fff: F&F's top 10 stories of DCI 2008

The stories I've read on-line, and followed, this season in drum corps

It's an Internet posting pile-on that proliferates in politics, in sports, about the entertainment industry; there is no topic on which an online discussion board does not exist. They can be roadside wrecks that you can't not pause and gawk at, and I do, but they can also move some idiomatic topics forward positively. I spent the eight weeks of the 2008 DCI campaign following stories on Drum Corps Planet, and at the end of each week, I pulled together the five that I had returned to, and posted them "countdown-style."

Here are the 10 that became my DCI stories of the year, just as I posted them here, and linked to the originating thread.

THE 10TH STORY IN THE 2008 DCI COUNTDOWN:
Give XMen89 due credit, his idea of drum corps fans carpooling is outstanding! Lest anyone think that DCI fans are fickle, read the full thread, and take heart.

Many within the drum corps community have been concerned about the effect of high cost of transportation fuels (gasoline, diesel and jet fuel) on the activity. While most attention has been paid to the cost of touring for the corps, fans are also feeling the pain at the pump and this may have an effect on ticket sales.

"In many urban areas, ridesharing has been an effective response to rising commuting and travel costs. Numerous websites have been established to facilitate the connection between those seeking to share rides.
    "Would a drum corps rideshare system be useful? Perhaps using a website, drum corps fans could create profiles including the basics of where they live, their transportation options, and some information on their drum corps background. For each show of the season, attendees could then sign up for a “ride offered” or “ride wanted”, see who else might be traveling from their area, and get connected.
    "Unlike other rideshare system, we are not complete strangers here (though, perhaps given our passion, we are all a bit strange). Many in the drum corps community are connected by fewer than 6 degrees of separation."

THE 9TH STORY IN THE COUNTDOWN: "When DCI becomes a 10-12 SuperCorps, big venue traveling circus (remember the post-DCI showcase from a few years ago? that was the prelude) DCI will have graduated to product-entertainment as opposed to participation-competition. "Kinda like NASCAR. That's not a contest so much as it is an entertainment showcase."

THE 8TH STORY: A follower really does explain it all. Simply.
"... drum corps show should tell a story. Well, that's cool, and we have seen shows that really have told a story, by using the music, drill, and color guard... The options that are the foundation of a drum corps show."

Trends in drum corps was on many fans' minds this week, so IN THE 7TH STORY IN THE COUNTDOWN, let's see what trends trended upward in their estimation. Electronics, winter guards outside, costuming, drill-writing du four, and lots of foolishness, later, this post may encapsulate it best: "Marching 'Arts' really is the best way to describe the 'activity' now. Marching symphony/wind ensemble/musical theater/opera/ballet/poetry readings as I like to call it.'

In the home stretch; batter's up, with a runner on second. Is there a home run leader near the plate? Or near a computer? Probably. In the 6TH STORY OF THE COUNTDOWN, some love for live blogging during shows. Whether it's the Hattiesburg Hoedown, Jacksonville Juicebar, Charleston Chew, Charlotte Chalet, or even the Spain Park Spitton (made it up, I was at the show), these are the places to be if you are watching DCI | tv online, or just wishing you were there.

On a similar topic, THE 5TH STORY IN THE COUNTDOWN is about my drum corps memories, and yesterday's "live blogging" of the Open Class Semi Finals here at Field&Floor. When drum corps "media" WAS Drum Corps World, I always anxiously awaited the DCI championship issue, to read Michael Boo's now famous "Quarterfinals as they happened" reportage. It was live blogging, delayed only for the purpose of printing and mailing. I could not help but think of Michael all morning yesterday as his drum corps reporting invention has now gone on-line, and live-in-real-time! Salute, sir.

"To Whom It May Concern:" became the 4TH STORY IN THE COUNTDOWN when it seemed, at long last, that at least one on-line poster got it! No whining about the long ago PBS live broadcast of championship night, not even a word of grousing about the vilified ESPN2 telecast of the past few seasons. Instead: reality-based logic, coupled with a request. Almost amazing. I couldn't agree more.
Not that the future of ... is not foreseen every year, but there seems to be some resonance, and some recognition, of the tenuousness of the drum and bugle corps activity in this economy. IN THE COUNTDOWN'S 3RD STORY: Are there scenarios, solutions, plans in place, to pave a future for the business of the industry? (And please, no more yammering about miked soloists next year. Sheesh.) On second thought, I will. Some business acumen, not pedant creative rants, are in order for every single unit as well as for the administering association. Every business is budgeting for 2009 as if the economy will not improve. With a presidential race in the mix, it's the only way to assure an even financial keel for the coming year. So: why ARE WE yammering about miked soloists next year?

THE 2nd STORY IN THE COUNTDOWN: it's not where you start, but where you finish. Why do drum corps fans focus almost exclusively on the season's-end result ... ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE SEASON? Shows are incomplete, performances are timid, and this year, the judges' panel is truncated until after the Fourth of July!

Which leads into THIS SEASON'S NUMBER 1 STORY: "Is drum corps art?" Your choice. Mine: the drum and bugle corps idiom is an art form. The execution of same has always varied. From state-of-the, to artless; from the beginning of drum corps time to this weekend's San Antonio exhibition; it's art and it's not. All depends on the eye of the beholder.