groovsmyth

I'm quoting myself because it bears repeating. Not because I am a legend in my own time or in my own mind, but because TRUTH is self-evident. Lee should find this amusing because I have been chastised for a smart aleck comment. I meant no meaningful disrespect to Frank or anyone else. I apologize if Frank took it that way. I was being playful with a one-liner, thus the ...back to the original quote... It has to do with the teamwork that is drum corps - or what drum corps SHOULD be. There seems to be an attitude developing in drum corps that parallels sports in our culture. Lip service is paid to the lineman that opens up the holes for the running back or protects the pass rush. Then, after the obligatory footnote, our culture commences to deify the quarterback or the high profile player. I see a lot of anti esprit de corps as drum corps takes on the trappings of sports posturing. I hear the trash talking too . . . instead of letting proficiency in the activity speak for itself. When soloists show no humility and think their s*h*i*t doesn't smell, that is not good for drum corps or society. When snare players think they are more important than bass drum players it eventually defeats the corporate entity of the corps itself. The Drum Corps Hall of Fame is meant to honor CONTRIBUTIONS to the activity, not deify. To my knowledge, the senior corps from Hawthorne, NJ is still introduced as the Caballeros, not "Jimmy Russo and his Caballeros." (notwithstanding his retirement) Blasphemy!?!?!? No, blasphemy is when you insult God. Russo puts his pants on one leg at a time like everyone else. I like Russo. I'm just using him as a high profile example to make a point, btw.

sign up to be a moderator then ...lol I'm in agreement with Real-ity. It's comparing apples to oranges. "Chops" is generally interpreted as a combination of technical facility and stamina as applied to a specific array of rudiments or skills. Due to the vertical playing surface and head tension, the variety and complexity of drumming rudiments will never be done on bass as on snare. The nature of split parts in ensemble playing, counting tacets and nailing notes in the bassline goes toward a different realm of difficulty not usually characterized as chops. Each require a different kind of stamina. I would guess it would be like comparing soprano to contra in some aspects. Moving a contra around the field has different gravity issues as well. However, the different embouchure and air movement required will never have them playing the same parts. Rather a childish debate. A corps needs all elements of the body. To crassly quote an old metaphor ... the brain doesn't think the a*s*s*hole's too important until the latter stops up and isn't working properly.