ShutUpAndPlayYerGuitar

Either way, thanks for doing the heavy lifting.

Self-explanatory. I remember seeing listed sites on the facebook group last year. Not seeing anything as of this week.

Some helpful hints: - The first thing any brass staff looks for in a person's audition is basic stuff like tone quality and intonation. It doesn't matter if you can sight read "Carnival of Venice" for tuba. If you can't produce a decent sound, you're going to attract attention for the wrong reasons. Focus on basic lip slur patterns. Focus on playing these exercises with a steady, consistent air stream. Here's a good publication to look over: http://patricksheridan.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2 If you're not too confident with you're ability as a tuba player, this book definitely goes over the right areas to improve upon. Most of the exercises are used by corps. - Don't fret too much over physical conditioning. Just do it ($2 to Nike). What I mean is the more time spent beating yourself up with exercises you don't like, the less likely you'll do it on a consistent basis. You're expected to do a pretty demanding activity over a three month period. When you end up signing a contract with a corps (and you will), make your off-season training CONSISTENT and PRACTICAL. You're don't have to train for a triathlon or force yourself to run to the point of injury (which too many people bring on themselves). Example: After taking a year off, I came into the first camp of my age-out year pretty out-of-shape (college can do that). Months before I left for tour, I started commuting to classes by bike. That's two solid hours of endurance training a day coinciding with my work/school schedule. That's all I needed. Find whatever works for you, commit to it, and have fun doing it. As for weight training, don't rush into it if you're not familiar. If you decide to make it a regular thing, focus on lighter weights with heavier repetitions. - Realize that you need to be flexible with time. You'll be asked to change stuff on the fly constantly, both on and off the field. If you're bad at time management, fix it. - An ideal contra/tuba player has a distinct type of confidence. Even though you're marching the largest horn, you're expected to achieve the same tasks as everyone else in the hornline. Hype it.

Exactly what you said. Crown went out of their way to not "run with the big boys" and they became successful. Next case.

Thanks guys.

This entire thread is based off of one pic taken from a misleading angle. I'm sure it will work out fine. Besides, unnecessary basics sessions and poorly written drill are more likely to cause injuries. Just remember: always wear safety goggles.

Does anyone know the housing sites for corps competing in the Woodbury and Mankato shows? I know Blue Stars are staying at East Ridge (show site) on Tuesday and Mankato West on Wednesday. How about the rest?

The three word descriptions are my impressions of each group, in terms of organization, show design and/or overall "vibe." If these descriptions offend you ... good. BD - Cocky, Determined, Refined Cavies - Nerdy, Efficient, Clarity Bluecoats - Fluid, Organized, Tubas Crown -"Left Field," Graceful Cadets - Traditional, Fast, Loopy Phantom - Orchestral, Sonorous, Stubborn SCV - Discontent, Classy, History Blue Stars - Separated, Obsessed, Motion BAC - Proud, Lacking Charm Madison - Murder With Sound Blue Knights - Dancing, Dancing, Dancing Glassmen -Stuck In Limbo Academy -Incremental, Slow Growth Colts - Realistic, Resourceful, Midwestern Troopers - Resurrection, Western, Gung-ho Spirit - Devoted Base, Southern Crossmen - Lost Mojo, Tentative Pacific Crest - Trying To Break Mandarins - Focused, Family, Safe Teal Sound - Electric, Improved, Overkill Jersey Surf - Growing Pains, Elvis (2004) Cascades - Struggling, Changed, Hopeful Pioneer - Stable Yet Unspectacular (Ok, doing this for every World Class corps is super tedious. If the description for your corps is lame, it's probably because I've only seen one of their shows (see Surf, Jersey)).

Drugs. Edit: ... by which I mean the sugar buzz I got from "Pang."

Interesting news. A few points .... 1) How "discrimination" became a subject on this thread makes my brain hurt. Shouldn't even dignify such things with a response (even though this first point is kind of doing that ... but whatever). 2) I knew a few guys that marched during the 2006 - 2009 years. All were incredibly talented and loved being a part of this really unique organization. There's going to be a lot of disappointed male performers going elsewhere in 2011. Even though some seasons weren't too memorable, most of the theatrical years were really cool. Lots of drama and emotion. 3) Even though I see more drawbacks than benefits, I'm pretty sure the staff made this decision with a lot of thought and reason. The timing of this announcement probably means there wasn't enough interest based on pre-audition stats. And as a previous poster mentioned, there was an aesthetic to the all-female groups of yore that I kind of miss. But doing it solely for the sake of tradition doesn't make sense. There's got to be more practical reasoning behind this move. 4) Phantom will turn away a lot of good performers. But the "20 great performers replaced by 20 mediocre performers" argument doesn't hold up. If Phantom was struggling to make finals, that would be a different story. They'll get members that are good enough. It's the instructional and design staff that will determine how far the unit goes.

Groovy. Have fun in Ra-Cha-Cha.

Does anybody know the rehearsal sites for Vigilantes, High Country, and/or Kilties during the weekend?

Sorry about that. I thought you guys weren't making out to the party. Glad I'm wrong Good luck to everyone.

THE OFFICIAL-EST PREDICTIONS ... EVER* Open 1. Buccaneers 2. Hurricanes 3. Mn Brass 4. Caballeros 5. Empire 6. CorpsVets 7. Alliance 8. Kidsgrove Scouts 9. Bushwackers 10. Renegades 11. Kilties Class 'A' 1. Govenaires 2. Fusion Corps 3. Grenadiers 4. Carolina Gold 5. SoCal Dream 6. Vigilantes 7. Sun Devils 8. White Sabres 9. High Country Brass 10. Shenandoah 11. Excelsior 12. Cincinnati Tradition * This prediction post is based partly on familiarity and mostly on educated guesses. If you are a member of any of these corps and are offended by your make-believe placement, you'll have a chance to prove me wrong less than a month from now.

Great thread. If I'm just walking around and watching lots (not on public school grounds, obviously) I'll typically go with a can of inexpensive lager (i.e. Grainbelt Premium, Bud, Miller). If I'm watching at home, it needs to be a good, dark stout or porter. Nothing too strong, but a good drink to encourage a conversation. And if I'm watching a corps I don't care for ... I go with the Panther.

It's GOVENAIRES ... not GOVERNAIRES. How dare you all misspell an already misspelled name.

Considering this was the first DCI show hosted in St. Peter since ... ever ... I think it was a huge success. Can somebody explain why is it such a huge deal to not have a judging panel, anyway? If it saves the sponsors money and continues to allow some of the best drum corps to be displayed in southern MN, what's the harm? There's 30+ other shows these corps will get judged at. One exhibition show isn't do damage to the scores or standings. And to the posters who cry "OMG NO SCORES!" or "Somebody should be fired," the people who organized the show (and kept it alive by relocating it rather than cancelling it) owe nothing to your sad habit of obsessing over how much Corps X beat Corps Y.

I agree with Granny on the poster issue. And striving for excellence in all areas isn't a bad thing either. But a two-month tour takes its toll on corps -- and the staff groups that teach on the road -- financially. And with dozens of corps that are trying to keep up with the Joneses, some of them falter in the process. Also, many of the instructors sacrifice a lot to teach. You can't expect someone to wear band-camp polo shirts and khaki shorts for 60-days straight. I seem to remember a certain director of a two-time world champion corps who valued thriftiness and operating within one's own means. That's not to say there's some idiot staff members (usually recent age-outs) out there who abuse living on the road and see it as free-license to live like a pig. But I don't think it's as rampant as people make it out to believe.

Not to knock against the Phantom Regiment as a corps or an organization ... BUT: I took two introductory classes on graphic software and spent a limited time farting around photoshop and indesign for my college paper -- and I was terrible at it. I had no visual arts experience and an outsider's understanding of what makes good design. As someone who spent late nights coming up with last-minute layouts and graphics, I can say with complete confidence that Phantom's show logo looks like it was designed with maybe five minutes of thought. Now, there is a big difference between my poor use of photoshop filters/papyrus font and whoever designed Phantom's logo: I was creating something to compliment a 500 word review on why The Black Eyed Peas' latest album sucked-- NOT SOMETHING TO REPRESENT COUNTLESS OF HOURS OF WORK, COMBINED WITH THE HOPES AND DREAMS OF HUNDREDS OF KIDS SHELLING OUT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. That said: there's 150 members, 20+ staff, and lord knows how many volunteers and support staff with every top corps. There's got to be at least one person in each corps that has a competent background in art and design who would have made something better. Yes, the show matters above all. But running and promoting a drum corps is a lot like producing and advertising a movie. Would "Jaws" have been as successful if the trailer was just some home-video of a kid playing with a rubber shark toy in the bath?

There is no fight club ...

If by "tuba players," you mean low-brass musicians who play (or are competent enough to play) tuba in a college-level wind ensemble, then hell no. (Okay, BD could make it work) And I mean no disrespect to the scouts' brass staff, but a creating a 20-man line for a corps that's trying to rebound from a slump seems excessive. It's like signing Manute Bol to play for an NBA team in the midst of a rebuilding year. Yeah, he's big. But his 7'7" presence contributed next-to-nothing (I know, weird analogy). IF Jim Prime, DVD, and the rest of the brass staff make it work, however, I will gladly eat my own words with a side of remorse sauce.

That's an accurate breakdown of the average corps' tuba line. Even great hornlines have to scrape to fill an occasional tuba hole(s) if they exhaust the alternate list. Most of the time, they get "that guy." I've heard stories of staff people removing valve pistons from members who sucked it up. Every one of these members were contra/tuba players and one of the corps was a late 90s champion. My point is that even creating merely a "good" tuba line is an uphill battle. I don't care if you have the ability to poop out brass titles on cue: working with a section of 20 just doesn't seem like a great idea -- especially if the corps is desperately trying to get competitive again.

I was glad to see G-men back at finals in 04. The Martha Graham-inspired theme was pretty interesting, and it definitely put 03's design to shame ... although, what doesn't? But 09 seemed like a stronger performance from a more experienced group. They got the place they deserved (better than BK, but no where near the rest of the pack) from using a safe concept.

That's great, dear. Please pass the Kool-Aid.