Pete Freedman Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I "knew" about Drum Corps in high school. Our guard captain marched with Phantom. A friend of mine played drums with the Imperials, and he talked me into marching the St. Patrick's Day parade in Chicago (my Mom was NOT happy). That was the extent of my drum corps experience. Fast forward to 2011, my son marched with the color guard with Gold. In 2012 he was in the guard with The Academy. In 2013, my daughter (trumpet) joined him there. This year, my son is marching with The Cavies and my daughter is marching with SCV. It is a family affair, but I am more of a fan! I love your screen name. Don't worry, with all the money your kids will make someday (with the work ethic they get from all the drum corps you're paying for) they can buy you a nice house. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fsubone Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Middle school director took a few brass players to a show in 2003, thought it was pretty cool Band director marched back in the 70s, and judged for a long time. Talked a little bit about it, then showed us the ESPN broadcast in 2005. Got hooked right then and there. He pushed me towards the corps I marched with, and wouldn't have traded that for anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott St Sinclaire Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Tom Float and Wayne Downey wrote and taught our marching band... Float kept encouraging me to practice, learn and have fun... he recruited me pretty early Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Freedman Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I'm seeing recurring themes here of: - PBS/ESPN - Reluctance and negative stereotypes often exist before first exposure. - A single big wow moment that triggers interest and an almost immediate commitment (or at least significant buy-in to the activity in some way). - The big moment above is not necessarily the first exposure, but it is generally the first exposure to a top drum corps from an audience perspective. In other words, a first exposure to the awesomeness. - A smaller but significant group starts from an educational perspective - like an audition - before every seeing a corps perform (although I don't think they actually say they never saw a video). From this I suspect that drum corps people are usually fans before they are members. That's important. If true, the way to get more members is to make fans of them first. Similar to little league or any other sport; if the kids are fans of the game first, that fact will dramatically increase their probability of participation and the motivation and excellence they exhibit because they will always peg their dreams to the best reality they see achieved at the top. BD, Phantom, etc. define the fantasy and therefore drive the entire marching arts that know about them. If I were a band leader, I would show my band a top corps performance each week or two (and some BD360 type stuff), and expect to see the "tacit knowledge" and work ethic seep into my students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 .............I joined to chase the girls. Being in an all-guy corps at the time, it was moreso the girls chasin' the guys. Ahhhhhhhhh, youth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 (edited) 1967... my older brothers joined a local-circuit junior corps in Highland Park, NJ, the next town over from Edison where we grew up. I started going to shows that summer to see them. Long story shorter.... my first year marching was 1971, with the Sacred Heart Crusaders junior corps from Manville, NJ.... we were members of the old Eastern States circuit. Six seasons there... five as a French horn player, one on mellophone. I then joined DCA's Long Island Sunrisers in 1977 and spent six seasons there, on French horn. I'm proud to say I was a member during the corps' first three DCA championship-winning seasons... 1977, 1978 and 1982. I started announcing drum corps ( and later, band) shows in 1983. I've been the PA announcer at the DCA Championship since that year (Prelims and Finals for many years... Finals only, plus the mini-corps show at the DCA I&E event, in recent years). I've also worked a variety of other shows, for both DCA and DCI, including the National Dream contest, the Hershey Spectacular, the Parade of Champions/American Legion national championship in Scranton, PA, a bunch of shows for YEA/US Bands, DCI East the two years it was held in Philadelphia (2001-2002), DCI Central in Michigan in 2004, and since 1985, the DCA shows sponsored by the Hawthorne Caballeros. From 2005-2007, and again from 2012 until the present ( a few years off in between due to a family health issue) , I've been a member of the Westshoremen Alumni drum corps.... playing auxiliary percussion in the pit ensemble. We do three rehearsals and one performance a year... literally. LOL. This year our gig is on April 12 at the alumni-corps concert sponsored by the Hanover Lancers Alumni in York, PA. Wow.... I just realized I've been at this a while. Edited February 20, 2014 by Fran Haring 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HornTeacher Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 1967... my older brothers joined a local-circuit junior corps in Highland Park, NJ, the next town over from Edison where we grew up. I started going to shows that summer to see them. Long story shorter.... my first year marching was 1971, with the Sacred Heart Crusaders junior corps from Manville, NJ.... we were members of the old Eastern States circuit. Six seasons there... five as a French horn player, one on mellophone. I then joined DCA's Long Island Sunrisers in 1977 and spent six seasons there, on French horn. I'm proud to say I was a member during the corps' first three DCA championship-winning seasons... 1977, 1978 and 1982. I started announcing drum corps ( and later, band) shows in 1983. I've been the PA announcer at the DCA Championship since that year (Prelims and Finals for many years... Finals only, plus the mini-corps show at the DCA I&E event, in recent years). I've also worked a variety of other shows, for both DCA and DCI, including the National Dream contest, the Hershey Spectacular, the Parade of Champions/American Legion national championship in Scranton, PA, a bunch of shows for YEA/US Bands, DCI East the two years it was held in Philadelphia (2001-2002), DCI Central in Michigan in 2004, and since 1985, the DCA shows sponsored by the Hawthorne Caballeros. From 2005-2007, and again from 2012 until the present ( a few years off in between due to a family health issue) , I've been a member of the Westshoremen Alumni drum corps.... playing auxiliary percussion in the pit ensemble. We do three rehearsals and one performance a year... literally. LOL. This year our gig is on April 12 at the alumni-corps concert sponsored by the Hanover Lancers Alumni in York, PA. Wow.... I just realized I've been at this a while. For what little it may be worth coming from a relative rookie to DCP (although not to drum corps or the professional music world in general)... Thank you for your service to this fine activity. My hat is off to you...and I mean that most sincerely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I was in my HS Band, and went to the DCA Contest sponsored by the Lions in the town I lived in in 1977. It piqued my interest. Add to that the Public TV 1977 DCA championship broadcast and attending DCA Championships in 1978, I joined the Westshoremen in 1979 on Lead Bari having just turned 16. I marched for 6 seasons, from 1979 to 1984 and am active with the corps alumni and love every minute of it. I think I've been affiliated with them for longer than I was with the actual corps. I've done other things with DCA and Garden State in the 90's but that's another story. Helped out a tiny bit with Heartliner when they were here in the US last Summer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigW Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Oh, and speaking of Fran, I inflict more deafness to him in Alumni, I play in the poor guy's ears for a lot of rehearsal. He's either stone deaf or incredibly tolerant. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Oh, and speaking of Fran, I inflict more deafness to him in Alumni, I play in the poor guy's ears for a lot of rehearsal. He's either stone deaf or incredibly tolerant. Probably a bit of both!!! Seriously... it's a pleasure to listen to the Westshoremen horn line. You guys know your stuff, for sure!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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