Powderkeg

Just brokeout my copies of Drum Corps News from that era and I stand corrected. It says right in the article that all corps did their full shows for prelims. I guess we really cranked it up for finals. Thanks for pointing that out!!

I was a member of the Anaheim Kingsmen from 1970 to 1972 and was on the field that night. This is a classic example of the old game where you whisper something into someone's ear and it goes around and around and the person at the end shouts out something that is completely different than what was originally said. What happened was that the Anaheim Kingsmen had a management shakeup a few weeks before tour and Don Porter the Anaheim Kingsmen Corps Director and founder was forced out. What followed was chaos and turmoil with the corps nearly folding. In a nutshell the Kingsmen hosted the Santa Clara Vanguard and the La Crosse Blue Stars in Southern California in late June with only two thirds of the drill finshed. Got clobbered by several points by both of them. We left on an eastern tour with 27 and did not see SCV or Blue Stars again until DCI. The Kingsmen had a tremendous amount of catching up to do and practiced long into the night and even after shows. At DCI we did take third in prelims to SCV and the Blue Stars. It was not a major concern because in those days prelims was your show condensed into five to seven minutes. For most corps it meant dropping the standstill type concert piece. For the Kingsmen the concert (Ritual Fire Dance) was a barn burner, and we played it cleanly so there were only a few additional ticks. Or to put it another way our score was skewed torwards the finals show since we did not absorb very many ticks in the concert. Our finals performance was our best of the year and we were just "on" that night. I might also add that Santa Clara (in a very rare showing) did not put on their best performance of the season. At retreat all corps formed on the field for the annoucement of the scores. With the rain coming down the announcer did not wait for the drum major to step forward and collect the trophy, he just read off the scores as fast as he could. If I recall it correctly at about the eighth place point it began to rain extremely hard. All of the corps ran for cover. As I was running up the back grassy area of Warhawk Stadium I heard 27 taking fourth and I thought I heard that SCV had taken third but was not sure. As we got on the busses as was stated already I did not know who won. And it is correct that other corps members did come by in the pouring rain to congratulate us. When the rain subsided I got off the bus and walked around the parking lot for a few minutes kind of taking it in. We did have new uniforms issued the night before CYO. It turned out since the company that made them was in New England it was cheaper to receive them in Boston than to ship them to California. Uniforms getting wet did not factor into the decision to leave the field.....it was raining so hard that everyone left the field. The final show of the tour was the following night at the Wisconsin State Fair at West Allis. It took place in front of the grandstands on an auto race track. It was dubbed the demolition derby and I believe the Blue Stars won it. Everyone had to modify their drill to fit what was effectively a half field front to back and march on asphalt. A few years back an audio recording surfaced of the scores being read at the 1972 DCI finals. It is posted on the Kingsmen Alumni website and the link is..... http://xkingsmen.com/sites/default/files/mp3/72finalsscores.mp3 If you are interested in a photo of the retreat in 1972 prior to the rain it can be found at.... http://xkingsmen.com/content/1972-kingsmen-2 Look for photo number 29 of 43 which is on page 5. From right to left it is the Anaheim Kingsmen, Argonne Rebels, Casper Troopers, and I believe the Chicago Cavaliers. Not sure who is after that. And lastly with respect to the question of having the scores read, it was mentioned a few years back when the Kingsmen reformed for the 2007 finals at the Rose Bowl. The thought was to play the recording above of the 1972 scores and formally present the Kingsmen with the championship trophy following our alumni corps performance. I served on the board of directors for the Kingsmen Alumni Corps and the whole idea never seemed to have legs and it was shelved. As a side note there were about thirty of the 108 members from 1972 that performed with the Kingsmen Alumni Corps that night. The Kingsmen of 1972 was a life long lesson for anyone who was a part of it. From where we started nearly folding, and working our tails off to come back not only to make finals at DCI, but to win it is the stuff of lore. Keith

The Kingsmen Drum Major was Earl (The Pearl) Douglas. And everything that Jesse stated is correct.

The retreat issues as I recall began back in the era when they hosted back to back championships (96, 97, and 98?) in Orlando. It was then that I noticed that it was suddenly OK to have the staff, bus drivers, cooks, and everyone else for that matter hang out in the back of the field while the scores were announced. Over a period of a couple of years there was a transition from the corps members only on the field to a small army which in turn caused disorganization and delayed the corps from exiting the field in a timely manner. Eliminating the corps playing one last piece of music whether it be SCV "Clowns," Madison "You'll never Walk Alone," Phantom "Amazing Grace," or whatever, as I see it was a way to cut the program short, when keeping order and removing those from the field that did not belong there in the first place was the true solution. Looking back this was a major mistake, and took away a sense of nostalgia, along with a tremendous marketing opportunity for not only the corps members, but the fans. The last finals that I recall done right was 1994 in Boston when they closed the season out with the 27th Lancer alumni corps on finals night. It was the last of DCI (along with George Bonfiglio) truly understanding how to market the activity to the masses. As I recall Drum Corps World's championship edition had the headline "Blue Devils win DCI, 27th Lancers Alumni steal the show." It was a night for all drum corps fans young and old. Those of us that were in the stands will never forget it. It was in a great drum corps town, and was a welcome relief from the disaster in Jackson Mississippi the previous year. This year was cheesy and has brought DCI one step closer to the band activity. It has also made it painfully obvious to me just how out of tune DCI is with the fans, and how far off the track DCI is. Sorry state of affairs if you ask me.

All of us carry memories of drum corps with us for the rest of our lives. One of my fondest was 1971 World Open at the Manning Bowl. I had heard of the east coast crowds and their fanaticism with Drum Corps. Nothing could have prepared me for when I filed into the stadium as a member of the Anaheim Kingsmen. I glanced around and realized that the entire place was sold out. People on the back sides and the end zones. They were even standing in the aisles. At retreat we were told to remove our black plumes and chest buckles to prevent them from being taken by the fans as souvenirs. That night my perspective on drum corps changed forever. What a crowd. Just great times.

Left to right for the history buffs. Tom Float (DCI HOF) Michael Ellerby Mike Hubbard Terry Walker Ralph Hardimon (DCI HOF) Interesting photo since the snare line usually had Tom Float and Ralph Hardimon side by side in the center.

Over thirty years later it still ranks as one of the best drum corps photos ever taken. Thanks to Moe Knox.

3 solo soprano 6 lead soprano 6 second soprano 6 third soprano 3 mellophone 3 french horn 4 first baritone 4 second baritone 4 third baritone 3 contrabass Total 42 We were the smallest horn line in the top twelve that year and also the smallest line to ever win the title. Total membership was 108 including 10 rifles.

This picture was taken during the Mickey Mouse March. Yes they are getting ready to spin in different directions. My sister is the rifle on the right in the photo.

The new uniforms were issued earlier in the 1972 season and there was always a problem with the black dye from the Shako plumes running when they were wet so everyone took the plumes off and put them inside the cadet jacket when the sprinkling started during retreat. Moments later when it became a full fledged downpour, all of the corps (Kingsmen included) ran for cover. We ended up on the busses because the Kingsmen were one of very few corps that did not stay in the dorms on campus. It is true that we had no idea who won until members from other corps began coming by and yelling congratulatory comments at us. I believe most of us felt we would be second behind Santa Clara. There was another show the following night. It was the now infamous "Race Track" show at the Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis. They literally held a show on a stock car race track in front of the grandstands at the fair. The field if you want to call it that was 100 yrads long, but only about half as deep as a traditional football field. So going front to back everyone took half steps. It was a mess. The drum major from 1972 was Jim Good. He marched with the Lynwood Diplomats prior to joining the Kingsmen in 1972. Now living in the Memphis area, he was present at the June 2006 camp and subsequent debut performance in Walnut, California, but did not take the field at the Rose Bowl. The lead drum major at the Rose Bowl Was Gary (Garrison) Kean who was one of two drum majors in 1973 and 1974. The other seven were: Don Hertel 1969 Rex Hall 1970 Dave Bandy 1974 Andre Mason 1977-1978 Eddie Turner 1978 Dave Weinberg 1976-78 (Soprano) Charlie Iwananga (SCV - Never marched Kingsmen)

There were 287 members altogether. It turned out to be the same number that 27th marched in 1994 although it was not planned that way. The drill was written for 300. We had a few members who dropped out here and there and a rifle spot that was occupied by two different people and both of them were injured outside of the drum corps and had to drop out. If I remember correctly of the 13 open spots two were rifles (23 vs 25), two were contras (23 vs 25), two were baritones (48 vs 50), one snare (15 vs 16) two tenors (10 vs 12), two bass drum (10 vs 12) and two flags (Coast Guard and one other). Here is the breakdown by section: 46 Sopranos including about a half dozen who played B-Flat trumpets 15 Mellophones 1 Alto 16 French Horns 48 Baritones 23 Contras 23 Rifles 32 flags 4 Nationals 12 Honor Guard 15 Snares 10 Tenors 10 Cymbals 10 Bass Drum 5 marching tympani 2 marching xylophone 5 pit 8 drum majors 1 color guard captain The members came from 11 states and Canada. The furthest member from Anaheim lived in Connecticut. Approxmately 80% of the members marched in the Kingsmen at one point in their drum corps careers. There were also about a dozen who were a part of the 1975 corps which folded a month before tour. The oldest member was 81. The youngest member was the daughter of one of the Kingsmen Alumni who was 17 and played cymbals. The first "official" rehearsal was November (Thanksgiving weekend) 2005. There were monthly Sunday rehearsals in 2006 and in the winter of 2006/2007 went to two day (Saturday/Sunday rehearsals each month. Had a four day camp in June 2006 and June 2007. Had a seven day camp leading up to the August 10 performance that went from 9:00AM to 10:00PM each night just like the touring days. The only time we actually had everyone (287) there at the same time was during the August 2007 seven day camp. There were also weekly (Tuesday night) rehearsals for the local brass line and anyone else who wanted to show up. Unlike any Alumni Crops to date, the Kingsmen marched a full drill from beginning to end with a stop period for the traditional concert. The drill for the opening number was taught to the corps in June of 2006 and each month a portion was added with the final piece of the drill taught in April of 2007. The Tympanis were the originals that were carried by the Kingsmen from 1970 to 1974. We found them in a storage space in San Diego County somewhere. A couple of the percussion guys restored them to look exactly like they did in 1972. The powder blue uniform was an exact replica of what was worn by the corps from 1969 to 1974. The only discernable difference was the zipper being in the back instead of the front. There were 28 members on the field that actually marched the 1972 Championship season. The 72 corps was 108 members total. There were Kingsmen alumni represented as early as 1961 (Charlie Groh and Bill Borges) and had members from most years that the Kingsmen fielded a corps through 1982. All of the music was from 1971-1974 and was arranged by Mike Duffy, Kenny Norman, and Kit Squires. The rifle work was a combined effort by the 23 gals that made up the line. The rifle section leader was Brenda (Markham) Murray who wrote and taught the rifle line through much of the 70's. The drill was written by David Weinberg (Kingsmen and Blue Devils alum). He reviewed ancient video and photographs to recreate portions of the drill from the 1970's shows including 1972, 1973, and 1974 scaled to a 287 member drum corps. The championship flags (DCI, CYO, US Open, World Open) were recreated by Bob Jacobs. The military flags were donated by Tom Day (Bugles across America). Our adopted home was Western High School (Anaheim) and California Baptist University Riverside. The seven day August 2007 camp was held at Cal State Long Beach.

To add the Kingsmen at the last minute..hype it up...and then only show four minutes of a fifteen minute performance was a let down.

46 Sopranos including about a half dozen who played B-Flat trumpets 15 Mellophones 1 Alto 16 French Horns 48 Baritones 23 Contras 23 Rifles (Drill was written for 25) 32 flags 4 Nationals 12 Honor Guard 15 Snares 10 Tenors 10 Cymbals 10 Bass Drum 5 marching tympani 2 marching xylophone 5 pit 8 drum majors 1 color guard captain Average age: 49 Oldest member: 81 (Former Kingsmen Quartermaster) Number of alumni corps members who marched the 1972 championship season: 28 Members came from 11 states and Canada Mambo Soloists: Phil Norris: Trumpet Carl Allison: Baritone So Very Hard To Go Soloist: Eric Ferdman: Alto

His name is Richard Call and he still resides in Southern California. He was on the board of directors as the treasurer for the Kingsmen Alumni Corps project. He did not march with the KAC this past year (time commitment) but was involved in most of the behind the scenes activities. For those that may be wondering he does not have any back problems that I am aware of.

286 We lost a rifle, snare, and a cymbal in the last month before the show which would have made 289.