What would happen if a corps said, f it i am going old school

[BRASSO]

53 minutes ago, glory said:

 reviving the old programs is a bad idea.

 

 Agreed. While there are a few notable exceptions, later years Corps that attempt revive their older successful programs or borrow similar themes & music from other earlier Corps shows, usually have their new show designers produce a very poor imitation of the original and as such, the newer version years later tends to pale in comparison to the original.

Edited November 27, 2017 by BRASSO

[Fran Haring]

2 hours ago, BRASSO said:

 No Fran.. that secret cabal ( G7 ) you are describing, got their strings lit up like a Christmas tree . 

'Twas the season. 

[84BDsop]

54 minutes ago, BRASSO said:

 Agreed. While there are a few notable exceptions, later years Corps that attempt revive their older successful programs or borrow similar themes & music from other earlier Corps shows, usually have their new show designers produce a very poor imitation of the original and as such, the newer version years later tends to pale in comparison to the original.

05 SCV with Russian Xmas music is usually my go to on that.  All by itself the 05 version was fine (and massive props to SCV for using so much of the 87 snare book!), but living in the shadow of the 87 version??    No bueno....too much to ask for 05 to step out of THAT shadow.

[BRASSO]

1 minute ago, 84BDsop said:

05 SCV with Russian Xmas music is usually my go to on that.  All by itself the 05 version was fine (and massive props to SCV for using so much of the 87 snare book!), but living in the shadow of the 87 version??    No bueno....too much to ask for 05 to step out of THAT shadow.

 To use another analogy... whenever Hollywood finds they have a hit for a movie with audiences, we oftentimes see them make a sequel, or multiple sequels. Sometimes the sequel is better than the original, but most of the time the sequel is a poor imitation and never captures the magic and the entertainment value with audiences that the original was able to generate with audiences.

[84BDsop]

Just now, BRASSO said:

 To use another analogy... whenever Hollywood finds they have a hit for a movie with audiences, we oftentimes see them make a sequel, or multiple sequels. Sometimes the sequel is better than the original, but most of the time the sequel is a poor imitation and never captures the magic and the entertainment value with audiences that the original was able to generate with audiences.

And yet, enough times it does (in corps) to justify trying it again....88/89 SCV, 81/82/08 Regiment (although the show concepts really WERE very different between the 80s and 08 versions), etc. 

 

Unfortunately, that tends to lead us to 84/94 Cadets and other redos that really should've been shelved.

'Course, back in the day, repeating a chart from year to year was standard....84 was the first year BD didn't repeat a single full chart (except for the tag ending...and even THAT wasn't part of the program until we left for 2nd tour)

[Fran Haring]

A NJ high school band did a "progression of marching music through the years" show this recently-concluded season.

They started on the old "starting line" complete with a replica honor guard... then progressed forward with the use of visual designs of various decades, ending with the modern era. However, they didn't use "old school retro" music charts for each segment... instead using up-to-date charts that evoked the various eras. I think that helped make it work much better than if they had used off-the-shelf retro stuff.

As an added touch... they used several recorded intros, from various drum corps folks, to set up each segment.  Thom Hannum, Jim Mallen, Jim Russo, a young lady who is a recent alum of the band... and yours truly.  I was the "on the starting line" opening-announcement voice. It was quite an honor for me to be a part of this!!!

It worked well for them, with the fans and on the scoresheets, judging by the reaction they got at the show I saw them, and by their placement at the NYS band championships.

Edited November 28, 2017 by Fran Haring

[Jeff Ream]

On 11/26/2017 at 12:58 PM, MotoSurfBass said:

You mean a top half of Finals spot, right? They finished 10th that year, less than half a point from Boston in 9th. Absolutely fantastic show.

no. just making finals. And i loved the show and joined in all of the standing O's. I remember the reaction at Allentown on the intro alone!

 

But....the depth and layering required to be at the top today wasn't there, as well as some performance issues obviously. Now....that was on the old sheets, especially GE. I'd like to think in todays world it would do a little better, but honestly, visual calls so many of the shots now, i think it would fight to get in as deep as the talent pool is now.

Edited November 28, 2017 by Jeff Ream
correction

[KVG_DC]

On 11/25/2017 at 10:46 AM, Stu said:

(Sung in techno dance style) "Boots n Skirts n Boots n Skirts n Boots n Skirts n Boots n Skirts ...."

I just had a vision of an old VK style sendup where they spoof a BD dance break kPop style with that looping and some guard members in traditional unis trying to do modern movement. 

[luv4corps]

Really fun thread.  

One of the things that made BD's 2017 show SO spectacular is the beginning nod to old school drum corps.  It worked REALLY well and was as energetic and exciting an opening as I can remember in a show since I became a fan in 2010.  But then BD contrasted THAT opening drill with all that came later in the activity and brilliantly showed why drum corps is and will always be an evolving activity.

In other words, the OP's idea is really an apples to oranges kind of comparison.  But that doesn't mean that older styles can't be tastefully injected into current shows.  It is always appreciated!

[Hrothgar15]

The only way this could ever conceivably happen is if all the other top 25 corps said, "f it we are going old school."

The only way that could ever conceivably happen is if DCI reverted the rules and scoring to a previous incarnation.

And the only way that could ever happen is if the member corps themselves were not the ones in charge of DCI and its rules.