How did you start playing with a DCA Corps

[Rratex]

I knew there was something called drum and bugle corps but had never seen one. I didn't even know about DCI until I got to college. After finishing my marching band career in 1981, I settled into retirement until approximately late 2000 when my oldest daughter started high school.

The band director and one of the assistant band directors were friends and bandmates of mine in college and wanted me to help out with the drumline. Being 20 years removed from the activity, I searched the city for someone to help me get back into playing shape. As a result of my search, I stumbled across Bayou City Blues Senior Drum & Bugle Corps here in Houston, TX. To my surprise, the corps had been under my nose (so to speak) all this time and I didn't realize it. Unfortunately, shortly after I joined, the corps became inactive. However, this new corps, Gulf Coast Sound, made up of former BCB members, was preparing to put a group on the field. And the rest is history. This will be our third year competing at the DCA Championships.

[MJH]

I was trying to get my step daughter interested in drum corps. It was 1999 and we were going to be in FL on vacation. I looked on the internet and saw a couple of shows we could catch on the way home. One was a YEA show in Orlando and the other (I thought) was the next night in Troy, AL. We went to the Orlando show with just the four YEA corps and since it was VERY early in the season, they put on partial shows but did a pretty cool thing where they showed what each caption did and featured sections from each corps.

It wasn't until that same afternoon that I realized the Troy show was actually one month and one day after the Orlando show. So in JULY, I went to Troy and was standing down by the Spirit souvie booth. I was chatting with the guy and asked if they needed a driver for a couple of weeks. To my surprise, he said his wife had been driving the chuck-wagon truck and since he was driving the souvie truck, he hadn't seen her all summer and heck yes they could use another driver!

I had to convince my wife that I should go on the road with a drum corps for no money instead of working for the next couple of weeks, which was no easy task. That accomplished, I flew to Mississippi to drive. I had NO idea what I was getting into. '99 was the first year I had even seen a drum corps show since the early '80s.

Well, I was getting blown away every night. Spirit had a jazzy show that I thought was getting lower scores than it should have, but Madison was playing their JC Superstar show and I thought they should have been getting 1st every night! What did I know, I was just the truck driver.

Anyway, I was with Spirit for their swing through Texas. When they played Houston, I saw something that blew me away. There, on the field, in exhibition, were OLD PEOPLE MARCHING DRUM & BUGLE CORPS! It was the Bayou City Blues. That night I couldn't stop talking with the other drivers on the CB radio about this corps. I had never heard of senior corps before that. Finally, the one bus driver who seemed to know the most must have gotten tired of listening to me and said "There's a senior corps in Atlanta. You should check them out. Now I gotta make a phone call."

My last show on the tour was Murphreesboro, TN. I had 2 tickets and my wife came up to see the show and take me back home. I was still stoked about the senior corps in Atlanta and started talking to the guy sitting next to me at the show. It turned out he knew all about it and was planning on joining them in 2000 too.

Well, it was settled. October couldn't get here quick enough. I went to open house at the American Legion Post (66?) where I was welcomed by Jeff Pastor, Marvin Fontain, and everyone else in the CorpsVets. I felt like I was home. We divided up for sectionals and they said what do you play? I thought, well, I played snare in high school and junior corps, so I'll try snare. After about 15 minutes of not keeping up with guys who probably HAD played since 1977, I said maybe I should try the bass.

I was hooked. I marched 4 out of the next 5 seasons, moving to pit after my first season. I hope to come back to the corps for 2007. It is the most fun you can have without getting arrested.

Edited June 21, 2006 by MJH

[JeromeyBush]

First off, I haven't posted on DCP in almost a year and haven't really posted anything on consistent basis in 2, so it's good to be back.

I recently had a really funny thing happen with how I became involved with the Bushwackers and wanted to see if there is anyone else out there with a funny story like mine, or just see how everyone hear decided to keep drum corps in their lives past the ripe old age of 21.

So here is my story (I'm really sorry, its long):

I just graduated college and while I'm looking for a full time music teaching job in the NJ area, I've reduced myself to working at a local movie theater just 2 towns away. I've been going to this theater for awhile, and was always wondering what group was practicing nearby during the summer. I thought maybe it was just Ridgefield Park's marching band drum section just doing some basics. Anyway...

I get to work on Saturday and hear the drums practicing. I figure one of these days I'll walk over and see whats up. I did notice however that they looked much to big to be high schoolers but didn't think anything else of it. So while I'm working the concession stand, I see a middle age man come up to me asking to buy and Icee or a water with a shirt that says "I'm with the Bushwackers." So I asked him if that was the group that was out there and he told me that it was. Later on, I start getting a lot of people coming in asking for either Icee's, water or anything else that was cold or something to drink. Since I could easily pick out that they were drum corps folk, I told them I marched Crossmen 2002 - 2003, and had some quick small talk, all of which they kept telling me I should join. Telling them that I had less then $2 in my account and was only my 3rd day, I couldn't very well leave a job that is going to make me work every weekend.

Throughout the day, they came and went, and I prolly told about 10 people I marched. BIG MISTAKE. Around 6 or 7, a huge amount of them start coming and I didn't have a line, so they all came to me. I thought it was their dinner break and wanted to get something from their friendly drum corps concession worker. Boy was I wrong.

All 30 or so people were there to convince me to join, including the brass caption head and other staff people. I had a discussion with them and told them that I would love to, but I'm flat broke and this job isn't going to let me off weekends. I got there number and they got mine and they all left, most of them coming up to me personally and introducing themselves before they left. One member later on even stood in a long line just to say hello to me, then walked off.

So the next day, I arrive a little early, walk over to the rehearsal but nothing really is going on so I start walking back. Then I hear my name being called and saw the Asst. DM running over and we had a very friendly talk while I headed to work, mostly telling her that I would love to if I had the money. I get to the door and a man comes out (I could tell he was a drum corps guy because his visor was considerably faded) telling me that my manager wants to see me and that he and the Asst. Director were just in a meeting with them. I started freaking out, thinking that the job I just started thinks I want to quit now.

I go see my manager, and low and behold, the Asst. Director is standing there waiting for me and told me that the corps and the theater have been able to come to an arrangement allowing me to work during the week and be in the drum corps, and that they will work out the $ with me, as long as I want to do it. For the theater's benefit, the corps will play the theme to Superman inside the theater for the opening weekend.

So, this is why I'm now going to be a Bushwacker in 2006, after telling myself for 3 years that I'm never going to do senior corps. This whole story is why I'm saying that I've been kidnapped by the Bushwackers. I'm really sorry for the length, but I thought the community would like this story, and I hope to hear your stories.

awesome story.

we'll chat. :)

[DeFranco]

i bought an icee from this guy during lunch break and had no idea, great story, see u @ practice :)

[kosovobill]

After aging out in 1981, I attended DCI shows whenever possible, mainly in California, where I was stationed twice during my military career. During this time I saw the passion evaporate from junior corps shows. This trend continued until 1997, when I went to a show in Fort Wayne Indiana, and fell asleep during a Phantom Regiment performance. I decided at that point to stop going to DCI shows.

In 1998, I moved to NY to be part of the 10th Mountain division, whereupon my wife "discovered" senior corps on the internet, and convinced me to go to a show. I was so blown away, I knew I had to be a part of it. My first year with Brigs was '99, though I had to quit due to a deployment to Bosnia. After that incident I knew that I had to be free of military commitments in order to march, so I did not rejoin the corps until 2003 (when I retired from the army), and stayed until last year....its been a wild ride, one that I'll never forget.

Bill

[LegalEagle50]

how? hmmm how to make a long story short?

the simple side of the story is i'd set a goal of 2 years of auditions from spring 89 - spring 91 to "make it" and if i didn't to move onto the "real world". at the end of those 2 years in May i got the job and on my first weekend free i drove around Derby, CT with the windows of my Mustang open to listen to the sound of something that resembled a drum corps. parked the car, walked up and watched for a while and the next thing i had a schedule in my hand for the Hurricanes' upcoming season. :)

if i had to do it over again i'd never give up the 2 years of #### that proceeded me joining the real world, even though it meant i never got to do junior corps. and after years of regrets i'd never give up the way it ended up.

[Vulcan]

Well, my old band director was a Bucs alumni. That is basically how I heard of the Reading Buccaneers, but last year during lunch, one of my friends asked me to join the Buccaneers, as they needed a lead trumpet player. Here's the funny part:

My mother, my sister, and I went to visit my aunt (whom I disliked to visit at the time), and suddenly I saw a Buccaneers truck passing by. I asked my mother to follow that truck. We did follow that truck to the rehearsal site, and that's how I became a part of DCA.

[krazyivan]

My sophomore year my band director(Eric Gallagher) wanted to start a indoor drum line and I was a trumpet player but wanted to learn drums. We ended up getting too many people sigh up for the indoor drumline and because alot of us were horn and woodwind players he asked us to come to practice that weekend. He then looked at me and told me that I had to come to practice because I lived less than 2 minuts away(i really did) and if I didn't he would come to my hous and bring me down to practice. And because I thought he was serious(and still do) I showed up. 6 years later I'm still with Mon Valley Express, never did junior corps, And have loved every minut of it. Lot of hard work and a lond hard road but I don't regret anything, I did what was best for me, and when I'm old and this activity is where every it will go, I can look back and say I was apart of it. I've met some cool people and I hope to meet alot more.

[Mistress Kelli]

I officially met Lee Rudnicki and Ed Teleky at the Hayward Show in 2003. Lee asked me if I wanted to ride the bike. I said, "yes.... what is it?"

... and the chaos began. ^0^

[MelloAceCV]

I had always wanted to march drum corps, especially after Freddie Martin, my high school's brass instructor (his brother Dan was our band director) invited me to Spirit's open house in November, 1997. I went, and was hooked. Unfortunately, circumstances came up after graduating hs in 98, and I couldn't march.

Fast forward to October of 2000. I was at the Cobb County Exhibition for High School bands, held at McEachern High School, the same school which now hosts the Atlanta Brass Classic. I was in the stands with a friend of mine who had just aged out of Spirit. The last band before intermission had just finished, and we were watching them march off the field. A big giant of a man, who I later found out was Big Ken (Huff), was on the track talking to a judge. He was wearing his CorpsVets jacket, which, at his size, was the size of a billboard. I looked over to my friend I was with, and said "CorpsVets? Senior Drum Corps? What the #### is that?" He looked back at me with a big grin and said "That's the drum corps we're joining this year!"

"Nah, you just aged out. You can't march anymore. Besides, I can't take the summer off." He then proceeded to tell me about this thing called senior corps, where it didn't matter how old you were. I rushed home after the show, hopped on the internet, and started reading about the CorpsVets. I was shocked. I had no idea! I couldn't wait for November and open house to arrive.

When it finally did, we rolled up an hour late. (For those that knew Paul and me, that was actually early!) The corps was in stretching block outside. They stopped the stretches, introduced themselves to us, and pointed us to our section. After playing my first note in horn arc, I was hooked! I finally saw my first senior corps show after someone taped our first runthrough.