Rookie Champion
How one rookie member became addicted to drum corps...
My drum corps experience was much like anyone else's. I worked my butt off, I made many friends, and I learned a LOT about myself. These are the thing that make drum corps enjoyable.
However, these are NOT the things that cause the incurable "drum corps addiction". It's the closeness of the individual members that does that. It's the feeling that no one outside the organization can know exactly what a person went through to get where they got that draws corps members together. On this page, I'm going to attempt to break down the experiences of my first drum corps season by describing what happened to me during various parts of the preseason and also during each show weekend.
Fall/Winter rehearsals-
I arrived at my first corps camp ever wondering just what I was doing there. It seemed to me that someone who had studied vocal performance in college maybe didn't belong in such an environment. (Luckily, I discovered otherwise later...) In any case, I picked up my baritone for the first time and was rewarded with the expected noise - a foggy low note that was nevertheless on pitch. I could see that I had a lot of work ahead of me.
Throughout the winter, I was plagued by the notion that I was a stranger in a strange land. I had not marched with any instrument in 10 years, and I had NEVER played a brass intrument in my life. I knew that there was no way I was going to allow myself to stand in front of a crowd and play badly, so I worked hard in my spare time outside camp. (Note: this is the key to senior corps success.) I worked approximately 3 hours a day on my own at home, practicing until I felt at least partially satisfied with my playing. Around March or so, the stakes got higher as we started to work on moving and playing at the same time. It was grueling and the weight of the baritone soon became a hindrance to my musicality. Drill rehearsals, however, were what I truly feared.
Serenade in Brass- Harrisburg, PA-
This indoor concert is a tradition; almost every year, Westshore performed in this concert, but in 1996, we performed last, which was something that hadn't occurred in some time. It went very well, and I lost any doubts that might have been lingering at the back of my mind as to whether or not I was meant for this activity. Drum corps was in my soul now.
Spring Drill rehearsals-
My first drill weekend was a nightmare, but not because I didn't know what I was doing. Perhaps for the first time, I truly realized to what I had committed myself, as the heat and humidity took a toll on the members of the corps. However, I figured out the basics of drill pretty quickly, and I was quite relieved to find that I had no trouble remembering my sets. At the end of the weekend, I knew that I would be able to hold my own- and that was what I wanted more than anything.
The rest of the spring brought more drill and parades, which are horrible things. No one likes to do a parade, but they bring in the money, and they do help to improve the quality of sound the corps produces while moving. I felt like I finally knew what I was doing.
SHOWS!
Jackson, NJ- June 15, 1996
This was to be my first competitive outing in the drum corps world. I was understandably nervous; however, I was actually more excited than anything else. After spending the last month and a half learning drill, I felt that I personally was ready to go out in front of people and show them what I had learned.
The show went fairly well - there were the usual opening show jitters in the corps, and a couple of people fell during the performance, but in general it was good for our first outing. It was drum major-only retreat, so I was able to get out of my uniform and go watch some of the other corps. At the end of the show, the scores were announced, and The Caballeros had won the show. It was a small disappointment, but not really all that unexpected, and we knew that it would be a long time before that happened again.
Waterbury, CT- June 22nd, 1996
This was my first overnight bus trip. I had been afraid that I would be unable to sleep, and I had been correct- I WAS unable to sleep until the bus stopped in a parking lot at 5:30 in the morning. Jerry, the corps director, came on the bus at that point and outlined our choices; either sleep on the bus, sleep in the parking lot, or don't sleep but keep quiet so others could. I took the first option and got about 3 hours of sleep before practice.
At Westshore, there is no hazing of rookies; however, all rookies must be on a work crew, and my work crew was field lining. One of my good friends was in charge of field lining, so when time came to be chosen for one crew or another, I had had an advantage. Field lining is a comparatively easy job, though at 8:00 in the morning, nothing is much fun. We lined the field while the corps warmed up, then had sectional music time. Finally, we ran-through the show for a while. None of the big names of the DCA circuit that year were present at this show, so it was a fairly relaxed weekend for us.
The show progressed brilliantly. All the jitters were gone, and almost everyone was confident in their own performance. When the scores were announced, we had won by over 9 points, and we performed our first victory concert of the season. All in all, a good weekend, but we knew that the real challenge was coming next weekend in Bridgeport, when we would again face the Caballeros.
Bridgeport, CT- June 29th, 1996
This was to be a good weekend - for all intents and purposes, my favorite of the entire season. I was again unable to sleep on the bus, only this time, I still couldn't sleep when the bus stopped moving, so a couple of us walked to a Portuguese bakery in town. (?) This time, we practiced in a parking lot all day, so we used chalk to line the field, which is no easier than paint. We had a great day of practice, and we knew that if we had a good chance to win the show.
We had time to shower, and the showers were fairly decent ones, which, as all drum corps types know from hard experience, is EXTREMELY rare. We were on last, which is a good time to perform, due to the fact that judges tend to leave room at the end for the final competitor. We started the show off well, and the crowd was on its collective feet even during the on-field warm-up. We began the show proper and 4 sets into the performance, we had a tempo tear. Joy, one of the drum majors, had a look of panic in her eyes, but she needn't have worried; the corps came back together at the most difficult part of the show. Afterwards, the captions were announced, and Chris and Joy had won best drum major(s), besting the legendary Jim Russo. We also won the show, thus defeating the Caballeros for the first time. It was a magical moment for many of us, and it seemed to portend well for the rest of the season. We did our victory concert, and then went to sleep in the school nearby, for we had a parade the next day. We were the first senior corps in that parade, having won the show. I walked around all week long with a silly smile on my face, because I knew that the next weekend was our home show in Hershey.
Hershey, PA- July 4-6th, 1996
This was to be one of the more energy-sapping weekends in the entire summer, but the rewards were to be great. We did parades all day on Independance Day, then practiced all day on the fifth, and most of the day on the sixth. The night of the sixth was the Hershey show, which in most years was a double show of senior and junior corps. This year, however, most of the top ten senior corps were there, and only one junior corps, The Bluecoats, was present in exhibition. I have many memories of the season, but one from this weekend sticks out in my mind. Before we took the field, Dan DeLong, the percussion caption head, said, "Nobody beats us in our house." He then proceeded to yell this as we took the field, and from that point on, we were fired up and ready. We did the best show possible at that point in the season, and actually won brass G.E. at the show, which was a bit of a treat for us. Percussion was again our watchword, and we won the show by a decent sized margin. All in all, a good weekend, though I was exhausted at the end of it, emotionally and physically. That exhaustion would come back to haunt me, as well as many of the other members of the corps.
Strasburg, PA(rained out), Allentown, PA- July 13th, 1996
This weekend proved the old adage that into each life a little rain must fall. In this case, it rained all Friday night, and all morning Saturday as well. It was very depressing, and I'm afraid that some of us let the weather depress us a little too much. Practice went horribly, with no focus and little to recommend it in any other fashion either. We drove our cars individually to the DCEast exhibition in Allentown, since the competition in Strasburg had been cancelled due to rain. As we lined up along the field to do the exhibition, I had a feeling that something wasn't right. Apparently, I was correct in that, for we gave one of our weakest shows of the year that night. The evening ended with a promise from Jerry- never again would he let us off the hook practice-wise simply due to rain.
Rochester, NY- July 20th, 1996
Friday night, we were galvanized; we knew that even though we would not be competing with the Caballeros, our other main competitor, The Empire Statesmen, would be there. We were determined that the disaster of the previous weekend would not be repeated.
After driving all night to a parking lot on the campus of The Rochester Institute of Technology, I got off the bus and for the first time slept in a parking lot. It wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be. It was, to be honest, somewhat comfortable, but of course I was getting to the point where I could sleep anywhere- even on the bus.
Field lining crew had a special task this weekend- to line 2 fields, one on grass, and one on the parking lot. This proved problematic AND time consuming; it usually took us about a half an hour more than it should have to line ONE field, much less two. In short, it took us 2 1/2 hours to line both fields, and my friend Winona, the mello section tech and leader of the field lining crew, was livid.
In the end, though, everything worked out. We had an extraordinarily good day of practice. One of my fellow bari 3's had been having a lot of difficulty with the music, so at my behest, the third baritones had a sectional during the lunch hour that went VERY well. Our final run-through of the day was great, and we knew that the weaknesses of the week before were seriously diminished.
We did the show, and won. Not only did we win, but we took all the captions, including High Brass. It was a VERY good weekend, and just the confidence boost we needed.
Cumberland, MD- DCA Regional- July 27th, 1996
The set-up for this weekend was somewhat different than usual. Normally at Shore, we met to practice Friday night at Cumberland Valley High School, practiced for 3 hours, and then loaded up the buses and rode to the show site. Cumberland was different in that it was a "drive your own self" weekend. We each drove our individual cars to Frostburg State U. in MD Friday night to practice, then stayed overnight in a dorm. It was a weekend of bonding, since the corps members were all sleeping in an actual building with rooms, as opposed to a parking lot or gym floor. For us, it was the veritable lap of luxury.
We practiced Friday night, and then went to our rooms. Of course, immediate sleep only came for a select few; most of the corps stayed up a while and hung out. Times like that made me realize what a blessing senior corps could be. Unlike junior corps, in senior corps there is a fair amount of time for socializing, and yet somehow we still put out a quality product. We practiced hard AND we played hard at Shore.
Saturday morning I received a bit of an added bonus- the field was pre-lined! That happened only rarely during the summer, and I and the other members of the field lining crew were ecstatic. We had a good day of practice, though tempers did flare more than once. Everyone knew that this competition meant quite a bit, and in our striving to be the best we could be, some people were becoming a little exasperated. Jerry talked us down, telling us that even though we wanted to win, the most important part of the process was to have fun. This was something of which we had to be reminded now and then- not to let the competition get in the way of our enjoyment of the activity.
We performed admirably at the show, and we were on fairly early, so we had a chance to get a peek at some of the other corps. They were essentially as we had been hearing all season; Empire and Cabs were strong, Bush was weird but good, and the others were getting better all the time. At retreat, we were again announced the winners, by a margin of .2. This didn't sit well with the hornline; we thought that it was too harsh a judgement. John Arietano, the brass caption head and arranger, came to us and told us that sometimes as the season progresses, the judges feel the need to close up the intervals between the scores. It did make us feel a bit better, but we were resolved that we would do better next week.
This weekend had an added perk to it, for there was another corps staying in the building with us: The Kingston Grenadiers. They were quite friendly, and fed us after the show. They were also big fans of Westshore, so of course we warmed to them quickly. On Sunday, we all drove home, knowing that we had a big challenge ahead of us the next week in Rhode Island.
East Providence, RI- August 2nd, 1996
This weekend was a rough one, for the corps in general and for me personally. I'm cursed with bad knees, and this was the weekend my body chose to make me pay for all that marching. I had to wear a brace on my right knee, and I limped everywhere I went. It was not fun in ANY way, but I was determined to march the show on Saturday night. The pain was exacerbated by the fact that, although I could limp between drill sets, I certainly could not do so DURING those sets. This made for a very painful weekend.
It would have been a ten hour bus trip even if we hadn't had truck problems, but alas, we did. The radiator cooling fan exploded into the radiator, and we were stuck in a homesteadonalds parking lot for hours. We finally got to the practice field around noon, which was very bad, because it cut down quite a bit on our practice time.
We practiced, but I was having some major difficulties with my knee, which had not appreciated the long bus trip at all. I had to sit out drill rehearsal more than once, but got in the form in time time to do the final run-through of the day. (In my opinion, members ought to be required to do the final run-through in order to march the show.) We marched the show, and many of the hornline members felt that the show was not so good. There was an undercurrent of worry, for we hadn't lost a show since the first show of the season. The scores were announced, and Shore breathed a sigh of relief; we had won the show, by the same margin as at Cumberland, .2. Relieved, we rode home, knowing that we would not face the Caballeros again until DCA Finals.
Ridgeway, PA- August 9th, 1996
This was a restful weekend for us. However, we had a truly AWFUL practice field, and field lining crew had messed up the field. We had to paint part of it again, which meant that in certain places on the field, we had two sets of lines, one diagonal to another. It was perplexing for the corps, but we got through it, and had a good day of rehearsal until the final run-through, which, to be brutally frank, sucked. Jerry said we'd done well, probably more to boost our confidence than anything else, and then explained that, even though there weren't any major competitors at this show, we still had to do our best and not slack off, because this was to be the second of our August shows which determined our seeding at DCA prelims.
We performed incredibly. It was a great show, and we were rewarded with an excellent score. We would not be competing the next weekend, and this high score was going to be quite necessary if we were to be seeded well at prelims.
Orlando, FL- DCI Semifinals- Exhibition- August 13th-17th, 1996
This was to be a long week, but an enjoyable one for most of the corps, despite the many pitfalls of the trip.
We gathered on Wednesday night to practice for three hours and to prepare ourselves for the 22 hour bus trip. (In senior corps terms, this is a REALLY long ride.) For me, the ride was uncomfortable, but I managed to sleep through most of it, which was a first for me. There were some few small forms of entertainment, even though we didn't have the video buses we were expecting, our bus company having basically screwed us. Nonetheless, I had a breath-taking moment of excitement watching a couple of the younger hornline members O.D. on Pixy Sticks.
We finally arrived in Orlando on Thursday evening. Quarterfinals were proceeding, but most of us were too tired to even try to see anything. We went and unloaded the buses at the Fairgrounds, which was where we were staying. The place left much to be desired, but at least it was air-conditioned, and there was one major up-side - the various junior corps were warming up there, so we got to watch some of their warm-ups.
It was heavenly. I got to watch both the Blue Devils and the Phantom Regiment's hornline warm up, and I was in my glory. During Devs' warm-up, I literally thought I had died, it was so awesome. And of course, Regiment's warm-up superseded any and all expectations (Regiment is my favorite.)
The next day, we practiced, because the exhibition performance was that evening. We practiced for about 3 hours in the morning and then got out of the insanely hot sun. Such humidity has rarely been felt before by Pennsylvanians, and of course, there were the fire ants to keep us on our toes. It was still a good morning, and we got a lot done.
That night, we were afforded the opportunity to go see all but the top 6 corps at semis, then we prepared to perform. I stepped out on the field and gasped inwardly at the large number of people in the stands. I knew that this was going to be absolutely incredible.
It was. It was one of the better performances we gave during the course of the season. Afterwards, I walked across the street from the Citrus Bowl to see if I couldn't find some liquids, dehydration being imminent. After I got my drink, I walked back to the busses looking for a place to throw out my container.
I saw something that further curled my already curly hair. It made no difference in the long run, and it certainly wasn't any of my business. Suffice it to say that what I saw widen a rift in the corps to unheard-of proportions.
It didn't help matters in the hornline that our bus driver screamed at us about something jejune; plotting of a "hostile bus takeover" began to circulate in the hornline.
We spent the day at Disney World after performing a standstill performance at the Magic Kingdom in 120 degree heat, 100% humidity, and three layers of black uniform. No one passed out, and we had a good time at the Magic Kingdom on the house. That night, we went to DCI finals, again for free. We were supposed to have showers there, but we did not, so before the weekend was over, we had spent two whole days in Florida in August without showers. We went to Finals, and if anything made up for the minor inconveniences, that did. I got to watch the top twelve drum corps live at finals for free; what more could I want out of life?
Well, whatever more I could have wanted I got when they announced the winners. My favorite corps of all time, Phantom Regiment, had taken their first title, and no one who saw the show live could deny that they deserved it. I and about 8 other members of Shore's hornline ran from the top balcony to the ground in order to catch Regiment's victory field show up close, which was, if possible, even better than the show that won them the title. It was phenomenal!
Unfortunately, we still had this small problem of a division between the hornline and drumline, and once more, Jerry Mace came and saved the day. He told us that what had happened didn't change the fact that we were a family, and that more than anything set our minds at ease. I felt much better on the way home, and slept essentially the whole way. We arrived home, cleaned out the bus, and drove home to rinse the FUNK off.
Syracuse, NY- August 23rd, 1996
This was to be our last show before DCA finals, which would be the culmination of our season. We dropped our bus company and leased video buses for this trip. It was great, and I learned firsthand what great air-conditioning those buses have. Sheesh!
We arrived in Syracuse, and slept in a tennis court this time, which was a change of pace. We woke at 8:00 and had breakfast (Mmmmm....stale Dunkin' Stix...) We then lined what I would later discover would be my last field. Never again would I be required to be up an hour before everyone else.
We had an excellent day of practice, and we were psyched up and ready to go. Then we got the bad news- the field was a baseball diamond. That would not have been a problem except for two major points: 1.) Anything past the 15 yard line was in the dugout (a real problem for a corps that uses the whole field, as we did) and 2.) The mound had been left in the middle of the field. During the show, I had a major problem with that mound, as I unexpectedly backed over it. I didn't fall, but I was perhaps less graceful than I should have been - and I wasn't alone.
We knew it hadn't been such a good show, and when the scores were announced, we had tied Empire. Neither corps was happy about that. We left the weekend for the first time a little unsure of what DCA finals held for us.
Rochester, NY- DCA Preliminaries and Finals- August 28th-Sept. 1st, 1996
Finally, it had arrived. The weekend to end all senior corps weekends, and to finally prove which corps was the best senior corps in the world.
We gathered on Thrsday night, and the environment was electric. We knew that it was gong to be a good weekend for us. The division that had grown between the drumline and the hornline had patched, and we knew that it was now or never. The buses were late, so we had some social time in the parking lot at CV High. It was ok, because we still got to Rochester early enough to get some rest at the hotel. My roommates and I weren't really tired, though, so we took off to find some food. We ate and then reconvened at the hotel to walk to our practice field.
We had an excellent day of practice on Friday, and things looked good for Saturday. We slept Friday night, woke up Saturday, practiced some more, and prepared mentally for Prelims.
Unfortunately, we were not prepared for the field. It was a baseball field, and the front sideline had been painted from first to third base. We were quite a distance from the crowd, and among horn players at least, there was no common consensus as to where the G.E. box was. Visually, the show was terrible, but musically, it was the best the hornline had done all season. We went out to have our picture taken, and then heard the screams of joy as the Caballeros were pronounced the winners of the Preliminary contest. This did not make anyone happy, but we were resolved to do better at Finals.
That night, we practiced music, and then had a standstill run-through with the drumline. It was very unifying, and we felt more like a family than we ever had. Sunday afternoon, we practiced our butts off, and at the end of the day we knew that it was all up to us now.
We arrived at the warm-up field, and got very excited, because we knew that the sound that was coming out of the hornline was better and fuller than it had ever been. We were as ready as we would ever be. We wished each other good luck, hornline and drumline and guard member, and prepared for the show of our lives.
I don't remember many details of the actual show. All I remember is the feeling of exultation as I performed, completely in synch with my fellow members. We were on, and we gave it all we had.
At retreat, all the corps played the patriotic piece that we had been given beforehand (complete with phrases of "Roll Out The Barrel" from the Bushwackers) and prepared for the awards to be given out. We won high percussion excellence and ensemble, and tied for overall G.E. We lost brass and visual, though, and I began to prepare myself mentally for the idea that we might have lost the show.
All I heard after they announced Empire's score was this:
In second place, with a score of 96.8...96.8...The Haw-"
I screamed, as did the entire hornline. I didn't hear the corps name of the Hawthorne Caballeros until I watched the tape several months later. The feeling that was coursing through me was unequalled by anything I had ever experienced. I hugged almost every member of the corps (or at least every member that I knew well enough.) It was incredible. Words fail the feeling of being judged the best in the world.
After the fireworks, we performed our show at a standstill for the last time. It was bittersweet, for I knew that I would never perform that show again, and I had put a whole year of my life into it. I was consoled by the idea that everyone around me felt the same way, and I knew I would be back the next year.
My experience with drum corps was, as I said, much like any other; yet, it was totally different as well. I grew close with people because only the other members of the corps understood what we had gone through to complete this season. These people became important to me and I to them, for only we could truly relate to the experience.
During the season, I encountered health problems, bad food or a lack of food, a lack of sleep, heat, and extreme exhaustion. And you know what? I loved all of it and I regret none of it. Drum corps changed my life. I would not now be the person that I am without it.