Star 93

[byline]

Could any other corps operate that way?

Good question. Someone else pointed out that Bill Cook only did what the rest of us have said we'd do if we won the lottery . . . and that's true. But depending on winning the lottery, or acquiring some other vast source of wealth, is not a realistic, sustainable way to run most drum corps. So I think that when most of us from a "poorer corps" background (financially speaking) saw that happening with Star, we also wondered how long it would play out.

I would be interested in knowing what Spirit's early history was, as well. They had a "mystique" that was similar to Star's, in that the talk was they had a lot of money to throw around in the early years, courtesy of their sponsorship by the Atlanta TV station. Of course, that was the talk, and then there's the truth. I'd like to know the real story behind all of that.

[starmello]

Good question. Someone else pointed out that Bill Cook only did what the rest of us have said we'd do if we won the lottery . . . and that's true. But depending on winning the lottery, or acquiring some other vast source of wealth, is not a realistic, sustainable way to run most drum corps. So I think that when most of us from a "poorer corps" background (financially speaking) saw that happening with Star, we also wondered how long it would play out.

I would be interested in knowing what Spirit's early history was, as well. They had a "mystique" that was similar to Star's, in that the talk was they had a lot of money to throw around in the early years, courtesy of their sponsorship by the Atlanta TV station. Of course, that was the talk, and then there's the truth. I'd like to know the real story behind all of that.

It's interesting that people have the idea that Bill Cook just "wrote a check" to pay for Star. If you read Bill memoirs, you will see that several business were started to sustain the corps. The reason that Star left DCI had nothing to do with finances. But hey, that dead horse has been beaten to death!!!

By the way, the argument that "this won't last" doesn't hold water. Those business are still operating today. Again, finances had NOTHING to do with Star changing directions.

tony

[84BDsop]

It's interesting that people have the idea that Bill Cook just "wrote a check" to pay for Star. If you read Bill memoirs, you will see that several business were started to sustain the corps.

Oh I lknow that....I've read the stuff on the Star site....but he provided the seed money, which is the most difficult part initially.

He ALSo had the business background to set up the companies that kept the corps running...something few other corps personalities really have (Ted Swaldo comes to mind)

[starmello]

Oh I lknow that....I've read the stuff on the Star site....but he provided the seed money, which is the most difficult part initially.

He ALSo had the business background to set up the companies that kept the corps running...something few other corps personalities really have (Ted Swaldo comes to mind)

You are correct, sir. :)

tony

[Matt_S]

I always think it's a shame that people will knock Bill Cook for financing Star, yet never acknowledge the man's benevolence. From everything I've heard, the man gave much to other corps, even DCI itself. We need more people that willing to work for the activity, rather than people who come online to grind an axe against a corps that's been inactive for thirteen years now.

[byline]

I always think it's a shame that people will knock Bill Cook for financing Star, yet never acknowledge the man's benevolence. From everything I've heard, the man gave much to other corps, even DCI itself. We need more people that willing to work for the activity, rather than people who come online to grind an axe against a corps that's been inactive for thirteen years now.

I've heard a fair bit about this, and what I've heard is probably only the tip of the iceberg, so I do have a lot of respect for the man and what he contributed to corps (not just Star). But the particular discussion we're having here is focusing on the sustainability of drum corps, and I do think there are certain trends--some of which Star either started or took to a new level--which have, over the long term, been detrimental to individual corps' sustainability, and may have even eroded the sustainability of the overall activity. Maybe it's because corps have gone about copying these trends in the wrong way. Dunno. But it's still worthy of discussion, IMO.

[StarContra4-85]

I always think it's a shame that people will knock Bill Cook for financing Star, yet never acknowledge the man's benevolence. From everything I've heard, the man gave much to other corps, even DCI itself. We need more people that willing to work for the activity, rather than people who come online to grind an axe against a corps that's been inactive for thirteen years now.

There are probably more anonymous donations by Bill Cook than we will ever know about. Bill is a very humble and generous person and when he sees value in something as worthwhile as the drum corps activity, he supports it in many ways, not just financially. Often, it's with the understanding that his name be left out of the story.

We need a lot more people like him, not just people who can write checks, but people who can manage assets well and are not afraid to give of their time and themselves to advance the activity.

[mchromik]

Could any other corps operate that way?

Actually they better operate better then Star. You see, in some ways it was a failed experiment. The bus company never made a real profit. I have heard it described by some as a 'money hole'. Only in the last few years has Blast! been able to stand on it's own two feet financially. There were lots of mistakes made in the early years as we figured out how to 'do it right'. I mean operationally, not competatively. Only Mr. Cooks never ending generosity kept us out of trouble.

But overall I cannot help but think of the way we got down the road, the food we ate, the care we received, and the way we were treated in general, it all set new standards on creating a quality experience. And twenty years later this still reverberates. Look at the nice safe buses and beautiflul food trucks, the minor corperate sponsers. Now compare that to the parking lots scene of the early to mid 80s. We have come a long way.

[84BDsop]

Actually they better operate better then Star. You see, in some ways it was a failed experiment. The bus company never made a real profit. I have heard it described by some as a 'money hole'. Only in the last few years has Blast! been able to stand on it's own two feet financially. There were lots of mistakes made in the early years as we figured out how to 'do it right'. I mean operationally, not competatively. Only Mr. Cooks never ending generosity kept us out of trouble.

But overall I cannot help but think of the way we got down the road, the food we ate, the care we received, and the way we were treated in general, it all set new standards on creating a quality experience. And twenty years later this still reverberates. Look at the nice safe buses and beautiflul food trucks, the minor corperate sponsers. Now compare that to the parking lots scene of the early to mid 80s. We have come a long way.

I remember speaking to Jim Mason when Star was at the hoillywood Bowl with the Canadien Brass when we were starting Nightfire. One thiong he said was that he spent the first few years of the corps frantically shoring up the support side of the operation.

[mchromik]

That sounds about right. We had issues with our early chuckwagon and sovie setup. He brought to the corps more or less the set-up he used at the Colts, but it wasn't sufficiant to handle the crazy erratic tour we had to do in 85' and the larger number of folks we had with us. In 86' and 87' we needed to add additional trucks to handle the props and souvies. By 88' we had added a larger staff bus and food truck. By 90' the corps was a well-oiled machine on the road. One thing that Jim and Moe Latour did extremely well is get the corps down the road.