pveinot

Not only was there drum corps PRIOR to DCI, but many corps were primarily local and rehearsed weeknights in addition to weekends.The corps I marched with had sectional rehearsals tues and thurs 7-9, and full corps rehearsals on sun through the winter, increasing to full weekends for drill when the warmer weather came. We started our season in mid May, and still had shows after VFW/ American Legion finals well into Sept. And yes, I was still marching after the inception of DCI. (I'm old, but not THAT old.)

From the shows I saw this past summer (several), I'm against any use of amps. The voice amping I heard was distorted, either too loud or to soft, and of poor quality. As far as pit amplification goes, the vast majority of them are taking it to the extreme and making it much to loud. It was frequently difficult to hear the brass and drum lines over the pit, especially when playing ballads, backfield, or facing backfield. I attend shows to see/ hear the corps' ENTIRE performance, not just the pit. I enjoyed the DCA shows I went to (again, several) much more for just that reason.

I guess I'm in the minority here, but I truly preferred Gillette over Fla. any day. Prices were high, but no one was checking bags/ purses/ or backpacks any of the three days we were there that I saw. After catching that at quarters, we simply took our frozen bottles of water and sodas in with us. We only ran into one security person who was anything but cordial, and even he was only doing his job and directing people to stay within the designated area for smoking ( he was just a jack a**, the way he was doing it) Only having one gate open was a definate problem. Parking was also ridiculous at $25. We parked in the closest $10 lot, but it was a good mile to hike in, and crossing a busy highway. ( for someone with a bum knee, that's a lot) The seating was better, and not all of us had access to the clubhouse air conditioning, but at least there were areas that were cooler and where you could catch a breeze. As far as the "rain delay", my hubby and I were quite amused by that whole thing. There were MULTIPLE lightning flashes for at least 20 min before they had the delay, and that was only after the Foxboro FD made them. In Fla. nobody thought twice about canceling the remainder of the Div II/III semi's, because of a storm. Yes there were some people in the stands who don't know proper etiquette, and were talking during performances, but I think that happens everywhere. My biggest complaint would have to be the big storms that passed through on Sun, making the DCA show in RI a soggy mess, and the drive back to NY more of a pain.

A year or two later they went to a white jacket, not sure about after that, I moved away in '80. A man looked mighty fine in ANY BK uniform. Especially MY man.

I marched in a small All-Girl corps in Belleville, IL. We hung out in the stadium before, between and after classes at my high school. One glorious day, when I was the ripe old age of 15, HE walked into the stadium. I WANTED HIM!! He had just moved to town, but had marched in several upstate NY corps prior to moving there. Noticing my (and my friends') Bellette jackets, he came over and introduced himself, and asked if we knew anyone in the Black Knights. He knew they were from Belleville, and wanted to join. We started dating when I was 16, got married when I was 20, and will celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary in July. We went to a senior corps show for our honeymoon. We've dragged our children (2), to any show within 200 miles, and many that weren't. My oldest marched 2 years with a DII corps, and is now marching with a senior corps, because he has to work to put money away for school. A music ed major, no less. Sadly, my youngest seems to be missing out, the nearest Jr. corps is much to far away for him to be able to march.