Real ideas for sustainability & revenue

[C.Holland]

11 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

there is no one easy solution. there's many pieces of the puzzle.

 

of course i have been saying now spring training needs to not run 6 weeks or more. thats easily 6 figures savings....housing, feeding, transportation costs getting people in and out...several corps last year spent more time in ST than on tour!

I suspect that aside from the cost of taking a show across the states, there’s a bit of Broadwayism at work here influencing the time stuck in spring training purgatory.  
 

There’s so many  elements to a show now, many dual performance aspects a performer needs to do in this era (that many haven’t been trained well enough to handle to do from a beginner point or even trained at all before move in) that requires so much time to learn and the expectation of cleanliness we expect that it becomes an excuse for extended time in one place. 
 

when shows were simpler we didn’t need 6 weeks to train battery to delicately poop squat in 16 variations or train brass how to arabesque to a level we expect from youth ballet. 
 

but like you said earlier, it’s not one solution, there’s many choices over time that have lead us to the current situation of the activity. 

Edited October 28, 2023 by C.Holland

[HockeyDad]

3 hours ago, dbc03 said:

If the problem was going to be solved by armchair corps directors on DCP it would have been solved years ago. We shouldn't accept an idea without scrutiny just for the sake of doing something, especially when that idea is worse than the status quo. Bad ideas are extremely easy to come up with.

Here's an idea, every corps pools together all their money to buy lottery tickets the next time the jackpot gets high, if they win they all split the money and don't have to worry about expenses ever again.

I will not be accepting any criticism of this idea.

So the best people to solve the problems are the ones who can’t get their corps out on tour?  Super. 

[dbc03]

2 hours ago, HockeyDad said:

So the best people to solve the problems are the ones who can’t get their corps out on tour?  Super. 

If you don't want feedback about your ideas just don't post them on a discussion forum. 

Throwing out ideas is good, some will be good, some will be bad, but if you want to an actual discussion about "real ideas for sustainability & revenue" everyone's ideas have to be open to scrutiny. Your ideas aren't above criticism just because you had them.

[dbc03]

I still think leaning in to the core competencies of the organizations is a potential way to come up with additional revenue and increase community engagement.

The Cadets used to do "Music is Cool" clinics at various stops along the tour which were just 1 day clinics for high schoolers, but since corps now have fewer shows and are more likely to stay in one place for more than 1 night what if that was expanded to multiday clinics for area kids that included putting together a very small show instead of just doing 8 on a hand and some stand still songs. A mini drum corps experience for anyone who wants it.

For corps that do spring training near their home towns it would be the perfect time to do one that increases community engagement and helps grow local talent.

Maybe corps could organize some kind of local concert band events as well during the off season. Erie Area Honor Band, hosted by The Cadets, or a concert festival, or an I&E equivalent. Even if these things aren't huge moneymakers in and of themselves they give the corps something to point at when they are courting local sponsors, branch out beyond a luxury activity for rich kids.

[HockeyDad]

2 hours ago, dbc03 said:

If you don't want feedback about your ideas just don't post them on a discussion forum. 

Throwing out ideas is good, some will be good, some will be bad, but if you want to an actual discussion about "real ideas for sustainability & revenue" everyone's ideas have to be open to scrutiny. Your ideas aren't above criticism just because you had them.

Cool. So the best people to solve  the problems are the ones who can’t get their corps out on tour?  I thought I’d give you another chance to answer the question if you care to. 

[dbc03]

1 minute ago, HockeyDad said:

Cool. So the best people to solve  the problems are the ones who can’t get their corps out on tour?  I thought I’d give you another chance to answer the question if you care to. 

The best? Probably not, the best people are expensive. They are more qualified than you or me though

[Jeff Ream]

On 10/28/2023 at 11:39 AM, C.Holland said:

I suspect that aside from the cost of taking a show across the states, there’s a bit of Broadwayism at work here influencing the time stuck in spring training purgatory.  
 

There’s so many  elements to a show now, many dual performance aspects a performer needs to do in this era (that many haven’t been trained well enough to handle to do from a beginner point or even trained at all before move in) that requires so much time to learn and the expectation of cleanliness we expect that it becomes an excuse for extended time in one place. 
 

when shows were simpler we didn’t need 6 weeks to train battery to delicately poop squat in 16 variations or train brass how to arabesque to a level we expect from youth ballet. 
 

but like you said earlier, it’s not one solution, there’s many choices over time that have lead us to the current situation of the activity. 

i agree things need worked out. but again several corps were in ST longer than on the road. and when you look at the final results, i often wonder exactly what was going on in ST.

 

oh wasted time on an ending that'll get rehearsed and actually performed for maybe 14 days. and while rehearsing that new ending, other stuff doesn't get rehearsed....and then everyone will ##### about BD winning.

[Jeff Ream]

23 hours ago, dbc03 said:

I still think leaning in to the core competencies of the organizations is a potential way to come up with additional revenue and increase community engagement.

The Cadets used to do "Music is Cool" clinics at various stops along the tour which were just 1 day clinics for high schoolers, but since corps now have fewer shows and are more likely to stay in one place for more than 1 night what if that was expanded to multiday clinics for area kids that included putting together a very small show instead of just doing 8 on a hand and some stand still songs. A mini drum corps experience for anyone who wants it.

For corps that do spring training near their home towns it would be the perfect time to do one that increases community engagement and helps grow local talent.

Maybe corps could organize some kind of local concert band events as well during the off season. Erie Area Honor Band, hosted by The Cadets, or a concert festival, or an I&E equivalent. Even if these things aren't huge moneymakers in and of themselves they give the corps something to point at when they are courting local sponsors, branch out beyond a luxury activity for rich kids.

question, and not asked to be snarky....how many of those running the Cadets actually live in the Erie area?

[cixelsyd]

On 10/28/2023 at 8:53 AM, dbc03 said:

If the problem was going to be solved by armchair corps directors on DCP it would have been solved years ago.

There is no accounting for how slow DCI is to implement good ideas.

[dbc03]

17 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

question, and not asked to be snarky....how many of those running the Cadets actually live in the Erie area?

I had assumed the corps "moving to Erie" meant an office with people working in it, but looking at the staff profiles it seems that's not the case. Not sure what they're plan is with regard to community engagement if nobody is there to do it🤷‍♂️