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Disturbing DCI rumors


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5 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

That is not how it works. 

If you increase the number of kids in a corps, that number increases too.  Does anyone really not get that?

They get it. They don’t want to acknowledge that reality however. Shucks, lets eliminate maximum corps size. Then corps can solve all their financial problems by increasing their size to 500 or whatever. 
Except - it wouldn’t work. 

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On ‎12‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 10:12 AM, Glenn426 said:

Imagine being a kid in 7th grade beginning band not knowing anything about DCI or any of its offshoots. and choosing to play Alto Saxophone because you like the sound and your dad always played Coltrane and Charlie Parker on Sunday mornings growing up. Your best friends choose Trombone and Trumpet. You go all through Middle School and you are killing it on Alto, All-state First Chair etc.., Highly decorated. Your friends are holding their own but they don't practice as much and while talented, do not earn the accolades that you do.

 

Then you go to HS and you are introduced to Marching band, and by osmosis DCI. You and your friends love the Blue Devils and are their biggest fans. You go to see BD live at a local show and you fall in love, Your friends immediately decide they want to be a Blue Devil one day. And your friends start working on their skills. you on the other hand (the better musician of the three and most decorated musician in your school) also want to march BD but you have to learn a brand new instrument to try and make BD because WW's aren't allowed. The three of you go to auditions and your friends both make it, but while you can march just as good as they can, you don't have a great tone quality, your range is limited and your articulation is not as pristine as a natural brass player. You are Cut. and cant march BD with your friends. Even though you are the most dedicated musician of the three, the most talented, the one who would likely pursue music performance as a profession because you already have a scholarship to prestigious music school for Alto performance. 

Being in those shoes it would be hard not to think that DCI is discriminating against your kind of musician, One that is just as qualified, one that would make a great member, and contribute more to the organization through your musicianship and professionalism.

 

 

 

The tools currently exist to make WW's a viable option in DCI. Its time for change, so that everyone can enjoy what we all have enjoyed.

I am a woodwind player. I was a woodwind player in 1989 also, when I decided to audition for a brand new drum and bugle corps based in Charlotte.

Some time prior to my audition, I took the time to learn how to play a brass instrument so that I would be able to seamlessly integrate into a marching brass ensemble. I did not demand that the ensemble conform to my chosen woodwind instrument, nor was I offended that the ensemble did not offer me an opportunity to play a woodwind. I wanted a new experience, and because I chose to learn instead of trying to change an established performance format by force, I was ultimately rewarded.

Any kid who plays a woodwind and feels "left out" by an all brass ensemble should simply pick up a brass instrument and learn it. It isn't rocket science, nor has it ever been. When I say "learn it," I mean learn to play it with good tone quality and proper articulation. These are choices. If one is hypothetically as "talented" a musician as your premise states, there will be no real problems in doing this.

If, after taking the time to learn said brass instrument, one is still "cut" by drum corps B, then it just wasn't meant to be. Do you believe that every talented brass player who marched Americanos could make it into the Blue Devils, or the Cavaliers, or Carolina Crown? Of course not! This ridiculous argument that "everyone" should get to enjoy what we all enjoyed (by marching) is headed down the road of participation trophies and the like. There are absolutely no guarantees that every talented musician will be able to march in a drum corps and there never have been. And there never should be.

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22 minutes ago, HockeyDad said:

Ummm. No. You know why?  Because DCI eliminated the regional touring model. Bring that back and more regional shows come back. 

So which corps would go into each region? And who would start and maintain these new shows?

Here I thought corps toured so they could get to shows. Also though corps management decided which shows they would be in. Never realized they were ignoring what is going on in their area (whatever that may be). 
 

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Wouldn’t it bring more excitement and drama to the summer if the top 6 (or so) didn’t meet many times prior to finals?  Yes. With regional focus with the corps being all brought together only at finals week, the building tension and anticipation would be wonderful. Under the present model, we all know how the final order will end up, within a max of one placement or so for any particular corps. Yawn. 

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53 minutes ago, JimF-LowBari said:

So which corps would go into each region? And who would start and maintain these new shows?

Here I thought corps toured so they could get to shows. Also though corps management decided which shows they would be in. Never realized they were ignoring what is going on in their area (whatever that may be). 
 

DCE used to consist of the east coast corps. DCM has all the Midwest. DCW was basically the west coast. Anyone notice how the small corps still thrive on the west coast more than any other region by not leaving California for the 1st half of tour?

the small shows went away because there weren’t enough corps to fill them. Columbus used to have 2 shows a year. (1 DCM and one DCI) There hasn’t been one here for 3 years now.

We never left the Midwest until mid July and had much shorter drives between shows. 2-3 hours instead of 6+ like what seems to be common now.

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1 hour ago, gbass598 said:

DCE used to consist of the east coast corps. DCM has all the Midwest. DCW was basically the west coast. Anyone notice how the small corps still thrive on the west coast more than any other region by not leaving California for the 1st half of tour?

the small shows went away because there weren’t enough corps to fill them. Columbus used to have 2 shows a year. (1 DCM and one DCI) There hasn’t been one here for 3 years now.

We never left the Midwest until mid July and had much shorter drives between shows. 2-3 hours instead of 6+ like what seems to be common now.

I’ve read about the past, my question is the present. So far I’m reading how great regional tours would be but nothing on how to make it feasible, if even possible. (Outside of CA)

Edited by JimF-LowBari
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2 hours ago, HockeyDad said:

Ummm. No. You know why?  Because DCI eliminated the regional touring model. Bring that back and more regional shows come back. 

Interesting! DCI is a show scheduler and show promoter for their member corps. I’m sure they share responsibility for a lot of circuits failing  

How many corps, regional circuits, and independent shows would still be in existence if there were no DCI? 

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6 hours ago, MikeD said:

In addition, how would it be to have ONLY corps in your region at every show the entire summer? Here on the east coast, we'd never see BD, SCV, Madison, Coats, Phantom Regiment, Blue Knights, Mandarins, etc.....those in the mid-west would never see Crown, BAC, Cadets, Surf, Spirit of Atlanta...and so on. Would enough people want to attend shows that will always contain the exact same set of corps?

Someone else has probably already made this correction; in my imagination, Crown, BAC, Cadets, Surf are all in my time zone, plus Bluecoats, Music City, Spirit, Legends, ummm... are all in the ET.  Phantom, Madison, Cavaliers, Colts, Crossmen all play together.  Blue Knights, Academy, Troopers.. WTH, it's hard to get through the mountains anyway, and then all the west coast powerhouses.  Maybe just have three regions.  I'd miss seeing PC nearby, but I'd LOVE what a regional tour would do for their balance sheet!  A corps on the cusp doesn't have to spend thousands traipsing across the country?  Bazingo!

I don't know.  I'm not that smart, but somebody can figure it out.

But, of course, you're right that east wouldn't see west until Indy.  I'm not sure that's a bad thing.

 

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3 hours ago, HockeyDad said:

Wouldn’t it bring more excitement and drama to the summer if the top 6 (or so) didn’t meet many times prior to finals?  Yes. With regional focus with the corps being all brought together only at finals week, the building tension and anticipation would be wonderful. Under the present model, we all know how the final order will end up, within a max of one placement or so for any particular corps. Yawn. 

That’s how it used to be but we’re not supposed to say that.  :peek:

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2 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

I’ve read about the past, my question is the present. So far I’m reading how great regional tours would be but nothing on how to make it feasible, if even possible. (Outside of CA)

If you build it, they will come. They have 20 years of wrong doing to undo so the start would be to schedule and plan for the remaining corps to tour regionally for the 1st half of the summer. Re=establish the regional circuit and then by default this would help new groups get started and save on expenses to get off the ground.

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