The Numbers Continue to Fall

[MikeD]

That is simply not true. DCI created an environment which, financially, made it impossible for those organizations to continue with their drum corps programs. Imagine the corps director of the local CYO or VFW telling the orginization that they need a half a million dollars, ( in say, 1974), to compete, when in previous years 20 thousand or less, would have done the job.

DCI was formed by a small number of corps...those at the top of the activity then.

The hundreds of smaller local-style corps that failed during the 70's were not members of DCI.

There are, indeed, many more reasons for the state of drum corps today. I do not think DCI is evil. I think the kids in DCI corps are great. Every bit as great as any generation past. However, DCI created the subculture of Div II and III and those corps simply don't get the respect they deserve and who wants to belong to a group like that? Many do and do a great job, but they are snubbed by the "great ones" that occupy Div I.

In my day, the big corps did the same to the smaller corps as well....far more so than today, IMO.

"In the old days", there were the top corps that kicked ### every weekend, but we were all in the same soup. There were different classes, but almost everyone, if they went to nationals went to compete against the top guns. You knew you were gonna kick your butt kicked, (you hoped you wouldn't), but you wanted to see how well you would do.

The way DCI is set up favors the big budget and DCI running drum corps, (sort of like the UN), the little guys don't really count and so over time the DCI system eliminated those smaller corps or relegated them to diminished status in Div II or III.

This is of course, my opinion, and of course, once again we disagree on the same subject.

There were, as you said, different classes back in the day. So what if some little tiny class 'B' corps could compete in the World Open prelims (for example) against Garfield and Blue Rock.

The death of drum corps is close at hand and I, for one, don't blame the VFW or CYO.

Oh, I don't 'blame' them. I think their pullback was mandated by the societal changes, esp starting in the late 60's through the 70's. IMO it was a foregone concklusion, and it had nothing to do with DCI.

[ScribeToo]

Does not existing qualify as being better off?

I'd have to say, resoundingly, NO. And the reason I say it is because when I see a comment like this, the things that ring in my head are the memories of conversations I've had with kids who refer to "the XX season with X corps as "the Auschwitz Tour" or "Starvation Tour".. and hearing them say, "I'm glad I decided to go somewhere else.. most of the kids I marched with there just quit and never marched again.."

So, no, IMO, merely existing doesn't qualify as being better off.

Stef

[thedrummerr]

I find it interesting that the Pride of Oakland would even be on this list. I live in Oakland, CA., and aside from a small blurb on DCP some time back, nothing has ever been heard from them.

I can assure you Pride of Oakland is an active drum & bugle corps. They did parades and standstills last year, and will be doing more parades later this year.

Thank you for chiming in Brian, much appreciated. Yes PODBC is alive and kicking. We had some challenges with rehearsal locations last year and that hampered our ability to meet/rehearse/etc. But now we have secured a rehearsal location and we're currently fund raising and recruiting to try and make something happen for 2007. Does anyone know where a big paper bag full of money looking for an owner might be? But in all seriousness, we have enough drums and horns to field a corps, our next big hurdles are kids and uniforms.

We're happy to consider anyone wanting to volunteer, please visit the website http://www.prideofoakland.org/About.html for contact information. Our biggest need right now is fund raising; anyone wanting to write grants or organize any sort of fund raising effort is especially desired.

A few members of PODBC will be performing at the swearing in Ceremony for Oakland's new Mayor Ron V. Dellums. The ceremony will be held Monday, January 8, 2007 at the Paramount Theatre so if you're in the area check it out!

Cheers.

[Stick Stack]

Removed for realizing that this is an older thread than I realized.

Edited January 6, 2007 by Stick Stack

[Hup234]

Not sure how you get that...div II/III directors do control a lot of the things that impact them through their own committee.

One difference 35 years ago is that DCI was formed by the top corps...not the smaller less known ones.

And that New Elitism and the resultant Glass Ceiling was the first step towards the now-irreversible (I firmly believe) downward slide that - amazingly - nearly all the remaining participants in the shrunken activity apparently still deny is happening, judging from many of the comments I've read in forums like this one.

Pity that so few from the great Golden Age will even bother to come back here long enough to tell you - but, count the numbers.

(And I don't get how you thought I was referring to only the DII/DIII directors. But, no matter.)

Oh, there'll be a few quasi-pro Super Bands left out there, but the great all-American hobby of D&BC that enriched the lives of so many kids- beginners mostly - is going-going gone forever, thanks to the dark vision of those Combine elitists thirty-five years ago and all that has followed.

If I've touched a nerve with anyone here, and if I can pass along any advice to that person/persons, it's this:

Listen, but think for yourself.

Bye.