DCM "dormant"

[audiodb]

You know.. I enjoyed going to DeKalb.. but the implication that "DCI got their way" is utterly ridiculous.

I don't think so. Implying that DCI didn't get their way would be more ridiculous. :P

DCI made a decision to go in a different direction -- the corps who made that decision made it to improve the way things needed to be run behind the scenes.. and PLEASE don't give me the old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" schlock because it was broke in a LOT of ways..

Well, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. So am I. To characterize DCM, the only remaining true cooperative between corps of all divisions, as "broke" would have been severely inaccurate, IMO.

when an attempt to improve it was stonewalled, the DCI corps said, "okay.. well.. we're gonna go do this because it's what we think is best overall" and DCM dug in their heels (a little stubbornly, if you ask me) and made NO adjustments..

Now you're just plain lying, Stef. I can't believe what I'm hearing. You know full well that DCM changed the pay scale to appease the division I corps. You know they agreed to switch to DCI judging as well, again at the demand of the division I corps. DCM, in joint venture with DCI, reformatted the DeKalb event to allow Eastern division I corps to participate, eliminating nearly all of the traditional prelim/final format to allow DCI's division I marketing aim to take precedence. They made the entire 2003 season a trial for the "DCI Midwest Division" operations.

And you have the audacity to say DCM "made NO adjustments"?

Now, who's heels were digging in? Obviously, the division II, III and senior corps of DCM were willing to give tremendous concessions to keep the whole thing together, and they had already begun doing so in 2003. And what did they ask in return - just to retain their earned voting rights in the organization. But DCI's heels were firmly entrenched on that issue. The senior corps were told that they were not part of DCI's mission. Having junior status didn't help the II/III corps, though, as they were not offered a continuation of their regional membership status either. One request, summarily denied.

And what was the reaction of the division I corps? They could have stayed, having gotten most of their demands fulfilled under their repeated threats of leaving the organization. But that wasn't good enough. Not only did they (all but Pioneer, that is) pull out of DCM, they implemented a total boycott against all DCM events. You can rationalize all you want, but there is no excuse for that behavior. Corps of all divisions understand the concept of teamwork, and realize that they must sometimes attend shows they don't want to travel to, "for the good of the order". Certainly, the travel habits of division I corps in DCI lately are evidence of that philosophy. They knew full well what effect a 100% withdrawal of that support from their division II/III brethren would have on them. And they did it anyway.

Did you know, by the way, that of the 12 division II/III corps in DCM at that time, only two have been able to remain continuously active as such over this two-year period?

going along as if they didn't have a drastically altered product to offer.. and that, IMO, is what spelled their demise.

Inability (or unwillingness) to change.

More lies? Or were you not even paying attention to DCM after your beloved Cavaliers left it behind? Did you not notice the format change to the DeKalb championship? The Friday night concert there? The celebrity judges at some shows? Use of DCA sheets, in recognition of their all-age contingent? That's a lot of changes, all in response to their "drastically altered product".

NOT SAYING they needed to become DCI-Central.. DCI has done just fine creating a central tour all on their own without DCMs input or involvement..

The boldface was by me - the words were your own. Thanks for pointing that out.

It's so easy for some of you guys to lay the blame at the foot of DCI..

True - it's not DCI at issue here so much as it is the specific division I organizations in the Midwest (excluding Pioneer) and their feeder unit(s), who participated in the embargo. We are probably all guilty of substituting the acronym "DCI" at times to apply to the corps that establish what we perceive to be DCI policy.

but the truth is the DI departure had been coming for a LONG TIME... When they asked for improvements and were told no,

"Being told no"? By whom? DCM was run by the votes of it's member corps, eight or nine of whom were division I units, with a couple of associated "feeder" corps in tow.

what else could they do? Stick it out? For what?

For the good of the order. For those 10 out of 12 division II/III corps that couldn't sustain two years of activity in the more hostile environment that followed. And for their own good (local exposure, shows in convenient proximity, etc.).

What modern loyalty did DCM show them?

What exactly is "modern loyalty"?

[morganhill]

You know.. I enjoyed going to DeKalb.. but the implication that "DCI got their way" is utterly ridiculous.

DCI made a decision to go in a different direction -- the corps who made that decision made it to improve the way things needed to be run behind the scenes.. and PLEASE don't give me the old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" schlock because it was broke in a LOT of ways.. when an attempt to improve it was stonewalled, the DCI corps said, "okay.. well.. we're gonna go do this because it's what we think is best overall" and DCM dug in their heels (a little stubbornly, if you ask me) and made NO adjustments.. going along as if they didn't have a drastically altered product to offer.. and that, IMO, is what spelled their demise.

Inability (or unwillingness) to change.

NOT SAYING they needed to become DCI-Central.. DCI has done just fine creating a central tour all on their own without DCMs input or involvement.. but that the DCM folks didn't recognize and adapt to what they became..

It's so easy for some of you guys to lay the blame at the foot of DCI.. and you're gonna do what you're gonna do regardless of how little actual truth there is to what you imply with you opinion about it.. but the truth is the DI departure had been coming for a LONG TIME... When they asked for improvements and were told no, what else could they do? Stick it out? For what? What modern loyalty did DCM show them?

If a tree doesn't bend in the wind, it will ultimately break.

Stef

Stef, I agree with your comments 100%. It's unfortunate that some of the people posting here are falsely blaming DCI for DCM's stuborness and reluctance to change. That is exactly what finally caused DCM to fail and nothing else!

[morganhill]

So, wait. DCM is gone? Where is this information? I'm a little confused as to the details because their website says nothing about it.

Exactly! DCM is far too stubborn to admit they were defunct as of last fall. They still won't admit it. Can we spell s-t-u-b-b-o-r-n?

[BOBSMYTH]

The reason(s) for the DCI Division I corps leaving DCM probably includes many behind the scenes issues that we will never know. I don't believe there is only one issue. Here are a couple examples that contributed to the problem:

Corps pay - while DCM may have adjusted upward the dollars paid out over time, there was still a discrepancy between DCM pay scales and the pay scales in DCI or the East/Atlantic and the West/Pacific regions. For example, Cavaliers and Phantom Regiment were getting paid less per show for every DCM show than their peers such as Blue Devils, Santa Clara and Cadets were being paid in their respective regions. (At the same time, the dues that the corps pay into their regions were higher in DCM than in other regions.) Also, if a corps wanted to tour outside DCM during the DCM season, there were restrictions.

However, even though money issues may be sticking points, IMHO, a bigger issue was the operational side of DCM. Imagine yourself as a corps director or manager. You have a 6 show swing through several states planned based on the schedule that DCM has put together. All of the sudden, in early June, 2 of the shows in the middle of that mini-tour disappear. Not only are you missing performance opportunities and judging feedback, you have to scramble to adjust travel schedules and housing arrangements (and possibly missing out on corps pay?).

OR, you pull into town, not knowing where your housing site is going to be because DCM didn't have that information available before you left on tour or it was changed while you were out on the road.

Again, I am sure there were many more issues that we'll never know about. To summarize - DCM and DCI offered a redundant "package of services" to the individual corps with the DCI "product" being of higher, more reliable quality (because they had the resources to make it higher quality). As an individual corps director with primary responsibility to my organization, why should I continue to participate in and support a separate organization (DCM) when I can get all my corps' needs taken care of at a higher quality level and at a lower cost to my organization?

And yet, many midwest Division I groups continued to support DCM for many, many years as they worked together with DCM staff to try to upgrade the "product". IMHO, DCM ran out of resources to upgrade beyond a certain point. DCM maxed out their "package of services" but the corps needed more - which they could readily get elsewhere.

Not everything has to be done for the "good of the order". Sometimes, you have to make decisions that are in your own best interest. Nothing personal, its just the business side of drum corps.

[DrumCorpsFan27]

Well...it looks like DCI got its way.... <**>

The Wal-mart of drum corps.

[DrumCorpsFan27]

You know.. I enjoyed going to DeKalb.. but the implication that "DCI got their way" is utterly ridiculous.

DCI made a decision to go in a different direction -- the corps who made that decision made it to improve the way things needed to be run behind the scenes.. and PLEASE don't give me the old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" schlock because it was broke in a LOT of ways.. when an attempt to improve it was stonewalled, the DCI corps said, "okay.. well.. we're gonna go do this because it's what we think is best overall" and DCM dug in their heels (a little stubbornly, if you ask me) and made NO adjustments.. going along as if they didn't have a drastically altered product to offer.. and that, IMO, is what spelled their demise.

Inability (or unwillingness) to change.

NOT SAYING they needed to become DCI-Central.. DCI has done just fine creating a central tour all on their own without DCMs input or involvement.. but that the DCM folks didn't recognize and adapt to what they became..

It's so easy for some of you guys to lay the blame at the foot of DCI.. and you're gonna do what you're gonna do regardless of how little actual truth there is to what you imply with you opinion about it.. but the truth is the DI departure had been coming for a LONG TIME... When they asked for improvements and were told no, what else could they do? Stick it out? For what? What modern loyalty did DCM show them?

If a tree doesn't bend in the wind, it will ultimately break.

Stef

Of course DCI got its way. DCM wouldn't run things the way DCI wanted to so DCI took their toys (the D1 corps) and went home. They set up their own tour and left everyone else in the cold. They didn't have to do that, but they did. They could have designed a tour that allows DCM to function, as they had done all the previous years, but they chose not to. What loyalty did DCM show DCI? What loyalty are you talking about. The loyalty to have another organization come in and tell what to do, when and how? That's not loyalty. It's a hostile take over.

[DrumCorpsFan27]

Stef, I agree with your comments 100%. It's unfortunate that some of the people posting here are falsely blaming DCI for DCM's stuborness and reluctance to change. That is exactly what finally caused DCM to fail and nothing else!

IMO, it is DCI who is stubborn. "Do it our way or we will take our toys and leave you to whither and die." The changes DCM made to accommodate the D1s have already been outlined. What accommodations did DCI make for DCM? What loyalty did DCI show DCM?

[CozyChopsCom]

The U. S. Open in Marion, OH, was a huge championship that used to run a Wed. night parade, then Thu. - Sat. It's now gone. Yes, there are fewer corps, but the U. S. Open also ran into conflicts with DCI. Flip forward to the 21st Century, and it's happened again to DCM.

Marion and DeKalb were both memorable events. The DeKalb Sunday picnic alone was a huge affair. I shall miss DeKalb. The Midwest corps and fan$ are all losing out.

Cozy

Whoa, folks, settle down. 'Tis a hot issue, but it can be discussed civily. Correct, "DCI" in this instance means the voting corps. Ergo, "DCM" also means the voting corps. The influence of each organization's leadership also plays a role. I think most of us understand that.

It's easy for me to sleep. The "meanest" thing I've stated is "ran into conflicts with DCI." I attended some of the meetings, both off-season and during/immediately after DeKalb. As always, I state my opinion. What happened in those meetings is off-the-record.

I repeat, it's sad. Is it more than that? Darn right it is!

Cozy

[Brent]

To whom it may concern:

These thoughts are scattered and incomplete, but I felt compelled to bring a little inside light to this topic.

Those of us whom led DCM in the last 28 months have worked hard to keep a good idea alive. Unfortunately, uniting Div. II/III and All Age corps has been a little like hurding cats. The leadership does not blame DCI. Those of us left in leadership positions knew we would have to work hard and be creative to keep DCM thriving. Unfortunately, many of these corps did not have the time to put into an association because they are having difficulty keeping their own units alive and well. Another barrier to success was that the DCM leadership all do drum corps out of passion and did not have the resources to make drum corps a full time position(within their corps, or within an association).

DCM needed about 3 full time people to keep it alive and the model needed about 2-3 more years to get to that place. This is still feasible and possible. The leadership that has fulfilled its term, has left DCM with the resources and board members to come out of dormancy when DCM might be needed again.

Unfortunately, DCM pulled all of us away from our ensembles, which also need our leadership and passion to keep our corps healthy(runonsentence). We worked extremely hard to keep the dream alive, but in the end, it was much easier to go in different directions.

The junior corps and all age corps have access to the DCIC schedule at the local level and the senior corps have developed DCA-Central to provide a few additional show opportunities as well. We found that the strongest corps in DCM did not have the mission or resources to travel and set up a tour that DCM was so good at supplying. It costs all age corps about $15,000 a weekend to lease busses and stay in hotels. We are set up to do about 3 of these trips in a year. DCM provided us with TOO much work to actually support.

All elected board members served out their time with DCM. Nobody left DCM in the cold, we communicated all of our intentions to the very end.

I want to thank everyone involved for all of their time and commitment to this organization over its 27 year history. EVERYBODY. Division I corps, Division II corps, Division III corps, A60 corps, A90 corps, corps directors, corps members, board members, etc.

Please know that those who chose to keep DCM alive, did so because we thought we could keep the collaboration between ALL units alive. We meant no disrespect to DCI, or any other association, or individual person. In the end, I believe that DCM was given the opportunity to control our own destiny. Please stop bashing DCI or DCM, because all that does it hurt everybody (in the end). Many, many, many of us continue to be passionately involved in drum corps and the pageantry arts. Obviously, this process has been painful for many of us within DCM and DCI. I am more hurt and burned out, than bitter through the process.

If you would like to discuss this further, you can call me on weekdays between 12 noon-3pm CST.

Create peace,

Brent Turner

MBI Corps Director

DCM Board Chair 2004-2005

612-743-8760

[RobertPi1ot]

Thank you Brent. Now you have time to do the Scouts Alumni Corps B)