Kiss my support goodbye II

[glory]

The issue is a little thing called individuality. I was blessed to have marched in the 70’s. No other decade has had a field of corps that were so different from each other. Not just uniforms, but music, drill and especially execution.

There you go. Two of us watched the same thing and came to opposite conclusions.

HH

[Medeabrass]

The most " radical " move in the Drum Corps tradition was to replace the Fife with the Bugle. For some, that was too " radical " a move, and to this day, there are " traditionalists " who refuse to accept the Bugle in the Drum Corps " evolutionary cycle.  For a frame of reference, there are currently more Fife and Drum Corps in New England, Maryland, Virginia, than there are than there are Drum and Bugle Corps in these regions.  As to " copying ", imitation is the greatest form of flattery.  In America, The  Marching Bands trace their origins to the Marching Fife and Drum Corps that predated the Marching Bands in this Country according to the Smithsonian. So before there were  Marching Bands in this Country, there were "  Marching Drum Corps ",  ( Fife and Drum Corps ) and they marched on roads and fields in Colonial America. " Hope this helps.

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Cool

Woodwinds before bugles :P Yikes

Edited August 4, 2005 by Medeabrass

[Lieut. General Effect]

Cool

Woodwinds before bugles :P Yikes

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Yes, it was" Woodwinds " before " Bugles " in the Drum Corps movement in this Country. And the intoduction of the " Bugle " to Drum Corps was a move that met staunch resistance too. VERY staunch as historical records tell us from The Smithsonian Institute Museum in Washington, DC. I have a friend in Connecticut that up until a few years ago marched in a Fife and Drum Corps. ( he played snare drum ). He used to tell me that the Bugle introduction and increased cadence in the modern Drum and Bugle Corps were too radical for him, and were a perversion of the traditions of Drum Corps. I could not have disagreed with him more. He's a bright and educated fellow. But it sort of puts into perspective this whole argument doesn't it ? You'd think from listening to some, that Drum and Bugle Corps were invented from scratch. I'm in agreement with many of the Drum and Bugle Corps " traditionalists ' on many of their frustrations. But sometimes it's helpful to know that the introduction of the " Bugle ' to the Drum Corps movement was a radical change in instrumentation itself. And a " Woodwind " is what the Bugle replaced in some quarters of the Drum Corps movement in America. Even the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps have their roots from a " Woodwind " and Drum Corps. Right from within their own organization. Others do too. Just something to think about during these spirited discussions. ' Hope that some of my friends who have been with this activity as participants and fans for so many years can find a way to overlook the changes that frustrate them and remain fans. But they'll get no argument from me. These fans have earned the right to express themselves in the manner they choose for all they have given to this activity.

Edited August 4, 2005 by Lieut. General Effect

[ChicagoFan]

This is a discussion forum. Not an "Only those who like each and every thing that has ever been done, and continues to be done, in drum corps and have only warm, fuzzy things to say about the activity are allowed to post here" board. We're supposed to be able to discuss these things, regardless of whether we agree. That's what this forum provides: a venue to discuss all of the issues pertaining to drum corps. As long as no one is personally attacking anyone else, this is what we're supposed to be doing here. For you to insist that opposing viewpoints "ruin" the activity actually attempts to stifle the very nature of creativity (which should be accompanied by critical thinking and debate to make sure a proposed change really is a good idea) we're discussing in this thread. After all, if no one ever said, "Hey, why don't we do it this way?" in drum corps, or they were prohibited from making those suggestions because they were "ruining it" for everyone else, then we'd never have some of the changes, for better or worse, we're discussing now.

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Once again, Sue's voice of reason is right on the money.

[Guest DrumCorpFan]

Yes, it was" Woodwinds " before " Bugles " in the Drum Corps movement in this Country.

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So, drum and bugle corps became unique (and great) by breaking away from woodwinds, now they want them back?!?!?

[MiamiSun76]

Up to 1972 drum corps sanctioning bodies where made up of mostly military organizations (i.e. American Legion and VFW). With this being said what they (the officials) where looking for was military based. Then came the 70’s, DCI took over and for the most part it took the better part of the decade to cut loose of the old pre-DCI umbilical cord. Since the 80’s what we have witnessed is a slow progression into what is fielded today.

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Your DCI bias is showing. DCA was founded in 1964, recognized the World Open winners (Hurricaines) as champions that season and held their 1st official championship in 1965 (Reading Buccaneers).

There are also several DCA corps who have switched to Bb/F. but Bristol will still be LOUD b**bs

[Jeff Ream]

I am just saying that you can not get me to watch drum corps shows from the 70s. Listen to them, perhaps, and I marched 15 years ago. It is painful enough for me to watch the shows that I marched, let alone other corps from 15 years prior to mine.

Kids that are marching today "respect" shows from the 80s, but do you honestly think they sit down and watch DVDs from 1982 or do you think they would rather watch Phantom 2003?

I liked Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory much better than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Which one will kids like better? What do you think? I like Episode 5 better than Episode 3, but todays kids (for the overwhelming majority) are going to pick whats new.

If you are a NASCAR fan, do you want to watch an old reel to reel recording of Cale Yarborough driving in the 1977 Taladega race (don't know, don't care) or would you rather watch someone like Rusty Wallace race his new Dodge Charger in the 2005 Daytona race?

Elmo Blatch

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the original Chocolate Factory but give me episode 3 any day.

[Jeff Ream]

I sincerely wish that those who no longer wish to support the drum and bugle corps activitiy would send their complaints and "resignation letters" to DCI - and LEAVE THIS FORUM FOR THOSE WHO DO SUPPORT DRUM CORPS AND ALL THE FOLKS THAT WORK VERY HARD TO BRING US ENTERTAINMENT.

To the operators of this forum: PLEASE START BANNING PEOPLE LIKE THIS - THEY RUIN IT FOR THE REST OF US AND ARE DESTRUCTIVE TO THE ACTIVITY.

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i agree. people who do not bow and say "life is perfect as it stands" need to be banned

(sarcasm off)

i'll remember this day....the day when you complain about something, i'll remind you of when you said this.

and i'll repost it for you so you too can be banned under your desired guidelines

[srmumz]

Your DCI bias is showing. DCA was founded in 1964, recognized the World Open winners (Hurricaines) as champions that season and held their 1st official championship in 1965 (Reading Buccaneers).

There are also several DCA corps who have switched to Bb/F. but Bristol will still be LOUD  b**bs

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Sorry but I don't have much firsthand knowledge prior to '68, so I'll leave it up to others to comment on those years.

By the way, I am looking forward to seeing the Cabi's and Hurricanes tomorrow night - classic corps with much due respect!

[bradrick]

There had been some talk on this thread (and at least one other I've seen) about whether all of the dancing on the field is appropriate or whether it's taking drum corps in an unnecessary or unwanted direction. I just want to make sure you know something before you judge the corps that are doing more body movement on the field that could be considered "dancing" by the horns and drums:

The Santa Clara Vanguard is beng told by the visual judges that (and I'm paraphrasing here) they are getting less credit for the product they have on the field (as of a few weeks ago) because they don't do enough dancing. The JUDGES are telling them they would have a higher score if the horns and drums danced more. (The other corps that are near SCV as of few weeks ago all have parts of their shows that are essentially dance features.)

Please take that under advisement when directing your "anti-dancing" energy. The activity could be moving in that direction due in part because the judges DCI has cultivated like all the dancing and want it to continue to become more of a dominant part of the shows.

It may not just be a case of corps deciding to disrespect the old and create something new (and in the opinions of some, something new and less appropriate.) If the judges are giving them a choice between an automatic rise in score if they do something the fans may not necessarily all agree on - or being kept down by the numbers till they do... I'm sure some of them are making artistic decisions these days based on their desire to remain competitive. No matter what new slogan the marketers come up with, it's foremost, a competition.

Edited August 5, 2005 by bradrick