Tour Secretes

[rockthebus09]

I'd suggest thermal socks for the bus as well ... your feet WILL get extremely cold!

[Jami]

Encourage friends and family to send you care packages and letters on tour. There's nothing better than receiving mail or packages full of gatorade and cookies :)

[sopchick_01]

Sleep with one eye open.

[Tristan]

Logistics:

When in doubt, PACK LESS. Take 20 pairs of underwear and socks, three pairs of shorts (basketball shorts work well), and 7 shirts for rehearsal. You can rewear the shirts(when you wear them at all) and the shorts can be washed in the shower.

Use body wash and a loofah. There will be nowhere you can hang your dripping, grody washcloth to dry, and your soap will turn into jello-scum before you realize it.

Keep your sunscreen in a plastic bag. It WILL explode at some point. Happens every year, and you don't want to have to hose out your backpack.

Minimize the amount of liquid stuff you bring along. Use a shampoo/conditioner mix. It's only three months, and the reduced risk of mess is worth it.

Take two smaller towels instead of one big one. They'll dry faster, and you can switch back and forth so they don't get quite so funky before laundry days.

Thermarest pads are better than air mattresses. They self-inflate without pumps, and they don't sag like air mattresses do.

If you can afford it, get a high-quality 40-degree sleeping bag from an outdoor shop. Mine weighed less than a pound and fit into a bag smaller than a football. My entire bedroll fit inside my pillowcase.

Wheels on your luggage seem like a good idea.....until you realize that you'll have to navigate rough terrain, stairs, and freshly refinished gym floors where you're not allowed or not able to wheel your luggage. If you can find something with backpack straps that allows you to support the weight while keeping your hands free, you're in much better shape.

Pit guys (and girls with short, guy-ish hair): Got2b Glued is your best friend. It's the only hair gel that will survive a 45 minute ride to the stadium. Just make sure you wash your hands after putting it on.

Everyone: Armor-All wipes kick the crap out of shoe polish. Give your shoes a miliatry-style Kiwi wax polish right when you get them, and don't use shoe polish the rest of the season. It's like keeping a can of black paint in your bag, just begging for disaster. Armor-All wipes will get your shoes shinier than that sponge-applicator crap, you can get the job done in 15 seconds, and one wipe will do 4 shoes.

People:

Battery, Brass, Guard people: Help the pit whenever you can. It may be a long walk back to the truck for you, but their instruments can weigh 150 lbs. When the soil is soft and sandy or rough, they will love you for it, and you might be rewarded later on in the season.

Along those same lines: Don't diss the pit. They control the truck, and if you're instrument got left out one night when it was time to close up, it's them you'll have to answer to.

Talk to alumni whenever you get the chance. You will realize just how big a thing you are a part of, and that feeling can never be replaced.

If you sleep in the aisle of the bus, accept that you WILL get stepped on. It's the price you pay for the prime real estate.

Drum corps smells bad. Get used to it.

If someone from another corps says something bad to you, simply smile and say, "Thank you very much. You have a very nice drum corps."

Keep in touch with your corps friends when the season ends.

Food:

Wheat Thins with Cheddar flavor EZ-Cheez = greatest bus snack ever.

Chocolate WILL melt.

Sour Gummi Worms will melt too, but the product is still good. You just need a fork to eat them when that happens.

On a free day, go to a grocery store and get some fresh fruit. It's the best time of year for them, and food always tastes better when you're on tour. I recommend raspberries and peaches.

Health:

Do not let yourself get dehydrated. Ever. You will not fully recover during the season.

Do not overhydrate. Make sure you are getting enough salt. People can DIE from water intoxication. Aim to drink between 1 and 2 gallons of water a day for most days. On cold days, drink slightly less. On hot days, drink more. The more water you drink, the more salt you need. If you start getting muscle cramps, your electrolyte levels are getting too low. Switch to gatorade and start eating more salty food.

If you are injured, don't be a hero. Be smart about managing your injuries, or you will make things worse and may have to go home.

Performances:

Don't look at the video boards at the regionals, no matter how tempting.

In the dome stadiums, the acoustics are downright bizarre, and you will hear things you've never heard before. Don't get thrown off.

At the Bloomington/Normal show (lovingly called the Bando Show for the BOA camp that provides many of the members), you are a ROCK STAR.

At the end of the year, if your corps placed first, never forget that for that one brief moment in your life, you were the best in the world at something.

Second place isn't so bad either.

Neither is twelfth.

Or twenty-first.

Find a way to make your ballad personal, so you have an emotional investment in the music.

The end of your show should make you want to pull a Brandi Chastain (look her up if you don't remember).

Hype the rain. Your best performance may happen when it's pouring. (Glassmen 2004, Allentown)

Personal:

Keep a journal, or take a microcassette recorder and find a way to record your show during a rehearsal or performance. Pit--you can put it in your mallet bag. Battery, you can attach it to your carrier. Brass.....good luck. You will thank yourself years later when you play that tape and the memories come flooding back.

If you can find a copy of DCW on tour, take a look at it. You never know when your picture will be in there, but don't take the reviews too seriously.

When rehearsal becomes unbearable, mentally step back and realize that you are spending your whole summer MAKING MUSIC, and that you will have performed for likely over 50,000 people over the course of the summer, making them jump up and scream for you.

Never forget what you were like before you marched, and always remember how much that one season changed your life.

[PioSop06]

If you play sop, don't complain that your two-pound horn is heavy. (Trust me, I'm a sop, don't complain, EVER)

If you're a mello, yours isn't that heavy either, and it's pretty well balanced, don't complain.

To quote the Pioneer 2007 visual staff on this one, "Baritones, you picked it, you play it", just find someone in the corps to give you a back massage.

Once again, quoting the staff "Contras, ya'll are the biggest wimps out here, your horns are up on your shoulders". (Once again, a back massage from someone could be a lifesaver, coming from friends in the low brass)

One of the suggestions I've heard is before & right after tour, get a PROFESSIONAL back massage. And yes, sops, you may get a knot or two, but it's nothing like the low brass get. Don't grunt or break during arc or tracking if you're a sop. Don't break period. Use ankle weights pre-season, and a week or two before, lay off soda, energy drinks, etc or your running endurance will be horrible, not to mention stretching and running before tour. That's it for now, might have more later.

Edited April 4, 2007 by PioSop06

[PioSop06]

If you are injured, don't be a hero. Be smart about managing your injuries, or you will make things worse and may have to go home.

Sorry to double post, but I can speak from experience on this one. I had an injury pre-season I didn't get taken care of, and two-thirds of the way through the season, while rehearsing for my home show the cartiliage I had torn and didn't provide a cushion my knee hyperextended and I tore my ACL, ending my season before I even got to march my home show. Not to mention, every time it heats up, cools off, or the air pressure changes I have pain in my knee. In other words, take care of your injuries and don't push yourself so hard you "die" but also don't use it as an excuse.

[contrajedi8]

As a visual staff member and a contra player, I don't want to hear about how heavy your horn is. I don't care. You picked it, you play/carry it. Try living in a contra players world for a day.

[MichaelG]

-Live up the free days. They are few and far between. Hang out with your buddies and eat all the pizza, Mexican food, Italian, and drink all the Coke you can.

No!!!

[MAV]

Tristan...

You win BEST COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD! Wow - super suggestions! Not just advice, but the all important WHY you need to follow this advice. I've been doing this for decades (well...marching and being a guard mom) and even I learned something.

[Meaghatron]

Definitely, Tristan, awesome post. That is probably one of the most beneficial posts I have ever read on DCP. Nice job. :) B) ^OO^