The Drum Corps Activity is Healthier Than Ever!

[JimF-LowBari]

I keep hearing the sentiment from a few people that these other three activities have "replaced" drum corps at the local/regional level.

That's the thought I had in mind when I posted.

Some here have posted that MB led them to join a DC for the "more intense experience". But have seen other posts where friends did not join becaue they were burnt out or "been there, done that, #### it".

[ScribeToo]

Depends if MB, Winter guard and winter drum lines lead young people to also do corps.

Or do young people do these things instead of doing corps.

Sounds like a bit of both from reading the threads and no way of knowing the overall numbers.

So let me ask again, how is 'kids doing MB, WG or WDL instead of corps' any different than kids who once were just in their local corps that never went to nationals and only stuck around and performed regionally? Just because it doesn't have the almighty drum corps name stuck on it doesn't mean it has less potential to fill the void that all these hundreds of lost corps did.

Like I said before, the basic experience can be had in any one of those three regional activities. Why must they be replaced by a "drum corps" in order to validate the experience or make the activity "healthy?"

Drum corps is an expensive and time consuming hobby for the people charged with starting, maintaining and running it. What I don't understand is why there needs to be a thing with a "drum corps" title in the same town doing the same thing as the marching band before it'll be valid and the All-Powerful Drum Corps Activity is considered "healthy."

It's GREAT for the kids when they have a local corps -- one that's regional and doesn't often stray far from home -- but how vastly different is the experience in a regional, non-national-touring drum corps from that to be gained in a regional, non-national-touring marching band?

Not very, I say.

I was one of those kids who -- in the absence of a local enough drum corps -- got a fantastic experience in my HS MB. One I wouldn't trade for the world.. and one, which, when I compare it to my later drum corps marching experience was much more successful in terms of my competitive drive and effort commitment.

Who are any of you to say that because my early marching experience wasn't in a sacred drum corps, it somehow holds less merit or I didn't get the same values I would have gotten had I only marched a junior corps?

You may wish to exist with your blinders on, my friends. I do not.

When MB, WGI and Winter DLs are healthy, vibrant and successful in their communities, it contributes positively to the health of DRUM CORPS. The cross-pollenization of the four activities cannot be denied and if we had lost all those past corps AND there was not a vibrant list of other, similar activities filling that void regionally, THEN we would be in a sad and decrepid state, indeed.

That isn't the case, however.

Stef

[Jeff Ream]

Mike if in my business and I had 45 customers 10 years ago and now had 15 I would be out of business or working by myself again. Losing over half of anything excepts wives is a bad thing.

even that can be bad if you have a decent savings account :P

[Jeff Ream]

I currently march in a division 1 corps, and you couldn't be farther from the truth. I picked up my horn 3 days before the audition camp, after a two year break. I find that a lot of people underestimate themselves when it comes to their ability to march corps...really all it takes is the right attitude, and I get the feeling that most corps will take a kid (or "old-timer" ^0^ ) who has the right attitude over someone who's a jerk/loser but amazing musician any day. B)

I agree, I don't think our opinions are dissenting at all. It would be awesome if more and more kids could experience this drum corps thing we all obsess over. But you know what?....you can't make the horse drink. How many corps out there (senior and junior), especially in division 2/3, don't have a full 135-member corps? Maybe we should focus on strengthening those corps before we try to start new ones.

we should, and D2/3 should do a lot more to promote themselves. DCI could do more too

[Jeff Ream]

Shows I attend have a nice mix of new folks and older fans. I've had nice discussions with vets from St Lucy's 66-69, Garfield 62-66, St Rita's (the two guys started in St Joe's Patrons), Crossmen early 80's... just the few years...and those are just folks who happened to sit around me. In 02 or 03 sat near a lady and her friends who had been fans of "her" Holy Name since the 40's!

Yes, join the Yahoo groups and you will be treated to a gripe session about modern drum corps. I did join and was the decided minority POV...even worse than I am here! :P

If alumni want to walk away, that is their business. They should be, IMO, supporting their corps as it is TODAY, not kvetching about why it is not the way it was 'yesterday', whenever that was for the individual.

IMO most of the posts by the Madison alumni project are perfect examples of how alumni should be supporting their current corps.

in Madisons defense, it seems the field corps is closer to the alumnis views of what corps should be than it is at other places.

but also you have to remember, if alumni are unhappy with the current direction, should they stay and pay knowing they dont like it?

[MikeD]

<WARNING...LONG WINDED>

I think this may have been discussed before...but to a certain extent, aren't the scholastic programs really filling the local/regional void that drum corps used to fill in the summer?

Many kids are now competing in the marching activity during the school year leaving the summer to get jobs for experience and money to go to college.

Yep...that's just what I've been posting for years.

Great post.

[OMello1]

So let me ask again, how is 'kids doing MB, WG or WDL instead of corps' any different than kids who once were just in their local corps that never went to nationals and only stuck around and performed regionally? Just because it doesn't have the almighty drum corps name stuck on it doesn't mean it has less potential to fill the void that all these hundreds of lost corps did.

{edit}

When MB, WGI and Winter DLs are healthy, vibrant and successful in their communities, it contributes positively to the health of DRUM CORPS. The cross-pollenization of the four activities cannot be denied and if we had lost all those past corps AND there was not a vibrant list of other, similar activities filling that void regionally, THEN we would be in a sad and decrepid state, indeed.

That isn't the case, however.

Stef

AMEN SISTER!

M

[mistofflies]

we should, and D2/3 should do a lot more to promote themselves. DCI could do more too

Agreed.

[JimF-LowBari]

So let me ask again, how is 'kids doing MB, WG or WDL instead of corps' any different than kids who once were just in their local corps that never went to nationals and only stuck around and performed regionally? Just because it doesn't have the almighty drum corps name stuck on it doesn't mean it has less potential to fill the void that all these hundreds of lost corps did.

My definition of the DC experience has nothing to do with the "almighty name" being stuck to it. It has to do with the different experience of playing in an all brass and drum organization which has a different sound and requires a different skill set when performing as compared to MB . Being a horn player my difference between the MB/DC experiences is 99.9999% sound and how to achieve it. Again my personal take and not slamming anyone else for their opinion.

Like I said before, the basic experience can be had in any one of those three regional activities. Why must they be replaced by a "drum corps" in order to validate the experience or make the activity "healthy?"

I never said anything about replacing MB, WG or WDL. I don't follow any of them but have no bad feelings toward them.

I was one of those kids who -- in the absence of a local enough drum corps -- got a fantastic experience in my HS MB. One I wouldn't trade for the world.. and one, which, when I compare it to my later drum corps marching experience was much more successful in terms of my competitive drive and effort commitment.

Who are any of you to say that because my early marching experience wasn't in a sacred drum corps, it somehow holds less merit or I didn't get the same values I would have gotten had I only marched a junior corps?

I never insulted anyones MB experience. To imply that I have insulted or downed any person or marching organization for any reason is not true.

When MB, WGI and Winter DLs are healthy, vibrant and successful in their communities, it contributes positively to the health of DRUM CORPS. The cross-pollenization of the four activities cannot be denied and if we had lost all those past corps AND there was not a vibrant list of other, similar activities filling that void regionally, THEN we would be in a sad and decrepid state, indeed.

Yes MB, WG, MDL contribute to corps but are only part of the picture. To say the Durm Corps activity is healthy because the other three are doing good is bad logic IMO. There can be a healthy MB, WG, and MDL without DC even existing.

Edited October 12, 2006 by JimF-xWSMBari

[MikeD]

Mike,

Let’s see if we can agree on something. I believe the paramount factor leading to the demise of (an individual) drum corps is money.

And if you agree, then would you then consider that a possible reason for the increase in popularity of competitive marching bands is the financial head start give to them by high schools? I’m not talking about the big-budget BOA national class programs, but the average, small to medium size town, generic high school band. With at least some, if not much, of the budget for staff, uniforms, music and drill (off-the-shelf charts), instruments, and transportation paid for by the school, you can put a marching band program on the field for (comparatively) reasonable dollars.

This is, admittedly, raw conjecture. I can only guess as to how much the “typical” school district drops into the pot for a marching band. But I’m pretty confident that the director’s teaching salary is augmented by some “extra curricular” stipend, that the larger instruments are paid for, and that school buses are a negligible cost. And the free labor by parents and their fund raising further drops the ante.

Any credibility to this thinking?

No real disagreement there. Corps admins back in the day were some of the greatest people in the world...but many just did not have the business background needed to operate a corps once things got more expensive. Schools have a leg up on that for sure being funded as part of the district's budget.

The influx of corps people into MB...esp starting in the 70's, though there were many earlier as well...led to the explosion of competitive MB circuits around the country. Maybe local drum corps was a victim of it's own success in a way.

The difference we have I think is that IMO it's a good thing to have thousands of bands take the place of hundreds of local corps...as IMO the corps would have gone away in any case.