Liahona Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 The only noise-related ordinance for my town is construction related and after 8pm it is taboo...I can understand how residents might be upset about a corps practicing all-day...especially if they lived close to the practice field and they are not associated or familiar with the activity... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Happened twice in my Cadet years. Once, we had arrived in Wildwood for one of the NJ States shows (either AL or VFW...forget which) around 6:00 AM. We started to warm up on the beach next to a hotel full of post members trying to sleep off the night before's partying....the cops showed up with their PA blaring "Stop the band music"...we had to wait until 7:00 AM. The other was in a parking lot practicing up in Lynn Mass one weekend, where we were doing a couple of shows. Again, it was pretty early and the cops showed up telling us to stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KVG_DC Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Bonus points if your director kept you playing and told the cops "It's drum corps music, not band music." 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 I used to work at a summer academic program/camp at BC High in Dorchester, MA (late 80's/early 90's), and most summers, the school would open its doors to a drum corps and of course, the corps practiced. As a drum corps fan, I loved the fact I could see some great corps up close and personal, but as far as rehearsing was concerned, the full corps ensembles, as well as the percussion drills and horn line exercises were not disturbing, even though they were loud. We also used the drum corps, as well as athletic groups that used the facilities, as examples of hard work and what can be accomplished through hard work. Most of the kids in this program were kids who wanted to succeed in school but had a few challenges, often English not being their first language, and living in gang infested areas at a time that was particularly heated in Boston. One corps, I believe it was Madison, let the kids try the instruments, gave "marching lessons," gave pep talks, etc. As I mentioned, the musical portions which were the loudest were not problematic, but the constant clicking while the corps was practicing marching without playing could be nerve wracking. While annoying, and I know necessary, this could be what would disturb a neighbor, but unless the house was built right on the border of the practice field, as the school was at that time, I'm not sure the neighbors would hear it. Humorous side note: Dennis/Yarmouth High School is located on Cape Cod and the school has a marching band. They had a band clinic one week during August and a vacationer who happens to be a relative called Town Hall to complain. The woman at Town Hall listened to the complaint and asked two questions. "Are you a resident or a vacationer?" when the person replied vacationer, she asked "Own or rent?" when the person said "rent," she hung up! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Humorous side note: Dennis/Yarmouth High School is located on Cape Cod and the school has a marching band. They had a band clinic one week during August and a vacationer who happens to be a relative called Town Hall to complain. The woman at Town Hall listened to the complaint and asked two questions. "Are you a resident or a vacationer?" when the person replied vacationer, she asked "Own or rent?" when the person said "rent," she hung up! They had a very fine MB back when I was doing a lot of judging in the 80's and early 90's, before I went on staff with the band I teach here in NJ. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xandandl Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) As has been mentioned on previous threads throughout the years, both the Hawthorne Muchachos and the Garfield Cadets used the vast parking lots of the old Ford plant on Route 17 at Mahwah, NJ where Interstate 287 intersects with the NY State Thruway. (There's a hotel on the property today.) One would think that the traffic noise from these highways would blunt any sounds from the corps' rehearsals. Cops would show up regularly because complaints would come from folks living up Schooley's Mountain four miles away who could hear even the conversations on the drum corps field. Hopkins never believed it until he went with the cops and stood on the people's patios. Yup, it was an anomaly of acoustics, wind sheers, and nothing between the car plant and the elevated housing...four miles away!!! Edited June 8, 2015 by xandandl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FTNK Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Seems like most people are saying "lol neighbors!" but this seems like a potentially serious issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xandandl Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Over the years I have had to play the public relations' role with the neighbors for various corps and it wasn't too different from making sure to giving all the neighbors free tickets when the schools and churches held their annual fund raisers, carnivals, and festivals. Featuring the folks as Special and honored guests as Neighbor of the Night at rehearsals or Contests never hurts. A good admin will foresee the difficulties and get the A.D., police chief, local first aid folks, and the neighbors in on the planning and welcomes even before the unit arrives. Of course they all get free polos or tee shirts or maybe a sweat shirt or two. Open practices welcoming the neighbors, smooth talking the local media, and donating an appearence or two around town helps assuage the possible complaints............within reason. Local service posts never object to an extra bugler or guard at a function. One corps doing Periscopes on DCP even speaks about the agreement they have with the local admin about practices which might occur after 9 p.m. BD has always had Mars far and away from civilization exactly to ease the struggles. No matter how wonderful the music, listening to the same five bars practiced ad infinitum does get taxing on the sanity, particularly if it's only the battery or cymbal line. Even the MMs complain about Dr. Met never taking a few hours off, just saying. Edited June 8, 2015 by xandandl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 A good admin will foresee the difficulties and get the A.D., police chief, local first aid folks, and the neighbors in on the planning and welcomes even before the unit arrives. Of course they all get free polos or tee shirts or maybe a sweat shirt or two. Open practices welcoming the neighbors, smooth talking the local media, and donating an appearance or two around town helps assuage the possible complaints ... within reason. It is rather like having the kid next door who wants to be a rock star and plays the drum all day. But in this case, next door is "almost a mile away". Maybe O.C. made nice with the neighborhood closest to their practice location and didn't realize that complaints would extend beyond that range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84BDsop Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 A few (three?) weeks before 04 DCA, SoCal Dream had cops roll up on us as we were in the arc doing a run of the show for timing purposes. I think we were in the middle of the 2nd chart (Jupiter) when a cruser pulled in a short distance away. Dave Emmonds -- our director -- saw it early and told me to keep conducting, then went to talk to the police. One guy got out, and while they were talking, I could see his partner's head bobbing to the music! That was at the end of the rehearsal, and we got booted after that. Found a park for the last 2 weeks and got no complaints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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