Phantom Regiment 2018

[xandandl]

4 minutes ago, PRomoter said:

If I could point to one opportunity, it would be for them to stop filling so many staff slots with their own young alumni. It’s hard to grow and mature when much of the leadership’s experience is confined to historical PR. That formula is safe and comfortable, but safety and nostalgia are not rewarded in competitive activities.

 

All that said, I sure do love Phantom. I’d walk away from the activity before I could support a different corps.

posted from the DrumScorps app

while building an alumni staff may continue the internal traditions, sometimes it is a matter of finances; younger folks mean smaller salaries to be paid.

[queenanne_1536]

15 hours ago, tim_brandt said:

Yeah, I think that flat is a fair assessment. It kind of just sits there, it's missing memorable moments, which I believe we are all sort of saying.

Given the material to work with, that's a bummer. But, given the material to work with, it's never to late to add some tags / changes.

Otherwise, I'm afraid they are gonna have a rough go of it competitively, given the strength of those around them. 

I really hate being negative when it comes to anything, this is all said out of love.

Of course, it's out of love. It's hard not to love Regiment when they have given us so many great shows over the years. It's crazy how good this activity is getting and shows that probably would have placed 5th-6th in the 80s and 90s are 10-12 today. I do not think Regiment will place higher than last year, but I think this years show is a good start on the path to modernization.

[Phantom1701]

17 hours ago, PRomoter said:

If I could point to one opportunity, it would be for them to stop filling so many staff slots with their own young alumni. It’s hard to grow and mature when much of the leadership’s experience is confined to historical PR. That formula is safe and comfortable, but safety and nostalgia are not rewarded in competitive activities.

 

All that said, I sure do love Phantom. I’d walk away from the activity before I could support a different corps.

posted from the DrumScorps app

I completely agree with this statement.  Kids these days do follow the top staffs to whatever corps they are at and those corps in turn are the ones who are succeeding, competitively.  Hiring from within is great and may pay dividends in the long-term.   Short-term however, it could get rough.  The question is will you stop attracting the top talent in the activity if too many years go by without enough competitive success?

[queenanne_1536]

2 hours ago, Phantom1701 said:

The question is will you stop attracting the top talent in the activity if too many years go by without enough competitive success?

I think this is already happening at Regiment. It's definitely happening at Madison. As you said, kids go to wherever the great staff is. When I marched it was just something I thought was fun and wanted to do, I never thought of making a career out of it. These days, it seems the memberships are full of serious mucisians and dancers. I also think this was a problem at the Cavaliers for several recent seasons, but they sure turned it around in 2015 by putting out such a well designed show that it greatly exceeded expectations. They have returned to a distination corps. Regiment needs to figure it out. They seem to be heading down the path Madison is on. 

[Rocketman]

Sadly, unless a corps is 'all in' they will be left behind, and that is my concern with the Regiment. They may 'think' they are 'all in' but the reality is, they stuck their big toe in the pool while most everyone else dove in head first. If their intent is an incremental approach, they will continue to fall further behind not only the front runners, but those in the 8 - 12 spots, eventually resulting in watching finals from the stands.

Sure, there is a 'tradition' to uphold, but at what cost? Someone mentioned being a 'destination corps'. Is that what the Regiment is, or are they the corps you settle for when you aren't offered a contract from the corps you REALLY wanted to march with? Has the Regiment turned into (dare I say) a feeder corps for those in the upper echelons of the activity? Are they that 'nice cute' corps that people may opt to skip until the 'big guys' come on? All of this sickens me to even think.  Yet the proof is in the pudding - 6th, 7th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 2018?

SUTA!

[Phantom1701]

It certainly does feel like it is heading in that direction, yes.   I just hate seeing a DCI institutional corps getting squeezed out because they didn't choose to play the games a other corps  have.   An off year here or there, fine, but Madison has never fully recovered and maybe never will.  Short of a Bill Cook type of monetary intervention that can buy and retain a top staff for years to come. 

[phd-student-TTU]

It’s like someone was trying to warn you all about this but no one listened...

[kdaddy]

15 hours ago, queenanne_1536 said:

I think this is already happening at Regiment. It's definitely happening at Madison. As you said, kids go to wherever the great staff is. When I marched it was just something I thought was fun and wanted to do, I never thought of making a career out of it. These days, it seems the memberships are full of serious mucisians and dancers. I also think this was a problem at the Cavaliers for several recent seasons, but they sure turned it around in 2015 by putting out such a well designed show that it greatly exceeded expectations. They have returned to a distination corps. Regiment needs to figure it out. They seem to be heading down the path Madison is on. 

The Cavaliers are a great example. What did they do? They kept some of the same pieces (percussion, guard), and hired in other areas that needed help, perhaps most importantly a program coordinator and artistic director. They also changed the upper levels of administration. I don't remember hearing anything about an influx of money, but perhaps the new administrators brought new approaches to fundraising. Also, they aren't as constrained by alumni expectations on show design, it would seem - or they slowly evolved such that a jump to a show like they did last year wasn't so drastic.

An even better example, if you have $$$, is Boston. They were almost 13th... in 2016! One or a small group of alums banded together with resources, changing the entire design staff except brass arranger. 

I've said this on here before, and I think it's still true... Look at some of the engaging shows of the past few years - there's no reason why Phantom Regiment couldn't have programmed some of these show concepts (in their own way). The design concept is so important now. Boston's S.O.S. show is easily a concept that Regiment could've adopted and still stay true to classical/instrumental roots. While Nighthawks wouldn't work so well, the idea of exploring characters in a painting would work. As Dreams Are Made On, Force of Nature, Metamorph (as a concept) - all of these concepts (among numerous others) could've worked. Instead we get some good repertoire ideas in a concept that's not working.

Hiring a design team that can start with a great concept is vital today. All of Regiment's design team, as individuals, might be great for all I know. But as a whole, they appear to be behind the curve. 

Edited July 10, 2018 by kdaddy

[phd-student-TTU]

You say that like they can afford a top notch staff. 

[queenanne_1536]

4 hours ago, kdaddy said:

The Cavaliers are a great example.

I agree with everything you said. When I watch Bluecoats and Crown today, I think this is the path Madison and Regiment should have taken. Nowadays, playing catch up doesn't seem to work - you have to be thinking about what comes next. SCV this year has out-modernized the modernizers. That's what staffs at these other corps need to be thinking.