A Drum Corps Experience

This past summer I attended a drum corps show in Concord, CA. My wife Edie, granddaughter Madison and I found our seats on the 50 yard line, about 15 rows up. The track was not too wide and the field felt very accessible from our vantage point.

It reminded me of a performance I once saw of the Casper Troopers in 1966 at the Gaelic Park field in the Bronx, NY. The sideline was no more than two feet from the stands. You could quite literally almost reach out and touch them.

We were attending the show in Concord to observe our grandson Timmy as he performed with the Blue Devil C corps for his second year. Our granddaughter Katelyn was also involved in the evening’s festivities. Katelyn was teaching the C corps color guard.

The first corps to take the field was the Watchmen from Southern California. This was to be our first viewing of the corps. My initial impression was that someone knew what they were doing. They had cared enough to instill a sense of discipline regarding how these young people went about doing what they were doing. The corps displayed a consistent quality of control over the sounds and movements of their show. Best of all, the amplification system was used in a tasteful way.

Next up was the Blue Devils C corps. Their show is all about air travel. The guard is dressed as the cutest little flight attendants (​photo above, Russell Tanakaya) you could imagine. This year’s prop was a 40-yard-wide airliner aimed at the audience, complete with four giant propellers. I was so proud to see Timmy, at only 10 years old, looking like he was born with a horn in his hands, marching a complicated drill with a beautiful sense of posture and self control. The music and the program of brass instruction is all written by his uncle John, who heads up the brass programs for the Blue Devil A, B and C corps.

This was the first time in many years I had watched a drum corps show from down close to the field. It is a whole different game when you can see the faces, feel their excitement and watch their young minds at work. It felt like drum corps without all the hoopla. Up close and personal.

It brought back memories of when I was a kid out there, learning what it meant to be locked into a do or die situation where everyone was counting on everyone else to do their job the best they can . . . and that included me. In some way I recall feeling that everyone was watching me, that I was completely exposed, but also that I had full control of the moment and there was nothing to fear.

I often wonder if I could have done back in the 1950s what I see these kids do today. I wonder how different my life would have been if I had learned what these lucky individuals are learning now. They are learning to control themselves, their minds, their bodies and their emotions in ways that nothing else teaches.

Like it or not, drum corps is a fascinating experience, whether you are a fan, instructor or performer.

God bless drum corps!