How About the Youngsters?

[crazymello]

First show I saw was Cavaliers 2006, and that was in the midst of the 2008 winter season. I thought it was amazing. I dropped my sax forever, picked up mello, marched the summer of 2008 (not cavies) and the rest is history. As far as my opinion as opposed to the dinos goes, I am fine with Bbs, but I hate the synth sound because it detracts from the legit brass sound. Narration is okay in moderation. See: Bluecoats.

Edited March 15, 2010 by crazymello

[Buick]

I've been around drum corps since the late 90's when i was only 9, 10 years old. My mom would take me to the local shows which at that time included DCI corps (today there's only 1 DCA show in my town). And I remember my Mom having to take me kicking and screaming to the show, I just DID NOT want to go. My mom would try go get me to listen to corps recording at home but I didn't want any part of it. So a couple years later, I do HS marching band, and one day over the summer in 2005 Glassmen stay at our HS to rehearse. After our band finished rehearsal inside I go out to watch them. I was amazed watching them and I fell in love with it.

The next year I auditioned for Cadets after doing some research and ended up getting an alternate spot with Crossmen (since YEA made Crossmen the Cadet's feeder corps essentially.... ) I didn't take it for school reasons and ended up marching with a DCA corps in 07.

I'm marching DCI now and I'm glad that the corps I march isn't going in the same direction musically as other corps in the top 12 are. I enjoy the activity and I just hope that it stays around long enough for my possible future kids can have the opportunity to march. (as long as there's no saxophones ...but really)

I always kick myself for having seen shows live like 99, 00 BD, the powerhouse that was 2002 Brigs and other of my favorite shows from those years and being such a brat about hating it when I was there. I ended up marching 2 shows in the same stadium I was in as a kid, pretty nostalgic.

[76strad]

Well, for one I never knew it existed till after the 2007 season, I was told about it by my friends and asked my director, first I looked up the bluecoats cause' they had a cool name, and I was like ok this is cool maybe i'll do it, then I was told to look up crown 07 and I fell in love etc.

So I think the old horn lines were really cool, but the new age technology in my mind is able to make the shows more physical in that the drill is more complex and physically demanding. Also, I think that it would be really cool to go back to the old G's

[Nice_N_Soft_Tissues]

I am REALLY new to drum corps, learned of the activity at the start of sophomore year through our instructor's remarks about ratings/scores/other jargon... blah blah blah ( didn't really care for marching band at the time). Went home, saw a couple vids and thought "wait a minute, wait a minute.....why does marching band without woodwinds sound really, really good?" went to my first live show last summer.

[Abbevillekid26]

Brass

Excellent execution

Loud

Intonation

SCV 89 and plenty of shows before 2000

I don't know where people get the idea that it's our generation that wants synths and woodwinds. The other teens I marched with in DCA don't care for that junk either, neither do my classmates. Before someone replies with the usual "you do not represent every teen/youngin/etc" I understand but I really don't think it's (solely) high school or college kids to blame.

[jedihunter80]

I'm also still kinda new to the activity, I really became a fan in 2007.

I saw my first DCI show in 1996 when I was only 3 years old, so I have no memory of it, but as long as I can remember I've always been fascinated by the marching arts and starting in elementary school I was hell bent on being in marching band. It was through high school marching band that I was re-introduced to drum corps (I had never been to a show since that one in 1996) when I heard some upperclassmen talking about the Blue Devils at lunch one day. I started looking up drum corps vids on that-one-video-site-that-shall-not-be-named, and was hooked/obsessed instantly. I loved the pure brass sound and the awesome blend and power, it gave and still gives me goosebumps.

From there my taste has matured, now that I have been to Drums Along the Rockies twice and Finals once in 09. I now can tell the difference between styles and quality and can truly say what I like and dislike, and after I march for the first time this year and start working on becoming a music major I'm sure that my opinion will mature further.

As for synths, amps, etc, I don't mind as long as they are not overplayed and are used TASTEFULLY. And I would absolutely NOT approve of woodwinds (yes I'm going back to that can of worms lol)

I also like watching lots of the older "dinosaur" shows as well as the "modern" ones.

So for this "newbie", the thing that draws me to corps and makes me like shows is the sound, namely the lines that can produce walls of sound and play powerful, ENTERTAINING music that sounds good. But I also like visual stuff that is well executed and fun.

Edited March 15, 2010 by jedihunter80

[JimF-LowBari]

Well, for one I never knew it existed till after the 2007 season, I was told about it by my friends and asked my director, first I looked up the bluecoats cause' they had a cool name, and I was like ok this is cool maybe i'll do it, then I was told to look up crown 07 and I fell in love etc.

Great thread (biased for some reason ) and everyone is respectful..

LOL, ain't the Internet great for finding out things. Didn't see my first corps performance until about 8 months after I joined (no websites with vids).

So I think the old horn lines were really cool, but the new age technology in my mind is able to make the shows more physical in that the drill is more complex and physically demanding. Also, I think that it would be really cool to go back to the old G's

Could you explain what you mean by "new age technology"?

[euponitone]

I think I know what you mean. In my case anyway, after I was introduced to Drum Corps, wild horses couldn't keep me away from wanting to march.

Well yeah....at the time I absolutely wanted to march...its just that after marching, things changed. Some people march, and become even more obsessed with it....i marched, then took a year off because I wanted to. Marching corps was still an absolutely life changing experience still, and it's opened up tons of doors for me lately, but it does make watching shows now a little less fun for whatever reason.

[Perry S]

Well, for one I never knew it existed till after the 2007 season, I was told about it by my friends and asked my director, first I looked up the bluecoats cause' they had a cool name, and I was like ok this is cool maybe i'll do it, then I was told to look up crown 07 and I fell in love etc.

So I think the old horn lines were really cool, but the new age technology in my mind is able to make the shows more physical in that the drill is more complex and physically demanding. Also, I think that it would be really cool to go back to the old G's

See See a New Person EXTOLLING the virtues of the G BUGLES! Much LOVE from a "Dino" 76strad.

[ChwyNiblet]

Never heard of drum corps until my freshman year of high school marching band when my brass tech gave me a CD of drum corps to listen to. Madison Scouts, and Blue Devils no less. I was hooked, went to my first DCI show in 2006 in Allentown and saw the Blue Devils in person along with a lot of other corps I, at that point, had only seen on my computer screen and well as they say, the rest is history. Went on to march in a few corps after 2007.