Jump to content

Time to Say Goodbye, after 15 years


Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, Fran Haring said:

And a reason why senior corps came into prominence after World War II.

A number of teenagers... junior-corps members... who had served during the war returned home as 20-something young adults, too old for junior corps.

As a result, numerous senior corps... Hawthorne Caballeros, NY Skyliners, Reilly Raiders, Yankee Rebels, among others... arrived on the scene.

 

Archer Epler and Westshoremen off top of my head had Jr roots too. Rochester Crusaders started ca 1946 IIRC but not sure of their roots. Same with Pittsburgh Rockets I think

and my first camera 55 or so years ago was from a gas station promotion.... not Grandpas station though.... 🙄

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, xandandl said:

yes, BITD of 3 peats and 100 corps in prelims, there were never 55 people on "faculty" (one for left handed spins, one for the right drummers stick, etc.) or 20 on admin. staffs, not counting the 18 drivers and rotations.

and not all 55 are on duty full time. some never do more than winter camps. some never winter camps. some are only out there for 2 weeks or maybe spring training. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, MikeD said:

You place the blame on the corps

No... I am saying it was some of each.  That is why I said, "Not all were for the same reasons, of course."  That is why I responded to your sweeping, errant generalizations in the first place.

JimF-LowBari understood what I wrote:

12 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Reading History of Drum Corps Volume 2 (mostly history of few dozen top corps) it was both. Just depends which corps you are looking at. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, how can what we have be saved?

 

We all talk doom and gloom. Drum corps is dying! We know it is but how do we save it? Can it be brought back to life?

Yes it takes money! Drum corps is a business!

We remember what it was a long time ago.....Legion Posts, Fire Halls, and churches sponsoring drum corps!

Today corps need Corporate sponsors, 4 to 5 busses, 2 tractor trailers, mega-fuel costs, food trailers, etc.

Corps members need private funding to march a season......transportation costs to camps, money for tour, Tour fees of $5,000. All this to be worked harder than they ever worked before, run around a field in the hot sun!

Even at the All-Age level...how can we save it?

 

What ideas do DCI and DCA have? Has this ever been brought up? Are they okay with the activity?

 

Some things to ponder or gripe about!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, cixelsyd said:

No... I am saying it was some of each.  That is why I said, "Not all were for the same reasons, of course."  That is why I responded to your sweeping, errant generalizations in the first place.

JimF-LowBari understood what I wrote:

 

Well really wasn’t responding directly, just bringing up the point but we understand each other so 👍

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, KeithHall said:

So, how can what we have be saved?

 

We all talk doom and gloom. Drum corps is dying! We know it is but how do we save it? Can it be brought back to life?

Yes it takes money! Drum corps is a business!

We remember what it was a long time ago.....Legion Posts, Fire Halls, and churches sponsoring drum corps!

Today corps need Corporate sponsors, 4 to 5 busses, 2 tractor trailers, mega-fuel costs, food trailers, etc.

Corps members need private funding to march a season......transportation costs to camps, money for tour, Tour fees of $5,000. All this to be worked harder than they ever worked before, run around a field in the hot sun!

Even at the All-Age level...how can we save it?

 

What ideas do DCI and DCA have? Has this ever been brought up? Are they okay with the activity?

 

Some things to ponder or gripe about!

i don't sense doom with DCI. it'll never be what it was

Edited by Jeff Ream
  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

well those you mentioned have a lot less costs involved too...not doing nationwide tours helps

Maintaining relevance includes demonstrating a business model that is workable.  If DCI's model is crippled by touring, then they haven't maintained relevance.

It's not as though WGI and competitive corps-style bands get a free pass because they still travel weekends, but their model is obviously more maintainable than the one DCI is using.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra tours 21 semis, over 30 performers, and over 70 crew and rakes in $70million/year in more than 100 shows in over 60 cities.  Taylor Swift tours 17 tractor trailers and a crew of over 30.  Obviously, "touring" is not the big problem with DCI remaining relevant.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, garfield said:

Maintaining relevance includes demonstrating a business model that is workable.  If DCI's model is crippled by touring, then they haven't maintained relevance.

It's not as though WGI and competitive corps-style bands get a free pass because they still travel weekends, but their model is obviously more maintainable than the one DCI is using.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra tours 21 semis, over 30 performers, and over 70 crew and rakes in $70million/year in more than 100 shows in over 60 cities.  Taylor Swift tours 17 tractor trailers and a crew of over 30.  Obviously, "touring" is not the big problem with DCI remaining relevant.

 

Whoa slow down there speedy. So you’re saying that you gotta not spend more than you take in? That’s CRAZY TALK!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, garfield said:

Trans-Siberian Orchestra tours 21 semis, over 30 performers, and over 70 crew and rakes in $70million/year in more than 100 shows in over 60 cities.  

And how does the DCI tour compare?

  • over 100 semis
  • over 4000 performers
  • over 1000 crew
  • rakes in less than $20 million
  • right around 100 shows, mostly in different cities

So your reaction is... ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...