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What's in a name? Now that the label "DCI" is irrelevant..


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What’s in a name?

Given that it sounds likely that DCI and the member corps are going to vote away the last remnants of their drum & bugle corps soul this weekend, it’s gotten me thinking about how this activity is going to be described going forward.

Should “Drum Corps International” now become “Marching Band International?”  If so, could take advantage of the 20+ elite marching bands in Japan.  That might be really exciting – some of those Japanese marching bands are incredible, and given DCI’s insistence on forcing small drum corps out of existence, Japan may outnumber the US in the # of touring units soon anyway.

Given flutes, clarinets, saxophones, acoustic guitars and mouth harps now allowed, should units rebrand themselves?  I checked the websites of all the WC units, and all but 4 still brand themselves as “drum & bugle corps.”  There are entire threads devoted to the differences between modern brass instruments and bugles – not trying to restart that drama.  But now everything (including bugles?) is going to be in vogue, perhaps other labels are more appropriate:

-          Replace DCI with MBI (Marching Bands International)?

-          Replace “drum & bugle corps” with “drum, brass, woodwind, piano, ukulele and mouth harp corps”? (for example SCV D&BC becomes SCV DBWPUMH?)

Or perhaps drum corps could change their identity depending on what they “identify with” each year.  One year a drum corps, next year a fife corps, then the next year a kazoo corps?  Given the crazy nature of identity politics, maybe a group could claim that the thing otherwise known as a bassoon is actually a bugle to them.

I’ll bet there are some creative minds here on DCP that can help the corps directors choose newer, more appropriate titles for their groups than the dogmatic, outdated and repressive title of “drum & bugle corps.”

Fire away.

Edited by WaxDCIFan
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I won’t care what they call it. I’ll be far less interested 

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The new name for the organization is already in use, as a tagline: MARCHING MUSIC'S MAJOR LEAGUE

Sadly, it might fit this new iteration of the activity even better than it does today.

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What added value will result by electing to include additional non-brass and percussion instruments [seriously]?  It certainly won’t be creativity and innovation!  Those two characteristics are about to be displaced by compromise and all-inclusive and the activity will become ordinary and fade away, and then I’ll get to refer to the former DCI, as I do all once great value added activities (that made a difference) that chose compromise over focus and determination, with a quote by TX Congressman Charlie Wilson: “these things happened, they were glorious and they changed the world and then we f___ked up the end game.”  
 
Each time in history when compromises were made to change unique and exclusive activities that built character, leadership and made a positive difference, the only ones who benefit are the historians selling the reminders of the glory of the past.   

 

DCI has a chance to be one of the last great bastions to preserve one of the most unique and avant-garde marching musical activities ever known but, I think many of the decisions about its fate are being made selfishly.

Edited by Land_Surfer
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I think all instruments will pass and woodwinds will be used, but sparingly. If they expand membership to 200, then there might be dedicated woodwinds sections, but at current levels, WC would take a hit on overall sound by marching woodwinds. OC groups could benefit from extra bodies on the field by marching woodwinds. 

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Well, IF woodwinds get added I just say end the charade, disband DCI and just merge with MBA and call it a day.  Just more money I can use to support local bands and stop this nonsense.  Ya, drums corps used to be cool and different...this passes...not so much.

 

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