Info provided by John Tomaszek:

This drum corps was started in Basel, Switzerland, by some alumns from US corps. But, it merges the best of the SWISS drum and fife corps (especially drumming) with the best of US corps.

Check the websitee below to see their drum line performing at the famous Edinborough Tattoo!

Really great shpow.

http://www.ezprezzo.com/videoclips/top_secret_drum_corps.html

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-83

This came up on other corps websites a while ago. It is a cool video. What I really found funny, though, is hearing all the "young folks" talk about how amazing it is, when it's ALL stuff we did in the late 60's and early to mid 70's! Everything old is new again.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Bob is right, at least on the drumming part!

But, this corps (drum line) adds a lot more visual and marching to their performance.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-83

enthusiasm is the heart of drum corps despite the era.

Found some more videos on this unit .. from earlier years.

Seems they are called the "Top Secret" drum corps because when they were first formed, they practiced in total secrecy until they felt they were ready for public appearances!

Check out their video. Cool.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Man, that was nice. I really am impressed with how much ground the snares can cover without having to have a leg brace. I don't know if I'd have been able to do some of the marching maneuvers I've seen drumlines perform lately. Very impressive.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare

No, Mike, you couldn't...your hair would have weighed you down.

But I couldn't have covered the ground that YOU guys did, either. That's why I stayed on the podium, where I was safe from mad riflers and others throwing things (just ask George...).

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73, 78-79

My hair?! This from the unleashed red 'fro? But, yeah, I guess I was a bit of a hippie-type. Man, those were the days.

I've been thinking about picking up some sticks again, but I don't know how that's going to work out. I severed some finger tendons in my right hand a few years back, and I don't know what that would do to my ability to control the stick.

well Mike, there is always bass drum. And, from the way the bass drummers in the Top Secret corps played, that would be really good!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

Oh, yeah...you had to remind me of that fro...

And don't give up on drumming before you even try! Didn't I teach you better than that?

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73, 78-79

Yeah, I admit it, you did, oh fuzzy one.

Bob and Mike: you guys are a hoot! The 1970s must have been something. Fros? In drum corps? I am probably lucky to be out of there by the mid-60s.

But, each generation does activities (and life!) their own way!

Still, look back on the stuff that you did on the field. It was fun and good. Just like the TOP SECRET corps. Great

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963

Ubetcha!

It was nice to be a part of the "resurgence" of Norwood in the later 70's - however small and short it might have been. I think I'm most proud that we corrected the OFF field reputation of the corps along wiht the on field one. And, like so many other times, it was the Cadet corps that saved the name - both the members and the management.

And we did have a lot of fun! But don't get me started...

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73, 78-79

Man, I gotta be more consistent in getting out here.
It would have been nice to see that resurgence continue. Bob, something you got to experience was having been both Imperials and Cavaliers - and did I just read Spirit?. I sometimes regret my stubborn refusal to migrate to DCI-class. At the time, I really thought we could keep moving up. When the cracks in the foundation seemed to turn to a hail of rubble, I left all corps activity. Personal factors played into that decision, but overall I just ran.

Now, regarding the OFF field reputation, being one of those who clung to the bell bottoms of the boomer hippies and coming from a ravaged part of the inner city, I don't know if I was part of the "we" in the off-field rectification; I was no angel. And, boy, did that behavior, combined with abject ignorance, bite me in the keister. I experienced some of my best and worst moments in my last years in corps. In fact, this post has caused me to again reflect on those years. If I started writing about those thoughts, I'd probably be writing for the next month. In the end, though, I can say, with absolute certainty, that being in drum corps -- no, not just corps but a member of the Imperials Drum and Bugle Corps -- has had a profound affect on my life that continues to this day.

Now, stop writing between the lines! That minefield took me half an hour to cross.

You guys kill me!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-1963