Orpheus Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 Tell me again, for the first time, why it's important to me that DCI reaches out to the average Joe who watches ESPN2? And in doing so further waters down the content of what once was an unimpeachably entertaining 4 hours of pledge drive television? You really haven't been paying much attention to this whole discussion over the past few years, have you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiamiSun76 Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 the funnel cake line will be at least a 40 minute wait he he. is it going to get to the point where they sell seats in the back field and the corps designs their show to play for the entire stadium? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> So what would you rather have, a good funnel cake or 4 narrated shows? b**bs Seriously, drum corps "in the round" is still an idea worth exploring. Much more beneficial to the activity and much more challenging than what's been hyped as "progress" recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiamiSun76 Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 You really haven't been paying much attention to this whole discussion over the past few years, have you? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Totally OT: Is your avatar a map of West Virginia or a Georgia O'Keefe painting? ^0^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
incognito Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 (edited) drum corps needs to attract new faces yes.but it also needs to go out and get the people they turned off interested again as well. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> AMPS and Narration won't help get those people back, it's part of the reason why they left. Edited August 28, 2005 by SOMF69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMichael1230 Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 I dont know what the strategy ishere, and I wont even venture a guess, but the bottom line ? Stop trying to attract new viewers and start recruiting new members, build the corps base and get more shows out there. We hear over and over about the busloads of band kids at the shows...umm, if they are of marching age, why arent they on the field ?? Get their butts out of the seats and into the field. Getting more participants on the field will automaticall grow the audience. Its true, Early eighties, many, many corps, full stands, as the corps die, so does the audience. Less moms and dads and brothers and friends (and marching memebrs) to fill the seats. Stop trying to fill the seats, and start filling the ranks. ~G~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAMystreaux Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 Stop trying to fill the seats, and start filling the ranks. Why are we assuming they are not trying to do both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMichael1230 Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 Why are we assuming they are not trying to do both? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You did read my first line, correct ?? ~G~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CODI Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 Needless to say, you will get bits and pieces of the shows, and I will be surprised if you even get to see the entire Garfield show. Remember DCI has to make some hard cold cash on the DVD's that they promise to have out in a timely manner. CODI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critter Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 This issue here is not really about trying to grow the drum corps activity. It is much bigger than that. Music education in public schools has been eroding in many parts of the country. Over the last 4 years alone California has lost somewhere in the nieghborhood of 2000 credentialed music teachers. Limited dollars mean that administrators must make tough choices as to which programs they must fund, and a music program of 60-80 students does not seem like a very wise use of funds. The music program can be cut, the remaining students spread between other programs without needing to open up additional classes, and the administrator has essentially generated an additional $40,000 that can be used in other areas due to the elimination of the need to fund the music program. Once a high school music program reaches a certain point, it actually becomes a waste of money to cut the program. For example, would cutting the one teacher in the music program require that the school hire another 1.5 teachers to have a place to put those students? Once you reach that point, a high school music program can be described as safe and stable. Here is where the broadcast will help both music education and DCI. Most middle school students want to participate in mainstream activities. Football does not attract all athletes because it is a great sport; it attracts them because it is seen as a cool thing to do. That is how we will grow music education. We need to make it mainstream again. PBS is not mainstream. DCP is not mainstream. ESPN2 was created to market to a much younger market, which makes it a much better outlet to get young kids hooked. If you are a drum corps fan, the ESPN2 broadcast is not for you. It is for those who have never seen it before. Its purpose is to start a conversation about the activity. As someone who loves this activity, I will be very disappointed if the broadcast features anything close to complete shows. I want shorter segments that will make people curious so that they need to investigate more. Make them go to dci.org and vote for their favorite performance of the evening. When they vote, offer to send them a DVD featuring the complete performance of that corps. Also offer to send one to a friend of theirs as a gift. The total cost here is about $5. Forward that person's information to the corps so that they get a message from the corps director offering a free t-shirt. This would be fan is so excited about this free t-shirt that he or she tells a few friends about this cool new version of American Idol that takes place on a football field. A couple of those people, and eventually you become mainstream. Once you become mainstream, a few 5th graders think they really want to do that activity once they get older and decide that football is not cool anymore. Too much of a uniform to see who is who. How much better it would be to be a soloist for BD in front of 30,000 people. Wow! Where else can you get that? And the smart band director tells those kids that it starts by playing page 1, line 1 of Essential Elements. High school bands get bigger and produce a greater base of students who are excited about drum corps. And now that 5 years have gone by since the first ESPN2 broadcast, DCI has expanded its marketing base to the point where tour fees are either incredibly low or a thing of the past. This means that spots are more competitive and high school students must work even harder to get into drum corps. And the ball keeps rolling. And it all started with one simple broadcast on ESPN2 on September 6, 2005. Let us all thank DCI for their vision past what most of us can see. In short, the ESPN2 broadcast might be a good thing. We'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo Blatch Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 (edited) Error Edited October 24, 2005 by Elmo Blatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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