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Before I start my day today I had to jump on DCP just to toss out some thoughts.....

 

    Can we say that the 1960's and maybe more so, the 1970'S, were the biggest for this activity? Well back then there were more corps and shows across North America every weekend. One didn't have to travel a day or more to see a competition. In my home town (North Tonawanda, NY) we ran 2 shows every summer ( Sights and Sounds of [insert year] and the NT Open). Both shows were packed on concert side. We could go to shows in Toronto area, Kitchener area, Rochester, Syracuse, Angola, Sheffield, PA, Hammondsport, NY, Corning, Binghampton, Oswego. The last two years of our corps we started in May going to Canton one weekend and then to Michigan for two shows Memorial Day weekend. There were always enough corps to give fans their money's worth. DCI traveled to different cities every 2 years and could make it affordable for corps near that city. 

Today we probably have 40 total corps (my guess) and who knows who they are anymore because each year they have new uniforms with different colors. The music is stuff no normal person knows, whatever happened to the theme from "The Midnight Cowboy?" Soon we'll have a scaffolding with LED lights, huge amps and every horn and drum mic'd. The field will be covered by HUGE tarps with Broadway style props and scenery. 

Just my thought....why not bring drum corps back using the local/regional corps. DCI could boost their likeability. Provide workshops for want to be directors, business managers, etc. Why do new corps have to shoot for the top? Keep the kids local.

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Who is going to pay for the local corps? Sorry Keith local corps idea would be nice but cost for equipment, travel and the like has exploded since bitd. For example I marched 1970s and saw how has tripling gas prices hurt local Sr corps. And AL, VFW, BSA not as healthy as the past. Did Alumni type corps 2000s and saw how careful they had to be in buying even used horns due to cost.

Edited by JimF-LowBari
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34 minutes ago, KeithHall said:

Before I start my day today I had to jump on DCP just to toss out some thoughts.....

 

    Can we say that the 1960's and maybe more so, the 1970'S, were the biggest for this activity? Well back then there were more corps and shows across North America every weekend. One didn't have to travel a day or more to see a competition. In my home town (North Tonawanda, NY) we ran 2 shows every summer ( Sights and Sounds of [insert year] and the NT Open). Both shows were packed on concert side. We could go to shows in Toronto area, Kitchener area, Rochester, Syracuse, Angola, Sheffield, PA, Hammondsport, NY, Corning, Binghampton, Oswego. The last two years of our corps we started in May going to Canton one weekend and then to Michigan for two shows Memorial Day weekend. There were always enough corps to give fans their money's worth. DCI traveled to different cities every 2 years and could make it affordable for corps near that city. 

Today we probably have 40 total corps (my guess) and who knows who they are anymore because each year they have new uniforms with different colors. The music is stuff no normal person knows, whatever happened to the theme from "The Midnight Cowboy?" Soon we'll have a scaffolding with LED lights, huge amps and every horn and drum mic'd. The field will be covered by HUGE tarps with Broadway style props and scenery. 

Just my thought....why not bring drum corps back using the local/regional corps. DCI could boost their likeability. Provide workshops for want to be directors, business managers, etc. Why do new corps have to shoot for the top? Keep the kids local.

because it wouldn't work and times have changed

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34 minutes ago, George Dixon said:

because it wouldn't work and times have changed

According to corpsreps.com, Heat Wave did this in 2018 -- "The Times They Are A-Changin'".

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Keith, I understand and as a Dino feel your concern...BUT, as so many on this forum have said, you can't put the yolk back into the egg once it's cracked..So, gather as many tapes, records, films, and CD's that you can and enjoy the legacy left by that era because it will never be the same again..not that now is better(arguable), just different..hope your day goes well..peace

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2 hours ago, KeithHall said:

Just my thought....why not bring drum corps back using the local/regional corps. DCI could boost their likeability. Provide workshops for want to be directors, business managers, etc. Why do new corps have to shoot for the top? Keep the kids local.

Admirable goals for sure, Keith.  But as others have said... I think that ship has sailed, and is not making port anytime soon.  LOL. 

And has been mentioned by several folks before... for the most part, high school marching bands have replaced local-circuit or  "neighborhood" corps, in terms of providing young people with the marching-music experience.

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Can we say that the 1960's and maybe more so, the 1970'S, were the biggest for this activity? 

Those days Argonne forever. (ba dum dum) 

 

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I do think we will not see the days of local circuits and smaller local corps return, but I think it may be incorrect to say that high school programs fill the gap, and I say this with no disrespect to the many wonderful high school programs. 

There are approximately 35,000 public and private secondary schools in the US. How many have competitive marching programs? Percentage wise it is easily under 10%, perhaps under 5%. I’d be willing to bet that many schools may not even have a marching program. I know in Boston, there are many fine music programs in the public high schools, Catholic schools, and charter schools. I cannot speak for the private schools that are not Catholic schools. In many cases they have wonderful jazz bands, choirs, string ensembles, and drama programs. There may be a band and at sporting events there are pep bands, but I do not know of any competitive marching programs. It may be due to funding, but where in many cases there are music departments, it may be interest.

A second important factor to consider comes from the athletic world. For baseball, soccer, basketball, and hockey, and individual sports such as swimming and gymnastics, your most serious and committed athletes are on travel teams, club teams, AAU teams, etc. 

If we were to look at forming smaller, more local corps, we first have to look at areas where good marching programs are not available. Is there a desire for such an activity? In areas where there are competitive school programs, are the kids looking for something outside of school?  If the answer is yes, are there enough kids so you could have for or five groups to compete, and would there be potential growth? If the answers are yes, how do you get funding, and are the competitive corps willing to work together? In the 1970’s when we began to see corps disband, there was an each corps for itself attitude, some corps were like vultures spotting road kill to recruit the members of disbanded corps, and these groups eventually died. A lesson that should be learned is corps can be competitive and individual, but there has to be come collaboration to make a local circuit survive.

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3 hours ago, KeithHall said:

Before I start my day today I had to jump on DCP just to toss out some thoughts.....

 

    Can we say that the 1960's and maybe more so, the 1970'S, were the biggest for this activity? Well back then there were more corps and shows across North America every weekend. One didn't have to travel a day or more to see a competition. In my home town (North Tonawanda, NY) we ran 2 shows every summer ( Sights and Sounds of [insert year] and the NT Open). Both shows were packed on concert side. We could go to shows in Toronto area, Kitchener area, Rochester, Syracuse, Angola, Sheffield, PA, Hammondsport, NY, Corning, Binghampton, Oswego. The last two years of our corps we started in May going to Canton one weekend and then to Michigan for two shows Memorial Day weekend. There were always enough corps to give fans their money's worth. DCI traveled to different cities every 2 years and could make it affordable for corps near that city. 

Today we probably have 40 total corps (my guess) and who knows who they are anymore because each year they have new uniforms with different colors. The music is stuff no normal person knows, whatever happened to the theme from "The Midnight Cowboy?" Soon we'll have a scaffolding with LED lights, huge amps and every horn and drum mic'd. The field will be covered by HUGE tarps with Broadway style props and scenery. 

Just my thought....why not bring drum corps back using the local/regional corps. DCI could boost their likeability. Provide workshops for want to be directors, business managers, etc. Why do new corps have to shoot for the top? Keep the kids local.

6

Welcome to 2019 EVERYTHING about those days are pretty much gone forever. There's the good as well as bad of that.

Edited by GUARDLING
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