Joe Flynn Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 George Bernard Shaw once said that youth was wasted on the young. He went on to expound on that and to say that "youth are brainless and don't know what they have; they squander every opportunity of being young, on being young." Now I don't necessarily share the view in its entirety, but I do agree with the sentiment and if I may rephrase it just a bit, "Drum Corps is wasted on the young." Now before any offense is taken that I've just insulted an entire generation, just hear me out. When you are young you feel that the world is yours for the taking. Everything is an adventure and a new experience. Love, friendship, sex, and even music is fresh and exciting. The very essence of being young is about living for the moment and living for today. Responsibility isn't quite the first thing on a young person's mind. When you are young, your dreams exist in this grandeur untainted by life. We were all there. We were all youthfully ignorant and we were all doing everything we could do to survive from day to day and show to show. Read the rest at http://paradigmwinterguard.blogspot.com 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 This blog made me smile. I never did laundry until I marched drum corps, and afterwards I realized it spoiled me: it really is fun doing laundry on tour, and lame/tedious in the real world 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDale Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 This blog made me smile. I never did laundry until I marched drum corps, and afterwards I realized it spoiled me: it really is fun doing laundry on tour, and lame/tedious in the real world :tongue:/> Laundry day also meant a bit of break for your chops and lower back! It also meant maybe a slice of pizza or a cold Coke, which were very rare on tour. Ageouts might also actually get an adult beverage if they were careful (free night in Montreal comes to mind!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glory Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 ..."Drum Corps is wasted on the young."... Reading what you wrote, it doesn't sound like a waste at all. HH 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 (edited) In answer to the question, though, I would definitely not want to march another season as a DCI marching member. Too much work, time & financial commitment, etc. I was actually planning my wedding during my age-out summer tour, as well as managing college stuff, signing an apartment lease, etc. WAY too much work. Now, marching in a WGI group, I would do that again in a HEARTBEAT. TOTALLY different vibe than with a drum corps, and a lot more fun with slightly less commitment. It's one thing having to commit to weekends, but it's manageable if you schedule other essential tasks during the week outside of rehearsals and performances. DCI doesn't offer that sort of luxury from spring - end of the summer tour. I love the activity, don't get me wrong, and I'm glad that I participated the two years I did. But WGI is a lot more enticing/manageable for me than drum corps is. I had a LOT more fun marching WGI PIW than I did marching DCI World Class. And oddly enough, I marched my WGI age-out season AFTER I got married (I was kinda talked into it): performed with my wedding ring on and everything! Edited May 3, 2013 by perc2100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamMan Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 In answer to the question, though, I would definitely not want to march another season as a DCI marching member. Too much work, time & financial commitment, etc. I was actually planning my wedding during my age-out summer tour, as well as managing college stuff, signing an apartment lease, etc. WAY too much work. Now, marching in a WGI group, I would do that again in a HEARTBEAT. TOTALLY different vibe than with a drum corps, and a lot more fun with slightly less commitment. It's one thing having to commit to weekends, but it's manageable if you schedule other essential tasks during the week outside of rehearsals and performances. DCI doesn't offer that sort of luxury from spring - end of the summer tour. I love the activity, don't get me wrong, and I'm glad that I participated the two years I did. But WGI is a lot more enticing/manageable for me than drum corps is. I had a LOT more fun marching WGI PIW than I did marching DCI World Class. And oddly enough, I marched my WGI age-out season AFTER I got married (I was kinda talked into it): performed with my wedding ring on and everything! WGI is definitely the future of youth in music. Smaller time commitment and they get to showcase their unique skills. I wish there was a group around me when I was busting my bottom learning as much as I could. I had to wait until the summer to perform, and even then it was hit or miss on whether we'd have good instructors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 George Bernard Shaw once said that youth was wasted on the young. I prefer the wisdom of Paul the Apostle: "When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put away the childish things." Marching and Performing within Drum Corps International, while a great and wonderful activity, is an activity for the young. Moreover, as an adult, why should I spend time wishing to relive my past youth experiences when instead I could plan on the plethora of wonderful future possibilities in which I have yet to experience? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawnguitarguy Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 WGI is definitely the future of youth in music. Smaller time commitment and they get to showcase their unique skills. It's the future of youth in music, but what about brass players like myself? WGI is percussion, so I feel like theres a huge demographic being lost if you turn away from drum corps. Just my opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamMan Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 It's the future of youth in music, but what about brass players like myself? WGI is percussion, so I feel like theres a huge demographic being lost if you turn away from drum corps. Just my opinion Yeah, I'm not sure what brass players will move to. Maybe some of those ensembles that perform in that online thing will spawn some new ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccerguy315 Posted May 4, 2013 Share Posted May 4, 2013 (edited) I don't really have any interest in marching drum corps again... I go to shows when they come near me, but I work in a field completely unrelated that I am very happy to be in. I have a career. Life has moved on. DCI was a blast, but I had my time to participate, and now my life is on to other things. I do take some vacation time from work to help with a HS marching band, and I get a lot of satisfaction from trying to get the kids to achieve as much as they can. Edited May 4, 2013 by soccerguy315 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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