So..... after another year of DCI activity and some SDCA and alumni corps stuff, where do we think drum corps activity should go?

Here are some choices for comment:

1. Continue to focus ONLY on DCI
2. Develop a community based corps activity, including ALL AGE corps when appropriate, to allow local people to participate without DCI touring.
3. Expand alumni corps activity
4. Others?

I think you are going to see aincrease in the popularity as the members of the late 70's and early 80's are starting to have children come of age and enter the Drum Corps arena. But It won't be long before DCI merges completely with BOA and the traditional Drum Corps will be a thing of the past (if it isn't already). I think the SDCA has an opportunity to bring back the local shows and maybe, bring the activity back to everyone and not just college students. I think it is great to see corps that of the highest quality but I am tired of trying to explain to students, who love drum corps as much as we did, the chances of them being able to live the expeirience mis very minimal. My two sons marched with Racine Scouts in 2001 and if you were to ask them , they would tell you that it was the best summer of their lives. This prompted me to write the piece "The Memories Remain the Same" which was posted here and in published in DCW. We lost our oldest boy to cancer shortly after that and To this day, I can't thank Paul Chaffey for giving the boys the same experience I had when I was a growing up. Most who know me know that I didn't have much of a family life. I grew up in foster homes and moved around a lot (I went to 24 different schools. 11 elementery and 13 High Schools) It was difficult to remain in the same corps for a full season. But every where I went I was accepted and treated like family so I truly think of Drum Corps as my family. That is what I hope to accomplish through KnightFire. A traditional Drum and Bugle Corps where no one is turned away for lack of ability or experience or the inability to pay. At one time drum corps was the only place where No Child was Left Behind and then it became an exclusive club that only the most talented and the wealthy can join. I hope that through the SDCA, we can bring back some of the drum corps that we relive here on this billboard.

What did you do in the Corps? Percussion

What years were you a Corps member? 1982-83

I wish you all the luck in the world. Have you been contacted by anyone in DCI? My guess is if the association continues to grow, they will try to bring you under their "protective" wing, as they did with DCM and the other regional associations (which, of course, all disappeared). And while we'd like to think the good things drum corps did can be brought back, as an educator I'm not too sure. High school bands fill that void pretty good right now, with lowered requirements and raised performance abilities compared to years past. And those really talented, driven kids will still want to move on to the DCI corps. I wonder if there are enough kids out there who want the type of drum corps experience we all remember. Not only is it not the same drum corps, these aren't the same kids either. There was no internet or video games "back in the day."

As much as I'd like to see a return, I'm not convinced it can happen in today's world in general, let alone today's DCI. As Paul McCartney once replied when asked about the Beatles getting back together, "You can't reheat a souffle."

What did you do in the Corps? Snare; Drum Major; Drum Instructor/Arrnager

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79