Been checking out the different Drum Corps
web-sites every now and than,just to see whats
new,not much really,but does anyone know what
the Cavaliers "Theme" is going to be this year,
Just curious.















j

What did you do in the Corps? French Horn

What years were you a Corps member? 1957 thru 1963

Rich: re Cavaliers theme ... don't know, don't care

Can't tell, either from the website or from alumni mailings I receive.

Remember when there was no "theme" - just "what are you playing this year?"

When I was a high school band director, I always wanted to do a show entitled "It's just a marching band show."

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

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

Our High School Band always had a theme (and it changed every week we had a football game along with the drill) when Glenn Smith was our band director. Yup, the same guy who ran Smith Music Sales. We marched like a drum corps. We had a bunch of drum corps guys in our band - Mike Romelli, Joe Kasmerski and Bobby Mujica from RA, Greg Pacer, Lenny Solak, Tom Jamrozek from the Cavies. I probably missed a few.

Greatest thrill was playing for the 1964 city football championship at Soldier Field. We had a special Friday night band practice. In the middle of Maria from West Side Story, some "old guy" walks in, sits down in an empty chair in the first row, pulls out a trumpet and starts wailing. God, it was beatiful. I got chills down my spine when I heard it and now as I type this. When the song finished, Smitty stood the old guy up and said: "Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet Doc Severinson - he will be playing with us this Sunday!" Doc rode the bus with us to Soldier Field. Don't recall him talking to any adults - only us kids. He filled up that stadium. He had absolutely amazing lung power!! West Side Story was that game's theme. We won the game.

What did you do in the Corps? Drum

What years were you a Corps member? 60-69

John, what a great story!

1. How come I never heard this before?
2. What school did you attend? That band must have been good.
3. Gosh, how did Glenn Smith get Doc Severinson to appear there?
He was great!
3. Glenn Smith was great too .. a fine drum corps person and the
Imperials used his music/ equipment sales firm while he was
there.

I went to Weber HS in Chicago - now closed. The marching band was very good. Concert band only OK - not the same emphasis.

Doc was a personal friend of Glenn Smith - I don't know how they met. I do know he knew a lot of people in the CSO. Spearking of corps, I think Smitty marched in the Grenadiers.

Another story - my brother joined the Cadets before I did - I think in '59. The Cadets were at a contest at Hansen Park (might have been State??). Paul was walking past Smith's display and Glenn asked to see Paul's beat up old baritone. When Glenn tried to remove the mouthpiece, he wrecked the tubing. Paul was really scared now. How would he explain the broken horn. Smitty just said to wait a minute. He went to his truck and gave Paul a new baritone. When Paul got back to the corps, the Manager asked where he got the horn. Paul said that a man gave it to him. The Manager thought Paul had stolen it and demanded that Paul show him who it was. Paul took him back to Smitty who explained the whole story - and Paul kept the horn.

What did you do in the Corps? Drum

What years were you a Corps member? 60-69

Yeah, that is something that Glenn Smith would do. BTW, while he may have marched in the Grenadiers, I also seem to remember that he DIRECTED the corps later. Note that, when the Grenadiers folded, their uniforms were bought by a new corps on the west side .. the Royal Airs!

I also remember that Dick Brown taught the Weber high band, in the early 1960s I believe.

John,

SEVERAL great stories. I would have loved to have heard that band - you and Pacer in the same line? Very cool! It was very unusual to use a drum corps style in a band in those days - that's Big 10 territory! In fact, there weren't that many doing it even in the early 70s when I was in high school.

And yes, Glen Smith did direct the Grenadiers. Must have been strange to see a different corps wearing their uniforms, especially when they were so close geographically. And, interestingly, that happened again, with one of those corps, in 1970. The Royal Airs sold their uniforms to the Stardusters from New Orleans, and that corps came North for some shows. It was an interesting reaction from the crowd - like seeing a corps of ghosts on the starting line! I remember Geneva, IL specifically (and still have a cassette tape of it).

As for Doc Severinson, he would often play shows with school and community bands. He played in Joliet with the American Legion Band, maybe 1970 or 1971. The guy could play!

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 was a freshmand & played timbales in '64. Got to make up my own parts - that was fun. Never did get a chance to play in the snare line with Greg. He was good drummer.

After, Smitty left, the new band director was NOT drum corps oriented. His concert band was better, but I could not stand the "band style" marching.

What did you do in the Corps? Drum

What years were you a Corps member? 60-69

Another coincidence! I played triple tenors my freshman year (even though I was already marching snare in Norwood), because I was the only one and got to make up my own parts too! My sophomore year we made the switch to corps-style (for the most part) and I went to the snare line.

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 Schreffler on triple tenors? Say it isn't so

The "uniform transfer" thing is unusual, but happens from time to time. Yes, the Grenadiers uniforms ended up with the RA ... then the RA (new) uniforms were sold to the Stardusters later. And, yes, it was strange to see them wearing the RA uniforms.

The same thing happened to the Garfield Cadets. When their church removed their sponsorship in 1958, their uniforms were sold to the St. Mary's Cardinals in Boston. So, in 1959 , when the Cardinals appeared, everyone thought they were the Cadets!


Sometimes a good deal on uniforms has some drawbacks!

Bob, the thing I will never forget about the timbales is the squeak and rattle! They were a thin metal shell and the bracket did not wrap the shell - it was tangential to the edge. You could here me 50' away as those crazy drums wobbled. WD40 didn't fix the squeak, tightening the brackets didn't help. I'm glad the rest of the line drowned me out most of the time.

What did you do in the Corps? Drum

What years were you a Corps member? 60-69

The triple tenors weren't much better! They were Slingerland, and the arms they connected to swiveled, so the drums were held together by brackets that screwed under the drums - and didn't stay tight! Lots of fun when suddenly a drum is swinging away from you, banging into the person next to you!

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

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