If you’ve been to a drum corps or marching band competition, you’ve heard the grumblings of the audience members. Everyone has an opinion on who should have won. Now those voices can be heard by using VolcanoScore, a system that allows audience members to vote or give scores for individual groups by sending text messages from their cell phones.
“VolcanoScore does all the work to add it up and average,” says Dr. Phil Marshall, CEO of VolcanoScore and executive director of the Oregon Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps. “It just gives the show one more element of excitement with audience participation. Of course it doesn’t replace judges’ scoring, but it complements it very well.”
This summer VolcanoScore was used at the Drums of Fire show in Eugene, Ore., and the Drums Along the Waterfront show in Buffalo, N.Y. VolcanoScore trophies were awarded to Santa Clara Vanguard and Bluecoats, respectively.
Marshall is currently in talks to expand VolcanoScore to more events. “We’ve begun negotiations for 2010 with people from across the spectrum,” Marshall says. “We think that this audience-scoring system can be used by all marching music activities from drum corps to marching band to winter guard and indoor drum line.”
For more information, visit www.volcanoscore.com.
