How did you start playing with a DCA Corps

[idontwan2know]

Showed up at an open house/rehearsal about halfway through basics block just to "check it out." Followed them inside.

Vic noticed me hanging around and said, "What do you play?"

"Uh..baritone," I replied.

"Want one?"

"Yeah, I guess."

That was it. Kind of a boring story really...should have put some nekkid women and an explosion or two in there somewhere.

[The Oz]

I’d known about the Buccaneers from seeing them in parades. (Parades were one of the best public relations, recruiting, and money making activities we had back then.) But I didn’t think I had the talent. [The snare line back then was Donnie Walls (who did a lot of damage in national individuals), Tom Bittner (Air Force Drum Corps), and John Flowers (Air Force Drum Corps, individual national champion, legendary instructor for Reading, Bridgemen, and others). All three are still playing today. When Donnie retired, Wayne Thaxton stepped in and the line didn’t lose a tic.]

One of the guys in the room next to me in the men’s dorm during the spring term of my freshmen year in college played soprano. (Both of us were engineering majors; not music majors.) He talked me into showing up at the next practice. By June I was carrying water buckets, doing odd jobs, and marching in parades. Marched on the field the next year playing rudimental bass. Eight years later I set down the snare drum and retired from drum corps.

Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t the beer. Reading drank Sunshine Premium back then. Sunnys were not a good recruiting tool.

Edited June 23, 2006 by The Oz

[sburstall]

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?"

Gene, you should try this line. Look what it got Lee. :P

[DMCK]

I recently had a really funny thing happen with how I became involved with the Bushwackers

It's going to be a blast. Looking forward to rockin' and rollin' this weekend with you. Great story, too. Yeah, we're a little crazy...but you have to be to do drum corps to begin with, so...

I went to the Bushwackers open house as a high school senior in 1995. I didn't do it because I thought I was going to have all this stuff to do during the summer before going off to college for the first time. I was wrong. I didn't have #### going on that summer. I should have marched.

During the winter, a member (the now asst. director who bargained for Kyle's time off) called me up and asked me if I wanted to come audition for an assistant drum major position. Of course I went to the next camp...how could I say no to that? I walked in the building and the brass caption head introduced me to the members as the new ADM...no audition necessary. lol Talk about an awkward feeling!

11 consecutive years later, I'm still here. I could write why I've stayed with the Bushwackers all these years, but that would take up more bandwidth than DCP will allow me. :)

[BlondeContra]

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.

CJ, I know I'm the coolest out of all the ones you've met hehe

[BlondeContra]

After I graduated from high school in '04 I went straight to working full-time as a secretary. I QUICKLY realized that I missed playing my tuba/sousa/contra and kicking butt on the field. I would visit the band stands on Friday night football games and steal the sousa to play a few bandstand songs. My boyfriend and my now best friend ("mini-me" Lindsey), told me about Mon Valley Express and kept asking me to join saying I'd have a blast to say the least. Steve, a sop player for MVE and a local band parent, would ask me every time he saw me when I would stop by one of their practices. The only thing was that I had work every Saturday and my schedule is pretty much set in stone since only one other girl could take my place and she already had her days set. Anyways, I had a couple Saturdays off so I went to MVE and fell in LOVE with the people and the pretty chrome contra I got to play. I finally got up the courage to tell my boss that I had to not work weekends anymore and I wouldn't back down about it. Now, this was only 1 week before DCA's and there was no way I was gonna miss that. So I've been at Mon Valley for a year now-2nd season-and I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world right now. I was considering moving out to CO to live with my sister but I wouldn't be able to leave the MVE crew.

[JimF-LowBari]

I’d known about the Buccaneers from seeing them in parades. (Parades were one of the best public relations, recruiting, and money making activities we had back then.)

And when you carried a piston/rotor horn no one thought you were part of a marching band either. Usually once or twice before or after a parade someone would ask "What the #### are you playing?" and you had a chance to introduce them to DC. :)

If I remember right the County Firemans Convention parades would bring in more than one corps. And if you bought the souvenier mug you could get all the good beer (not Sunnys :P ) you wanted afterwards.

[krazyivan]

CJ, I know I'm the coolest out of all the ones you've met hehe

i do have to say you are one of the cool people. as is your mini me.

[rwrice]

(snip)

I was considering moving out to CO to live with my sister but I wouldn't be able to leave the MVE crew.

(snip)

That's nice to hear. Loyalty is wonderful thing.

However, if you do move to Coloarado there is a Senior\All Age Corps here for you to join if you'd like.

Here's the link:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/colodrumcorps

Rice

[KoyaanisCABsi]

I grew up in, and aged out of Audubon All Girl in South Jersey. Graduated college, worked, married, did the Mom thing, divorced.

Meanwhile, on the other side of NJ, there was this Muchacho who grew up in, and aged out of Muchachos (and no, he wasn't 30). Graduated, worked, married, did the Dad thing, divorced. Fast forward 20 years...

In 1994, at a party of mutual drum corps friends, I met that Muchacho & we fell in love. The following New Years Eve, Jim Russo (who eventually was our Best Man when we married at DCA in 1996) dared four of us to march Cabs. One Sunday in 1995, my guy and I stopped into the Cabs' rehearsal "just to check it out." He was instantly recognized and handed a contra. The rest, for him, was history. A year like 1995 kind of gets you hooked. It took me a little longer. I jumped in in 2003 (another Championship year), and history repeated itself.

I don't know what your relationship status is, but for us, because we live in South Jersey & would spend every weekend apart otherwise, we come as a package deal. We do miss out on a lot of "grown up" things like weddings and graduation parties, but wouldn't change a thing. And as anyone who knows us can tell you, there wasn't much of a chance of either being a grown up once the two of us met! If you have a "sig" who isn't Drum Corps, try to get them active with support staff. That way your participation never gets thrown on the table as a bargaining chip!