JimF-LowBari Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Northeast US generally pays corps for doing parades. Other areas either nothing or groups (including corps/bands) have to pay to be in the parade. IMO one of the reasons why the Northeast had/have a bunch of local corps and Alumni corps is the parade money could go a long way to pay the bills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 (edited) Parades all over the country pay for the best "Acts." (respectful snip) Thanks for all the responses. I was shocked to find out first of all that corps get paid for parades, and I was even more shocked to find out how much! Thanks to everyone who replied, for adding to my knowledge base. Edited January 5, 2013 by wvu80 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 I marched this parade nearly 30 years previous with the "maroon team" and we looked straight ahead, didn't break ranks, were dead serious, and had people watching to see if we did. This is my favorite photo from my time spent at Crown and you know what? It would have never happened without their approach to parades. Isn't this what it is all really about? Ok, now I feel like a COMPLETE jerk! This almost brought me to tears! I definitely get it now. And you know what? I think maybe what gets me more worked up than an "approach" (but I guess I got off track) is the quality issue. Here's the bottom line, I can accept that what Crown does with their approach is great because they do what they do, the way they do it GREAT and people appreciate it! I think what maybe IS an issue though, is when some corps (definitely NOT Crown) just slap a tune together with little care and then sound bad in front of thousands of people. Even some that try to keep things "traditional" don't always do a good job and I just think that an elite drum corps should always bring their best to any performance (regardless of the venue). Crown is obviously doing just that in a unique way and they do play well on the parade rout the more I check out their clips. Obviously, they are prepared. It's unfortunate to me though that some don't even try to do well and obviously Phantom, Boston, Cavies, Madison...AND YES....Crown come to their parades prepared. So shouldn't everyone? Oh well. I definitely get Crown now and again, I feel REALLY bad for what I originally said. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Thanks for all the responses. I was shocked to find out first of all that corps get paid for parades, and I was even more shocked to find out how much! Thanks to everyone who replied, for adding to my knowledge base. Indeed, an absolutely wonderful fundraiser for any corps. Which is why I personally take the subject seriously. Beyond that, I am one of those people who think parades are fun. Some people hate them, but I see the enjoyment in them as well as the benefit for anyone participating; whether it is for the money or simply for the exposure. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 (edited) Alright, so lets take this thread in a more enjoyable direction now by enjoying some of the good clips of performances that drum corps have contributed with. I'll start with another good one I found. Yeah, another traditional march (what can I say, I like them) Go Cavies! .... Kind of neat too. This was the year Cavies used mylar heads during part of their show and wisely chosen for the parade was a cool fit. Feel free to post others! Old or current. Edited January 6, 2013 by bmjfelts1988 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Oh, and mods, can I as the OP request that we now change the title to this thread simply "Parade Thread" (subject) and "Drum corps contributions" in the lower description. I'm also going to edit my original post since I've retracted so much of what I said. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Here's another good one that is less traditional. LOVE hearing Cadets play this version of Danny Boy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickhaltsforlife Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Having done the Bristol and Wakefield parade, I will say that they are fun as hell parades. Bristol is a huge party. Awesome crowd. They love every corps. We were straight ahead traditional more or less. But when we were stopped for a while we would always turn to a side and play something for the crowd. Crown was the corps ahead of us both years I marched. And boy did the crowd go nuts for those guys! I remember in 08 they would play the end of their show when we were stopped. And you would hear the crowd roar up ahead. That year we played our "Wonderful World" hit from the end of our ballad. Crowd loved that too! But Crown always killed it at parades, and I know the members have a ton of fun. For me it wasn't always a blast. But our horn staff tried to make it fun in a weird way. Trying to make us break. I remember our mello tech shoving a donut in his mouth all at once right next to my line.. trying to make us laugh. Our caption head would yell "Play something!" And of course they would disappear for a little when they would be invited into someone's house for a drink. I had a few fun memories from parades. Not always the funnest part of tour, and I know not everyone in the corps liked it, but I had fun. Now the funnest parades are the Halloween and Christmas parades in West Chester, PA. If you are ever in the area for them, check them out. Especially the Holiday Parade. And the WCU marching band always kills it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmjfelts1988 Posted January 6, 2013 Author Share Posted January 6, 2013 Having done the Bristol and Wakefield parade, I will say that they are fun as hell parades. Bristol is a huge party. Awesome crowd. They love every corps. We were straight ahead traditional more or less. But when we were stopped for a while we would always turn to a side and play something for the crowd. Crown was the corps ahead of us both years I marched. And boy did the crowd go nuts for those guys! I remember in 08 they would play the end of their show when we were stopped. And you would hear the crowd roar up ahead. That year we played our "Wonderful World" hit from the end of our ballad. Crowd loved that too! But Crown always killed it at parades, and I know the members have a ton of fun. For me it wasn't always a blast. But our horn staff tried to make it fun in a weird way. Trying to make us break. I remember our mello tech shoving a donut in his mouth all at once right next to my line.. trying to make us laugh. Our caption head would yell "Play something!" And of course they would disappear for a little when they would be invited into someone's house for a drink. I had a few fun memories from parades. Not always the funnest part of tour, and I know not everyone in the corps liked it, but I had fun. Now the funnest parades are the Halloween and Christmas parades in West Chester, PA. If you are ever in the area for them, check them out. Especially the Holiday Parade. And the WCU marching band always kills it! Awesome! :thumbup:/> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccerguy315 Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 bunker hill parade blows goats... drank water every time the bottle was passed down the line. Bladder was about to explode at the end. Didn't know if I would make it through the corps huddle. ugh. My second year we didn't march that one. But both years we did 3/4 parades on the 4th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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