rzeilinger Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 I'm doing a little marketing research. Is there a place in todays drum corps activity for a competitive, Div I corps like a Bridgemen, Velvet Knights, Impulse styled Drum corps? Or will modern day judges and audiences always see the lighter side of drum corps as something disprespectful to the activity and relegated to DCA or Div II/III? I invite existing judges as well as educated drum corps fans to respond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomR Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 sure, they've just gotta get here first. ~>conner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geluf Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Sure there's a place for it! But the thing is, if you're going to do something in the vein of those great lighter-side corps (VK springs instantly to mind)...you better do it really #### well. I think part of the reason we don't see much of the VK-styled stuff anymore is because it SO hard to pull off well! A lot of people don't appreciate just how difficult a VK show was, it just looked like all fun and games, but the effort required to make it LOOK like that was tremendous! If you let it, a show like that can totally destroy you and any chance of making finals at all. You have to REALLY sell it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScribeToo Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 I'm doing a little marketing research.Is there a place in todays drum corps activity for a competitive, Div I corps like a Bridgemen, Velvet Knights, Impulse styled Drum corps? Or will modern day judges and audiences always see the lighter side of drum corps as something disprespectful to the activity and relegated to DCA or Div II/III? I invite existing judges as well as educated drum corps fans to respond. Being fun has never been adjudicated out of the activity. You can still be fun.. you just have to meet the rest of the criteria first. VK knew that in their heyday of top 12 finishes.. regardless of whatever else happened, they could execute. They came out with SOME of the gimmicks.. but worked on the show and their execution.. and when THAT was good.. they added more of the gimmicks. It turned the tide when the gimmicks came first and execution became secondary (as evidenced by the later version of VK.. as they steadily declined). Bridgemen ALWAYS knew that.. they had the execution down.. and then could afford to have the fun. It can't be the other way around. Stef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Being fun has never been adjudicated out of the activity. You can still be fun.. you just have to meet the rest of the criteria first.VK knew that in their heyday of top 12 finishes.. regardless of whatever else happened, they could execute. They came out with SOME of the gimmicks.. but worked on the show and their execution.. and when THAT was good.. they added more of the gimmicks. It turned the tide when the gimmicks came first and execution became secondary (as evidenced by the later version of VK.. as they steadily declined). Bridgemen ALWAYS knew that.. they had the execution down.. and then could afford to have the fun. It can't be the other way around. Stef I agree that a corps has to have the "execution thing" down and not just be full of gimmicks without a solid drum corps to back it up. But IMO, as much as I still enjoy watching junior corps, I'm not sure that a "fun" junior corps, executing as well as a corps with a "more serious" show, will ever get the nod for the title over the "more serious" corps. It just seems to be that a "fun" show is often derided as "selling out," not being "difficult enough" or ...."serious enough" to be considered a champion. Heck, I've heard people deride "BLAST!" as "selling out" to reach a mass audience. If a high-quality product like "BLAST!" that played to a packed house on Broadway, the greatest stage in the world, (frankly, far greater than any drum corps venue, IMO) is "selling out".... then hey, sign me up. On the flip side, as an example, DCA's Empire Statesmen consistently put a "fun" mass-appeal product on the field, and execute that product at a very high level... IMO, their Ray Charles theme show this year is absolutely outstanding, a highly entertaining product that the "average fan" can enjoy, but also has a lot of content and quality. The Statesmen consistently contend for the DCA championship, and have won several times over the years. Again, I'm not sure a corps like the Empire Statesmen (or the 1980 Bridgemen) could contend in today's DCI. A finalist, yes. A title-winner, no. Again, just my opinion. I hope someday, a "fun" corps proves me wrong. Fran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAV Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Well...I did a "lighter side" of Vanguard back in 99. SCV 1999...the lighter funny weird side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cire Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Impulse is trying to get away from that "genre" and trying to be taken more serious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScribeToo Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 Impulse is trying to get away from that "genre" and trying to be taken more serious You do know the guy who started this post is one of the guys who founded Impulse, right? Stef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rzeilinger Posted June 27, 2006 Author Share Posted June 27, 2006 You do know the guy who started this post is one of the guys who founded Impulse, right?Stef sshhhhh! I can't play hide and seek if you're going to point me out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScribeToo Posted June 27, 2006 Share Posted June 27, 2006 sshhhhh! I can't play hide and seek if you're going to point me out. LOL Ron, if you want to be anonymous, don't use your name as your screen ID!! Stef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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