A Dinosaur's Lament

[Lance]

30 years from now (if DCP and DCI are still around) somebody will say something pretty much verbatim about today's drum corps vs 2053 drum corps. 

If DCP had been around in in 1993, you would find a thread pretty much verbatim about '63 drum corps vs '93 drum corps.  

For the record, I'm in lockstep with the op regarding personal preference for the activity.  The early 90s are my favorite era of DCI by far as well.  But even early on in the days of the internet (late 90s early 00s) there were "dinos" trashing the era that I loved and propping what they loved up as superior.  Same as it ever was.    

 

 

 

[Jeff Ream]

9 hours ago, Mello Dude said:

I think part of the problem is giving credit for non-accomplishment and only going off show design.  Shows need to be judged for what is on the field and not what it is supposed to be or will be.  I would also see where and who is training the judges.

the sheets have parts...content and achievement. the how matters

[Orwellian Wiress]

I ain't touching this with a 50-yard pole

[ironlips]

In the category of "Best Concise Description", the Gold Medal goes to:

" Bloo is a riot of unconventional thinking."

[waliman4444]

This dino became intoxicated with drum corps because of the MUSIC...Even after becoming a marching member. it was always about the music..When Hy Dreitzer gave us his arrangements we couldn't wait to play our ##### off because the MUSIC turned US on.. With the introduction of the b flat horn the possibilities for arrangements is limitless..My only hope is that the MUSIC never becomes subordinate to the drill/body movement..Bluecoats produced some of the most MUSICAL moments for me, as did Crown, Cadets, Phantom, and Mandarins...If the visual continues to push the envelope, with anything you can get on and off the field in 17 minutes, then let's consider amending the drum corps nomenclature to relect what it has evolved into..(.Dance and movement supported  by music in an 8 to 11plus minute production)..I'm not hating because if that's what the people want then so be it..and if that is what already exists and I'm late to the game, again, so be it...peace

[Tim K]

This is where the Legacy DVD’s can be helpful. Lots of corps experimented in the tic days. Blue Devils, Phantom, SCV, 27th, Bridgemen, Guardsmen, are just some who took risks. Watch 1976 Blue Devils, the first year they won a title. That show is way ahead of its time. It’s also impeccably clean. Look at what 27th Lancers did with its color guard as early as 1976 or what 27th or Phantom did in the late 70’s. While it is true that some corps focused more on being clean than innovative in the tic years, including some finalists, your best corps often pushed the boundaries and they were clean.

Something that was common at the time was where risky things could be found in a show, at least in theory. Corps had 11 1/2 to 13 minutes to perform. After the timing gun was shot at 11 1/2 minutes and on field judges left the field, corps were said to try things that would no result in a tic, but I can’t think of any examples, at least not from a top corps where this was the case.

[MarkHornGA]

I first want to say that I appreciate the thoughtful and honest OP. Likewise, the myriad of responses and sentiments have added nicely to the conversation without devolving into madness. Thank you all! 

I also want to add the caveat that I am not and could never be a DCI judge, executive, designer, writer, etc. I am a guy who marched in high school in the early 2000s, fell in love with DCI, and then I chose a path that didn't involve music. I walked away from the activity altogether and 2005 was the last year that I followed DCI closely until this season. I wish that was not so. My reasons for walking away had nothing to do with the quality of the product, but with me wanting to run away from that season of my life and the trauma that surrounded it. 

After a dinner with friends who I discovered were also closet DCI fans, we spontaneously purchased tickets for the Southeastern Championship and I began to reopen that part of myself that I thought was long gone. 

Attending that show was like stepping back in time for me. I felt so many emotions that I couldn't keep up. It was profoundly nostalgic and painful at the same time. This might sound crazy, but DCI has become a portal for me to face my past and to reclaim that which was lost. That's why the Colts show this year was cathartic and therapeutic for me. I was finding the courage to heal and to come home to a part of myself that I had determined never to look at again. 

Isn't that the power of creative expression? Isn't that, after all, part of what this activity is about? I can geek out over scores and captions, but I did my best to appreciate every corps and that attitude allowed me to thoroughly enjoy the artistry of each performance, no matter the placement level. 2023 has brought me back and I'm here to stay. 

I am now working through catching up on old shows and watching the evolution of the activity. We all have our preferences, but I find that I am just happy to be engaged again. For me, it is anything other than boring. 

 

[SNModdison]

33 minutes ago, MarkHornGA said:

I first want to say that I appreciate the thoughtful and honest OP. Likewise, the myriad of responses and sentiments have added nicely to the conversation without devolving into madness. Thank you all! 

I also want to add the caveat that I am not and could never be a DCI judge, executive, designer, writer, etc. I am a guy who marched in high school in the early 2000s, fell in love with DCI, and then I chose a path that didn't involve music. I walked away from the activity altogether and 2005 was the last year that I followed DCI closely until this season. I wish that was not so. My reasons for walking away had nothing to do with the quality of the product, but with me wanting to run away from that season of my life and the trauma that surrounded it. 

After a dinner with friends who I discovered were also closet DCI fans, we spontaneously purchased tickets for the Southeastern Championship and I began to reopen that part of myself that I thought was long gone. 

Attending that show was like stepping back in time for me. I felt so many emotions that I couldn't keep up. It was profoundly nostalgic and painful at the same time. This might sound crazy, but DCI has become a portal for me to face my past and to reclaim that which was lost. That's why the Colts show this year was cathartic and therapeutic for me. I was finding the courage to heal and to come home to a part of myself that I had determined never to look at again. 

Isn't that the power of creative expression? Isn't that, after all, part of what this activity is about? I can geek out over scores and captions, but I did my best to appreciate every corps and that attitude allowed me to thoroughly enjoy the artistry of each performance, no matter the placement level. 2023 has brought me back and I'm here to stay. 

I am now working through catching up on old shows and watching the evolution of the activity. We all have our preferences, but I find that I am just happy to be engaged again. For me, it is anything other than boring. 

 

There are a lot of great shows to catch up on since 2005! Enjoy your journey!

I always find watching every summer therapeutic and it reminds me that I have a deep passion for music and this activity. Since moving to Texas, I am able to watch more shows in person than I ever could in Seattle. I enjoyed 2023 more than any year. I've had to work extremely hard to not care as much about scores and more about how the shows make me feel inside. 

[jjeffeory]

On 8/17/2023 at 1:32 PM, resipsaloquitur said:

This is a great point of view. Through the years, I came to understand why BD stays ahead of the game. It's all about your approach and creating from a canvas and not drill sheets. That alone is unconventional in a game where few others choose to do so. Allowing the staff and students to be creative. Treating the staff with respect and allowing them the space to succeed and fail.

Nothing about recent BD shows is boring to me. Art can be expressed, and felt, in many ways. Emotions are complex, and a variety of them (beyond, look it's a whale tail!) can be evoked in many ways. They don't need to blow my face off or throw babies. The show themes and show design BD selects are part personal expression, part commentary, and part criticism, having meaning beyond a performance, a rifle toss, a snare break.

Like the Met Gala, Drum Corps is another recent example of a much broader phenomenon: the accelerating convergence of performance and art, music and fashion. It epitomizes the rewards, as well as the risks, that come with this marriage of aesthetic industries — mainstream visibility and financial gain on the one hand, and the reshaping influence of success on the other.

This cross-pollination has a long history in the arts. Elsa Schiaparelli collaborated with Salvador Dalí on several iconic designs, including the “shoe hat” and “lobster dress” of 1937. Christian Dior ran an art gallery before becoming a fashion designer and later named his dresses “Matisse,” “Braque,” “Dalí” and “Picasso.”

In recent years, DCI has taken a form that transcends a drum and bugle corps organization. It takes the approach of a cultural brand with a global audience attuned to the mythic allure of storytelling. As DCI and its corps see the potential to have a greater influence on the culture writ large, they court a broad public, promote shows that privileges accessibility over criticality, and embrace commercial tie-ins. Drum corps, long the province of a niche crowd, thus becomes less insular and more inclusive.
 

 

A CANVAS?

What a beautiful way of presenting this, but they're ALL on the SAME FOOTBALL FIELD.

One man or woman's canvas is EXACTLY the same as another's drill sheet. Calling a burlap bag a silk dress does not create "haute couture", it just comes off as pretentious.

The one thing that the Blue Devils do better than the other corps is their unique visual technique. Thanks Todd Ryan! It feeds the visual scores. It augments the GE scores. Everything else is comparable to the other corps.

 

[mfrontz]

16 hours ago, lawdn said:

This is a little off-topic, so apologies if that is a problem. During the periods from 1983-1987, when Cadets won 4 years out of 5, or 2000-2006, when Cavaliers won 5 years out of 7, was there a lot of concern about lack of competition or lack of reward for creativity at the top of DCI? I recognize that BD's run of firsts and seconds is unprecedented so maybe it's apples and oranges but I have wondered this before. Thanks!

Short answer? Absolutely.

Cadets in the '80s was 'not drum corps.'

In 2003 the prevailing sentiment was 'anyone but Cavies.'