MikeN Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 ... maybe? ... <shrug> Depends on how good the shows are. Mike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg_orangecounty Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 I hate bean-counters! Always telling you what you can/can’t do, need to be within budget, blah, blah, blah. The problem for Drum Corps is that the artist-design type people, of which the activity does depend on, had no bean-counters with any authority to reel them in. And now the price is going to be paid. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Windish Posted April 24, 2020 Author Share Posted April 24, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, greg_orangecounty said: I hate bean-counters! Always telling you what you can/can’t do, need to be within budget, blah, blah, blah. The problem for Drum Corps is that the artist-design type people, of which the activity does depend on, had no bean-counters with any authority to reel them in. And now the price is going to be paid. Thank you for reminding us of this key point. The ‘Arms Race’ witnessed over the past couple decades had a negative side, too! Someone had to pay for all the new toys. Progress created an environment that only a handful of organizations could manage. Other organizations decided they had no choice but to keep-up, putting their own efforts under increasing stress. But, when times get tough? My purpose in starting this discussion was to consider our past. The product, the marketability, the expanse of earlier days. A time when budgets were much smaller, productions more basic. A time when . . . many thousands of fans, across hundreds of events all over America, and Canada, were just as wildly enthusiastic in support ! Edited April 24, 2020 by Fred Windish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mello Dude Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 I would say also the complete unfounded snobbery the activity has created and attracted. A LOT of people today don't want to hear a group of 12-14 year old's in a cadet corps compete. Frankly I miss this more than top 12. Listening to how much they improve was always very cool. Doing more with less is being artistic. Doing more with more is economics. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 3 hours ago, Mello Dude said: I would say also the complete unfounded snobbery the activity has created and attracted. A LOT of people today don't want to hear a group of 12-14 year old's in a cadet corps compete. Frankly I miss this more than top 12. Listening to how much they improve was always very cool. Doing more with less is being artistic. Doing more with more is economics. Unfortunately you are right BUT I have been saying this for years. IF people who claim to want Open class or smaller corps to have a strong voice. get the butts in the seats. Money will always talk. A class, especially HS , A class learned this years ago in WGI. Unfortunately many of those kids play to literally empty stands. This though is nothing new and that goes back many decades but put dollars and support behind those corps can and will change that. Talk is cheap, action and dollars will change that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Continental Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 35 minutes ago, GUARDLING said: Unfortunately you are right BUT I have been saying this for years. IF people who claim to want Open class or smaller corps to have a strong voice. get the butts in the seats. Money will always talk. A class, especially HS , A class learned this years ago in WGI. Unfortunately many of those kids play to literally empty stands. This though is nothing new and that goes back many decades but put dollars and support behind those corps can and will change that. Talk is cheap, action and dollars will change that. What I suspect is we cannot stop the advancement of the activity. Up until now it evolved to where it is . We are not going back to prior times. We are probably entering interim times to adjust to new realities. Budgets will be restrained to get the performers on the field. This is not bad. At all. Perhaps there will be some new alignment of priorities. We need to support the performers on the field. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSnareDrummer Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 Was just getting ready to type something up in a Devil's Advocate type of reply. Taking the activity backwards, in particular the quality of the performances doesn't seem to serve a purpose to me other than being a little more nostalgic. With all of the other entertainment choices now, I don't think I'd bother seeing any Class A or cadet corps shows. We're spoiled for corps quality now. It took years to get this good. That's not to say I don't even enjoy the occasional shows from Blue Devils C or I forget the corps that only had like 12 or so horns last year in prelims. If they can field a sustainable corps, more power to them. If a lot more small corps were out there, I think I'd rather watch a YouTube video of paint drying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 29 minutes ago, Continental said: What I suspect is we cannot stop the advancement of the activity. Up until now it evolved to where it is . We are not going back to prior times. We are probably entering interim times to adjust to new realities. Budgets will be restrained to get the performers on the field. This is not bad. At all. Perhaps there will be some new alignment of priorities. We need to support the performers on the field. I can tell you some will cut back and many will not step backward. I do know this 1st hand Yes, support of ALL is what is and will be needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 (edited) 45 minutes ago, OldSnareDrummer said: Was just getting ready to type something up in a Devil's Advocate type of reply. Taking the activity backwards, in particular the quality of the performances doesn't seem to serve a purpose to me other than being a little more nostalgic. With all of the other entertainment choices now, I don't think I'd bother seeing any Class A or cadet corps shows. We're spoiled for corps quality now. It took years to get this good. That's not to say I don't even enjoy the occasional shows from Blue Devils C or I forget the corps that only had like 12 or so horns last year in prelims. If they can field a sustainable corps, more power to them. If a lot more small corps were out there, I think I'd rather watch a YouTube video of paint drying. The top 12 in 1989 was every bit as enjoyable and as musically and visually exciting, as the top 12 in 2019. Edited April 24, 2020 by N.E. Brigand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 (edited) This just reminds me of a college room mate who could watch baseball at any level, be it the majors or some junior high team. To him evenly matched competition was what he enjoyed regardless of how good the players were. Having competed and watched corps in “not ready for DCA” circuits found I didn’t need top corps to be entertained. Know first hand how much effort goes into even a last place show so just set my expectations accordingly. Irony is some of those corps were more interesting to me as they put on a show with less people, less talent, less money, etc yet somehow found a way to do it Edited April 24, 2020 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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