Daave Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 DCI, as currently constructed, rarely passes up an opportunity... to pass up an opportunity. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 3 hours ago, Terri Schehr said: If there was ever an activity less proactive than drum corps, I’d love to know what it is. They spend a lot of time rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. ... or just hurling all but 21 of the chairs overboard. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 8 minutes ago, cixelsyd said: ... or just hurling all but 21 of the chairs overboard. I can’t top that. 👏👏👏👏👏 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 2 hours ago, Jeff Ream said: well doing your final run under the lights with less than 1500 people wasn't exactly filling the corps either. there's no win win Can’t even imagine what that looked like, especially in a larger stadium. Figure number of performers was probably close to half that number. i know different era but never did a show with that small a crowd. Including Bradford, RCA anthracite towns and Mechanicsburg at the town stadium. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 6 hours ago, IllianaLancerContra said: Ok. Status quo is broken. 5 years to fix the current system & make it sustainable. What are you going to do? Since it is you asking, this probably is not just a rhetorical question so I will try to answer. If I were in a position where the people in that boardroom asked me that question... I would start by revisiting the premise that "most corps don't see making it beyond 5 years and that the existing model cannot sustain itself" as many times as necessary to get through the five stages of grief. Why? Because we have heard this refrain over and over since 1971. Nine times out of ten, it ends without passing the denial phase. This fall on this forum, we demonstrated how denial works. Numerous people denied there even is a cost problem, and some were so determined to deny it that they would rather stop the conversation than admit that much. I expect nothing different this time. There are really only three choices here - decrease cost, increase revenue, or ignore the iceberg/full speed ahead. 1. If it is as bad as you say, bickering over cost cuts will not fix it. The one BIG way to make the activity more sustainable would be to have far more corps. We have so few now that national touring is virtually mandatory just to provide enough of an experience to make it worth the time and money participants put into it. Of course, to grow the activity from the top down would require the top corps to make sacrifices for greater inclusion. The first step should be to grant membership to what few full-fledged corps still persevere in the rugged wilderness of open-class, and world-class non-member status. (Yes, I know - that will NEVER HAPPEN, and therefore, this whole paragraph will NEVER HAPPEN.) 2. In similar fashion, bickering over revenue ideas which are mostly already in play and maxed out will not be an adequate fix either. The one BIG way to address the revenue side of the equation would be to raise member fees. Arguably, the activity currently charges about half of what elite room-and-board summer arts camps cost. Provide a comparable quality experience, and charge a comparable price. Of course, our activity is rooted in the idea of providing opportunities for people of limited economic means, and the fact that corps compete among each other for applicants probably drives fee levels down, so this would be a difficult transition to make. 3. If real change like the above is still unpalatable, there is always the founding DCI philosophy to fall back on. If the current model is unsustainable, divide the activity into "haves" and "have-nots", and make it sustainable only for the "haves". If it is still unsustainable, move more corps out of the "haves" into the "have-nots". Keep throwing deck chairs off the Titanic until it floats again. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverCityAndTroopersFan Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 (edited) 3 hours ago, cage said: 1. Southeast - Crown, Spirit, and Music CIty Northeast - Surf and Boston. Southwest - Crossmen and Genesis West - Academy, BD, SCV, Mandarins, Troopers, Cascades, Pac Crest Midwest - Regiment, Bluecoats, Madison, Cavies, Colts, Blue Stars 2. If you are moved in you have the same costs for food, housing ( I know you addressed this), etc 3. If the name is up for grabs why would you need to sell it, it could be just used. If not, who owns the name? 4. Three problems with this. 1. What is this US college system? Almost every college is owned privately or by the state they reside. 2. Many schools fields are booked solid by lucrative sports camps that are paying top dollar. 3. If you are staying on campus, most schools require you to eat the food on campus to avoid violating contracts with Aramark or whoever they have a contract with. Fair point on the name. That could be removed. It would probably be less expensive to eat the food on campus, then operating a food truck with gas and oil. DCI could sign contracts with state governors to use colleges. I also think the historic connections of drum corps to the CYO could help with private institutions. The name plan would create more corps, and each corps also has 4 non-region events they can go to. Finally, I wasn’t super clear on this, but I was also including Open Class, All Age, and Soundsport ensembles for regions. Edited January 8 by RiverCityAndTroopersFan More info 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri Schehr Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 58 minutes ago, JimF-LowBari said: Can’t even imagine what that looked like, especially in a larger stadium. Figure number of performers was probably close to half that number. i know different era but never did a show with that small a crowd. Including Bradford, RCA anthracite towns and Mechanicsburg at the town stadium. The last time I went was the first year in Williamsport. I think there were less than 2000 people. I was told there were less than that the next year. What an awful venue that was. At least it will be far more comfortable in LOS. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 23 minutes ago, Terri Schehr said: The last time I went was the first year in Williamsport. I think there were less than 2000 people. I was told there were less than that the next year. What an awful venue that was. At least it will be far more comfortable in LOS. And ####### hand rails…. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KVG_DC Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 (edited) State governors don't have say over even state institutions. It'd likely be a matter of the president as delegated to the provost level to approve space and facility usage alongside the athletics directors. And you can bet, they'll charge a premium. I wonder what Bloo paid Indiana Wesleyan for their spring training camp? And what they're paying Mount Union now? They'd have better luck with the small private institutions tbh. The big state schools that are D1 have their football teams out there in the summer. Also the small institutions might be more desperate for the income than the big program schools. Edited January 9 by KVG_DC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 7 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said: Can’t even imagine what that looked like, especially in a larger stadium. Figure number of performers was probably close to half that number. i know different era but never did a show with that small a crowd. Including Bradford, RCA anthracite towns and Mechanicsburg at the town stadium. it looked bad in Williamsport. or Rochster whatever its called this year stadium. Mechanicsburg sells more tickets to their band show 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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