Featured Columns
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Written by Bob Fields - Drum Corps World Staff
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Thursday, 21 August 2008 |
Blue Devils Return to West Chester for another win!
July 31, 2008 -- West Chester PA . . . My first trip to this old stadium at West Chester University was in 1976, traveling with the Blue Devils, writing as a younger reporter for the Concord Transcript Newspaper. By the time I returned home, I had a new nickname, Clark Kent, and a new love for this West Coast corps.
Through the years, I have driven buses for them, served on show committees, done PR, worked at camps and developed a real love for the “Blue Crew”. So my spirits were high when I relived those early days and at the same time marveled at how far this corps had come since their first win back in the 1970s.
Only my meeting and marrying a Pennsylvania Crossmen girl has kept me from continuing to support this corps in California since we moved to this area to have our daughter Leighann who is now a fifth year Crossmen guard member. |
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Written by Cozy Baker
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Thursday, 14 August 2008 |
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 "That group we had our fingers crossed on...They won it!"
~ Sofia Carr, 8 years old Driving through Nashville, IN, antique capital of the Corn Belt, corps nuts were contemplating cutting edge drum corps, not antiquity. Yet, Phantom Regiment's "Spartacus" sure racked up colossal numbers in the points column to win OUTRIGHT the DCInternational Championships in World Class. I had an urge to watch an old Kirk Douglas movie sipping a Pepsi. The Indiana University stadium had an eerie resemblance to the Roman Coliseum with the unfinished construction to add seating to make the stadium resemble the original Horseshoe at Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. Arriving early on Wednesday, I checked out the stadium with its brand new lights and dropped my chin chops upon peering down on the spanking brand new yard-lined carpet. You'd think the old turf disappeared into a sinkhole. Who Cooked up this new recycled tire field so rapidly? The stadium is the star of Indiana, built by a crew of fine masons. After Phantom won, I overheard a little girl on a cell phone jabbering faster than a boxer sweating at a speed bag. Sofia Carr, 8, told her cell mate, "That group that we had our fingers crossed on -- Yeah, them -- They won it! Blue Devils won that other thing the other night, and I think Phantom was second." |
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Written by William Aldrich-Thorpe - Drum Corps World Staff
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Wednesday, 13 August 2008 |
Phantom Holds Off a Surging Crown and Talking Cadets
August 2, 2008 -- Allentown, PA . . . What a fantastic two evenings of drum corps! This day two of the DCI Eastern Classic pitted a surging Carolina Crown, group that has bested The Cadets in a recent show and is now focusing their attention on the Phantom Regiment. It was not to be this evening, but it was only four tenths away. Santa Clara was welcomed into the 90s club this evening and other fights for placement also happened with the Colts over Spirit by a very narrow margin of two tenths.
But the real winners tonight were the fans in attendance as they were treated to some of the best that the drum and bugle idiom could provide. It was simple a fantastic two evenings that were truly magical.
Phantom Regiment took to the field in their “Spartacus- themed persona. At the beginning it was four slave color guard members pushing a large podium while Drum Major Will Pitts stood arrogantly on top with arms folded, looking imperialistic. Meanwhile, a large contingent of brass members pushed, dragged and beat the other slave guard members onto the field, forcing them to prepare the field properly while the rest of the brass contingent goose-stepped along the backfield. It was all so appropriate and set the tone of the show from the moment the corps is seen by the audience. You simply could not take your eyes off the procession. |
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Written by Gary J. Dickelman - Drum Corps World Staff
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Tuesday, 12 August 2008 |
DCI East Reveals Bloomington Battleground
Allentown, PA -- August 1, 2008 . . . The first evening of August proved to be warm, pleasant and chock full of excitement for drum corps fans at the first night of DCI East. This night, and the one that followed, proved to set the stage for next week’s battle for the DCI World Championship title in Bloomington, IN, in many exciting ways. The top contenders, in my view, are Cavaliers, Carolina Crown, Phantom Regiment and Blue Devils. Contention for the next tier of placements is likely to include Santa Clara Vanguard, Cadets and Bluecoats. Plus there are a host of exciting shows to fill the remaining finals spots, most notably Boston Crusaders, Glassmen, Blue Stars and Crossmen.
But on the first night we were treated to Open Class and World Class competition, the former showing the perennially-strong Jersey Surf taking top spot, with Beatrix (Netherlands) the runner-up – and underscoring that DCI is, indeed, international. Too bad there were not more competitors in Open Class. The state of affairs around the incredibly shrinking activity is disconcerting, to say the least. So BIG kudos to Jersey Surf and their “So Far” show, which clearly reveals the fruits of a long, exciting journey. |
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Written by William Aldrich-Thorpe - Drum Corps World Staff
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Friday, 08 August 2008 |
Crown defeats Cadets to win “Drum Corps in Fauquier” show
July 30, 2008 -- Warrenton, VA . . . Carolina Crown once again bested The Cadets this evening by the narrow of margin of only sixth tenths of a point. Even in this close-scoring show, Crown took most of the major captions, with the exception of Visual GE and Ensemble Visual, which went to The Cadets.
There were several other battles also waged between Glassmen and the Blue Knights, with only a half of a tenth between them. Another contest was between the Crossmen and Colts, where the separation was only a tenth of a point.
Teal Sound was the only Open Class corps and they took home the gold medal with an exciting production.
It was a very warm evening, with everyone feeling a little uncomfortable as they waited patiently for the show to begin. Once the U.S. Marine Drum and Bugle Corps took the field, that uncomfortable feeling simply evaporated (but not, unfortunately, the sweat). |
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