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Before you marched


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My dad & 3 older brothers all marched so, it seemed that I was destined to also. Started in a small parade corps then at 15 I told my dad I wanted to march with him. It was my dream to be a member of the Pittsburgh Rockets, something I thought I'd do for a very long time. Sadly, the corps lasted just one year longer (73). It was after that when I was exposed to, what we called, "junior" corps. A local corps exposed me to a side of the activity I had never seen. Had I just stopped doing corps after the Rockets folded, I can't imagine what I might have done to occupy my time. Sadly the local corps also folded, but it was too late, I had the bug! It was time to find another corps. There were still plenty in Western PA at that time including the two "big" corps, Royal Crusaders and Butler Vagabonds. Instead, I had decied on two other corps, Blue Devils and Phantom Regiment. Personally, I think both of these were pretty good options. BD had just finished 3rd at DCI and Regiment 10th (behind the Royal Crusaders). Figuring there would be less spots at BD, I opted to contact the Regiment first. If there were no spots, I'd then contact BD. As luck would have it, the Regiment still had spots, and the rest is, as they say, history!

I do often wonder what would have happened if I choose BD first though?

RM

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I didn't actually know about or even like drum corps until after I found myself a member of one. I was an aimless junior high kid who would start an activity and a few weeks in would find it too hard and drop out. One day at school the director of our local corps made a presentation to the band about his group. He had no video or audio to show but whatever he said was interesting enough that I wanted to join. My parents having tired of signing me up for activities only to have me give them up later let me join but only if I agreed to stay in the group for one year. I had to sign a contract to that effect.

Sure enough a few weeks in I was ready to bolt. The season was months away and I hated the whole experience. We were not a very good and the drum instructor was a shouter and a stick thrower. Try as I might I could not get my parents to let me out. I was stuck for the year. The season started and our not very good group was in a circuit with 4 other groups who were significantly better. I was not a happy camper and put in the minimal effort required waiting for the season to end.

The shows for our particular circuit were always in the afternoon and held in conjunction with a full DCI show later that evening. At the last show of the year instead of leaving after we were done we stayed to watch the DCI groups perform that night. The first group up was the Colts featuring their screaming sololist Harpo. That definitely got my attention and my mood went from "get me out of here" to "lets see what is next". During intermission I went out to the parking lot and observed Phantom Regiment's placement of their brass instruments in a perfectly formed block on the grass guarded by a single member standing at attention with no one else around him. Then the Madison Scouts rolled up in their bus caravan. As soon as they parked the busses started wildy rocking side to side as the members hyped before exiting. I had no idea an activity could be so precise and demanding yet the members were having a blast. The show ended with Phantom and Madison performing back to back. That sealed the deal. It was 1981 and I was a 12 year old kid who just discovered an activity I would be passionate about for a long, long time.

When my parents had dropped me off at the bus that morning I spent the entire car ride over talking about how glad I was this was the last day I was going to have to do this. When I got home late that night my parents congratulated me for completing my obligation to stick it out. Needless to say they were surprised when I started going on and on about next year and my future plans to march with Colts, Madison and Phantom in that order. While most of my plan did not materialize I am thankful for the parts that did.

The kicker is that my parents wound up having to endure years of me involved in an activity that they did not particularly care for. While they successfully taught me a lesson about sticking things out they learned the the lesson of being careful what you wish for.

-kg

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Saw tapes of Finals 1994. Saw my first DCI drum corps show live in Clifton Stadium in 1996. Fell in love with Cadets. Thought there were robots on the field instead of humans. Wanted to be apart of that corps. Auditioned for them in 1999 after marching Spirit of Newark, Surf and Crossmen years prior. Rookie year at Surf was great; Spirit of Newark, Crossmen and Cadets weren't so great rookie years. Almost didn't go back to Cadets after 1999. Went back in 2000. Needless to say, the most amazing year of drum corps I've ever experienced. Cadets 2011 brought me back to what they used to be (kinda). Want my Cadets back.

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I heard about it my senior year of highschool. The director of my college marching band was a Madison alum as well as one of the trumpet section leaders. The first show I saw live was in Columbia, MO in 2007 and I was hooked.

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I saw my first show in 2003, but didn't really know much about it until I got to high school. My high school band director was a multi-year corps alum and DCI judge, so he would always show us the ESPN broadcasts, and encourage lots of us to look into drum corps. He was the one who first got me interested in it.

Even after marching a few years, I still go to shows and think, "Wow, this is all amazing!" I've always been a positive person though, so that might be it. I always find something that makes me jump up and scream for every show

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I first saw drum corps when I was 9 in a Christmas parade the first year we emigrated from England. Was blown away even then by the drumlines, and I preferred it when the streetbeats were playing - it bugged me when the horns came in!

When I was around 11 the Royalaires were practicing their show in a parking lot. We stopped to watch, and I was trying to play along with the drums on my leg. I pummelled my thigh so hard I came home with this massive bruise. Mum said I was stupid...

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I was first exposed to drum corps in my junior year of high school. We watched the Cavaliers' performance of "007" (it was back in '04) and I recall saying to myself "People can really do that?!" Needless to say, I was captivated.

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but one thing I wish I could get back is the fresh perspective where everything is new and amazing.

And all of God's people said, "Amen."

I still love drum corps and still watch every show every year, and while I find plenty of it impressive and awe-inspiring, I feel like the pure amazement is gone forever. Thoughts?

I've been asking myself whether this was possible for awhile. To be honest with you, I think it would take nothing short of a miracle or memory-erasure for this to happen again. It breaks my heart to write that but hey, miracles DO happen! Just gotta have faith. (Or absence... they say it makes the heart grow fonder)

This situation that we share makes me envy those who never marched ANYWHERE yet were able to march their last 2 or 3 years.

I had Drum Corps fire in me when I joined marching band in high school (though I didn't know about DCI then) and the flame kept going for a good while- I climbed higher and higher on the ladder of success, but things started to wear it down:

Passionless people

Expectations that were not met

Being accused of being passionless and thus over-exerting myself to prove them wrong

Simple amount of time doing/being around the activity

Feeling like I'm not making progress in other areas of my life (though Drum Corps was not a direct cause for this).

With my last marching experience, I felt like the fire was reduced to embers, if that.

The know-how and basic template of achieving excellence remained, but the fire wasn't there- certainly not in enough quantities to take the more overbearing criticisms of the caption-heads and to turn it into something productive.

Needless to say, my mind was in a fog a lot and I ticked far too often for someone at my skill level.

Edited by Barifonium
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Was doing a report on West Side Story and tried to illegally download the music through Napster. I accidentally downloaded the Blue Devils "One Hand, One Heart" show and was blown away by how cool it was. Addicted ever since.

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