AnonymousPRMarcher Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 (edited) I thought it might be helpful to get some perspective from someone who has actually marched with Phantom.The one year I've marched with them, I thought the teaching and support staff was extremely professional and that they really treat members well. There wasn't any yelling or conduct by teaching staff that I would say was either too harsh or uncalled for. We worked efficiently, we worked well, and we felt loved by our staff as well as the audiences we played for.Despite the lack of a full day off through the entire season or lengthy water breaks (we only got one over 10 minutes in the south when the temperature was in the 90's), I thought that they were great at getting us the important things. We always got decent amounts of sleep, lots of food, medical attention, and great housing. I loved the experience, the brotherhood, and am planning to age out with them. We enjoy our fun traditions, our secrets, and yes, we DO interact with members from other corps. Just look at a PR member's Facebook page, plenty of pictures of them hanging out with friends in other corps in jackets or even in uniforms for TOC shows..There's been a lot of talk on this thread about silly things like scores, placements, and general disrespect towards the corps I love. I doubt that that's a good way to choose a corps. The only legitimate reason to pick one of these corps over the other is day-to-day life, which was great with Phantom. That being said, the only way to REALLY find out whether Phantom works for you or not is to go visit an audition camp, get a feel for how the corps works, and talk to vets.The way the staff behaves is very consistent through the season, starting from the audition camps. This means you will already have a good chance to see how you'll be treated. Your experience there will be worth far more than the testimony of anyone else in this thread.SUTA Edited November 7, 2014 by AnonymousPRMarcher 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAZZER Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 meanwhile our OP still ponders his decision while the posters pontificate away... Are they being too cavalier in their styles or too regimented in their opinions? clearly it is not simply a black and white decision, and some are green with envy 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anstig Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 When was the last time they had one of those? 2008? LOL ... but then again, you can say the same for Phantom 2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 were all cool shows. 2012 was specifically designed for coolness. Ironically I think your statement fits so much better for phantom regiment, who's had a sleepfest going down since 08 ended. To be fair, 2011 and 2010 mildly disturbed my slumber. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Holland Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 (edited) yknow, i marched the other midwest corps up in Madison. I had friends who marched in Cavies, and friends in Phantom. Both produced great peformers, and they never had anything bad to say about their experiences at either corps. I will say the all male vibe is like nothing you'll experience in a coed corps. Each corps has a different mentality and approach to how they rehearse and perform. All corps will make you push yourself harder and longer than you've ever had to before. Each corps will create a family around you, as the members are all working towards a common goal. I think it boils down to what type of show you want to perform? Both styles are radically different in playing and marching. But both corps have good brass lines. There's no way to tell you which you will like better. We dont know you, your personality, and how you'll adapt to each VERY different circumstances. Only you can figure out where you belong, and that's by auditioning. I auditioned at 3 different World Class Corps, before I auditioned for Madison. I successfully made each of their hornlines, but felt most at home in Madison. But only YOU can figure out where you belong. You need to simply attend a camp at each and see how you like them. Cavies, much like Madison tend to have a very high retention rate. PR has a good retention rate, but I don't think it's more than 60%. Which is still high. Either way, we dont know you, and we don't know the feel of the lines you are auditioning for from your perspective. Only you will know where you belong, and you won't know it until you try one out. If you like it stay, if you dont, go to the other and see if you like it more. Edited November 7, 2014 by C.Holland 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousPRMarcher Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Either way, we dont know you, and we don't know the feel of the lines you are auditioning for from your perspective. Only you will know where you belong, and you won't know it until you try one out. If you like it stay, if you dont, go to the other and see if you like it more. This is the only real answer here. Go check out the audition camps and see what feels better to you. I believe Phantom and the Cavaliers have audition camps on different weekends so if you're in the area, it won't be too hard to go to both. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cappybara Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 were all cool shows. 2012 was specifically designed for coolness. Ironically I think your statement fits so much better for phantom regiment, who's had a sleepfest going down since 08 ended. To be fair, 2011 and 2010 mildly disturbed my slumber. 2009 - I don't think I've ever seen anyone even acknowledge the existence of this show. 2010- over scored show but cool theme 2011- seemingly lame follow up to 2010. Musically boring. 2012- what even was this? Musically awful and not even good visually by cavies standards. 2013- nice opener, nice closer, what happened in the middle? 2014- marimbas is all I remember. Cool? Yeah. 2 out of 6 "cool" shows. As for phantom, I'd say 2010 and 2012 have been the only great shows by them since Spartacus so I guess they go 2 for 6 as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeffeory Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 2009 - I don't think I've ever seen anyone even acknowledge the existence of this show. 2010- over scored show but cool theme 2011- seemingly lame follow up to 2010. Musically boring. 2012- what even was this? Musically awful and not even good visually by cavies standards. 2013- nice opener, nice closer, what happened in the middle? 2014- marimbas is all I remember. Cool? Yeah. 2 out of 6 "cool" shows. As for phantom, I'd say 2010 and 2012 have been the only great shows by them since Spartacus so I guess they go 2 for 6 as well. 2009 - Not a "cool" show. 2010 - Mad World. - Very cool show, and not underscored at the end of the season. The beginning of the season was a train wreck. 2011 - XtraordinarY - Very cool show. People loved the stilts. People loved the upside down drumming. ( Incidentally, Drumline 2 had some upside down drumming). Nature Boy was a cool moment. 2012 - Ugh 2013 - Some people just love this show. 2014 - Marimbas in Danse Macabre were very cool. The drill was pretty good and probably the best since 2011. A Walk On the Water was great. Overall a pretty cool show. So 4 for 6 for Cavaliers as far as cool shows go since Spartacus. I'd say 3 out of 6 as I didn't really love 2009, 2012, or 2013. For Phantom..... 2009 - Red Violin was NOT a cool show. 2010 - Into the Light - Was a pretty cool show. Great music and emotion. Great drill. 2011 - Juliet - Seems to be a pretty popular show 2012 - Turandot - Seems to be a popular show that I didn't care for... 2013 - Trimphant Journey - Less popular 2014 - Sawn Lake - Not as popular So I'd say 3 out of 6 for Phantom in the same time frame. I'd personally say 2 out of 6 as I really like 2010 and 2011. I didn't care for 2012. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crownisking Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 (edited) I guess "cool" is a pretty subjective word. I thought all of the Cavies' shows have been consistantly "cool" since 2010, and PR's shows have been unbelievably boring since 2009, excluding 2012. Edited November 7, 2014 by crownisking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 In the coming season, I plan on auditioning for one of these corps but I would like to be sure for which one. If there are any alumni from either corps or current members that could give me an insight of what their respective corps is like whether it be during rehearsal or any other detail that you could state it would be greatly appreciated. Not just about rehearsal related things, but also of other things that you believe may make the corps stand out from the other or anything you believe would help with the decision. Thank you. edit: I plan on auditioning on Bari/Euph and a male BTW... it is great that you are trying to do some up-front research prior to making a decision. Have you joined each corps FaceBook page and asked some questions there? You might get some helpful feedback if you haven't. Corps "personality" and your own personality are very important things that have to mesh in order for you to maximize your experience. I live in NJ...the band I work with brought in a young guy to help out back around 1998 or 1999...he was a NJ native who marched contra in the Blue Devils. He said he absolutely knew that marching with the closest high level corps, the Cadets, was just not a good fit, based on doing his own research and observations, and that BD was the style of corps experience he desired. So he flew over every other corps in the country in order to march with the corps that gave him an experience that was aligned to his own personality. I did much the same, on a more local geographic scale, when I was looking to move from a small local field corps in NJ to one of the high level corps in NJ, back after the 1969 season. My absolute favorite corps growing up through the 60's was an urban corps from Newark, the Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights. But...some of my friends from the small corps had moved over to the suburb-based Garfield Cadets after the 1968 season, so I was torn...I went back and forth all fall between the two (corps rehearsed year-round in those days), and I eventually selected Garfield based on what I saw as their corps culture and the friends I already had in the corps. So I understand what you are going through. Bet of luck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xandandl Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 (edited) Scout Alum Holland re: "PR has a good retention rate, but I don't think it's more than 60%." In 2014, Regiment marched approximately over 100 rookies, that is 2/3 of the corps or 66 2/3 percent were new, leaving only 33 1/3 percent retained veterans. Big difference to the math you present. Kudos to those rookies for the show they presented. Edited November 7, 2014 by xandandl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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