crest99 Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 Lest the mercenary aspect of parades get a little overblown on this thread, keep in mind that corps are also technically paid for each competitive show appearance. At least last time I checked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hill Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 High-jacking the topic only a bit: with Independence Day parades in review, how about the most patriotic moments in drum corps history? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 (edited) And by the way... my father (Purple Heart recipient in WWII) and my brother (vietnam veteran) and the fact that my flag is flying in front of my house today and will be all weekend appropriately for the respect due to all freedom Patriots and our country's "birthday" (even though the 4th of July isn't really the actual date that independance & freedom occured in history) is and are a demonstrations of my honoring all who gave their lives for this country. And maybe I'll go to a parade that demonstrates all the celebration of those memories as well! Thank you! Now that is what the various parades, as well as the days of Memeorial Day and Independence Day, honor; and if that type of paragraph was presented by each poster as being the primary reason, and the performance fees were presented a secondary reason (which again I have no problems with corps receiving those fees), my postings in this thread would have taken on a vastly different tone. I didn't want to start a "fight" with you on this, I was responding to your "Sad, ya'll, very sad indeed" statement. Sorry. No fighting on my end, a bit of frustration being vented, but no fighting was intended; and sorry if you took it as such. But I do believe that all the postings about the day being "only" about making money at parades, and nothing at all being mentioned about the true meaning of both the day and the parades until I bluntly pointed that out, was, and is, a very sad commentary on our culture. No apology from me on that aspect. Edited July 2, 2010 by Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouooga Posted July 2, 2010 Author Share Posted July 2, 2010 Likewise, no disrespect intended - but yikes, where did/do you march, the Silver Spoon Cadets? Parades have been, and continue to be, a significant source of revenue for corps at all levels of the activity.peace, Fred O. I marched two different corps in this decade. My first year we did two parades on the 4th, and honestly no one ever told me why we were actually doing them; just that we were. The second year/corps we got a free day on the 4th and I thought it was awesome that I got to spend the 4th of July (one of my favorite holidays) with my corps friends just relaxing. But two things I should point out: 1) I'm personally in the bunch that the only thing your corps should be working on in the summer is the show, unless they are on a free day. I realize that I'm in the minority on that, I'm sure, but come August when corps are scrounging for half a point here and there, you realize how important those moments of rehearsal back in July were. 2) I live in Las Vegas, where it is FAR too hot to do parades. I think we have three parades the entire year, and not a single one is longer than a mile. Actually, the first parade I ever personally went to was the one on the 4th of July that I marched in with my first corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 I've often thought to myself... If I'd began counting (and kept track of) the total number of parades that I've marched in throughout my life, what would the number be at this point? 200? 500? Nearly 1000 or more? Likewise, how many total miles would that be? What's the total amount of people that have watched me performing in those parades over the decades? Am I the only one that's thought about stuff like that from time-to-time? That would be a "no". My feet ache just thinking about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrillmanSop06 Posted July 2, 2010 Share Posted July 2, 2010 I've often thought to myself... If I'd began counting (and kept track of) the total number of parades that I've marched in throughout my life, what would the number be at this point? 200? 500? Nearly 1000 or more? Likewise, how many total miles would that be? What's the total amount of people that have watched me performing in those parades over the decades? Am I the only one that's thought about stuff like that from time-to-time? Anyway, I've been marching since about 1979, from my high school band, to junior corps, to the United States Marine Drum & Bugle Corps, to All-Age corps, from coast to coast, in virtually every region of the country, as well as on foreign soil, and from small hometown parades to lavish (and wild) Mardi Gras Parades, to nationally televised parades. Not a lot of people get to do that kind of stuff, and I think it shapes who we are in a positive way. Parades offer us opportunities to connect to our audiences in ways that seem to be much more meaningful (at least to them) than when we're performing on the field. With all of my parade experiences (including adding on four more this coming weekend), like you, I have a ton of memories and stories that I could tell about the things/people I've observed, or the interesting experiences I've had while performing on those parade routes. Why do parades? Because I think it's a privilege to perform, and I'm thankful that people have cared enough to come out and watch, listen, and in many cases pay for those performances in one way or another. I think we're all pretty lucky to own the perspective of experiencing parades from "inside the performer's fishbowl." Quoted. For. Truth. The only parade I've ever disliked was the Parade of Roses...And even then, it was just the last mile or so that I just wanted to stop! Luckily, college band's pretty relaxed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuriousMe Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 More power to all y'all that enjoy parades. I confess that I hate marching in parades. We generally marched 3-4 on Memorial Day and then 3-4 on July 4th. Memorial Day wasn't terrible, but July 4th was always screeching hot....not a good combo with wool uniforms :-( This in no way means that I don't respect what the holidays are for (my Dad and Grandfather were both Vets)....just that I didn't enjoy marching in multiple parades, in uniform, when it's over ninety degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScadesB5 Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 All i know is that marching that parade in Bristol with Crossmen on Bass 5 in those all black unis was NOT FUN. Though we did get a chance to goof around with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scsudrummer Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 All i know is that marching that parade in Bristol with Crossmen on Bass 5 in those all black unis was NOT FUN. Though we did get a chance to goof around with it. Last year, I marched most of my parades in Pio as the rifle bearer in the honor guard. Fun times. I get to do two parades Fourth of July with Minnesota Brass with a tuba. Now I know why most of my drum corps friends hate parades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 Not bashing here, but what is the point of doing parades? Do corps get paid for them, or is it just for exposure? Don't get me wrong, I actually think they can be kind of fun, but I was looking on dci.org and saw that some corps are doing as many as 5 parades on the 4th of July. I just don't see any benefit in that. If you treat the 4th as a rehearsal day, cool, and if you treat it as a free day, cool, but parades don't accomplish either of those two things as far as I'm concerned. I do remember needing a lot of Gold Bond after parades, though, and I was too tired at the end of the day to even want to watch Fireworks, so as far as I see it it's just a waste of time and energy. But I could be missing something too....Thoughts? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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