Tips for the Rookies of 2007

[AlexL]

This can vary from person to person, although it seems to be the case for most people.

I personally always wore a watch and would have gone crazy without it.

If you are going to wear one though I recommend getting a cheap one with a cloth band that you can take off and wash. Otherwise it's going to smell unbelievably horrible.

i kept a watch on my first year, but my second year i found it a lot better when i bought a cheap velcro watch and hooked it on my bag.. could see what time it was on breaks, but wasnt constantly looking at it

[Morgoth Bauglir]

I always wore my watch on my shoe. Not tan lines :)

[Derek785]

Bring lots of turf spray with you on tour. It's hard to find in stores, but it's absolutely a necessity!

What exactly is turf spray?

Any links or a picture would be helpful.

Musically Yours,

Derek Gardner

[CoreyD]

This I know has probably been said about one hundred times every season when this topic is brought up, but two words : "GOLD BOND" Edited May 16, 2007 by CoreyD

[thatonekid]

Hey y'all, I actually made a blog on my myspace about life on a bus and I pretty much focused it on rookies. Here it is...

Essentials for living on a bus.

Alright, this blog is for all you rookies in drum corps this year, or for others that just plumb haven't figured it out yet. Thanks for inspiration Melissa. Anyway, after my 1 year of drum corps, I think I have basically figured out how to successfully live on a bus over the summer, or even just long trips with a band or a organization. Though, I will say ask some multi-year veterans as well. They'll know alot more than me when it comes to being on a bus.

1. First and foremost is a seat partner. Usually you are going to want a partner that you get along with pretty well, but at the same time is pretty physically opposite of you. For instance, I am a generally big guy. So me sitting with another big guy just doesn't work out when it comes to room. So if your a big dude, make friends with a smaller guy, and if your a smaller person, either get to know a bigger dude, or find yourself another small person for having the most room possible.

2. Where to sit? By this i mean the aisle seat vs. window seat. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Me personally, I was and always will be an aisle person. You sit closer to people in other seats, as well you have direct access to the aisle without making other people move for you. It's also alot roomier, or more so just more leg room. But, it does suck because you will always be the one that "plays the game". You'll figure that out later rookies. As well, people walking past you can be a bit of a bother. With the window seat, you have the chance to put your head on something when you sleep, provided the bus ride isn't that bumpy. As well, if you just cant sleep, you can gaze out at the night, which is something that I would do alot even in the aisle seat. But, the window seat is usually alot more cramped. Not alot of room to move around. You also have to make other people move alot of times if you ever need to get up and out of your seat. So it's your pick, but for me, the aisle seat is where it's at. Along with The Spot (Kuntry Klub sucks!!!)

3. Next comes comes the all important thing thats so hard to get on any bus. SLEEP! Most buses at night are gonna be freezing cold. I've never been on one that wasn't, so pretty much assume that it's gonna be that way. I tried a blanket for half of tour, and it just did not work out. It was very cluddery, never got me totally warm, and just felt awkward all the time. Thats when I noticed Aaron Swenson knocked out an hour into every bus ride. I finally learned that for me, the way to go was a hoodie and pajama pants. Nothin too heavy, just enough to keep you warm. I did that for the second half of tour and slept like a baby. As well came how I was laying my head. Since I didn't have the window to lay my head on, I used one of those travel pillows that wraps around your neck. I felt that this was PERFECT! My neck was never strained or kinked, yet I always had something to rest it on. Another thing that help out was an eye cover I got from Brookstone. These things are not only comfortable, but a big part of it is that it blocks alot of the lights from the outside, whether it be headlights from traffic in the opposite direction or lights on the highway. The last thing I used was my mp3 player. I had some very soothing music playing while I was trying to sleep. Some people use classical, I throughly enjoyed Explosions in the Sky( if you don't know who they are, check out the movie Friday Night Lights, they play a majority of that soundtrack). The reason I used music was to drone out the noise of the movie playing that I didn't want to watch, the seat partner or aisle partners that were on the phone, or the bus drivers talking to each other. The bus driver thing was only because I sat at the front of the bus(BACK OF THE BUS SUCKS!)

4. My favorite part of the bus. BUS FOOD! There isn't alot that I can say about bus food besides the common sense stuff. No sticky foods or stuff that can melt. You don't have a sink on the bus, so clean up usually sucks with stuff like that. The way my seat partner worked it out, we shared alot of our food and kept it all in a shoe box under our seat. It was small enough that we could fit the shoe box and both of our show shoe boxes under our seats. You could as well put it up above your seat. Your preference. One advice that I demand you all do, is with the amount of food you have, carry a pretty ample amount of liquids on the bus with you at the same time. By liquids I mean gatorade, water, etc. No coke( shame on you! you shouldn't be drinking it anyway!). I personally had two water jugs all tour. One for rehearsal(1 gallon) and one for the bus( about a Liter).

5. I kept my backpack on the bus as well. That contained most of my essential other stuff, such as my mp3 player when I got off the bus, My camera, free day stuff, magazines(self-declared library boy), other stuff like that. I never really took it inside because I didn't NEED anything in it inside. For rehearsal I had a soccer bag that I kept in my tour bag, so I was pretty much set there.

6. Next comes a pretty small, but very important part of the bus. Window space. If used correctly, your window will be a premier thing that most will envy. Use a little shower container/box/thing with suction cups on the back(when it comes to the window, suction cups can be your enemy and our friend). Nothing too big, just get one big enough to carry things like your phone, your tour schedule, some laundry change, maybe some gloves, just small stuff like that. I learned the hardway that heavy stuff will not work. Also, hangers with suction cups on the back of them work amazing as well. I had about 2-3 of those for things like a hat hanger, and a water bottle hanger. Just be carful with these. Crappy brands wont stand up as long as you want them too, and will fall.ALOT.

7. Finally, this is the etc. etc. section. Some materials your are gonna want are bungee cords, a small time first aid, tape, etc., etc. Basically, ask one on the vets in the corps about stuff like that and they'll be glad to give you info.

FINALLY, the reason I posted this is so you don't make the same mistakes I did as a rookie. These are all things that helped me out a bunch, and hopefully will help you out as well.

BRING WITH YOU WHAT YOU NEED, NOT WHAT YOU WANT. I cannot stress how important this message really is. Nothing sucks more than living in a cluddered area day in and day out. I didn't experience it, but I watched it happen and trust me, it was not pretty.

As well, remember this is after only 1 year of marching, with 2 left. There are still some things I need to experiment with myself with living. So, ask some of the multi-year vets as well. Those 3+ year veterans will be chalk FULL of information that will help out.

And to cap it off, if you have some advice to add on here, feel free to comment and add that info.

Until then,

MYNWA

Edited May 16, 2007 by thatonekid

[SACMellos2010]

Definitely turf spray, gold bond and for no tan lines can keep your watch around certain male organs.

[festive]

Take care of your feet. Never walk around barefoot. Flip flops are a great idea but just generally...you never know what you might step on.

If you need music (I couldn't have done without it on tour), take something you won't cry about if it gets stolen. Or, do what I did and take something no one wants. I took a beat-up walkman. No one wanted it. Worked out fine. If I had an iPod at the time I marched, I would have left it at home.

:)

[nothingbetter]

Definitely turf spray, gold bond and for no tan lines can keep your watch around certain male organs.

what is turf spray!?

[2CoolVK]

This goes for all marching members, but especially rookies...be sure to thank the people that come to see you play. Meet your fans. Make someone's day. Let them remeber you and what a great experience that was. Remember you're a celebrity to thousands of band kids and alumni out there.

Also, thank your corps volunteers EVERY SINGLE DAY for their hard work. It will come back to you tenfold.

[Jared_mello]

i dont know what turf spray is, but im not sure if people who marched in the past (as in not in the last.....5 years or so) realize that astroturf is MUCH less prevalent than it used to me. grass/grasstroturf (theres a lot of other names for it, i know) is the norm now....only a few shows or rehearsal sites have the "old school" astroturf. shame, too....the carpet is great for drum corps shows, usually.

good call on listening to explosions in the sky.

broken social scene's first album, "feel good lost," is another good ambient, soundscapey album that's good to fall asleep too.

more good cds for sleeping, if anyone is interested:

adem - "homesongs" (my favorite cd, along with 'ok computer' by radiohead, though the adem cd is much better to sleep to)

vetiver (self titled cd)

kings of convenience - "riot on an empty street" or "quiet is the new loud"

nick drake - "five leaves left" (and pretty much everything else)

sufjan stevens - "greetings from michigan" (enjoy his illinois cd when you dont mind being awake)

anything by sigur ros

anything by thievery corporation, though they might not work for everyone

anything by iron and wine (their songs all kind of sound the same anyway)

feist - "let it die"

some erykah badu wouldn't hurt.

most ben harper music

....yeah....i do hope some people take or at least look into some of these suggestions, i assure you theyre highly worthwhile/enjoyable. sleeping well on the bus, aside from obviously being really good for you on tour, is great when done well. :)