dci advice

[daktx2]

a baritone friend of mine and me are planning on joining a drum corps next year. we are in the houston area and are both reasonably good players and marchers. do any of u veteran dci players have any advice for us? also, what is a good corps to join for our first drum corps experience? we were thinking revolution because it is a division 2, which would be slightly less expensive for us poor students, and also it is closer to houston than any other corps. thanks for the advice.

[Leland]

This might be a little biased but I would highly recommend marching with the Phantom Regiment next year.

"A little biased.."

While we still had a corps in Nebraska, we had members now & then from Texas, Tennessee, and even an exchange student from Norway for a couple seasons.

daktx2, what kind of music & performance style do you prefer? There are a number of corps where you're going to get top-notch instruction.

It's been a while since I've been on the road with a corps, so it'll be difficult for me to say which II/III corps are going to be at the top of their game. Keep an eye on contest results this summer -- the good ones really are good.

I'll also say this -- although Blue Devils (as an example) are known for consistently high quality, the teaching methods & sound concepts taught by Wayne Downey get spread throughout the drum corps world. Same with Frank Williams, Gino Cipriani, Robert Smith, and some of the other big dogs on "the other side of the horn".

[Contramark]

I am slightly biased also. I marched Blue Devils and have taught revolution.

Rev is a good corps, and will help you march. You need to start saving now, your first year is the hardest. You don't understand how tour and "everydays" work. it is all confusing. Get in touch from vets from any corps you want to march. make sure that you just communicate and have enough money to have some fun while you march. Email me if you would like to talk more.

Mark

[daktx2]

i really am open to all music styles. revolutions was in the finals last year so i know that they are a quality division 2 corps. i am really split on weather to join revolutions, which is reasonably close and reasonably priced, or to bite the bullet and chose a division 1 to join. i would probably end up having to send a video audition or pay for multiple airfares.(god i can just see the look on my parents' faces)

[Leland]

Yeah, if they're close and don't suck , go march Revolutions.

And always remember this -- there are ALWAYS rookies, and EVERYONE was a rookie too. They know that you haven't marched corps before, and will do everything to get you up to speed.

Some of my corps friends, when presented with the statement, "I'm not good enough to march corps," respond by saying that, true, nobody is ever good enough -- but everybody learns how to be good enough.