[hope_perc09]

I wasn't exposed to drum corps until my freshman semester of college marching band. My high school was small and in the middle of rural no-where, and the band was easily 6 times smaller than my college band. In college I met a bunch of people who kept talking about this thing I didn't understand. I was looking at music with a senior trumpet player one day, and he asked me if there were any shows I wanted to listen to. I had no idea what he was talking about. He put Phantom's 2003 show on, and I fell in love. I was so hooked, I scoured the internet for the next week to find out that for the first time ever, Finals were going to be in California. I convinced my parents that all I wanted for the forseeable future was to go to Pasadena to watch it. It was even better in person (obviously). Two years and a new instrument later, I was able to march my age-out. It was the best thing I have ever done.

To this day, Harmonic Journey is still my favorite show.

[Rifuarian]

SCV 99. I had followed drum corps starting in 97, but it was this show that really turned me into a hardcore fan. My story is a little different from other posters on this thread in that I never saw SCV 99 live. I caught the PBS broadcast by chance, recorded it, and wore out the tape. It inspired me to march, and while I never did live my dream of marching Vanguard I did find a love that would last a lifetime.

Why? The show was just so different from anything I'd ever seen. The music and drill seemed otherworldly. Vanguard's been my favorite corps ever since . . . they never disappoint!

[BD9]

First show that got me hooked: 05 Blue Devils. The energy at the end was incredible. The whole style of the show and the cleanliness was awesome.

The show that made me want to march... 09 Academy. My first live show, which really I was kind of bugged incessantly to go to by a friend of mine (and his mother, who I kept running into randomly) who was a member that year. The volume of that hornline was incredible. I remember turning to another friend sitting next to me during the big ballad hit and yelling, "Oh my god this is awesome!", and hIm yelling back, "What!?". So cool.

[Hook'emCavies]

I was first introduced into DCI when I was in the 7th grade, but oddly didn't take complete full notice of it until it was summer of 07. I stumbled upon The Cavaliers 2004 show (at this time I was a junior in high school) and I remembered seeing that show on ESPN. And I really got into that show... so really you could say that Cavies 04 made me a DCI/Cavies fan!

[Michael Boo]

Rifuarian, on 15 January 2012 - 07:59 PM, said:

SCV 99. I had followed drum corps starting in 97, but it was this show that really turned me into a hardcore fan. My story is a little different from other posters on this thread in that I never saw SCV 99 live. I caught the PBS broadcast by chance, recorded it, and wore out the tape. It inspired me to march, and while I never did live my dream of marching Vanguard I did find a love that would last a lifetime.

Why? The show was just so different from anything I'd ever seen. The music and drill seemed otherworldly. Vanguard's been my favorite corps ever since . . . they never disappoint!

In case you didn't catch it the first time around, here's the Download of the Week article on SCV 1999.

[bass5]

1966 or 67 Troopers were housed a couple doors down from my house and showed me the difference between a big corps and a small corps (like the one I was in).
1970 or 71 I saw SCV in La Crosse and they showed me what drum corps was going to become.
1972 our corps was housed at the same H.S. as Anaheim and they showed me how champions behaved and performed, unfortunately that evening we went on after them - humility would be a good word to describe that night.
1974 I saw Madison in Milwaukee, where I had moved and was working, and they made me wake up to the fact that
I still had 2 years to march. I was lucky enough to then march my last 2 years as a Scout.
2006 MSARP showed me that you can indeed go back in time and be a kid again.

[troon8]

Our band director in high school popped a few videos from the 90's in once in a while. I vaguely remember watching what I'm now pretty sure were SCV 89, Cadets 96, & 98, and Blue Devils 97, but the one that really got my attention was Cavaliers 95! Holy smokes...

Seeing that one was what pushed me to see my first live show at Drums Along the Rockies in 2002. We were left excited by SCV's show...but after the Cavaliers did their thing, we were utterly speechless with awe.

(Actually, one of my friends wasn't technically speechless, but I don't think I can post her exact words here without getting kicked out of the forum.)

This post has been edited by troon8: 16 January 2012 - 11:23 PM

[Cleveland1]

I had gone to a DCI show, in massillon, in 2006. Although i enjoyed it, i never got excited or really into DCI until the 2009 season when i went to Big, Loud, and Live. Ballet for Martha was my favorite show, i loved it, amazed by it. and so it goes, i suppose.

been addicted ever since.

[FHdork]

1975 PBS Broadcast...spectacular shows by SCV, Blue Stars, BD, and of course, Madison.

[ozarkbugler]

I had never seen a corps. But when a fellow trumpet player took me to a practice in fall 1966 I was hooked.