Since this drum corps blog is meant to be an experiment into outsider journalism about drum and bugle corps I thought it might be handy to use this space to help introduce those outside of drum corps to some of the interesting nuances of the activities. I figure I'll do this once a day (or at least once every weekday) until we get closer to the coverage and I can start using this space for coverage of competitions and links to real journalism. To try and make drum corps accessible and appealing to someone without a background in the marching arts, I will attempt to tie these little nuggets of info to something I know a lot of people already like. What better choice than a recent blockbuster hit like The 40 Year Old Virgin (not recommended viewing for families or those under the age of 17)? So for the next several weeks watch this space for my explanation of how a quotation from The 40 Year Old Virgin relates to some interesting aspect of drum corps life.
Today's Quote:
"What am I supposed to say? I went to magic camp. I am an accomplished ventriloquist. I am a seventh-degree imperial yo-yo master. Oh do me yo-yo master I want you to do me 'cause you're the yo-yo guy." -Andy Stitzer
What does this have to do with drum corps?
Sadly for most fans of the activity it's hard to explain to outsiders what makes drum and bugle corps such a thrill to participate in or just to watch. It always seems like your talking about some cult like society or a bizarre hobby. While it may contain elements of both it really isn't anything the average person isn't familiar with. A drum corps is really just like a marching bands except they only have brass instruments and percussion. There are no flutes, clarinets or saxaphones just horns. Really you don't even need to know much about music to understand the instruments used in corps, because everyone's familiar with how drum works and all the horns are variations on a trumpet. It's just like a marching band amped up on energy drinks and pumped up from a lot of weight lifting. And c'mon everybody can relate to that. What is more everyday Americana than a marching band. This isn't a freak show, this isn't a nerdish pursuit, this is good clean summer fun that everyone can enjoy.
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