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A Popcorn Eater's view of the 2021 Season


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PopcornEater, congrats to you and your son!  Very happy to know that he is able to age out doing what he loves.  I don't think there should be any controversy whatever about this season and who opted out vs who opted in.  Drum Corps each made that decision based on what is best for their corps' members and finances.  As I have said before, corps like BD, SCV and Crown have every right to take a year off from tour, and who are we to question that?  Accordingly, the corps who opted to push through the winter with the intent of touring this summer also had that prerogative.

There has been much discussion on here about whether it will be a "real season" or is it even worth it for the members to spend time rehearsing and paying money for the experience.  I just got home after spending this past weekend with BAC.  One thing that I can tell you....at no time did I hear any member or staff person mention or even hint at this being s short season, exhibition season or anything of the sort.  That seems to be more of a concern to some of the keyboard commandos here on DCP.  Watching Boston rehearse, you would never guess this is anything but a "regular season" with a conventional tour.  I'll bet the Rosemont team feels the same way.  

All of which proves, the members are in it for the experience, not how many miles the buses travel or if there are actually judges putting numbers on a spread sheet.

 

 

Edited by craiga
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Just saw this posted on two FB pages.  Food for thought:

Yo. DCI nerds. Be advised. How we handle/receive this summer's versions of DCI groups will determine the future of our activity. This is one of the ways that our culture can be dumb and counterintuitive. If you get on social media and compare this summer's versions of groups to their historic success and then trash them... that's dumb.
Remember, as much as we WANT to be the NFL meets Broadway, there's one HUGE difference. Only WE like what WE do and we only generate a minimal amount of new fans and no revenue. To top that we have expensive tastes in design and travel and we pass the cost down to the kids that participate. Imagine if the only people who watched a Broadway show was its former cast members and their parents. It would close quickly.
 
So, let's not be as dumb as we have been in the past. The kids doing DCI is the heartbeat of it. We already make it incredibly difficult for diverse participation in the activity because of ASTRONOMICAL fees. If we then embarrass them ignominiously for not being the BEST version of themselves in a 4-5 week tour, then that is just dumb. Let's be smart.
 
People/Things We've Trashed Historically:
 
-Bill Cook (Billionaire who essentially funded the PBS broadcasts)
-Curt Gowdy (National Sports Personality that tried to lend his fame to us.)
-Any national exposure that calls DCI "Band"
-Films that attempt to glorify what we do, but get parts of it wrong
-DeWayne "The Rock" Johnson giving up his own cash to give us exposure in a TV series
-FLoMarching (because they didn't show the tenor line during their feature that one time.)
 
"How's that working fer ya..." -Dr. Phil
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15 hours ago, RetiredMusTeach said:

Just saw this posted on two FB pages.  Food for thought:

Yo. DCI nerds. Be advised. How we handle/receive this summer's versions of DCI groups will determine the future of our activity. This is one of the ways that our culture can be dumb and counterintuitive. If you get on social media and compare this summer's versions of groups to their historic success and then trash them... that's dumb.
Remember, as much as we WANT to be the NFL meets Broadway, there's one HUGE difference. Only WE like what WE do and we only generate a minimal amount of new fans and no revenue. To top that we have expensive tastes in design and travel and we pass the cost down to the kids that participate. Imagine if the only people who watched a Broadway show was its former cast members and their parents. It would close quickly.
 
So, let's not be as dumb as we have been in the past. The kids doing DCI is the heartbeat of it. We already make it incredibly difficult for diverse participation in the activity because of ASTRONOMICAL fees. If we then embarrass them ignominiously for not being the BEST version of themselves in a 4-5 week tour, then that is just dumb. Let's be smart.
 
People/Things We've Trashed Historically:
 
-Bill Cook (Billionaire who essentially funded the PBS broadcasts)
-Curt Gowdy (National Sports Personality that tried to lend his fame to us.)
-Any national exposure that calls DCI "Band"
-Films that attempt to glorify what we do, but get parts of it wrong
-DeWayne "The Rock" Johnson giving up his own cash to give us exposure in a TV series
-FLoMarching (because they didn't show the tenor line during their feature that one time.)
 
"How's that working fer ya..." -Dr. Phil

THIS!  And, I'll add my two cents right now.  If you're going to be a keyboard commando and anonymously criticize any drum corps because it looks small, young, or not otherwise in mid August finals shape, SHAME on you.  These organizations haven't had consistent rehearsals in nearly 24 months, and most of their members probably have had very little high school/college band rehearsals or performances during the same period.   

Be thankful the activity is resetting and getting off the ground.

 

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Frankly, If the corps look young, I'll rejoice!   That means the rising kids wanna march.  And that bodes well for the future of the activity.

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Summer vacation means I can get out and support one of my favorite activities.  Seeing someone as proud as you are of your son as he is fulfilling a drum corps dream makes it all the better. Having hosted the corps I marched in while they were in Virginia was one of my proudest moments as an FMM. 

I will see him and the rest of the Green Machine a few times this year and am glad to help support this activity as it returns to the field.

Planned driving schedule:

Aug 6 - DCI - Dekalb

Aug 7 - Baseball in Milwaukee

Aug 8 - DCI - Cedarburg

Aug 9-11 - Wisconsin State Fair  (CREAM PUFFS!!!!!)

Aug 12 - Baseball at the SCRUBS

Aug 13-14 DCI at "The Oil Can"

That is my kind of summer vacation.  Brewers Baseball and Drum Corps!

Edited by Old Corps Guy
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Don't forget your fried curds at the Fair.

 

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On 7/6/2021 at 3:32 PM, RetiredMusTeach said:

Just saw this posted on two FB pages.  Food for thought:

Yo. DCI nerds. Be advised. How we handle/receive this summer's versions of DCI groups will determine the future of our activity. This is one of the ways that our culture can be dumb and counterintuitive. If you get on social media and compare this summer's versions of groups to their historic success and then trash them... that's dumb.
Remember, as much as we WANT to be the NFL meets Broadway, there's one HUGE difference. Only WE like what WE do and we only generate a minimal amount of new fans and no revenue. To top that we have expensive tastes in design and travel and we pass the cost down to the kids that participate. Imagine if the only people who watched a Broadway show was its former cast members and their parents. It would close quickly.
 
So, let's not be as dumb as we have been in the past. The kids doing DCI is the heartbeat of it. We already make it incredibly difficult for diverse participation in the activity because of ASTRONOMICAL fees. If we then embarrass them ignominiously for not being the BEST version of themselves in a 4-5 week tour, then that is just dumb. Let's be smart.
 
People/Things We've Trashed Historically:
 
-Bill Cook (Billionaire who essentially funded the PBS broadcasts)
-Curt Gowdy (National Sports Personality that tried to lend his fame to us.)
-Any national exposure that calls DCI "Band"
-Films that attempt to glorify what we do, but get parts of it wrong
-DeWayne "The Rock" Johnson giving up his own cash to give us exposure in a TV series
-FLoMarching (because they didn't show the tenor line during their feature that one time.)
 
"How's that working fer ya..." -Dr. Phil

Yes! So much yes! 

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