madscout96 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Untrue if DCI decides the definition includes WW, etc for it's corps. What do you mean, drum corps is whatever DCI says it is? DCI isn't the lord god king of all drum corps! It may be the most well known, but there are other circuits (believe it or not, there still are). That's like saying football is whatever the NFL says it is. Well guess what? There are billions of people around the world that say football uses a round ball, not oblong, and they don't touch it with their hands, and they don't wear helmets! And so, the sport that we play (and watch) here in the USA that we call "football", the rest of the world has to call it "American football", because it's truly not what THEY believe to be "football"! I was there and I don't believe that was the title of the presentation, though I don't remember what the title was nor if it even had a title. His whole point was that we need to be aware of how we present ourselves to the world at large in order for others to realize that we're special and unique. "Drum corps is marching band" was a "slide" in the PowerPoint presentation, preceeded by his statement of something on the order of "right now, if you were to ask most peope what is drum corps..." The context was totally missing when "Hopkins says drum corps is marching band" got emblazoned on the front page of the paper due to a reporter not supplying the prefixed context to the slide.Did George present a PowerPoint "slide" that stated "Drum corps is marching band"? Yes. Does the elimination of the context of what came right before it change the meaning? Yes. Perhaps there are lots of people on either extreme side of the Hopkins loving/hating spectrum that misunderstood that. You hear that MikeD? Even Hopkins himself didn't say "drum corps is marching band" they way you do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 What do you mean, drum corps is whatever DCI says it is? DCI isn't the lord god king of all drum corps! It may be the most well known, but there are other circuits (believe it or not, there still are). That's like saying football is whatever the NFL says it is. Well guess what? There are billions of people around the world that say football uses a round ball, not oblong, and they don't touch it with their hands, and they don't wear helmets! And so, the sport that we play (and watch) here in the USA that we call "football", the rest of the world has to call it "American football", because it's truly not what THEY believe to be "football"! Did you read what I wrote.... Untrue if DCI decides the definition includes WW, etc for it's corps. Perhaps there are lots of people on either extreme side of the Hopkins loving/hating spectrum that misunderstood that. You hear that MikeD? Even Hopkins himself didn't say "drum corps is marching band" they way you do! And the point of that is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madscout96 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Untrue if DCI decides the definition includes WW, etc for it's corps. Ah I see. Did you mean "its"? "It's" is short for "it is". And the point of that is? I was just wondering if you were aware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donnebrook Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Exactly. In fact, let's use a certain college band in the southeast with 300+ winds, at least half or more being brass. That ensemble playing at a fortissimo still is not louder than even the smallest div. 1 hornlines. Point being, it's a bad idea, not to mention sections would be dirty as hell. I saw the Boston Crusaders in the late 70's rock the house with a 25 man hornline. They were regularly beating corps twice their size and the crowds loved them. Corps don't need to be bigger, they need to be better and there needs to be more of them. Increasing the limit doesn't make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Boo Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 I saw the Boston Crusaders in the late 70's rock the house with a 25 man hornline. They were regularly beating corps twice their size and the crowds loved them. Corps don't need to be bigger, they need to be better and there needs to be more of them. Increasing the limit doesn't make sense. Ond year they made DCI Membership (I think it was called Associated back then) with 19 horns. It was either 1979 (19th place) or 1980 (25th place...still good enough for the cut-off), because I remember them closing with "Time for a Change" and leaving the field (before the "Conquest" re-entry) in a tight ball, which served to remind all just how small they really were. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 Ah I see. Did you mean "its"? "It's" is short for "it is". Yes, made a grmmar error...but you get the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elphaba01 Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 I was there and I don't believe that was the title of the presentation, though I don't remember what the title was nor if it even had a title. His whole point was that we need to be aware of how we present ourselves to the world at large in order for others to realize that we're special and unique. "Drum corps is marching band" was a "slide" in the PowerPoint presentation, preceeded by his statement of something on the order of "right now, if you were to ask most peope what is drum corps..." The context was totally missing when "Hopkins says drum corps is marching band" got emblazoned on the front page of the paper due to a reporter not supplying the prefixed context to the slide.Did George present a PowerPoint "slide" that stated "Drum corps is marching band"? Yes. Does the elimination of the context of what came right before it change the meaning? Yes. "Drum Corps is Marching Band": In a letter to Masters of the Marching Arts magazine, George Hopkins stated that he wants to "Make Drum Corps the best MARCHING BAND in the world". When I find that issue, I'll post chapter & verse, Elphaba WWW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrumCorpsFan27 Posted January 11, 2007 Share Posted January 11, 2007 I saw the Boston Crusaders in the late 70's rock the house with a 25 man hornline. They were regularly beating corps twice their size and the crowds loved them. Corps don't need to be bigger, they need to be better and there needs to be more of them. Increasing the limit doesn't make sense. Their mantra was "quality, not quantity." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob984 Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 One thing I do understand about this (although I am sure many don't) is some simple math.....If you have a full corps, and only members ride the buses, you go with at least 15 empty seats, as most buses have between 50-58 seats. The bus costs the same to get down the road if it has 2 people on or if it is full. Transportation costs for a corps are quite high. Also, the staff is paid the same if the corps has 90 members or 135....the instructional costs will not increase for a handful more members. The only increase in costs will be for additional instruments/uniforms, and a mild increase in food. However, a corps can actually slightly LOWER the per person cost for the corps due to the increased revenue from those members without actually increasing the overall cost that much. I have a school group that is more than one bus but less than 2.....I try as hard as I can to fill my trips with chaperones, family members, community people...in order to hold back the per person cost for my membership. More kids will get a chance to march, and that's a good thing. GB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marimbaman89 Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 (I posted this in another thread as well, but I think I'll put it in this one:) I still don't like the 150 member thing even if you don't see the loss of members from smaller corps. Obviously the smaller Div I corps are not going to be positively affected by this rule change because they can't get 135 anyway. The arguement for raising the limit is that corps need to fill up the buses, but honestly what top corps really needs the extra money anyway? For crying out loud, George Hopkins is the director of a corps that (correct me if I'm wrong) gave scholarships to brass players joining. Do the Cadets really need the money or is there perhaps some other reason for Hopkins proposing this? Even though 150 would create louder hornlines, the proposal is not IMO beneficial to the entire activity. You would see initial membership increase in the activity because of the extra 15 members but I think the extra members would further distance the gap between the top and the bottom of Div I and this would hurt the lower Div I corps. Such a gap in members would make it harder for corps to jump up and succeed and these corps would be more likely to fold after a while due to their uncompetitiveness. I buy into the "supercorps" arguement and I think that you wind up hurting the smaller corps. (Many of you may not agree with my competition arguement and I may be completely wrong, so if you think so feel free to respond). Also, I have a whole theory (but I won't go into it, besides it's late) about Hopkins and why he wants all these proposals passed-I mean come on Hopkins doesn't need more money for the Cadets, and I don't think he wants 15 more members just so he can hear "louder hornlines". Besides, doesn't he want woodwinds in drum corps? Wouldn't that mean less horns? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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