2CoolVK Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 The comet's called Hale-Bopp, not Halibut. They're named after their discoverer(s). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Should have gotten that one right. I'll have to brush up on my wacky cults trivia before I go on Jeopardy. Mr. Boo, the Flavor Aid was grape flavored and laced with cyanide. Jones didn't actually drink the punch. He may have marched drum corps and was tired of it by that point. OK, enough tasteless attempts at humor on my part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbc03 Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 The recent “extreme marching band” promo is a perfect example. Ask the average person what first comes to mind when they hear the word marching band and you’ll get, “parades, football halftime, geeks and wierdos”. DC needs to separate itself from the marching band stereotype if it wants any chance to build a fan base within the general population. Let’s try a few different ideas for ESPN’s promo... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My thought is that you didn't research what you're talking about very well. The "recent extreme marching band promo" wasn't a commercial, it was a google ad. There is no audio, there is barely visual. DCI did what it needed to do with it's limited amount of space, because there is no way you are going to explain the difference between marching band and drum corps in a google ad. Honestly, I don't think that DCI is really that concerned with building a fan base within the general population, because IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Drum corps is NEVER going to be mainstream. You know what fan base they WOULD like to expand? The millions of band kids around the country. They are the future of this activity, not the general population. Now is a marching band kid going to be more likely to turn to ESPN to watch marching band, something they identify with and actually participate in, or to watch "drum corps", something that a LOT of them have never heard of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
^Michael^ Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 We do not glorify ourselves by trying to knock the marching band activity. A HUGE percentage of our membership does not consider themselves to be geeks and weirdos outside of drum corps.Ask the average person what first comes to mind when they hear the phrase "marching band" and you'll get terms such as "hard working," "dedication," "loyalty," "school spirit," "less likely to do drugs," etc. I guess it all depends on how jaundiced one is towards life itself. Face life with a smile and a good attitude, and you'll be rewarded by seeing life in a positive sense. <snip> But my main point is: Please remember...You never build yourself up by knocking someone else down. Mike <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Amen, brother Mike! ^OO^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecoats88 Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 (edited) and technically a marching band doesn't have to even have woodwinds - ever heard of an all brass marching band? When I was in high school we were a relatively small school and had a relatively small band so for the marching season all woodwinds had to switch to brass instruments and we had an all brass marching band. So the differences between our band and corps came down to practice time and the koolaid thing that PR guy mentioned. And as someone said to me at the westminster show this year. Drum corps members think we are cool because we are in drum corps, but aren't we really just the best band geeks in the country? Not my words, but the point is that most of the kids in corps today are the top ten percent of their marching bands. Oh and the guy who said that to me has marched many corps to include Westshoremen, Grenadiers, Glassmen, Blue Devils, and Brigadiers and still marches senior corps today. Edited August 30, 2005 by bluecoats88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevingamin Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 The style is different, but they do the same thing. Compare it to sports. Different football teams run different offenses and different defenses. They are still football teams regardless of whatever style they choose. I never said anything about BOA. TOB or any of that, so Kevin, I'm not sure of your point. A marching band is a marching band no matter what knee height they use.Ok, no woodwinds, more rehearsal time, and the members sometimes don't live near each other. What other differences are earth shattering. I bet corp members drink more kool-aid than marching band members. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My point is that not all marching bands are the same and some would even take offense that you would lump them in with drum corps. I remember Glassmen had a mello player who went to Ohio State and he would tell stories of how the marching band there (you know, "The Best #### Band In The Land") absolutely DESPISED the drum corps activity. Heck, in my five years of marching, he was the only OSU student I had marched with and we were one of two DCI finalist corps in Ohio (well, at least until the END of '96...). If the average person saw the New England Patriots (defensive focus) and the Indianapolis Colts (offensive focus) play, they're not going to say that one of the two teams is not a football team because they pass and run the ball a lot more than the other. However, if an average person saw the Blue Devils (drum corps) and Grambling University (marching band), they would know that the two groups are totally different, especially when Grambling starts doing hip-hop dance on the field. The only reason they would call BD a "marching band" is because they don't know the term "drum corps". Heh, I'm willing to bet the European fans at the World Music Contest in the Netherlands this past summer had no trouble telling the difference between BD and the bicycle band that also competed... :D My point about the BOA/TOB/ACC crack is that, when we use the words "marching band" here, we rarely refer to anything BUT a corps-style competitive marching band, as if that is the ONLY kind of marching band out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RegimentContra94 Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 I'm well aware of the differences between the various marching ensembles, however, my point is, and always has been, that it is dumb to try to market Drum and Bugle Corps by downplaying the value of marching band. I despise the use of the word "bando" as an insult, and that is really what I'm talking about. Let's not pretend that we are better than anyone just because we marched corps. This is precisely the attitude that turns off band directors to our activity, and causes them to discourage their students to participate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumcat Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 I'm well aware of the differences between the various marching ensembles, however, my point is, and always has been, that it is dumb to try to market Drum and Bugle Corps by downplaying the value of marching band. I despise the use of the word "bando" as an insult, and that is really what I'm talking about. Let's not pretend that we are better than anyone just because we marched corps. This is precisely the attitude that turns off band directors to our activity, and causes them to discourage their students to participate. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bspeakman Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 Anyone who has read any of my posts knows I’m not a big fan of the way the corps (DCI) have run the activity. One of my pet peeves is the lack of, or terrible way they have marketed the activity. Although this has been discussed on other threads I believe it merits a thread of its own. The recent “extreme marching band” promo is a perfect example. Ask the average person what first comes to mind when they hear the word marching band and you’ll get, “parades, football halftime, geeks and wierdos”. I can assure you that the thousands of kids I see on the competitive marching band fields do not consider themselves "geeks, or wierdos", nor do their families nor most of their classmates. I have been to a number of schools where the band competition outdraws the football game. Now, I must admit that I have not polled large numbers of the "average person", but I would bet that you have not either. I think that DCI has! I have also spent a great deal of time involved in "Xtreme sports", as my nephews are sposnsored snowboarders/skateboarders. They think that positioning drum corps (their wacko uncle's "favorite" sport) as an "Xtreme" sport is "sweet". In fact, that designation has brought some of their teenaged friends to ask to see what a drum corps really is. They thought that drum corps was all about those baton twirler/drumline folks they see in local parades. Of course, they are not the "average person"..but then again, neither are you or I. In short, in my humble opinion, the DCI marketing position is right on target. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bspeakman Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 Why arn't theya band? Is Green Day a Band? Isn't a "band" an instrumental musical group? Ahhh, I'm done with this debate. People, feel free to be as elitist as you would like, and continue to bash and alienate your source of membership. Sounds like a great idea! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> GREAT observation!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeN Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 You know, we're all actually the wrong people to talk about DCI's marketing. It's not aimed at us. We already know when it's going to be on, we're on a discussion forum talking about it, et cetera. The marketing isn't about keeping you, me, or anyone else on this board happy, not by a long shot. It's about getting the activity out in front of folks who *haven't* seen it before and getting them to sit there for 2 hours and watch. I don't care if they call it BOA Summer Band or Grambling-Band-Extreme or *whatever* if it'll get new fans / participants / supporters in front of their TV's. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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