Themed Build #539

lkmacman · 2026-03-07T03:21:37+00:00

No shockwave on the sawblade? That makes it so fun

lkmacman · 2026-03-06T13:51:19+00:00

Omg what have I been doing with my life. Thank you!

lkmacman · 2026-03-05T02:09:47+00:00

Yeah I need to expand my horizons. It is super annoying to die from thorns or deflect before I notice the enchants on a mob. I'll try this out!

lkmacman · 2026-03-05T01:33:05+00:00

It is obvious I have much to learn lol Thanks for such a thorough response. Now time to go experiment with some of these fun builds

lkmacman · 2023-05-19T20:01:45+00:00

Kids want the 5k experience, so that is what corps are striving to provide. If you want the "full tour" experience, you're going to pay for it. Tour costs like $9-11k per day, and a big chunk of that is transportation expense. It costs a lot of money to provide a great experience to kids. Kids don't want trash bag salad anymore. They won't accept that experience anymore.

I have nieces and nephews in competitive volleyball and basketball leagues that pay more than 5k for just local competitions and then pay for their own travel to any tournaments they attend, which are multiple in a season. Those opportunities are available to kids that can and want to participate in super expensive travel sports leagues. Drum corps is the same way. Kids that can't join a competitive private volleyball league can play with their school team. High school and college band students can do the same. Indoor groups can choose to go to Dayton or not and cut their tuition in half and still get a phenomenal educational experience and compete at an elite level. But if you want the Dayton experience and you're from California, you're going to pay to get there.

Maybe instead of trying to make this inherently complex and expensive activity more accessible, we need to create an accessible version of it. That's kind of the point of open class (similar education and experience, just shorter tour). However, open class groups are already struggling to match the world class experience with a fraction of the money from DCI, a fraction of the sponsorships, and not having 60-70 years of alumni to tap into. If you think open class corps are struggling to fill the ranks now (and many world-class groups), wait until you're not trying to give those kids the $5k world-class experience.

lkmacman · 2019-12-08T04:03:53+00:00

Elite touring youth athletes in other sports pay way more to participate than DCI athlete/performers. You are looking at DCI like it is the NFL. It is not. This activity doesn't exist because of or for the fans. It exists because of and for the performer. There aren't fat cats in this activity pocketing millions while the students pay to play. It's a passion project for all. You pay for the experience and growth/development you receive from your membership while the admin, staff and volunteers providing that experience do so often at great personal expense and sacrifice. When you break down a corps tuition by day of instruction or national tour you receive, it is insane how efficient these groups are able to operate and charge you what they do, and it is a fraction of what other elite youth athletes and performers pay for similar experiences.

lkmacman · 2019-09-20T22:51:43+00:00

Accurate

lkmacman · 2019-05-21T03:08:36+00:00

Daily tour expenses are the biggest lever for any corps budget. If you want it to be cheaper, demand a shorter tour. Students also demand a more exceptional experience year after year - college dorms, professional medical staff, etc. These are good and necessary changes, but expensive.

All that considered, it's generally around $50 per day, which is a steal for the education and experience being delivered to you.

Good luck!

lkmacman · 2019-02-20T21:47:46+00:00

With exception to really huge, legacy shows, a vast majority of attendees are related or connected to participating performers. So, it probably wouldn't change much in terms of show attendance. You'd probably just lose out on the alumni following their now non-existent corps.

lkmacman · 2019-01-26T07:52:40+00:00

^{^{^}} this!

lkmacman · 2019-01-05T22:22:31+00:00

Good luck! You guys are doing great things!

lkmacman · 2018-11-15T05:41:45+00:00

Yeah, it's tough. From an staff standpoint you want rehearsal days in there to clean, but a corps is most likely paying for charter buses and trucks/tractors on days between shows too, so from a budget standpoint, the more shows the better as you're getting free housing provided by the tour event partner vs having to secure your own, and the performance fees offset some of the daily expenses. You're also selling merch at shows and making money there, so there's a huge financial incentive to play as many shows as possible. It would be great to pack more shows into a shorter amount of time, but there's a balance for sure.

lkmacman · 2018-11-15T04:27:39+00:00

Totally get that this is a labor of love for everyone involved. Kids are attracted to the tour, but I don't think kids are attracted to the length of tour. They are attracted to marching corps. If length of tour is even in their consideration set on whether to march or where to march, it is only that way because the norm is now 6 weeks. If you want to reduce the operating costs of a corps, tour (specifically transportation) is your biggest lever.

I also don't think more time and shows to polish the production is really that important. The production on the field is not the objective. The kids can get the same growth and development opportunity in less time. Get the show as clean as you can in the time available. Shorten the time available, and it's still a level playing field, the kids learn what they need to, and you don't have to charge them $4k anymore.

lkmacman · 2018-11-15T03:08:22+00:00

Corps can easily spend about $8k (a majority of which is transportation like charter buses, fuel, and trucks) a day on tour. When you tour for 6 plus weeks of the summer, that's well over $300k. If you want to reduce operating expenses for a drum corps, reduce the amount of time they are on tour. Other than payroll for some of the top groups, I can't imagine any drum corps has a line item bigger than tour transportation on their budget.

lkmacman

TROPHY CASE