DCW Feature Headlines

The best of both worlds

What a weekend it was! My wife Barbara and I had the unique opportunity to see several of the best drum corps in the world, from two distinct sides of the drum corps activity, on the very same weekend. I call it our “Best of Both Worlds Tour.” Here are some highlights of our weekend.

Our trip began on the morning of Saturday, August 1. Our destination was Scranton, PA, about a three-hour drive from our home in Baltimore. Well, okay, sometimes more like a four-hour drive, all depending on how much of Interstate 81 in Pennsylvania is under construction. Legend has it that there are two seasons in Pennsylvania -- winter and construction. This year, we encountered no delays in our northbound direction. Thank goodness for small miracles.

Scranton HS Stadium was the site of the all-age drum corps contest run by Drum Corps Associates and the local American Legion. I was the show’s public address announcer. As far as anyone knows, this was the first time in DCA history the top-six finishers from the previous year’s championship were on the same field for a regular-season show. It was a superb night for drum corps, with near-perfect weather. The defending DCA champion Reading Buccaneers rose to the occasion with a high-octane performance and took home yet another first-place trophy, turning aside challenges from the Connecticut Hurricanes, Minnesota Brass, Inc., Hawthorne Caballeros, Empire Statesmen and Bushwackers.

Aside from winning the past four DCA titles, the Bucs, through early August of this year, have not lost a competition since Labor Day weekend 2004. That was during George W. Bush’s first term as president. Think about that for a moment.

The Buccaneers have been on quite a roll, no doubt about it. Kudos to all

More...

  View DCW Archives

• Part 3: Evaluating Electronics -- Older fans, corps vets run range of reactions to new electronics

• Part 2: Evaluating electronics -- Members, other young people give electronics mixed reviews

• Part 1: Evaluating electronics -- Directors, designers see creative options, expense with electronics

• Catching up with the Glassmen . . . 10 years later!


What's In Store

Subscriptions Historic DVDs New Historic CDs History Books DCA DVDs and Videotapes Richmond / Wateska Historic CDs Current CDs Historic Records Back Issues Back Issues

DCW Sponsors
banner_drillmasters

Click on any of these banner advertisements or logos to be taken to one of our sponsors' websites
Holy Name Cadets returned to roots for diamond anniversary
History called for 2009 to be a monumental year for The Cadets -- whether it’s the Holy Name, Garfield, Bergen County or contemporary variety. That’s because the nation’s second-longest continually operating junior drum corps -- and one of its most decorated -- is celebrating its 75th anniversary.

More than 4,000 men and women have marched with the Cadets and the organization has planned quite the birthday party for its alumni at the “Cadets Summer Diamond Bash” on Saturday, August 1, in Montclair, NJ. The celebration and concert at Montclair State University, just minutes from the corps’ birthplace in Garfield, will be part of a series of weekend festivities that includes the corps’ Giants Stadium drum corps show the following day.

John Baumfalk, a 91-year-old founding member and first drum major, will make the trip from his California home to be an honored guest at the celebration. Cadets Director George Hopkins credits Baumfalk with beginning what the Holy Name Cadets are today.

And Hopkins wanted to make the anniversary a more spiritual experience for all those who have come before by returning the corps to its original Holy Name moniker this summer.

“That was my idea just in terms of a tribute, I think, to all the people who made this happen -- and not just the corps that won,” Hopkins said. “That’s one of the things that annoys me a little bit about our activity. You know, everybody wants to recognize the 19 Cadet corps that have won, but what about the 56 corps that didn’t? Without them, we wouldn’t be here.”

The special, one-year reinstatement of the name Holy Name Cadets was just the start of Hopkins’ anniversary contribution. Dave Shaw, a baritone for the Cadets from 1950-1958 and who then served three different stints on the corps staff, says Hopkins has energized the alumni behind the celebration.

“They’ve come out of the walls all over  

More...

Drum corps is different,
in the same old way
Recently, I was asked to attend the DCI West Championship held in Stanford Stadium. First, I was asked to attend as a guest, but at the last moment that was changed. I was contacted by a friend and informed that circumstances would not allow her to make the trip. I thought I was off the hook since I, too, had decided not to go. WRONG!

She asked me to go and instead provide her a perspective of someone who has been out of the activity for a long time. I agreed to do it and was off.

About 10 hours later, there I was, like “Alice in Wonderland,” at a drum corps show. I had only attended a few local shows in the last 19 years, so this was big stuff for me. The Stanford campus probably has a geographic footprint bigger than the town I live in now. It was both overwhelming and awe-inspiring for me. But, the long and the short of it, the experience would only last for a few hours.

The one thing I hadn’t taken into account was the heat wave that struck California that weekend, soaring into triple-digits. Realizing I couldn’t do what was asked of me from the confines of my air-conditioned car, and anticipating that things could only get worse with health being an issue, I turned around and returned home.

I made that trip back home agonizing about what I would say to my friend and wondering what would be her reaction. When we did make contact, I was very happy, though not fully surprised that she was totally understanding of the whys and wherefores of the weekend. She was willing to forgive me . . . with one small proviso. She changed my assignment by asking me to comment about the differences in the activity in my  

More...

What do drum corps and Iraqi war veterans have in common?
In Dallas on the weekend of July 17, I had the opportunity to experience what makes America great and separates us from all the other countries in the world, at least in my opinion. I work for a chartered transportation company, Wynne MotorCoaches, LLC, which is enjoying the privilege of providing chartered transportation services for several DCI drum corps during the 2009 competition season.

Last year, we were fortunate to be asked to provide transportation services for the Bell Helicopter -- Armed Forces Bowl, which is held in Fort Worth, TX, at Texas Christian University’s (TCU) Amon Carter Stadium. In particular, we were asked to transport returning soldiers and families from Ft. Hood and Brooks Army Medical Center in Texas to the football game. For those who don’t know, Brooks is where the most seriously burned soldiers receive their care. During this project, we met Mike Nashif of the Combat Warrior Crisis Network (http://www.combatwarriorcrisisnetwork.org).

Mike is a decorated vet, returning from the Iraqi conflict. In talking with Mike, we discovered that he and several other returning vets had started the CWCN for the sole purpose of re-integrating or transitioning the frontline guardians of America from a war environment into everyday life. Two of the CWCN sister organizations are “Take a Soldier Fishing” and “Take a Soldier Hunting.”

After our meeting, our team at Wynne adopted CWCN at the company’s “pet” charity. During the last eight months, we have moved hundreds of returning vets and their families to multiple venues, from fishing at Marble Falls, TX, to last year’s TCU vs. Texas football game in Austin, TX.

As Wynne became more involved with different Drum Corps International units, I became more convinced that a drum corps competition was a perfect  

More...


ScorpsBoard
 10/03/2009
 Coventry, Warwickshire, U.K., BYBA Championships (BYBA)

Division 1
Trinity School Show Band, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, 82.440
6th Hove Scouts, Hove, Sussex 81.670
37th Kingswood Scouts, Kingswood, Avon 77.170
East Coast Elite, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire 73.110
Phantom Knights, Nuneaton, Warwickshire 69.830

Associate
Northern Star, Pudsey, West Yorkshire 89.290
Poynton Commodores, Stockport, Cheshire, U.K. 78.720
Black Knights, Gravesend, Kent 75.890
Cheshire Scouts, Warrington, Cheshire 70.830

Division 2
Revolution Show Corps, Bradford, West Yorkshire 81.830
Warwick Girls, Warwick, Warwickshire 80.280
Upton Youth Band, Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire 79.500
1st Ibstock Scouts, Ibstock, Leicestershire 73.280
Beeches Cadets, Birmingham, West Midlands 73.110
Pacemakers, Swanley, Kent 69.000
Stafford Lancers, Stafford, Staffordshire 65.830

Division 3
Lanesfield Boys/Girls Brigade, Bilston, West Midlands 76.610
Phoenix Rising, Dublin, Ireland 76.110
DS Drum & Bugle Corps, Donisthorpe, Leicestershire 73.330
Liberty Drum Corps, Duston, Northamptonshire 71.280
4th Uckfield Holy Cross Band, Uckfield, East Sussex 68.330
Halifax Boys/Girls Brigade, Halifax, West Yorkshire 68.110
Coseley Comets, Bilston, West Midlands 66.330
Equinox, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire 63.170
Downsmen Corps, Crowborough, East Sussex 62.110
Stafford Brigades, Stafford, Staffordshire 57.720

Juniors
Cadence, Reading, Berkshire 81.220
Blazing Brass, Dartford, Kent 64.940

Cadets
37th Kingswood Cadets, Kingswood, Avon 74.000
Upton Youth Band Cadets, Upton-upon-Severn, Worchestershire 67.000
Black Knights Cadets, Gravesend, Kent 64.000
Equinox Cadets, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire 61.000

 9/26/2009
 Kerkrade, The Netherlands (DCE) Drum Corps Europe Championship

Open class finals
Jubal, Dordrecht, Holland 90.150
Kidsgrove Scouts, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, U.K. 89.400
Senators, Eastleigh, Hampshire, U.K. 88.550
Juliana, Middelburg, Holland 85.300
Northern Star, Pudsey, West Yorkshire, U.K. 84.000
Beatrix, Hilversum, Holland 82.650
Millenium, Verdullo, Italy 74.050
Poynton Commodores, Stockport, Cheshire, U.K. 72.800
Starriders, Bad Munder, Germany 70.650
Black Knight, Gravesend, Kent, U.K. 68.350

Cadet class finals
Jong Jubal, Dordrecht, Holland 83.700
Jong Beatrix, Hilversum, Holland 81.700
Johan Friso, Middelburg, Holland 76.500
Confetti, Goes, Holland 67.100
Jong Avalance, Vlaardingen, Holland 61.400

Open class prelims
Kidsgrove Scouts, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, U.K. 88.400
Jubal, Dordrecht, Holland 87.050
Senators, Eastleigh, Hampshire, U.K. 86.750
Juliana, Middelburg, Holland 84.450
Beatrix, Hilversum, Holland 84.150
Northern Star, Pudsey, West Yorkshire, U.K. 83.330
Millenium, Verdullo, Italy 73.600
Poynton Commodores, Stockport, Cheshire, U.K. 72.900
Starriders, Bad Munder, Germany 71.700
Black Knights, Gravesend, Kent, U.K. 68.050
Besana, Besana, Italy 63.350
6th Hove Scouts, Hove, Sussex, U.K. 62.150
Heartliner, Ludwigshafen, Germany 58.500
Federatie Band, The Hague, Holland 56.550

 9/20/2009
 Coventry, U.K. (BYBA)

Division 1
6th Hove Scouts, Hove, Sussex 73.720
Trinity School Band, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire 73.330
East Coast Elite, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire 72.330
Phantom Knights, Nuneaton, Warwickshire 67.000

Associate
Black Knights, Gravesend, Kent 72.830
Cheshire Cadets, Warrington, Cheshire 68.940
Staffordshire Knights, Stafford, Staffordshire 67.170

Division 2
Revolution Show Corps, Bradford, West Yorkshire 72.560
Upton Youth Band, Upton-upon-Severn, Warwickshire 72.000
Warwick Girls, Warwick, Warwickshire 71.110
Pacemakers, Swanley, Kent 66.000
1st Ibstock Scouts, Ibstock, Leicestershire 65.720
Beeches Cadets, Birmingham, West Midlands 65.060
Stafford Lancers, Stafford, Staffordshire 57.220

Division 3
Lanesfield Boys/Girls Brigade, Bilston, West Midlands 65.440
Halifax Boys/Girls Brigade, Halifax, West Yorkshire 65.170
Liberty Drum Corps, Duston, Northampton 63.440
Doncaster Scouts, Doncaster, South Yorkshire 62.560
4th Uckfield, Uckfield, East Sussex 62.390
Coseley Comets, Bilston, West Midlands 72.220
Equinox Drum & Bugle Corps, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire 58.110
Stafford Brigades, Stafford, Staffordshire 57.110

Cadets
Equinox Cadets, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire 75.000
Upton Cadets, Upton-upon-Severn, Worchestershire 71.000

 9/19/2009
 Mansfield, U.K. (DCUK) 30th DCUK Championship

Open class finals
Kidsgrove Scouts, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire 86.050
Senators, Eastleigh, Hampshire 84.100
Northern Star, Pudsey, West Yorkshire 81.650
Poynton Commodores, Stockport, Cheshire 73.330
Trinity School Band, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire 70.350
37th Kingswood Scouts, Kingston, Avon 69.500
Black Knights, Gravesend, Kent 67.300
Cheshire Cadets, Warrington, Cheshire 64.850

Class A finals
Staffordshire Knights, Stafford, Staffordshire 63.450
6th Hove Scouts, Hove, Sussex 60.550
Pacemakers, Swanley, Kent 51.750
Atherstone Scouts, Atherstone, Warwickshire 48.850

Junior corps
6th Hove Scouts Cadets, Hove, Sussex 59.600
Kidsgrove Juniors, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire 58.400
37th Kingswood Cadets, Kingswood, Avon 52.950
Black Knight Cadets, Gravesend, Kent 50.150
Concord All-Stars, Sheffield, South Yorkshire 42.600
 View all 2008 scores
 View all 2007 scores
 View all 2006 scores
 View all 2005 scores
 View all 2004 scores
 View all 2003 scores