Ask A PROThe

Mike McintoshInterview

The EssentialPacking list

WGIScoresWGIScores

The EssentialPacking list

Ask A PROThe

Mike McintoshInterview

BLUE KNIGHTS“SUPERSTARS!”BLUE KNIGHTS“SUPERSTARS!”

INDOOR MARCHING • DRUM CORPS • PIPEBAND • FIELD PERCUSSION

Volume #1 • July 2003

COLLECTABLE PREMIER EDITION • FIRST ISSUE

Note from the Publisher Page 3

Letter from the Editor Page 4

Pros vs Cons - The Reviews Page 5

Ask a Pro Page 8The Mike McIntosh Interview

Web Resources for Drummer Page 10

The Essential Drum Corp Page 12Packing List

Division 1 Corps list Page 14

Division 2 Corps list Page 15

Division 3 Corps list Page 16

Blue Knight “SUPERSTARS” Page 18

Young Guns Page 20featuring Dave Martin

WGI SCORES! Page 22

Lessons Learned Page 24Building a high school line

Hands On Page 26Back to the Basic series

Double Jointed Page 28

CONTENTS • SUMMER 2003

Volume 1 • Summer of 2003www.drumpromagazine.com

Sr. Editor/PublisherGeorge Shepherd

Editor/ContentBrad Deason

Contributing WritersGeorge Shepherd

Brad DeasonRobert Keding

Art ConceptRaymie Chapman

PhotographyBateman

Photography

Web SiteStryder

CollectionsGuido

SecurityConner

ComplaintsSpike

PublisherCDI Publications

P. O. Box 11388Newport Beach, CA

92658

For Advertising Information, pleasecontact George Shepherd at:george@cdipublications.com

(310) 908-6961

Article submissions to Brad Deason:brad_deason@charter.net

Questions, comments, hatemail or otherwise,send to: cdipublications@hotmail.com

DrumPro Corps magazine is published quarterly by CDI Publications.

Unless otherwise indicated, all content © 2003 by CDI Publications. Reproduction in whole or in part without

written permission of the publisher is prohibited.

www.drumpromagazine.com 3DrumPRO CORPS

he world of drumming is as limitless as the midnight sky. Our community knows no ethnicity, no borders and has no political agenda. We are simply brothers and sisters of one universal rhythm.

In undertaking such a unique project as the DrumPRO Magazine family, I have seen the best and the worst in people. It’s funny how a simple thing such as a “idea” can frighten a few people enough to lash out and

become the bully that not so long ago, was cowering before it’s carnivorous predecessor. Have we, as a society, become so selfish that no one wants to help the little guys who are trying to do something good, for fear that they themselves may one day become obsolete?

I recently witnessed the demise of a truly groundbreaking drum publication. Some of you may have heard of “Stick It”. I had the privilege of working with the former publishers of this magazine and near the end I even tried to save it. Well, you might think, if it was such a great resource, then why

is it gone? The answer is support! Only after the decision had been made to cease publication, did readers call in and voice their opinion that Stick It was an enormous inspiration to them. But it

was too little, too late!

We have a responsibility to, not only drumming community, and ourselves but to all those who will come after us. If you see someone that is trying to do something new and good, if you believe in the ideals that might spawn a revolution for the betterment of all, you

MUST support it or YOU are solely responsible for it’s death!

If you are an American, you’ve been taught that our founding fathers were inventors, radical thinkers, outcasts and even slaves. But they all believed in a common destiny, they all had the vision and the courage to sacrifice themselves

for the good of their posterity. Who is willing to do this today? We’ve become lazy and manipulated, brainwashed by daytime television and the “Reality”

show. You might even say “frightened” by the goliath that we have become. Where are the inventors and radical thinkers? We have again

become the outcasts and slaves. Our vision has been clouded by greed and social stigma.

I am proud to be associated with individuals whom I consider innovators, radical thinkers, outcasts and yes we are still

slaves. WE ARE willing to sacrifice ourselves in the name of Evolution and the Art of mankind. We have a common vision

of something great. If you like what we and others like us are doing, you must let us know! Show, tell and spread news of the coming revolution. Embrace it and become

part of the change.

It wasn’t long ago that we left our doors unlocked and people did business on a handshake. What

have we become and where are we headed? What happens next, I leave to you!

Welcome to the revolution!

George ShepherdPublisher, Drummer & Brother.

Note from the Publisher

T

www.cdipublications.com

Letter From the Editor

Hello All,

Welcome to what is soon to become the worlds most thorough corps style resource. You will find anything and everything having to do with marching and rudimental percussion. Drum Pro Corps will concentrate on marching percussion from all over the world. If you strap it on, hang it on a carrier or wheel it onto the field, you’ll find it all here in these pages.

Drum Pro Corps provides information from Winterguard International, Drum Corps International, Bands of America Drum, Corps Europe and Asia, Pipe Band Drumming and anything else we can get our hands on. I encourage all of you, our community, to become involved in the growth and the development of information and general knowledge of our Art form.

A bit about me: I have been involved as a performer, writer, designer, teacher, consultant and judge in all areas of marching percussion here in the United States. I marched from 1980 to 1986, throughout high school and college. I was that guy with the hard luck story. I was preparing to march in drum corps with the Star of Indiana. At my going away party I was playing basketball and broke my ankle in a couple of places…such is life. I went on to teach at the drum corps level with the Knights out of Illinois. Teaching in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana and Illinois, I have seen it all and dealt with everything you could think of, from terrible equipment to band directors, corps directors, drum instructors, parents and administrators that just didn’t quite get it. As I am sure that many of you can relate.

All of our content has a real world point of view with NO fluff and NO politics! I am looking forward to learning about the marching percussion activities from all over the world, as I am sure you are as well.

We are setting out to unite the activity and bring this unique and creative Art form to world awareness. Please let us know how we are doing. Tell us if you would like to see a particular branch of marching percussion, innovative techniques, up and coming members of the activity, or you can write us to just blow off some steam!

I want to again welcome you to our first issue of what will become the best information source for the marching percussion community.

Brad DeasonEditor

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The Art and Heart of Drum CirclesBy Christine Stevens

Have you ever felt that you’d like to give something back to the drumming community? How about organizing a drum circle. There is something magical about drumming and feeling the pulse of a group of drummers living through the rhythm. Christine Stevens has masterfully written a guide to anyone interested in organizing and operating a drum circle. The Art and Heart of Drum Circles, published by Hal Leonard, explores important topics such as instrumentation, arranging, cues, experiential learning and just plain having fun! This book, with CD, is a great aid for even a skilled drum circle leader. To learn more visit: www.ubdrumcircles.com Book and CD retail price: $14.95 US

Loops and GroovesBy Todd Souvignier

Ok, before you all freak-out and think that the drum world as we know it is coming to an end, this new book published by Hal Leonard, gives us light at the end of the tunnel. Throughout history, people have feared what they don’t understand and it has been the undoing of some of the world’s greatest civilizations. I challenge you to understand and evolve! Here’s your opportunity. In Loops and Grooves, Todd gives a detailed history of the evolution of modern electronic recorders and samplers. He goes on to express the importance of thinking like a drummer or dancer. The only way to think like a drummer is to become one or hire one! That’s right, this could be a great opportunity for a drummer who knows loops and digital groove manipulation. This book is a must have for all studio musicians and drummers looking to expand your opportunities. The accompanying CD contains sound examples of many cutting edge looping techniques. It also contains demo versions of software programs Ableton Live, Fruity Loops, Reason, Rebirth, ReCycle and Acid Express. For more info, visit www.halleonard.com Book and CD retail Price: $19.95 US

DrumsenseBy Colin Woolway

Drumsense, published in America by Hal Leonard, is a beginners guide to drum set coordination studies and fill variations. Colin is the creator of the Drumsense Method which includes a uniform counting method. It is intended to help drum students learn and understand the world of drumming in a much simpler way. The beginning of the book is reminiscent of Carmine Appice’s “Realistic Rock”, another great text for drum students. By the end of the book, the student should be able to read basic drum set patterns, have a grasp of drum fills and execute simple rudiments. For more info, visit www.halleonard.com Book and CD retail price: $12.95 US

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Reviews

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ReviewsTipbook “Drums”By Hugo Pinksterboer

This 134-page book is a great reference guide to all things drum set related. The “Drums” Tipbook, distributer by Hal Leonard, gives thorough explanations of the principles of acoustics and tuning, muffling, design and construction, set-up, purchasing, maintenance, hardware, sticks and cymbals. Diagrams and pictures help in understanding the information throughout. And to top it all off, the end of this reference guide features a glossary of common drumming terms and resource lists for further study. All in all, this reference is a cool tool for any drumming enthusiast. Retail price: $9.95 US www.tipbook.com, www.halleonard.com

Bass Drum Control SolosBy Colin Bailey

This new book and CD, published by Hal Leonard, is a great tool for strengthening the relationship between hands and feet. Primarily laid out in a “Linear” fashion, this material lends itself well to linear grooves, fills and solos. Great for getting your bass drum chops together. Book and CD retail price: $17.95 US www.halleonard.com

Snare Drum DuetsBy Ron Spagnardi

I’ve always been a fan of drum duets and this book has some cool ones. As everyone knows, Ron is the publisher and founder of Modern Drummer Magazine. Snare Drum Duets contains 25 duets for two snare drummers, but of course you can apply these duets to any percussion instrument. Cool book Ron! Esse Quam Videri… Book and CD retail price: $14.95 US www.moderndrummer.com

Funk & Hip-Hop DrummingBy Ed Roscetti

This is definitely a great book for studying the drumming styles of Funk and Hip-Hop. It progresses from beginner to advanced somewhat quickly. Syncopated grooves and funky fills demonstrate that there is much more out there than 16th notes around the kit. Ed has also included in his book, charts for various styles of Funk and Hip-Hop. A great tool for teachers. Published by Hal Leonard, this book and CD retails for $14.95 US www.halleonard.com

40 Intermediate Snare Drum Solosfor Concert PerformanceBy Ben Hans

Concert & Orchestral performance is a different animal than drum set or hand percussion. It takes finesse and attention to detail to execute a masterful solo. Snare Drum Solos, published by Hal Leonard, is a well-written book encompassing the various aspects of concert performance that you might encounter. I’ve found that most students cannot read very well. This book is written in the intermediate-advanced range. Sticking, dynamics and varied articulation make this a good study. Too bad it doesn’t come with a CD! This book retails for $7.95 US www.halleonard.com

Reviews

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Reviews

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Reviews

Drum Set Warm-UpsBy Rod Morgenstein

Published by Berklee Press, Rod’s book is packed full of great coordination studies. It contains syncopated grooves, ostinato studies, rudimental exercises, odd note rates, stickings and fill exercises. Very cool book! Book retails for $12.95 US. www.berkleepress.com

Drum Tuning “the ultimate guide”By Scott Schroedl

Well, I never thought that I’d see a book devoted entirely to drum tuning, but here it is. One question that I have personally been asked time and time again is “How do you tune a drum?” I never really understood why this was such a difficult topic for one to grasp. I guess I just learned from experience. Never the less, Scott’s book is very in-depth and thorough on this topic. It’ll save you years of hit and miss experience. If you’re the type of person that takes 10 minutes to adjust your throne, you’ll probably want to read every page of this book twice. Book and CD retail price: $12.95 US www.halleonard.com

Snare Drum MethodBy Rick Mattingly

I am glad to see a book that focuses on snare drum reading that includes a CD! The CD features drum parts played with a real concert and marching band. The book starts out very simple with the fundamentals of reading and counting. It then progresses to include stickings, dynamics and arrangements. Definitely a good teaching resource for learning concert and rudimental music. Book and CD retail price: $10.95 US www.halleonard.com

Instant Guide to Drum GroovesBy Maria Martinez

This 31-page book contains the essentials of grooves that all working drummers must know. Maria’s book is a good reference for students wanting to get a broad overview of various styles that a “GB” or “Casual” gigging situation might require. It contains grooves in the styles of Jazz, Shuffle, Country, Rock & Funk, New Orleans, Reggae, Calypso, Brazilian and Latin. Of course, you can’t get too in-depth within only 31 pages, but for it’s suggested retail price of $9.95, you can’t beat it! Book and CD retail price: $9.95. www.halleonard.com

Drum Backbeats EncyclopediaBy John Thomakos

The Drum Backbeat Encyclopedia, published by Alfred, builds from the practice method of layering different hi-hat patterns over a set of bass drum patterns. John’s book is a good reference for students that don’t have the facility to write out these patterns neatly or are just too lazy and would rather give someone $20 to do it for them. Oh, and you get a CD. I’m not bagging on John’s book. I would like see a concept and formula being taught to students rather than spoon-feeding the masses instant drum gratification. If you look deeper into the exercises you will see the formula. And it has other stuff too like ghost notes, left foot splashes and a few stylistic features. If this is something that you’ve never done before, then it is definitely worth studying. Book and CD suggested retail: $19.95 www.alfred.com

Reviews

ASK: Back in the old days there was a specific difference in west coast vs east coast playing. You are an old west coast guy having marched with the Blue Devils and today being with the Cavaliers. Do you see as much of a difference now days and if so what are those differences?

PRO: There are still differences between west coast/east coast. Going back 20 years, In a nutshell, Ralphʼs (Ralph Hardiman) early 1980ʼs SCV (Santa Clara Vanguard) lines played with a pretty strict interpretation in regard to diddles whereas, the Bridgemen played a more open style. When Tom Float went to the Blue Devils in 1982, he brought with him a two height system tiered towards strict interpretation of heights and diddles which also lent itself to the West Coast “strict” and East Coast “slurred” perception which is a glossy way to explain it. As the 80ʼs progressed, a stricter interpretation of the space between the attack and first diddle became more universal as lines took what they liked from other lines and made it their own. In the mid 90ʼs, Star of Indiana and the Blue Devils brought back the large arm motion so prevalent earlier in drumming history and started a familiar “trend” of drumming. This high sticking has found its way into many lines, west, east and midwest. Today, the Blue Devils are known for “aggressive” playing but I thought the cadets were very aggressive last year also! The differences east to west these days are more compositionally based. You can tell Aungstʼs beats from Jim Casellaʼs

just as you can tell Scott Johnsonʼs from Bret Kuhnʼs. The differences today are more in the interpretation of music as opposed to earlier when the difference was interpretation of rhythm.

ASK: Could point out a few of the major keys to getting ready for an audition like the one the Cavaliers put a performer through.

PRO: Preparation is everything! Memorization of all exercises, as well as, the street-beat, on-line warm-up and audition excerpt are key. All exercises should be played at tempos ranging from very slow to very fast. All prepared pieces, streetbeat etc, should be played with great quality of sound at indicated tempos. Make sure you are practicing with a metronome, in front of a mirror, on a drum...all very important. Record yourself playing to create perspective. Your eyes/ears will be opened when you see/hear yourself play as a “spectator.” All of the above are keys for a good audition. Also, try and stay relaxed as possible, a relaxed sound is a good sound. Also BREATHE! Sounds funny but youʼd be surprised at how many auditionees nearly hyper-ventilate during there audition! Breathe and relax!

The Cavalier audition process is as follows:Friday of the November camp is a master class from 1pm to 11pm. We start with “these are your sticks” and go through

grip, hand positioning, sticks in/out, style, intensity of stroke, rhythmic interpretation, exercises and finally the audition excerpt, usually in that order. We are very detail oriented and this usually takes all of Friday. Saturday are individual lessons/auditions where we spend several minutes with each player critiquing and also encouraging and teaching. We get a lot of players just at camp for the experience. They pay a lot of money to be there and we want them to get there moneys ̓worth by being able to bring something back to there high school programs and also have a firm educational understanding of what they as a player need to work on in order to eventually make the line. Saturday night, we post social security # ʻs of the players that made the first cut. The rest of the evening is spent drumming. We encourage those that did not make the first cut to stay through till the end of camp and drum on pads. Sunday, we will take all those not making the first cut and do another hour long question/answer master class to make sure the musicians are set up to succeed for next year.

ASK: Being involved with the Cavaliers now, you see such a large number of performers at auditions every season. What are your key points you are looking for when choosing 2 snares out of 60 or 1 tenor out of 50 and so on?

PRO: Cool hair! Seriously, you gotta have major chops, that gets you in the door. From there we are looking at tempo control, attention to detail, maturity (mental and musical), and preparation and growth camp to camp. Because we have so many musicians come through the door, there are lotʼs of intangibles we tap into. Is the auditionee getting along with others in the food line? Is he sitting by himself at lunch? Does he get frustrated easily? Any knee/joint problems? Are they diagnosed with ADD? (Not an issue with todayʼs medication) These are little things we keep an eye on because they could be factors finals week when the pressure is on. We want musicians with an open mind. We teach “a” style, not “the” style and that is important the player know this. Being standoffish because another drumline

Ask A PRO... The Mike McIntosh Interview

Mike is one of the most talented young teachers in the

drum corps world. He is also the percussion specialist

at Carmel High School in Indiana. Mike is the current

caption head of the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps.

The Cavaliers percussion section is responsible for

helping shape the current state of marching percussion.

In this interview, Mike lets us in on the process of not

only existing in the tough world of drum corps, but also

excelling in it.

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chooses a different style or approach is UNCOOL! We want our players to understand there are many different ways to drum and to learn as much as you can about each. We really strive to teach kids to teach! Not just to drum. Kids that learn to teach will be the ones writing/cleaning the percussion music of tomorrow.

ASK: How do you pace yourself for such a long season in drum corps? Meaning you have 3 months to sometimes only move 4 points or so. Let us in on your mindset for the long haul of competition.

PRO: We believe in organization. We try to be as detailed and smart as possible with our day, itʼs about quality practice time, not quantity. The day should follow a “micro” to “macro” formula. During the season, a basic day in the life of the Cavalier drumline is as follows:

Breakfast, warm-up in sub sectionals (snares, tenors, bass on there own). This gets us warm and also allows us to be more detailed with our individual sections. Any changes will go in during this time (letʼs pretend the changes are at measures # 60-68) Will also take any radical formations from the show where the listening environment is “wacked” and warm-up in those forms to acclimate the player to the difficult listening environment. We will then be on our own field as a drumline with the full music staff and visual staff person. We donʼt track (form a parade block and march while warming up or playing music) because weʼve found with the level of player we have, itʼs more beneficial to actually march and play in the drill. I think tracking has its benefits based on the level of player in the line. My high school tracks like crazy! They love it for some reason, and it makes them stronger, musically and mentally. Ok, when weʼre on our own field, we may be working on measures #60-68 of the opener (the changes put in earlier in sub-sectionals). The front ensemble will come over the last hour and we will end the morning block with a larger chunk of music to get a feeling of continuity on any new muscle memory (measures #38-128 for example). The horn line and color guard wouldʼve

been on there own fields doing the same thing. Sometimes we donʼt always get our own field and have to plan accordingly. After lunch, weʼll warm-up as a line and be involved in a music ensemble block with the winds. We will work on a larger chunk in ensemble (example measure #10-150) and eventually the color guard will join us the last part of the afternoon and weʼll end the afternoon block with 1 or 2 run-throughs of the full show. As you can tell, we started with one or two measures in the morning, and throughout the day keep taking larger and larger chunks of music hence going micro to macro working on essentially the same part of the show. A lot of groups will have the snares working on the snare break, the tenors on the ballad, the basses on the 3rd movement and the pit on the pit break. Early in the season this is ok, but when we are trying to get better in specific musical situations, communication and organization are the key. We will eat dinner, go to the show, warm-up, perform, and the first hour of the bus ride to the next site will be comprised of meeting about tomorrowʼs schedule and inputting any changes into the computer. The Cavaliers staff are all finale-savy and we hype on the fact if someone showed up to teach, we could hand them a full score of EXACTLY what was played the night before with drill sets, heights, dynamics, mallet selection in the pit and which front ensemble cymbals are actually played when. The horn and percussion staffs update the same score, which helps keep us musically organized!With so much to do, we really donʼt have time to dwell on anything. Itʼs go-go-go all the time and obviously...WE HAVE FUN! That is important, if your not having fun, your not doing it right! The staff has been together a long time and itʼs a group effort to make it all happen.

ASK: Also being a very successful high school instructor for a very high caliber band program like Carmel...What are the differences between dealing with a high school performer and the type of player you have at the Cavaliers?

PRO: We model some of the things we do after The Cavaliers. Our style may be different because I am usually pushing

myself as an educator and trying new things to see what works. We are blessed with smart kids at Carmel and the things Richard Saucedo (The Cavaliers brass composer and director at Carmel) and I learn at The Cavaliers as far as approach to sound, ensemble, timing etc. are things we are able to implement at the high school level.

ASK: At one point Carmel had a very successful WGI line as well. Do you have plans to continue that program and is there ever a chance that we will see Cavaliers have an indoor program in the future?

PRO: We loved competing at WGI!!!! This year, Carmel competed in the SWC class in the Indiana Percussion Association circuit and did not go to WGI because of a spring break conflict. We did IPA in 1998, WGI in 1999 and 2000. The PAS call-for-tapes in 2001, a wedding ensemble playing LOTS of literature for my wedding in 2002 and performed in world class concert this year. I try and keep the program diverse. I think if you plant the same seed in the soil every year, the soil goes bad. Plus, I get so burnt out going from summer to fall, to winter and back to summer immediately! I try and keep Carmel away from being known as a “drumline only” school. I respect programs that churn out incredible winter drumlines every year, just not our cup of tea. Next year Carmel will again compete in the world concert class at the IPA level. We have talked about The Cavaliers doing indoor, nothing has come to fruition yet.

ASK: You have been involved with competitive marching percussion for most of your life. What are your views on competition and percussion?

PRO: I think competition can be a good thing. It drives the kids to want to perform better. It, with anything else can be taken to a negative level, but overall, I think it can be a positive factor in the growth of kids and instructors alike. Itʼs important to remember.....“ itʼs just drumline!”

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Q: Why did you choose to embark on such an incredible project like the VDS?

A: In the last 15 years, I have given many master classes with Roland, Premier, Paiste, Regal Tip, Evans and Audio Technica in Spain and South America. During my travels, I have noticed that there was a huge lack of information regarding the Drumming and percussion world and a lot of difficulty that all these students or aficionados had in getting any information. Don’t forget that not everybody lives in New York or the important cities and capitals of the world. Therefore my interest in new technologies made me realize that we could use internet to transmit all this information around the world and give access to all the people interested in drumming and percussion to the work of the great masters in this field.

Q: What is your vision for the VDS? And drumming on the Internet in general?

A: I think that Internet is a tool not only of the future but also of the present, now we can only see the peak of the iceberg of all the possibilities that it can offer us. Presently, I am working on a project for Internet 2, where the velocity of transmission is 2 GB. Imagine what you can do with this! My project wants to take advantage of all the possibilities offered by the growing technology in order to give the students in their own home the lessons with the maximum quality available. We have many

Web Resources for DrummersBy George Shepherd

As everyone living today knows, the Internet is an amazing tool for research and the exchange of information. “Knowledge is Power!” I’m sure that everyone has heard that phrase a time or two. And the power of that knowledge will set you FREE! As in the multitude of FREE drumming resources on the Internet.

Typically, we have gotten our drumming vocabulary through recordings, private lessons, drum magazines, clinics, videos, books and hanging out after performances hoping to get a few minutes to rap with one of our drum heroes. The Internet can now allow us to do all that and more, 24hrs a day while hanging out in your Spiderman underwear, eating chips. You know who you are!

The digital age has given us the power to communicate musically with cultures from all over the world in the “blink of an eye” (that is, if you have high-speed access). If you’ve searched the Internet for drum-related topics, you know that the amount of information available is simply mind-blowing! And finding all the good stuff could take days or even weeks. Well, we here at DrumPRO Magazine, have decided to make your quest for “knowledge” a whole lot easier.

There are several websites offering free or paid lessons. Check out www.drumbum.com for over 400 links to free drum lessons or www.webthumper.com/drums for FREE lessons and more. I’ve compiled an extremely comprehensive links list of “Drumming/ Drummer” resources and placed them on the web for you to visit at our site under the links heading (www.cdipublications.com). You will also be able to submit links that aren’t already listed by emailing us at cdipublications@hotmail.com.

In researching the topic of drums on the Internet, I came across a site that completely blew my mind. www.virtualdrummerschool.com

The following is from an interview that I had with Salvador Niebla, creator of Virtual Drummer School.com

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ideas in the pocket that will be possible to apply with the advance of technology. This will make our website a “living” element that will be constantly transforming itself with time. In this, the comments and suggestions of our students are very important for me, we take into consideration all of them because we want our school to mirror at best there needs.

Q: Your site is absolutely incredible! How long has it taken you to create?

A: Thanks for your compliment! It is always such a pleasure to hear this because behind it there is a huge amount of work, not only mine but that of a whole team. The idea started 7 years ago, but at that time it was impossible to send videos through Internet. Two years later, a Spanish publisher offered me the opportunity to put together a new drumming method “Virtual Drummer”. There came the idea to do a CD Rom and prepare the first steps of what later became the Virtual Drummer School. We opened our website in September 2000 after one year of planning

and another year of work with programmers and designers to apply the ideas.

Q: As simply as possible, Can you describe, in your own words, how your site works?

A: It is exactly like a school: to enter you have to register and before registering if you wish, you have information in the “tour free” and the “VDS Club”. We have different areas with different teachers -each one has his own department with lessons- , “News” department with our own news and with news from different magazines around the world, a “Forum” department where you can ask about whatever subject you are interested in, a “Blackboard” where you could put your own advertising, department of “World Music” in which we have now opened the Flamenco division and are now researching the Middle Eastern Music and many other ethnic music, a “shop” department, etc...

Q: What difficulties, if any, have you come up against in developing the VDS? And what surprise successes have you have you experienced along the way?

A: The first difficulty we have encountered is the velocity of the Internet lines even though this is improving with DSL. Another problem is the different navigators (Explorer, Netscape) and the different types of computers. To make a website compatible for all is a very difficult task and it is the aim of all of us. The first success is that our students have understood the majority of these problems and had a great amount of patience with us (we now have 4,500 registered students). And the best surprise was that when we have contacted the best drummers in the world, they all liked the idea and for me, working with all of these great masters - as you can imagine - has been one of the best gifts of my life. Q: What would you like to say to the drumming community? (Completely open)

A: The only thing that I would like to say is that I put in this website all the information I used to crave for when I was fifteen years old. Today a drummer, a student or an aficionado have this incredible opportunity to have access to an open world of information and education through the Internet. This is a dream come true for all of us and don’t forget that through the interactive relationship we have with our students, we welcome any idea or suggestion to make our project a better school.

For more informationcontact, Salvaor Neibla at:www.virtualdrummerschool.com

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After going through the summer of a few Drum Corps tours you learn certain tricks of the trade that makes that already very difficult activity a little easier to handle. When I was marching and teaching during the summer it was always easy to find the rookies. They were the kids with 10,000 things with them when we left for tour. In the end, half of the stuff was left at housing site from here to there. Drum Pro Corps has put together a little list to hopefully help in your pursuit of a carefree summer while enjoying your bright sunny carefree days during tour. Well maybe not carefree but at least we hope it makes your drum corps experience a little more fun.

While on tour

-10-12 sets of undergarments- 6-8 T-shirts and shorts- 2 long-sleeve T-shirts- 1 pairs of wind pants or sweatpants - 1 sweatshirt, fleece, or warm jacket- Off-day clothes -- you’ll want to look nice when you have the chance. A pair or two of long and short pants like jeans.- Shoes: athletic shoes -- some people like to bring an extra pair in case of rain, shower shoes and sandals for around housing sites- Uniform extras—You need to have a couple of extra T’s in whit or black (depending on the corps) and bring some extra socks, 4 pair, in white or black (depending on the corps) for shows only.

In the bathroom

When packing, it may help to keep track of how much you use for a week or two, then multiply that by how long you’ll be gone. You will generally have a few opportunities to restock, so this is one case where it’s better to have too much than too little. Also bring some zip lock bags for anything that can get squeezed out of its tube. There is nothing worse than opening your bag to find half of your sunscreen or shampoo all over your cloths!- Toothpaste, toothbrush, toothbrush case and floss- Contact solution, contact case (get a couple of these…very easy to forget one at housing), lens drops, glasses and glasses case (make sure it is a hard case).- Shampoo and conditioner -- the “family size” will generally last all tour - Body wash or bar soap make sure you have bar soap case.- Razor, extra blades (or razors), and shaving cream- Body lotion- Towel(s)- Hairbrush/comb, gel, hair ties/clips/bobby pins

Medical

Your corps will carry first-aid supplies, but it’s helpful to have a few of your own things.-Band-Aids - the “active” variety hold best- Neosporin- Aspirin- Ace bandage- Cloth athletic tape- Any braces (knee, ankle) that you may need- Gold Bond – It can cure many things!- Personal prescriptions -- be sure to bring enough for the time your gone. Your doctor can write you a one-time prescription for three months

The Essential Drum Corps Packing list!By Brad Deason

12 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS www.drumpromagazine.com 13DrumPRO CORPS

In the bus

It’s often better to wait to get what you need to outfit your bus seat until you’ve actually had a chance to look at what space is available. You can also ask the vets in your corps for advice.- Bungee cords- Fitted twin sheet to cover your seat -- it’s nice to be able to wash what you sit on every day- Bus box -- a Tupperware-type box works best-- be sure to ask someone how much room is available under the seat.- Blanket – It can get very cold on the bus at night in the AC.- Pillow- Reading material - Practice pad and sticks/mallets

On the field

- Water jug -- at least a gallon is best. In my experience the tall Rubbermaid water coolers endure the tour treatment the best.- Folder with clear sheets for music.- Hat-- bringing an extra is always a good idea.- Sunglasses (not an expensive pair… this is tour)- Chapstick/lip balm with sunscreen (DCT or brand like that works well).- Sunscreen, waterproof, SPF 45

Miscellaneous

- Sleeping bag - Quarters for washers and dryers for wash day -- your local bank can give you rolls of quarters.- Laundry bag for dirty clothes- Extra batteries- Watch -- this is essential.- Sewing kit- Multitool or Swiss Army knife- Scissors- Duct tape and/or white or black electrical tape- Ziploc bags -- several each sandwich size and gallon size. - Kleenex and/or toilet paper.- Pens and pencils- A pad of notebook paper- Envelopes and stamps- Camera and film- A container for jewelry- Essential addresses, phone numbers, etc.- Cell phone and charger- Calling card - for emergencies and/or when you have no cell phone signal

Mandarins P.O. Box 22297Sacramento, California 95822(916) 395-8310 Phone(916) 395-6104 FaxREMAR747@aol.comhttp://www.mandarins.org

Phantom Regiment 202 W. State St., Suite 514Rockford, IL 61101(815) 965-6777 Phone(815) 965-6381 Faxinfo@regiment.orghttp://www.regiment.org

Pioneer 4601 Holt AvenueMilwaukee, WI 53219(414) 486-1961 Phonecorpsquestions@pioneerbrass.orghttp://www.pioneer-corps.org/

Santa Clara Vanguard 1795 Space Park DriveSanta Clara, CA 95054(408) 727-5591 Phone(408) 727-8730 Faxa-corps@scvanguard.orghttp://www.scvanguard.org/

Seattle Cascades 16325 Fifth Avenue NESeatle, WA 98155(206) 367-6695 PhoneSalleone@aol.comhttp://www.seattlecascades.com/

Southwind 218 Patchen Dr. #408Lexington, KY 40517(859) 268-5244 Phone(608) 834-8909 Faxdirector@southwind.orghttp://www.southwind.org/

Blue Devils4065 Nelson AveConcord, CA 94520(925) 689-2918 Phone(925) 689-0384 Faxinfo@bluedevils.orghttp://www.bluedevils.org/

Blue Knights 1137 S. Jason StDenver, CO 80223(303) 777-1937 Phone(303) 777-9599 Faxbknights@bknights.orghttp://www.bknights.org/

Bluecoats P.O. Box 2733N. Canton, OH 44720(330) 699-1572 Phonebluecoats@bluecoats.comhttp://www.bluecoats.com/

Boston Crusaders Drum & Bugle CorpsPO Box 51391Boston, MA 02205-1391(617) 268-4600 Phone(617) 687-2551 Faxinfo@crusaders.comhttp://www.crusaders.com/

Capital Regiment 1444 Demorest RoadColumbus, OH 43228(614) 539-0366 PhoneInfo@capitalregiment.orghttp://www.capitalregiment.org/

Carolina Crown 227A Main StreetFt. Mill, SC 29715(803) 547-2270 Phonecrown@carolinacrown.orghttp://www.carolinacrown.org/

Colts P.O. Box 515Dubuque, IA 52001-0515(563) 582-4872 Phone(563) 582-7317 Faxcolts@colts.orghttp://www.colts.org/

Crossmen P.O. Box 506Bergenfield, NJ 07621-0506(201) 384-8822 Phone(201) 384-6982 Faxmusson@yea.orghttp://www.yea.org/

Glassmen P.O. Box 352080Toledo, OH 43635-2080(419) 452-6553 Phone(419) 452-6600 Faxglassmen@glassmen.orghttp://www.glassmen.org/

Kiwanis Kavaliers 25010 Highway Market RPOKitchener, Ontario N2A 3A2(519) 894-0222 Phoneinfo@kavaliers.comhttp://www.kavaliers.com/

Madison Scouts 1475 West Main StreetSun Prairie, WI 53590(608) 837-0707 Phone(608) 834-8909 Faxoffice@madisonscouts.orghttp://madisonscouts.org/

Magic of Orlando PO Box 690426Orlando, FL 32869(407) 518-0006 Phonemagicinfo2003@yahoo.comhttp://www.magicorlando.org/

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Division 1 Corps

Spirit from JSU P.O. Box 1295Jacksonville, AL 36265(256) 782-5562 Phonedirector@spiritdrumcorps.orghttp://www.spiritdrumcorps.org/

The Cadets P.O. Box 506Bergenfield, NJ 07621-0506(201) 384-8822 Phone(201) 384-6982 Faxhopkins@yea.orghttp://www.yea.org/

The Cavaliers P.O. Box 501Rosmont, IL 60018-0501(847) 685-8412 Phone(847) 685-8413 Faxdirector@cavaliers.orghttp://www.cavaliers.org/

Troopers 535 North BeverlyP.O. Box 375Casper, WY 82609(307) 472-2141 Phone(307) 235-6236 Faxinfo@troopersdrumcorps.orghttp://www.troopersdrumcorps.org/

Allegiance Elite 3650 19th Street NE #15Calgary, AB T2E 6V2(403) 250-2263 Phoneinfo@allegianceelite.orghttp://www.allegianceelite.org

Blue Devils B 4065 Nelson AvenueConcord, CA 94520(925) 689-2918 x3900 Phoneccrisostomo@bluedevils.orghttp://www.bluedevils.org

Capital Sound 1475 West Main StreetSun Prairie, WI 53590(608) 837-0707 Phone(608) 834-8909 Faxhttp://www.capitalsound.org

East Coast Jazz P.O. Box 53Malden, MA 02148(781) 388-9411 Phonehttp://www.eastcoastjazz.org

Esperanza P.O. Box 502591San Diego, CA 92150-2591(858) 391-1311 Phonehttp://www.EsperanzaCorps.org

Jersey Surf 131 S White Horse PikeBerlin, NJ 08009(609) 767-0223 Phonehttp://www.JerseySurf.org

Pacific Crest 21231 Fountain SpringDiamond Bar, CA 91765(888) 727-4697 Phonehttp://www.pacific-crest.org

Patriots 2145 Buffalo RoadRochester, NY 14624-1507(716) 247-9670 Corps Hall Phonehttp://www.patriotsdrumcorps.com

Revolution 9155 Tree VillageSan Antonio, TX 78250(210) 682-9052 Phonehttp://www.revolution-corps.org

Spartans 73 E Hollis StreetNashua, NH 03060-6303(603) 889-2760 Corps Hall Phonehttp://www.spartansdbc.org

Vanguard Cadets 1795 Space Park DriveSanta Clara, CA 95054(408) 727-5534 Phonehttp://www.scvanguard.org

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Division 2 Corps

Decorah Kilties 509 Goose Island DriveDecorah, IA 52101(319) 382-4363 Phonehttp://www.decorah-kilties.org

Dutch Boy 200 Borden Ave. SouthKitchener, ON N2G 3R8(519) 744-3291 Phonehttp://www.dutchboydrumcorps.com

Edmonton Strutters Box 20055, Beverly POEdmonton, Alberta T5W 5E6(780) 473-3584 Phone(780) 473-3584 Faxstrutters@canada.comhttp://www.strutters.org

Kingsmen 307 Hobbs RoadJoliet, IL 60435(815) 834-1500 Phone

Lake Erie Regiment 113 W 10th StreetErie, PA 16501(814) 456-5300 Phoneleregiment@worldnet.att.nethttp://www.leregiment.org

Lehigh Valley Knights P.O. Box 786Allentown, PA 18105(610) 504-4072 PhoneValleyKnights@aol.comhttp://www.LehighValleyKnights.org

Les Stentors CP 24001 BelvedereSherbrooke, QC J1H 6J4(819) 563-3013 Phonehttp://www.interlinx.qc.ca/~stentors/

Blue Stars P.O. Box 2523LaCrosse, WI 54602(608) 782-3219 Corps Hall Phonehttp://www.bluestars.org

Cadets of New York City 359 Herkimer StreetBrooklyn, NY 11216(718) 363-0266 Phonehttp://www.cadetsofnyc.homestead.com

Citations PO Box 369Burlington, MA 01803(781) 272-1821 Phonedmcitation@aol.comhttp://www.citations.org

Colt Cadets 1101 Central AvenueP.O. Box 515Dubuque, IA 52004-0515(563) 582-4872 Phonehttp://www.colts.org

Americanos 1615 Drum Corps DriveMenasha, WI 54952(920) 722-5543 PhoneVIVA@new.rr.comhttp://www.canos.org

Bandettes 103 River RoadSault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 6C3(705) 759-3192 Phonehttp://www.soonet.ca/bandettes/

Blue Devils C 4065 Nelson AvenueConcord, CA 94520(925) 689-2918 x3900 Phonehttp://www.bluedevils.org

Blue Saints Box 1302 Station BSudbury, ON P3E4S7(705) 692-5646 Phonehttp://www.bluesaints.com

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Division 3 Corps

San Diego Alliance P.O. Box 20227El Cajon, CA 92021(619) 561-2807 Phonedlgriffin@cox.nethttp://www.sandiegoalliance.org

Scenic City P.O. Box 11072Chattanooga, TN 37401(423) 877-3164 Phonehttp://www.buglecorps.org

Spirit of Newark 120 Roseville AvenueNewark, NJ NJ 07107908-925-1172 - Phonehttp://www.spiritofnewark.org

Springfield Targets 276 Spiknard CircleSpringfield, MA 01129413-783-2405 - Phoneabbydeeb@juno.comhttp://www.targetsdbc.org

St. Johnʼs 61 Usher StreetPO Box # 28070Brantford, Ontario N3T 7X5(519) 759-3600 Phonesgadsb0497@rogers.com

Teal Sound 830 Cavalla RoadAtlantic Beach, FL 32233(904) 249-6462 Phonehttp://www.tealsound.org

Yamato 8955 Poppy LaneRiverside, CA 92503(909) 352-9573 Phoneemartin@yamatodrumcorp.orghttp://www.yamatodrumcorps.org

Marion Glory Cadets 434 W. Church StreetMarion, OH 43302(740) 382-3013 Phone(740) 375-8073 Faxmc1cadets@aol.comhttp://www.marioncadets.org

Oregon Crusaders 32838 Old Bunker Hill RoadSt. Helens, OR 97051(503) 397-4876 Phonehttp://www.oregoncrusaders.org

Phoenix 738 Pine DriveBrick, NJ 08723(732) 920-5257 Phonephoenixdir@yahoo.comhttp://www.phoenixnj.org

Quebec Alliance 1446 LepineJoliette, Quebec J6E 4B5(450) 753-5686 Phone

Quest P.O. Box 26724Brooklyn, NY 11202(718) 649-3256 Phonedirectordiv.III@questdbcorps.orghttp://www.questdbcorps.org

Racine Scouts PO Box 085298Racine, WI 53408-5298(262) 989-7876 Phoneinfo@racinescouts.orghttp://www.Racinescouts.org

Raiders P.O. Box 133Hillsdale, NJ 07646(201) 573-8302 PhoneRaidersDBC@aol.comhttp://www.raidersdbc.org

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Division 3 Corps

What are your names, ages and experience with the Blue Knights Organization?

Joey Mendoza, 22 years old.Open Ensemble: 1998,1999World Ensemble: 2000,2001,2002,2003Drum and Bugle Corps: 2001,2002

Nate Cowing, 20 years oldOpen Ensemble: 1999World Ensemble: 2001,2003

Scott Ryplewski, 20 years old.World Ensemble: 2003

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At the beginning of the 2003 indoor season, what did the three of you as well as the rest of the ensemble decide the long-term goal was for the Blue Knights?

Joey: Our long-term goal at the beginning of the season was to perform the show to the best of our ability in order to have a CD and video that are amazing. Being successful competitively is a byproduct of this.

Scott: Personally, my goals being in Blue Knights were to improve my drumming ability by learning and witnessing new

drumming and teaching techniques. As a snare line and ensemble, our goals were for perfection in sound, making friends, having fun and feeling good about our performance in Dayton knowing we did the best we could. We did not want to have any regrets.

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Being what the Blue Knights are to the Denver area indoor scene...what responsibility, if any, do feel you have for the young people that come to watch your shows and warm-ups in the lot?

Joey: The first time I saw the Blue Knights, I told myself that I would do whatever it takes to become a member. I used to watch the center snare and think, “I want to be exactly like him.” This past season, I found myself standing in the center of the line, doing what I had dreamed of doing when I was 15. With that, came the realization that things had come full circle, that the young people standing before us were potential members, watching our every move and hopefully dreaming the same dreams. I felt it was my duty to draw people into what we do, and to make them want to be a part of it.

Nate: I am a product of the Blue Knights system. I was very fortunate to have high school staff that were the section leaders in the ensemble. All I wanted was to be like them and make the world ensemble snare line. I looked up to them as if they were giants. So, I hope that by doing what Iʼm doing now, I have the same positive effect on them. I march in the ensemble because it is so much fun and rewarding, but more importantly, so that hopefully I can inspire someone else to fill my shoes.

Scott: Having joined RMPA, the local Front Range circuit in my eighth grade year, I was blown away the first time I saw the Blue Knights in a competition. I knew I wanted to be in that ensemble one day. I worked hard in high school and would go to auditions for Blue Knights to learn and give it a shot. I used Blue Knights as a goal to help me become a better player. Itʼs also allowed me to have a lot of great experiences. In performing for younger people now, I hope I am inspiring someone else to join me and/or take my place when I am gone. I want them to experience such a character building program.

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The Blue Knights have such a great tradition in WGI...where do you see this past seasons line fitting into that tradition?

Joey: Our tradition has always been pushing the boundaries of the activity while increasing our abilities as members. The success of this season should be measured in the amount of potential created for next season. With only two age outs this year, the essential core of the ensemble remains and will start next season from the level we ended at in April.

Nate: It is hard to say how we are perceived as a whole when youʼre on the floor, but I feel that we really bonded as an ensemble inside and outside rehearsal and I believe that it came across in our performance.I believe that the key to a successful ensemble is family. The communication needs to be there to be persuasive musically. If everybody is on the same page in the family, then communication is second nature.

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Blue Knights “SUPERSTARS”

Scott: Blue Knights have always had captivating shows that people remember and talk about years after. I hope this show will be memorable with a lot of people referring to it in the future as one of the better shows that the Blue Knights have produced. But, with the youth we have, I hope this is just the starting block of we can become.

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What do you see as being your long term commitment to drumming and the young people coming up behind you?

Joey: As an age out, my only remaining contributions to this activity can be in the form of a teacher and a fan. If my job ever allows me to take enough time off to teach, I will do it. Until then, I will be a fan, creating energy in the form of hoots and hollers, helping the current members push themselves that much harder, showing me how far theyʼve come, how far they intend to go and making me wish I was 15 again seeing them for the first time.

Nate: I can only hope that by doing what I do, a young aspiring musician will want to do it too and even better. I feel that I have a responsibility and a desire to teach what I have been taught. I feel that it is very important that my commitment to drumming is not limited to what my hands are playing on a snare drum, but to what Iʼm playing does to people. I hope that what I do will make it easier for others to do what they want too.

Scott: I hope to march again, to improve my playing. By pushing myself and the program, when other kids join, the ensemble will be much better along, having built upon what I did, as I have built upon the members before me. I also hope to teach in the future, to help inspire more players and potential WGI members.

18 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS www.drumpromagazine.com 19DrumPRO CORPS

Blue Knights “SUPERSTARS”

DPC: How long have you been at Northglenn High School and the Blue Knights?

I have been with Northglenn for twenty-five years and Blue Knights World Ensemble since 1999 with the “History of Flight” show.

DPC: Could you tell us who your design team is at each place?

John Crouch and I are the design team at NG along with my wife, teaching pit and my great friends Scott Reno teaching hands and Jimmy Bell with the bass line.I come up with the show concept, staging and write the book. John writes the drill and everybody else does the real work.At Blue Knights, I come up with a show concept, Mike Nevin and Doug Rosener write the book, John writes the drill and I try to mediate between visual and music.

DPC: When it comes down to designing a show, could you fill us in on the process of that design?

The design process is crazy. At NG, I like to go 180 degrees from what we did the year before. A couple of examples are life after life followed by the Senses (Fourth of July) show. Or last years Spider Dreams vs this years FM with no props, backdrops and just under 8:00 minutes of music. I donʼt want the group to be “typecast” or do the same kind of show over and over again. It is one of the most rewarding things when I hear people say they canʼt wait to see what we are doing this year.

At Blue Knights, I throw an idea out to the rest of the staff, try to make what I see clear enough that they get it and turn it over to Mike to create the pit book. He writes with that image in mind, passes it off to Doug Rosener to do the battery book and then to John Crouch to teach the drill. I just try to make sure the visual thing works for the music team. That can be quite a challenge with Johnʼs drill antics. Somehow at the end it turns out to be a show.

DPC: What were some of your coolest ideas that were just a little to over the top to actually pull off?

I think most of our ideas have worked out pretty well so far. Sometimes, they just arenʼt as “competitive”. The most misunderstood was certainly the Senses show. The surface was a turn of the century picnic, but every second of the show was based on sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch. We tried to create a show that anyone could just watch and enjoy, but those who know what we do could really have fun trying to find all of the “hidden” messages. I have seen an aerial ballet of DRACULA done completely off of the ground in a theater. I havenʼt figured out how to stage that in 90 seconds yet....

DPC: Do you see the visual idea first and then put the music to it or is it the other way around?

Usually, the concept comes first. For NG, We had the music for Pirates, Waterworld, and Interstellar Suite first. The Art of Chess, life after life, the Senses, Lost Inhumanity, Spider Dreams and FM were all concepts first.BK, History of Flight, The Elements, In The Lot, The Elements of Art and The Zodiac were all concepts first.

DPC: Could you explain your roll with each of the programs you work with?

With the Blue Knights, I come with an idea, and everybody else works really hard to make it work. I try to make the set look right and help balance out the visual ideas to the music presentation with John. At NG, I develop the concept, write the book and then turn over the detail work to an amazing staff. I work the overall ensemble music and snares when needed. I take the blame at the end of the day.

Dave Marvin has been involved with the marching percussion activity for over twenty years now. That makes him not such a “Young Gun” but, none the less a designer that needs to be highlighted. Dave and his team at Northglenn High School and the Blue Knights have been responsible for changing the face of the indoor activity. In this interview you will learn some insights into how Dave puts together some of his amazing programs as well as some of his favorite programs.

I started marching with the Blue Knights in 1970 when I was 11. I saw them in parade and joined the following Tuesday night. I played cymbals the first year, went to snare the next and stayed there for my “career”. I stayed with BK through 1977 as a member. I was offered the percussion position at Northglenn in 1977 when I was 17. I returned to teach BK in 1979, marched my age out year with Troopers in 1980, taught both Corps in 1981, and remained caption head with BK until 1984. I currently write and arrange full time for marching band and indoor percussion.

20 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS www.drumpromagazine.com 21DrumPRO CORPS

Young Gunsfeaturing Dave Marvin

DPC: What is, in your opinion, the best product you have ever done as a designer and why?

From strictly a design standpoint, I think life after life was pretty cool. It was Christmas break and I had completely scrapped a show idea and had no clue what we were going to do. Iʼm having dinner with my future wife at a nice Chinese restaurant playing word association to brainstorm an idea. The whole place is red with white linens and I say, “red”. She says “blood”, I say “heart”, and looked down at the white linens. That was it. I told her I had it and laid the whole show out right there. It was all about that contrast between blood red and white linen. As a staff, we had already listened to a ton of music and it was pretty easy to piece together the moods I wanted to create. The blinds were a constant work in progress to utilize them as best as we could.One of my personal favorite audio/visual moments was Adagio for Strings in The Art of Chess. Most people donʼt know that all of the moves in that battle scene were actual chess moves. That allowed us to set up bringing back the White queen in the end to finish off the Bad queen.

DPC: After such great shows as Waterworld, Life after Life, The Senses Show (or Fourth of July) and so many others...would you let us in on any of your future plans?

I just donʼt know yet. The activity is certainly taking a change in direction. So many groups had more of a color guard look to their design and movement (a lot of movement/velocity without as much emphasis on “storytelling”). That seemed to work well this year, but it is probably not a direction we will take. I take pride in being a storyteller of sorts and will most likely avoid the trend.

I have an idea for a show that ends in an event. But to get to that event, the show would move simultaneously from lets say point A to point M and point Z backwards to point M. So the listener/viewer would see the development leading up to the event, as well as, the aftermath leading back to the point of the event. So point M is really the end of the show, but by the time you get there, you have seen both the history and the future relating to point M. Make sense?

20 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS www.drumpromagazine.com 21DrumPRO CORPS

Young Guns

April 12, 2003Nutter Center

Scholastic World Finals

Winston Churchill HS - 93.20 Avon HS - 92.45 Choctawhatchee HS - 91.25Centerville HS - 91.05 Mission Viejo HS - 90.05 Ponderosa HS - 88.80 Thousand Oaks HS - 87.30 Ayala HS - 87.25 San Marcos HS - 85.45 Northglenn HS - 85.10 Pomona HS - 84.60 Eagan HS - 83.55

Independent World Finals

Blue Knights - 96.25 Black Knights - 94.60Riverside Community College - 94.60Mystique - 93.45 The Project - 89.40 Aimache - 88.55 Rhythm X - 88.20 Momentum - 85.90 Penn State - 83.80

Scholastic Concert World

Fort Mill HS - 95.30Tarpon Springs HS - 94.10Tunstall HS - 94.10Franklin Central HS - 93.95Gateway HS - 90.80John Overton HS - 87.45New Albany HS - 87.15

Independent Open

Northcoast Academy 93.35 Pariah 92.50 United Percussion 89.15 Tomball Independent 86.50 Eastside Fury 86.45 Eminence 85.60 Pride of SMSU 84.50 Stryke Percussion 83.95 Plan B Percussion 82.00

Scholastic Open

Thomas Worthington HS 94.40 Everett HS 92.45 Irondale HS 91.60 Center Grove HS 91.40 Acadia HS 90.05 Kings HS 88.25 Longmont HS 87.35 Centennial HS 87.15 New Palestine HS 85.05 Pacifica HS 84.70 Springboro HS 82.65 Rancho Cucamonga HS 81.90

Scholastic Concert Open

Portsmouth HS 92.40 Anderson 91.95 Modesto HS 90.45 Buena HS 85.80 Kettering Fairmont HS 83.95

Independent A Finals

L.E.A.P 86.65 Arthur Hill 83.90 B2 Percussion Ensemble 82.80 Motor City 76.45

Scholastic A Finals

Clovis East 94.45Salem 91.75 Wauseon 90.75 Lebanon 90.50 Washington Twsp 88.90 Las Banos 87.90 Enterprise 87.85 Ben Davis 86.45 Harrison Central 85.00 Maconaquah 84.75 Francis Howell 83.00

Mt. Juliet 81.85

22 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS

WGI Scores!

22 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS

When you start the journey of becoming a high school drum instructor there are several things that you think of fi rst. You think how cool it’s going to be to have your own line, decide what kind of hats to wear, designing the drumline shirt and so on. The romantic ideas always come fi rst, but then you have to realize that there is so much more to making a drumline not only successful as a musical entity, but also one that works within the framework of the school and band that you are now so closely tied. This article will touch on some of those most crucial points that you must be aware of before you begin your journey.

Find a school in need: Talk to your local music shops or even your old band director to see if they know of anyone looking for a “drum person”. Most programs will start looking for staff as early as January, some not until June or even July. So if you have a late start, don’t worry, you could still get a gig somewhere. Once you fi nd that program you will need to talk to the band director about what his goals for the drumline are. You should also tell him what your goals are as a teacher (i.e. starting and indoor program, having extra practice during the summer ect.). Working with this band director is paramount to your long-term success. Remember that the band director is ultimately responsible for the overall success or failure of the program. You will have to make some concessions to make things work in the long term, but get used to making sacrifi ces…it’s part of the business.

Learn how to budget and make an inventory: You more than likely are responsible for the purchases made for the line. Learn how to fi nd the best deals and start a relationship with your local drum/music shop. Try and determine what the line will need and then project that out long term for the budget of the line. Use the knowledge of the band director to help in this project.

Develop a good summer schedule and fundamental program: After talking to the director and determining what kind of practices you can hold, make a schedule that will accomplish the log term goals of the line. After that schedule is done, take some time and develop a solid fundamental program to get the line started in the correct direction. This is the most important piece of the puzzle for your program. Find any older instructors in your area or even go online and ask the drumming community for ideas and guidance on the formation of a good fundamental program. In the end nobody wants a drumline that is operating on a great budget or has a spotless inventory if the line can’t play!

Be a leader/disciplinarian/big brother or sister/the good guy and bad guy: You will need to be all things to your kids. Remember this piece of advice, if you make all of your decisions based on what is best for the kids, not yourself, then you will be just fi ne. Never let your ego take charge of the line. Sometimes you can be wrong on decisions. Be an adult and accept your mistake and move on, BE THE EXAMPLE! These kids that you are teaching are drummers. Never forget how important your instructor was to you…now you are that instructor. Sometimes the weight of what your kids will bring to you will be a little more than you can bear…communicate with your band director. Being a young instructor can be very intimidating at times, but it is a job that you have decided to undertake. Above all else you MUST be an example for these kids. Don’t make it a habit to tell stories of that last party you went to or the last girlfriend/boyfriend you had. It should be a friendly but professional atmosphere.

The Lessons Learned article will have information in it, from issue to issue, that will help begin your pursuit of becoming a high school instructor. The job is much more than walking around with a pair of drumsticks hanging out of your back pocket and looking cool. Being an instructor is one of the most important jobs you as a musician can do for our community. You can instill a new love and respect for our youngest and best.

24 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS www.drumpromagazine.com 25DrumPRO CORPS

LESSONS LEARNEDBuilding a high school line

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24 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS www.drumpromagazine.com 25DrumPRO CORPS

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Accent Substitutions:#1. As Written(single hand), #2. As Written(alternating), #3. Flams, #4. Diddles, #5. Cheezes, #6. Flam 5's

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In this series, we will be exploring the fundamentals of warm ups and street beats. There are a few basic warm ups that you will hear in the parking lot of every DCI, WGI and BOA competition. With the complexity and mixed variations that have evolved from these fundamental exercises, we must be careful to never loose sight of the ultimate goal of the warm up. That is to “WARM UP”!

In a corps style competition, a single loose attack could cost you the sweepstakes. Playing fast is a good and fun thing to practice, but playing “clean” is the one thing that seems to be overlooked by many younger players.

First Things FirstTo properly warm up, first we must get the hands moving and the blood flowing. This might take sometime, especially in parts of the country where it’s quite cold. Be patient, if it takes 10 minutes, your line will play tighter and faster.

Next, you have to exercise the mind with a little more complexity. A simple diddle or roll exercise would be perfect.

Grid exercise variations are great for mental and physical dexterity. The last thing you should be concerned with is running the book. When everything else is together and clipping along, you are now ready to run the show or trouble spots.

Just before playing the book have the line play through the entire show in their heads, without drums or vocal drumming. If everyone in the group truly thinks of what they are individually playing, your run-through should be exceptionally clean.

Here are a few of the basic exercises that every line should be able to play cleanly. This series is open to the exercises and ideas that you feel are important to the development of a solid line. If you’d like to send us material, please mail a copy and we’ll review it for publication.

26 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS www.drumpromagazine.com 27DrumPRO CORPS

HANDS ONBack to the BasicsBy George Shepherd

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Accent Substitutions:#1. As Written(single hand), #2. As Written(alternating), #3. Flams, #4. Diddles, #5. Cheezes, #6. Flam 5's

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26 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS www.drumpromagazine.com 27DrumPRO CORPS

HANDS ON

28 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS www.drumpromagazine.com 29DrumPRO CORPS

28 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS www.drumpromagazine.com 29DrumPRO CORPS

Double Jointed

30 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS www.drumpromagazine.com 31DrumPRO CORPS

30 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS www.drumpromagazine.com 31DrumPRO CORPS

Double Jointed

32 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS www.drumpromagazine.com 33DrumPRO CORPS

32 Summer 2003DrumPRO CORPS www.drumpromagazine.com 33DrumPRO CORPS

Double Jointed

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