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See you at DCA World Championships!


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1 hour ago, Jeff Ream said:

according to the online ticket tool, if you do a rough guesstimate and know how many seats the stadium holds, thats what has been sold. No idea about last year, DCA never announces numbers

From the photos that were posted, the place looked reasonably full at Finals last year. Exact numbers, you're right... no idea.  LOL. 

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1 hour ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Yep and anything that interferes with “their band” or standing with school board is huge no no. Would be like football player skipping a game.

Hell didn’t know our assistant HS band director (you know who) was involved with a corps until right before Finals. He was in line for the soon to retire band directors job and wasn’t going to jeopardize it by schilling for an outside group.

So the general consensus would seem to be that corps do the following:

1. Steals away the top talent 

2. Forces scheduling issues for football games 

3. Looks bad for the band director because he or she can't control his or her membership.

If all that is the case I would say DCA needs to do some serious investing in PR. I would also think that the corps themselves should be ACTIVELY engaged in changing the existing dynamic. Again, my first band director was a corps guy and had some connections to winter guard in it's infancy. My second band director marched Troopers and the man ENROLLED me in my first audition camp fpr Spirit. He worked with my father to track down Gordon Cagle as a private instructor to help prepare me for DCI. My last band director was from Spirit and stayed on me CONSTANTLY to prepare for auditions and camps. We all went to corps shows as a band and I never heard ANY of the issues as described. 

So I guess the question is, how the heck do you change the dynamic?!?! Drum Corps is a life changing experience which should be embraced. I can get parents not being too hip to it because of 1) cost and 2) little Johnny (who they think is the greatest thing to ever carry a horn) most likely won't make it their first try. It's a competitive activity. MUCH more competitive than say...All State (which in my experience was just a chance for band directors  to get their name in the school newspaper.) I learned NOTHING from All State. 

I would GLADLY talk to band directors about the benefits of the activity. That being said, corps directors don't like to give up control of how they're viewed. Alumni have to have a place in this. I just wish I knew what it was so I could give back some of what the activity gave me.

Edited by Weaklefthand4ever
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Yep not involved in high schools or bands around here but can imagine directors thinking if it interferes then bleep it. So big push would be to show them how Corps can improve those band members. Wish I had a clue how. 

Can image the crap storm in my family if anyone from the school tried to tell me what to do in my non-school time. Corps function conflicting with a band function is one thing. But flat out saying I wouldn’t be allowed to join a corps and stay in band? Only question my dad would have is what obscene phrase to use in response....

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13 hours ago, lcarlton said:

Ohio is a weird bag; the majority of the bands are non-competitive and are Big10 Clones with some going so far to literally copy Big Ten uniforms and shows. 

This also leads to a weird situation where we've encountered directors who outright ban, or discourage their students from marching DCI. This further goes for DCA as we had problems with that in Cincinnati Tradition and the Columbus Saints with HS students dropping weeks before finals because 1.) Can't miss the football game on Friday of DCA 2.) Director learns they are marching and makes them quit or lose their spot in band. 

 

We're considering advertising in OMEA this year and potentially going to the conference and setting up a booth. 

 

OMEA had 120 bands in their state marching band finals last year at 4 different sites.....none were big 10 clones

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4 hours ago, Weaklefthand4ever said:

So the general consensus would seem to be that corps do the following:

1. Steals away the top talent 

2. Forces scheduling issues for football games 

3. Looks bad for the band director because he or she can't control his or her membership.

If all that is the case I would say DCA needs to do some serious investing in PR. I would also think that the corps themselves should be ACTIVELY engaged in changing the existing dynamic. Again, my first band director was a corps guy and had some connections to winter guard in it's infancy. My second band director marched Troopers and the man ENROLLED me in my first audition camp fpr Spirit. He worked with my father to track down Gordon Cagle as a private instructor to help prepare me for DCI. My last band director was from Spirit and stayed on me CONSTANTLY to prepare for auditions and camps. We all went to corps shows as a band and I never heard ANY of the issues as described. 

So I guess the question is, how the heck do you change the dynamic?!?! Drum Corps is a life changing experience which should be embraced. I can get parents not being too hip to it because of 1) cost and 2) little Johnny (who they think is the greatest thing to ever carry a horn) most likely won't make it their first try. It's a competitive activity. MUCH more competitive than say...All State (which in my experience was just a chance for band directors  to get their name in the school newspaper.) I learned NOTHING from All State. 

I would GLADLY talk to band directors about the benefits of the activity. That being said, corps directors don't like to give up control of how they're viewed. Alumni have to have a place in this. I just wish I knew what it was so I could give back some of what the activity gave me.

PR? Actual marketing? No way.

 

only been saying that for years

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35 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said:

PR? Actual marketing? No way.

 

only been saying that for years

Oh I know you have. I've been reading you saying it for years. The bad part of it is that I would almost bet that they could get quite a bit of it done for practically free if they would just ask. There are how many vets in this activity? Surely some have experience in this type of thing that would volunteer some time.

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9 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Yep not involved in high schools or bands around here but can imagine directors thinking if it interferes then bleep it. So big push would be to show them how Corps can improve those band members. Wish I had a clue how. 

Can image the crap storm in my family if anyone from the school tried to tell me what to do in my non-school time. Corps function conflicting with a band function is one thing. But flat out saying I wouldn’t be allowed to join a corps and stay in band? Only question my dad would have is what obscene phrase to use in response....

My sister stopped playing in our HS Band her Senior year, got sick of the guff from certain staff members. Ended up the Front Ensemble and bass Drum tech for a big Chapter 9 band instead. Don't know how much that happens, but I do know of a kid at the Bucs who told me she had enough guff from her Band Director as well, an individual I taught BITD and is now either incarcerated or at least has a solid criminal record. Coulda hired me instead. That's when I decided they hire that kind of individual, it's not worth the effort and expense to try anymore. Also why I'm not keen on many Admins anymore as well. :innocent:

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10 hours ago, Weaklefthand4ever said:

Oh I know you have. I've been reading you saying it for years. The bad part of it is that I would almost bet that they could get quite a bit of it done for practically free if they would just ask. There are how many vets in this activity? Surely some have experience in this type of thing that would volunteer some time.

i have offered in the past. Now, my time is more limited. i may be easy, but I am not cheap.

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Now, let's talk about some do's and don't sfor Championships weekend providing the layout remains the same:

 

there is no entrance to the stands from field level. So if you park down in that big grass lot, you have to go up the hill.

spectator entrance is way over on side 2 as you're looking at the field. Spectator exit is on side 1. So if you want to go out on a break to visit souvies ( if still where they were Sunday), know you cant get back in right there. I believe they had some food options out there too.

If you paid for the parking pass, know there's a lot to the right just as you come up the hill that the pass worked for, as well as the bigger lot in front of the school. they never told me about the smaller lot, so my pass landed me all the way down int he grass lot for prelims....some preferred parking.

 

food options in the stadium on side 1 or 2. good options and the price wasn't bad.

If the sun us blazing, it will be in the spectators ( and judges) faces. wasn't bad at prelims due to being kind of overcast, was brutal for finals until the sun started to set. 

 

Couldn't tell you about downtown, I commuted both days. heard good things. I know people say there's crime, but I don't hear much Williamsport dirt on my local news, so I couldn't tell ya.

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