Seven Steps to Drum Corps Restart

[JimF-LowBari]

1 hour ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

Some Corps will place higher than they did in 2019.

Some Corps will place lower than they did in 2019.

Some Corps will place the same as they did in 2019.

and unfortunately, some Corps from 2019 will not field in 2021.

Sad thing is the biggest victory for corps still around in 2021 will be that they survived. Having been in a corps that twice came back from not fielding to competing again that IS something to be proud of

Edited May 16, 2020 by JimF-LowBari

[N.E. Brigand]

14 hours ago, N.E. Brigand said:

Based on the responses here, I began to wonder if I imagined it (just like I and many other people imagined a false ending for Raiders of the Lost Ark), since I had attended so few shows before full retreats were no longer done, but here, for instance, is a video of the 1987 DCI Canada finals. If you listen closely at about 2:17, after the final scores have been given, you can hear the Ventures announced. They were the lowest-scoring corps in that finals, and then you can see and hear them parade across the front of the field playing "If My Friends Could See Me Now", which Drum Corps Xperience says was their closer that year.

 

This appears to have been broadcast. Was it on Canadian television?

[skevinp]

On 5/15/2020 at 7:13 AM, Poppycock said:

Definition of Pageantry Leeches: Has affiliation with one or more verticals within the marching performing arts activity.
A non-vested employee who has not achieved or completed the required years of creditable study and participation in order to earn the right to be called an educator. . a.k.a. Clueless
Demonstrates a pattern of self-centered, arrogant thinking and behavior, a lack of empathy and consideration for marching members, an excessive need for admiration, and honestly greedy. . a.k.a. Narcissist
Known to speak jargon, that is perceived as fashionable at the particular time or in a particular context that is incoherent and incomprehensible to those pretending to understand during rehearsal. . a.k.a. Babbling idiot
Holding idiosyncratic beliefs of entitlement to receive payment for times spent on-a-mobile phone, traveling or commuting while on tour, sleeping and daydreaming. . a.k.a. Delusional

Great to see DSM-6 has finally come out.

[skevinp]

On 5/14/2020 at 2:42 PM, drumlaw80 said:

6. Every show will have senior and junior corps competing, with full retreat at the end for the fans..

I worry this could severely deplete the Cavaliers budget for Jolly Ranchers.

[Jeff Ream]

15 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

All of these resulted from (per your words) "outcry online".  Where did 99% of us see those news articles?  Online.

online outcry is from people making a ruckus online. we had been #####ing on here and Reddit about Morrison for a long time before that change made. i read most of the articles in the actual newspaper.

 

and not one thing changed because of any outcry from fans or members online. DCI has only once made a change based off of online behavior, and that was recaps. the G&? they were already fighting back internally before it got out here. all of the publishing of safety regs had little to do with online discussions and more from fear of legal action and loss of sponsors. 

 

i appreciate your attempt to parse participles in a Brasso/Garfield way, but well, you came up short.

[Jeff Ream]

20 hours ago, Lance said:

well that's settled then.

now that everything has been figured out, predictions for 2021 placements?

whoever scores highest wins

[PopcornEater1963]

On 5/14/2020 at 5:42 PM, drumlaw80 said:

7 STEPS TO DRUM CORPS RESTART

When it's time ...

 

1. Fold DCI and DCA, form one new national organization that represents everybody, senior and junior corps.

2. The mission statement is to facilitate the formation of as many new corps as possible.

3. Make electronics illegal, to make it cheaper and easier to start new corps. Reduce show length to 9 minutes with a mandatory concert number to make it easier for new corps to compete immediately

4. Divide the country into 8 regions. No corps competes outside their region until finals week. The goal is to get more corps on the field, by making it cheaper and easier for everyone to get into the game.

5. Reduce all corps appearance fees, and all corps membership dues -- focus on creating as many local/regional drum corps shows as possible, and incentives for local sponsors to hold a show.

6. Every show will have senior and junior corps competing, with full retreat at the end for the fans.

7. Start a circuit of judged winter concerts (on stage, no drill), so the competitive experience of the activity is not so focused only on the summer.

 

The above is all possibly silly nonsense, and maybe even irrelevant given the state of the covid-19 crisis. But, if I had a vote, the activity would focus on growth, not art or music technology, for the next few years.

Why would you assume a restart means slipping back into the dark ages of show design? I’ll be the first to admit that it’s going to be a challenge in 2021 for DCI, but modern day MM’s aren’t going for this plan at all. At all. 
 

 

[gregory11]

I agree with changes for 2021. I would delay the minimum 55 member rule until 2023 or 2024 to in carriage corps growth. I agree with most who think some corps will take 2021 off hopefully to regroup logistically.  Scale back the new financial requirements rule for new and World Class interested corps until 2024, once again for growth.  I have more ideas but DCI voted these two rule changes for 2021. Time for me to get some sleep. 

[cixelsyd]

7 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

online outcry is from people making a ruckus online. 

Reporters are people too.

Quote

we had been #####ing on here and Reddit about Morrison for a long time before that change made. 

A long time?  Only in 2018 did the irony arise of having Morrison as DCI BOD chairman when said BOD was charged with developing a raft of new policies regarding member safety, harassment prevention and reporting.  DCI evidently had no problem with Morrison leading that effort - so it took a public outcry, developed online, to provoke change.

Quote

i read most of the articles in the actual newspaper.

You read them online, like the rest of us.  For that matter, you posted the link to the Hopkins resignation news here.  You were part of the online outcry.

And to review, the chronology went like this.  First news went online Wednesday 4/4.  Hopkins resigned Friday 4/6.  His story was not printed on paper until the Sunday edition (late Saturday, technically), 4/7-4/8.  If online outcry was irrelevant, he would not have resigned until after the print version hit the newsstands.

Quote

and not one thing changed because of any outcry from fans or members online. 

But that is exactly why there was no such thing as a 2019 Oregon Crusaders corps.  Members and staff did not just quit after 2018 - they aired their grievances online.  That drove away new applicants, to the extent where they only had 50 prospective members.  And that is what ultimately sidelined the corps.

I get it - DCI does not often listen to their fans, and they do not base all their business decisions on who complains loudest on their Facebook page.  But you overstate this a bit.  And in doubling down, you now seem to be in categoric denial that public sentiment has any impact, or that the online dissemination of news and airing of public opinions make 2018 any different from 1818 in that regard.  Is it that hard to say "I misspoke"?

[Tim K]

4 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

Reporters are people too.

A long time?  Only in 2018 did the irony arise of having Morrison as DCI BOD chairman when said BOD was charged with developing a raft of new policies regarding member safety, harassment prevention and reporting.  DCI evidently had no problem with Morrison leading that effort - so it took a public outcry, developed online, to provoke change.

You read them online, like the rest of us.  For that matter, you posted the link to the Hopkins resignation news here.  You were part of the online outcry.

And to review, the chronology went like this.  First news went online Wednesday 4/4.  Hopkins resigned Friday 4/6.  His story was not printed on paper until the Sunday edition (late Saturday, technically), 4/7-4/8.  If online outcry was irrelevant, he would not have resigned until after the print version hit the newsstands.

But that is exactly why there was no such thing as a 2019 Oregon Crusaders corps.  Members and staff did not just quit after 2018 - they aired their grievances online.  That drove away new applicants, to the extent where they only had 50 prospective members.  And that is what ultimately sidelined the corps.

I get it - DCI does not often listen to their fans, and they do not base all their business decisions on who complains loudest on their Facebook page.  But you overstate this a bit.  And in doubling down, you now seem to be in categoric denial that public sentiment has any impact, or that the online dissemination of news and airing of public opinions make 2018 any different from 1818 in that regard.  Is it that hard to say "I misspoke"?

I understand where you are coming from when you credit internet chatter with some significant changes in the drum corps landscape. Certainly we know more about what is happening due to social media. That being said, as I think Jeff Ream pointed out well, print media was more responsible for GH’s situation than anything else. When sexual scandals appear on the Internet, often they are still viewed as gossip. It’s mainstream media that is still the one that plays a deciding role. It’s changing but hasn’t completely changed yet. 

With Oregon Crusaders, many of us learned about the situation online, and things escalated online, but staff and a good number of marching members voted with their feet before the 2018 season ended and word leaked of dissatisfaction. That’s not the folks on the Internet demanding change. Now if you look back on Internet accounts, the anger was accurate, but people were all over the place regarding details. Some claimed the corps almost folded between Atlanta and Allentown. Some said every marching member signed a petition, others has it about half. Remember too, that many claimed inside information  from sources that had to remain anonymous, not always the most accurate sources. With Oregon Crusaders we learned there were problems but we had to sift through lots of over exaggerated and and understated information to find the truth. Whether perspective members were swayed by the Internet is hard to say. Now if parents of perspective members who may be paying the bill did a Google search, that young person would not be joining Oregon Crusaders.