Drum Corps: A Very Different Kind of Rock

So Wednesday evening, I joined @missmaryel for an unconventional evening of live music…a drum corps competition in Fairfax, VA.  Her brother is a member of the legendary Madison Scouts, one of the corps performing that evening.  The whole night was refreshing and astonishing; if you’ve never marched or performed with a corps or guard unit, it would be hard to describe the level of talent needed to excel at being in a drum corps.  Imagine playing an instrument, probably a heavy one.  Then imagine playing it from memory while in a heavy uniform.  Then imagine playing it while walking in perfect time to precise locations on a football field for thirteen minutes.

Photo courtesy DCI.org

When many people think of marching bands, they think of their high school or college marching band, which in 90% of cases are simple, fun groups that play happy band covers of “Thriller” and make simple, fun shapes on a field.  And then there’s the other 10%.  This is Drum Corps International. (Or in high school, competitive marching band, which is mostly through the organization Bands of America.)  The level of athleticism and musicianship required to be in any corps much less a top corps is incredible.  These performers take their summers and practice nonstop, living on gym floors and traveling on crowded busses, all for the love of performing.  If you’ve never seen it, I suggest trying to find some videos of some of these top units.   Seeing these shows live, though, is really powerful; the sound and the energy is incomparable. I particularly enjoyed The Holy Name Cadets rendition of “Tonight, Tonight”, which gave me flashbacks to my freshman year of high school. Our show that year was “The Music of Leonard Bernstein” and hearing it performed again 11 years later really took me back.

And, full disclosure, I was a colorguard girl in high school.  But at Cypress Creek, the guard was nationally competitive.  The band was 4-time state champs. Intense stuff.  To give you an example of what it’s like, take a look at Freedom HS’s show from 2008. (Freedom was my little sister’s high school, and is the offshoot of my high school which became too crowded after I graduated).  Check it out – they are throwing around rifles, flags, and sabres…AND THEY ARE BLINDFOLDED.

I’ll always miss my old guard days. This Thursday, through Fantom Events, you can watch the DCI Quarterfinals starting at 6:30 pm. There, you’ll see Madison Scouts, Holy Name Cadets, and the other corps I’ll be rooting for: Phantom Regiment (my HS guard instructor is their choreographer).