anymore, streaming is the now. Same with Cadet Alumni I( they go in packs sometimes....lol ) Ive also sat ( when I can ) with many old friends from Madison.As people age they drop off in many activities, it's only natural. Those who may still go, some will like it, some won't BUT the same could be said in every single decade even prior to DCI. Likes or dislikes are subjective and personal. I'm very glad to hear you were not only open to 2016 drum corps but also that you enjoyed yourself completely it seems. Splooie Edited July 28, 2016 by GUARDLING Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemesiscorps Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 (edited) The question: "Where is DCI?" The answer: Off and away... consciously pursuing a path that expands the distance between itself and generations of performers, designers, instructors, corps administrators, fans and supporters that gave it birth. Today's DCI is now pursuing a new following of supporters who understand and appear more inclined to the abstract of performance art. Like it or not, there's nothing "wrong" with that. Today's DCI insiders and followers have made a clear commitment to creating, performing, promoting, and supporting amazingly accomplished works that nonetheless appeal mostly to themselves, as opposed to enticing and developing a broader array of participants and spectators more likely to be moved by genuine, raw, straightforward emotional connection to sights, sounds and ideas easily accessible to someone seeking a diversely stylistic, reasonably comprehensible artistic entertainment experience. (All IMO) To the OP, the DCI you once knew has not changed... more accurately, it's gone... to the dismay of some, and to the delight of others. Today there seems to be (anecdotally) very few people that are in the middle or indifferent about DCI. I think it's fair to say that there are at least tens of thousands of once loyal "drum corps nuts" who passionately defended DCI (and the drum corps activity in general) against a (then) somewhat snobby music education culture that once scorned drum corps' very existence, generally deeming it illegitimate and even detrimental to "serious" youth musicians. That has all changed now, which in the end is good, but what was lost seems manifested in perhaps a sense of abandonment of former loyalists of the corps activity. Anyway... Having personally gone through various emotional stages in response to the transformation of the activity over the last 16+ years, I'm finally at peace with it all. My hope now is that all involved gain as much and more from their experience as I did in my 35+ years of involvement. It's been nearly a full year since my last post here on DCP, and all my kids have aged out as of the 2015 finals. I accept that my addiction to drum corps is now cured. My wife of 30 years says I began slowly "sobering up" around 2001. I thank you all that have engaged in corps-related discussions/debates with me over the years, and I wish you all well. This world we live in today is too upside-down to be so absorbed and concerned about what is or isn't right with the drum corps activity. Take care my friends, (No longer the) "Nemesiscorps" P.S. How do you close a DCP account? Edited July 28, 2016 by nemesiscorps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 This world we live in today is too upside-down to be so absorbed and concerned about what is or isn't right with the drum corps activity. downside-up 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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