July 8, 2011E-mail blast

Page 2 � Drum Corps World � July 8, 2011 � E-mail Blast #2 � Our 40th Year!

June 26, 2011 -- Lisle, IL . . . The Cavaliers’ 28thannual “Cavalcade of Brass” moved to Benedictine

University this year due to theconstruction at their usual NorthCentral College venue in Naperville.Perfect weather and a great facilitygreeted enthusiastic fans. The“Green Machine” made it five victoriesin a row (after a season-openingsecond-place finish in Saginaw, TX),sweeping every caption and all butone of the sub-captions.

“XtraordinarY” is full of the usualsubtle and not-so-subtle Cavaliers theme clues. The“XY” suggestion -- an allusion to the all-male corps -- iscarried through body positioning, stick visuals, formationsand other effects.

Visually, the show has several highlights, most notablytwo drum features. The first, introduced in Saginaw, hastenor drummers playing upside down while being held byother corps members. Not to be outdone, the bassdrummers have added a segment where they lie stretchedout across their drums as they play. Both features drewexcited applause from the fans; one can only wonder whatthe snares have in store for us as the season progresses.

Members of the color guard walking on stilts providedanother interesting, if a bit puzzling, feature. Theconnection to the theme wasn't immediately obvious, butin all likelihood significant drill will be added for thestilt-walkers through the season.

Guard drill was some of the best of the evening, with awell-executed flag exchange toward the end capping offsome truly “extraordinary” moves. The flags also addedsignificant color, further augmenting the visual aspect.

Musically, the show worked well. The exceptions werethree sections of pre-recorded voice which were bothdistracting and sufficiently jumbled that the words werenot comprehensible. This was really the only significantdownside to a show that otherwise was the best of theevening.

Had this not been a Cavalier home show, undoubtedlyCarolina Crown would have been the hands-downfavorite with their show, “Rach Star.” The juxtapositioningof rock music with Rachmaninoff continues to delight thecrowd, and the theme takes this one over the top in termsof fan appeal. From the pre-show of We Will Rock You(Queen) to the Paganini closer, the music engaged fans

and fit surprisingly well. The early foreshadowing ofBohemian Rhapsody, revisited later in the show,harkened back to Crown’s 2004 show, anothergroundbreaking performance, if somewhat controversial atthe time.

Musically, some elements seemed a bit overlyelectronic and the keyboards were very prominentthroughout. Solos were very well-played for anearly-season show and one horn feature with the playerson their knees moving their horns in circles as they playedproduced an enjoyable sound effect, drawing applause.

Guard drill was exceptional at this show, highlighted bysome really precise and fast-moving flag work and a“guard solo” in which one of the members tossed a rifle,hugged another guard member and caught the riflebehind the other guard member’s back.

The “rock star” attitude of the corps, on displaythroughout, added further to the theme. The only slightexception were the pit “uniforms” (black t-shirts of varyingstyles) which, while fitting with the theme, didn’t carrymuch visual punch. Replacing these with recognizable“rock band” costumes (something like KISS wore) wouldadd visual appeal while maintaining the theme.

With the exception of Saginaw, outside Austin, TX,Crown has placed first or second in every show so far.The judges like them a great deal and the crowd likesthem even more. This show will continue to be a fanfavorite with recognizable music and refreshing approach.

The Blue Stars’ “ReBourne” show, featuring musicfrom “The Bourne Identity” and “Matrix” movies, took thirdplace in every sub-caption. Musically, the show featuredpowerful brass sections throughout, highlighted by a massformation at the front sideline in Treadstone Assassins.

The opener featured a considerable amount ofpre-recorded sound and at times the keyboards seemedto take over a bit. The sectionals in the closer added nicevariety. Several percussion features not only helpedconvey the movie themes, but added substantial punch.

Visually, the guard drill and uniform changes addedsignificantly. The ramps were a bit distracting and, placedas far forward as they were, seemed to cut off the field abit too much. Other than that, the corps and guard drillprovided considerable visual impact, carrying out thetheme effectively while maintaining a good balance withreadable formations and coherent movements.

Narrowly edging out the Troopers for fourth place wasGlassmen, with their show titled “My Mortal Beloved.”Musically, the show opened with a strong brass statementand featured good brass balance throughout. Thetrumpet solo in Moonlight Sonata had a bit of difficulty, butoverall the music was well-played, featuring numerousmelodious passages that the crowd appreciated. Onesection of amplifier feedback later in the show distracted abit from the overall favorable audio element.

The guard had a bit of difficulty with drops in theopener, but overall the section and drill was solid for anearly-season show. The guard “died” at the end of the

Homeshow win for Cavies at ‘Cavalcade’ showby Andrew Wheeler, Drum Corps World staff(wheelerand@sbcglobal.net)

Our 40th Year! � E-mail Blast #2 � July 8, 2011 � Drum Corps World � Page 3

opener, accenting the “mortal” theme. The powerful jamsession in the closer, accompanied by some of the bestflag work of the show, closed the production on a highnote.

The Troopers’ “The Road Home” finished justtwo-tenths behind Glassmen, besting the Toledo corps invisual and music effect, but lagging a bit in visual andmusic ensemble and brass performance.

A brown plastic “road” wound from the pit back to theright-side backfield, providing a visual cue referenced atseveral points. The brass “woke up” to pre-recorded bellsounds at the beginning. Brass was solid throughout,highlighted by an extended long note in the closer thatbrought applause from the fans. Two major marimbafeatures highlighted the front ensemble and provided realaudio highlights.

The drill was consistent, but not spectacular through theshow and felt like it wasn’t finished at the end. The showended with the corps “following theroad” back and playing to the back-field drum major. Overall this showwas steady, but didn’t draw the crowdin as much as some of the othershows tonight. It felt a bit like thecorps is searching for a new identity-- a search still in progress.

Pioneer’s “Celebrate” show tookthe field with 17 white and goldblinds used to outline the portion ofthe field where the corps wouldperform. Although the effect was abit overpowering at first, the blindsdidn’t get in the wayand weren’t adistraction as the showprogressed.

The production opened withone snare and the two drummajors visible, adding people oneat a time and then by groupsfrom behind the blinds. Theopening number featured somenice marimba work and a great brass sound, along withsome effective visuals by the cymbals.

Throughout, the bright brass sound carried the“Celebrate” theme well. The music fit and the brasssection seemed a bit ahead of normal for this time of theseason. Percussion also added to the show, especiallythe marimba line.

Guard work didn’t add much visual impact to the showand the guard costumes didn’t seem to fit the theme well.Much of the guard drill isn’t in yet, so this should improveas the season progresses.

The Colt Cadets’ “Notorious” show featured musicfrom several movies and ballets about notorious charac-ters, such as Billy the Kid, “The Godfather” movies andMutiny on the Bounty. Brass played well throughout, withone brief exception early in the closer when they seemed

a bit uncertain. Overall, both brass and percussion werestrong and well-balanced. Musical highlights wereFinale which featured a very nice trumpet solo, and theShostakovich closer.

Flag work, though not complete yet, was a real treatand the cymbals added nicely to the visual impact. Drilllooked good and surprisingly complete for this early.

Once again “domeless” this year, the “Chrome Domes,”otyherwise known as the Racine Scouts, opened theevening with their show, “Resurrection.” With only 18actual marching members (13 brass, four percussion, onecolor guard), the drill and formations were limited. Thecolor guard drill is not yet in for most of the show. Four“extra” members stood behind the three-person honorguard on the end line; perhaps they will be added into theshow as the season progresses.

The musical performance was surprisingly good for anearly-season show and such a small corps. With theexception of the second number, which seemed out of

balance, brass was strong from beginning toend, not tiring out as inprevious seasons. Ave Mariafeatured a really nice mellosolo and the second half ofthe show was particularlymelodic. The standstill closerwas an effective climax.

From a fan’s view,Benedictine University is agreat drum corps venue.Concessions were convenientlylocated and had good variety(as well as good food!).Restrooms were alsoconvenient, well-lit and clean,and seemed sufficient for thecrowd. The 20-row bleacherswere solid (so you couldn’t dropyour drink through) and featuredcomfortable chair-andbench-back seating. Thestadium faces West, so bring

sunglasses and a visor/cap.Featured prior to the show and between corps during

the first half were the Crystal Lake Strikers, a percussionunit from Crystal Lake, IL. Fans enjoyed theirparticipation and they kept the show moving betweencorps. The evening was rounded out by a specialappearance by the Classic Cavaliers and then an encorefrom The Cavaliers.

Overall, it would be hard to ask anything more out ofan evening of drum corps. A good lineup, great venueand perfect weather. Topping it all off was the showannouncer, Mike Kaplan (from ABC-7 in Chicago), whosebalance of humor and style blended perfectly whileleaving the spotlight on the corps. It's good to seeBenedictine back in the venue lineup. �

The Cavaliers, Rosemont, IL, 2011. (Photo by Jeff Hiott

Page 4 � Drum Corps World � July 8, 2011 � E-mail Blast #2 � Our 40th Year!

June 26, 2011 -- Old Bridge, NJ . . . What a luckynight for YEA! here in a location where drum corps

have often appeared in competition.Unlike other parts of the country, theygot a gorgeous night with no rain, agood crowd turnout for a Sundaynight and a very appreciative crowd tosee some great World and Openclass drum corps.

And while this may come as a bit ofa surprise to readers, a number ofpeople I spoke after the show told methese corps were much more creative

and exciting to watch than what they saw in the theatrepresentation.

The show started with the famed Bayonne BridgemenAlumni cranking up the audience to a fever pitch inpreparation for all the great corps to come. Bridge OverTroubled Waters shows the strengthof this group that stillgets audience up ontheir feet. Sincetomorrow is a workday,the group seemed a littlesmaller than usual. Butthe nice thing about theirfamous yellow coats isthat they make the grouplook much larger.

I also ran into to DennisDeLucia who had me takea picture of his daughterwho is marching bass 2with the group. Who knew?Bravo to the famedBayonne Bananas and con-grats to my old friend George Lavelle, their director, forre-upping his roll with the corps. As he told me, “Some-one has to keep this craziness going!” I can’t think ofanyone as crazy to do the job.

The Raiders have one of their strongest corps inyears. They are definitely larger than usual and quite a bitmore talented than in the past. They have a new home,having moved from Wayne to Burlington, NJ, which isfarther South, into the middle of the state. They are stillOpen Class and provide a much-needed introduction to

the wonderful world of competitive drum corps for newand experienced members alike.

A nice, solid 30-member brass sound and verycompetent percussion line produced an enjoyable show,called “Bluecentric,” and features Blue Shades, Bluesette;Rondo al la Turk and Rhapsody in Blue. There is nothingblue about this show other than the color of the uniformsand it is uplifting and in the groove where needed. Ofcourse, everyone relates to Rondo and Rhapsody in Blue-- those are always great piece to get the crowd into theshow. They are certainly on the right track.

Jersey Surf’s dark blue uniforms are quite a departurefrom their old light blue wave look. But wait until you seethe guard uniforms in gold with spiked head dresses rightout of an Atlantic City casino revue. They use whitefence-like props up-front which provided a good balanceto the other colors. There was some worry that the corpswas going to be light on horns this year, but you reallywould not know it to hear them. There are momentswhen the drum line overpowers the brass, but that willchange with time as the season goes on.

Being not far from home, the fans loved them and theyalso looked their best in years. The show is called “PetalTones” and features The Flower Song from “Carmen,”Bad Romance, Habanera from “Carmen,” Libertango,Kiss from a Rose, Tango de Roxanne from “MoulinRouge” and Toreador Song from “Carmen.”

Having watched them grow over the years, I think youare really going to be entertained.

There are some many greatmemories that the word Spirit bringsto mind. I remember 15 to 20 yearsago when the male guard memberssuddenly ripped of their shirts dur-ing the closer and the crowd wentnuts. I was disappointed in showsthe last couple of years that werenot as creative or as potent andnot as crowd-pleasing. Butpersonally, I was very excited tosee that they had returned toAtlanta. It just felt right to hearand say Spirit of Atlantainstead of Spirit of JSU.

They had some great years there,but what we saw tonight was a BIG step up from the lasttwo. They sound great from the first brass impact. WOW!This very creative show is called “ATL Confidential,”featuring a voice track explaining the private detectivestory as it unfolds. Their music is “A Tribute to Film Noire:Death at the Olympic from “Black Dahlia,” Love Themefrom “Chinatown,” Harlem Nocturne and Prelude from“On Dangerous Ground.”

The most evolved story of the corps tonight, the themeimmediately evokes story lines from Sam Spade, withoutthe San Francisco cable cars, or the Dixon Hill characterplayed by Captain Piccard on the “Star Trek” TV series.

Madison Scouts‘wow’ East fans atOld Bridge contestby Bob Fields, Drum Corps World staff(RFields25@AOL.com)

Bridgemen Alumni, Bayonne, NJ, 2011. (Photo by Patrick O’Toole)

Our 40th Year! � E-mail Blast #2 � July 8, 2011 � Drum Corps World � Page 5

Yes, there is a lady in red that the story revolves around.Harlem Nocturne is clearly the fan favorite of the show.

They sound great, but visually it was hard to see whatthey were doing unless you were in the judge’s boxlooking down. The culprit? Judge blockers on the fieldtwo feet taller than they needed to be. At one point wesaw a head on the number one side conducting frombehind the blockers . . . just the head . . . and she wasapparently standing up.

Musically the corps sounds fabulous, but standing onthe track getting to see the rest of the show was reallytough to do. Welcome back, Spirit! You are going to bebringing down the house with this very creative show!

Hey Crossmen fans,the Grove has returned.There were whispers allwinter that theCrossmen had returnedto what they do best --hazz! When they startedto announce the staffwith many of the bignames we saw thatwould help them do agreat jazz show, it wasclear they were serious.

“Renewal” is thewell-chosen name fortheir show, featuring:Episode-Prelude, Ursa Major, Spinning Wheel, Hallelujah,Back Home and Ursa Minor. What I noticed right from thestart is the blend and intonation of the brass line, perhapsin the arrangements or the strength of the players, but it ismuch-improved from the past.

If it sounds like a drum corps, it must be a drum corps.Something that was really missing from the past, theyhave a really hot, aggressive percussion line and a greatdrill, very active guard and perform so much better than ina number of years. Like so many others, I also bent theears of their management, talking about the corps losingits brand by changing to a style that would eventually startto lose their fan base.

When the subject of returning to jazz came up, onename kept being brought forward -- Chuck Naffier whohad written jazz pieces for the corps in the past. Althoughnot as well-known as some of the other arrangers, he isknown for his wonderful arrangements -- and in this casethe praise is well-deserved. Naffier played for and latertaught the Colts when were all about jazz. They wereknown for their excellent soloists and super shows. Asyou may have read in the past, my daughter, Leighann, ismarching her age-out year as guard captain and I’ll bedriving one of their vehicles from Allentown to Indy.

Her mom, Terry, is active in the Pennsylvania chapter ofthe Crossmen Alumni and marched with the corps back inthe 1970s. By the way, the Maltese cross in the show is agreat reminder of their heritage and appears very quickly

near the end. See if you can see it. The Boston Crusaders continue to be a crowd

favorite as well. In past years we have seen some verycreative shows, including 2010 when they placed a giantthrone on the 50-yard line to do a show I called “It’s Goodto be the King.” The whole production featured membersof the different sections striving to sit on the throne.

This year they have taken another direction with a showcalled “Revolution,” featuring many pieces from “LesMiserables” including: Do You Hear the People Sing, IDreamed a Dream, The Attack on Rue Plumet, On MyOwn, Bring Him Home, One Day More and finishing withthe “1812 Overture.” The “1812” theme is cleverly

blended at various spots. The corps just looks fabulous this year

and sounds very strong. At one point thefield is nearly empty while a baritonesoloist preps the upcoming charge fromthe left side and the right side goal lines ina battle scene. The total show is awell-put together package, but I just hadthe feeling there should be more oomph,more impact, more WOW moments. Iknow it will come, but in the meantime allthat red out there looks great and soundsvery good in a well-crafted and impressiveshow. They just need to find a way to getthe crowd into the mixture more.

I don’t think I was quite prepared forthe power of the horn line of the Madison Scouts. WOW!I was taking pictures on the track and had to look up whenI was surprised by the intensity. I believe I counted 20tubas, for instance!

This is not your past year’s Scouts. Their New York,New York theme proved to be just the right tune to fire upfans after a long night. And there many were at this show.The guard in business suits was sort of strange at first,but when it became apparent that they were dressed asbusiness men and that this show was about the buildingshit by the planes on September 11 in New York City, it allstarted to make sense very quickly.

I love the show featuring New York, New York from “Onthe Town,” Oh What a beautiful Morning from “Oklahoma,”New York Mourning, Requiem and Empire State of Mind.Everyone was able to relate to the sadness and what thecorps was portraying as they pointed up at buildings andthen watched in horror as they collapsed to the ground.

This show was not all that far from Ground Zero as it iscalled and I am sure that it evoked tears from people whoknew some who died there. The only negative was theamplified pit often covered up the soloists and wasgenerally too loud. It should certainly propel them up theladder as the season goes on. �

Raiders, Burlington, NJ, 2011. (Photo by Patrick O’Toole)

Cover photos: (top) Boston Crusaders (photo by Pat Chagnon);(middle row) Madison Scouts (Harry Heidelmark); Mandarins(Francesca DeMello); Blue Knights (DeMello); (bottom row) Spirit ofAtlanta (Moe Knox); Blue Devils C (DeMello), all from the 2011 season.

Page 6 � Drum Corps World � July 8, 2011 � E-mail Blast #2 � Our 40th Year!

July 1-2, 2011 -- Hillsboro, OR, and Sumner, WA . . .The DCI tour made its way through the Pacific

Northwest on the Independence Dayweekend. In addition to all threeNorthwest corps, this year’s lineupincluded Revolution, Blue Knightsand The Cadets.

The July 1 show was held inHillsboro Stadium, an excellent venuefor drum corps, and the July 2 showwas held in Sumner High School. Thiswas the first time since 2006 a showwas held in the Seattle area.

The youngest of the Northwest corps, SpokaneThunder, performed in competition for the first time thisseason. They are a bit smaller than in previous years(18H/10P/5CG/6 pit/2DM), still building from the 2009season hiatus. Their face-paced show, “DanceMovements,” is divided into three parts: an upbeatopening, a ballad and a variation of the can-can to end.

The small color guard had a few problems executing atthe Hillsboro show, but they recovered nicely for Sumner.Their season ends in just over two weeks, where they willentertain California audiences.

Revolution from San Antonio, TX (28H/15P/15CG/10pit/2DM), visited the Northwest for the first time ever.Their show is titled “Ride!” and it exploresdifferent modes of transportation as ametaphor for the journey through life. Thecolor guard uses tires to simulate a car andthen later they portray air flight.

The corps encounters turbulence duringthe percussion solo and the productionends with flags naming all of the cities theyhave performed or will perform at. “Indesigning the show, we wanted to try amore fan-friendly idea. We normally playdark music,” said Bill Clark, Revolution’smusic arranger. After two weeks ofperformances, their show is developingnicely and will undoubtedly please crowdsall season.

The Oregon Crusaders opened their2011 season with the biggest and best

corps they have ever fielded in their 12 seasons ofexistence. At 110 members strong (55H/21P/20CG/12pit/2DM), the Portland corps has a big sound and strongvisual presence. Their show is called “The Blue Hour”and it is roughly divided into three parts.

In the first part, Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata seguesinto the high-energy Blue Shades by Frank Ticheli. Themiddle section is a nice ballad and the show ends with abig, somewhat technical finish. In the visual program,the color guard explores different shades of blue throughtheir uniforms and flags.

Their musical encore performance after the Hillsboroshow demonstrated their musical power and skill.Overall, this show is more accessible than shows in therecent past and they will certainly be a force during DCIChampionship Week in Indianapolis.

In World Class competition, the local favorite Cascadesperformed a show titled “Pandora -- A Dark Gift” in theirnew uniforms. The corps uses nine cubes eachmeasuring 10 feet by 10 feet. The cube in the center isopaque and stretchable, but with holes, allowing forpeople and equipment to pass in and out. As theseason progresses, no doubt it will be used for a varietyof visual effects.

Musically, the corps performs original music by JoshHinkel and Chris Grant and My Immortal, following thethemes of curiosity, suffering and hope. The productionhas tremendous potential for visual and musicalstorytelling. As with the other Northwest corps, this firstperformance of the season for the Cascades is a goodsign of things to come.

After years of dark or abstract shows, the Blue Knightsfrom Denver, CO, continued the trend begun last year ofproducing much more accessible shows. This year’stheme consists of British music from the wind ensemblerepertoire. It is divided into three parts: First Suite in E forMilitary Band by Holst intertwined with English Folk SongSuite by Ralph Vaughan Williams, two Grainger pieces --Shepherd’s Hey and Molly on the Shore -- and a

Cadets, OregonCrusaders leadPacific NorthwestDCI competitionsby Donald Chinn, Drum Corps World staffdonald_chinn@yahoo.com

The Cadets, Allentown, PA, 2011. (Francesca DeMello)

slowly-developingpiece by RalphVaughan Williamscalled FiveVariants of Divesand Lazarus,culminating in areprise of theearlier musicalthemes.

The openingstatement of theFirst Suite,consisting of thefinal part of thepiece’s firstmovement, isspine-tingling andthe Graingersection isdelightful. Thecolor guard hasindividualizeduniforms with amodernizedmedieval look, utilizing earth tones. As more narrativeelements are added to the familiar music, the Blue Knightshave the potential to please a lot of fans this summer.

The Cadets performed their show titled “BetweenAngels and Demons.” While the color guard sets upduring the warmup, about half of the corps proper,dressed in cream uniforms, appears on the field. Onlylater in the warmup does the other half, dressed inmaroon uniforms, appear. The two halves represent theangels and demons in the show’s title.

Watching the show is a bit like watching two corps and

it is visually reminiscentof the 1987 Sky Ryders’“West Side Story” show(solid black, grey andwhite uniforms). From adesign point of view, thesplit corps makes forsome interestingchallenges staging drill.Toward the end of thefirst part of the show,the entire corps usessilver and gold poles fordramatic visual effects.In the second part, the“demons” playDoxology, while the“angels” play AmazingGrace, leading to anoverlaying of the twothemes. The showends in a Cadets-stylefinish with a big sound,a fast drill and churchbells.

In other news, Sal Leone has told the Cascades’ boardof directors he will be resigning as director at the end ofthe season. For many years Leone has been the gluethat binds the corps together. After putting the corps backon its feet after it was inactive in 2008, Leone feels thatthe organization is in a good position for the nextgeneration of instructors and administrators.

With over 250 young adults from the Northwestinvolved in this drum corps season and cooperationamong the corps for show revenue sharing, the prospectsfor growth of the activity in the area are good. �

Blue Knights, Denver, CO, 2011. (Photo by Francesca DeMello)

Check out our selection of historic products� Five history books on the activity� 210 different CDs, 1950-1980,

1250 performances, more than 350 different junior and senior corps

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