Jeff Ream Posted May 23, 2022 Author Share Posted May 23, 2022 11 hours ago, Jurassic Lancer said: It’s staggering, and yet the tuition is only affordable to the upper mid-class, and tuition is insufficient to cover the costs. If you are in an economically underserved class, how can you reasonably join a corps? How is this a sustainable model? what costs what it did when you marched? even the regional model wouldnt work because you still holed up somewhere for a day or two between shows. and in the great old days, corps didnt feed the kids, often times people drove themselves and there was no housing....and the liability to do that today is incredible. i see no win win solution because returning the golden era method of operation is not going to work in todays world. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 1 minute ago, Jeff Ream said: what costs what it did when you marched? even the regional model wouldnt work because you still holed up somewhere for a day or two between shows. and in the great old days, corps didnt feed the kids, often times people drove themselves and there was no housing....and the liability to do that today is incredible. i see no win win solution because returning the golden era method of operation is not going to work in todays world. You can’t put the toothpaste back into the tube. Let’s see how this season goes. I don’t think they’re out of the woods yet in the immediate future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slingerland Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 (edited) 1960s drum corps still exists, but it's called "high school marching band." The kids live at home, they don't travel for rehearsals, few overnights, parent volunteers managing a lot of the logistics,. they ride on school busses to shows, etc, etc. The current members in DCI drum corps have already had that experience. They want to push it to the next level. Going back to the old style makes little sense (it already exists - see above), and would kill the activity dead. If drum corps alums from the 1960s and 70s and 80s want to keep the activity affordable for lower income members, there are sponsorship programs out there at every corps that are designed to offset the touring expenses. Edited May 23, 2022 by Slingerland 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted May 23, 2022 Author Share Posted May 23, 2022 13 minutes ago, cixelsyd said: So the 11-week full-time drum corps model with housing and food included costs more than the locally based, bring-lunch-money corps of yesteryear. If anyone believes that to be an existential problem, the solution is clear. But the reaction that solution gets every time it is proposed suggests that virtually no one considers this to be an existential problem. I would go as far as to say that the DCI community has a consensus commitment to providing that 11-week full-time drum corps "experience". the costs today would still be huge as outlined in my post above. even kids bring their own, there's cost. plus bring your own leads to kids not eating anywhere near as healthy as they get today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted May 23, 2022 Author Share Posted May 23, 2022 1 minute ago, Terri Schehr said: You can’t put the toothpaste back into the tube. Let’s see how this season goes. I don’t think they’re out of the woods yet in the immediate future. we can't return to 50 years ago. even 30 years ago has flaws. that the season starts later and there's fewer shows helps somewhat, but IMO the big drain is 4-6 weeks of spring training 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted May 23, 2022 Author Share Posted May 23, 2022 4 minutes ago, Slingerland said: 1960s drum corps still exists, but it's called "high school marching band." The kids live at home, they don't travel for rehearsals, few overnights, parent volunteers managing a lot of the logistics,. they ride on school busses to shows, etc, etc. The current members in DCI drum corps have already had that experience. They want to push it to the next level. Going back to the old style makes little sense (it already exists - see above), and would kill the activity dead. If drum corps alums from the 1960s and 70s and 80s want to keep the activity affordable for lower income members, there are sponsorship programs out there at every corps that are designed to offset the touring expenses. and there's costs associated with that. many bands charge fees to participate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllianaLancerContra Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 1 hour ago, Boss Anova said: I wont attempt to justify the costs to march an elite DCI Drum Corps these days, but by comparison, lots of youth sports ( despite longer season ) can cost more... and in some cases, LOTS more. AAU Ice Hockey, for example, have price tags upwards of $17,000- $20,000 per year for youth participants these days now. Are these thousands of youth and their families that are paying well over 6-10 grand on their yearly costs for elite level youth ice hockey participation all wealthy ? Oh goodness, no. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/chicagoyouthhockeyforum/aaa-hockey-cost-t11411.html And these programs are also aimed at upper-middle class youths. Just like current Drum Corps. And there are ways that some with less resources can participate, just like Drum Corps. But the era of a youngster walking in from the street obtaining an affordable life-changing, character-building experience is long past. And I think the activity is worse off for it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 12 minutes ago, IllianaLancerContra said: And these programs are also aimed at upper-middle class youths. Just like current Drum Corps. And there are ways that some with less resources can participate, just like Drum Corps. But the era of a youngster walking in from the street obtaining an affordable life-changing, character-building experience is long past. And I think the activity is worse off for it. I’m guessing you and I both marched with some really colorful characters back then. And I am all the better for it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Anova Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 46 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said: All true. But, it doesn’t change the fact that in touring drum corps, it’s not sustainable. And we are definitely trending toward a economic downturn. Point well taken. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllianaLancerContra Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 11 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said: I’m guessing you and I both marched with some really colorful characters back then. And I am all the better for it. Actually, one of our drum instructors marched with you. And yes, colorful characters. Size of some sections would fluctuate depending on who was or was not in jail that week. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.