Age of audience at DCA Finals

[JimF-LowBari]

1 hour ago, Fran Haring said:

Heh... at a YEA gig in MD I worked for several years in the 2000s, a guy would come up to me after the show every year and complain about the DCI corps. "Not what it used to be"... etc., etc.

I wondered why this guy bothered paying to see this show every year. It was not like his attendance would magically turn back the clock to 1970. 😂

Lol I have recordings going back to 1950. Picturing those single valve players freaking out with the slide or rotor.

According to History of Drum Corps when the first valve was used at Legion nationals in the later 1920s at least one corps tried to have it banned. 

Edited September 10, 2023 by JimF-LowBari

[cixelsyd]

16 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Lol I have recordings going back to 1950. Picturing those single valve players freaking out with the slide or rotor.

According to History of Drum Corps when the first valve was used at Legion nationals in the later 1920s at least one corps tried to have it banned. 

Worse than that.  For several years following, the valve had to be locked in place for competitions.  Bugle manufacturers had to design a lockable valve for that purpose.

[JimF-LowBari]

22 minutes ago, cixelsyd said:

Worse than that.  For several years following, the valve had to be locked in place for competitions.  Bugle manufacturers had to design a lockable valve for that purpose.

Yep have a pair of horns like that. You could either play the open notes or first valve notes.
Corps without a valve could buy a “pigtail” that went between mouthpiece and horn. No pigtail then open notes, pigtail gave first valve notes.

[camel lips]

On 9/6/2023 at 4:36 PM, JimF-LowBari said:

One of the things DCI/DCA have to work on in their publicity. Seeing corps like Governaires doing an entertaining show within their smaller numbers is another facet of drum corps. Time to get rid of the “if you’re not full sized then you’re nothing” crap.

While I totally agree with you... you are never going to get people to change their way in thinking on this. 

 

Even at the DCI level you have lot watchers that don't even make it into the gates till the top 5 units hit the field or till their unit hits the field. The years I was at DCA I saw a bunch of this as well at finals. 

 

Steve Rondinaro and Dennis Delucia were guilty of trumping up the top 5 Corps when the shows were on at the theaters big time. The way they would phrase it was that there was a clear level of execution difference when you reach that top 5 Corps. I heard them say this time and time again. While I tend to agree with their analysis that there IS a level of execution difference in those top 5 corps over the other competing units (and the scores reflected it)  it also served to speak down to the lower units to say your not deserving and to the fans to say those units are not worth watching. 

 

So in the end. It is what it is. 

[Jeff Ream]

3 hours ago, camel lips said:

While I totally agree with you... you are never going to get people to change their way in thinking on this. 

 

Even at the DCI level you have lot watchers that don't even make it into the gates till the top 5 units hit the field or till their unit hits the field. The years I was at DCA I saw a bunch of this as well at finals. 

 

Steve Rondinaro and Dennis Delucia were guilty of trumping up the top 5 Corps when the shows were on at the theaters big time. The way they would phrase it was that there was a clear level of execution difference when you reach that top 5 Corps. I heard them say this time and time again. While I tend to agree with their analysis that there IS a level of execution difference in those top 5 corps over the other competing units (and the scores reflected it)  it also served to speak down to the lower units to say your not deserving and to the fans to say those units are not worth watching. 

 

So in the end. It is what it is. 

agreed...and the top dogs are what draws. i have seen DCI do far more for Open Class the last few years than ever before, and to be 100% honest, DCI has done more for DCA the last 6 weeks than DCA did for itself for years

[C.Holland]

On 9/12/2023 at 5:04 PM, camel lips said:

While I totally agree with you... you are never going to get people to change their way in thinking on this. 

 

Even at the DCI level you have lot watchers that don't even make it into the gates till the top 5 units hit the field or till their unit hits the field. The years I was at DCA I saw a bunch of this as well at finals. 

 

Steve Rondinaro and Dennis Delucia were guilty of trumping up the top 5 Corps when the shows were on at the theaters big time. The way they would phrase it was that there was a clear level of execution difference when you reach that top 5 Corps. I heard them say this time and time again. While I tend to agree with their analysis that there IS a level of execution difference in those top 5 corps over the other competing units (and the scores reflected it)  it also served to speak down to the lower units to say your not deserving and to the fans to say those units are not worth watching. 

 

So in the end. It is what it is. 

It requires a revamp of the sheet. And rewarding things that many here will argue “the general public has no clue what’s entertaining, that’s why we have highly trained knuckleheads in polo shirts tells us it was entertaining” 

Edited September 25, 2023 by C.Holland