John Anderson mentioned the Belleville Black Knights in a recent posting about the "top corps" in the area from the 1960s.

That made me realize that I really miss that corps! They were good musically and in marching. Always had a great show.

There are others too ... Reilly Raiders (senior), Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights, Des Plaines Vanguard, Royal Airs (jr), Hutchinson Sky Ryders, Kilts (jr), Bayonne Bridgemen (always a hoot).

But, I DON'T miss the Star of Indiana

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

I miss ...
The Bridgemen (ok maybe I am biased as I marched with them) .. always fun to watch
Velvet Knights .. again fun to watch
Sky Riders ... I always liked them
Spirit of Atlanta .... they always had a strong hornline 9sorry Bob... I like the horns)

I dont miss Star of Indiana either

Sheila

I miss the Imperials!!!!

That said, I also miss Illiana Lancers - They were always nice to us. I remember Grand Haven Michigan in 1983 and both Corps went to the beach together.

27th Lancers

Bridgemen

Knights of Geneseo

Among others

What did you do in the Corps? Cymbals, Bass Drum, Tenor

What years were you a Corps member? 1980 - 1983

I miss the Kilties (the junior corps) more than any. In the mid-50's and a bit later, I thrilled to watch them, wearing the uni's that they did, and playing such different music, as I recall. I wish that corps was still out there today. I saw their alumni corps last year, and they brought back a lot of wonderful memories. They did a very good job. They're still performing. I just would like to see the Kilties in the junior corps circuit again.

Spirit is still alive and competing!

I miss Norwood, Belleville, Des Plaines locally, and Garfield, Suncoast Sound (always entertaining), and 27t Lancers nationally.

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

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

Apparently, you guys and gals used to actually watch other corps, in your day?!

Yes, Bill, we watched the other corps a lot.

And, it should go without saying that we ALL miss the IMPERIALS!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Last summer, at a show, I got talking with a young man who marched with Phantom the year before. I asked him what he thought of the other corps in '06. He said that the first he saw of them was on the post-season DVD, that DCI produces. He said that none of them ever saw another corps. He said he couldn't believe "Machine," by The Cavaliers, when he saw it on DVD, but that he had never seen it, in person. Isn't that pretty sad!

His corps finished a billionth of a point behind the Cavies in finals in '06, and I thought that those two and the Blue Devils should all have tied for first. I told him so, too. Ties for first place are now impossible, tho. If two or more corps are equal, they should tie. They do have ties for the other places (2nd, etc.).

This same young man told me that he never heard the crowd, that he zoned them out, unitl the final applause after the corps had just finished their program. He said the crowd could be cheering or booing; he never heard it, during the corps' show on the field. I had asked him about this and that is why he told me. He said that if he listened to the crowd, he might miss a step and/or a note, or be late, and, therefore, he trained himself to zone out all but what he had to concentrate on. He thought that "everybody" does this. Interesting. Did you guys/gals used to zone out the crowd noise too?

YES! Kilts were really great! And, 27th was a great corps too!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Here is an other corps I miss.. the "Capitolaires" all girl corps from Madison! They were great. They wore German dirndl style dresses and played great music. They were actually very good for a number of years. Extremely entertaining. It was a hoot to judge them in the field, 'cuz they were always smiling at you!

Speaking of Madison, the Madison Scout JUNIOR corps was also great to see.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Well, I really miss Kilts a lot for the same reason Sheila misses Bridgemen, because I marched with them. The senior corps started up 10 years or so after Kilts folded so there isn't really not much of a connection with their junior counterparts other than the name and similar uniforms. But back in "the day" there was a healthy respect for many of the corps we competed against. Out of those that are no longer with us, I miss Anaheim Kingsmen the most, followed by 27th Lancers, Argonne Rebels, Guardsmen, Bridgemen, Royal AIrs, Blue Rock, Des Plaines Vanguard, and a score of other corps too numerous to mention.

It is good to see Blue Stars returning to possibly a finalist position. Also it is great to see Troopers continue, even if they aren't really that competitive. What has happened to Madison? Are they really that bad this year? Really loved the late 70s versions of Madison's horn line. Wow, they would pin your ears back. The horn lines of today are much cleaner and more proficient, but can't touch some of the older lines for sheer excitement and enjoyment of their musical books.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

Wow, how could I forget the Anaheim Kingsmen? What a great corps! And, one of the best drum lines I have ever seen!

Argonne Rebels were amazing. What a brass line (drums were so-so)! I will never forget being on the field (judging drums) when they played Jesus Christ, Superstar. (1971?) When they hit the discordant part (of the crucifixion), I was in the middle of it all. I was totally mesmerized and awestruck by the sound!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Dave,

I think that Argonne's JC Superstar was by far the most musical version I have ever heard. When they played the chorale from John 1912, it brought tears to the eyes.

Yeah they had a crap drum line, but Sandra Opie was a genius with that horn line. Also, I agree, Anaheim was terrific. My favorite corps aside from the one I marched with. They were also a great group of people. We had a lot of fun touring with them when I marched in Kilts. We more than not, caught our lunch from them competitively, but we had some great parties with the people from Anaheim. Very nice and not at all snobby. We were great friends with them. I really miss that corps.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

You are right Dave, it was 1971 that Argonne had such a tremendous line and played that dissonant climax during the crucifixion segment that led into the chorale from John 19:10. Woah, when I even hear the tapes to this day, it sends shivers up my spine they played so well. Probably player for player the best horn line ever in the classic era in drum corps. Perfection with a valve and a rotary.

Also, my favorite show had to be Anaheim's 1974 show. The one they didn't win with, but broke the mold for horn line productions in the era of the 70s. What a sensational show. How could one forget their opener of Mambo and their closer "So Very Hard To Go"? They were indeed a class act.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

I think Argonne played JC, Superstar in both 71 and 72, but I believe the show you are referring to is indeed the 71 version. I remember being in awe of that horn line. They never got credit for being so good because they had a drum line that wasn't near the quality of their horn line. They were incredible during those years and the few years after. They were the benchmark that all horn lines measured their ability by.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

I miss Madison being a competitive DCI program. They seem to have really gone down hill since the turn of the of the Century. The Madison corps from 1975 through the 1990s were always entertaining and played music I could relate to.

I suppose from my time in Norwood (early to mid-60s) I was really only impressed with Blessed Sacrament (1960 to 1964), Boston (1964), St Kevins (1963 and 1964) and like Vasella (1964). All of these corps had great brasslines--Vasella wasn't as good as the others but was entertaining. Madison was good from 1960 to 1962. I really never got excited about Cavaliers, Royal Airs, Kilts, Vanguard and Belleville. Maybe I saw too much of them. I will say the Black Knights had cool uniforms.

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

What years were you a Corps member? Cadets 1959 to 1961 Imperials 1962 to 1966

When Madison had that GREAT hornline (1970s especially), they rocked me with "Slaughter on 10th Avenue" and "Malaguena". One of those years, they played "Make His Praise Glorious" which is a Christian praise song. They did it as a jazz piece and it was amazing. Great soprano soloist work too!

While they always had a fine drum line (and in some years, a GREAT drum line), when I judged GE drums it was always hard to do .. because their horn line was so breathtaking! The drums HAD to rise to the challenge in order to get a decent GE score!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Argonne's drum line was BEYOND bad - just horrible. They even brought Mitch Markovich in a couple of years (71 or 72?), but he couldn't even do anything with them. I'm sure it cost them some titles, and maybe led to their folding.

Anaheim's 72 finals performance was the greatest live performance I ever witnessed - unbelieveable! Came from third place in prelims to beat SCV and Blue Stars and win the first DCI championship at Whitewater (my favorite stadium).

I'm going to start a new thread about corps with ONE great caption and the others weak.

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, I judged the Argonne Rebels many times. Their drum line was pretty sad .... but I'd call them "adequate" not horrible. But, they paled in comparison to that horn line!

Anahiem 1972. What a corps., Saw them at DCI Whitewater and was amazed!

I agree.. Whitewater's Warhawk Stadium is a great venue for drum corps!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

My God! Bob and I agree on something!

I have to strongly agree that the 72 Anaheim show at DCI Nationals was the absolute best show I have seen from the era of the 70s until now. Anaheim was a corps on fire and Nobody was going to beat them that night. They were absolute perfection.

I did see a show or two in the 60s that would have fallen into that class of show, but nothing since.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

Jerry,

I would suspect we agree on MOST things. Just not lately...

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

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

You are probably right Bob, we would probably agree on most everything, just not DCI. We both have a different perspective and way of observing the results in regard to that organization, and the direction it has taken the activity over the last 20 or so years. But I can live with that. If everyone agreed on everything, the world would be a rather boring place indeed from a total lack of divergent thinking. The lack of perspective or objective thorough analysis, viewed from ALL possible angles of a perceived problem, just leads to stagnation in terms of any creative alternatives. We both look at this situation through different eyes and similar, yet different enough experiences. We don't have to accept thing as they are, JUST because they are. Through reflection, thought and positive action, the direction of/in any scenario can be altered or reversed. Just like our friend Einstein said, for every action there is an equally positive or equally adverse reaction. It is which of those reactions that your eyes and senses tell you and you believe have actually happened, that you base your own perspective and/or opinion on. If that makes sense.

I respect you and your opinions, I just may not necessarily share all of them in the same way. At least we both knew what was really exciting and exceptional "back in the day". God, a ex Kilt and and ex Cavie actually agreeing on the past and a couple of corps that we viewed and/or competed against. LOL I guess we have made some progress over the years.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

I think it helps that my Dad marched 5 years with the Kilties Senior Corps - it softened my attitude towards them!

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

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

LOL, yeah and old age has mellowed me towards Cavies.

I actually had a lot of good friends who marched with Cavies. We had a good healthy rivalry, while others in both corps took it to the extreme, which was unfortunate. Both corps had a lot in common and were well respected in those years. Too bad we never got the chance to party or have some sort of social gathering with Cavies like we did with Anaheim, Madison, 27th and others. We might have struck up a good healthy friendship.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

Are the Bandettes still around? I know Mike Gregory had a crush on one of the girls.

How about the Knee High? We used to call them the Grape Nehi's.

Saganaire's is another one. Teddy Raymond marched with them after his family left the Imperials when they moved to Michigan.

I remember watching DCI finals in 1981 (Not Open Class, but the other class at the time). And The Ventures did a fantastic show.

And the winner that year was Le Chatelaine (sp). It was an all girl corps, and they dressed like bishop chess pieces.

How about Dutch Boy or General Butler's Vagabonds?

Remember the Sundowners? in 1980 on our mini-tour through Wisconsin and Minnesota, we had a very famous incident with the Sundowners. After the show, we were going to have a jam with the Sundowners. Both horn lines, guards and drum lines would get together and play. But that didn't quite happen.

In the parking lot that night after the show, the Sundowners guard was gathering and we were gathering, and the Sundowners guard were tossing rifles. Randy, one of our Mellophones had walked past them. Right when he was walking past, one of the guard had dropped their rifle on the pavement. The rifle hit the ground vertical pointing straight up and down and bounced right into Randy's groin. Randy shrugged it off, took about three steps and was out cold.

They had to call an ambulance and take him to the hospital. The jam session never took place.


How about the Star Dusters? We used to nickname them amongst ourselves the Crop Dusters.

What did you do in the Corps? Cymbals, Bass Drum, Tenor

What years were you a Corps member? 1980-1983

Jim, most of the corps you mentioned are GONE! Bandettes might still be around.

I remember thee Sundowners. Not a bad corps ... small but entertaining.

I miss a lot of the Drum Corps that are not
around anymore,to name a few,Imperials,Royal Aires,
Bellville Black Knights,the old Green Machine,not
what you see now,sorry not a Green Machine today.
Blessed Sac,Garfield,St Kevins,one of the best horn
lines back than,Cambridge Caballeros,the Vanguards

And a few of the senoir Corps as well Reilly,Archer
Epler,and by far the greatest Drum Corps of all
time including junoirs Hawthorne,the old Hawthorne
again,early 60's,late 50's corps,especialy 61,the
best of all.

That's what Drum Corps was all about,still can't
figure what its all about today.

What did you do in the Corps? French Horn

What years were you a Corps member? 1957 thru 1963

Just wanted to add one more post about Hawthorne,
I wanted to include not only past Corps but also
you can include the present junoir and senoir corps.

What did you do in the Corps? French Horn

What years were you a Corps member? 1957 thru 1963

To be honest, there are too many corps that have gone on into history for me to again list them. I guess I could just sum it up by saying, I miss the drum corps activity as it was in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. What we see now is in the current incarnation is a small shadow of what was once a huge and thriving activity.

I still think the future of the activity is with the all age corps, which will morph back into junior and senior corps once DCI is gone.

The top corps junior of today are technically and from a performance aspect far superior to what came before it, yet not near as entertaining as they once were. You have to look to the Senior or All age groups to see what drum corps could be once again.

OK, I'm off my soapbox now.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

Yes the Badettes are gone. we drive through Saulte Ste Marie every year for vacation and up until this year the old run down bus was there just off the indian reservation... this year it was gone (although I would say it probably hadnt been moved in many years).

Haw sad to lose all those corps!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958- 63

Have been looking at some old corps stuff and realized that I really miss some great corps ..

1. Belleville Black Knights ... in the late 50s and early 60s this corps was within 1 or 2 points of winning National Championships. A great corps in all respects. It was always fun to watch them and to talk with their members too. 1963 was a great year for them ... Victory at Sea, "It had to be You", etc.

2. Great Bend (Argonne) Rebels .. gosh, what a great horn line and overall program. I will NEVER forget being on the field (or in the GE box) judging JC Superstar. Chills up the spine!

3. Anaheim Kingsmen ... 1971-74. Gosh, what a great corps. Great programs and great people.

4. Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights. What a great brass line and excellent drum line. Many championships through the years. Innovative programs but not great innovation in marching, just execution!
----------------------------------------------------------------------

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958 - 1963

Dave,

I agree with those.

Belleville made another strong push in the 70's - made DCI finals in 1973 (a Marty Hurley drum line helped). Great soprano screamers. At State Fair the corps would play a combined piece, and Stojak and a guy from Belleville would compete at the end to see who could hit the highest note.

If Argonne ever had a drum line, they would have been unstoppable! Unfortunately, as good as their horns were is how bad their drums were.

Anaheim suffered most from poor management, causing them to fold and reform several times. But they never recaptured the magic of the early DCI years. Their 1974 show is unbelieveable to listen to, especially when you realize they had 35 horns and 5 snares!

Never got to see Sac live, unfortunately.

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's comments above are right on.

I remember judging the Great Bend Rebels during their good years. Yep, if they had a good drum line they would have been unbeatable! It was sad to have such an outstanding brass line and great music, but coupled with a mediocre drum line. It was more than poor execution too, their drum charts were usually unimaginative and not musically supportive.

Sadly, this has happened before (and later) with other corps.
------------------------------------------------------------------

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958 - 1963

At one point they even brought Mitch Markovitch in the teach them, and even he couldn't do anything. That was the days before people moved across the country to march with a corps, so I guess there weren't any good drummers in the state of Kansas!

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

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

I miss:

The Bridgeman
The Kilties
The Belvilee Black Knights (in their chrome domes)
The Vaqueros female drum major/gaurd sergant
Madison playing Rhapsidy in Blue
Inspections at Elk Grove High School
Bus rides back from MomenceTrail Beats
Camps in Kankakee
The Gaurdsmen at their peak

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

I agree with most of those (actually loved Bellevile's new uniforms in 1973), except the inspection one - HATED those!

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

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

Argonne's brassline was good because they had Sandra Opie as their main brass instructor and added Brian Pennington during their peak years.

As I understand it, Opie was considered an expert on brass technique so they had a lot of focused instruction in playing the instruments correctly. That's why they were able to produce such a good hornline with local kids. They evidently didn't have the same focus on the percussion section.

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

What years were you a Corps member? 1959-61 Cadets 1962-1966 Imperials

I believe that Sandra Opie's influence was even greater than that, John. She (I believe) was also a music instructor in the Great Bend junior high schools and began teaching students proper technique early on. When they joined the Rebels (and MANY did), they were already quite accomplished musicians.

Adding Brian Pennington later gave increased depth to the team and took some of the load off Sandra.

Too bad they never were able to establish the same type of program in the drum caption.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958 - 1963

Those inspections were tense!

How did those work? Did corps really get dinged with ticks off or was it mostly ceremonial and every corp got hit with one or two ticks?

First time I saw the new Belleville uniforms was at what I recall was a night parade in Momence and they looked awesome!

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

Dave,

Sandra Opie did not receive any compensation for her work with Argonne (DCI Hall of Fame Bio). I seem to recollect that she went to Northern Illinois and received a BA in Music--Trumpet major.

Her husband, Glen, was the corps director for Argonne. He is a very well respected lawyer in Kansas. They are examples of people dedicated to community drum corps. Glen Opie is also in the DCI Hall of Fame as one of the founders of DCI.

For those of us who went to Northwestern there is another connection with the Opie's. Glen Opie was the Drum Major of the Northwestern University Marching Band the first time Northwestern went to the Rose Bowl in Jan. 1, 1949 (Still a big deal as that is the only bowl game Northwestern has ever won). I recollect reading about that in the NU alumni magazine when Northwestern went to the Rose Bowl in the mid-1990s (the only other Rose Bowl for Northwestern). They had an alumni band that year at one of their games and there was a picture of Opie as drum major.

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

What years were you a Corps member? 1959-61 Cadets 1962-1966 Imperials

Pete - yes, the inspections were real, and real scary! Corps did lose shows because of them (and other stupid rules infractions, like looking at scoresheets at retreat before the corps had left the field). I was more scared of them in the Cavaliers, though - chrome drums, chrome belt buckles. The biggest worry in Norwood was the white bucks.

John - I went to Northwestern and never knew that about the Opies! And I remember them rolling out the alumni from that Rose Bowl football team at halftime - every year...

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,

Following is a link to Glenn Opie's story about the 1949 Rose Bowl (relatively recent 2009 posting on the NU alumni site). http://alumni.northwestern.edu/node/1396

I always thought that Sandra Opie was an NU alum of the Northwestern Music school but she has a degree in trumpet from Northern Illinois.

I don't recollect the years you were at Northwestern but expect it is when the football team was pretty pathetic from the mid-70s to mid-90s. Since the mid-1990s Northwestern's football program has been good enough to play in a number of bowl games and the band has had a lot more road trips around January 1. I saw them at the Citrus Bowl Jan 1, 1997. Since they are already 5-0, it looks like they'll have another trip somewhere this year. Not the Rose Bowl (the professional team from Columbus Ohio will end up there) but somewhere.

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

What years were you a Corps member? 1959-61 Cadets 1962-1966 Imperials

I was at NU in 1977 and 1978, before moving to Georgia in 1979 to march my age-out year with Spirit. No bowl games for us! We won one game in the two years I was there - 3-0 over U of I in a blinding snowstorm. How we got a field goal I still can't figure out!

But we went to one away game both years - Michigan my freshman year and Ohio State my sophomore year.

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

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