When I was a kid, every town’s 4th of July parade featured one or more of these groups…they had names like “The Crusaders”, “The Cavaliers”, etc. Many times, they were associtaed with Catholic schools, and they were basically groups of kids playing trumpets and drums, wearing parade unforms, with girls twirling batons and marching routines.
They seemed to peak in popularity in the mid-1950’s…and since that time, they seem to be in decline.
I would imagine running one of these things would be quite expensive…what with the instruments, uniforms, and practice expenses. I guess a lot of volunteer labor was part of the traditon as well.
Anybody here ever been in one of these groups? Are kids today all that interested in this sort of thing?
I was at Tampa’s annual Gasparilla parade yesterday. There were several marching bands. Most high schools have them.
There’s still a lot of marching bands, but only a few like what you are remembering. They have basically gone the way of the drivein movie.
The groups don’t seem as interesting on TV as in person and many big events are now based upon the TV factor. Who wants to see young girls spinning batons and groups spelling out a few letters when we have music videos and wardrobe malfunctions?
Oh, they still exist. There’s a big group in my local area, the Westshoremen. The thing is that you have to be hella good to join up. These guys are all top-notch musicians, not just an average high school band kid.
For that reason, they are very tough to get into, so it seems like a limited interest group, when in fact it’s a very popular group that is very selective.
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I think this will do better in IMHO.
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hi. we’re still here. now, rather than being 6-year olds with 2 valved horns, it’s kids aged 14-21 marching in international competitions. there aren’t as many small-town drum corps, those have mostly been merged into high school marching bands, but there are many drum corps around the nation. they are in some larger parades but are usually preoccupied with their own competitions. i personally march with the east coast jazz out of malden, ma. we’re a smaller, division 2 corps, and compete in dci (drum corps international) competitions. there are bigger, better known corps that are in div 1 such as the cadets of bergen county, the cavaliers (cavies) and the boston crusaders. most corps are much more difficult to get into these days, any div 1 and some div 2 require intense auditions, though many smaller corps are quite inclusive. if you’re interested further, i suggest going to www.dci.org, there’s lots of information there. go to a show during the summer, they’re so much fun. 
hope i helped.
[QSo, what do you play? I did the whole low brass thing and dabbled a bit in trumpet but was never good enough to go further than high school due to lack of dedication and poor instruction.
I still to this day think it would have been a lot of fun to do the whole drum and bugle corps thing. Maybe I’ll pick up the horn again and see what I can do with it now.
Airman, if you like Drum and Bugle Corps, then you must see a group that has taken it to another demension. They are called Blast. They do live performances and they have appeared on PBS. The DVD of the PBS is available and it is wonderful. Netflix might have it.
Hey everyone. I’ve been a lurker for about 6 years now, I had a user name but lost it when it went to paid subscriptions. I just had to come out of lurkerdom to post in this topic.
Hey laurelann, we should talk. I know there had to be some of us here. I am a member of Capital Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps based in Columbus, Ohio. We have membership of 135, ages ranging from 14 to 22 (depending on when your birthday is, sortof complicated rule). As you said, we do depend heavily on volunteers. I must say that the administration of my (and any) drum & bugle corps are absolute saints, having to deal with 5 buses, 2 tractor-trailers, 135 teenagers and 40ish volunteers and staff all summer (when we do all of our touring and performing). Our main income (and that of just about every corps) comes from our bingo hall, but it’s still very expensive to be a member–this year it was $1200.
Like you said, many many corps were started by churches, catholic schools, boy scout groups, etc in the 1920s-1950s. It was a nice way to show community spirit, keep kids out of trouble, and the like. In fact, you mentioned two of the current leaders in the activity, The Cavaliers (who have, in fact, won 5 of the 6 last championships) and the Boston Crusaders. The Cavaliers were started as part of a boy scout troop, and the Crusaders, who finished 9th in 2004, were originally the Most Sacred Blood Crusaders, obviously with church sponsorship. (Of course, you may be referring to different corps of the same names, as there were a lot more corps then). The horns were just military bugles, but eventually there were added valves. (Today they are brass instruments pitched in G or Bb and having 3 valves). The American Legion and VFW sponsored competitions and the like. In the 1960s, the acitivity outgrew the VFW championship system in place, and Drum Corps International began in 1972. Also around this time, many corps broke off to form their own non-profit organizations dedicated to the marching activity.
The corps have became more competitive, with auditions for members and the like. The summer tour-from June to championships in August-is intense, with rehearsals every single day to perfect the “field show” (12 minute marching show on a football field). The shows are extremely difficult from both a musical and physical standpoint. Instead of being made up from local neighborhood kids, top corps now attract members from the entire country (or world–in 2004 we had 3 members from Holland, and this year we had people from Japan audition) Also, due to costs of longer tours (ours last year was roughly 13,000 miles) and such, many corps have closed their doors. But the drum & bugle corps activity lives on today, and there are success storys, like my own corps, Capital Regiment, who have been around for only 7 years but are both competitive and financially stable.
Although the “field shows” are judged and staffs are reluctant to give up practice time, parades are a nice way to represent the corps and the activity, plus they tend to pay relatively well. This summer, we’re planning on doing some 4th of July parades in the Chicago area.
I’m sure that was more than you were looking for, but I saw the thread and had to post. I honsetly believe marching with my drum corps is the greatest thing I’ve ever done, because of the life experience, friends, and untangibles I learned. I hope I haven’t raised more questions than I’ve answered. Please ask!
Also: Websites
www.dci.org Official homepage of Drum Corps International
www.dcacorps.org Official homepage of Drum Corps Associates, who sponsor competitions for all-age corps
www.corpsreps.com A site with scores, pictures, and repertoires going back pretty far
www.capitalregiment.org My own corps’s homepage
-Jon Hollis
Capital Regiment Tuba 2004, 2005
Blast is done by Star of Indiana. At least they used to be Star of Indiana.
Drum corps thread! Drum corps thread!
My dad runs corpsreps.com and my brother’s marching Crossmen this year (he was in a div. 3 corps for three years). I love watching drum corps but have absolutely no desire to be in it. (I’m a flutist, anyway, and if they ever let flutes in drum corps I shall have to blow up the world.)
Yay drum corps.
Drum corps? Madison Scouts!
i’m a flutist as well, but was enticed over to the darkside with a mellophone. drum corps = good times.
I loved the film Drumline simply because it brought back memories of seeing those great drum and bugle corp competions in my hometown every summer. They used to show the finals on PBS every year, but I don’t know if they do that anymore.
I know from my small hometown, they have had some competions in the last few years in order to get the bands to be in the parade, but it has become quite pricy to get these groups to come. My cousin was on the parade committee and I don’t recall the exact amount, but the “good” corps won’t even bother if the prize money isn’t up to snuff. Granted, it ain’t cheap to schlep those buses and kids and equipment, but I think they were talking several thousand dollars for each of the top three awards or they wouldn’t show up - and that is just for a small town local event.
Still - they are amazing to see live, and I can remember when they would practice the night before, you could hear those bands for miles and miles on a quiet summer night!
cough Corps. One does not say the b-word when one means corps.