San Antonio Crossmen

[MikeM]

Actually, that would be a nighmare! :)

Says you! :P

Acoustic is the way to go, IMO. I can almost tolerate the amped pits, but the vocals have GOT to go.

[MikeD]

3 from Philly to DC? maybe in traffic

Having done the drive many times with my daughter going to college in the south...when is there NOT traffic in thaat area! :P

[jwillis35]

DCI killed the neighborhood corps and now thousands of kids will never know the comaraderie and fun of "growing up" with their neighborhood friends and competing in local contests. The pity is we can't go back to a simpler time when it was just a bunch of local kids putting their whole hearts and souls into THEIR corps to beat the guys from the next town and win the local championship.

It makes me sad to know the kid down the street, that has a hard time staying in step, but has a big heart and tries his/her best has no place to go anymore. The Crossmen move is more symbolic of what we have let our activity become by letting outside parties run the show and make the important local decisions. They put the show before the kids and that is backwards and that is DCI.

I also think this is off base. DCI did not kill the neighborhood corps, public music education did. The free education of all in this country in the form of public music education (or at least with most schools) has taken the need for small, neighborhood corps and replaced that with local marching bands and all kinds of state-sponsored, local, and regional band competition circuits. You make it sound like there are all these poor kids today who don't have any opportunity to learn music or to march, but in most cases this is not true. And in the few cases where there is no music education, or where programs are simply too poorly funded, you will find that drum corps is not exactly what those kids want, even if one existed.

Drum corps and its role as civil servant died many, many years ago. And with some rare exceptions, most corps today are for kids who already have music experience and who are looking to add a more specialized experience to their resume. The directors who formed DCI saw this coming a mile away. Public music education and the school marching band is like the General Motors of the industry. It has a few really great products (and I do drive GM), but on the whole it makes a ton of cars for the masses, and it's one of the largest companies in the world. It's purpose is different from Mercedes Benz or Mazerati. This is public music education. For the most part, it exists everywhere. It's purpose is more comprehensive, and its mission is to give kids a chance to learn all types of music through marching band, concert band, wind ensemble, jazz ensemble, solo and ensemble contest, choir, orchestra, show choir, and much more. Public education should not focus on any one thing, but offer all in good bunches to elevate a students' awareness, their ability, their cultural understanding, and their enjoyment of the music itself. It is their job to deal with the poor kid down the street (as you put it), it is not DCI's job to take kids off the street anymore. If it happens, wonderful, and those exceptions can be thrilling and amazing for those kids, but that is not the mission of the organization--it can't be. DCI and its corps must serve those who look for the experience, they must recruit those who don't know about the experience, and they must advertise as well as they can about what this experience can hold for young people. But in the long run, the kids choose us. They do not come to us because they just happen to live in our school district, or because their parents want them to learn an instrument. Most parents who desire this will first go to their local school music program. That's just how it works today. In order for DCI to stay alive today it had to change, and will have to change even more.

[Martybucs]

See? You're only talking here about Cadets and Crossmen. There are many other corps in the area, but they don't matter when it comes to DCI. It's all about ranking and who can get the best talent regardless of where they come from.

Who sells the most T-shirts? We sold candy and stuff door to door in our neighborhoods because it was our corps and our support came from our area. I know those days are gone forever. I just wish they weren't. (I also know it's not safe to do door to door anymore)

I think the whole thing started when the VFW let Boston take that darn glockenspeil on the field! (I'm kidding)

DCI accomplished what they set out to do and that has to be OK. They just left a trail of drum corps destruction in their wake.

[Martybucs]

I also think this is off base. DCI did not kill the neighborhood corps, public music education did. The free education of all in this country in the form of public music education (or at least with most schools) has taken the need for small, neighborhood corps and replaced that with local marching bands and all kinds of state-sponsored, local, and regional band competition circuits. You make it sound like there are all these poor kids today who don't have any opportunity to learn music or to march, but in most cases this is not true. And in the few cases where there is no music education, or where programs are simply too poorly funded, you will find that drum corps is not exactly what those kids want, even if one existed.

Drum corps and its role as civil servant died many, many years ago. And with some rare exceptions, most corps today are for kids who already have music experience and who are looking to add a more specialized experience to their resume. The directors who formed DCI saw this coming a mile away. Public music education and the school marching band is like the General Motors of the industry. It has a few really great products (and I do drive GM), but on the whole it makes a ton of cars for the masses, and it's one of the largest companies in the world. It's purpose is different from Mercedes Benz or Mazerati. This is public music education. For the most part, it exists everywhere. It's purpose is more comprehensive, and its mission is to give kids a chance to learn all types of music through marching band, concert band, wind ensemble, jazz ensemble, solo and ensemble contest, choir, orchestra, show choir, and much more. Public education should not focus on any one thing, but offer all in good bunches to elevate a students' awareness, their ability, their cultural understanding, and their enjoyment of the music itself. It is their job to deal with the poor kid down the street (as you put it), it is not DCI's job to take kids off the street anymore. If it happens, wonderful, and those exceptions can be thrilling and amazing for those kids, but that is not the mission of the organization--it can't be. DCI and its corps must serve those who look for the experience, they must recruit those who don't know about the experience, and they must advertise as well as they can about what this experience can hold for young people. But in the long run, the kids choose us. They do not come to us because they just happen to live in our school district, or because their parents want them to learn an instrument. Most parents who desire this will first go to their local school music program. That's just how it works today. In order for DCI to stay alive today it had to change, and will have to change even more.

It's not off base really, but I see your point. I'm comparing it to what drum corps used to be. I started in drum corps and when I got to high school my band director said I would have to quit the drum corps to march in the band. I did not. This was a time when "BAND" was almost a curse word if you were in a corps.

There is virtually no difference between what a drum corps is and what a band is today. Back in the day, they were completely different and corps was something kids could choose to do that was different from being in a band. I think it is a shame that local corps no longer exist to get some of the kids off the street. I feel this way everytime I go to the mall and see the kids wasting their time there on video games and just hanging out. Old style drum corps was something for the kids to do in the summer months when there was no school.

Believe me, drum corps was never about music education. It was about being an activity for the kids, as I've said, like little league. I'm beating a dead horse here, I know. Those days are gone.

[Jami]

Not to mention the unsubstantiated rumors and speculation that seem to bring a screeching halt to many other topics.

Easy - because we as moderators aren't mind readers when it comes to every single post on this forum.

If you really feel a particular post is a problem, hit the report button. Then we'll be glad to take a look.

[kac]

4. Right now the folks in Texas are all pumped. What happens when the reality of managing an operation such as this takes hold from a logistic and financial standpoint? When you read between the lines of the release it is clear that YEA's intent is to step away 2 years from now.

What happens if the corps is not financially solvent at that point? Nothing has been publicized about a fall back plan should this move not work. Is there one? Or do the Crossmen just fold?

Assorted other questions...

Did DCI have any hand in this decision?

Will they advise as they have done with other Div. I corps experiencing difficulty?

Did YEA even ask DCI for help?

Who "owns" the Crossmen? YEA? The Crossmen Alumni Association? RRHS?

If the Texas move fails, will another organization be able to bring the Crossmen back?

Are you asking about who owns the name "Crossmen" specifically or the D-1 touring rights or the whole package??

You have listed some of the questions that I have about this sale also.

When exactly does the sale transaction go through? Now or in two years?

Who pays the bills/files the tax forms between now and then? Is the corps being financed by Mr. Millionaire, with YEA filing the taxes for this next year? Or is YEA still carrying the corps on their budget/funds for '07?

Who has voting rights at the director meetings? Does Hop have 2 votes since they are still part of YEA or does the new director have one?

And after this next season if the RR people decide they are in over their heads and they want to back out, what happens to the sale?

Again, until we hear something from the new director, I'm standing firm in the "cautiously optimistic" category with my viewpoint.

[MikeD]

I think the whole thing started when the VFW let Boston take that darn glockenspeil on the field! (I'm kidding)

Actually, if you attended 69 VFW Nats in Philly they did NOT let BAC carry the bells and ruined a magnificent percussion book in the process.

B)

[MikeD]

It's not off base really, but I see your point. I'm comparing it to what drum corps used to be. I started in drum corps and when I got to high school my band director said I would have to quit the drum corps to march in the band. I did not. This was a time when "BAND" was almost a curse word if you were in a corps.

My HS band was horrible. I marched in it in 68, 69, 70...while in drum corps. A whole new world for MB opened up as corps alums majored in music and took the drum corps style to their bands as teachers.

It was good for band...and good for corps as well.

There is virtually no difference between what a drum corps is and what a band is today. Back in the day, they were completely different and corps was something kids could choose to do that was different from being in a band. I think it is a shame that local corps no longer exist to get some of the kids off the street. I feel this way everytime I go to the mall and see the kids wasting their time there on video games and just hanging out. Old style drum corps was something for the kids to do in the summer months when there was no school.

The hundred of local corps died out for reasons that had NOTHING to do with DCI.

Today, between drum corps and HS marching band, more kids march and compete than EVER did...there are thousands of bands nationwide that compete each fall...taking the place of those small corps that used to exist in the hundreds.

The inner city corps that 'took kids off the street' was dying before DCI came along, or was in it's initial few years.

Believe me, drum corps was never about music education. It was about being an activity for the kids, as I've said, like little league. I'm beating a dead horse here, I know. Those days are gone.

Lots of stuff from 'in the day' is long gone.

Replaced by new stuff.

Mike, marched 64-72

[LSU GRAD 82]

I have to wonder what kind of impact this might have on Revolution. I can see this potentially hurting their membership. Texas is a huge state. Too bad they could not have picked another city that didn't already have a corps.

It might hurt all of the other Texas DCA corps to a degree. Dallas has Pioneer. Houston has Gulf Coast Sound and a large Cavalier contingent. There is another small DCA corps in Seguin. ( just east of San Antonio ) If you were age 13-21, would you want to march in a small 50 member DCA corps if you had a chance to march in a top 12 Div.1 corps just a few hours away?