boilerman_05

Residence Hall.

Similar story here. Did great on my music audition and bombed my marching audition. I actually was asked to jazz run for my audition... and from a dead stop at that. I was ###### at myself because marching is my strong area. I just didn't have it that day, I guess. I do think however someone new to corps would be cut a bit more slack on the marching audition than someone like me who had 2 years of corps under their belt.

A "Best of the 90's" year would solve the returning member problem. Also, I think you could alleviate some of the talent problem by heavy advertising of the concept before people audition. Top players would be more likely to go to, say, Boston if they knew they could march their 2000 show, or Glassmen if they knew they could march their 2001 show. Sure people would still flock to shows like Frameworks and Spartacus, but I think it would be a more even playing field than your average year. Shows I would suggest: Blue Devils 2003 - Phenomenom of Cool Crown 2009 - The Grass is Always Greener HNC 2005 - The Zone: Dreamscapes in Four Parts with a Door Cavaliers 2002 - Frameworks SCV 2004 - Scheherazade Bluecoats 2007 - Criminal Boston Crusaders 2000 - Red Phantom Regiment 2008 - Spartacus Blue Stars 2008 - Le Tour: Every Second Counts Glassmen 2001 - Imago Blue Knights 2006 - Dark Knights (or 2001 - Blue Tunes ) Troopers 2009 - Western Side Story Colts 2001 - Chivalry (or 2009, it's a tough choice) The Academy 2009 - The Ascent Madison Scouts 2005 - The Carmen Project Crossmen 2001 - Late Night Jazz Spirit 2002 - Darkness Into Light Mandarins 2006 - Rhythm Nation Pacific Crest 2007 - What Happens in Vegas Jersey Surf 2009 - Mozart Effect Pioneer 2000 - Dances of Brigadoon Seattle Cascades 2002 - City Riffs: The Music of Leonard Bernstein Southwind 2000 (maybe this time they can break into finals?) It would be interesting to see 16 finalist shows trying for 12 finals spots.

I think there would be problems with phasing. If the electric drummer were at the back corner of the field and the sound were emanating at the front center, he wouldn't be able to listen to people around him and people around him wouldn't be able to listen to him because he would have to play with the pit (who he of course isn't supposed to listen to). But even playing with the DM would create problems. Kinda neat technology, but I see it being impractical for the high level playing of a drum corps. I guess that wouldn't stop Georgie though.

Did they not have the work ethic, or did they not have the time? I found it difficult to practice even an hour each day because music had to take a back seat to my professional studies. Skills, well, I agree there. Obviously a music major - in general - should be more skilled than a non-music major. Just as an econ major should know more about Keynesian economic theory than a music major.

Marched 4 years Div I/WC. Majored in Industrial Management and now work as a QC Engineer for a food manufacturer. I don't play my horn anymore, but I've recently picked up guitar. I find that playing a little John Mayer on guitar attracts the ladies better than Horovitz's Euphonium Concerto.

Someone's got a mess to clean up.

I've seen other corps members with their previous years metals under their jackets. And Magic wore their Div II champion metals for Div I finals in 2002.

Bring it. I'd like to see anyone's success stories. Just bonus points if it's due to corps.

for DCI to not allow Crown to win would involve a conspiracy between DCI executive staff and the judges. Do you really have that little faith in the legitimacy of the activity that you think this would happen? This isn't a Mexican wrestling competition, well, except for Madison.

You're posting on DCP on your wedding day?!

The Rake's Song is probably the darkest song I've ever heard in my life. I love it.

That looks good. I expect tasting notes. ... and I'll be going for a run once the temp drops a bit.

Anytime someone questions the athleticism of drum corps I always point them to an old picture of me from high school. When I graduated, I was 6'1" and 250lbs. After 4 years of drum corps I was still 6'1" but had lost over 80lbs. Now I run regularly (training for the NYC marathon now), eat healthier, and have managed to keep my weight off for the 5 years since I aged out. A trend I hope to continue. I just want to thank DCI, Pioneer, and Glassmen for what I have accomplished. I truly believe drum corps has saved my life. Do you have before and after pics? If so, post them here. The "drum corps diet" really works.

I like that you say you learn to deal with it rather than it's easy after a while. So true. It's never an easy horn to hold, but I still love it. More on topic: Audition for what ever corps you want. If you don't make it, don't worry, try somewhere else. But whatever you do, if you want to march corps, march. Too many people audition for a top 3 corps and if they don't make it they stay home. I guarantee you will not regret your experience even if you are in last place all summer.

It's funnier that way, but I only tell people I was a Cavalier when I'm trying to pick up high school chicks.

Actually, I wasn't a Cavalier. It was a serious question that I realized 2 seconds after I posted was stupid.

Was that a big deal at the time? Or was VFW "the show" for the season for most corps still?

Nevermind. I figured it out.

Why is your 04 finalist metal silver? Mine's gold.

Blue Stars 79-08 :: 29 years But way to go troop. Very impressive comeback!

While I was out for a run I got to thinking about this article and how reporters are never very good with the details. This report for example calls them bands, and refers to the Phantom DM as a member of the guard. Sure, it's understandable since this is a pretty low key article and a very niche activity. However, I notice the same thing in reports about my profession. I work in the food manufacturing industry, and it's almost scary how often reporters for major news outlets mess up the details. I'm not talking about bias here, but facts that should - with minimal research - be easy to discern... like which agencies are responsible for different kinds of products (USDA = meat, FDA = everything else). It really makes me skeptical when I read articles about things I am not intimately familiar with. Can I really trust what they are saying as correct? I understand they are human and prone to mistakes, but it seems like people have a very high image of reporters (at least for outlets like the NYT, WSJ, TIME, etc) that isn't necessarily warranted. Sorry for the diversion. Back to complaining about complaining.

Oh, I also like that they show the crowd in the end of the Phantom 08 clip. It highlights how many people are there. I've shown videos to friends before and they only see the back sidelines and assume there aren't many people in the stadium.

Huh? They call them bands all the time in the writeups. The link to the article is called "Battle of the Bands". I really don't mind though. I'll sell out that bit of integrity for national exposure to the activity.

Crown is just that good.