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An intense frustration.


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I think people are getting too wrapped up with “innovation.”  No one is talking about demand. It’s no secret BD shows have never been in the upper echelon of musical and physical demand. It was a running joke in the 2000’s that every time BD wanted to play music they would stop marching. 
 

that being said, demand across the activity has dropped as a whole. Props taking up field space for drill, prancing instead of marching, etc. thanks Bluecoats. 

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2 minutes ago, CFC1905 said:

I think people are getting too wrapped up with “innovation.”  No one is talking about demand. It’s no secret BD shows have never been in the upper echelon of musical and physical demand. It was a running joke in the 2000’s that every time BD wanted to play music they would stop marching. 
 

that being said, demand across the activity has dropped as a whole. Props taking up field space for drill, prancing instead of marching, etc. thanks Bluecoats. 

you must have missed Bluecoats in 2017 if you think demand doesn't exist. that is hard drill and hard music, and it was downright impossible to clean, hence it's placement that year.

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33 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said:

This is whole deal is about money.  Look at the back wall in the stadium tonight.  That is what this is all about. 

Yes. I listed most of the electronics companies, tarp companies, microphone companies, costume/uniform companies as the winners from 1-12 a few years ago. The losers are the parents and kids that are forced to sit it out, beg for "scholarships" or stick with marching band or a local DCA group if they have that option. New costumes for every MM EVERY YEAR, new instruments EVERY YEAR, tech staffs that are approaching the size of an entire drum corps just a few years ago, are all decreasing the # of drum corps over the course of decades with perhaps a small blip upward once in a while. Practically every group that performed on Thursday moved on to Friday. So now we once again have increased the maximum size to 165 and have decreased the # of units competing due to the "innovation/toolbox/crayon box" arms race.

Yes, my local American Legion Post drum corps sucked but we had 100's & 100's of them and my parents, aunts, uncles, little brothers and sisters could all afford to buy a ticket and see me. How many families can afford to attend shows with little kids any more? 

Thank you Troopers, for Cheyenne show pricing. They had reserved seating between the 40's. Open regular seating from the 30's to the ends. Also, $2 Senior discount & children 5 & under were free!

 

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5 minutes ago, denverjohn said:

Yes. I listed most of the electronics companies, tarp companies, microphone companies, costume/uniform companies as the winners from 1-12 a few years ago. The losers are the parents and kids that are forced to sit it out, beg for "scholarships" or stick with marching band or a local DCA group if they have that option. New costumes for every MM EVERY YEAR, new instruments EVERY YEAR, tech staffs that are approaching the size of an entire drum corps just a few years ago, are all decreasing the # of drum corps over the course of decades with perhaps a small blip upward once in a while. Practically every group that performed on Thursday moved on to Friday. So now we once again have increased the maximum size to 165 and have decreased the # of units competing due to the "innovation/toolbox/crayon box" arms race.

 

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43 minutes ago, CFC1905 said:

I think people are getting too wrapped up with “innovation.”  No one is talking about demand. It’s no secret BD shows have never been in the upper echelon of musical and physical demand. It was a running joke in the 2000’s that every time BD wanted to play music they would stop marching. 
 

that being said, demand across the activity has dropped as a whole. Props taking up field space for drill, prancing instead of marching, etc. thanks Bluecoats. 

ehhh, not sure I agree with ANY OF THIS. BD has high demand, perhaps not  the highest of every corps in everyway, but it ain't easy

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20 minutes ago, denverjohn said:

Yes. I listed most of the electronics companies, tarp companies, microphone companies, costume/uniform companies as the winners from 1-12 a few years ago. The losers are the parents and kids that are forced to sit it out, beg for "scholarships" or stick with marching band or a local DCA group if they have that option. New costumes for every MM EVERY YEAR, new instruments EVERY YEAR, tech staffs that are approaching the size of an entire drum corps just a few years ago, are all decreasing the # of drum corps over the course of decades with perhaps a small blip upward once in a while. Practically every group that performed on Thursday moved on to Friday. So now we once again have increased the maximum size to 165 and have decreased the # of units competing due to the "innovation/toolbox/crayon box" arms race.

Yes, my local American Legion Post drum corps sucked but we had 100's & 100's of them and my parents, aunts, uncles, little brothers and sisters could all afford to buy a ticket and see me. How many families can afford to attend shows with little kids any more? 

Thank you Troopers, for Cheyenne show pricing. They had reserved seating between the 40's. Open regular seating from the 30's to the ends. Also, $2 Senior discount & children 5 & under were free!

 

I hate to break it to you, but today's kids aren't going to march anywhere with dented old horns and crummy pit equipment, most definitely not used uniforms... Most are in indoor or BOA programs with top notch equipment and instructions. Today's audience isn't going to sit through 1970s drum corps, much of it sucked. I was there, I know.

It was fantastic at the time, but HS and WGI programs long ago replaced that model. It is out of business.

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7 minutes ago, George Dixon said:

I hate to break it to you, but today's kids aren't going to march anywhere with dented old horns and crummy pit equipment, most definitely not used uniforms... Most are in indoor or BOA programs with top notch equipment and instructions. Today's audience isn't going to sit through 1970s drum corps, much of it sucked. I was there, I know.

It was fantastic at the time, but HS and WGI programs long ago replaced that model. It is out of business.

Most WGI today is amateur ballet that is mostly attended by rich helicopter parents and the squealing of girls from other units watching. I and other alumni have stopped going to these boring events with their preachy narrations year ago.

That's what I am breaking to you.

Edited by denverjohn
typo
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Just now, denverjohn said:

Most WGI today is amateur ballet that is mostly attended by rich helicopter parents and the squealing of girls from other units watching. I and other alumni have stopped going to these boring events with their preachy narrations year ago.

That's what am breaking to you.

When is the last time you've been to Dayton? I'm wondering... There's literally a hundred units that are DCI quality between scholastic, independent & percussion.  Meanwhile what you describe is like 1970s drum corps.

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2 hours ago, ThePlanets said:

 The Blue DEVILs. The quintessential bad guys of DCI. The originization that fans love to hate. I am somewhat of a BD hater myself But let's take a deeper look at why. 

Exhibit A. Its annoying that they win all the time.

1976 (yes before I was born) BD wins their first championship.  Watching this show- I personally love it and it's one of my favorite classic early DCI championship shows.

Fast forward to 1980. BD has won 3 of the past 4 years. The organization now has experience with being champions and performs with that swagger. They know how to handle competition. The problem with BD winning in 1980 is there were 4 fantastic shows that could have won a championship and BD still won. So now out of 8 championship finals- BD has won 4 of them. Then by 1982 they had won 5 out of 10. In 1983 a corps from the east emerges and wins a championship BD hangs in there and earns a medal every year until 1987.

From 1987-1995 the field of elite corps is deep and while BD never drops below 5th it seems like there is definitely a new top dog around. Then BD brings home gold 3 times in 1996-1999. They fade again but only slightly in the early 00s as the Cavaliers take over. 

So from roughly 1995-2011 you have 3 very elite corps always competing for gold and Phantom Regiment too. DCI fans and potential members gravitate towards their own favorite based on personal style and region. I personally viewed the Cadets and Cavaliers as the gold standard of drum corps with the little I knew about the activity at the time.

 

How I have matured and come around to the Blue Devils

In 2012 I was in shock and awe that Crown didn't win. It took a lot of research for me to see and understand why. Yes they won brass and they 100% deserved to win brass but as someone who used to play trumpet myself the hornline was all I was listening to and watching.

 

The above was posted an hour ago and there are already several more pages to the thread, so apologies if the discussion has moved on. I left this site back in 2010, because I thought BD had a pretty neat show and didn't want to come back to all the inevitable complaints. But 2012 I say close to the field for Finals, and that really drove home the difference between BD and everyone else. 

Obviously their talent is always through the roof. What I really noticed that year, though, was the total lack of filler. Every moment of the show was filled with an idea, and the design consistently drew your eyes to the next thing. There's no wasted movement, every action contributes to the flow of the show. It's a cohesion of design that no other corps ever consistently achieves. When they do, you notice it, like Vanguard in 18 or Bloo in 16.

I've been a fan for almost 25 years, and I used to be among those who were happy when anyone other than BD won. But man, sometimes it's okay just to enjoy excellence. I'm going to my first live show since 2019 tonight, and one of the highlights is going to be hearing that great wall of brass sound from BD. No one layers a chord quite like they do, and it's a treat.

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1 hour ago, corps8294 said:

For all the BD haters; there are also some BD super fans that love to stir the pot, too. I.E. "Naughty..." 

But every fanbase has "those people" whether in drum corps/sports etc. 

It's just when you are apart of a fanbase that has a successful team/corps etc, people look at the negative fans and jerks, latch onto them, and hold the entire fanbase accountable for their actions, in order to somehow take down the team that's winning. 

Take Alabama Football for instance. They are the Blue Devils of college football when it comes to winning championships etc.

99 Alabama fans could do great things in the community, and are productive members of society, no one would care. But let ONE Alabama fan do something negative, it would start an epic firestorm across social media of biblical proportions. Why. Because Alabama wins, majority of people are tired of seeing them winning, and if they can't stop the team, they go after the fanbase.

Same with BD in DCI. 

 

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