Rufus67

Interesting because we actually had that situation in tryouts for our team one year. Great kid, some power, just slower than dirt. He would've made a great corner infielder but we needed folks up the middle and in the OF that year. Not a fun conversation with the parents but they understood. And yes, there is no such thing as too much pitching ("good" pitching is a bonus in my book and, with youth especially, a hit or miss proposition!). I've got to say this has been a very informative series of responses received and I do appreciate everyone's perspective. I always struggle with how much to do for/with him as he starts along the path of trying to march corps and have settled on advising rather than directing. In the first mini-camp, for instance, I stayed in the waiting area (i.e., out of eye-sight) and let him check himself in. I will let him know the feedback received in terms of following up with the caption head to determine if there's anything beyond age/experience he can work playing-wise, and asking if there's any benefit to attending a future camp or two this year, but will let him decide if he wants to do that or not.

To make sure I'm clear, you're suggesting he keep going to the camps of the corps that didn't invite him back for call-backs? I know they'll take the camp fees, but aren't they trying to get an idea of who they want to go on tour with without having "extra" (i.e., already evaluated and found lacking for whatever reason) players distracting from that purpose? Don't get me wrong, if you want something bad enough you do whatever you have to, just trying to understand the etiquette involved in doing something like that.

Yes, they provided a list of other corps they thought he would be better suited for at this point. We had come up with the same list as well but it's nice to hear it repeated. We knew this one was a stretch going in but wanted to do it for the experience more than anything (though being offered a slot would've been nice!). From what they told us maybe 1/3 of the kids who apply actually show up. He was one of those and, having been through it and survived, has a much higher level of confidence for future auditions.

Thanks for the thoughtful replies. In no particular order, my responses to some of the questions are: This was for a finals corps so the competition was pretty stiff. This was his first audition after a whole two years of HS marching band. The feedback he got concerned his (1) youth and, by extension (2) experience. That leads me to: Definitely not sour grapes on my part or his and definitely not thinking he was a "lock" in any way shape or form. Just more wondering on my part that, if he had knocked it out of the park musically, if the calculus would have been different. Even with that, though, it appears different corps have different requirements (i.e., numbers needed, combination of skills/attitude, etc.) and I get that. My question/wondering was more around if he had been lights-out musically if he would have had a better chance to get invited back or offered a slot. I know, I know, how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. I had originally thought he would but from what I'm reading in responses it's a combo of attitude and ability, especially if there are mitigating circumstances like age/experience. His physical conditioning was fine and he had ramped up his prep doing cardio for about a month prior. He finished near the top rating (hard to explain rating used based on his description, but I think he said he was just below a "1", or highest, in a 3 point scale in his visual evaluation so assimilating a new marching style wasn't an issue. Attitude is great, though he can be on the quiet side. Interestingly he told me that, during the timed run, he could've finished faster but chose to keep running with a buddy he had met because the buddy was struggling. While I'm proud of him for thinking of someone else, I'm thinking he should have finished his run first then gone back to run with his friend. With so many kids there I doubt they could tell the difference between helping and struggling himself. In terms of attending future camps he's planning on doing at least one more for a different corps. I'm thinking given the feedback there is no point in going back to this original corps this year as (1) he's not going to be much older and (2) he won't have any more experience. If I'm not thinking about this clearly please feel free to correct.

As the parent of a teenager who was not invited back to call-backs after his first-ever audition, some thoughts have been rattling around the old brain-box. While not happy he didn't get called back it's understandable because, while a good horn player, he's not the best out there (don't get me wrong, proud of my son for even considering auditioning let alone doing a good month's worth of prep physically and practice-wise leading up to the audition - it's just that his chops aren't there yet which is ok at this point). Having coached travel baseball, and had other children participate, the thought occurred to me that they're very similar in their entrance requirements. For baseball the saying is "If you can hit, they'll find a place on the field for you." That is certainly true (though you might include "If you can throw 95 mph as a 13 year-old they'll find a place for you" as well!). A similar thought in drum corps is that "If you can play they'll find a place on the field for you." He actually heard this from some caption heads because players were very good, but visuals weren't that great. This may be coming off as complaining and I don't mean it to be. He had a great experience and now knows what he needs to do if he wants to march corps. I was just struck by the fact that there seems to be one thing you can do in these two disparate activities, and probably in others as well, that gives you a really good chance for a place on the field. Has anyone had a similar experience in corps, or outside of corps, or am I just loopy on this one?

I didn't get to see many competitions last year, but we did have a chance to host the Scouts at our HS for rehearsal. What a great show highlighted by a mash-up of songs that, quite frankly, I didn't think would work if you had just told me about it. What a great moment executed by a remarkable group.

Any sites and/or dealers out there where you can buy used/older style bibbers? Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the replies! Under the heading of "It's better to admit ignorance than feign intelligence" - What purpose do they serve? I played sax up through high school and marched senior corps so long ago that I can't recall seeing these before, let alone knowing what function they serve.

What is the black plastic thing just below the mouthpiece that I see on all drum corps instruments?

Our son is going to a couple of audition camps this year and will be looking into this further on his own, but I was wondering what the answer to this question was. Is there a standard trumpet mouthpiece that corps use, or does it vary by corps? I used a 61/2 AL when I played baritone years ago and that was fine for senior corps, but do corps get persnickety about that kind of thing? Will it matter for audition camp? Thanks in advance.

So Bill Cook's advice no longer holds (not trying to be snarky, but genuinely asking)? What's replaced them as money-makers then? I recall watching Throw It Down from the Bluecoats fundraising that they still were using bingo so I guess I'm a little surprised to hear it's been supplanted.

Thanks for all the replies and history. My interest was mainly for a place to go for administrators, directors, and mostly booster club officers (of which I am one this year for the first time). While I marched in both band and senior corps what I knew about administering a booster club was truly pathetic (some would say that knowledge base is still truly pathetic!). I've learned by leaning on prior booster club folks but it would be helpful to have a place for exchange of ideas and thoughts. One thought is that we use Charms for administration so maybe we'll check with them if they ever thought about hosting a forum for booster folks. Thanks again!

Not the right forum, but is there a DCP equivalent for marching bands? There was apparently one a while back run by the folks who did DCP but it's no longer active. Thanks in advance!

Interesting topic. At our marching band exhibition this week we saw color guard rifles that had LED lights either glued on or integrated into the rifle stock itself. I can see that type of lighting being incorporated to flags/flagpoles and sabres before large lighting displays being rolled out. I could see the same thing at least attempted in drum sticks as well. I've also seen some corps (senior corps is the only one I can remember right now, Sunrisers in the late 80s) use the old flash bulbs taped to instruments with a paper clip dangling by a string. During a specific moment in the show the players would take the paper clip and fire off the flash (each was good for up to 4 flashes). Pretty cool effect but you had to be careful not to look at the flash when it went off (Hit my spot? Which one!?!?)! And of course I just threw up in my mouth a little thinking about a complete blackout of the field followed by black light. Nah, never happen right?

On a hopefully less-controversial note - Really cool to see Sunrisers getting some love/exposure in the video.

It's interesting, but George actually posted a story about this very thing after DCI South: So last night I was sitting next to 3 Cavie alum from 70-85. They introduce themselves - nice southern men - and we get ready to watch the Cavies. One of the guys has a 6 yr old son sitting in front of him, next to his wife. During the cavie's performance , the little boy is clapping and cheering as his dad is talking in his ear ... and pointing things out. At the end, the dad picks him up so he can wave and cheer them off the field. The dad and mom are super thrilled that he loved the show...(this kid will be marching one day!) and now the cadets come on the field. The dad says "you might like this show -it's about Christmas!". The boys's eyes are huge and he can't stop pointing to the presents and asking what's in them. He's flapping his hands - and bouncing in his seat during the set up. His parents are telling him to be patient. " It's like waiting for Christmas. Do you remember how you have to be patient?" Then it starts. To say that this child sat with rapt attention is an understatement. He had his hands locked together, under his chin, staring at the field. The mom and dad kept looking at him and each other. They were mouthing "omg. He loves it. Look at him". When the show was over, they asked what he thought, and he said "I want them to do it again!!!". Just thought this was a great story that speaks to your point.

Great, thought provoking, post. I'll be honest and say the Blue Devils was not my cup of tea (nor most of those in attendance at DCI South - even from old-school BD fans the collective reaction was "What the heck was that!?!"). That being said do I think there is a place for that type of show? Absolutely. The question becomes "How do you judge shows that are so disparate in theme, style, and substance?" For instance, how do you take a Jersey Surf show which apparently constantly entertains, with a Madison Scouts with a bit more "traditional" show, with the Cadets whose theme is ever-present while still incorporating newish twists (e.g., recorded voice), with Blue Devils who decided to create their own rule-book this year in terms of what a show is (more Cirque du Soleil event than traditional drum corps show)? On the other hand, is this any different from what's been going on through the 80s when DCI found its stride? I remember reading an article in the Wall Street Journal, of all places, about drum corps. Even the author was able to pigeonhole corps by their style at that time (BD - jazz, Phantom - classical, Cadets - precision marching). Are the latest iterations of style and content so much different from what was the case back then? How did we compare a show based on Coltrane to Aaron Copeland to Mussorgsky? Does it produce more difficulty or the same level in terms of comparing the relative achievements of each corps now versus then? Not sure I can answer the questions. I'll still go to shows as long as there are corps to put them on and cheer like crazy for the ones I love (and still get frustrated with the apparent inability of judges to fairly evaluate them). This year for me it's the Scouts, Phantom, and Crown. While the variabilty in applying judging standards must frustrate the crud out of corps directors as they pick show material (and trust me, Hopkins is frustrated if you get his tour updates), it ultimately comes down to who the corps is and what they want to do that year. Our job is to cheer our favorites and debate endlessly who's "best" each year and not worry too much about the results of subjectively judged events. It's like I tell the kids I coach in baseball - "If you want certainty of results go into accounting."

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That's because this system doesn't look at just one score but takes all scores, plugs them into a model, and spits out a ranking based on the formula.