Imperial

I hear ya but if you'd please allow me to correct your Boston slang..... Wicked Pissa actually means really good

For me it wasn't a stadium at all. It was a hillside in Great Barrington, MA. We drove all the way out there to play to a hillside in 1977. I remember how ###### we were! LOL

Wow, If I recall correctly in the late 80's it was about 40,000 for DCI and 5 or 6k for DCA. Looks like my personal feeling of DCA having the staying power and the better business model is coming true. DCI has become a slavish, insular, fringe club with many unwritten design rules and clubby do's and don'ts, that if broken become competitive suicide. To me, this results in homogenization of the product. DCA is a more open, audience oriented product which encourages broader ranging, more audience oriented shows and material presented and package more as the original composers had indended them. All in the spirit of the original geneous that created them. DCA is also improving the quality and polish of their productions with each year. Lets see where it all is 10 more years hence.

Thanks for the support, Rich!!! That was very kind of you. John

The Imperials Drum and Bugle Corps, based on the South Shore of Massachusetts (south of Boston) is seeking a Director with the proper experience, drive, judgement and willpower to take the corps to the next level. Background: The Corps originally existed between 1965 and 1977 and was based out of Pembroke, MA. The corps was a New England powerhouse at its zenith and in 1974 was considered one of New England's strongest corps. One notable accomplishment of the corps was that it won the VFW Nats in 1973. My name is John Stark. I am the present Director and I hold this position based on the will of an elected Board of Directors. I can be voted out at any time. I've held this position since 2003. It was always my intention to someday turn the corps over to the right individual when the timing was right. My initial goal (in 2003), was to ressurrect the corps (after we held a successful reunion and the Alumni agreed to reorganize). That goal has been met. We now have a small but nice "all age" corps, which does parades, appearances and the occasional DCA Mini Corps Competition. Now, I feel we are ready for our second goal... that being turning what we have into a competitive DCA corps some day. Probably starting with Class A. This second goal is a tall order for anyone and I have always felt that only a younger person can pull it off because of the energy required. I'm approaching my 50th birthday and I am realistic enough to know that the corps is presently at the level that I can take it to, which isn't high enough. But I'm also mindful that I'm entrusted to maintain what we set out to create and I don't view the responsibility lightly. I won't turn this over to anyone I don't trust and have confidence in. Therefore I'm throwing this out to the Drum Corps community that we seek someone to run the corps day to day. I wish to remain involved in an advisory and support role. Have any of you ever wanted to start your own corps but didn't know how to take the first step? Well, what we offer here is the 2nd step. We've already done the hard part; the 1st step. We've laid the foundation of a corps. Anyone who has tried this can tell you that the odds are tough to even get a corps off the ground these days. Well, we have a corps. We have some equipment, a place to rehearse, a truck, no debt., a small but talented ensemble. It took more than persistence to get this. It also involved luck and some seed support from our alumni. Thankfully, our stars aligned somewhat. So, here is a chance for someone trustworthy and passionate about drum corps to take the baton and start running. Do you have what it takes? Here are the requirements: You must live within 60 minutes of the South Shore and have no plans for moving. You should have an unbridled enthusiasm for drum corps and see it as your life's passion. You must have either a musical background in corps (brass or percussion) or colorguard experience. Very good people skills and diplomacy is a must. Must have good references. We preffer you are the instructor type, who can assemble a quality staff which will help draw members. But also a business sense is important. You must be willing to build and grow the group into the ideal set forth by the B.O.D. and be willing to consider holding this position for a long time. You should be visonary and be able to spot potential, no matter in what form it is, from grooming talent to buying equipment. Must be willing to work with a B.O.D. and be accepting of whatever financial challenges present themselve's in the context of our debt free bylaws (this corps does not carry debt.) You must be willing to accept no pay, but if you can build the corps into an entity where you can pay yourself, that will be more than acceptable. You must demonstrate an enthusiasm for drum corps history and adopt -with passion- our goal of restoring the Imperials to drum corps glory. You must be willing to "bleed cranberry". Lastly, We are not in a hurry to make this move. We can remain in our present (parade corps) state indefinitely. We will take whatever time is required to make this move safely. But, if we find the right person sooner, rather than later, we will not hold back our plans to attempt to reach our long term goals. This most likely would be a situation where you come and teach, get involved for a while until the trust is built. For more information, please see our website: http://www.pembrokeimperials.org Thank you all, Sincerely, John. Please contact me via email: pathway500@yahoo.com

A great list for sure. Just a shout out to everyone.... We decided to stay close to home this year, as we are going through a growth spurt. We are gaining members who are mostly band musicians and are mostly young. Average age 16. We will take this year to get them in the know in the ways of drum corps. In addition we are finally creating "gravity" to attract a few drum corps people too. So, this season, we are doing parades to buy the extra equipment and uniforms needed for our somewhat larger size. We aim to come back to DCA in 2010!! Until then, we can be seen next at the Hingham, MA 4th of July Parade and the Franklin, MA 5th of July Parade!! Enjoy this season everyone!!! Imperials, South Shore, MA http://www.pembrokeimperials.org

Thanks, Guys!

Thanks so much CB! Please keep us in mind for Feb!

Thanks so much! All the best to you too!!!!

Ok, I've read all the posts in this thread and I feel I, my corps, and our experience over the last 6 years qualifies us to offer you some advice which may be of some worth to you. I think we are the closest model to your idea, in that we basically started over from scratch and dug a long dead corps out of the grave. Let me start with a comment and a question: 1. .Great... you have an idea.... a dream, maybe even a plan... Are you alone in this or do you have friends, former members or connections to actually propose something which would have traction? 2. How much funding do you have, or what potential do you have to generate funding? 2.a. Do you have a financial plan in place? 3. Members.... where would you draw from and who? 5. Drum Corps Species: What kind of "animal" is your corps to be? It seems you feel DCA all age has the best chance but from that, what kind of philosophy do you feel works best? 6. What's in a name? Probably everything if you are starting something entirely new. The right name could serve to attract, the wrong one could cause the whole idea to be stillborn. I feel if you can answer the above questions and have a solution to them... then you stand a chance. A chance. I can tell you from our experience that the path is full of land mines. It's not easy to start a corps. Death lurks around every corner. My corps, The Imperials, are a resurrection corps of a 1960's 70's junior corps. We have actually managed to get off the ground and so far we have avoided death but it's not easy. Sometimes I feel like the Wright brothers who have built this fragile plane that's barely off the ground, but the flight is tenuous and there is a sense that at any time we could wobble into a crash. We are a little steadier now, but it's only through stubborn determination that we haven't yet failed. I dont' mean to go on about us, I only tell this story so maybe you can use the info to your advantage. Here are some of the things which allowed our unlikely seed to start growing: We had an original corps and concept which had pretty good appeal in it's original form, so when we decided to reform, we felt the original concept and awards won had equity. We got to that stage because we had a reunion in 2002 which was successful. The idea of a reunion wasn't to start a corps but to just get together after 25 years of drum corps entombment. From that reunion that talk of resurrection started. So, we got some initial seed money and moral support from Alumni. That's all evaporated now but at least it got us off the ground. Our alumni -unlike lots of corps- didn't want to be back in the saddle and pick up equipment again. For whatever reason, they just didn't. They supported our efforts but we were left to our own devices to create a new corps. So we got to work, recruiting new people. That's been real tough, but we are finding ways to get it done. So, bringing back the name "Imperials" allowed us seed money because of the obvious sentimental angle with our alumni. I dont' believe our alumni would have ponied up the intitial seed money if we named ourselves "Mach 5" or something ! In addition, we created a board of dedicated people who just had no quit in them. We borrowed a motto "Failure is not an Option". I believe we still are walking the walk on that one. We also borrowed another motto: Conceive it, Believe it, Achieve it! That's a good one. Then we set about recruiting a handful of people. Barely enough to march down the street. We felt we needed a minimum of 6 horns, 1 snare one Quint and 3 bass. That was the toughest thing to do. It involved us writing endless emails, making calls to people we know, etc. It was cold calling salesmanship at it's finest. A tough job indeed. But much to our surprise, we realised that if you look hard enough, you will find dedicated people out there willing to give it a shot. They exist... but they are few and far between. It's like panning for gold.... 300 pans of sand will yield one gold nugget. We needed doers and starters, not fence sitters and the faint of heart. That is the hardest part... asking someone to dedicate themselves to a concept they are largely unfamiliar with. Lastly, goals. You need to set them, even if you don't acheieve them. I say keep your long term goals lofty but your short term expectations sober. We almost exploded into space on a number of occasions, but luckily, the sun came up the next day and everytime we did a gut check we learned that the inner core of the corps was intact. So, at least for us, here we are, 6 years into our resurrection with only modest results to show for it. We are no less proud of what we've done. We are still along way from where we want to be but at least we are still here. We are finally growing and growing with the quality people we want. We are stabilized, debt free and we own all we have. Even though we believe in ourselves, I sense the drum corps community is still skeptical about us. Now we have to convince them if we are to ever attract any of them. You know, the tradional drum corps nuts, over just music people off the streets who don't know much about drum corps. But, if you look at our site http://www.pembrokeimperials.org you'll see our latest picture taken 3/15/09. It is a picture of a tiny but talented and proud corps. Now it's time for us to grow. AGDrummer, If you think you can hang with this, then I applaud you. I just want to illuminate for you some of the trials and tribulations, obstructions, setbacks you may encounter. Sincerely, J Stark - Director, Imperials.

Hey now.... don't forget about us and Mass Brass!

Great! Any info on how my corps can become a member of MCA? http://www.pembrokeimperials.org

Nice parade today. Weather eventually cooperated. It was neat to see the Crusaders (Seniors), Defenders and Imperials all together again in the staging area!

In 79, Tom was teaching North Star.

Ah yes. That is correct. Thanks!

I was there the day of the finals and remember all those corps, or, should I say two days! I remember it fondly. What a long show. I remember it being hot around mid day and by afternoon there was a chill in the air, signaling another melancholy end to a drum corps season. But where was it? Bedford? Lowell? Wilmington? I can't recall.

Well, they are slightly northwest of Boston. We are directly south of it. You would come right through Boston, so, I hate to inform you that it would be an extra 25 minutes over Burlington. But check us out and email me if you wish. I can give you more particulars. email: pathway500@yahoo.com Thanks John

Hi again, we presently practice in Abington, MA. It's 20 miles south of Boston. We also compensate our members for parades.

Yes I agree, good people there. Very friendly and supportive to us. If you do wish to consider another all age corps, how about the Imperials? We are small but good and we are growing. Things are finally taking off for us. We are a little different in that our average age is younger. It's around 20 years old. We also have a minimal commitment. Probably the littlest interms of time committed http://www.pembrokeimperials.org Thanks! John Stark - Director

Still here, small but proud! :) Listening to all ideas! http://www.pembrokeimperials.org

Percussion Caption Head Wanted, For the Pembroke Imperials Drum & Bugle Corps, South Shore of Massachusetts. http://www.pemrokeimperials.org This is a paid position. The Imperials are moving forward in their quest to become a DCA field performing corps and are again seeking a self starting highly qualified and dedicated Percussion Caption Head for the upcoming 2009 season. We are looking for a program builder and not someone expecting to walk into a ready made situation. For this type of person it may present a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor of something exciting. Duties will include, being present at all rehearsals (2 times a week maximum in Summer, generally once a week in Winter/Spring), Teaching percussion technique using current Drum Corps Methods, Keeping equipment tuned, Administering all instruction and decisions regarding players and their abilities, Developing inexperienced players to integrate them into the line with experienced players, Developing a front pitted percussion ensemble. Candidate must have a background in Music, a Music Degree or commensurate Drum Corps training with a concentration on percussion and must understand the Drum Corps idiom. Candidate must have a passion for drum corps and a caring demeanor. Candidate must live in the Metro Boston Area Interested Candidates may contact John Stark, Corps Director, or email Resume to pathway500@yahoo.com This post has been edited by Imperial: Nov 15, 2008

The Pembroke Imperials (pembrokeimperials.org) Are going to be short snare players this weekend and are seeking an experienced snare to come in and do a 1.5 mile parade Saturday, June 28th in Braintree, MA at 9:30am. We will pay$55. We are only doing the street beat and Tiger of San Pedro. If interested, please contact John S. director at through the website http://www.pembrokeimperials.org We can get you sized for a uniform and get you the chart. Sincerely, John S. Imperials

"Are these minicorps returning in 2008? SoCal Dream Minicorps St. Kevin's Minicorps Carolina Gold Minicorps Imperials Minicorps" RE: Imperials Minicorps.... We plan on it!! http://www.pembrokeimperials.org

Dinkles offer great comfort at a great price. Our whole corps wears them. you can order them at http://www.pathwayproductions.biz

The Imperials do exist. Once active between 1965 and 1982, we reformed in 2003 and have appeared at the 2005 and 2007 mini corps comp. We have also logged dozens of parades and some public appearances dating back to 2004. For more info: http://www.pembrokeimperials.org We are sponsored by Pathway Productions, Products for the Marching Arts http://www.pathwayproductions.biz Oh, and BTW, We are in hot pursuit of a Percussion caption head!! Please spread the word. (We listed the job requirements in the Percussion Planet section.) Sincerely, John Stark - Director