84BDsop Posted May 4, 2010 Share Posted May 4, 2010 A former student of mine said in a recent job interview that "....serious marching band people can't be good musicians." Really? He needs to say that directly to people like Peter Bond, Tommy Igoe, Jeff (?) Kivet, Al Chez, or any other other numerous corps vets who are now pro musicians across the country. d######... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted May 4, 2010 Share Posted May 4, 2010 Really? He needs to say that directly to people like Peter Bond, Tommy Igoe, Jeff (?) Kivet, Al Chez, or any other other numerous corps vets who are now pro musicians across the country.d######... Al Chez may well have taught this clown as well as myself, IIRC... does this tell you anything about him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted May 4, 2010 Share Posted May 4, 2010 (edited) . A former student of mine said in a recent job interview that "....serious marching band people can't be good musicians." hey... he's unemployed or scramblin' around for a better gig. Consider the source. Edited May 4, 2010 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cathie Wiener Posted May 4, 2010 Share Posted May 4, 2010 Regarding the subject of marching in drum corps while still in a high school band... as much as I wished that I had found out about drum corps a few years earlier than I did so I could march those years, it's probably for the best that I didn't go through the pain of coming from the work ethic of drum corps back into high school marching band. For some people, their high school programs may be good enough to handle that transition for drum corps members, but mine was not. Our band director didn't have anything against drum corps that I know of, but he was/is first and foremost a concert band and parade band instructor. Those are his babies/specialties and marching season was just the price he paid to get to the second part of the year. I'm not a patient person and I was already completely disheartened and frustrated with our rehearsals and show products, so had I known how much better it truly could be, I probably would have quit. And, simply put, if it wasn't for colorguard, I wouldn't have graduated high school. Colorguard was the only thing that kept me in school and since it was the last class of the day it would keep me in my classes during the day when I normally would have just bailed. I had serious "senioritis" from my first day as a freshman. It was a little better in the winter season because the guard wasn't reliant on the band director for our shows, but he affected how much time we could practice for winterguard and it was never enough. We'd always ask for more practice time in the gym or the band room or something and we usually couldn't do it. So for those who tell teens who march in corps and are still in H.S. marching band to (and I'm paraphrasing) "suck it up" and be a good leader, good example, work on your maturity, etc., etc., I say this still may not work for some people especially with lower-level high school programs. It's 20 years later and I know I would have been unbearable if I was in that situation and it's not because I thought I was better, it's not that I thought I knew the best way to rehearse or anything like that... it's because I cared and most everyone around me didn't. Sure, they liked marching in the band, but it wasn't what kept them going everyday so who cares if this line isn't straight every time we do it? So thank goodness I was introduced to drum corps the year after I graduated from high school. But I totally understand those people that don't want to go through the hassle of marching corps while still in a high school band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spatula67 Posted May 4, 2010 Share Posted May 4, 2010 I told my son to march "INT" but he goes off and joins Pioneer..........I just don't know about kids these days ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2000Cadet Posted May 4, 2010 Share Posted May 4, 2010 hey... he's unemployed or scramblin' around for a better gig. Consider the source. I thought the exact same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HylianHero Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 Assuming that I have kids and they when old enough want to march, I'd want them to join whatever corps they want. Would I like it if they marched with the corps I did? Yes. Would I like them to join a corps like Santa Clara or The Cadets that are known for how the instruct their members on and off the field? Yes. But most of all I want them to be happy and have summers that they'll remember forever, no matter who they march for, Academy to VK. I second this. I would let my kid march wherever they wanted to. If there was something vehemently wrong, like a safety issue, that's a different story, but I would want my child to march wherever they want to. I know that my parents might not have wanted me to march where I did originally, but I did and it ended up being a wonderful experience. Until someone has marched somewhere, no one knows how the everyday running of the corps goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 I think that I know where Cathie is coming from. I've known a lot of kids over the years who came from a high school or college band and later became used to the intensity of Drum Corps. When they returned to their school band after the season they were frustrated with the way things were run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 I think that I know where Cathie is coming from. I've known a lot of kids over the years who came from a high school or college band and later became used to the intensity of Drum Corps. When they returned to their school band after the season they were frustrated with the way things were run. This is funny, when I came back from my first tour I was actually very humble about my drum corps experience. I was glad that in college marching band I could just march and take a breather. I was never frustrated because I have fun doing corps and college marching band. I don't even think many people know that I march corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfallon Posted May 6, 2010 Share Posted May 6, 2010 This will not be a sexy answer as it's not the big time World Class total immersion but really, most people's kids don't just break in right off the bat with a top 6 or even 10 or often top 12 corps. I'm talking kids. My 16 year old, who had always wanted to march and had seen the older ones in Devils and Boston, clearly wasn't ready to break in at that level. We chose a local (regional) corps from Connecticut - 7th Regiment. Solid organization, good values, a simlar experience to what some of us dinosaurs grew up with time wise - weekends mostly until July - then touring the last couple of weeks. Is that for everyone? Probably not. But neither is Phantom, or Cadets, or ......... The concept, which seems to perpetuate at times here on DCP, that drum corps, or even DCI is the top 10 - 20 corps in the world is just too narrow a focus. The rehearsals I've taken in at 7th are high quality instruction and the cameraderie we prized without the scale of immersion necessary at that level. Good players; good organization; good support; good program; good friends; good times. Good Drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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