You Know You Are in Drumline If..

Thanksgiving Day means DCI
Forget the turkey, drumline enthusiasts know that Thanksgiving means it is time for Drum Corp International's annual competition between the Cavaliers, Blue Devils, Madison Scouts, and several other drum and bugle corps which have names that sound like they should be competing football teams.

Ear plugs are for sissies
Only wimps wear ear plugs, right? Forget the fact that you will be deaf by the time you are thirty. Better save up for hearing aids now!

You practice in the band uniform closet
For some reason, almost every drumline I know has been forced to practice in the smallest possible quarters, which usually means the uniform closet or the band storage area.

You know what a triple paradiddle is
Paradiddles, ratamacues, rudiments, flamadiddles and Swiss army triplets - What can it mean? Well, if you are in drumline, you know. If not, then you can go back to playing clarinet.

A spare drumstick is hidden on your person
Every drummer has dropped a stick mid-marching band routine. But only the good ones have a hidden place for a spare stick, usually under the marching snare drum harness.

You have ever played a bullet-proof drumhead
I remember when we bought some seriously sweet Remo tendura drum heads which were supposedly bullet-proof. We still managed to bust them, which almost made it worth paying for replacement drum heads out of our own pockets.

Blisters line the inside of your left thumb and index fingers
Anyone who has played traditional marching snare drum style has acquired several callouses, notably those where the left hand grips the drumstick.

You know what the fulcrum point is
Every played marching snare drum? Then you know that the fulcrum point is where the thumb and pointer finger in the left hand grips the snare drum stick when you play. The other fingers are just there for added control.

You rejoice when you bust a drumstick when hitting a rim shot
Not only did our drumline enjoy breaking dozens of sticks while jamming on our drum cadence, we also had the privilege of being blamed when a flute player passed out after an extremely rousing series of rim shots after a football game. Talk about a victory!

Every drum cadence and exercise is named after a vulgar body part
In high school our drum cadences and warm-ups had a very colorful assortment of names referring to all types of body parts and bodily odors. Thankfully, as a fairly naive girl with equally naive parents, I did not understand what half of the names meant until my college years.