TopBass

Either way, Scouts are Back! They had more clapping and audience involvement in the theatre I was in than all but the top four corps, COMBINED! I hope they make finals only because it will help recruiting for next year. As far as I'm concerned, my brothers had the most successful year they possibly could have! Thank you Spanos, Petersen, and everyone on the design team for a wonderful show. That hornline power (BYBO - yeah mellos!), that drumline rock (bassline popped more than any other corps on the big screen), an in-your-face masculine guard! [eyes up, high voice] LOVED IT! My check is in the mail!

Click on my sig to see an awesome Bass ensemble from DCA, though they (bass ensembles) weren't quite as good in '07, sadly. Some of us old farts can still drum!

You won't be disappointed! I mean, I'm teaching there! heh heh We just had a great Christmas Camp and the next rehearsal is going to be even better. Go check out tcaiperc.org!

Not in dollars but drum corps has cost me a lifetime of back pain and bad knees, stupid drums. But also is where I met my wife and all my closest friends so I'd pretty much have no social life without it. Fair trade! Plus, at my old job I could roll step around the office and not spill my coffee like all the other idiots, heh heh.

Dues haven't changed that much, eh? 1994 - $400 Dues + $150 Housing Fee = 550 1995 - $300 Dues + $150 Housing Fee = 450 1996 - $250 Dues + $150 Housing Fee = 400 Total $1400 Now that's a bargain! Four hour drive one way with gas split between 2-4 people. No camp fees, we always crashed at a local's house so no housing fees during the winter. Some of the local guys even paid the housing fee because anyone who stayed at the Regent with the Scouts in the mid-90's knows that was some of the most fun you had all tour! Dunk-or-dine at 2am after bar close, everydays didn't start until Noon (12-9), walking to State Street, Your Open Panty across the street, sneakin' into Camp Randall before leaving on tour, those were the days! I paid my dues with an inheritance but I don't know how I would pay tour fees now. I would have found a way, I'm sure, but it would have probably taken me out of college for a year. Yeah, that's right, I'd skip college for drum corps, not the other way around. You can ALWAYS go to college and you'll be working the rest of your life anyway, you can only march Juniors until you're 21! (well, now 22 sometimes)

He's great at this. When I marched Scouts under Scott he would hand out the green sheets with our schedule for the next six-eight weeks at a time. It said we were pulling into Fridley, MN at 2am and I checked my watch as we pulled in: 1:58am. Amazing considering I got the sheet four weeks prior. That is but one of Scott's many talents! Can't wait to see what the Kilts are up to next year!

With all of these Corps located ALL over the country, it just might be high time to have finals in a more central location.... Hmmmmm.... Like Indy?

Very well written post! I was so disappointed that more members of MN Brass weren't there for this. The corps came out a day earlier to support I&E (and better prepare for finals, of course) but they still practice so hard the day of and have such an early call the next day very few people wanted to stay out until midnight. I felt like I was at a concert, a raucous awesome Drum and Bugle corps concert. The pace was so awesome, there wasn't much downtime at all. It was definitely an event! I think it should start earlier next year so it doesn't run into the next day, however.

Sioux City Gasparilla?

Regarding the smokers by your horn arc, drummers don't like it either. What's even worse? When the offending smoker is on your own staff and you've talked to the person repeatedly about it... But I digress.

ha ha, Ding Ding yourself! I was there taking pictures and having a blast! It's a lot more fun when you don't have to march I've now found out. You actually have time to drink! Maybe we'll get the bassline together someyear and we'll just do I&E, now that would be fun.

Maybe the judge was comparing it to last year's bass ensembles still, now THIS is a bass ensemble! We got a 96 with a 1 point penalty for being two minutes over time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU0h6VxUfcc

I just had an intriquing thought. What if drum corps members DID get paid? What is each position in a corps worth? In an ideal world everyone would get paid the same, right? Shyeah, right. With the egos and cliquey nature of corps already you think a lead sop screacher is going to accept the same pay as a third? Me neither. I've only met one or two screamers without egos so big you can't get within five feet of their heads. ha ha, j/k. Ok, not really. What would be the max and min? Would trumpets get paid more than contras or other low brass? Would section leaders get more? Lead trumpet -$50k 2nd - $35k 3rd - $27k Lead Mello - $40k 2nd - $35k 3rd - $27k Lead Bari - $41k 2nd - $35k 3rd - $27k Lead Euph - $43k 2nd - $35k 3rd - $27k Lead Tuba - $40k 2nd - $35k 3rd - $27k Snare captain - $50 Center snares - $45k End snares - $35k Tenor captain - $45k Tenors - $40 Bass captain - $100k Basses - $75k Cymbal captain - $45k Cymbals - $40k Pit captain - $50 Marimbas - $45k Vibes - $45k Rack #####es - $24k Drum Major - $50k Backfield conductors - $27k Heh heh, what do you think? Basses provide the beat for the corps, hence the large gap. Most important section! Yeah, can you imagine the cliques that would develop now? Food for thought.

This is really one of the most ridiculous threads I've read. Check out the Reading Buccaneers and go march All-age corps. It's not as slow as you think. I'm 32 and too old and fat to march corps anymore in the drumline. You'd be surprised how quickly age creeps up on you when you're wearing a drum.

I just got caught up on this thread and... Ahhh, all is right in the world, MBI is back in 5th. BrownieBrick, you crack me up with that long post, you must be a blast at parties! Call me old school but if the crowd likes your show then it was a good night. The crowd in Eau Claire absolutely loved MBI that night and ate up everything they had to give. Over half of the packed stands stayed for the encore and they got two standing O's. Whatever else happens this season you can't take that away from them. Have a great rest of the year MBI! Keep up the great work! Just please don't practice over 6 hours on a show day again, it tired me out and all I was doing was holding a camera all day...

First off, the dude who wrote "Bologna on hand sandwich" made me laugh, that's an awesome drum corps memory right there. Best Drink: Any Kool-Aid made by Kool-Aid Mary! Stirred with her arm! If you saw Mary before you got to the cafeteria you always knew what color you were having that day. Question: Does the grape drink still make the poo green? Best Meal: Hands down, Taco Salad. Always led to your eyes being bigger than your stomach but in Scouts back in the day you got disciplined* if you took more than you ate but only if you got caught, especially by your brothers late in line who didn't get all the fixins. Which lead to many a garbage burrito (fold up uneaten food in paper plate so no one can see it, ha ha) Finals dinner in '94 Boston - Steak and Lobster! In fact, every meal in '94 was amazing, Majorly over budget for the year however, lead to lots of salad and cold cuts in '95. Boo! Go Scouts, keep on improving my brothers! * Only bus ups if you were lucky

That's Awesome, Brent! That guy said the same thing to me and I gave him your room number, ha ha!

You ever going to finish your Scouts and MBI review? The only two corps I care about, heh heh

I was thinking the whole show, or maybe all the standing ovations, considering we got a standing O just for entering the stadium. I could be biased...

Need more sugar?

I was there, here's a very quick review. MN Brass, best show of the year so far for them! didn't get back to the show until the Juniors Pioneer - entertaining, good bassline, pretty stock Pioneer Colts - Very entertaining, I like the new look, they look like a bunch of Nutcrackers running around with their high plumes and Christmas sounding music. I liked 'em a lot and don't usually. Blue Stars - I'm very impressed how far they have come in two short years, they look all grown up. They still looked young to me last year but showed amazing improvement by finals. They look like they have picked up where they left off, new Uni's are very classy and add good effect, drumline is still hurtin' (PULL!) but the hornline has some beautiful moments and not sure if that's the real ending or not but I LOVED it. Front sideline Company Front, old school! Blue Knights - Boring. I wanted to like 'em, but they bored me same as last year. I watched the guard drop all night. Best part of the show was the bass cadence they played off the field, #### that was awesome, I want the music! Phantom - Holy Crap, they are good. Drumline incredibly clean for this early, the only clean beats I heard all night. Hornline amazing as always, Mello line, I can't praise 'em enough. Seriously, listen to the mello note at the end, goes on forever! Only lame part was no guard uni's, unless black pants and blue sleeveless tank tops is their look this year. I hate that crap.

Snares and tenors, run your break. Bassline, run your mouths.

MN Brass 2003 - In my opinion the best show in MBI history and I wanted to cry that I didn't march! I came back in '04, nuts!

One of the if not THE best DCA drumline I've ever seen in Westshore that year, however. The bottom bass hit the drum so loud it hurt my ears from 25 feet away. That is just unheard of. Snares and tenors were rockin' out and clean to boot. Man, I wish I had a recording of their finals lot. *wink, wink*

We always said, "LikeIWannaPlayThere Stadium." But at least I felt safe there with the parking situation and playing after finals encore in the large parking lot. I would it prefer to Rochester where even though I'm not marching I'm going to finals to make sure my loved one is safe (who is marching again.)