G7 (part 1) - background and qualifications

This post is "inside ball." If you follow drum corps intently in the off-season, you don't need more in the headline. If you don't, well, some very recent and public "differences of opinion."

On one side, you have the G7 (aka Blue Devils, Bluecoats, Cadets, Carolina Crown, Cavaliers, Phantom Regiment and Santa Clara Vanguard) position, which you can read at any of their websites; here's a link to one. The position of DCI you can read here; I know the non-G7 have positions that may or may not be official or public.

And ... I guess I have one as well. And ... it is mine alone. But I first need to get out some background and caveats.

I have a deep personal tie to 2 of the G7. I was there in 1990 right at the start of Carolina Crown (though not the original organization, the Charlotte Drum Corps Association). I served in a number of volunteer capacities both in working (occasional driver, show announcer, NightBEAT committee) and in board leadership (Treasurer, VP, President) positions. I have not been deeply involved for about 10 years or so, however; health, family and relocation took my focus. Officially, I am on the advisory board, which is - of course - a very unofficial role.

This corps is close to my heart. I remember early struggles to get into shows, to raise money, to be judicious in our spending, but most of all to judge success on two planes: (1) Did the kids have a good experience?, and (2) Can we - and what can we do to - offer the same or better experience next year? I had the honor of putting the feelings of the leadership into the mission statement. You see it everywhere in the organization. It, and the two items above, are the secret sauce to its success over the years.

The other corps is the Cadets. During the YEA! corps years I served as the Carolina Crown representative to the board. I have kept my relationship with them through the USSBA, where I have volunteered and served as an announcer. I was an early believer in the YEA! corps concept, and believe that it could have been successful if we had been able to maintain our board's focus on non-instructional/creative areas.

For a brief time I also served on the Marketing Committee of DCI, and have long maintained an interest in innovations designed to improve the educational and performance value for the kids, and bring people into the stands. Some may say the evolution of the former has led to the decline of the latter ... I'll get to that.

Now, outside of the G7, I have a son who has a place in a fast rising corps, the Blue Stars. I would never let one of my kids go to any corps that I did not believe had a strong program and infrastructure. In fact, I encouraged him to take a position with that corps over another, even if it is an alternate position right now.

In summary, as background, I believe in Carolina Crown, in the Cadets and their scholastic band program USSBA, and I believe in the Blue Stars. I believe that marching music has an impact on people's lives.

In one of the next posts (probably closer to when everyone meets in the board room and on the competitive field in Minneapolis), I'll give some thoughts.

A tale of three cities

MP is in a drum corps this summer. He went to camps with three world class, top 12 corps, before finding a home with one of them (although, as an alternate, he has work to do to get a spot on the field this summer).

If you know us, then you know two of the organizations, both with clearly articulated missions about building young people. Those camps were interesting ... and intense for a young man. Yet while the educational value was high, I found interesting the comments he made about one or the other.

"I like it here," he noted on one of them. "The people are friendlier." Interesting, because you don't always associate friendliness with the corps. Both corps are intense, and fairly focused on winning, although there was one in particular that was giving some skills in goal setting and planning that many adults need to hear.

But the corps where he settled he found friendliness, intensity, a desire to win and improve, and a place where the feedback on making him a better player and marcher was delivered effectively. And I found not a mission - although they have one - but a motto that is an even better shorthand for what he can carry all his life.

And so, this summer, he will end the year in the city above. Which is, coincidentally, where he will start the summer. In between, I hope it is an experience he'll learn from.

Welcome to the Blue Stars. And remember FCO, son. FCO.

We don't need no (music) education

While walking a beach one time, I overheard two locals commenting on the vacation crowd. "If it's tourist season, can we shoot them?" Well, lately it's budget season, and right in the target is music education.

Like it always seems to be.

I recalled (with the help of IMDB) a few lines from the film "Mr. Holland's Opus", starting with this exchange in the office:

Vice Principal Wolters: "I care about these kids just as much as you do. And if I'm forced to choose between Mozart and reading and writing and long division, I choose long division.

Mr. Holland: "Well, I guess you can cut the arts as much as you want, Gene. Sooner or later, these kids aren't going to have anything to read or write about."

... which lead to this testimony before the school board ...

Mr. Holland: "The day they cut the football budget in this state, that will be the end of Western Civilization as we know it!"

Now, here is a not so secret observation about the movie: It is 15 years old, the same age as our freshman class! And so, I got to thinking, especially in this time of real budget shortfalls, are we in a position to make the case once again about saving music education, or will this be seen as yet another round of crying wolf?

While I firmly believe in the academic value of music, if "we" are going to preserve scholastic music education, we have to start at the bottom - cultivating the kids from elementary school on up - and we have to be prepared to do it outside of the school budgets, and especially support the kids who can't afford it otherwise.

In other words, we are going to have to find a way of doing things differently. This means new ideas, and change ... and the realization that this is going to be very, very hard, and perhaps painful, too.

Funny, though. It is exactly how athletic programs do it. They cultivate the kids in programs where the coaches volunteer, watch, support, and advise.

My Dad was a coach ... who dabbled in the Baritone, once, I recall (my Mom was the multi-talented musician ... voice, violin, piano, classical tastes!), yet even during his time as a school principal and as a district athletic director he understood the value of music education right up there with the value of athletics. But we can't count on this type of broadmindedness, and so maybe instead of envy at their position, participation, and - yes - budgets, it's time we started learning something from them.

Otherwise, we are going to hit "The Wall".

(A quick side note : While I wrote most of this, the TV was on Cinimax. Will some band out there do "Far and Away"? Such good music ... I still remember Southwind doing it in 1993!)

Vertical - and local - magnets

Recently our superintendent was given an arts education award for his efforts in creating a middle school arts magnet, as well as his leadership in a fine arts education advisory group. I'm torn about this, especially as someone highly involved in the booster program of a highly successful middle school program.

One the one hand, arts magnets give clearly talented kids (like my sister!) a chance to thrive in an arts focused environment. On the other, could this lead to a weakening of school-based arts programs, where they are most needed to engage "ordinary" kids (like I was)?

(Parenthetically, I've only heard of one arts magnet with a marching band, by the way - the Cab Calloway School of the Arts in Delaware. Tarpon Springs HS in Florida also is a music magnet of sorts, but they take a different approach ... one I admire greatly.)

Arts programs in fair economies are often 'target rich environments' when it comes to school budgets; in weak economies even more so. (Education budgets are, in my opinion, an economic "lagging indicator.") Couple this with the fact that far too many arts organizations and other non-profits depend on government grants and allocations rather than their own fundraising initiatives, and I fear too many communities and advocates are going to be exhibiting that deer-in-the-headlights look.

And when it comes to dollars/kid ... marching band programs are in the bulls-eye.

I believe arts magnets serve a purpose, but I believe marching bands do, too. They are the greatest and most visible opportunity to learn through music. But to survive, local music programs need to have a vertical horizon/mission.

Athletic organizations realized this a long time ago. How many high school coaches reach down to the younger students with clinics? How many add to their staff alumni or middle school coaches? From Little League and Pop Warner to MLB and the NFL, growth comes from the bottom up, and so to some degree high levels of support and vertical integration are key.

Music programs - from the connections of college/university clinics and drum corps (and the help they can give in instrument selection and acquisition) down to the elementary school - should take note. This may be a secret sauce in long term success.

Mission Creep: Evolution or Back to the Future?

In my profession of anesthesia services management, we caution physician groups and hospitals alike to beware of "scope creep". This occurs when the demands of a facility and its surgical staff slowly begin to outstrip the staffing or clinical capabilities of the practice. I see a that occurring in many of today's drum corps - their scopes of services are expanding. The question is, do they see the "mission creep" as well?

Back in the days fondly remembered by many of today's oldest fans, corps were run to "keep kids off the streets." They were community based, perhaps church or VFW sponsored, much like this drum corps near where I live. Shows were local, on weekends, and there were national events but not so much a national tour.

Around the time DCI got started, corps became more sophisticated. Sticking somewhat to the original mission, they began to focus on kids who had some music background. As I often said during my time on the board of a fast growing corps entering the Top 12, "We give ordinary kids a chance to do something extraordinary." As missions go, we were teaching life skills to kids who may or may not make music and teaching music their life calling.

Now, even that is changing. DCI reports that nearly 60% of today's college-age corps members (who are 70% of all corps members) study music performance and/or education! In fact, with the tag 'Marching Music's Major League', and a new partnership with MENC, the corps are accelerating in the direction of being marching education supplements via exhibition of excellence, clinics, and training of tomorrow's music educators.

In essence, many DCI corps has clearly moved from "the streets" (basic training, where some corps still focus) to "the kids" (life skills through music, where most corps are now) to "music education enhancement" (where many top tier corps reside). These top corps are certainly exceptional labs to develop tomorrow educators, who we hope in turn will develop more leaders. This is good, seen in the high degree of talent (vs. attitude) based selectivity of the members. But this is also bad, as it makes fundraising hard ... and membership by some who aspire to success in a field other than music difficult as well.

Now, entering a time when school budgets are under extreme scrutiny and the arts and music are again a potential target for cuts, what are drum corps to do? Continue on the same path, which some see as a natural evolution and others as a departure from the "true" purpose of drum corps? Go back to what they once were, or something in between? Is there room in "the activity", or even the competitive arena, for three tiers of drum corps (four if you count the "recreational' corps such as those who are in DCA)?

Theory or fact, evolution implies getting better, stronger, faster, smarter. Regardless if whether the changes to come are better, stronger, faster, or smarter, the changes will continue to come (and come fast).

And the changes are going to be interesting indeed.

Six Words

Earlier this week USA Today columnist Craig Wilson wrote on the book "Not Quite What I Was Planning", where celebrities and others were asked to summarize their life in six words. Some examples:

... "I wrote it all down somewhere." - Ben Greenman
... "I colored outside the lines." - Jacob Thomas
... "Many risky mistakes, very few regrets." - Richard Schendl

What would we write if asked to summarize our band experience in six words? Hmmm. I guess I would say this:

I should have found a way.

What would you say?

Letter from - and to - Home

I've been some hard thinking about organizations over the last week. I'm drafting a post now, but I had to put this up today. The title is from the middle piece of the Cadets 1991 show. That song gets me all emotional, sometimes nearly making me cry. (Friends tell me they cried throughout the entire show, but I think it was for different reasons!)

After I had been blogging a bit, I came across a book called "The Last Lecture" by a computer science professor named Randy Pausch. Don't be deceived - the title may sound depressing, but the book is really upbeat! When Randy found out he had pancreatic cancer, he re-focused his life, moved his family, geared up for the fight, but still found time to return to Carnegie Mellon University to give the traditional last lecture, the original source of the book.

If you don't know about it, stop reading after this paragraph and come back later ... after you take about 75 minutes to view this video.

----- ----- -----

This morning I will climb on an airplane for a quick trip to the Big Easy. I fully expect Southwest Airlines to bring me home tonight, so I'm not about to get weepy. But I do need to say, to my family at home (and not at home) ... I am on the plane today to do something I do pretty well with the hope of being able to help you pursue your dreams.

Family is so, so important. It's all that's left where there is nothing but Bones (right, Crossmen and Alumni?). When things are turbulent in your life, as this last week was for me, family keeps you going.

This is a mid-season thank you drum corps families, too, for what you are doing for your kids. I would talk about it during my time with Carolina Crown, but I haven't lived the experience of turning your kids over to a group for 2-3 months (3 weeks was about it for us!) and holding your breath every night as they move about the country. And you paid for the privilege!

And this is a pre-season thank you band families. Our band director has this right: this is the last 4 years you get to spend with your kid. These are neat years in their growth and development, so you better make it count, because you will never, ever, get it that time back.

I was thinking about the irony here. How often has music been a generational divisor at home? "Turn that down!" "How can you listen to that junk?!"

But then there is band and drum corps. This is the music that brings generations together. And that just just way too cool ...

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Randy Pausch died late last week. He didn't get to see his kids achieve their childhood dreams. But he definitely laid the groundwork for that. I'm going to keep trying to do that myself. Maybe you should do so, too.

Drum corps season is here!

“For those who understand, no explanation is necessary. For those who don’t understand, no explanation is possible.”

It is starting now in Toledo - and in 1/2 hour in Rockford! From time to time I have shared with a small circle of friends a review of the drum corps shows (performance, venues, audiences!) I attend. So now I go public with my musings - but mostly from afar until I can see with my own ears what is on the field on July 12 (maybe) or July 25 (for sure!). Stay tuned!

Loss

In Blast!, there is a beautiful piece named Loss that captures for me the emotions felt when you remember someone (or even some experience) you treasured but no longer have. As I dug through my programs related to the last post, I stumbled across one for a show* that I remember clearly.

It was wickedly hot, but I still drove down to that little town and sat in the stand and took away memories. This show in particular I remember this because of the lowest score I've ever seen (by a small corps judged on a big scoresheet), the corps I could have been on the field with (and my best friend was), pews on the field, and a (perceptively) first class tractor trailer.

All the corps from that night are gone now, but I have not forgotten. It is a loss. Drum corps season must be near again, because memories are flooding back.

* Battle of the Bugles
Tuesday, July 19, 1983, 7:30 p.m.
Yellow Jacket Stadium, Cleburne, TX
Argonne Rebels, Great Bend, KS - 13.50
NightHawks, Houston, TX - 29.10
Black Knights, St. Louis, MO - 35.70
Memphis (TN) Blues Brass Band - 41.50
The Pride of Cincinnati (OH) - 41.60
Sky Ryders, Hutchinson, KS - 60.20

Marching Music's Major League - a video critique

Yesterday Drum Corps International released a new promotional video. If you haven't seen it, click on the logo below. Go on. I'll wait!

Look, it's so very hard for me to be critical of any effort to spread the word about drum corps. But as a former DCI Marketing Committee member, a former president of a drum corps' board (and former member of a world champion corps' board) and someone who has helped promote shows, I guess I can comment on this as someone who is more than a fan.

DCI says, "The spot is designed to inform prospective fans, sponsors and members of the media about DCI’s far-reaching artistic, educational and organizational influence as it continues to emerge as an international brand of highly-skilled musicians and performers."

I say ... This doesn't do it.

For the person who is a casual or curious fan, who wants to know what drum corps is before spending bucks on tickets, we are a media, sponsorship, website ... the kids? Where do they come from? How old are they? Where are the corps from? What are their styles? What can I expect to see? to hear?

For the media, read above. Does this really tell what drum corps is? No. It doesn't help me write a feature story about the corps coming to my town (because as a show promoter, that is the ticket-selling PR we want, not a post-show write up!).

This video is targeted at the corporate types who have marketing and sponsorship dollars to spend. Dollars we covet. And that's not bad. But the video is far from informational, or even "promotional". It is all about business development.

Now, that is okay, but here are some problems that came to mind.

What the heck is "Marching Music's Major League"? Why isn't that logo (used above) used throughout, complete with color? Color is cheap when you are using digital images; it only gets expensive when you start to use ink. (And besides, when you see the logo, does anyone else out there immediately think MLB or NBA, not DCI?) If you are going to have a brand image, for pete's sake, have a brand image!

And the musical score to the video. You would think it would be all about showcasing Marching Music's Major League. But does not. Nope. The only time you hear a drum corps is from about 1:50 to 2:00 in the video - :10 ... 2.5%! ... of the 6:30. And who is it? Not to dis' them, but the 1975 Troopers!

It could have been the 1975 Madison Scouts (champions), or Blue Devils. The video and style is 30+ years old, precisely the image DCI should be trying to NOT portray.

Why can't we use the actual corps' music? (You can get copyright clearance, even for website impressions.) The sound of the brass, the drive of the percussion, the product itself!

Maybe the show promoters can use this as well, but there is a lot in there that is DCI that is not about the local shows. It is the big picture, and only somewhat helpful on the little picture side. Maybe some re-editing for their use would help. But even then, I don't know if it is enough, or if it can be enough ... or even if it should be the intent.

Drum corps is a hard sell. The saying is, "For those who don't understand, no explanation is possible. For those that do, none is necessary." If this is an effort to close the gap, I'm afraid it doesn't succeed.

Our first band ...

There is a lot to say now that I can, but let's start with a band. My high school band was small; micro by Texas standards. The one I saw on Saturday was larger than the one I was in, but it is in the small Group 1 on the Tournament of Bands circuit.

This band took a complicated concert band literature by David R. Holsinger (based on scripture - 2 Samuel 11, 1 Chronicles 20) and made it about the modern war. I have a long memory, so I remember the Cadets doing this music in 1993, before most of the kids doing this show were even born. Whenever a band tries to do music that a corps has done, especially one that won a DCI World Championship with the show, I wonder what the staff was thinking. Why do this to the high school kids, setting them up for constant criticism by failing to achieve what kids 3 to 4 years older dedicated a summer to perfecting?

Sure enough, it started out that way. The first part was a bit too literal for me, like the staff was thinking about how to make the music work on the field from an interpretative standpoint, but gave up.

But when the black scrim came down between the guard and the band, magic began. The sheer scrim with a soldier on one side mirroring the guard member on the other, touching like a reflection on the Vietnam Memorial Wall ... it was a reminder of the sacrifice that others have given, no matter what your opinion is on this current war.

The band placed its uniform helmets on the ground and then moved away, leaving the form where they stood as a silent, graveyard like reminder. The band and the guard were elsewhere on the field, but the image of the space they left was moving me and the audience to near tears. Then came the haunting Taps, as the solider walked away with head high, into the backfield corner.

Oh yes, I remember the scrim and the helmets from other drum corps shows (Suncoast Sound, Phantom Regiment). But this time the unique take in the modern setting just clicked, and I hope everyone was suddenly jolted back to understanding that a real war has real sacrifice.

Thank you, band, for honoring the memory of our fallen soldiers, and reminding me of their sacrifice.


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Marching band is like that for me. The kids moving me to cheers or tears, and making me think. Yes, adults design, but the kids make it happen, and these kids did. Their size was irrelevant - larger bands performed that day but the performances were flat. Maybe since it wasn't under the lights (it was an afternoon show), they weren't into it.

This band was willing to say, "Forget how small we are, because we can perform." I hope through this blog I'll introduce you to - or remind you of - the commitment of performance in band and in life.

No matter what the size of your "band", performance is what matters.* What you get out of it will be what you put into it. If you think you need to be in a big band to "win", then look inside. Small may make you think it is hard, but performance when you are out there exposed makes the achievement so much sweeter.

I got a lot out of my marching band experience. We weren't much - legends in our own mind - that the effort in my last year that resulted in a II rating in the only UIL contest I remember - tops in our class! - the fun of putting a show on the field - that sense of achievement drives me even today.

Well, that and the two biggest lessons I learned from my band director:

1. "Always leave early so if you're late you'll be on time."

2. "I don't care if you have been in this band room since 4 this morning. If you are not in your chair, warmed up, ready to go, when the bell rings, you are late!"


* A shout out to the 1983 Laredo Nixon HS Band, Texas Class 5A champions - the smallest of the finalists that year.