Andy Dittrich
I received an e-mail this week from Amy, who apparently does not have a last name, possibly like Cher. But, if she sends me that information, I would be glad to cite it! Amy asks: "I live in Houston, Texas, and I know that Texas is extremely well-known for our band programs. We do have one Corps in Texas which is the Revolution, stationed in San Antonio. That is a Division II corps. Knowing that Texas has awesome band programs, I get a little disappointed that we don't have a corps in Houston or even Dallas. I say a Division I corps needs to be produced in Texas, hopefully close to home :-). I could see it being one of the best corps after a few years of establishment." Indeed, this question has been posed many, many times. There really isn't much that anyone can do about the problem. It all goes back to the delocalization of the activity. Let me take you back to a time where there were hundreds of drum corps across the country, and people generally marched in the corps that was closest to them. Texas apparently did not have a ton of drum corps interest, and apparently people who wanted to march that lived in Texas went to other places, or they really just had no interest in the activity. It seems things are very different now, and musicians in Texas are very interested in marching drum and bugle corps. So what has happened? Division I corps that are interested in picking up some of these long-distance members hold auditions and camps in Texas. Unfortunately, what happens is that Texas loses A TON of drum corps people. Revolution is such a huge success story. Everyone had so many doubts about that corps even surviving, nevertheless being as good as they are. I just hope that the drum corps fans, and potential marching members, continue to support Revolution, so that they can continue to grow and prosper, and represent the state. Just because Texas doesn't have a Division I corps doesn't mean that you don't have something to support. Please, do your best to push people to march in and support Revolution. For many people that can't afford to fly 1,000 miles to march in a Division I corps, Revolution accomplishes something truly amazing, and there are definitely some very talented people in the corps. So again, maybe there isn't a corps in Houston or Dallas right now. However, you should do your best to support Revolution, and keep them going strong. Keeping the activity alive is a key aspect in getting more corps to develop, maybe even in Houston, again. Quote of the week: "Well, maybe we can just make up the drill for drum solo ... " -- Andy and Kevin, teaching at Romeoville (Ill.) H.S., Saturday, Sept. 13. From Illinois, not Texas, It's "Project!" Andy Dittrich is the center snare drummer for Capital Sound, and is a fifth-year member of the corps. He attends the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and is studying English.