Piper

DCI has become a total joke. Complain about us dinos all you want, but back then corps fees weren't 2K per year. Why? Well today's instructors (if you want to call them that) are a big reason. They keep proposing rule changes to advance their own creative egos and almost every one of them in some way adds to the cost. From podiums to props to electronics to instrumentation. The kids are just tools for them to advance their minds fantasies. Back in the day we probably weren't as good as today's corps but there were tons more kids involved in the activity. If you want musical performances today's corps are very good, but if you want an activity that has the best interests of youth in mind then yesteryears drum corps was MUCH better.

Whoever has the hot night.

Compared to what we all had to go through with the Hoppy fiasco this is really no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

Forget the kids who wanted to play cymbals or the guys in the guard. The designers ego is the #1 priority. Welcome to today's DCI.

Yep.

The Firettes were from Norwich.

I work with a guy who was rear-ended in his car three times. Two out of those three were by someone talking on their cell phone. What does that tell you?

Sometimes it depends on what you mean by the word "Anthem". There are Corps Songs and there are Mantras. The two are not always the same, although sometimes they can be. For example, the Cavs corps song is simply called "The Cavaliers" (sung to the melody of the Coast Guard anthem "Semper Peratus"- always prepared, but their mantra is "Over the Rainbow". BAC's corps song is "Giant" but their mantra is "Conquest". Contarily, the Troopers corps song is sung to the melody of "How the West was Won" but is also their mantra, or at least I think it is. Go figure. :smile:/>

This is something that I don't understand and probably never will. According to DCI's own rules, a startup has to spend a minimum of one season in OC before they can even apply for WC. OK, fine, I get that. But if they don't have enough OC corps then where the hell are they going to get more WC corps from, the fairy godmother? By their own logic OC should be at the top of their priority list.

What are you trying to do kill her? Man, give give her a break will ya?

Drum Corps teaches you lessons about life that you can't learn in a classroom. The good, the bad and the ugly. It's one hell of an education, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I can only speak as a former snare drummer, but watching them today I often wonder how they manage to play out there. They're expected to do everything but stand on their heads. However, it's not relugated solely to percussion. You could probably ask former guard members and brass players and they'll say the same thing. Drill design today is far more demanding than it used to be. With that said, Drum Corps was never intended to be easy.

I know that this sounds stupid, but where are they from? I've never heard of them before.

I would love to hear a hornline with piccolo sops, conventional sops, french horns, mellos, baris, euphs and contras all playing the same chord at the same time. That would be awesome. Hey, I can dream can't I?

"Similar" does not mean "the same". Girl Scouts don't join the Brownies and Boy Scouts don't join the Cub Scouts.

This is totally correct. There are 25 standard Americam drum rudiments. All else played are derived from those.

There are no such thing ss "trumpets" in Drum Corps - they're sops. Tuba is a joke - makes it sound like we're talkig about sousaphones or an elephant. Maybe we're not like bands because we don't want to be.

It was mostly word of mouth. Everybody was talking to everybody else about everything. The only exception that I can remember are the Bridgemen when they switched from their cadet style uniforms to the long yellow coats and floppy head gear. I don't think that anyone saw that coming. How they managed to do that I'll never know.

It seems like a pretty good idea to me. Some corps have to spend so much time away from their base that the locals don't even know who they are. The show isn't polished yet of course, but by seasons end I'm sure it will be.

I went to my college class reunion a few years ago and was bored to tears. Just a bunch of stiffs sitting around telling each other about their percieved success. Contrarily, I attented my corps reunion last year and had the time of my life (granted some of it was alcohol induced) but it was great. There's a huge difference between a classmate and a corpsmate.

You might be looking at it from the wrong angle. Unless you go on a scholarship then you're not only a student, you're also a customer paying them for their service, and like any customer you should expect to get what you're paying for. Think about it. When you go to a store to buy an item they don't ask you how much volunteer work that you've done, they want to know if you have the cold hard cash to pay for it. Good grades I can understand, but if they wanted to know about volunteerism and work experience I would blow them off in a heartbeat. They're there to serve you - not the other way around.

I like the Troopers new uni's for the corps proper. A refreshing touch of history and americana. The guard? Well let's just say that I'm glad I'll never have to wear it.

I woudn't take that assignment for all the tea in China. A rookie DM with only God knows how many vets would be about as welcomed as a wet dog at a royal wedding. Why do you think that some corps select their DM's only from the existing membership? JMO.

I & E's are always cool, but (not mentioning any names) there are some corps (for their own reasons) that will not let their kids compete in them.

You can't go to Drum Corps to get in shape. You have to arrive in shape or you'll fail almost instantly.