cixelsyd Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 34 minutes ago, Ray Kimber said: I would like to read the Bluecoats Pandora's Box open letter. To: DCI Board of Directors From: Bill Hamilton, Ted Swaldo, Larry Hershman You alone hold the key to Pandora's Box and we pray for you to keep it locked! During the registration process at this year's January instructors' meeting, we received a lengthy proposal that, if adopted, would open the door for electronics. The proposal was written and presented by George Hopkins. As usual, the instructors were dazzled by the prospects of unlimited electronic amplification and voted yes. Because the rule changes were not distributed in advance, dialogue that included rebuttal was limited. We ask for your attention now. The lightly written, almost whimsical proposals use words and phrases such as "Geniuses devoting their skills to the world of marching music reaching for the sky in developing shows where the words of great Americans are magnificently amplified beyond belief..." While there can be some healthy debate about the inclusion of amplification and electronic enhancement in our activity (which frankly we are opposed to), that discussion is not the purpose of this letter. Buried deep in Mr. Hopkins' five-page proposal is perhaps the most telling acknowledgement of what this is really all about. George says: "One should plan $5,000-$10,000 to get into the game." And after you have paid your five to ten thousand-dollar entry fee, then what? We have contacted several companies, including Crystal Clear Sound and Clair Brothers (the most notable outdoor sound company on the east coast.) All agree that $10,000 buys almost nothing in professional audio. They further agree that being "on the road" with professional audio equipment requires trained personnel as well as substantial budgets for maintenance, specialized transportation, and back-up equipment. While no one could put a specific price tag on what would be a reasonably budgeted cost, a rough estimate of tens of thousands, not thousands, of dollars was the consensus to support amplification alone. More importantly they were unanimous in stating "the more money you spend, the better the sound." In addition, "in outdoor, free-air venues the costs to produce a high-quality sound are limitless." You may ask, "So what?" Well, bear in mind the person making this proposal (and probably some of his friends) already know, or have a good idea, where his electronics are coming from and who will pay for them. He knows who will pay for the audio engineer, he knows who will pay for the upgrades, he knows who will pay for the special transportation, the mixing boards, the microphones and the maintenance! Do you? Ask yourself...the last time you obtained new horns, what did you pay? What did Mr. Hopkins pay? Now take those facts and step onto the field of competition. The horns purchased by you or the horns provided to George are only as good as the people playing them. The playing field is level because the cost of horns is finite. Move now into electronics, where the cost is infinite, and the sound quality is determined by the sophistication and cost of the equipment and the proficiency of the audio engineers. Do you really want to compete in that forum? George makes another statement in his proposal, pointing out that he and a few others occupy a competitive results strata superior to your drum corps. Adopting his proposals will ensure that this never changes. If you're still considering the proposals of Mr. Hopkins, remember: HIS GAME IS PLAYED WITH A CHECKBOOK—NOT HIS OWN—BUT YOURS. For more than a decade the DCI Board of Directors has had the wisdom to defeat proposals dealing with electronics. We ask you to continue to protect the activity from unfair competition and not be fooled into opening the door to electronics. Pandora's Box is locked...let's keep it that way. Please Vote NO! 2 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 Wow... well spoken and thinking of the future and not just the here and now.... Having been around Larry H and seen his long term planning with another corps can’t say I’m surprised Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garfield Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 57 minutes ago, Ray Kimber said: Hello, As a noob I am missing some pieces to this puzzle. Could someone kindly tell me who (or what) is "pope Dan"? And I would like to read the Bluecoats Pandora's Box open letter. Kind regards, Ray "Pope Dan" is the moniker I humorously gave to Dan Acheson as he agreed to hear the pushback to the A&E debate as described in an earlier post. Dan Acheson, himself, would likely agree that a literal description of his position would likely be the antithesis of that of the Pope. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 15 minutes ago, garfield said: "Pope Dan" is the moniker I humorously gave to Dan Acheson as he agreed to hear the pushback to the A&E debate as described in an earlier post. Dan Acheson, himself, would likely agree that a literal description of his position would likely be the antithesis of that of the Pope. Just don’t say anti-pope lol.... Been reading history of way long ago so couldn’t resist.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybersnyder Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, xandandl said: yes, some people make it their means of livelihood and financial stepping stone to other means of resources. Very few. And I was mostly talking about a corps level. There may be people making their living off the corps, but the corps itself is fortunate to break even. Edited November 4, 2019 by cybersnyder 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 4 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said: Sunday championships... saw Saturday pics but didn’t realize Sunday too.... oh yeah. TOB is spread out over two weekends at 3 locations in the area, then this weekend Cavalcade is spread out over two locations...both days for all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 2 hours ago, cixelsyd said: ... and summarily ignored. Exactly. And the whole A&E saga has a lot to do with that outlook. Recall that not only did we have the petitioning, counter-proposals and gate-stampeding protests you describe... there were sympathetic voices coming from DCI member corps. One in particular, the Bluecoats, presented their case against the change in their impassioned "Pandora's Box" open letter. Boy, did that change quick. One "no" voting corps amplified their pit in 2004, the first possible year, simply out of fear of "competing with one arm tied behind their back". As for Bluecoats, before the 2004 calendar year was over, they entered into a strategic partnership with Yamaha and began their campaign to become the king of electronics in drum corps. I am not alone here in the realization that it is not a question of "if", but merely "when". All I can do is point out, as others here have, that my support ends "when" they go there. I fully expect that at some point, their strategic partners will matter more than the fans who share my feelings. ignored is a harsh word. it was allowed to be presented, and people were in the room. they just played mute Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 2 hours ago, Ray Kimber said: Hello, As a noob I am missing some pieces to this puzzle. Could someone kindly tell me who (or what) is "pope Dan"? And I would like to read the Bluecoats Pandora's Box open letter. Kind regards, Ray Dan Acheson is referred to as Pope Dan. And yes Feidler himself made comments about adding amps because they were competing with one arm tied behind their backs. Of course many people including himself tried to cover for it, and that only made it worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 15 minutes ago, Jeff Ream said: ignored is a harsh word. Actions speak louder than words. And DCI actions (lack thereof) ignored the protests of fans. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said: Wow... well spoken and thinking of the future and not just the here and now.... Having been around Larry H and seen his long term planning with another corps can’t say I’m surprised And interesting that since the electronics "Pandora's Box" was opened, the Bluecoats have arguably been the corps that has utilized electronics at a better, more professional level than various other corps... including the corps whose director at the time was leading the push for electronics to be approved. Not totally surprising, actually. A friend with ties to the Bluecoats organization has told me that once electronics was approved, the 'Coats figured, hey....if we have to live with this stuff to be competitive, let's do it better than anyone. And IMO, they pretty much have. And yes, apparently you do "have to live with this stuff" to remain competitive, despite the counter-argument that "no one says you have to add anything." Same argument was used with any-key instrumentation... "you can stay in G if you choose"... blah, blah, blah. Sure... stay in G if you want to drop from the top 12 to struggling to make semifinals. LOL. Edited November 4, 2019 by Fran Haring 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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