OldSnareDrummer

Anyone have any raunchy, filthy bus sing-along songs? "Oh there once was a girl I knew, by the name of Slewfoot Sue...." I'd better end it there.

Good on you, my friend. Nearly 40 years for me. Maybe there's a corps out there somewhere that can use me in the kitchen making PB&Js. Maybe not such a good idea. I'm not quite as quick and nimble now. Poor kids would starve before they got a sandwich.

St. George..sigh..I sure miss that guy. Marty Hurley, too.

I can remember MMs BITD wearing buttons on corps jackets reading "It's Drum Corps Not Marching Band, Stupid!. Which, I always found a little ironic cuz basically 90% of us came from a marching band.

My only prediction - the rich will continue to get richer.

At some point pre-Marty Hurley with Phantom was Jim Nevermann. I don't know which year(s) specifically.

I'm not even this guy's age, but I have to grab on to the toilet when I step out of the shower.

Butler, PA...home of Bret Michaels. It don't get better than this.

First, neither Fran (if I may speak for you, sir) or myself consider ourselves dinos. We're well-seasoned drum corps enthusiasts of long standing life experiences. Second, social media as means of most social sharing? What a hoot that must be. Excuse me while I get a beer while I'm social media socializing. Joking aside, I get it, Xan. It ain't the 70s and drum corps bonding or whatever term is used, is in a whole new world.

Oh Lordy. The parties and after rehearsal bars were just as instrumental in creating bonds if not more than the time spent together in rehearsals, tours, buses, gyms and competition. They're one of the most important things about drum corps. Please don't tell me these are all rituals of the past and have gone away.

Didn't need a committee. For a couple of years, we had one parent who was the "Personnel Manager" who every kid in the corps was scared to death. He was an old Marine Corps DI and fit that image in every possible way. Mean as hell, zero sense of humor and you didn't want to cross him. His own kid, naturally, was the biggest goofball trouble-making prankster in the entire corps. This kid once while the corps was enjoying a day off swimming at a public pool did a cannonball into the shallow end - what no body knew was he had a tube of fake blood in his hand and let it fly as soon as he hit the water. The whole pool thought he cracked his skull open. He was also famous for doing the Baby Ruth in the pool thing a year later ala Caddyshack years before Caddyshack ever came out. How this kid ever survived his youth at home, I'll never know.

You never want to see disillusioned fans leave any activity. In the OP's case, be it a statement, seeking a reaction or just a genuine, heartfelt "I don't enjoy this any longer", it doesn't matter to me. I understand the reasoning and frustration, but everyone is different. Myself, I've adapted, though at times slowly, but I'm telling you - the day I see drones or robots flying around the field playing instruments and twirling rifles, I'm outta here.

A silly sidenote. Bare feet always remind me of the old Kilties tradition of age-outs leaving their shoes on the field at Finals Retreat. Those goofy boys.

A little more on why Whitewater was the Drum Corps Mecca of its day in my opinion. Not only did drum corps completely take over and own that small town for a few days in August be it for DCI weekend or DCI Midwest, you couldn't help but to meet up and BS with members from other corps. 1976 Midwest was so neat. Our 5 snares jammed with the Blue Devils 10 snares (including a teenaged Scott Johnson) and I believe it was the Fox Valley Raiders 5. 20 total. We played each others' warmup exercises and the Devils taught us real quick a few licks from One Eyed Sailor. It was one of those experiences that stays with you for a lifetime.

Awesome story, Keith.