Skippy

I was 16, haha. I can't believe my mom let me go on tour with a bunch of college kids.

The Troopers. Their tour director, Fred, basically came and saved Capital Regiment this summer. That man made things run smoothly. Also, since you're a drummer, you might like to know that they're percussion caption head this year is Brian Stevens. He's taught the SFA drumline for the past 7 or 8 years, marched and taught Phantom Regiment and was Caption Head for Capital Regiment last summer. He's a great teacher, and you'd learn a lot from him.

http://www.music.unt.edu/mpac/pg/win.htm

I support the change, and I think woodwinds should be allowed in DCI. I don't see fielding full WW sections as practical, without having to dramatically increase the size of the corps, or greatly reducing the number of brass. But with amplification, it could be used for neat effects and solos, to add stuff to a show. I don't know how all it would be used, but I'm all for having new possibilities.

I like physics, because it's all logical, and applies to stuff that affects you all the time. It's not really memorizing like some of the other sciences, but you can just think through problems logically. I'm taking Physics of Sound, about acoustics and stuff next fall, I can't wait.

hahahahahahahahahaha

Hey man, I'm just keepin' it real.

Responsible adults don't teach drum corps.

Well, between camps, if you're not in the best of shape... run. You're trying out for baritone... hold up your baritone with your shoes tied around it for long periods of time. You arms will fall off at camps, getting strong is important. Don't wait until the last minute to work on music, or record progress tapes (if they're required). If you're flying to camps, start looking at flights and travel plans immeadietly before they get too expensive, espcially for camps on holiday breaks. Well, tour dues can me up to like 1500 bucks, but it all depends on the corps. For some corps, there are additional camp fees, some just charge for audition camps, some charge for no camps. Also, you have to factor in costs for flying if you have too. But 1500 dollars is actually a really good deal... with 4 meals a day, shelter for 3 months, a free ride to all the dci shows you want, etc. Again, it all depends on the corps, they're all different.

Crossmen '04, it was so hot, they said they didn't care if we wore pants or not. I marched in boxer-briefs!

I just did my audition for the UNT wind ensembles... in jeans and a hoodie. whoops

2004 Huntsville We laid an absolute egg in prelims. Boring, no energy, you know. And then Dean Westman gave us the most incredible speech, and we had a warmup that was more intense than I ever had in drum corps. The only time I've seen that intensity matched, was when I watched LD Bell warm up this year. Our performance was abosolutely incredible, and we didn't get off the field or to the tunnel before people started crying and hugging and jumping on each other. I think I was on the 30 before I stopped marching and just started going crazy. The dvd is funny to watch.

My number one tip for going to an audition is to be prepared. This sounds easy, but you'd be shocked at the number of people that show up to a Cavaliers audition camp that don't know the audition music at all. If you don't have something well-prepared, you're just wasting your time and money. Marching-wise, not much is typically expected. All auditionees come from different schools and different marching backgrounds, so everyone's technique is different. Although, there are some key things that they look for: Timing of feet, control of the upper body, and instruction comprehension. Those three things are pretty universal for every marching group, and are something that's difficult to teach a person if they aren't already able to do it. How my first audition camps have worked, is generally Friday night is pretty relaxed. There will probably be a meeting with the corps director welcoming you and telling you what all to expect and stuff. Then you might get into a horn arc with everyone, and go over the corps fundamentals and basic technique studies. On Saturday, there will be both playing and visual blocks of rehearsal (you're gonna be sore all over afterwards). During this time, they'll probably pull out people one by one to go and play for some of the brass staff. Although, at Cavaliers, they have you audition 5 at a time, "all-region style", but I think they are the exception. The typical numbers of people that show up, really depend on the corps. At Cavaliers last year, there were like 40ish mellophones trying out for like 4 or 5 spots. At some of the lower corps, it's not nearly that drastic. With Crossmen and Cap Reg, there wasn't a full hornline until about April or Mayish, as not enough talent auditioned and people dropped out and such. Luckily for you, my experience has shown me that baritone is the least competitive section to make in a drum corps. At both crossmen and cap reg we had people switch over from other instruments to fill spots. Trumpet is generally the most competitive (in the hornline), and I'd say mellophone is 2nd, and tubas are 3rd. If you make the cut at the audition camp, make sure that you work on the stuff that they tell you to. If you were the weak link in the marching rehearsal, you have a month to change that. Whenever they give you music at a camp, have it down by the next camp. If they ask you to memorize it, you better have it memorized. They may not cut you if you don't, because they need you, but ultimately you're making the drum corps suffer. Learning/memorizing music was a huge issue at both Crossmen 04 and Cap Reg 06, and it makes every one that knows their stuff very angry, and you get hated by most people in the corps.

It's different for every corps. For example, The Cavaliers are very specific about what etudes and excerpts to prepare, whereas SCV just has a sheet of excercises and then you can play a piece of your choice. Just check the websites of your prospective corps.

No, the mellophones are exactly the same. What you must play at school is a marching french horn. Two completely different instruments.

Hey man, who are you? That sucks that you got cut. Troopers with Stevens should be fun though.

That goes for nearly every drum corps.

Good luck man.

DRUM CORPS IS WORTH IT.

SFA

Yeah, all the time in 1970s drum corps, before the pit was invented. 2 xylophones in the center, and then a marching timpani off to the left.

Yeah, the red was added in 06. I think the old black sash was better though. Silver could make it interesting.

SCV 1992. Best 7th place show EVER. Trivia Fact: Dean Westman's favorite show is SCV '87

Ok, it's like this. They take music that was written by Billy Joel, then they arrange it for drum corps, then they play it, and then they win.