A recent post on another thread spoke about the Bayonne Bridgemen. Here are some of MY memories of that unique corps.

The Bridgemen hit the drum corps scene at a time of transition .. drum corps in general was moving to the "show" ideas, but the corps was very proficient technically. They had a fine horn line, a GREAT (traditional) drum line and very fine marching skills. But, they "pushed the envelope" with their uniforms and their show ideas.

Besides their uniforms, there are three things which will stay in my mind:

1. The great drum solo they had where the entire corps was marching behind thew drum line, doing a sort of "hip-hop" marching style! It was a real hoot.

2. The drum solo where the drum line pulled down masks over their faces, then did drum to drum type stuff! Wow!

3. Of course, the surprise "fall down" ending to their show one year!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958- 63

In reply to Dave's comment on the "fall down" end of their show. We had taken our family to see them at a local contest and our youngest son's (age 5 or 6 at the time) comment was "Are they dead?" Needless to say he started a chuckle all around us.

What did you do in the Corps? bass drummer

What years were you a Corps member? '57-62

I first saw them at DCI 1976 Philadelphia. What a hoot!

I recollect them playing the William Tell Overature off the starting line and one of their sopranos producing a sound to immitate the Lone Ranger's Horse (for those of us who grew up in the late 50s and 60s we thought of William Tell as the theme from the "Lone Ranger" TV show).

At the end of the show the collapse of the entire corps was something very different. I recollect their drum majors prancing through the fallen members and exhorting the crowd to up the volume of their cheers.

I also recollect their color guard removing their coats and forming a "Rockets" type dance line for their last number.

The kids seemed to be having fun.

Also recollect remember catching a little bit of the Velvet Knights from SoCal on a later PBS show with a Beachboy's theme--that fit the image of Orange County CA beach crowd.

If you ever toured with them, your opinions would be a little different...

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 enjoy the Bridgemen, in their yellow raincoat uniforms, very much, on DVD. Fine musicians, too, and fun and funny, all at once. Wish they were still around. Two summers ago, they did an Alumni Corps (anniversary?); wish I could have seen them. I have seen a huge picture of their Alumni Corps, for sale, at drum corps finals, last year or the year before, or both. I wish yellow would be used in uniforming today... too much black and too much blue, too. Go yellow!

The Velvet Knights have reappeared as an Open Class junior corps, this past summer.

I remember the Bridgemen duck as an on field drum major. Has there ever been another corps that used a fully costumed person, including the head being covered, in another year? I remember the Crossmen had a Superman at the end of their show, but he didn't need a mascot style head...

I also remember the Bridgemen snare line in 1980. I think they were the only corps in finals that still carried their snares using a sling instead of a harness. Because of the way the snares moved when they marched, it was visually impressive.

What did you do in the Corps? Sop

What years were you a Corps member? 1979

Phantom Regiment, this summer, had their 3 drum majors all dressed as emporers (or something of the sort), but their heads were not completely covered. I've not seen any corps do anything like this in the last four years, just P.R.

Ahhh yes the fall down... I remember in Rockford we had a case of food poisoning going through the corps.. and when we fell during the show the paramedics ran onto the field!

Bob,

I'd expect the Bridgemen off the field might have somewhat of an inner-city attitude. But in the mid-70s and early 80s the City of Bayonne made Gary Indiana look like a high class suburb. That entire part of New Jersey (Bayonne, Jersey City, Newark, Hoboken, West New York, etc.) had/have some pretty rough kids.

Today Newark has had some renewal in the downtown area. Don't know about the other areas--avoid New York as much as possible.

John, that area (Bayonne, Jersey City, etc) has been that way for a loooooong time. Lots of factories, shipping docks, train terminals, etc.

That is one reason the St. Vincents Cadets had that same "inner city" attitude. These kids were mostly street kids .. even had some members who literally had no family. The corps was their life .. unlike DCI corps today.

St. Andrews Bridgemen, St. Lucy's and the Bayonne Bridgemen were all from that area.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958- 63

To be honest, aside from the yellow coats, I liked the Bridgemen. They not only played both Drums and Brass extremely well but were also entertaining. They sort of broke the mold when it came to the more military approach that still was going strong during that time. They did things differently, but in most ways stayed within the traditions of drum corps with exceptional playing. They just had a few off the wall ideas and a unique uniform that they threw into the show, rather than a complete off the wall show like a few of the current drum corps employ.

When all is said, they were entertaining.

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

John, I think that the Bridgemen started using the "William Tell Overture" when they were the ST. ANDREWS Bridgemen. This was before the yellow raincoats!

I think they had a lot of former St. Vincents members in their ranks initially. (They were also from Bayonne.)

Then, suddenly, they became the Bayonne Bridgemen with yellow raincoats and a unique but very entertaining show approach. But, they had great technical ability in all captions and played in a very traditional manner.

Too bad they never won the National title! In my opinion, they were WAY more deserving than Star of Indiana!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958- 63

I only saw the Bridgemen at 1976 DCI. So that's the only William Tell Overature I recollect. Don't remember St Andrew's but then I didn't follow corps very much after 1968.

I'd say their uniforms were inspired by some of the inner city hustlers and gangsters of the late 60s and early 70s. If you've seen last year's movie, "American Gangster" (which is about a big time Harlem drug dealer in the early 70s) you'll see similar costumes in some of the scenes. I also recollect a couple of characters in Clint Eastwood's "Dirty Harry" movies dressed in a style similar to the Bridgemen's costumes.

Those costumes (I wouldn't call them uniforms) made the Bridgemen even more anti-drum corps establishment. Today's San Francisco Renegades costumes (black choir robes and sunglasses) are a similar statement. Both corps could/can pull this off because they had/have a lot of talent.

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

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

Competing against them was always "something" - I remember lining up for retreat somewhere in 1978 (Guardsmen) and as we marched past the entire corps hissssssssssssssed. Slightly unnerving!!! Entertainment wise, LOVED them. We blasted their Land of Make Believe on our buses. Fun memory!