Spin That Flag!: Color Guard and Drum and Bugle Corps

The next step on my color guard journey - and the next logical stop on this blogging journey - was to a Drum and Bugle Corps (also known as Drum Corps). I wanted to continue with color guard after high school, so my instructor suggested drum corps and suggested I look into the Jersey Surf, a local drum and bugle corps. I was very excited to begin.

But it was not what I was expecting at all.

Drum corps is similar to marching band in several ways. Both include a color guard. Both include a band and percussion. Both march on a football field. Both include a lot of practice. Both (as far as competing marching bands go) travel to competitions.

But drum corps is like marching band to the extreme.

As opposed to a marching band that you can opt to be a part of in high school or college, drum corps is a sport you audition for and pay to be a part of. And it's not very cheap (I'll explain more on that later). Corps practice about once a month (over the span of a weekend) during September through April (most members are high school or college students), and then pretty much for the entire summer. Practices during the summer are basically all-day-every-day. It is very intense and requires a lot of hard work and dedication.

And then, there is the traveling...

Drum corps travel all over the country (according to Drum Corps International, some travel more than 10,000 miles in one summer), to compete in competitions and perform in events. Participants, for the most part, live on the bus they travel on (however, the buses are pretty nice - the coach kind, not the school kind) and sleep in school gyms across the country - you get used to a sleeping bag on a gym floor very quickly. Instructors and parent-volunteers travel with the corps and provide all meals for the members.

Each year, the corps coms up with a theme for the show (one year, I was part of a patriotic show, another year our theme was Moulin Rouge) and go all out to provide a unique experience. The color guard gets incredible costumes (and sometimes has costume changes), flag are created or purchased that shiowcase or add to the theme, props and scenery are set up on the field - anything to make the show amazing.

So...back to the money.

To be a part of a drum corps, members pay a fee that can range anywhere from $800-$2000 (or sometimes even more) and additional fees for meals during the school-year practices (often known as "winter camps"). This fee pays for gas for traveling, all meals provided, equipment, instruments, costumes, props, and anything else used to add to the show. All money paid goes toward this incredible experience.

Another difference between marching band and drum corps is the instructors. Both have experience in their field, however most marching band instructors are paid by the school they work for. All drum corps instructors work on a volunteer basis. They use their time out of work or use their vacation time to participate and help the corps improve. They were all previous drum corps members themselves, and they have a lot to offer through their instruction.

Drum Corps International, the official drum corps organization, organizes all the drum corps events across the country. Organizations (which may be in conjuntion with a school, but are usually just a privately run organization) determine their theme, hold auditions and select their members, and choose where to compete on an individual basis.

Shows are held at stadiums across the country, and each one is an incredibly unique experience, because you won't always see the same corps, and the shows vary from year to year. Drum corps (especially the one I was a part of) are also known for changing their show from one performance to the next (we often had drastic changes made that we had one or two days to remember and perfect) in an effort to perfect the show, fix errors or problem spots, and mostly, to keep the audience entertained and paying attention.

Drum corps is a life-changing experience. You meet many new people, learn the valu of hard work, and become stronger and more talented at what you do. I never in a million years thought I would be able to do half the things I did as a color guard member in drum corps.

For anyone interested in color guard, I highly suggest looking into drum corps. It is very expensive (which is part of the reason I had to stop doing it), but it is incredibly worth every penny. Unfortunately, there is an age limit (22), so now I can only watch. But even that is an exhilarating experience.

Below are several drum and bugle corps that I have seen perform and am very interested in. For a list of all corps or information on drum and bugle corps, you can visit Drum Corps International.