JimF-LowBari Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 Just because I haven't marched in 20 years - and am more than OK with that - doesn't mean I can't be a fan of the activity Think Marty meant that because you are "here" on DCP following corps you are still a fan even if you do not (or cannot) march anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dauntless Posted June 3, 2007 Share Posted June 3, 2007 I was just pondering this, Pinky. Why do many people march with DCI and don't give DCA a chance after they age-out? I do believe that half of the DCI corps members are aware of our presence. What happens to these people? Burned out? No money? No corps near them? Just curious... For me I had to get started with my life, with an uncertain future I had to make my way and support myself. The days of living for the moment and just enjoying being young and having fun had passed me by. Now that I am older I find that my life is able to include time for activities other than supporting myself and trying to rule the world ;) I have in the past couple of years dusted off my old Valve and Rotor G Bugle and Trumpets and have been busy practicing. Ready to rule the World LOL. I am looking forward to marching Drum Corps, again real soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martybucs Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 For me I had to get started with my life, with an uncertain future I had to make my way and support myself. The days of living for the moment and just enjoying being young and having fun had passed me by. Now that I am older I find that my life is able to include time for activities other than supporting myself and trying to rule the world ;) I have in the past couple of years dusted off my old Valve and Rotor G Bugle and Trumpets and have been busy practicing. Ready to rule the World LOL. I am looking forward to marching Drum Corps, again real soon. I think you and I are the only ones that got the "Pinky" reference. KNARFFF! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 Hey Mike.... if you get the Grand Prix this year, stop by and say "hi"....it would nice to finally meet you in person!Fran Absolutely will do if I get there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 I think you and I are the only ones that got the "Pinky" reference. KNARFFF! Yeah, but did you use an Orson Wells voice when quoting the Brain???? Have seen it two or three times and the voice is what I remember. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 i dated someone years ago that had no experience in the activity and he thought it was absolutely crazy that i spent all this money *dues, travel costs, food, etc.* so i could "stand in the hot sun and get yelled at". how good or even great the finished product was didn't matter to him. he thought it was a complete waste. :( Just about every friend I had growing up who was not in drum corps felt that way...and that was in the 60's and early 70's. They had NO idea why I would do something as geeky as drum corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G_Bass Posted June 4, 2007 Author Share Posted June 4, 2007 My DCI experience was the 2006 Auditions for a corps in Illinois. But before that I marched the Turkey Day parade with Gulf Coast Sound. I thought best to stay with GCS, and stay in Houston for the summer (With the end result of brass repair knowledge, and a frickin fun summer). I'm DCAified. I still go to DCI shows, but DCA is my arena (although GCS is in the DCI Houston show this year). Sorry for not responding to my thread in 6 pages, but insomnia sucks. Plus GCS practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dauntless Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 I think you and I are the only ones that got the "Pinky" reference. KNARFFF! Hah, I think you are right. We must be the only ones with a warped sense of humor. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJH Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 (edited) I also think the "FUN" content of the activity can not be overlooked.In the 70s and 80s when I marched on the field with Bucs, we practiced very hard. Wed and Fri nights and all day Saturday. We had one camp weekend up at Fort Indian Town Gap. Most corps did the same. It was hard work, but we also had a lot of fun. The shows were not as complicated as today's shows and that means the pressure of performing a DCI style show with half the amount of practice time a DCI corps has, is not there as much. I could be wrong, but it seems that practices are much more intense these days. Much more stressful. Much more tiring. Who wants to do that on their time off from work? Think about it: You have constant deadlines. You have to constantly improve and sell your product. You have all sorts of personality and political conflicts to resolve. You have long commutes. Barely enough time to eat lunch. People in charge, yelling at you all the time...and then you have to go to work on Monday. Maybe if there was a middle ground where it was more attractive to people that want to do it, but also want to enjoy it more. When I'm at work, I'm in a stressful environment. I'm trying to make clients happy. Often, they have little to no understanding of what has to happen behind the scenes to produce their product and yet they feel compelled to complain when the finnished product isn't exactly what they expect. Many times my job is taking the check the salesman wrote with his mouth and cashing it with my, and all the other technicians, behinds. And that's a good day. On a bad day, not only are end-clients breathing down my neck, but the companies I work for directly are calling me wanting explanations of what's going on, wanting debriefings, asking where equipment is, etc. I must say I have way more good days than bad or else I wouldn't still be in the business. The thing I try to explain to non-DC people is that when I'm on the field or in a sectional or ensemble or whatever, if I'm doing it right, all that other stuff goes away. I can't play well if I'm thinking about work or clients or powerpoint or camera shots or video projectors or anything but the music I'm playing. It's a beautiful, Zen like experience at 120+db. And words cannot describe the feeling when you and 100 or so of your best friends all lock together to make music. Even if only for a few moments, its sublime and if you can all be together for 10 to 13 minutes, it's orgasmic. Trying to explain to your spouse an orgasmic experience when she's at home and you're with 100 or so people... Edited June 7, 2007 by MJH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martybucs Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 When I'm at work, I'm in a stressful environment. I'm trying to make clients happy. Often, they have little to no understanding of what has to happen behind the scenes to produce their product and yet they feel compelled to complain when the finnished product isn't exactly what they expect. Many times my job is taking the check the salesman wrote with his mouth and cashing it with my, and all the other technicians, behinds. And that's a good day. On a bad day, not only are end-clients breathing down my neck, but the companies I work for directly are calling me wanting explanations of what's going on, wanting debriefings, asking where equipment is, etc. I must say I have way more good days than bad or else I wouldn't still be in the business. The thing I try to explain to non-DC people is that when I'm on the field or in a sectional or ensemble or whatever, if I'm doing it right, all that other stuff goes away. I can't play well if I'm thinking about work or clients or powerpoint or camera shots or video projectors or anything but the music I'm playing. It's a beautiful, Zen like experience at 120+db. And words cannot describe the feeling when you and 100 or so of your best friends all lock together to make music. Even if only for a few moments, its sublime and if you can all be together for 10 to 13 minutes, it's orgasmic. Trying to explain to your spouse an orgasmic experience when she's at home and you're with 100 or so people... Tell me about it... I'm in the printing business and have been for over 30 years. It's loaded with stress. I look at a practice today and think to myself, for me, that it would be just too much to put up with all the demands of practice and then add a family and work...all for 12 minutes of performing? I know there's more to it than that, heck I was on the field since 1964 to 1981, (I know what it's like to practice and perform, believe me.), however, I seem to remember less yelling, less discipline at rehearsals and more fun. When I say, "less discipline", I'm not saying we clowned around every minute - we got the job done, but had fun doing it. As for an orgasmic experience?....I dunno....sometimes, "a cigar is just a cigar", if you know what I mean... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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