GUARDLING Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 (edited) Hmmm. When I dream I dream of what junior corps was. Young people between the ages of say 12 to 18 who mostly spent their entire drum corps careers in one uniform. The current version is what we got. Mostly adult professionals (17 to 25) who will bounce around from corps to corps in search of that ring. It is what it is and whatever it is it is no longer "junior"! And that's my biggest beef. you are very right..it was a great time.....loyalty was something not just taught but admired..It wasnt an " I " time but a "WE" time. I teach WC now and I think young members today dont understand that concept. BUT I will say, I wish I had the opportunities they have today..although I love the shows of the past and are excited to look back at times and remember I would have loved to march a show of today..the design,the creativity, the physicality, the drama and the complexity........different times...different members, different needs.. we also had to communicate face to face not by some electronic means....kinda sad.. I watched kids texting each other on the same bus all summer, I found some kids couldnt talk to each other face to face but put an electronic in their hands and they didnt stop....as I said different times...theres the good and bad of it and of course someone of the age to march drum corps today wouldnt agree because they dont even know a time before cell phones and computers and that wasnt that long ago. In a way I feel bad for them but also envy them at the same time Edited January 18, 2012 by GUARDLING Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puppet Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 you are very right..it was a great time.....loyalty was something not just taught but admired..It wasnt an " I " time but a "WE" time. I teach WC now and I think young members today dont understand that concept. BUT I will say, I wish I had the opportunities they have today..although I love the shows of the past and are excited to look back at times and remember I would have loved to march a show of today..the design,the creativity, the physicality, the drama and the complexity........different times...different members, different needs.. we also had to communicate face to face not by some electronic means....kinda sad.. I watched kids texting each other on the same bus all summer, I found some kids couldnt talk to each other face to face but put an electronic in their hands and they didnt stop....as I said different times...theres the good and bad of it and of course someone of the age to march drum corps today wouldnt agree because they dont even know a time before cell phones and computers and that wasnt that long ago. In a way I feel bad for them but also envy them at the same time Whenever you start to envy them just think of the gruel they have to slop down while on tour. There was nothing better than to get out of a long bus ride or 5 or 6 hours and go into a restaurant and order anything you wanted, eat joke and relax and yes, actually talk to each other about the adventure of the next day ... that excitement that came when you were actually going to see a corps you'd only heard on a Fleetwood record from the year before or only saw a grainy photo of in DCNews. Please don't envy them, continue to feel sorry for what they are missing and know in your heart that if our instructors had thought of some of the stuff they're doing now, we could have done it then ... except for the penalties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Whenever you start to envy them just think of the gruel they have to slop down while on tour. There was nothing better than to get out of a long bus ride or 5 or 6 hours and go into a restaurant and order anything you wanted, eat joke and relax and yes, actually talk to each other about the adventure of the next day ... that excitement that came when you were actually going to see a corps you'd only heard on a Fleetwood record from the year before or only saw a grainy photo of in DCNews. Please don't envy them, continue to feel sorry for what they are missing and know in your heart that if our instructors had thought of some of the stuff they're doing now, we could have done it then ... except for the penalties. Actually, Like I said I still teach now and YES they have no idea what they have missed out on BUT they also missed out on general things in life that we experienced also. The world is so different from the time DCI started or before. It is ashamed they cant experience ( SOME) of what we may have but thats not going to happen so If we want to either enjoy, tolerate or be part of what it is today..we can hold on to what our own memories are BUT move on..mainly because we have no choice. As I teach I try to infuse some of the older ethics and make people communicate ( its hard at times) but we do what we can I suppose......As far as food...I think we actually eat better now and more often....lol...at least who I taught we did...but yeah it was nice to eat somewhere other than a parking lot although my JR. years even in the 70s we started to eat in mass and not very well.....lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindap Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Whenever you start to envy them just think of the gruel they have to slop down while on tour. There was nothing better than to get out of a long bus ride or 5 or 6 hours and go into a restaurant and order anything you wanted, eat joke and relax and yes, actually talk to each other about the adventure of the next day ... that excitement that came when you were actually going to see a corps you'd only heard on a Fleetwood record from the year before or only saw a grainy photo of in DCNews. Please don't envy them, continue to feel sorry for what they are missing and know in your heart that if our instructors had thought of some of the stuff they're doing now, we could have done it then ... except for the penalties. ...penalties were awkward, glad that they changed the rules! We used to have a rumour mill exercise once in a while back in the day where one would whipser into an ear of their drum corps mate, a statement. By the time the whispers got to the end of line it was not the original statement, similar to the internet. Times have changed and it's up to us to help find perspective ... eat, joke, relax, read, talk is fine by me ... imo :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Actually, Like I said I still teach now and YES they have no idea what they have missed out on BUT they also missed out on general things in life that we experienced also. The world is so different from the time DCI started or before. It is ashamed they cant experience ( SOME) of what we may have but thats not going to happen so If we want to either enjoy, tolerate or be part of what it is today..we can hold on to what our own memories are BUT move on..mainly because we have no choice. As I teach I try to infuse some of the older ethics and make people communicate ( its hard at times) but we do what we can I suppose...... Older folks said much the same things about my generation when I was a kid (born in 53). I admire greatly that you are willing and able to contribute as you do to modern drum corps. As far as food...I think we actually eat better now and more often....lol...at least who I taught we did...but yeah it was nice to eat somewhere other than a parking lot although my JR. years even in the 70s we started to eat in mass and not very well.....lol I tend to agree on this. In my marching days it was pretty much fast food stops along the way...that we paid for ourselves. The relatively few times we had mass meals were usually not 'pretty'! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Whenever you start to envy them just think of the gruel they have to slop down while on tour. There was nothing better than to get out of a long bus ride or 5 or 6 hours and go into a restaurant and order anything you wanted, eat joke and relax and yes, actually talk to each other about the adventure of the next day ... that excitement that came when you were actually going to see a corps you'd only heard on a Fleetwood record from the year before or only saw a grainy photo of in DCNews. Please don't envy them, continue to feel sorry for what they are missing and know in your heart that if our instructors had thought of some of the stuff they're doing now, we could have done it then ... except for the penalties. I do not believe for one minute that our corps members would have been able to perform some of the things you see today...we had a lot of members who were not in the best of physical shape by modern standards, nor were many of the players remotely skilled enough to play the charts of today. As for food..every so often we had great stops like you mention, but most times we'd stop at a location that had two or three fast food joints, and we'd just split up and eat fast food. I do not feel sorry at all for the great experience modern members have, just as I do not feel sorry for myself in 1971 missing out on drum corps of 1931. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Older folks said much the same things about my generation when I was a kid (born in 53). I admire greatly that you are willing and able to contribute as you do to modern drum corps. I tend to agree on this. In my marching days it was pretty much fast food stops along the way...that we paid for ourselves. The relatively few times we had mass meals were usually not 'pretty'! thanks so much..yes the good ole days were good for sure and theres so much that we had that maybe some dont now BUT I think it can be the same in reverse. As to the title of the thread I dont think drum corps needs to be saved, it is what is is in 2011 and I dont really think there is a problem..Now is it different..of course, are there less fans maybe to the activity,...yes I think so....is this something that can be changed well time will always tell but I think bands provide alot more than they did back in the day which also could be a reason why we get such talented kids coming into the activity rather than the novice to music or ther marching arts.Putting drum corps aside, the world isnt the same as it was 40 years ago why would drum corps be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puppet Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 thanks so much..yes the good ole days were good for sure and theres so much that we had that maybe some dont now BUT I think it can be the same in reverse. As to the title of the thread I dont think drum corps needs to be saved, it is what is is in 2011 and I dont really think there is a problem..Now is it different..of course, are there less fans maybe to the activity,...yes I think so....is this something that can be changed well time will always tell but I think bands provide alot more than they did back in the day which also could be a reason why we get such talented kids coming into the activity rather than the novice to music or ther marching arts.Putting drum corps aside, the world isnt the same as it was 40 years ago why would drum corps be. Not to belabor the point but I grew up in a city where we did have great band experiences. I played in the New York City All City Orchestra and the All City Band. We had jazz bands of every stripe at Music & Art High School. But Drum Corps was a thing apart. Maybe that was because most High Schools here didn't have football teams. For us, band was an indoor thing, Orchestra was an indoor thing except on those rare occasions when we'd play in the shell in Central Park. Darn right I wish I could have marched with the Queensmen in 1961 but by '71 I was in the Brassmen. By '81 I wasn't even looking at drum corps at all. In '91 I was becoming a fan again and have been so (with some trepidation) ever since. I won't trade my laptop for a Smith-Corona nor my iPhone for a rotary ... I get that whole 'the world has changed' thing. Some things (like honesty, work ethic, etc) have not changed for the better. But there ya go. Oh yeah, about the food: We had oodles of money through our weekly bingo so we ate and slept really well on tour. Wes Hobby didn't call us The Cinderella Corps from Brooklyn, New York for nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I just checked the weather for the annual DCI meeting in Rosemont, IL. Below freezing temperatures and snow expected. Doesn’t sound like Hawaii or American Samoa to me. YOU were the one who claimed they had meeting in American Samoa...presented it as fact...prove it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearlsnaredrummer77 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I do not believe for one minute that our corps members would have been able to perform some of the things you see today...we had a lot of members who were not in the best of physical shape by modern standards, nor were many of the players remotely skilled enough to play the charts of today. Now for the crowd that see Drum Corps only as "art for art's sake," I suppose that's really important. But truthfully, I think some of the lure of drum corps was that in many ways it was a bunch of kids (and I mean kids-14,15,16 year olds) playing waaay over their heads and doing so simply by their determination and drive. I think that element added a lot of drama that drew community folk into the activity (also the festivals, parades). etc). I also think people miss out on the context of the 70s &80s when HS bands were overwhelmingly show bands and few were "corps style." So for the corps of that era to get to the level they performed at, really was almost something of a miracle. Nowadays with the HS programs full of drum corps staff, and style, it's not so surprising that a bunch of 21 year old music majors play like... music majors. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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