I feel bad

[brassomaniac]

Question

What can we all do collectively to fix this if it is fixable?

We need more senior corps' ( or All-Age, if you insist) at the local level - doing what the local junior corps did for us years ago:

That is;

creating new interest, fans and participants at the grass roots level

providing an entry level to bring new players to the activity

ideally, at a high performance level - that can bring a "taste" of the "bigger" activity to local parades and events

focused on what can be done WELL, in thier own back yards, rather than fixated on being on the field imminently

I don't believe the juniors are ever going to do it again. The adults need to fill the void.

There are several great examples of these out there already. We need more.

Some of them will become new field corps. Some will grow new members and fans for the rest.

There's no short-cut.

No local seeding and development - no future

Edited June 14, 2007 by brassomaniac

[MBbabe]

I think there is something here we are missing. We talk about how many corps are there in the Northeast and that there were 8 to 10 different corps within a 60 mile are. I do NOT believe that is the problem. What corps are out there in the greater New York area that is a starter corps? A corps that teaches "Drum Corps"? I remember St Joes, Our Lady of Fatima, St Mary's as well as a bunch of other Drum Corps that took kids off the street and taught them how to do Drum Corps. How to play a drum or horn. That I believe is the root of the problem. There has been a major decline in DCI corps. Can anyone name me a division 1 corps left in the new York city area? The Cadets are now in Allentown PA. The Bridgemen are now an alumni corps. What is left to pull from. So now we have to depend on High School and Collage bands for membership. We need to focus on this because the that same faith of the Skyliner awaits all of Drum Corps.

Question

What can we all do collectively to fix this if it is fixable?

I see a way to fix this is to revist our thinking about what drum was.

A great part of the problem is that junior drum corps have evolved into a different animal if you will. It is no longer the C.Y.O. or other organization trying to provide kids an activity that will teach them ("how to do drum corps") and keep them

off the street, but to on activity where you must come to the limited number of groups fully able to hit the ground running.

My husband said that when he was growing up, there were 7 different drum corps within the greater metropolitan area of where he lived. What town can say that any more? I think part of the problem is that is that the focus of why they were successful has changed. Another issue is the lack of available venues to bring their product. If more places to perform were available, I am sure that you would see a resurgence of the activity. There are not the circuits for competition as there were years ago and this hurts the kids. Yes, you may say that DCI has open arms to them, but there are also many restrictions involved such as schedule (travel), review, etc. A final thought is that each organization currently has more chiefs than indians. I know an organization that is trying to get a group up and running that has on its website a staff listing that is almost half as many staff as members. Is it about the adults of the kids? .... and of course everybody has their hand outstretched for those limited funds. Just a few thoughts.

[BigLou]

Your right, how would you (or anyone out there) suggest how to get this started.

I think there is something here we are missing. We talk about how many corps are there in the Northeast and that there were 8 to 10 different corps within a 60 mile are. I do NOT believe that is the problem. What corps are out there in the greater New York area that is a starter corps? A corps that teaches "Drum Corps"? I remember St Joes, Our Lady of Fatima, St Mary's as well as a bunch of other Drum Corps that took kids off the street and taught them how to do Drum Corps. How to play a drum or horn. That I believe is the root of the problem. There has been a major decline in DCI corps. Can anyone name me a division 1 corps left in the new York city area? The Cadets are now in Allentown PA. The Bridgemen are now an alumni corps. What is left to pull from. So now we have to depend on High School and Collage bands for membership. We need to focus on this because the that same faith of the Skyliner awaits all of Drum Corps.

Question

What can we all do collectively to fix this if it is fixable?

I see a way to fix this is to revist our thinking about what drum was.

A great part of the problem is that junior drum corps have evolved into a different animal if you will. It is no longer the C.Y.O. or other organization trying to provide kids an activity that will teach them ("how to do drum corps") and keep them

off the street, but to on activity where you must come to the limited number of groups fully able to hit the ground running.

My husband said that when he was growing up, there were 7 different drum corps within the greater metropolitan area of where he lived. What town can say that any more? I think part of the problem is that is that the focus of why they were successful has changed. Another issue is the lack of available venues to bring their product. If more places to perform were available, I am sure that you would see a resurgence of the activity. There are not the circuits for competition as there were years ago and this hurts the kids. Yes, you may say that DCI has open arms to them, but there are also many restrictions involved such as schedule (travel), review, etc. A final thought is that each organization currently has more chiefs than indians. I know an organization that is trying to get a group up and running that has on its website a staff listing that is almost half as many staff as members. Is it about the adults of the kids? .... and of course everybody has their hand outstretched for those limited funds. Just a few thoughts.