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Time to Say Goodbye, after 15 years


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5 minutes ago, Fran Haring said:

This, and what Jim said.

Not a huge fan of some of the stuff going on with modern-day drum corps.. but hey, it's a different era, different game. 

Overall, still a fan. If that ever changes, I hope I go out with the class shown by the OP here.

 

 

 

And you can be sure that some here will throw rocks at you as you leave.

 

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9 minutes ago, Algernon said:

Well that was certainly "electrifying". In what world could this activity succeed and appeal to Mr Kimber and at the same time be relevant to the performers? 

Perhaps jumping from CD to DVD/online videos could have increased his level of engagement.

Then again, when you introduce yourself just to say goodbye you lose all kinds of credibility.

So would he be more credible if he agreed with you? Or if he would have posted a more respectful post than you just did... oh wait...

Edited by JimF-LowBari
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10 minutes ago, N.E. Brigand said:

Really though I'm not sure drum corps ever recovered from the addition of contrabass bugles back in the 1960s. That's when it all started going south.

I know you’re being facetious, but I think it’s when the tic system was abolished. That opened the Broadway floodgates. 

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17 minutes ago, N.E. Brigand said:

Really though I'm not sure drum corps ever recovered from the addition of contrabass bugles back in the 1960s. That's when it all started going south.

Lol have read about the griping some corps did when the first valve was added late 1920s. Something about corps wanting to be more musical... horrors...

Edited by JimF-LowBari
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May I suggest going and watch 1978's shows on You Tube for therapy and just enjoy the fun? Don't leave though. You came in really late....go back and watch the changes that back then were just gold and soak it all in....because that will be 2020 to someone one day. I am amazed at how far the marching arts has come but love the old shows even more each year.

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On 10/15/2019 at 1:34 PM, Ray Kimber said:

For several years my delight with Drum Corps has been waning.

 My first experience with Drum Corps was in 2004 at the invitation of Dr. Thomas Root.  It was electrifying for me.  The sound had majesty, grace, and purity.  I went to the souvenir trailers and purchased every CD I could lay my hands on.  The quality of the recordings were much more variable than quality of the Corps on the field.  None of the CDs were electrifying to me.

 Then for many years I endeavored to record all those elements, with various success.  Along the way I provided yearly support for the Ogden Corps Encore Show.  I recall clearly when I was faced with the first instance of canned show program, I was incredulous.  In subsequent years the shows got even more canned and more amplified - rather than a race to have great musicians it was a race for expensive mixer boards, equalizers and speaker systems.

 As a side note there was also a race to incorporate props and scenery. 

 During the last show in Ogden, I listened carefully - I was not electrified.  I was electrified during some of the rehearsals that didn’t have the amplification running.

 It could be that there is a cumulative million+ hours of devotion within the members of a corps, and then all that majesty, grace, and purity is stuffed through a PA system.

 Now I have lost any interest in attending or supporting.  I don’t like listening to amazing musicians through a vitiating PA system.  Moreover I feel guilty about any of my efforts, donations, or support that subsidizes PA systems. It might be valid to compare the use of PA systems to steroid use, for my taste it sounds bad and feels like cheating.  I sorrow for those million hours of musician devotion that I don’t hear with majesty, grace and purity.

Ray Kimber, Ogden Utah

Mr. Kimber, as a fellow sound engineer and mixer and a strong supporter of your ISO recordings of the Blue Knights and others released on the SACD format, I understand where you are coming from here. I also agree with you on the sound of drum corps on CD. Much like you, I also lament the shift from unamplified drum corps to amplified drum corps. While I have no issue with the use of sound "effects", I do have a major issue with deploying microphones all over the field to increase the sonic impact of the corps. It is overdone, poorly implemented, and takes away alot from the excellent shows on the field. While some may be critical of your departure from this activity, I am not one of them. Everyone has their reason to support drum corps, and leave it as well. Knowing your history as a audiophile and your accomplishments in the audio field, your reason for leaving makes perfect sense to me, even if it doesn't to others. 

Edited by deftguy
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I find these posts interesting. If for whatever reason I decided to stop going to shows, would I decide it needs to be posted to DCP? I hardly think the drum corps community would go into mourning and where  I sit in sell out sections in Allentown and Indy so people would be happy to occupy them. However if the OP is really considering not going to shows, these are my thoughts: 


I say stick around. For one thing, 2004 is not old school by any stretch of the imagination, and as I look back that was a time I thought drum corps would be gone in ten year’s time. Attendance at the shows in my area was poor, the number of corps was paltry, and while I’m sure I did not sit on my hands during performances, I thought in many cases the music was not accessible, performances were good but not as memorable as past years, but I still had a good time because one thing did not change. Kids put their all into performances and in the end it should be about the kids.

Consider giving drum corps a break, but plan on attending again in a few years. Most  fans have off years where shows may not grab them for whatever reason, but there are wonderful reasons to support the activity and most especially the kids. 

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1 hour ago, deftguy said:

Mr. Kimber, as a fellow sound recordist and mixer, and a strong supporter of your ISO recordings of the Blue Knights and others released on the SACD format, I understand where you are coming from here. I also agree with you on the sound of drum corps on CD. Much like you, I also lament the shift from unamplified drum corps to amplified drum corps. While I have no issue with the use of sound "effects", I do have a major issue with deploying microphones all over the field to increase the sonic impact of the corps. It is overdone, poorly implemented, and takes away alot from the excellent shows on the field. While some may be critical of your departure from this activity, I am not one of them. Everyone has their reason to support drum corps, and leave it as well. Knowing your history as a audiophile and your accomplishments in the audio field, your reason for leaving makes perfect sense to me, even if it doesn't to others. 

Yes folks, if you know who Mr. Kimber is, you would not be so quick to dismiss his opinion and observation on the sound of drumcorps coming through some of the sound systems currently in use. If I remember correctly, he came up with a special way to wind cables to shield them from almost any induced noise around them, allowing for much clearer recording and playback. Electronic sound is the man's business.

https://www.kimber.com

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5 hours ago, Ray Kimber said:

For several years my delight with Drum Corps has been waning.

 My first experience with Drum Corps was in 2004 at the invitation of Dr. Thomas Root.  It was electrifying for me.  The sound had majesty, grace, and purity.  I went to the souvenir trailers and purchased every CD I could lay my hands on.  The quality of the recordings were much more variable than quality of the Corps on the field.  None of the CDs were electrifying to me.

 ........

 Now I have lost any interest in attending or supporting.  I don’t like listening to amazing musicians through a vitiating PA system.  Moreover I feel guilty about any of my efforts, donations, or support that subsidizes PA systems. It might be valid to compare the use of PA systems to steroid use, for my taste it sounds bad and feels like cheating.  I sorrow for those million hours of musician devotion that I don’t hear with majesty, grace and purity.

Ray Kimber, Ogden Utah

 

Ray,

Sorry to see you leave, but you like what you like. Nobody should attack you for having an opinion, whatever it may be.

I have loved every era of drum corps, starting with my first show in 1963 at almost-age 10  through the summer of 2019 at almost-age 66.

But that is MY opinion. 

Give it some time, and maybe check back in someday. 

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