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Drum Corps in the Post-Covid World - What Role Does DCI Have?


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Fifty years after its formation, Drum Corps International (the brand) signifies the world’s best of its type. There are many other drum corps  conglomerates around the globe. Name one superior to DCI. I can’t.

Over time, DCI became recognized, enjoyed, even emulated, around the world. It has developed a network of sponsors, teaching staff, adjudicators, and production teams to handle audio/visual/print media and event management. It has entertained generations of young and old participants who ‘did’ DCI in some form. It has a storied history of accomplishment on record.

So, here we are at a time of crisis, not even self-inflicted, and folks are trying to determine if DCI should be reborn as something else? I don’t think soNow is for DCI survival and continuation as best it can.

How long would it take a replacement, call it Acme Pageantry, Inc., to achieve the same position held by DCI?  Establish its own brand, abilities, and unique appeal. Difficult road for Acme to travel, it seems.
 


 

 


 

 

 

Edited by Fred Windish
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5 minutes ago, Fred Windish said:

 

So, here we are at a time of crisis, not even self-inflicted, and folks are trying to determine if DCI should be reborn as something else? I don’t think so. Now is for DCI survival and continuation as best it can.

Personally I’m not saying reborn as something else. But I am saying that DCI and the corps may have to change what they have been doing for their survival. The idea of DCI picking up full tour model like before may not be doable for all their corps. DCI should be willing to look for other options for good of the organization and the corps.

Edited by JimF-LowBari
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Scary thought... since we are now one week and one day past the scheduled 2020 DCI Finals show..... are we officially in the 2021 season as far as corps planning, etc etc???

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23 hours ago, garfield said:

CNN, shockingly, reports that crowd at about 50,000 in Belarus.  Seems MUCH bigger than that.

And about double the typical recent-years' finals attendance.  Yes, this would be good for drum corps.

AP says 200,000. BBC says 220,000.

In which case, we'd need multiple stadiums for Finals. Every corps has to perform four times! For four sets of judges! Average their scores to get the winner. Debates rage between fans about which of the four sequential Finals performances is the best one to attend.

 

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2 hours ago, garfield said:

All of which are at the corps level and none of which are at the DCI level!  Why is this so hard to grasp by so many?  DCI, the org, has NEVER had an accusation made against it.  DCI, the org, was only recently assigned the responsibility to carry out member-safety duties at the DCI level!  The attitude was always that the corps themselves were the center of the universe, not DCI.  So, now that particular corps have been, and maybe will be, accused by new victims, NONE of it was at the DCI level!

The Top Dogs, as you call them, demonstrate by the actions you describe that they are not qualified to keep their bias in check long enough to make decisions that protect the activity.  Based on that alone, every effort should be made to push back against any notion that the corps themselves supplant any need for DCI.

You blame circumstances on the DCI offices that are not in the purview of DCI to fix because the corps themselves have not, until very recently, given DCI the authority to act for the activity on these issues.

Some people correctly treat DCI as a separate entity from the corps, which it is.  Some people don't understand DCI's role and responsibility, much less understand that all of it is granted to DCI, the org, by the member corps.  If DCI, the management org, has not addressed something it's because the office has never been given the resources, nor charged with the responsibility.

 

Which is why I don’t expect anything to change if or when the opportunity presents itself for the traveling gypsy bands to get on the road again. A handful of elite organizations will continue to try and out spend their competitors with hopes to put them out of business, and those with the highest revenues will continue to win championships. At the end of the season they will all be broke and begin panhandling to be broke again a year later. It’s the game they all chose to play. Why try to change it! 

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2 hours ago, Fred Windish said:

Fifty years after its formation, Drum Corps International (the brand) signifies the world’s best of its type. There are many other drum corps  conglomerates around the globe. Name one superior to DCI. I can’t.

Over time, DCI became recognized, enjoyed, even emulated, around the world. It has developed a network of sponsors, teaching staff, adjudicators, and production teams to handle audio/visual/print media and event management. It has entertained generations of young and old participants who ‘did’ DCI in some form. It has a storied history of accomplishment on record.

So, here we are at a time of crisis, not even self-inflicted, and folks are trying to determine if DCI should be reborn as something else? I don’t think soNow is for DCI survival and continuation as best it can.

How long would it take a replacement, call it Acme Pageantry, Inc., to achieve the same position held by DCI?  Establish its own brand, abilities, and unique appeal. Difficult road for Acme to travel, it seems.
 

I would stay away from Acme.  Their brand has been severely damaged by products liability suits filed by Wile E. Coyote.  

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15 hours ago, cixelsyd said:

Which proves what?

The most watched NFL game of last season was when Kansas City met San Francisco in the Super Bowl.  Does that mean Kansas City and San Francisco are "the draw"?  Should we pull them aside and have them play each other every week, and eliminate the other 30 teams for optimal success?

At the theater, there are more butts in seats for the third act than the first act.  Is the third act "the draw"?  If we take just the third acts of 7 plays, and present them on their own tour, will that be more successful?

Way more people tune in to see what happens at the 18th hole of the golf tournament.  If we renumber all the holes #18, will we get 18 times the fan interest?

Jersey Surf - In the Lot (Vic Firth)

So we agree... 

Oh, they make it sound like that.  But as I have to keep reminding myself... if they really believed that, they would have left DCI long ago.

Its just a negotiating tactic, like you so often see wherever egos and money collide.

Because they do not really want more corps.  Was that not clear enough from the barrier-to-entry policy changes made in the fall?

(By the way, do they even still claim they want more corps?  Refresh my memory if they have said any such thing in the past 10 years.)

so you're admitting the ignore their mission statement. thank you

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10 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Long Island Kingsmen won 1978 American Legion (19th at DCI?) and 7 corps in the Jr competition. 
For DCA corps were allowed to compete at the lesser circuit of RCA (70s) and ICA (80s). As DCA paid more RCA/ICA shows had corps that had an open weekend. Don’t think anyone higher than 8th place in DCA even did an RCA/ICA show. 
As an aside the lesser circuits (think of them as a Sr OC) helped some top corps when they were starting out (Empire Statesmen, Steel City Ambassadors) or rebuilding (Westshoremen).

Phoenix the 1st year

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10 hours ago, E3D said:

"Those who think they know it all have no way of finding out they don't."  Well ummmm until the video is out there. 

wow given that i looked for one finals week, thats great! 

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7 hours ago, garfield said:

All of which are at the corps level and none of which are at the DCI level!  Why is this so hard to grasp by so many?  DCI, the org, has NEVER had an accusation made against it.  DCI, the org, was only recently assigned the responsibility to carry out member-safety duties at the DCI level!  The attitude was always that the corps themselves were the center of the universe, not DCI.  So, now that particular corps have been, and maybe will be, accused by new victims, NONE of it was at the DCI level!

The Top Dogs, as you call them, demonstrate by the actions you describe that they are not qualified to keep their bias in check long enough to make decisions that protect the activity.  Based on that alone, every effort should be made to push back against any notion that the corps themselves supplant any need for DCI.

You blame circumstances on the DCI offices that are not in the purview of DCI to fix because the corps themselves have not, until very recently, given DCI the authority to act for the activity on these issues.

Some people correctly treat DCI as a separate entity from the corps, which it is.  Some people don't understand DCI's role and responsibility, much less understand that all of it is granted to DCI, the org, by the member corps.  If DCI, the management org, has not addressed something it's because the office has never been given the resources, nor charged with the responsibility.

 

they did have an accusation against it...for not having it on their radar and trying to snuff it out earlier. They only made rules...err policies...when their name was getting thrashed in newspapers nationwide.

 

I do get DCI's role, and have advocated for it to shift for years. And if the directors could look beyond their own self interest, they'd see that maybe, just maybe....it needs to happen, because they can't control themselves.

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