Cruel and Unusual Punishment?

[susantaylor40]

I remember in 80.... there were several people who refused to observe curfew on tour. The staff finally got fed up with this, and one night they closed the gym doors at curfew and made any latecomers stand out in the hall until all were accounted for. Then they were marched into the gym and entertained the rest of the corps by performing 50 jumping jacks... did I also forget to mention that quite a few of these people were inebirated at the time? By the time the last of those jumping jacks were done it was not a pretty sight, but nobody missed curfew after that.

[Walter]

I remember in 80.... there were several people who refused to observe curfew on tour. The staff finally got fed up with this, and one night they closed the gym doors at curfew and made any latecomers stand out in the hall until all were accounted for. Then they were marched into the gym and entertained the rest of the corps by performing 50 jumping jacks... did I also forget to mention that quite a few of these people were inebirated at the time? By the time the last of those jumping jacks were done it was not a pretty sight, but nobody missed curfew after that.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Good thing YOU weren't one of them Susie!!!

Or were you???

[susantaylor40]

Nope... but I took pictures!!! b**bs

[Walter]

Nope... but I took pictures!!! b**bs

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do you have any you'd like to share with all of us????

Or are you using them for OTHER things???

[longfade]

By todays standards, some of my former instructors could be put in jail! But I learned respect and discipline from their methods of discipline and humiliation, and all in a good way.

Examples:

Mine was when I was 14 years old and a tenor drummer in small corps. We were learning our drill, and many of you may recall how s l o w l y time passed while you waited for your direction. I couldn't stop tapping my mallets, so the drill instructor came over and grabbed them from me, heaved them into the end zone, shouted in my face like two inches from it and made me stand at attention for what seemed like an hour. Needless to say, I learned very quickly to shut up when told to.

Another was a drum instructor who duct taped a chronic "ticker" to a pole at the field and made him watch the line rehearse. He left him taped to that pole for the whole two hour segment of practice.

Another was a rifle who was made to stand at attention while the corps director gave announcements. I don't know what she did, but she had to hold her rifle out in front of her for like 15 minutes without letting it fall. Even MY arms hurt...

Do YOU recall any such events from YOUR days??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

One thing I'll never forget was when I was with the Argonauts in '85. We used to rope our quads in the racks in the trailer with rope. One day at a rehearsal we opened up the trailer and my drums had fallen out of its rack and the rope, tied to one of the lugs on the shell, had torn a pretty good-sized hole in my number 4 tenor. My drums were pretty banged up as well because the 4-runner was bouncing up against them the whole time! Anyway, Chuck King, our tenor instructor, made me run 8 laps for that. Naturally I thought it was totally absurd.

Still do, actually.

[George82]

I have two quick ones....

In 1982, Zingali got angry with me one day, got in my face and told me to go do pushups. When I asked him how many would he like me to do he simply replied, "keep doing 'em 'til I get tired of watching ya"

My 2nd story: The great Tom Strachan ("these are the dark days of drum corps") yelled out from the top of the truck "George Lea, I've been here for 5 minutes, how come I know your name already???"

[MikeD]

In 1982, Zingali got angry with me one day, got in my face and told me to go do pushups.  When I asked him how many would he like me to do he simply replied, "keep doing 'em 'til I get tired of watching ya"

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

:P

10 years before that...

In 72, our opener was Clifton Williams' "The Sinfonians". We started in the corner in files and entered the field, expanding them as we went. I was a 3rd baritone that year, as I had returned to the corps after leaving at the end of 71 in the general exodus of the drum line when George Tuthill was fired.

I led off one of the rays, and the baris had some notes that went from count 3 of one measure and cut on 1 of the next ....3-4/1 kind of thing.

Well, we were at Teterboro airport rehearsing on the parking lot of this warehouse one Saturday early-on in spring.

We started out one time, and instead of stopping the air on 1, as I KNEW I should, I did one of those "tongue releases" that ends up putting this ugly 'uuuht' sound on the release.

Don Angelica, our main horn guy, was standing probably 65-70 yards away, yet everyone heard him yell my first name over the entire corps. That's all he did, just yell my name. :P

And of course, we had to start over! And, I never did it again!

I got back in his good graces by bringing him a bag of hot zeppoles from a carnival we held at my college...the music dept ran the Zeppole stand. :)

Mike

[dc oldtimer]

Muahaha!!!  My Cavie brothers and I could tell some stories about this!!!!!!!

Let's just say discretion is the better part of valor!!!!!

You most definately wanted to avoid a "meeting of the board"!!!!!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Amen Z. Let's just say that many if not most of the techniques used back then would cause major law suits today. "Self Discipline" most defiantly was NOT in our staffs vocabulary.

Being in an all guys corps opened then door for a lot of creative ways to “teach” someone a lesson. Here is one of the less abusive stories I can share:

There was this one baritone player (he was 14) who just could NOT keep his elbows up for more the a minute during a show. (All of us old timers understand how important this was “back in the day”). So to “teach” him a lesson he was instructed to come to the front of the bus during one of our longer trips. He was given a 10 lbs dumb bell to hold for 100 miles at the playing position, elbows up. Each time he lowered his elbows, someone kicked him in the butt. for the rest of year each time someone saw him lower his elbows during a show, he would be instructed to do it again and again. By the end of the year, I think he was one of strongest kids in the corps so I guess is some ways it helped him.

[Dance Of Vengeance]

By todays standards, some of my former instructors could be put in jail! But I learned respect and discipline from their methods of discipline and humiliation, and all in a good way.

Examples:

Mine was when I was 14 years old and a tenor drummer in small corps. We were learning our drill, and many of you may recall how s l o w l y time passed while you waited for your direction. I couldn't stop tapping my mallets, so the drill instructor came over and grabbed them from me, heaved them into the end zone, shouted in my face like two inches from it and made me stand at attention for what seemed like an hour. Needless to say, I learned very quickly to shut up when told to.

Another was a drum instructor who duct taped a chronic "ticker" to a pole at the field and made him watch the line rehearse. He left him taped to that pole for the whole two hour segment of practice.

Another was a rifle who was made to stand at attention while the corps director gave announcements. I don't know what she did, but she had to hold her rifle out in front of her for like 15 minutes without letting it fall. Even MY arms hurt...

Do YOU recall any such events from YOUR days??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Wait wait, told your direction?

[apoch003]

One thing I'll never forget was when I was with the Argonauts in '85.  We used to rope our quads in the racks in the trailer with rope.  One day at a rehearsal we opened up the trailer and my drums had fallen out of its rack and the rope, tied to one of the lugs on the shell, had torn a pretty good-sized hole in my number 4 tenor.  My drums were pretty banged up as well because the 4-runner was bouncing up against them the whole time!  Anyway, Chuck King, our tenor instructor, made me run 8 laps for that.  Naturally I thought it was totally absurd.

Still do, actually.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

OMG! I REMEMBER THAT!!! Oh wait, no I don't. B)

Edited January 8, 2005 by apoch003