Good morning, do a solo with only Spock drums

“You gotta play with some sack...You know what I’m sayin?” 😂

I wonder if we ever met back then. In the 2007 season, I would have been with the pit (as a returning vet from the 2006 season). All those people you mentioned (Stan, Brian, Nibbles) are great people, as you know! Also, I like how you used a photo of the Cadets to demonstrate right foot first, and then a photo of the Cadets to demonstrate left foot first lol Love the videos, keep it up!

I had my All-State today and I fubbed it up. This cheered me up.

Ha joke's on you. I got naked before the video even started!

I can relate, at 17 I went to my first DCI audition for the Blue Devils, I thought I had chops and a chance. I was a thousand miles away from home, and everyone around me was FAR better than me. By the end of the day my feet ached, my moral was low, and I had learned more than I ever thought I would. Wouldn't trade that experience for anything!

Nibbles helps tech the quads at my college drumline, what a legend.

45 minute drive... come to Texas and that’s nothing.

2:00 >*says open class* >*shows map* >*genesis world class dbc is on there* >cries in 19th place

Fun drinking game: take a drink every time he says “a random high schooler”

Percussion is the best section

Who else was born 2007 and now watching this

Hell yeah an EMC video on my birthday! Edit: Oh damn I didn't even realize people would see this lmao. Thanks to everyone wishing me a happy birthday!

I graduated in '91 from high school, and had a couple people from my drumline march DCI, cadets and cavaliers even. I never had the courage your story demonstrates. Wish I had done it back then. I hope some young people today see this and are inspired to try!

My experience was very similar to yours but it was the year Colin came from Magic of Orlando to Madison Scouts 2004/05-2006. If was my first ever DCI audition. Me and 3 other snare buddies drove from Missouri to Madison, Wisconsin. Very nervous but we all hacked out the cadence and exercises for a few weeks before going. I studied Colins technique by watching the Glassmen and Magic for years.... to my avail we all still had it wrong😂. 3 of us made the line which was unheard of. I tried out on snare it went awesome but tons of Magic guys followed him so he gave them priority. So he said “All the notes are the same on top bass so it’s yours!” I was super excited as a 20 yr old and making it my first go. I had some prior WGI experience with my college in Independent and World Class. Our college techs marched Blue Knights back in the day with Hardimon so the techniques and quality of sound was the first thing I learned in college drum line. I love your material man. I’m 35 now and still get the DCI itch. In the end, me and 1other friend made it entirely. One of the best experiences of my life. You should mention the cost to March as well in your vids lol💰💰💰.

Best advice is to start going to audition camps in high school or as early as you can, and trying out for all the open spots each month until they get filled. You will get cut, but the experience is invaluable as is the relationship building. You'll learn more in those three day camps than you will anywhere else, even in most college courses. I was cut 3 times before I got my first contract. Those weekend camps were well worth it regardless of outcome.

Yeah, dude. Encouraging performers to do a year elsewhere is key. The great thing about going to any world class audition is the (usually) clinical nature of the process. Even if a performer doesn’t have much of a chance to make a spot, so much can be learned there. Also, making connections can be very helpful later. So go, listen, do your best, make friends. If you make it, cool. If you didn’t, you’ve got groundwork for next time.

I'm marching my first DCI season this summer with the Spartans I'm so excited

When I started in Drum Corps things were done differently. I started in 1972, we had 3 rehearsals a week. I started at the ripe old age of 11. We learned the technique of what our instructors called playing through the head. We would visualize playing the note and reaching the bottom head with it. Gives you a really nice full sound. We also had what I call the “physical abuse to musicianship” drum sticks fly through the air if your not paying enough attention. 20 minute rolls, you could scream or do anything as long as you didn’t stop playing. But it was great fun and turned out some fantastic percussionist.

I was a converted bass drummer from saxophone in high school. My freshman year in college, I go back to playing saxophone in marching band. That summer a friend calls me up and asks if I want to play bass 5 with the Troopers because a spot suddenly opens up. It was always a dream of mine to be in drum corps so I say “Sure!” No audition, just walk right in and pick up the drum. At the end of the season in 1986, DCI Finalist, 11th place. 😃

No balls make an extreme tenor practice pad.

Dude, doing group showers for the first time was terrifying

Cadets 2007 - Where the dancers love dabbing

RIP cadets 🫡

I had a similar experience and was cut quick after auditioning for Snare. However, I stayed in touch with guys who I knew made it and found out that their Tympani player dropped out at the last camp before move-ins. I made a bunch of phone calls and the caption head was happy that someone who was cut was so determined to march that they were willing to play anything that was offered that I was offered the tympani spot over the phone. (It also helped that I was an all-state tympanist). But, I marched my first season in the pit and that put me in the good graces the caption head and ended up marking for years on snare after that. My biggest advice is never to give up and be willing to play anything that is offered!!!! They want to know that you are there for the betterment of the corps and not just yourself.

Had a great time doing dca this past summer. Good education and having high hopes for dci world class this summer.

Re: Sound Quality What exactly did Thom and Colin say was wrong with your technique and the sound quality it produced? What was the “correct” technique they demonstrated? Could you show this on a future video?

Had my first audition in 2019 for Colt Cadets. I tried out for snare, didn’t make it, and ended up marching cymbals there, which was a great experience!

Packet 2 days in advance is an issue?? When did you realize “that” was part of your audition? An example of how DCI Corps work. Standing in the tunnel preparing to go onto the field at a regional, Jim Jones walks up to your section and changes 4 counts of the marching drill while you are walking onto the field “Don’t screw it up” We nailed it, but none of us were even sure of the section of the show he was talking about >11

We didnt have auditions, they were like oh you play trumpet? You're in! Of course we were a small corps.

Marched ‘79-‘80 SCV Hornline. We were mostly locals in high school and college band. We barely had to audition back in these times. I was in the B Corps (rather like Blue Devils C in that era) the year before and nearly got called up to A Corps at age 15. I had to wait til I was 16, though. Gail knew I could play, so no audition as I recall. A lot of fun marching in this era!

Only ever marched WGI - Redline 2010. Never actually auditioned, just got lucky. They had an open spot and I was going to college somewhat close to where they’re located. One of their staff used to be my high school band director and he reached out to ask if I was interested. Wouldn’t change the experience for anything. PIW WGI was the coolest thing ever.

Had my first Blue Stars audition this year and got contracted as a high schooler :) sadly I couldnt march because of money but having marched DCA helped.

Marched Bridgemen in early 80’s. This was funny. Brought back a lot of memories.

Nice vid. Takes me back to my audition with the Colts in ‘93 (didn’t make it, marched MBI that year) and then the Scouts in ‘94 (made it!)

I think a lot of us went through the shower thing at our first camp. I remember getting up an hour before the rest of the corps at my first couple of camps to get in the shower before everyone else. Contrast this to a week or so into summer on my first tour where we were all running around the shower room naked trying to dump gold bond on each other. Good times.

I love these things

The fluff on your hat bothered me the ENTIRE time 😭😂

Awesome to hear your story! I marched with Colin at Umass and BAC ‘91. I’m a Trumpet player, but did one football season on 3rd base Drum and Contra for DCI. I can visualize him talking technique to you (in his voice, but also Colin’s mentor Thom Hannum). I also marched Cadets ‘92 and only got in because I could march better than one other guy, and the ContraBase instructor was from Umass as well. Nervous? Yes, but I made it and had a rewarding season. Too bad I had zero $ and couldn’t march in ‘93. If I had to audition in today’s world, I’d be SOL!

I just want to say thank you for inspiring me to play the marching tenor i am planning on trying out for my schools drum line thank you 😄

I marched Southwind in 2019. It was an unforgettable and amazing experience

I marched Jersey Surf in 2007 and that was my first. I remember being scared to death to go to the camp and that I was going to get cut. Luckily if you could play decent, you got to stay. I had the best summer experience.

HIS G’s R PISSING ME OFF

Seems pretty accurate considering the story’s my dad told me he was part of the sky liners and bridgemen both within 70s and 80s when both where at their prime he played bugle and got all the really hard solos that had the highest notes and stuff. He says the highest note he hit was double c in skyliners when playing dream girls Edit: my fave drum Corp is blue devils which may seem pretty stereotypical but I still think there good

Instead of reacting to it you should learn/play it again. Edit: Like so EMC will see

I taught Nibbles in East Coast Jazz back in 2003. Yup, always march an Open Class Group first. Solid advice.

I auditioned for Bluecoats for the 2017 season just for shits and giggles and since there audition camp was very close to my city. I went in knowing full well I didn’t have the chops or physical fitness to make it but it was really fun! Got to play Hymn of Axiom, The Boxer, and other super cool tunes loud as hell and got a small taste of what doing dci is like so I’m super glad I did that camp

My first time auditioning anywhere outside of my highschool was for Pacific Crest 2017 my sophomore year of highschool. I showed up thinking I had no chance since I only marched quads for a season and a half at this point. I didn't do too bad. I got a lot of great comments and I improved a ton. I did not make the line because you know, I had no experience 😂 but the staff encouraged me to keep going after it and that they say a lot of potential and that experience is what pushed me to stick with quads. Since then I marched Watchmen in 2018 and I am currently marching with CATALYST for indoor.

I ended up getting 2 comments on my first audition: 1) my flams were too tight. 2) I played too loud, even though I wasn't really chopping it out. I eventually made the group and had to constantly play lower throughout the season since the other members had a lighter touch compared to myself. I think the loud sound came from being in a college marching band with 10 other snare drums. I only did one season of DCI but it was fun most of the time. Definitely learned a lot through the activity.

Marched DCI for 7 years was the best experience of my life was already out when you first auditioned for Cadets marched with Kiwanis Kavaliers out of Kitchener Ontario. Open class corps competed in worlds a few times what a great experience most of our instructors were from either Blue Devils or other top tier corps age outs and some just straight up great drum instructors Lee Betis was one of my instructors at one point before Kavaliers also Tom Bigas as well. Don't actually remember the try outs but then again i aged out in 2000 so that was a lifetime ago still have so many life long friends that I made during that time wouldn't change any of it still remember my first worlds competition though was in Wisconsin at University of Wisconsin stadium was asked totry out for Santa Clara Vanguard but couldn't get to California at the time so had to pass on that one think that is one of my only regrets from that time but I think I would have made Phantom at that time should have figured out a way to get my ass out to California and gone to the try outs but I live in Southern Ontario Canada and California is a long way away from here but marching for SCV would have been an amazing experience in the late 90's

Awesome Sauce

I rooked out of Cadets 97. had never marched anywhere before, and hadn't even heard of drum corps at all until less than a year before. Life's like this sometimes:) #FHNSAB I also remember that that year, 45 people came out to audition for the FOUR SPOTS AVAILABLE in our section. 41 of them were cut/cut themselves. Funny how life works sometimes, ain't it.

Good morning, when I first auditioned for a drum corps I was already to years of indoor in so I wasn’t super pressed. But it was my first time auditioning for a line, there were only two people auditioning on tenors, me and one other high school kid (I had just finished my freshman year of college) between the two of us he had better arounds but I had the better stationary chops (a pretty low bar we were both pretty awful) but I wanted to move back to like after having spent the 2 indoor season in frontland, so we start playing and immediately the equipment is giving both of us hell, the drums had a reputation for breaking tension rods so when we took them out three were already short rods from the season before, as well as my Spock 2 head being completely dead. The stands refused to cooperate with us and between the two of us we probably broke in about 2/3s of the rep just to avoid our drums eating shit on the ground. We would have to fight them and readjust the legs and everything mid rep and jump back in, the caption head was understanding but I think he already knew neither of us would be marching tenors if he could help it, so I go through the audition, and on the next day he says “we’re gonna cycle through each of you putting you on bass to see how it goes” I had my turn playing bass one (I’d played it for 2 seasons in high school before moving in as center snare my senior year) it went particularly well and I already understood the bass lines technique since it was the same one the indoor group has been using and I’d marched with players from that group for 2 seasons by this point and kinda absorbed it through osmosis, the other tenor player does great as a bass 4 and we eventually move back to tenors having let the techs see what we can do on bass. Then near the end of the day I’m actually moved to front since I was one of a few people who could actually play drumset (I went to college for music Ed and was hoping to double in jazz, my primary was set, and I had played tack for the indoor group not the previous season but the one before) It goes well, I love the front people there, the tech was my section leader from the indoor group both years, we are good friends, my buddy Nathan is being considered for center and that’s cool as well. But before I leave I make it clear “I would much rather march drumline then be in front, and I would love to march bass one.” Mid way through the week I guess the caption head decides he needs me on set more than he needs a full bass line at the time (our turn out was abysmal, as mentioned we had two unqualified quad hopefuls, 2 people interested in bass, and a bunch of snares) so he eventually shifted around some snares and the second quad player to bass, and took a 4 person bass line until they could find a good person to film the hole. And they put some snares on tenor (they quite and we had no tenor line for weeks until we found replacements) an they put me on set since the only other set hopeful couldn’t march anymore, I was contracted as the set/rack player and had a blast though I had more equipment then I knew what to do with, it took 15 minutes to set up at a normal pace and 6 people to move just my stuff, we had to conscript the entire trumpet section to help us move. All in all not a bad season though it stung that the caption head would rather us march where we were then field a tenor line for the first quarter of the season, and that he kept me on set rather than film the bass hole which even the bass players and tech new I was capable of. The worst part was that my music came excruciatingly slow and it was stupid easy. Keeping in mind I’m a year into a music es degree on set at this point, for jazz, I’ve been playing percussion for 4-5 years and I’m on my second season of rack for a group above high school level. The music was entirely to easy and my immediate front tech wanted to rewrite my parts but was not given the go ahead at anytime, sadly the parts weren’t even well written either, they were filled with things that were borderline impossible due to the set up of my instrument and with each new part of music he added on new instruments, triangle, Alu bell, break drum, gong, temple blocks, tambourine, all instruments we did not currently had, one week I got there and there was just a mountain waiting for me in the caption heads truck. A weird season but I don’t regret it at all, I got to win a DCA championship but more importantly I got to march with the best people ever, because I’d auditioned on battery I was very close with them through out the season, and the front was even closer, some of the best people I’ve ever met.

I really love drumming it is my favorite thing to do

Colin McNutt is the percussion arranger for our band

My first experience was a couple weeks ago and I went to the brass camp for troopers and it was a lot of fun. I'm going back to another one in a few weeks and in a week and a half for blue stars

i definitely recommend going to your top corps as soon as possible to at least get your name out there!!

When you’re a lifeguard and you’re practicing driving somewhere: doing a “Drive run drive”

Great story!

Mapquest .... that's a name I haven't heard in a long time, a long, long time.

Everybody like this please I wanna see that solo

"your local Open Class [... ] facility" The nearest one to me is 3 states over LMAO

When you casually name drops McNutt and aungst

I auditioned for DCI hornline the December after my freshman year, had one year of experience. Played great, marched decent, marched and played not so great. Based on my playing I was recommended to their open class affiliate, which didn’t happen because the pandemic. So what I’m saying is if you’re young go for it, but don’t be surprised if you get cut

I feel ya dude. I started with Sacramento Freelancers in 88' in the baritone line. I thought i was good because i was only 10th grade and was already Trombone section leader. I didn't really know that much about playing valve's and that scared me. I did practice before trying out. At that time baritones were written in treble clef.. not base clef. They were key of G, not E flat. So i couldn't even really read the music. I survived by copying valve positions off the guys next to me and had them write them in on top of the bars. What happened was, they needed people and not all the holes were full so I got in just because there was nobody else to fill them. Eventually there were people and I had to defend my spot. All my experience and even being in youth symphony orchestra didn't help me. DCI doesn't joke around. Fk anybody who doesn't understand that at that level your going to move up to PRO and have to act it and play it. Not to mention that half the battle is the tour. It's hard. You never get enough rest and all you ever do is exercise, eat, play, march, play and march, drill, exercise... exercise..and ride the bus..Yea.. and some more of all that every day until you think you will die. k.. Staff yelling at you and grabbing at you .. and moving your body around until you get muscle memory enough to keep steady... its tough. I was good... but not that good. Eventually you understand that it will never get easy and you just have to push it out. I stayed for 3 years. Grew me up pretty fast.

The shower experience was definitely interesting the first time in DCI lmao

My hs visual instructor marched cadets this past season and he would teach us saying right first and then a senior would say something, and he would say “oh ya sorry I’ve done right all summer” and I kind of just laughed

Bro thank you! Now I know to do dca and world class first! (And the summer camp I’m going to lol)

I got cut at my first ever dci camp for the troopers this year… but honestly I didn’t have much of a chance getting contracted for world class this year because I’m only a freshman in high school. But I’m actually proud of myself for getting past the video audition!( but when I found out, I bawled my eyes out and for a week I was upset and ashamed of myself cause I felt like a bad player. But my band director who works for troop, she made me feel better about it and made me realize that I’m far from a a terrible player.) But anyways the camp was so awesome and meet some really awesome people and friends! And made me realize all the mistakes I was making. And I learned a lot. The main reason I got cut if the first place was visual issues, like I was great on the music part of the audition. But the visual not as much. So I’m thinking of doing open class this year and I’ll come back to audition for troopers next year stronger!!! TROOP >”

Yo! If you’re talking winter 2007 auditions for the 2008 summer, I was one of the lucky few to make that tenor line. I had a similar experience in 2004 auditioning for Spirit as a senior in HS: thought I was hot stuff, was totally unprepared and got ripped apart for sound quality. I wish I could say I learned my lesson, but I BARELY made it onto the Madison line for the 2006 season. That summer was a struggle, but I learned a lot. I had to take the 2007 season off, but vowing to make the Cadets for my age-out year I practiced my butt off for like a whole season in preparation for that audition. Long story short, just because you get cut doesn’t mean you’re not good. Sometimes somebody is just further a long in their journey than you.

Ive found your channel like over a year ago and this is when i learned youre also a jersey boy. This is box five news

I remember mine with Freelancer from Sacramento. The audition with informal .

Extreme tenors but only Spock drums

Nibbles! I taught him at East Coast Jazz. Great drummer, great dude!

I recently auditioned for music city's brass line and I had practiced everything especially marching technique. But when we got to the camp they changed their technique from straight leg to bent knee so I had to do my audition with 3 years of straight leg in my head. I did get a callback though.

Aight time to do South Wind

I just auditioned for SCV, I have already seen this video before hand and so I knew I want gonna make it, but I wanted go still so I can get a vibe for the corp and also gain some experience. However overall I thought I did well considering I had no experience outside of high school. Gonna go for a nearby open class corp and then seriously audition next yeat for SCV

When it says 5 minutes ago 😳💅

In the 80's when I marched there were no "packets". In fact, most corps guarded their music and did not want other groups knowing how they achieved what they achieved. So.....when my audition day came I was fortunate enough to have marched two years in my college line with several guys who had already marched with Spirit and they had shared not only the exercises, but the style and technique that Tom Float (D.C.I. Hall of Fame member) taught. This was no doubt a huge factor in my success at that audition and being able to march in a line that tied for the Sanford Award that year.(1980) First time in D.C.I. history that two lines tied for top drums at finals. I learned so much that summer and wouldn't trade it for anything. Lots of stories to tell but not enough time and space here. Advice- youngsters- learn all you can by using the resources you have available to you in this day and age. Put your phones down and do the work. There are no shortcuts!

Eric I had the exact same experience at Cadets except I was in the front ensemble instead and I had the packet before hand. They said I need more experience and I tunnel visioned to the ONE sink in that locker room

When I was 15 I tried out for Carolina Crown and got eaten alive by the staff. So I went home and talked to my instructors and I was recommend to try out for Reading Buccaneers and I made it. Going into my senior year of high school I marched a year with the Blue Knights.

I'm hyped... Just got my first contract with the Columbians front ensemble!

I watched all those commercials just for you, Eric. And they were longer than your video.

So it seems I am 2 years older than you. I auditioned that same year on Baritone for the Blue Stars. I live in Indiana and at that time, Blue Stars had camps in Minneapolis. So I printed the trusty MapQuest directions and drove 9ish hours to get there. Being a trombone player and not really having any experience on baritone other than teaching myself how to play, I was just hoping to make it in, even if I was the last one in. I don't remember much in the way of details other than my individual audition with the caption head Andy Tye. He told me right away that he was going to give me a spot which almost made me cry. I went back to the section and rejoined the 2nds that I had been playing with so far. A couple hours later he pulled me back out and said he wanted to hear my range again. I just figured I'd play a Bb scale starting on a low Bb and keep going till I couldn't go any higher. About halfway through my third octave he stopped me and said that's higher than the show will ever go and that I'd be on lead. I remember actually feeling embarrassed because I felt like maybe I was taking a spot away from a vet. This camp was the weekend before Christmas and I worked it out with my college roommate to stay at his house outside Chicago and when I knocked on his door the first thing out of his mouth was "Did you make it?" That was when it sunk in! We ended up getting 14th that year and then my age out year in 08 we made it into finals for the first time in 29 years

very amusing that they mentioned sound quality before all those choppy things. yeah, it never stops happening that students tend to learn things that are too hard for them, i.e, very choppy and very fast, before learning how to play consistently and "slowly and correctly all of the time." ain't much of an other way. slowly and correctly. gotta do it that way a lotta times, which is of course the LAST thing students wanna hear/do. :) but it works. discipline. (wow, sounding like I might know what I'm talking about feels weird...)

I'm going to marching a lot of dci's when I'm older so you should check that out

I'm on the board of an Open Class corps. This should be required viewing during audition season.

Good morning! I wish I didn’t miss out on DCI. And yes there’s DCA, but idk.

First time I auditioned I was with the brass doing some fundamental posture breakdown thing for the first 20 minutes - I heard drums playing in the distance by then and I broke out of the huge block and left lmao

Great video. I love the videos where we get to know you more. Is there any video or site that has a bio about yourself?

Went to my first DCI camp about a month ago. His experience is almost identical to mine lmao. Needless to say I got cut super fast

I just found out my cousin goes to the same high school he did in Washington township New Jersey :o

Honestly in this day and age, just try for whatever corps is your dream corps. I know a ton of people who have marched top 5 corps right out of highschool, and I know people who are in corps below their skill level because they didn’t think they could make a higher one

Noti gang

No way! Nibblez (or Chris) is my drumline teacher for my high school! Small world

Last year, I auditioned for BK. I got cut first round. That audition chewed me up and spat me out. I was tired by the end of the day on Saturday(naturally), and my morale was low. I knew my audition sucked. But after getting cut, I told myself “I will make this hornline.” And this year, I got a contract to play lead trumpet. To all of you eager people auditioning for world class, I will tell you that Eric’s advice of marching somewhere open class or dca before trying out for world class is a good idea, but don’t think it’s impossible to March top twelve your rookie year!

I was assistant tour manager at Cadets in '07!

The nearest corps for me is music city ( which is 30 minutes away) but they’re no longer open class😬

Nice

You should do a video about the first DCI or indoor group that you made the cut for