actucker Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Earplugs, especially if you're on a drum bus. Does that even happen? When I was on tour, nobody but percussion and some of the guard girls (for obvious reasons) were allowed on the drum buss. We didn't have any horn members on our bus. With 20 people in the battery and 20 people in the pit, that was pretty much a full bus load, and they wanted to keep all of the percussion together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollywoodNeoCon Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Does that even happen? When I was on tour, nobody but percussion and some of the guard girls (for obvious reasons) were allowed on the drum buss. We didn't have any horn members on our bus. With 20 people in the battery and 20 people in the pit, that was pretty much a full bus load, and they wanted to keep all of the percussion together. I completely agree, and for some reason, am reminded of that awesome scene in "Remember the Titans," when the offense kid tried sitting at the DEFENSE'S table... The drum bus is for the drummers. Period. except for the guard chicks with McDonald's gift cards and unlimited date plans and minutes on their cell phones... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickhaltsforlife Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 With corps sizes being larger most busses are full. And of course some age-outs and long time members get their own seats. Lol. Also with 80 member hornlines they have to be split up onto the other busses. -Gold bond probably saved my life. -Socks -More than one pair of shoes. -Buy the cheapest and largest box of trash bags- you can choose not to share, but people will love you if you do, work great for ponchos, and make sure you save an old sweaty one for a tick to wear, hehehe -Flip flops, two pair, one for shower, one to just wear. TAKE SNEAKERS OFF WHENEVER YOU CAN. Your feet will love you. Especially if you sweat a lot. -Bath rug for bus -Do not bring a small water jug on tour. Smallest that is acceptable is 1gal.. anyone who marched with me in '08 had a lot fun kicking my empty water jug as far as it can go. Keep your mouth shut on the field. DO NOT TALK BACK TO STAFF no matter how wrong you think they are. If you have an issue with something wait until after block to address it. Work out now. My body hated me during ST both years. If you play a heavy horn, hold it up now if you have one at home. If you don't, figure it out and get one. And just stand up in your room, listen to some drum corps, play along with your midi. But DO NOT PUT THAT HORN DOWN. And keep your posture perfect. If you have a friend who can do this with you even better, but you want to figure out how to hold your horn before spring training to avoid horn holding parties. But do it with a friend to check each other out. Pain is good, just dson't dwell on it. And keep it at playing position (euphs). Tubas hold that baby at a carry. The best way to gain the strength to hold up your horn is by holding up your horn with proper posture. No exercise will really help you with ALL the muscles used. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrownStarr Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 (edited) Does that even happen? When I was on tour, nobody but percussion and some of the guard girls (for obvious reasons) were allowed on the drum buss. We didn't have any horn members on our bus. With 20 people in the battery and 20 people in the pit, that was pretty much a full bus load, and they wanted to keep all of the percussion together. It definitely happens. At least at Crown, the hornline is just too big. They're spread out over the brass, guard, and percussion buses, and the others corps probably work similarly. The perc bus is about 2/3 percussion, 1/3 brass, dunno about the guard bus. EDIT: and yes, if you ride the perc bus and you're not a drummer, headphones wouldn't be a bad idea. Personally, I've gotten used to the drumming, but headphones are still good to have on you if you decide you want to sleep before the bus has quieted down. Edited April 20, 2011 by CrownStarr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CookieMonster Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Went through my first season of world class last year, and the things that saved my life/I wish I had brought. -GOLD BOND -Bungee Cords to hang stuff (esp. towels and and hats) on the ceiling of the bus -All of the socks. Bring every pair of athletic socks you have, buy two more packs, and bring those -Sunblock as you need it. You know how you burn, and you probably will burn. -Almost more importantly if you're a horn player, lip balm/protectant that protects well against the sun but won't make you break out when it's all up in your mouthpiece. The virtues of not playing on burnt lips, but finding a non-pore-clogging formula is crucial. This is a trial and error thing, and it's better to try stuff out in the month you have before you break out around your mouth and have to play on it. That's why I don't use Burt's bees on tour, it's so thick it clogs the pores around my mouth, and I know it happens to other people. Have a bandana if you're not playing or know how to make a white t-shirt ninja wrap. -A good pair of sneakers (or two). If you can afford it, get checked out at a running store. They can see how you stand/walk run and recommend shoes that minimize bad posture and running habits you have. Makes a HUGE difference in your knee and foot pain. -A poncho or vacuum bag to wrap around your/others backpacks in the rain. Makes a world of difference. I liked the poncho because it can keep me dry if I feel that's important that day. -A decent shoe polishing kit if your corps wears black shoes. Kiwi has a great one that's pretty cheap. Saddle soap is nice for shows on a messy field. -At least 1 gal water bottle. Not even a question. You will want that much. -BUG SPRAY. If you're not from a northern climate, you've never seen the fresh hell that mosquitos will reap on your sorry body when left unabated. Your whole section will thank you if you get the pump-spray stuff that holds a lot more. -If you have a leatherman/multitool and can swing it, bring it along. You'll want it at some point. -Power Strip. You'll be at a gym and need to charge 30 phones on one wall outlet. I use a power squid that might take up a little more room, but you can plug more bulky chargers into it. For hornline: -Black Towels. Several. Will become brown towels -Money for gloves DON'T BRING: -Too many clothes. You'll probably live in section shorts, socks, shoes, and little else. If your shorts are decent (with a good liner like running/bike shorts), even underwear is a show-day/free-day thing. You'll probably just want two free-day/laundry shirts, a couple pairs of shorts for after shows/free time. (I brought jeans and hated myself for it every time we had free. So hot! Especially when they became 6-8 inches too big!) Did I forget anything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCIfan90 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 (edited) Turn your cell phone off when you go to sleep. Don't be the guy whose phone is talked about the next day. You all know what I mean... "Did anyone else hear that obnoxious phone that kept going off every five minutes last night?" Also, it's okay to be frustrated, but when rehearsal starts you have to leave it all behind and do the same thing you've been doing. There will be days where you don't feel like working, but you will continue doing the same thing. There will be days where you will feel like you're the only one working hard and everybody else isn't, but you will continue doing the same thing. It's all about how you react to your surroundings and not letting it control you. A quote I heard on tour was "Life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it." Oh yeah, bring one or two extra hats and leave them attached to your back pack. Chances are you will forget your hat in the gym after a break one day, or that someone will forget their hat and you can lend them one of yours. You can choose to be nice and let them borrow it for free or say "you owe me a Gatorade." It's up to you. On that note, get to know the phrase "you owe me a Gatorade" very well. Whatever side of that phrase you want to be on is up to you. ;) Edited April 20, 2011 by DCIfan90 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcmello09 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 If you sweat a lot, or are naturally prone to getting athlete's foot, tinactin spray will help. also, get your shoes and socks off as much as possible (WHEN NOT IN REHEARSAL obviously). It'll help save your feet.Bring a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie for the bus.Earplugs, especially if you're on a drum bus. the drum bus isn't loud, or at least whatever hearing damage i might have, isnt from riding the drum bus for a year. HOUNCIL Does that even happen? When I was on tour, nobody but percussion and some of the guard girls (for obvious reasons) were allowed on the drum buss. We didn't have any horn members on our bus. With 20 people in the battery and 20 people in the pit, that was pretty much a full bus load, and they wanted to keep all of the percussion together. our corps had 150 members on 3 buses, guard, drum, and horn and i'm pretty sure each bus had a few extra empty seats. the drum line and guard were both entirely on their respected buses. with an 80 person hornline, they wont all fit on one bus, so there were some on the guard and drum bus. but we didnt have any guard girls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
actucker Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Huh, I guess things are different these days. We had 4 busses, so space wasn't really an issue. Things change I suppose. Anyway, I want to piggy back on what someone said about not talking back to the staff. When someone makes a correction, the correct response in most cases is no response. Don't give a reason why you messed up, don't ask a question, just do whatever it is that they corrected, and do it on the next rep. Everything in rehearsal has to be streamlined in order to be as productive as possible, so whatever correction you're being given is what the staff (who have a better perspective than even the best member can) thinks is the most important. They want to see that correction happen right away. Similarly, often times a correction is going to feel awkward if you are doing it right. The reason behind that is that you have learned to do it incorrectly, and so the wrong way is engrained in your muscle memory. The only way to change the habit is to embrace the uncomfortable correction. For example, if you need to take bigger steps to get somewhere, take steps that feel too big. 9 times out of 10, you'll actually find that you are doing it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcmello09 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Huh, I guess things are different these days. We had 4 busses, so space wasn't really an issue. Things change I suppose. Anyway, I want to piggy back on what someone said about not talking back to the staff. When someone makes a correction, the correct response in most cases is no response. Don't give a reason why you messed up, don't ask a question, just do whatever it is that they corrected, and do it on the next rep. Everything in rehearsal has to be streamlined in order to be as productive as possible, so whatever correction you're being given is what the staff (who have a better perspective than even the best member can) thinks is the most important. They want to see that correction happen right away. Similarly, often times a correction is going to feel awkward if you are doing it right. The reason behind that is that you have learned to do it incorrectly, and so the wrong way is engrained in your muscle memory. The only way to change the habit is to embrace the uncomfortable correction. For example, if you need to take bigger steps to get somewhere, take steps that feel too big. 9 times out of 10, you'll actually find that you are doing it right. one time a caption head from the box asked if they would like them to come down and show them how its done and they told them yes. it got the members point across that they didnt understand what they were doing wrong and we immediately had techs there to help us. i was terrified for everyone around them, including myself. dont do that ever... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickhaltsforlife Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 one time a caption head from the box asked if they would like them to come down and show them how its done and they told them yes. it got the members point across that they didnt understand what they were doing wrong and we immediately had techs there to help us. i was terrified for everyone around them, including myself. dont do that ever... Sometimes though if things are way over your head, and you look and notice that you aren't the only one it is good to speak up, and usually it is a vet or section leader who should speak up. As a rookie and second year member, if I ever had a huge issue, I would wait until a tech was nearby and ask them between reps to clarify something or whatever. It might take a few reps to get things figured out, but you don't want to make a scene. That's the beauty of drum corps... you get A LOT of reps. Each rep should be better than the last. But once it is fixed, you need to do the same thing EVERY time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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