MetalTones2012

From what I've heard Music City is cutting down, but not by much. It will still be a huge corps.

a) I was very into marching band in my first two years of high school (much more than normal for someone at my school) and was looking up videos on YouTube of bands I have competed against. Somehow that led me to a video of the 2002 Cavaliers, which led me to find a drum corps in my area and the rest is history. b) I've honestly been on and off with my interest in participating since the beginning, but I always stuck with it because it's something I truly love. Also, performing and rehearsing gives me a much-needed break from the boring and frustrating series of events that makes up my mostly average life. c) Before drum corps, there were a lot of things wrong with me. I was extremely shy, somewhat depressing, and a very picky eater, but more importantly I didn't have too many friends that I could really form a meaningful connection with. Drum corps fixed all of those problems by forcing me to come out of my shell and try new things that I was previously afraid of. I definitely would not be the same jolly outgoing person I am now if it wasn't for my involvement with the activity.

Is some of the hornline missing for outside events? Still a lot of them, but less than usual for Music City.

I hear so much about how the Jupiter Quantum horns are terrible, but how many of you have actually played on them? I'm playing a Quantum tuba right now (first-gen, mind you) and I love it. It's definitely on the heavy side, but the tone quality is nearly perfect. As for the rest of the line, I assure your the high brass models are fine and not tinny at all. These horns are definitely worth a lot more than they cost and it's a very smart move for any corps to make the switch. Good for the Blue Knights.

I'm playing a Jupiter Quantum tuba right now and it sounds great! It has a really nice dark tone compared to some other brands. It does weigh a lot more than others, but it's not a significant problem if you work out and practice with it. My only real complaint is the screw-on bell that falls off sometimes if you jerk the horn around too hard, but the Quantums are not the only horn with that feature.

So let me begin by saying that, as far as I know, there are no current drum corps in southeast Asia. However, recently I have been bombarded with friend requests from members of an Indonesian marching band. I don't really know how they found me or determined that I am a drum corps marcher/internationally-focused person, but many of them have become good friends through our conversations and they definitely have a passion for the activity. I started looking into this more, and learned that they are definitely not the only marching band in Indonesia let alone southeast Asia. There are also several ensembles in Singapore and Malaysia, among the other countries there. In fact, the Blue Devils recently hosted a successful System Blue clinic in Malaysia. Since I am planning to join the Peace Corps and my preferred area was already southeast Asia before I learned about any of this, I got really excited. So I guess my question, under the assumption that some of you have already known about the activity there before I did, what is the potential for drum corps in the region? I know there is a successful drum corps in Taiwan already that did a couple of DCI tours, but what about the countries I mentioned? The interest is certainly there to start one domestically. My other question is whether individual southeast Asian musicians have had any presence in Drum Corps International or other outside circuits in recent history. I know plenty of people come from Japan and Europe to march here so it's not out of the question, but I've never really heard anything about it until I started talking to the members of this Indonesian marching band. Any information provided will help. I may or may not get involved with this depending on what happens with the Peace Corps, but it's certainly interesting and will help me communicate with my new friends about the activity better.

Well we know that at least one of those two new northwest corps are inactive this year. http://www.theascentdrumcorps.org/

I've played on Dynasty, Yamaha, and Jupiter Quantum in my marching career. The Yamahas might be lighter (I'm a tuba/contra player), but the Jupiters have a much more vibrant and dark sound. Couple that with the price and benefits the company gives you for playing them and there's no question that they're the right choice for drum corps. My one complaint is the screw-on bell that falls off if you do any extreme movements with it, but, you know, whatever.

What possessed you to think this post was a good idea?

This isn't funny, it's just cruel. I can't imagine what it must be like as a Dutch Boy alumnus to read this.

What's your opinion on this mouthpiece? I've heard both good and bad things about it. I've been using one for a while without much of a problem, but recently tried a Hammond and now I'm not so sure.

It doesn't seem like this new corps will ever be competitive, but let's assume that one day they decide to join DCI as an Open Class corps. They and Phantom would still not compete for members or exposure. While Phantom's presence is very well-known in Rockford, they hardly have time to do local events during their peak season. A more local Open Class corps, on the other hand, could cover these events that Phantom can't make easily as they won't be out of the area as much (and will probably never need to be considering the proximity to Indianapolis and most of DCI's Open Class shows). And as far as members go, that should be a no-brainer. Phantom recruits from far and wide for its performers and rarely has a shortage due to their reputation, while this new corps on the other hand would be able to recruit from the local school population. This happens all the time, and there's even another example of two successful corps in different classes coexisting in the same city (Crossmen and Revolution).

Did they have the same coaching staff back then? Maybe he's the one who should be charged.

The fact that these kind of people even exists is enough reason to charge this guy. Prison time is definitely excessive, but a message needs to be sent to those knuckleheads that band members aren't in a lower class and won't let people who act like they are get away with it.

I honestly don't know how I feel about this. A topic this controversial has the potential to alienate fans and even members who don't agree with it. It would be one thing if this was just about revolting in general or about an ancient event, but the video seems to allude to a specific current issue that a lot of people take very seriously. What I'm trying to say is that I don't think political agendas have a place in drum corps shows. That being said, I'm interested to see how this will turn out and hopefully I'm wrong.

Yeah I'm confused too. If anything, Cadets2 would have taken members away from Surf.

Thanks Tom! I'm going to prepare some questions and send you a message soon.

Hey guys, I'm preparing a research proposal for one of my geography classes (which I will actually complete in my senior seminar) and I decided to do it on the origin & diffusion of drum corps. The problem is, I'm not really sure where to start gathering sources for the diffusion part since there are literally none on this topic. Does anyone (especially the older crowd in this group) know of any drum corps historians, founders, etc. that might be able to help and provide interviews?

Hey guys, I'm preparing a research proposal for one of my geography classes (which I will actually complete in my senior seminar) and I decided to do it on the origin & diffusion of drum corps. The problem is, I'm not really sure where to start gathering sources for the diffusion part since there are literally none on this topic. Does anyone (especially the older crowd in this group) know of any drum corps historians, founders, etc. that might be able to help and provide interviews?

No Surf or Mandarins? I don't see either of those corps not making the cut, especially if Pioneer and Genesis do. Surf may have come in 25th last year, but that was with a relatively small corps and they still kept the gap from 26th at about 3 points. This year they have a much larger corps (see the videos on "that site") and are pulling along with the show music very well. As for the Mandarins, I'm just going to assume that was a mistake.

Besides VK returning to finals and Gold going for the first (out-of-state) time, there hasn't been much news lately about changes in Open Class. I heard a while ago that ECJ and Citations were trying to return, is that still happening? Are Platinum and Impulse going to finals this year? Are there any new corps starting up in DCI this year? We'd all love to hear it!

If you wanted to start a drum corps in a country that did not have one, where would you do it? Would starting a drum corps there be a realistic goal? I'd put one in Israel. Probably not realistic with most of their 18-21 year olds in the army, but it would be nice.

If it's written well, then yes it would. It wouldn't be even close to the first time that something that wasn't mainstream became mainstream because of a movie.

The documentaries are great and all, but they don't do the one thing that DCI really needs: educating mainstream society about us. Somebody needs to write, cast, and film a scripted Hollywood movie with one or two main characters fighting against all odds to keep up with their corps and make it to finals and put that thing in theaters. (Unfortunately) It worked for "that other marching movie" to get attention for HBCU bands, why wouldn't it work for drum corps?

Will we get some kind of e-mail confirmation when it's being shipped? I pre-ordered mine at finals and have heard literally nothing about the status of my order. It's getting me worried that they didn't process it and I'll never get my DVD.