Triple Forte Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 (edited) Hi all, I want to just throw this out here because I would like to see what you all think. I feel it is fairly obvious that DCI is aggressively going after the High School marching band crowd. We have seen so many events/clinics that are being held each summer at DCI shows for HS band students to attend. These same band members usually get a heavily discounted ticket to attend that evenings show. Also, moving DCI Champs to Indy for many seasons is probably another indication that DCI going after HS band students for its fanbase. My question is this......does DCI actually feel that HS band members have the resources ($$$) to attend the "Big" events ?? Because I have to be honest....I sit in the lower tier on the 50 for DCI East in Allentown and sit in the lower tier on the 50 for DCI qrts, semis and finals and most of the folks sitting around me are not HS age at all. I mean $200.00 for the premo seats isn’t very to easy for anybody to afford...let alone HS aged kids. Sure there are always going to be the diehard drum corps fans that will weather all the upcoming changes to DCI in the coming years and a bunch of band directors but I don't think they could make up the majority of the premo ticket holders. Curious to know what you all think..... Edited March 15, 2007 by Triple Forte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrothgar15 Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 Count me in as someone from the band crowd who was attracted my drum corps. And it wasn't the electronics, or the singing, or the narration. It was the music of the brass and percussion and the visual program that went along with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NR_Ohiobando Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 Actually, I think most high school kids who really like drum corps would be able to shell out enough money to buy seats for some of the bigger events. Granted, they'll probably have to convince their parents and what-not or work some extra hours at McFatty's. And even so, a lot of the smaller competitions are often attended by HS bands on field trips, so it's not like the kids aren't getting any influence by it simply by not going to the larger competitions. My experience in being exposed to drum corps was actually thanks to an online search for music from Disney's "Millenium Celebration" which we were doing for a show my freshman year. I came accross something with "DCI" in it, and ta-da, search/search/search and I was hooked. I didn't get to my first competition until 2 years later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medeabrass Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 The HS kids might not have the $ but I bet most of their parents do :). You've got to get people hooked at some point in life so why not attract a huge segment of our population who appreciates marching and music. Eventually, they'll be old timers with funds. Also, don't forget that they're also advertising to band directors. Many schools will shell out cash for a "field-trip" for the band to see a drum corps show. Instead of selling tickets in 2s or 3s they're going after the "bulk" purchases in this case. I really think this is the intended audience. If they make band directors feel a part of things, the more likely they are to get them to bring the whole band. Recruitment is probably the next big reason for this focus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 The fan base, whether we want to admit it or not, consists mostly of former members of corps, their friends and families (sometimes), the kids who currently march corps, and their friends and families. Is it strange for me to throw out that most of the people I just mentioned have some ties to HS marching bands, especially the performers, their friends, and their parents? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouthpiece1234 Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 Count me in as someone from the band crowd who was attracted my drum corps. And it wasn't the electronics, or the singing, or the narration. It was the music of the brass and percussion and the visual program that went along with it. This is probably because you saw it before these changes. Many of my friends in High School saw what we dcpers deem "controversial" and enjoyed it. The attraction for a high school band kid begins, IMO, by the technical performance and complexity of drill. That's what catches a hook to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prodigal bari Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 (edited) I dont see why they had to do anything else....most HS band students usually go ga-ga over the DC product! I know when I saw it (at 16) I was immediately hooked! I wonder if DCI may be pointing their product toward the pseudo-intellectual...the symphony/broadway/opera going crowd. A lot of the shows...and the atmosphere around them...point more toward that. Very deep, esoteric, intricately-designed shows tend to point more toward that crowd than the hormonally-laden teenage audience (who would be drawn to adrenaline-packed action). And just some emperical evidence...the last two shows I took my students to saw a decline of aproxmiately 60% interest. A large proportion of my kids thought the product (even though incredible) was a bit wierd for their tastes at times. And they were smart kids... Edited March 15, 2007 by prodigal bari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madscout96 Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 Well, reaching out to the HS bando demographic is a no-brainer. No, I don't think they generally have the money to throw down for finals, they're more likely to go to a local show or maybe a regional. The long time fan/alum is the one to support the activity in a bigger way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hrothgar15 Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 (edited) This is probably because you saw it before these changes. Many of my friends in High School saw what we dcpers deem "controversial" and enjoyed it. The attraction for a high school band kid begins, IMO, by the technical performance and complexity of drill. That's what catches a hook to them. Well, I discovered drum corps in 2004 and saw my first show in 2005. From being in marching band, I had already seen the atrocities that were being committed by some bands (including soloists singing, and sometimes, actual English words, to the point where actual sentences of dialogue were included), whose shows we considered as a laughable joke, not to be taken seriously in the least bit. The first show I ever heard was Cadets 2000, which to this day remains my favorite show of all time. I figured that with such energy emanating from the brass and percussion performance, translating directly from the players to the audience, no narration or singing would ever be needed. I gripped on to drum and bugle corps for fear that in the near future, BOA, which I was already a big fan of already, would one day consider spoken dialogue, singing, and electric guitars as standard in every show in the same way as flutes and trumpets were, and that was something that no one could ever pay me money to see. Drum corps, I thought, would remain island of epic, energetic, awe-inspiring, musical and visual masterpieces of shows amidst the BOA cheese and mediocrity of electronics and narration. Sadly, I was wrong. Edited March 15, 2007 by Hrothgar15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 15, 2007 Share Posted March 15, 2007 I dont see why they had to do anything else....most HS band students usually go ga-ga over the DC product! I know when I saw it (at 16) I was immediately hooked!I wonder if DCI may be pointing their product toward the pseudo-intellectual...the symphony/broadway/opera going crowd. A lot of the shows...and the atmosphere around them...point more toward that. Very deep, esoteric, intricately-designed shows tend to point more toward that crowd than the hormonally-laden teenage audience (who would be drawn to adrenaline-packed action). And just some emperical evidence...the last two shows I took my students to saw a decline of aproxmiately 60% interest. A large proportion of my kids thought the product (even though incredible) was a bit wierd for their tastes at times. And they were smart kids... Well, the kids from the band I arrange for love drum corps when we take then, or put on DVD's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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