Bossop

I was David's sixth grade teacher. When he was in my class, I had been out of drum corps for many years (and I thought, forever), and learned that he was in a Lancers' feeder corps. In honesty, I must admit that our opinions about school and its relevancy differed quite a bit, but I was thrilled when I got back into drum corps in 1991 and saw in 1992 that he was the drum major of the Cadets. I am proud of his accomplishments.

Fans of Classic Style Drum Corps, it's time to order your tickets for the annual Drum Corps Reunion Concert on November 19th, in historic Plymouth, MA. This years lineup features 8 great alumni corps plus the outstanding UMASS Amherst Marching Band. I am curious to see how the 300+ member band is going to fit into Memorial Hall. Check out the line up at www.usathanksgiving.com

I know there were no inspections in DCA in 1966. As a member of the Lt. Norman Prince Princemen, I enjoyed being free of this practice from my junior corps days.

I am looking for historical information about St. Joseph's Cadets of Newark, NJ to be used in a future article in Drum Corps World. Please E mail me at: artandmarykel@verizon.net Thanks, Art Kellerman

In 1962, I was blown away by the turquoise cadet uniforms of St. Rocco's from Brooklyn, NY. As a member of the Lt. Norman Prince "Princemen", I felt our uniform was the best among the senior corps of the day.

I'm very sorry to hear this news about PCP. As a member of the Crusaders Sr. Corps of Boston, I've seen them perform in many of the shows in which we have performed, and always enjoyed their showmanship and selection of music that was classic drum corps. And of course, I always got a kick out of their "sex cymbals" section. With PCP's decision, along with the Bridgemen's announcement that this would be their final year, things don't seem to bode well for the alumni corps activity. By my way of thinking, a generation for an alumni corps lasts about 10 years. If you can't recruit new members, the corps dies. My Crusaders are in its 25th year, and remains strong, but of our approximately 45 brass players, only about 8 were with the corps when it started in 1991. We were helped by an influx of folks from other alumni corps that folded. It seems that very few of today's kids want to go from a DCI corps to an alumni corps, for many reasons. So I guess we have to enjoy it while we can. But being realistic, I am not optimistic.

I believe that the Super Bowl will be played in Santa Clara. I was wondering if the corps will have any part in those festivities.

The Crusaders Sr. Corps would love to get recent age outs from the Boston Crusaders DCI corps, but we NEVER do. The fact is that most don't live in the Boston area, and today's drum corps kids have many musical options for them. I don't think alumni corps is an appealing option after they have competed at the top level of DCI. But a corps needs to replenish its membership to survive. Our first year in 1991, we had about 60 horns but attrition brought the number down to about 26. Now we are back up to about 50, of which only 7 or 8 are in the original group of 60. We have a full drum line of 19, and maybe one bass drummer was an original. One cymbal player was an original guard member. I don't think any guard members were original. We have had about 28 deaths over the years. We picked up some of our members from Light brigade and St. Kevins when those units broke up.

I will be in Basel Switzerland at the end of June, beginning of July of 2016 and was wondering if there are any performances of Top Secret Drum Corps at that time. Does anyone have their schedule?

The Crusaders Sr. Corps (BAC) will be there.

If you would like to also hear classic Crusader tunes like Havah Nigilah, California Dreamin', and the 1960's version of Conquest, tune into the Crusader Sr. corps. Old school drum corps is what we do. and Crusader fans can have their cake and eat it; enjoy the contemporary sounds of todays' corps, and yet take a trip down memory lane with us older folks.

Agreed, Belleville had very sharp uniforms. Others from the old days that I have always loved seeing were those of St. Rocco's of Brooklyn, and the Lt. Norman Prince "Princemen" of Boston. Also, many of the corps of that era either wore cadet style jackets like BAC (SKEK, MK, IC. Revere, St.Mary's of Beverly), or satin blouses like Blessed Sac, that looked sharp on the field. I actually liked the look of uniforms from that era better than today's.

I knew Chris was in the Royal Aires, but didn't know he was the soloist. Should be a fun time.

Different times, different feelings, but same great sounds from the past by both. The Crusaders Sr. Corps keeps the traditions and spirit of the old Boston Crusaders alive, but has its own identity. While striving to be the best alumni corps, we take pride in that we get along with everyone and are friendly with the other alumni corps. At this age bracket, though we may be competing in our heads, the units really are like one big family, sort of like extended cousins. Many members from Sac are from Massachusetts via the St. Kevins connection or even earlier. Some are former members of our corps or the junior Boston Crusaders. Many members of the two corps are friends. At the end of the show, all the units will join together as one big corps to play "Climb Every Mountain", which I understand was a standard of the Pittsfield Cavaliers. It should be a great time.

I meant that my post about the Alumni Show is revised from what I had originally posted.

Revised info:

I met him when my Crusaders Srs. traveled out to White Water for an alumni show about 15 years ago. The corps were going to play Old Lang Syne together in mass and we had a rehearsal to figure out the logistics. He was wearing all black with a cowboy hat and I was surprised when I learned how old he was. (Now I am about that age.) I was skeptical and thought I was being kidded. I asked him why his beard was so black. He said, because I dye it! He was a real drum corps character, and I am sorry to hear he has passed.

Thanks for the compliment. I think the uniforms do make us look younger, but make no mistake about it, they are not hand-me-downs from the BAC juniors. They are brand new, custom made for us.

Nicely done, Geof. A thoughtful analysis!

I followed the suggestion and ordered them on line. Actually the process was good in that one can see the actual location of each seat in the stands. So I have to take back my comments about poor service, but I still think when the web site provides a phone number to order tickets, someone should actually be there, or at least give an explanation. Thank you two guys for steering me in the right direction. Art

I really wanted to speak to a person because one member requested a low seat near the aisle, but I'll give it a try. But why offer a number for tickets when there is no one to service it? Makes no sense to me.

I called the number on the DCA web site to order tickets for the DCA Finals. I was hoping to order 25 tickets at $40 each for members of my corps. That's $1000 worth of tickets; nothing to sneeze at. When calling I got the message, "Thank you for holding. Someone will speak to you shortly." Well, I waited 35 minutes, and no one picked up the call. I tried two other times later in the day and waited, but no response. Not a very good way to run a business, DCA. If no one is available at this time, at least state the hours when tickets may be ordered. My corps is in Rochester to participate in the Alumni Spectacular. Perhaps we will find other entertainment other than drum corps that evening. Shame on you. Art Kellerman

I'm still here playing. It's still fun with a great bunch of people. Looking at the old photos, this is probably the third generation of the corps, with 23 years on the field. Don't know if it's true, but I heard if you make it to 25 years, you get to start all over.

In the old days of drum corps, most shows had a rain date. With today's tour schedules, that would be impossible. What happens when a show is completely cancelled in terms of the fans who bought tickets? Do they receive refunds, credit for next year's show, or just lose the money? Do the corps scheduled to appear receive some or all of the money to cover expenses?

The Crusaders Sr. Corps of Boston will be returning there after missing the last two years.