[Beckham]

A couple years ago I was at my local YMCA running on a treadmill with a middle aged looking gentleman on the one next to me. I had my ear buds in blasting various drum corps shows as always. When I stepped off the treadmill and took my ear buds out he asked me if I had just been listening to Carolina Crown 2007. Turns out he had marched in the 27th Lancers back in 70s and his son and daughter both had marched for Crossmen and then The Cadets in the early 2000s. Unfortunately I never ran into him again. It would've been nice to have someone to talk corps with at the gym.

[KeithHall]

Last year I was subbing at this high school and was introduced to the principal. He asked about me and I mentioned that I marched and taugh corps. He said, "I marched too, with the Simplex Minutemen!" I replied, " Hey, we beat you at the NT Open in 1976! You took 3rd and Krescendos took 2nd!" He was the drum major that year. Small world.

[glory]

I’ve shared this before. I’ll do so again because it’s so good.

On my first-ever visit to a Hooters, I barely had taken my chair when the prettiest waitress in the place broke off a chat to speed over to my table. Now, I’m a fair-looking guy. But closing in on 50 at the time, let’s just say it was “unexpected” to see a 21-year-old dream girl jazz-running to get to me. None of the expectations and fantasies that accompanied me in the door prepared me for what came next.

“Do you like drum corps?” she asked.

It’s no knock on my sexuality to admit I was in ecstasy before her eyes blinked twice. Here I was, middle-aged dad me, at Hooters expecting wings and beer and maybe some well-practiced flirtation. What I got was better than I should possibly have expected. I got passion in the form of drum corps through the bright eyes and perfect smile of the prettiest girl I could imagine.

It turns out I was wearing a Carolina Crown shirt that day. It turns out she marched cymbals for Jersey Surf a few years back. She more or less planted herself at my table to the dismay of the other diners – all men. We talked about the shows we liked. We talked about the activity we love. She was enthusiastic and animated. She couldn’t have looked lovelier – and I’m not talking about anatomy. It was one of the best lunches I’ve ever had.

HH

This post has been edited by glory: 10 October 2011 - 08:47 AM

[bluecoats88]

Shortly after I started my new jopb back in Nov 2009 I was at the office a little late waiting for my wife and decided to browse you-tube lot videos. I was watching a Bluecoats drumline video and the guy from two offices comes down and says can you hear that? I said it was me, and I was watching a drumline video. He asked what kind, and when I said drum corps he asked me who it was. I said, you know what drum corps is, and his response was, yeah I marched soprano for Carolina Crown in 1997.

Small world

[Kevin Melkowski]

I've always caught onto this... I go to Mizzou, and when I wear my MBI jacket around, everyone who knows what drum corps is, marches for the colts. In fact I have yet to meet anyone out here who has marched anywhere else, and it's almost to he point I can tell them what their conversation is going to be like. Oh, and for some reason when I go skydiving there's usually someone who knows drum corps, but I never find out, till I get one of my drum corps friends to go skydiving, and they find out.

This post has been edited by Kevin Melkowski: 10 October 2011 - 09:15 AM

[HollywoodNeoCon]

I was at the drum counter in the Guitar Center in Berkeley, CA back in 1992 while on tour with my band. I was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt, which revealed the Blue Devil logo tattoo I have on my left bicep.

I was buying some sticks and a few drum heads, and as I waited for the guy to put my order together, I was banging out some typical corps-style licks on the Xymox pad they had on the counter. A younger guy came up to me, covered in tats, and asked if I'd marched BD. When I told him I had, he said, "Cool! I tried out myself a coupla times, but never made it."

I went on to ask him how old he was and whether or not he thought he'd give it another shot. He said he was only 20, but that he was a little busy with his own band.

Turns out the kid's name was Frankie Wright, aka Tre Cool, drummer for the band Green Day, who went on that summer to make my career look about as successful as the Edsel.

Also met Matthew McDonald (from Mudvayne)a few years later at a clinic we were doing for Pearl somewhere in Delaware. I was wearing a BD t-shirt, and knew who he was, but didn't approach him considering he, too, had established himself as one of the pre-eminent drummers of his time. He ended up walking up to me and complimented my shirt. Turns out he marched Phantom Regiment!

This post has been edited by HollywoodNeoCon: 10 October 2011 - 04:15 PM

[DeanInChicago]

I had just arrived in New York a few weeks ago on Wednesday afternoon, September 21, schlepping two suitcases from Grand Central station to the 47th Street YMCA. I am one of those fools who do not rely on maps nor taxis, and just wanted to start walking. I thought the Y was in the 200 block of West 47th. At the corner of 47th and 5th Avenue, I run into drum corps fan George Hopkins. "Hello Mr Hopkins," I blurted out. He was beaming about the Cadets playing at the U.N. that day. I confessed "I love everything you do. Keep up the great work."

I then continued west past the jewelry stores on 47th, and even a wee bit past Times Square, still schlepping the 2 suitcases. Auugh. I decided to look at a print-out, and realized the Vanderbilt Y was on East 47th Street.

[MotorCityMusician]

I was wearing a WGI group hoodie and was ordering food inside a taco bell. This guy is at the drive thru window and starts yelling to me asking me questions.

[JimF-LowBari]

Mid 1990s I get sent to Unix training at Columbus, OH. As I walk into the training room I hear a familiar voice and see our ex-tymp player in the back row. We say "Hi"... then do a double take as we hadn't seen each other in years and didn't know what the other did for a living.

On the flight home two planes to Pittsburgh get jammed onto one plane. Get told, "just find a seat, it's a short flight". As I follow a mob to find a seat I look down at a guy who was already seated.... Larry Hershman.... then Bluecoats and before my tymp playing buddy and my Business Manager (Westshore). Couldn't stop to talk and he was gone by the time I got off the plane. All we could do was say I as I shuffled past.

[Taylor]

My wife routinely wears her sweatshirt that says CROSSMEN in block letters on the front and it's landed us a couple of interesting encounters.

-Last weekend we were at Seneca Rocks, WV (fun fact: the only rock formation east of Devil's Tower, WY with a summit accessible only by 5th class roped climbing) and all the climbers in the campground are waking up to start their day. A guy that passed us saw the sweatshirt and turned out to have been a Cadet in 2000. He was from San Diego but was in WV to climb with some friends.

-About eight months ago we were walking past the White House in Washington D.C. when a uniformed secret service agent yelled "Crossmen!" at us. It turned out he was a Cadet in 2005 and Crossmen staff in 2007 and he had since gone into the service.