TheMajikMan

I had not seen their show before, but had heard that the narrative was about cancer, but then they came on the field last night and I was SO confused. This thread had cleared that up. I take exception to the fact that the show now says "Having kids is what happiness is about." My wife and I don't plan on having kids, so I guess this means we will never truly be happy...

That is definitely Greg. I had the pleasure of spending a lot of time with Greg from corps responsibilities as a member and then some work in the office while I was on Cadet's staff, and week and a half ago on the cook truck. I could not have had a better role model/mentor through my most formative years. He is absolutely about the kids first, second, and third. Nothing else matters. In regards to pregame pep talk: Greg wasn't much for those. He was a lot more about us realizing how great we were, understanding what this experience (and life) are all about, and kicking us in the butt when we needed it. He embodies the Colts mission: We use music and excellence to teach each other about success in life. As far as great words from Greg: "You guys don't know how good you are yet." "You decide your own success, never let someone in a green shirt tell you how you should feel." "Your best friends in the world are room, but you don't know them yet." "Life advise(of which he has much): In an argument, whoever drops the F-bomb first loses." "You feel that in the pit of your stomach? That's what success feels like." But my favorite was at the end of every season: "Congratulations, we failed. Our goal was to make finals, and we didn't do it. Are we going to let that define us?" And the rest I can't quote but was very inspiring about finding your own wins and defining your own success, about never letting go of friendships and everything you had during that summer. About how to turn these successes to successes in life, and how to never waste a second. A very inspiring person, with a heart of gold and a mind to match. I can't think of anyone more deserving of the Hall of Fame than him.

I don't know if you're referring how it is different at BD now, or if I gave the wrong impression, but it is the same at the Colts that Cadets have to try out just like anyone else. I was just trying to state that you don't have to have a full summer of full time touring to get preparation for marching Div. 1.

I started replying with this in a different thread, but realized that I had made it very far away from the original intent, so I decided to start my own topic. What prompted this response was someone saying that doing parades and standstills around your area would not prepare you for the big time. I taught the Colt Cadets last year. I was on Brass and Visual staff. I loved my experience. I don't understand why everything has to be so big in DCI. Why does everyone have to travel all over the country? Why can't corps just be there to teach playing and spinning and drumming and marching? That's what we did. We practiced on the same field most of the summer. We only did some overnight trips, and a limited number of shows. But I bet if you asked the 7 or so kids that graduated to the full corps that they would say that it prepared them very well to march World Class. (Yes 7 seems like a small number, but you have to understand that our average age was very young.) I don't see why this activity is so obsessed with only having corps that are huge and travel the whole country. What ever happened to the little guy?

I was a clarinet major in college, and I marched for 4 years on Baritone, and now I couldn't possibly think that I would march anything but baritone. I think this is best evidenced by what I marched in college marching band each year after Drum Corps (Euph, Mello, then Tuba) But when I think back to how afraid I was about learning a new instrument and trying something new, would I still have learned a new horn to do Drum Corps if I didn't have to? I think this is the heart of the question, and I have no idea what the answer would be. I like to think I would have gone with tradition and learned a brass instrument, but I really can't say for certain either way. Allow me a side tangent for a minute. Do any of you other WW players feel like proponents of WW in drum corps are marginalizing you? One of the big selling points is "we're losing out on so many great musicians? I would argue that we are only losing out on LAZY great musicians. If you want to march drum corps it's not that hard to dedicate yourself to learning a new instrument/guard. Or maybe it is and we're all just determined as all get out. But it's always bugged me when people say we're losing great musicians because we don't allow WW instruments, but then I see 5-10 WW players in our hornline, and meet WW players from other hornlines and guards as well.

As a member of a corps that wasn't guaranteed marching in Semis every year I marched, I take exception to this. If that's the case, why not just let everyone march finals? I mean, it's only 8 more corps. Semis is worked for and earned just as hard as finals is, and I think it would cheapen the experience of the corps who worked hard to get there, and the corps that you're just "letting in." 17 means 17 and groups are still working hard to get there, regardless of how many corps they are competing against.

Why all of the love for the X-Men and the Scouts? Where's the Colts love? They have been scoring a lot worse than that this week, much more than .1 behind the Scouts and .5 out of 12th. GE and Visual scores are going fine, they just need to get some work done on those Music scores. It's not a 2 horse race for the last spot, it's about a 4 horse race. And I believe with it being the Scouts, the Colts, and the X-Men and Spirit they could catch up to the Blue Stars and the Glassmen. All I know is that it is going to be fun down to the wire. Go Colts! PS I forgot about the Troop. They are still in this thing too!

I think this can't happen for copyright reasons, but I would love to see a Beetles show. I have even planned some of it out in my head. I just think there's so much interesting music, and innovative ideas you could do with different pieces. Plus it would be recognizable by most audience members, and just in general a lot of fun to play.

I agree with your husband 100%.

Obscure LA law: At some point in your life, you must be married to a relative... bless your heart.

I've got 2. I think the first was 03. My first year at Indy Magic was performing, and their bass five player fell over... It was like a turtle on its back... He had to take the drum off while laying on the ground and then get up and pick up and put on the drum. It was a pretty good recovery, but very funny to watch. Worst ideas: Stupid postcards from Colts 2005... Stupid postcards...

OMG, You marched CR in 03 in Normal. We were scheduled right after you, but they pulled us. We felt so bad. My dad sat in the stand for that whole thing. He couldn't describe how bad the conditions were.

Dylan, I can tell you that both are great organizations. I never marched with the Blues Stars but have had many people I know love their experience there and stay all of their years, even when they were Div 2 and 3. I can also tell you that the Colts Organization with wonderful support from the staff/volunteers/members. I was a clarinet player in college, but decided that I had to march drum corps. I was from Iowa so Colts made sense to me. I knew the first day that it was a great choice. I had a wonderful four years there, and taught Colt Cadets the year after my age out. The entire organization is a class act, and they will always be very good to you. I can also tell you that after not finishing in the top 12 in any of my 4 years (not at a regional, not at finals, never) I would not have traded the experience I had for anything. The people I met and the experiences I had were something I will always treasure. I got married about 6 months ago, and the Colts were all over it. Two of my groomsmen (one of which being my brother), plus about 1/2 of the people on my side of the chapel (not just members either) were all people I shared my marching experience with. I could write all day about how great my experience was, but I think this has been long enough. Know that a choice of any drum corps will be a rewarding one, and whether you finish 1st or 20th your decision to march will have been well worth it. |/\|Sebastian|/\|

I love Allentown, but I can't believe no one has mentioned Michigan City yet. That was always a great place to play. |/\|Sebastian|/\|

The things that reminds me most of Drum Corps are seeing fields and trying to figure out if a football field would fit there, and when I wake up early and there is a light dew on the grass and the sun is glistening on each blade. And Funnel Cakes remind me of Allentown.