britdrums

I thought Colin was head last year also with Tom just arranging? Could be wrong though.

Cool to see you guys tuning in during the early part of the program! hope you're enjoying the European corps.

yeah it's an often discussed thing but never happens on a regular basis. Many moons ago we used to have the British Youth Band Championships which were held at the prestigious Wembley Arena and invited entrants from all marching arts organisations in the UK. When that stopped however there wasn't really anything in it's place. A couple of years ago there was an event held in Peterborough, in conjunction with the Glassmen's European tour, where there were corps and bands from both organisations, in a non competitive event which was very cool. There is talk of something similar happening in 2009, possibly in conjunction with a visit from the Blue Devils. It's a shame we wait to have one of you guys over though before we do our own thing!

Hi Jay, corps that enter DCE from the UK don't just come from DCUK. In the UK we have two organisations for Drum Corps and Marching Bands. There's DCUK and BYBA (British Youth Band Association). Both have drum corps' in their ranks who chose one or the other or sometimes both dependent on what they want to do with their season and what they want from the organisation. So some of the corps competing at DCE in a couple of weeks compete solely in DCUK, some solely in BYBA and some in both. Hope that clears it up.

DCE, DCN and DCUK are all open age activity's currently, with the exception of DCUK's National Junior Class which is aimed at younger performers.

I know it's been said but maybe it needs a lot of people to say it for people to actually do it! lol. March somewhere. Anwhere you can. You will learn something - you will get better as a drummer/musician. You will gain valuable experience. For sure. Too many people set there hearts on marching one or two corps and then when they don't make the cut they abandon their dream for a little while (quite often forever!) do something to improve on all those areas mentioned above. Just sitting home with your Heavy Hitter pad wont, believe it or not, make you a better drummer. Getting out there and drumming anywhere, in a real drum corps, with real people, WILL. Don't sit back, ever. Get out there and Make It Happen! If you put your mind to it you will march Phantom at some point.

The Drum Corps Netherlands Finals were held this past Saturday night in Dordrecht, Holland. the results were as follows: Open Class: Jubal 86.15 1 Northern Star 85.05 1 Juliana 79.85 2 Wölper Löwen 77.25 2 Federatieband 71.20 3 Starriders 68.90 3 Tambourijnen 60.45 4 The results are a little odd as they show two classes integrated, the open class and the international class. The first one usually indicates the open class and the second for the international class: i.e. Northern star were first in the International (non-dutch class) but second overall.

Bob is a regular at DCE and was/is the judges chairman. Also to add to Harrolds list (Hi mate) Scott Koter came over in 2003.

Personally I prefer the natural/natural feel heads, and I simply wet the thumb a tiny bit and then trace around the edge, right over the wood. Not tried the beeswax thing before, have to give it a go. Agree also about not pressing too hard. I did this at first and it gets you no where!

Some times people forget one essential thing when drumming, and in particular those people who struggle to relax. Breathe! It keeps you alive plus it helps you to drum better by feeding your muscles with oxygen and helping you stay relaxed. Check yourself out and see if you're breathing as normal whilst drumming. Lack of breathing is very closely related to tension. Just hold your breath now and you'll see what I mean. Breathe!

If the issue's pinching at the fulcrum, which from what you say it is, then what you really need to do is REEEEEELAX. :) Play double stroke exercises nice and slow, get used to how things feel, nice and relaxed at the fulcrum and all through the hands and wrists. Then as you start to move the tempo up don't change things, stay relaxed, make sure everythings contributing in the same sort of way, but most importantly STAY RELAXED. The Cavaliers teach that "Tension is your enemy", a philosophy that I would fully endorse in drumming.

The Cabs were due to come across this year too but that all fell through somehow. Probably something to do with the sponsors but I'm not sure. Similar to the Cavaliers who were due to come across also.

Hey you guys, really enjoyed the show in Dordrecht. Glad the rain stopped for showtime! Timmey you're right it is going to be an exciting month in September and I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully I'll get to see you guys at one of the shows. I think the first time I saw you last year was at DCN Finals in Oss so maybe in Dordrecht 2, or rotterdam! Harrold, was great to see you again buddy, smahe you couldn't have stayed longer in Vorst! Maybe next year. Make sure yuou let us know when the little one arrives.

Is niiice! :)

Huh? Where does that analogy come from? How "many post-modern era British corps" have you seen lately?!? LOL Personally I like whats hinted. I like the darker helmet, and of course it's totally different. It's showing a different side to Bluecoats this year already and I like what I see. Just hurry up with the rest why dont ya!!