Why do you do this activity. This thing called drum corps

[The Original El Guapo]

Come on ladies. I want your input as well.

[J.C.]

Why do you do this activity. This thing called drum corps?

I have to... I'm a life member. B)

That, and I've always thought that wearing pants in public is highly over-rated.

Seriously... It's all about the music and the people for me.

[cin4057]

I love drum corps. Been around it 48 years. I love everything about it. Especially how it makes me feel. It's so exciting.Nothing to campare. It truly is a great work out as well.

Oh man! The thrill of camp weekend. So consuming.Ya think your gonna die, but you'll die if you don't. Participating is the most exciting I've ever done in my life.who

Now, most especially.

The ironey (spell check!) of my own situation is so terribly sad. Taking my Dad into account.

I was born into drum corps and never participated untill this last couple of years.

Since I picked up that horn in 2005, I've realised what an idiot I've been. I was born to play this thing!

My Dad would be kicking his own butt. LOL

Why do I do it? Because I can. LOL I can't believe I can! So f'ing cool!

I feel sorry for people don't understand what we have. They really have no idea what their missing.

LOL And it costs us a fortune! We are truly nuts! Go figure.

[Toby]

http://www.marchingarts.com/cgi-bin/cginews.pl?record=259

That's my take on it...

[cin4057]

I think about this issue a lot. I marched in the 60's, then I was away for 35 years, and came back in 2003. While I was away, I wasn't bored by any means - there were many activities that kept me very busy, and I have a very interesting career that involves performance and interaction with large numbers of people. While I was away, however, the rare drum corps show I saw gave me chills and a rush that would last for weeks. It was obvious I missed something that drum corps provided, and I can't really pin it down. The draw for me is probably the rare opportunity for an amateur horn player to perform in ensemble (with some very talented musicians) before large and usually very appreciative audiences. It's also great to work together with people from so many different backgrounds, interests and occupations. In any case, I'm really happy I decided to return, and it's great to be back at Hawthorne Post 199.

Mike Risley

Imperial Knights, Fair Lawn Cadets, Hawthorne Muchachos '60s lead sop

Cabs '03-06 lead sop

I couldn't have said it better. Right on!

[blastissimocontra14]

The performance rush. The crowd. The knowing fact that your spending a ton of cash and your whole summer working your tail-end off, just to play...well and the running, marching, endless mindblowing reps, and all the other great things that make drumcorps drumcorps.

Oh yeah, and the horror stories from the In 'n Out burger joint last season.

Good times. :)

[Irish-Kiltie]

Well for me, it is all about the opportunity to participate in marching percussion, and that is pretty much it. If you march just for the ring… only one group wins per year so it might take a while. If you march for the chance to perform for big crowds… I’ve been to shows and parades where the corps members outnumbered the spectators (is that a cricket I hear?) If you march for a score… that’s in the judge’s hands and they’re only human. You might not always get what you thought you deserved. It comes down to the fact that you need to take something away from the activity that will satisfy you regardless of what is happening around you.

Yes, there are many other aspects of drum corps other than the one I mentioned, but honestly I can get them other places via other activities if I so choose. I’m not saying other parts of the activity are not also enjoyable, but for me they are not essential to the experience.

If I want to meet new people, I can walk down the street and meet someone.

If I want to drum, I can get out my practice pad.

If I want to be judged, I can enter a cow at the State Fair.

If I want to win or lose, I can go play a sport or a board game.

If I want to play in a music group, I can join the local concert band.

You get the drift… :blah:

But for marching percussion those of us that hold down a regular job Monday through Friday are really only left with DCA after age 21/22. For me, I think I find the appeal in the precision of marching in a drumline. Maybe it is the engineering side of me that finds this appealing and of interest. Everything needs line up just so, if you expect to be any good. From a team activity standpoint, this aspect of drum corps is unique.

Marching percussion is about the ability to conform and meld your skills with a small group of others. How much “same-ness” can you create on the field? It’s not about what you can do as an individual, but rather now similar you can be to everyone else. And while drum corps is a team “sport”, it is unique in the fact that you won’t necessarily be any more successful by adding “superstars” to your team. Michael Jordan might be a huge asset to a basketball team where he is head and shoulders better than everyone else, but in a drumline it is more about bringing all the players UP to a certain level that everyone is capable of achieving. The old saying goes, “You’re only as strong as your weakest link…” - absolutely true when it comes to a drumline.

Some might say, “If you want to be good, how can the score not matter?” Yes, in drum corps you get a score every night, but for me personally it really doesn’t matter. I’ve been on both extremes when it comes to winning and losing but neither was better or worse than the other, it was simply a by-product of the group’s performance as a whole. I guess it boils down to the fact that I LIKE to drum, but I LOVE the sound of the line. Anything else positive I take away from the activity is just icing on the cake.

Ryan J

FYI… I don’t LOVE my drum, and I’ve never performed at the B.E.T. Classic. B)

[spiniki]

There it is people. That says it right there. I smell a t shirt idea. B)

WWBD

GTKYA

Hey, I'd buy that one! B)

[Rratex]

My high school and college band days were some of the most memorable days in my life. I didn't even know drum corps existed before a fellow drumline member turned me on to it in college but I never got the opportunity to do junior corps. When my eldest daughter reached high school, her band director (a KKPsi brother) asked me to help out with the drumline. In my effort to locate someone or something to help me get back into playing shape, I found that we had a local senior drum corps. I went to a rehearsal and from that day I have been hooked. I love the comraderie, performing, and the drive it gives me to become a better drummer. Who would have thought? Here I am 23+ years after I graduated from college drumming again. Life is good...

[KeithHall]

I originally started it because I liked music and wanted to march around in a cool uniform. As time went on (1970's) I did it because I loved playing and staying active and having tons of friends through the years. I went into Senior cor because I missed all that and had already taught junior corps. I liked the comraderie and the instruction, especially with the Crusaders (Mike, DA, Cooley,etc). I am somewhat out if it now by my choice but also because I put drum corps ahead of my family and my marriages and now feel that my marriage is the most important thing next to God and my sons.

However, if a cool gig came along I may jump at it. I am having a great deal of fun teaching band and chorus at my HS and developing a program that will be just as good as any HS band and choral program in this state.