Need some advice

[eutocoatrompa]

I've heard good and bad about just about every corps in last year's top 17. Though, the ones I've heard the most good (and least bad) has been the Bluecoats, Blue Stars, and the Troopers. Naturally, that's just from what I hear from word of mouth (and we all know how reliable that can be).

If anything, send out an e-mail to some of the caption heads of corps you're interested in, and ask them some questions. But, you better hurry up, because audition season is almost over, and most, if not all, the spots in your corps will be full.

[BozzlyB]

I heard from a MM of a G8 corps that it was corps policy to never to refer to them by their name all season -- they were simply referred to as Tuba 6 !

Interesting, but irrelevant. The issue isn't being called a number (drum corps is known for inspiring bizarre nicknames and in this activity someone could be named dumbestassever and have it be a term of endearment) it's being treated like a number, which is quite different. Did said individual happen to speak to the quality of their experience over all?

[roosevelt]

Interesting, but irrelevant. The issue isn't being called a number (drum corps is known for inspiring bizarre nicknames and in this activity someone could be named dumbestassever and have it be a term of endearment) it's being treated like a number, which is quite different. Did said individual happen to speak to the quality of their experience over all?

I am pretty sure he was joking.

[BozzlyB]

I am pretty sure he was joking.

Very possible, my sarcasm detector seems to be malfunctioning as of late.

[corpsband]

Very possible, my sarcasm detector seems to be malfunctioning as of late.

:jimlad: would solve all those malfunctions! (and yes roosevelt was correct in his assessment) !

[Mbwun]

Every corps has to become a family because after spending all day everyday all summer with them you have to otherwise it will be miserable for everyone. From my experience Blue Knights are great at this but it really is what you want to do. If you had a bad experince it may be just that season but don't let one season ruin all of DCI for you. There is a place for everyone and winning isn't everything, go someplace that will be understanding and help you out with the problems you may encounter rather than just ignore you.

[hornandsoccer]

That is how it has always been at Coats, and I'm glad it is still like that even though they have become one of the big boys. That family atmosphere was one of the things that made marching in Canton so great.

From personal experience, that is NOT the vibe that is going now. Not that they're doing anything wrong, just that having marched a corps that always put family number 1 and everything else something like 9 or 10, a family experience is not something I expected or found there.

Again, JMO. Don't flame me because I said this, just one person's observation.

[wcmello09]

I've heard good and bad about just about every corps in last year's top 17. Though, the ones I've heard the most good (and least bad) has been the Bluecoats, Blue Stars, and the Troopers. Naturally, that's just from what I hear from word of mouth (and we all know how reliable that can be).

If anything, send out an e-mail to some of the caption heads of corps you're interested in, and ask them some questions. But, you better hurry up, because audition season is almost over, and most, if not all, the spots in your corps will be full.

you can get into most corps at any point throughout the winter months and probably through most of june...

every corps is going to have its lovers and haters. with that said, go with your gut and what you've heard from close friends/educators you know

[bluestarsrok]

I am sorry, but how many championship corps have you been in?

I been around quite a few drum corps the last 25 years (both championship and non championship, finalist and non-finalist corps) and in my experience the biggest difference between all of them is that they championship drum corps all treated their members BETTER than anyone else. THE REASON that the blue devils and the cavaliers win so much is because of how well they treat their members IMO.

MOST if not all top tier drum corps treat their members well. The REASON they win so much is the BEST talent auditions there, consistently, year after year. More ringchasers at BD, Cadets, and Cavies than all the other corps combined........

[roosevelt]

MOST if not all top tier drum corps treat their members well. The REASON they win so much is the BEST talent auditions there, consistently, year after year. More ringchasers at BD, Cadets, and Cavies than all the other corps combined........

Have you marched or worked with BD, Cadets or Cavies? Do you think the talent is the sole reason why they win? Do you think they would get the talent if they didn't treat people great? I think the reason that BD and Cavaliers get the best talent is because they treat people well. Combine that talent with their staff and design team and that is a recipe for success. The Cadets don't get the best talent... they also don't treat people as well IMO as some of the other corps. They do however work unbelievably hard and win a lot because of their work ethic.

You say "ringchaser" like it is a bad thing. I don't understand why people think it is bad to want to win. Often times i see the same people who refer to people as "ringchasers" in a negative light turn right around and complain about how their corps is not finishing / scoring higher. To me that makes no sense.