Drum Corps

[jasoncslaughter]

I'm sure a lot of you guys probably couldn't care less about this, but for anyone interested the Drum Corps International finals were tonight, and Carolina Crown brought home the championship for the first time. It's especially poignant to me because one of my good friends was on the brass staff, and both of us were members of the corps before we got old. It's a significant moment for the group, as they are the only corps to win the championship that began in Division III (placing dead last in the inaugural year 1990). They scored a 98.3, one of the highest scores in DCI's 30+ year history (it may in fact be the highest, I'll have to check), and the horn line came away with a perfect score.

These kids worked their asses off, and I couldn't be more proud of them. Here's a link to a YouTube video of one of their performances (their finals performance will likely never make it to YouTube b/c DCI is pretty strict about releasing videos) in case anyone has 12 minutes to kill. The horn lick at 7:58 is ridiculous. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uUkx8FB9Fs

[Skykid]

You're the first US citizen to use 'couldn't care less' correctly.

[Frenetic]

Congrats to Carolina Crown and your friend jasoncslaughter! I knew that corps had a special something after watching that horse race theme show. Dat slow motion photo finish was really great. What did you play? I played the euphonium! It's like trying to explain what shmups are to people when I tell them I play euphonium hahahahah.

Do you have any drum and bugle corps stories to tell? Being able to travel during the summer and be so focused on a single activity must have been so awesome. It's why I love shmups so much, that single--laser focus to give yourself over to something so completely and just your brain and attention be so absorbed into something...

I never marched drum corps but would get excited to see shows in SoCal when my section leader was in Santa Clara Vanguard. I marched 4 years of marching band, and I can say playing and marching at the same time engages the brain and body. Imagine playing a shmup and then having to walk/run and do formations on a football field with your head tilted up at the sky. I will always remember my band years in high school quite fondly. It really gave me an idea of how to perform when I formed a rock n' roll band.

Luckily due to the stimulus check handed out some years ago I bought a used euphonium and am really blessed to have been playing in the local community band--headed up by my old high school band director. So awesome.

Anyone else into drum and bugle corps or play a musical instrument?

[jasoncslaughter]

I never thought I would meet a euphonium player on here! I have similar reactions to my instrument:

-What do you play?
-Bass trombone.
-Is that like a slide trombone?
-Yes, but it's bigger and has two valves.
-Oh, so it's a valve trombone.
-No, it has a slide, but there are two valves that you play with your left... nevermind.

I marched lead bari in Carolina Crown back in 2000. It was definitely a life altering experience for me. It taught me the kind of discipline that has served me well in different stages of my life, not only in my performing career, but as a composer and scholar as well. I have more stories from that summer than you would probably want to hear, but I'll share a couple brief funny ones:

As you may have noticed from my avatar, I'm a bit fair skinned. I decided to try out a new spray-on sunscreen when I went for everydays, and found out by the second day that it didn't work at all! I ended up with giant blisters that I had to cut open and drain, and I still have light scars. After checking with the entire horn line, one guy brought a single pair of long pants and a long sleeved shirt, so I wore those for the next two weeks. Even with an undershirt, they were pretty funky by the time I healed up. The summers in South Carolina aren't exactly the most pleasant!

We also enjoyed the strange bathroom facilities at various stadiums, but the best was the one we deemed the "wall o' piss." It was somewhere in Texas, and it was literally a brick wall. The bottom was a floor with a single row of bricks to keep the urine in and a couple of drains. There was a hose hanging next to it, so at the end of every night, someone came in and hosed the wall down!

I've been really lucky in my life to play with some great musicians, even some famous (and infamous) ones. I think making music with other people is one of the best things anyone can do, and something everyone should do!

Also Skykid, I'm glad you noticed. That's one of my pet peeves!

[jasoncslaughter]

Also, Frenetic, what do you play in your rock band? Just curious. I never played in a rock band, but I did play bass in a funk band.

And where are the rest of the band geeks? Show yourselves!

[Frenetic]

Whoops didn't see this. I'm a singer and "front man" (basically I spaz out and dance and stuff). Yeah, we need more band geeks. Anyone else here? We could put together a shmup quartet or quintet hee

--F

Also, Frenetic, what do you play in your rock band? Just curious. I never played in a rock band, but I did play bass in a funk band.

And where are the rest of the band geeks? Show yourselves!

[Koa Zo]

darn, video was removed.
Would've liked to see/hear.

[jasoncslaughter]

darn, video was removed.
Would've liked to see/hear.

Yeah, DCI is pretty bad about having videos removed. There is one up on YouTube for the moment of their finals performance, though. The audio mix is a little weird, but you can get the idea:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nptTxmuLpBY

[Never_Scurred]

I am currently studying jazz improvisation with the guitar and played piano and drums off and on for many years. Been playing guitar for three years.

[beatsgo]

Holy smacks that was a great performance, nearly perfect in every musicial aspect of it. Glad this year Blue Devils didn't win.
This video is making me miss being part of a marching band/drum corp.