Drumcorps Season Starting Soon!

[Woochifer]

For whatever reason, this board has always attracted people who follow the drum & bugle corps scene. The drumcorps season usually starts up in earnest in June and runs through the DCI finals in mid-August. Amazing stuff that these corps put on the field. My baby girl seems to have developed a thing for drums, so I might try to see if her attention span can last out a drumcorps show this summer!

One great thing about YouTube is all of the archival stuff that long-time collectors post, and this includes vintage drumcorps performances. I found the 1992 DCI Finals performance by the Velvet Knights, which has attained an almost legendary status because of the insane crowd response that show got wherever they performed. The judges never liked them (this show only placed 10th in 1992), but the crowds loved them and typically gave them louder ovations than the higher ranked corps (a few years ago, the fans voted this show among the top 10 favorite drumcorps performances of ALL TIME). VK probably remain my personal favorite corps, simply because they did not take themselves seriously at all, and routinely lampooned the other drumcorps that tried to liken themselves to high concept performance art.

This video is the finale of their 1992 show, which features a bear, a hunter, the proverbial fat lady, a wicked witch on a bicycle, and a man-eating shark. (Earlier in the show, a guy dressed as an Energizer Bunny got pitted against an inflatable Godzilla) It's more like a 100-yard long Looney Tunes cartoon than a drumcorps show, but it worked incredibly well. The crowd response supposedly blew out one of the broadcast mics, which adds to this show's legend as the loudest ovation ever at a drumcorps show. This is NOT a typical drumcorps performance, and was probably the last time that a blatantly comedic show made it to the DCI Finals. FYI, the sign that gets unfurled at the 3:20 mark says "IT AIN'T OVER UNTIL ..." Links to Parts 1 thru 4 follow ...

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYmPeN0KwvQ (Yes, that's an inflatable blow doll that she's dancing with)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3qmy7LnOCc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ4QNIEARjs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iaeo_D-6CPk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB36emKMPNg

The Velvet Knights were apparently influenced by the Bayonne Bridgemen, who were the original zany drumcorps back in the day and another crowd favorite that never got respect from the judges. Sadly, the Bridgemen went belly up in the late-80s, and the Velvet Knights followed suit in the late-90s.

This video is from a 1979 Bridgemen show. The other parts are linked below. The last link is actually a Civil War reenactment (the show is in Alabama).

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnY8TBYYGjo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RK0Kwf7eQ8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB3pYcdxcGc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8MtXrk8qqc

More recently, here are the vids of the last two DCI champions. The first one is the 2006 Cavaliers performance (yes, Sir T used to march with them), and the second one is the 2007 Concord Blue Devils who hail from the Bay Area.

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[Rich-n-Texas]

Are the Royaliers in there anywhere Wooch? My sister was in the Royaliers(sp?) Drum & Bugle Corps from Cherry Hill NJ in the 70's and I remember going to one or two of their competitions. There was a band from Newport News Virgina with a leader that was sooooo hot, and as it turned out after the competition in Cherry Hill, my family hosted some of the marchers at our house and a bunch of these gorgeous girls, including the leader that I had the hots for was sleeping on the living room floor. I didn't know they were in my house until I woke up on Sunday morning, and there she was. Too bad she was three years my senior, and too bad I was waaaaaay too shy anyways.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Are the Royaliers in there anywhere Wooch? My sister was in the Royaliers(sp?) Drum & Bugle Corps from Cherry Hill NJ in the 70's and I remember going to one or two of their competitions. There was a band from Newport News Virgina with a leader that was sooooo hot, and as it turned out after the competition in Cherry Hill, my family hosted some of the marchers at our house and a bunch of these gorgeous girls, including the leader that I had the hots for was sleeping on the living room floor. I didn't know they were in my house until I woke up on Sunday morning, and there she was. Too bad she was three years my senior, and too bad I was waaaaaay too shy anyways.

The Royaliers are now a Senor Corps. Ju know, for de old people!

[Rich-n-Texas]

Seriously? They still exist? It would floor my sister to know that.

What years did you march with the Cavaliers T? Did you ever compete aginst that band I was talking about from Newport News?

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Seriously? They still exist? It would floor my sister to know that.

What years did you march with the Cavaliers T? Did you ever compete aginst that band I was talking about from Newport News?

I marched from 1980 to 1987. I also marched with the Cavaliers winter guard, who won the winter guard championships from 1981-1983. These were easily the best years of my young life. The Cavaliers are a great organization, and they took this high falutin upper east side street thug(a total contridiction I might add) and turned me into the irresponsible, big mouth idiot I am today:cornut:

Wooch, we are going to have to catch the Hayward or the Concord show man. I want to see how the Renegades are doing this year. I really miss marching this year, but I am afraid I just do not have the time anymore. :(

Rich, do you remember the high school name? Ahhhh, crashing at a house in during competition. Those were the days. I have very fond memories of the Phantom Regimate and the 27th Lancers colorguard. Hot chicks that knew how to handle the spinning white sticks!

[Rich-n-Texas]

Don't remember much about the band from Newport News, and I don't remember the name of the stadium where I saw them, but my sister played for (or practiced at) "Christ The King" in Haddonfield NJ, so I may have incorrectly stated Cherry Hill as their home city.

I'll have to ask my sister sometime what specific years she was in the corps. It wasn't long afterwards that she joined the Airforce. She played the Baritone.

[Woochifer]

I marched from 1980 to 1987. I also marched with the Cavaliers winter guard, who won the winter guard championships from 1981-1983. These were easily the best years of my young life. The Cavaliers are a great organization, and they took this high falutin upper east side street thug(a total contridiction I might add) and turned me into the irresponsible, big mouth idiot I am today:cornut:

C'mon now T, I find you very responsible! (All that other stuff I'll just say that you're a better judge than I am! :devil: )


Wooch, we are going to have to catch the Hayward or the Concord show man. I want to see how the Renegades are doing this year. I really miss marching this year, but I am afraid I just do not have the time anymore. :(

Most definitely. I noticed on the schedule that the DCI West regional championships are at Stanford Stadium again this year on July 5th. Phantom Regiment is the out-of-town corps traveling in for that show. I'll keep you posted. My daughter's attention span is not one of her strongsuits, so I'll see if by then she's game for a drumcorps show.


Rich, do you remember the high school name? Ahhhh, crashing at a house in during competition. Those were the days. I have very fond memories of the Phantom Regimate and the 27th Lancers colorguard. Hot chicks that knew how to handle the spinning white sticks!

Ah yes, another reason why I enjoyed watching the Velvet Knights ... seemed like they plucked their colorguard right off the beaches of SoCal! :)

[Woochifer]

Are the Royaliers in there anywhere Wooch? My sister was in the Royaliers(sp?) Drum & Bugle Corps from Cherry Hill NJ in the 70's and I remember going to one or two of their competitions. There was a band from Newport News Virgina with a leader that was sooooo hot, and as it turned out after the competition in Cherry Hill, my family hosted some of the marchers at our house and a bunch of these gorgeous girls, including the leader that I had the hots for was sleeping on the living room floor. I didn't know they were in my house until I woke up on Sunday morning, and there she was. Too bad she was three years my senior, and too bad I was waaaaaay too shy anyways.

Ah, the good ole days of prepubescent crushes on them "older" girls! :cool:

They say that time heals all wounds. But, sometimes fresh ones get inflicted years later, like at 10 or 20-year reunions where you see how some of these hotties from decades past turn out! :yikes: Of course, on the flip side, some of other girls that flew under the radar in their younger days become VERY noticeable in their more mature guise! :cool:

[Rich-n-Texas]

Quit talkin' about that stuff!!! JERKS!!!:incazzato:

[Woochifer]

Another great video from YouTube. This is from a 1982 drumcorps show -- it's at the end where all the corps assemble together on the field and await the judges' scores. Normally, the drum majors will stand at attention in front of their corps. Well, the Velvet Knights, being the clown princes of the drumcorps circuit, had their drum majors just break out the lawn chairs along with a drink cooler and a palm tree. This video shows the drum majors from the Blue Devils (one of the elite corps and a perennial judges' favorite) actually playing along with the VKs. Pretty cool moment that you don't see anymore in drumcorps, now that all of the fun corps have left the top division.

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[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Another great video from YouTube. This is from a 1982 drumcorps show -- it's at the end where all the corps assemble together on the field and await the judges' scores. Normally, the drum majors will stand at attention in front of their corps. Well, the Velvet Knights, being the clown princes of the drumcorps circuit, had their drum majors just break out the lawn chairs along with a drink cooler and a palm tree. This video shows the drum majors from the Blue Devils (one of the elite corps and a perennial judges' favorite) actually playing along with the VKs. Pretty cool moment that you don't see anymore in drumcorps, now that all of the fun corps have left the top division.

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This is called Retreat, one of the most fun parts of the championship. I started a trend that turned into a tradition amoung the Cavaliers colorguard. I used to throw Jelly beans at the other corps members and turn away so they didn't know who threw it. Well, I got surprised in 1981 when a member of the 27th Lancers actually turned around and caught the jelly bean in his mouth! How did that dude know I was aiming for him? Since that year and every year afterwards Cavalier colorguard members throw Jelly beans at the other corps to see it they can catch them in their mouths. Its great fun when you are a kid!