Rusty Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 (edited) Drum corps taught me two things: -Placement means little. Go out and give your very best, and you can hold your head high, win or lose. -The harder you try at something, the more that outer limit keeps getting pushed out further. When you're on that thin edge between what you can and can't do, you'll find the limit of what you can handle has been extended. In my current musical endeavors (vocal performance) this is how I roll. My attitude: others may be more talented or have better training, but nobody is going to outwork me. Edited May 3, 2010 by Rusty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goalieguy Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 It didn't help my rookie year. Some of the vets with egos think its cool to harass you all summer. I almost didn't march in 09.After 1 year, they stop. LOL now it's like I'm one of them. It's wrong to be mean to rookies...they are your future! Kris: I think that YOUR situation might be just a bit different than most. Being a rookie in an all-age corps, especially one with the history of ES, being the new kid is no different than being on a sports team or fraternity that will "haze" or "initiate" it's noobies. (" They can't do that to our pledges, only WE can do that to our pledges") Kinda like NFL teams making rookies stand on tables at meals and sing their school fight song as part of 'being a rookie'.. Unless your experience was that of legit harassment, I can't see where ANY reputable drum corps would condone that type of behavior from its vets to its rookies. I'm sure that like Piper said..you don't haze someone in the same uni as you..although I'm sure that if someone ELSE was giving you grief, those vets would generally 'have your back'.. That's the "family" part of this thing, regardless of your ability..Good, bad or indiferent, you're still part of the corps. Personally - I didn't get a lot of grief from the vets - but they DID make most of us rookies do some stupid task on a road trip..Mine was to scour the school campus where we were practicing to pick up all of the "pre-scattered" beer and soda cans the vets set up for us. LIKE REALLY TOUGH ! I know that when my nephew joined the corps at a VERY young age, the 'oldsters' decided to have the 3 youngest guys in the corps load the bus bays for each trip as their 'initiaition'...So my nephew and two rookie baris did that all summer...They got SO good at it, they did it for 3 years running.. It couldn't have been that bad...You're still doing it!! Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdewine Posted May 3, 2010 Author Share Posted May 3, 2010 While I don't believe in hazing, for the sake of hazing.... I DO believe in rookies doing a little extra to sort of "earn their keep" and "learn how drum corps works." But never anything cruel or embarrasing. For example, rookies should learn how to correctly line a practice field. Heaven knows us vets have done it enough times! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighBrass09 Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 Kris: I think that YOUR situation might be just a bit different than most. Being a rookie in an all-age corps, especially one with the history of ES, being the new kid is no different than being on a sports team or fraternity that will "haze" or "initiate" it's noobies. (" They can't do that to our pledges, only WE can do that to our pledges") Kinda like NFL teams making rookies stand on tables at meals and sing their school fight song as part of 'being a rookie'.. Unless your experience was that of legit harassment, I can't see where ANY reputable drum corps would condone that type of behavior from its vets to its rookies. I'm sure that like Piper said..you don't haze someone in the same uni as you..although I'm sure that if someone ELSE was giving you grief, those vets would generally 'have your back'.. That's the "family" part of this thing, regardless of your ability..Good, bad or indiferent, you're still part of the corps. Personally - I didn't get a lot of grief from the vets - but they DID make most of us rookies do some stupid task on a road trip..Mine was to scour the school campus where we were practicing to pick up all of the "pre-scattered" beer and soda cans the vets set up for us. LIKE REALLY TOUGH ! I know that when my nephew joined the corps at a VERY young age, the 'oldsters' decided to have the 3 youngest guys in the corps load the bus bays for each trip as their 'initiaition'...So my nephew and two rookie baris did that all summer...They got SO good at it, they did it for 3 years running.. It couldn't have been that bad...You're still doing it!! Pat It wasn't that bad! It probably was worse than usual because I was 13, LOL! Empire has great people and a great staff. We are one huge family. Sounds corny but its true. We all work our stones off during summer, we all fight at times but in the end we look back at what we accomplish and usually cry finals night before retreat. No other corps suits me! The only reason some vets were "mean" was because they PUSHED me to my limit that year, and that made me improve both musically and visually SO much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow_7 Posted May 4, 2010 Share Posted May 4, 2010 No other corps suits me! Give it a few years. Life will likely dictate where you live, which will likely dictate what corps suits you. IF you even have a "local" option. Of course local in drumcorps is roughly +/- 500 miles-ish. Or 200-ish in all-age and on a budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdewine Posted May 4, 2010 Author Share Posted May 4, 2010 Or the drum corps you march with will be the deciding factor in where you live. I quit a job with more than ten yrs. seniority, and walked away from a small parcel of land that was paid for, in order to move back to my hometown so I could march with the Brigadiers. To many people, corps is the most important aspect of their lives. That's why many march until they are physically unable or until they die. Loyalty to the activity is a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goalieguy Posted May 4, 2010 Share Posted May 4, 2010 It wasn't that bad! It probably was worse than usual because I was 13, LOL!Empire has great people and a great staff. We are one huge family. Sounds corny but its true. We all work our stones off during summer, we all fight at times but in the end we look back at what we accomplish and usually cry finals night before retreat. No other corps suits me! The only reason some vets were "mean" was because they PUSHED me to my limit that year, and that made me improve both musically and visually SO much. Point taken Kris ! My nephew was 14 when he started..Heck I was only 18, and THAT was when under 21 was the exception for "Sr. Corps"..There may have been 3 or 4 people in the corps younger than me at that time, so I feel your pain (I know my nephew sure would) Hoping our paths cross in either Jamestown or Rochacha this summer... Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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