Who Turned you on to Drum Corps?

[Stewdog]

My high school band director. He was always telling me to quit playing so loud, which for a high school trumpet player is blasphemy.

He took a group of us to a DCI show where Spirit was doing a clinic ('78). I stood on the sideline about 5 feet from one of the lead sops and just about wet myself. On the van ride back after the show, I peppered him with questions about the activity and made a comment something along the lines of "I have to do this". His reply was, "why do you think I brought you to see it"?

Next year, I was in. Of course, I came back playing even louder. Poor guy, what was he thinking?

[BassClef8vb]

For me it was a bunch of my high school friends. They involved with Lehigh Valley Knights. Me being a Sax player I knew remotely what corps was, my director was a huge Scouts fan, so I went to check LVK out. They handed me a baritone and said "try this" and here I am still playing.

[elphaba01]

"Turned On To Drum Corps":

Parents. Started with a "New" corps that ended up folding within a year. Had played horn with them, and ended up in a "Parish" corps all the way accross town. They had a "Cat Fight" between Priest-Director & Parents that saw a split and the rise of another new corps from the same part of town.

Played baritone (A "Mixed Gender" hornline, at that time, my pretties was VERY rare) with them until they went down. Finished my "Junior Corps" career (Actually "Over-Aged-Out") in the color guard of yet another "Cross Town" corps.

No audition fees, no "Tour Fees", and was taught music, marching and color guard from "Scratch".

A very different era indeed......

Elphaba

WWW

Edited December 8, 2006 by elphaba01

[Kay]

Drum Corps turns me on............ ^0^

[Shenandoah Vibrato]

I learned to play taps on a G bugle when I was in the Scouts in 1957/58. My father drafted me to play taps at funerals for the American Legion Post 22 in Lewiston, Maine. Snowshoe races were held in town in the winter months. Snowshoe clubs from all over Canada would come down and race to "City Hall" to capture the flag, then parade on Sunday to church. My father again recruited me to play a bugle with "Les Montagnard". We wore showshoes and kept our mouthpieces close to our body to keep the medal from freezing to our lips when we played. I was practicing my bugle one day when a friend talked me into joining the Scarlet Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps. It was the best 4 years of my life. Unfortunately the corps folded in 1964. For the next 41 years I watched drum corps from the outside. In October of 2005 I ran across Shenandoah Sound's web page and joined. It has re-energized me. Shenandoah Sound is back!!! b**bs

[Smoothy]

I was born into this. Never really wanted to do anything else. Dad = lead soprano in Skokie Indians (Jr corps = General George Bell Drum & Bugle Corp in Chicago). Mom - Cavaliers (couldn't march, of course, but was on the management team in the beginning of the corps till she married my dad). Don & Jan Warren are my godparents.

[drumlaw80]

My high school drum instructor, Rene Bartholomew, was a snare drummer in the Buccaneers, and a fantastic teacher.

Couple this with a Buccaneer alumni band director and Vanguard fanatic (John Bender), and two brothers who marched in the band who were in Crossmen's drum line, Pete and Ken Sherry.

I saw the 1980 Buccaneers rehearse at my high school ... the first time I heard that incredible horn line, it was over.

I went home and started practicing 4 hours a day.

[Gary Matczak]

I saw the 1980 Buccaneers rehearse at my high school ... the first time I heard that incredible horn line, it was over.

no doubt,.............1980 Buccs is some of my all time favorite audio,...............and was a sight to behold for finals in Hershey Stadium that year,...................my hair still stands up with just the thought of it,............

Edited December 8, 2006 by Gary Matczak

[GoldMonster]

My cousin, Noel Borden, was the Director of the LI Kingsmen. When I was old enough to march, I went to the Kingsmen Squires, the feeder unit. (I was eight-turning 9). Marched forever...LOL.

[Mellochick]

I was born into this. Never really wanted to do anything else. Dad = lead soprano in Skokie Indians (Jr corps = General George Bell Drum & Bugle Corp in Chicago). Mom - Cavaliers (couldn't march, of course, but was on the management team in the beginning of the corps till she married my dad). Don & Jan Warren are my godparents.

Yes, it was my destiny, especially since I was the last of 5 kids and everyone before me marched. My first memories in life are of going to drum corps shows and I couldn't wait to start marching.

The interesting thing... my current administrative status at Bushwackers mirrors my mom's career in drum corps a lot. We shared a lot of similar stories this past summer on my visit home, rather neat. B)