Jeffreelancer

I got it Sam. :) I'm looking forward to seeing you guys on the field this year and I expect that we will both be stronger and more competitive.

Maybe this is why we have so few pictures in the old picture thread. <_<

River City Regiment Dynasty G Mello

I agree that a good work ethic is needed to be able to make it in this activity. One thing everyone needs to remember is that in junior corps you pretty much live drum corps for the summer and you have time to take the show to the stellar levels they are achieving today. In senior corps we have very limited rehearsal time even in the summer so a good work ethic is pretty much required otherwise nobody will want to watch the product you put on the field and I doubt it would be very enjoyable to perform. Also on the subject of alcohol, I have seen that adults (no matter what activity) tend to use alcohol as a way to relate to each other. Just about all adults have drank and it is accepted in our society to drink at just about any type of function other then working. I am not saying that it is right and I do not condone drinking at show sites, but it is part of our society that most members of junior corps have not been subjected to on a routine basis. This may be one reason why the myth exists that all senior corps do is drink and party all of the time.

I didn't think you were inferring that. B) I just like to be clear to avoid people not understanding my point.

Mandarins is Div I, but Jester and Mystikal are Div II/III. I would agree that the similar size corps are more alike then say us and BD, but my point as that we are not intentionally negative to any junior corps. I understand why many will choose the top Div I corps as their target for negativity, but being disrespctful to any corps will have a negative impact on both juniors and seniors. Speaking of respect, I have great respect for anyone that steps on the field to perform no matter who they are. Some may not understand this, but I actually have greater respect for the members of corps like Jester then the top corps since Jester's show was criticized by so many yet they still went out and performed it no matter what anyone said. That takes guts and I will bet there are members of the top corps that would not march with Jester since they are not one of the elite. Some have stated in this thread that they only want to march with the best of the best and I question if they are in the activity for prestige or just because they have the passion for it. I think many of the younger people still have a lot to learn and that this activity is not all about winning. Like I said in my last post - it's about performing and enjoying what you do regardless of what level you perform at.

I am also puzzled. We support the Mandarins, Renegades went out of their way to support Jester and Dream helped create Mystikal. We also do what we can to support all of the juniors corps we come in contact with. I guess other parts of the country may be different, but I know our corps never intentionally does negative things to junior corps. Some posters have stated that seniors talk negative, but I believe they are confusing the fans that don't march anymore with the active senior corps members posting on DCP. I have seen many negative posts on here, but usually it is from someone who marched in junior corps in the 70's or 80's and is not associated with a senior corps. Without DCI, DCA would not be nearly as strong as it is today. Also, as far as behaviour at shows I have seen many members from junior corps behaving badly in the stands. Part of this may be because they have seen the same show x number of times, but it does not excuse poor behaviour on anyones part (junior, senior or fan). You will never get away from people that are annoying or disrespectful in any activity you do. I don't march to "relive the glory days". I march because I enjoy performing and entertaining people. I have performed with many different groups and none of them provides the same satisfaction as drum corps. I know RCR will probably never perform at the level I did in the Freelancers, but we all enjoy performing the show, entertaining the crowd and being with people that share the same passion for this crazy thing called drum corps.

John Zimny is on staff with the Royal Airs. Here is a link to their staff page.

Based on everything I have read about the mello mouthpieces they are all pretty much the same. I compared the Benge Mello 6 I got when I was in the Freelancers (stay playing on it in RCR) with the new mouthpieces we got with our Dynasty horns last year and they look identical. The King 6C may just be a mouthpiece made by a different company and branded as a King mouthpiece to go with their horns. As far as range goes I have the same range on my mello as I do on my trumpet so it is just a matter of getting used to the mouthpiece.

Maybe DCI should create a database that could show the corps in an area based on ZIP code. It could display the distance to the corps and have links to display more info such as cost, a general idea of time commitment and whatever else the corps would want to provide. I would think DCI already has much of this information. It may not answer all of the questiopns someone would have, but it could point them to a corps that they may not know about otherwise.

It's easy for those of us who have been around for a while to ask why those being cut don't go to a different corps (div I, II or III) since we know they are there. Someone being cut their first time out may not know much about drum corps. All they know is they saw X corps and that is who they want to march with. I started the season with the 84 Freelancers and left for my own reasons (big mistake), but if I had been cut I would not have had any idea about other corps in the area other then SCV and BD. Granted today we have the internet and it is easier to find out about other corps, but if someone is new to drum corps they may not know where to start. With how busy teens are today many would get cut and just give up until the next season since they have probably had a very limited exposure to the activity.

Thanks for the 85 Freelancers photos. These are the first I've seen in this thread. Anyone have any more of the 85 Freelancers?

We definately need him then. Now you know why I'm not very good at recruiting. I don't even know which section I'm talking about. I'll just follow the advice on one of our shirts (hopefully).

Thanks for the review of RCR. It's great to end our season with two solid shows. We did work a lot on tone and intonation so it’s nice to see it payed off. We did a park and blow in the parking lot, but it was back in the corps staging area so I don't know if many fans were there. You should check out RCR at open house. I am pretty sure our two contras will be back next year and there is a rumor that a Dream contra is moving up this way. If he joins we could definitely use a fourth. We still have a contra that hasn't even been unpacked yet so we really need someone to break it in.

When I marched each corps would "play off" the field in reverse order of placement. We would usually play part of one of our show songs. I don't know if this is how it was done recently. Since we played at the end of retreat we would have to store horn and battery equipment as well as uniforms so it added a lot of time before you could leave the show site. I am not sure what guard equipment was brought to retreat. I can see where having the extra time would benefit the corps, but I also see a fan's viewpoint of having something at the end of the show. Also, I liked the time between performing and retreat since it was our free time. It seems that many corps miss this free time since they are loading equipment and getting ready to leave as soon as they can after retreat.

Our french horn section had t-shirts made with this phrase. Some memories from 85 - Changing back to our all black pants in the middle of tour instead of the color changing pants. We altered the Sac chant to "Black is back" for our first show with the "new" pants. Betting Richie that we would beat VK. We won so he had to wear shorts for the next week (he never wore shorts otherwise) Montreal free day - Beer Being able to drink in some states if you were 18 and having a free day in that state. Having the best run through to date after said free day Having the entire corps throw lighters at Paul after a run-through since he always asked if we had one. Making friends with several Troopers Sticking to each other on the bus due to the velcro and hornhooks Rookie shirt (Cavaliers that year) Regrets - Not finishing the 84 season Not taking more pictures or keeping a journal

Do you have any pictures you can post or email to us? Any pictures would be fine as long as we could get a good view of the shakos and pants.