My name is Jason Lowe. My nickname is Tickbox,
more so in the drum corps community. I'm 19 and I currently reside
in Austell, Georgia. I marched mellophone for the Americanos in 1999. We
placed 4th and 2nd in brass at the DCI World Championships. I'll let everyone
know what's up for 2000 soon. As of now, I'm uncertain if I can march or
not. If I'm physically and mentally ready, you can bet yer ass I'll be
marching 2000. That's all I've got to say about that.
Why the name Tickbox?
I got my nickname during drum corps tour
this year. I wanted to brass due to a nagging injury that would keep me
from marching percussion, my original instrument for the past 5 years.
I wanted to march, and I wasn't about to let an injury stop me from that...the
Americanos brass staff saved me a mellophone spot, and I joined up in March
of '99. That was the first time I ever touched a mello, so obviously I
wasn't the best player in the world. The first part of tour I made many
noticable screw-ups and fracks on the horn (called "ticking"). The brass
staff started calling me Tickbox (as in, box full of ticks) as a joke (well,
maybe not), and it pretty much stuck. As the season went on, I improved,
but the name remained. Some people didn't understand why, because there
were much bigger ticks in the hornline (hey, they said it, not me), I just
kept the name, cause that's what alot of people knew me by.
Do you have a life?
Of course not. I found out, however, not
having a life keeps me more busy than I thought it would. My life consists
of teaching drumline, doing
drum corps, practicing, and working. It's a life for me, but people that
"don't get it" would say I have no life. I live in a town that hasn't heard
much about drum corps (although Spirit
of Atlanta was started in Austell) so I get the usual "You do band
after high school?" type questions when I'm out wearing my corps jacket
or teaching.
Don't people who "tick"
constantly stay single?
Nope. Even the worst of tickers get the hookups...
I guess anyone can in drum corps. Ask some of my buds, like Rob from the
Cascades, Matthew from Scouts, Stef from BD... they'll tell you that you
see whacked stuff in corps. Don't take my word for it...experience it.
