drewbugler
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Posts posted by drewbugler
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"An estimated 2 million students in the USA play in middle- and high-school marching bands, along with 250,000 in college marching bands, says Drum Corps International. They practice for hours at volumes intended to "fill up a football stadium," often in small rooms that amplify sound, says Kris Chesky of the Texas Center for Music and Medicine at the University of North Texas in Denton..."
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In a lot of cases (and was definitely true the few years I did the DCI thing), it doesn't have much to do with whether or not the kids can swing, but whether or not their teachers can teach it.
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Just as an addition to my previous post, my vote is for Tarheel Sun 1998. The corps had a successful third year (after placing 3rd in 1997 DII finals) and ended up 4th in DII 1998. The show was judged pretty well on Open sheets, and the corps had a great quarterfinals performance, which broke them into Divison I. Tarheel Sun did a good job considering the constant battles with Spartans and East Coast Jazz, two corps that are class acts.
The show was all Stan Kenton music...September Song, El Congo Valiente, Malibu Moonlight, and Artistry in Rhythm. Staff included many players still in the game, and a few names that might surprise you:
Kevin Rabon, Bob Smith, Greg Cesario, and a few others from Regiment and other places.
The corps got its visual act together, and aside from a few administrative flaws (okay, fatal flaws) many folks decided to move on after the 1998 season.
Anyhow, the corps gets my vote for best 20th place show.
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1998 Tarheel Sun
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Which experience listed on your resume will help you get a job faster?
My Crossmen experience helped me earn my job at a Grammy Signature, Blue Ribbon, Essentially Ellington, BOA National Concert Band high school. They were blown away with my experience for such a young person.
Plus, you can go to Brevard or Aspen or Tanglewood...or you can go to Cadets, or Blue Devils, or Crossmen, but NONE
of those experiences listed on a resume will get you a good job unless you can actually play your horn, or actually teach a band.
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Will Wynton Marsalis be giving master classes to the Crossmen? Can we expect dynamite, top-rate literature, including major works by Stravinsky, Hindemith, Elgar, et al.? Will each member of the Crossmen be receiving a one-hour lesson each week?
You get Al Chez...you get good lit...and you get a 15 hour lesson each day.
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That is great news. Congratulations Aaron. You are going to do a great job!
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I laughed pretty loudly when I saw this topic....you guys will get a kick out of this.
in 1997, Ira Freedman came up to us at a camp with a bunch of wire hangers and said "figure it out." Of course we did, but the hangers would swing around when we'd do a direction change and, well, wham-o in the nether region.
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Here's an idea. Let's add bagpipes to DCI at the next rules commitee. That will allow some corps to pull off a realistic Scottish show. Hell, we can even use amplification so you can hear the bagpipes over the horn impacts and then we'll narrate about why bagpipes are in the show
So much for debate...you win.
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Here's another way to look at it:
If you add woodwinds to drum corps, how can you call it drum corps?
If you add woodwinds to drum corps, it ceases to be drum corps.
If you add woodwinds to drum corps, it just becomes a glorified, highly-competitive marching band.
And drum corps isn't drum corps anymore.
Historically, this is untrue. Many of the original drum corps featured fifes, which are woodwind instruments.
http://www.army.mil/fifeanddrum/
There are a few others around the United States, especially on the East Coast (Williamsburg, VA and Philadelphia, PA). Perhaps you've seen this photo:
For folks who are so "tough" about the rules, they sure do forget the history.
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That demands exclusivity and keeping DC small, for if you were to grow to a general level of accessibility for the masses, many of the corps would be rather weak as people would still want to get that ‘it’ you mentioned. Your vision is to keep DC a small little club for the elite bandos -ignores so much of the ‘think of the kid’ matra and the overall experience that many push or hide behind on this forum
A common fallacy is that to grow drum corps it must become more like band. People have seen marching bands for many years, all those ESPN viewers already know what a marching band is, that stuff on the field during halftime when you go get a beer and use the washroom. People made their minds up about marching bands as a spectator sport years ago, including myself as I chose not to participate in any way with bands and general participation of viewers beyond high schoolers and their family is rare. I doubt the average ESPN / sports viewer will discern the difference between Drum Corps and band if DC adds woodwinds or electronics. I doubt the average ESPN viewer will be turned onto DC with quotes about Martha Graham. The more DC becomes like band, the less of a chance there will be to grow DC. People don’t really notice the difference in excellence generally displayed between bands and DC but they do notice the power of the brass. Water that down with wood winds, generic mind numbing and often pretentious narration and you got what we already have and what we already know won’t sell – marching band. The Ohio State band has more prominence and national exposure that all Drum Corps combine and it has little to do with marching and playing excellence (no slight to the OU band). Face it kids, Americans made up their mind about marching bands long ago – we like our fight song, when they spell out the school name, play ‘charge’ and occasionally the Budweiser song.
The future for Drum Corps is in its ability to distinguished itself from band (again, the level of excellence is not enough, more so when band are getting better) and sell itself as a different but similar product.
If drum corps adds electronic or woodwinds, a proud part of Americana will die, it will die without a whimper and leaving only a very minor footnote. Drum Corps is living history marching band is not.
Hi cowtown, thanks for responding to my post! Too often I'll drop my two cents and folks just overlook it. It would be great to get some dialogue going....
In my humble opinion, drum and bugle corps lost its place in "living history" when it stopped performing for things other than itself. The drum corps of yester-year, did what most high school bands and college bands do: perform for their community and perform for themselves. A high school band for instance participates in football games, supporting and representing the school, but they also compete on the weekends for themselves. Drum Corps (way before I marched) supported the community; VFW posts, American Legion, towns, churches, Boy Scout troops, etc. So, with that said, you can probably see why I feel the way I do about instruments. It has very little to do with what the activity stands for.
Modern drum corps still has a shot. One of the only corps I can think of that really stands out in terms of its support of the community is the 1996 Cadets performance at the Olympics. That was a great moment for the drum corps activity because even Billy the cashier at McDonalds probably saw it.
I feel that the "it" factor is really the best thing they have going right now.
Sorry if I'm not making sense, it is late and I just got home from a football game (where my band was supporting the school in the pouring rain) :)
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Well, I'll go first. I think that there is a point when we get into the band vs. drum corps thing that gets overlooked. The biggest difference between band and drum corps is the overall level of desire by individuals that make up the ensemble. Most high school bands have some sort of requirement that makes players in the top ensemble participate in marching band. Also, other students might try marching band out because their parents make them, or they were dragged in by friends. Many times there are students within a section that are simply not that interested in that "it" factor that makes all of the marching arts good. I can usually retain those kids at my high school because I make them want "it"......it being the perfect show.
The difference between myself and others, I've found, is that the above statement has absolutely nothing to do with the instruments the groups play. So for me, it doesn't matter what the drum corps play, as long as that intensity is there.
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where else would I go to play birdland?
:)
just kidding. I picked because of that pesky 1997 show, and that one from, umm...that other year...oh, 1992. I wanted to be a part of a show that was up on the same level as those shows. Of course that isn't for me to decide, but I feel like we did some good stuff during my time at Crossmen.
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This looks really cool. I'll definitely pick it up.
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I remember talking to some SCV folks in 1999 and they were totally digging our arrangement more than their own because, in their words, "it is more true to the original". It was funny because we all liked their version better.
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Herndon HS, 2001...just ask my ankle!
Somewhere in MS in 1999 had sand for yardlines...wish I could remember where now, maybe Gulfport?
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I'm talking a piano score...or the sheet music...I want to buy it if possible even...someone has to know where to go. PM me if you can!
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Title says it all. Anyone know where I can find the baddest chorale around?
Drew
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I want it to be a reality show. I really do. Judges give feedback, the OnQ staff comes in and makes adjustments....side stories, bus rides, the whole nine.
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I'm not a drummer, but who better to be on the face of Ross stuff than me?
:)
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back when I marched, we didn't have lip balm. suck it up.
just kidding. try some vitamin E if you aren't allergic to it. if you get the pills and cut them open you can ooze the vitamin E onto your lips.
and btw, thanks for letting us know it was a fresh tube of prep. H :)
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What's the NFL of drum corps
DCM games
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I'm sure there are a few drum corps people in there, but an old roommate of mine, Mark Metrinko, should be in there playing, although it is hard to find anyone you know with those wigs on! Mark marched with the Cadets in 1999.
today's USA Today
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted
It was my hope to say that without saying it, but since you did....
READ THE WHOLE THING!