Hypothetical : the DCI "Goodwill" corps

[CallipygianKing]

true about them being able to change their show and tear up DCA...however, I dont really know why they would want to if the aim of the corps is to be an ambassador to the general public. DCA is just as much a niche organization as DCI and it would not really fit their goals to perform competitively.

thats not to say I wouldnt want to see them compete in DCA, I would love to see a showdown between them an Bucs at championships

i was thinking of this as more of a benefit to the members of this mythical corps. For one, drum corps is a competetive activity, and being marching alumni of DCI corps, these members have had a taste of that competition. As much as the role of goodwill ambassador has its own rewards, getting the hardware is still fun.

For another, it seems to be a good idea for the activity as a whole. Flag down any current DCI marching member and ask then if they have any idea what DCA is and how they function. My corps shared showers with the Blue Stars in Coon Rapids, and I was talking with one of the members in the locker room. He had all sorts of questions, and he was shocked to learn about how we're able to function as just a part-time corps, that after the weekend we'd be going back to "real life" until the next weekend of shows, and that we actually have our own championship. This could open up the members to the fact that there is drum corps after aging out, and this could spur them to join up with the nearest DCA corps after they're done with the goodwill corps. Even after the goodwill tour, they continue to keep the activity growing...

[Michael Boo]

How many "parade corps" are there?

[bawker]

How many "parade corps" are there?

Close to where I was going with this...but the "goodwill" unit would show off the competitive aspects of the activity as well, performing a field show as well.

What I'm trying to do is bring DCI as it is now...sleek, fast-paced, loud... to more people in different places....not necessarily asking for a return to hometown roots (although that could be a nice side effect if people got inspired.)

IF we could get sponsors to write off the debt of horns and drums and get one of the hotels that DCI is in an agreement with to pay for gas and food, the entire thing could be free and a "traveling roadshow" for the smaller places that never see corps...or haven't in a long time.

I'm willing to bet some corporations would be on board for this. :)

[CallipygianKing]

What I'm trying to do is bring DCI as it is now...sleek, fast-paced, loud... to more people in different places....not necessarily asking for a return to hometown roots (although that could be a nice side effect if people got inspired.)

Maybe what DCI needs is some hometown roots to support the sleek, fast-paced, and loud. This goodwill corps can push for both the resurgence of "you can do this, too" and "here's what the big kids do".

One corps to save the activity... (Cue dramatic chord)

[dccorpsfan]

Maybe what DCI needs is some hometown roots to support the sleek, fast-paced, and loud. This goodwill corps can push for both the resurgence of "you can do this, too" and "here's what the big kids do".

One corps to save the activity... (Cue dramatic chord)

[bawker]

This goodwill corps can push for both the resurgence of "you can do this, too" and "here's what the big kids do".

One corps to save the activity... (Cue dramatic chord)

Yes, exactly. :)

OG fans get some classic park n bark tunes, new school band kids get some modern stuff with a few minutes of intense drill, and the activity gets shown off to all sides in the best possible light.

[KingJoeVII]

I think the most exciting possibility is the flexibility this corps can display in the performance venue...Malaguena is great on a football field, but how about indoors on a stage or in the middle of a park? The possibilities for venues are limited only by the physical world.

Maybe the personnel/instrumentation could be flexible too? changing them based on the performance needed...

[quegrawks]

Umm... isn't this what most corps do? I don't understand the need to create a corps to do what other corps are already doing.

Besides, whenever Hoppy or anyone else in DCI tries to make corps more acceptable to the general public by trying to incorporate simple things like you know, stuff high school bands do, people jump all over them saying "You're Destroying the Integrity of Drum Corps! EVIL! BANISHMENT!" and all sorts of mean, nasty things.

PS-- cuz i'll probably get flagged/flamed/bashed: I'm not a Cadets fan. never have been. no offense to any cadets or cadet fans.

Edited July 2, 2007 by quegrawks

[bawker]

Umm... isn't this what most corps do? I don't understand the need to create a corps to do what other corps are already doing.

Not really.

With the multi-month tour, kids are on the road...and the only local action they see is usually July 4th parades where they can make some $$$ to get them on down the road.

Excepting some situations with the Division I corps... there's not a lot of community-centric entertainment that corps can provide during the summer months as they go from stadium to stadium.

Think of it this way...you're a educator in a not so well to do high school. No corps nearby, no big music ed programs to wow anyone nearby.

Then, thanks to DCI sending this unit where drum corps is seen the least, this basically "all star" drum corps shows up, and calls to ask if they can come down your way.

What if this unit came and performed at the town square in the middle of June for folks? Big, loud and free for all to come and check ouy.

What if the kids in the corps spent the day teaching whoever wanted to come about drum corps, how to play a brass instrument, how to sign up for a corps? The educator takes his kids, and gets a free clinic/class out of it. People feel good, excitement spreads. People decide to head to a drum corps show sicne they got a taste of things.

What if there was a pedagogical benefit for the music education majors who were a part of it? College credit?

There are a million ways to work drum corps down to the community level, all of which are nothing but beneficial. :)

[Chris Scott]

So, we talk about how drum corps should be more popular...how we should get more people involved, and how we can market things.

What about a "goodwill" unit?

Whatever happned to the DCI All-Stars?

Though (from my memory) they were limited to parades and holiday shenanigans, wasn't that good primetime (Macy's Day Parade) exposure to the activity?

That's pretty "Goodwill", isn't it?