Jim Fiduccia posted something of great import recently:
"Only the infusion of young talent from the Cadets saved the Imps several times in the 1970's."
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Jim, that is VERY true ... and it was true MANY times in the past too.
The mid-50s, 1964, and later. Actually, very often. Check the corps history.

Besides giving young kids a musical, marching experience .. that was a primary reason for the the "B" corps ... bring people UP!
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What did you do in the Corps? drummer; quartermaster 1964-66, ass't drum instructor 1964-70

What years were you a Corps member? 1958 -1963

I remember what a thrill it was to finally move up to the 'A' corps in 1972. Those of us who went talked about it all the time during the 1971 season, and we always loved it when we were at the same place as the 'A' corps was during the summer. I'm sure other corps can tell the same story, of their feeder corps saving them. It was true of the Cavaliers in the early 80's, first in the color guard (allowing them to win several WGI titles), and later in the full corps.

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

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

Well, I wasn't a member of the cadets .. never saw a drum corps until I saw the Imperials in NP when I moved there in 1957. What a sight! Had to join.

But, the Cadets were a godsend to the corps organization. This was a great way to introduce youngsters to drum corps... teach them ... and then bring them up to the Imperials. The Cadets members moving up SAVED the "A" corps many times through the years!

BUT ... it seems to me, through the years, the two corps could have done a much better job of cooperating and helping each other. Lots of reasons for problems: time issues, lack of money, lack of support and helpers, political issues.

Too bad .. because closer work would have improved results for BOTH corps. Even such things as meeting with them more often, seeing their performances, etc.

Here are some small examples I am aware of:

1. In the 1960s - Joan (Purse) Briske was the M&M instructor for the Cadets and worked well with Imperials staff to teach in a coordinated fashion / style.

2. Similarly, Bill Strauts and I worked with the Cadets drum instructor to work on coordinated instruction and goals.

More of this work would have helped a lot. Actually, maybe there was more....

Of course, hindsight is always 20/20

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What did you do in the Corps? drummer; quartermaster 1964-66, ass't drum instructor 1964-70

What years were you a Corps member? 1958 -1963

Joan was still teaching marching and color guard into the 70s - at least through 1971, when Dad was managing the Cadets. And we idolized the 'A' corps members, screaming for them at shows (I still have the live cassette tapes to prove it!). We always loved being at the same performance place as they were - we were usually the exhibition unit, but being on the field for the scores at the same time as the 'A' corps was a huge deal!

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, when I first got involved with the cadets in 1974, Joan was still instructing the guard and assisting with M and M.

This thread brought to mind another instructor who was greatly responsible for keeping the A Corps from folding in 1976. By the first of January, the Imps numbered around 45 marching members, 35 of whom were inexperienced, but talented cadets. In addition, because of the weakness of the corps, it was almost impossible to find instructors. The answer to the problems came in the addition of ( M and M instuctor) Tom Billeadeau. Tom brought some 12 members from Bradley with him (10 horns and 2 percussion) and in addition recruited Brad Niemi to instruct the brass. 1976 was a rebuilding year and when Tom brought more brass players in 1977 and the cadets supplied additional members the danger of folding was over. Tom went on to form a corps of his own, the Royal Grenadiers, and was successful until they ran into the same problems in the early 80's as did all the mid level corps.

That Bradley group was a big influx, as the Joliet/Romeoville group was in 72-73, then the Iliana and Scarlet Knights groups later. While our competitive success flucuated through the years, we always found a way to keep going!

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

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

Good point Jim. For sure Tom helped save the corp that year by bringing up all of those musically talented characters from Bradley who helped fill out the horn line while making life more fun for all of us.

And just as key was the fact that Tom brought tons of enthusiasm that fired the marching members up. He may not have been the most talented instructor/drill designer (remember the drill for the Popcorn drum solo) but he got the job done with what he had to work with.

For you hockey fans he was kind of like the Mike Keenan of drum corp. You either loved him or hated him.

Hope he is doing well wherever he is.

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

What years were you a Corps member? 70's

Very interesting posts!

MY response is: THANK GOD for all the people who "stepped up" to save the corps. WISH THERE HAD BEEN MORE!

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What did you do in the Corps? drummer; quartermaster 1964-66, ass't drum instructor 1964-70

What years were you a Corps member? 1958 -1963

The point is that the Imperials lasted much longer than many other corps. And most of them never achieved the status of Norwood in the earlier years, and therefore didn't have as much to live up to, but we still outlasted them. When you look at it, NONE of the corps in that "second tier" under the DCI corps survive today, and most of them left before Norwood did.

I never met Tom Billedeau, but I heard lots of stories, basically reflecting Pete's comment about the hockey player. And those Bradley people WERE characters. I actually have a former Bradley resident on my teaching staff!

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

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

Who did Tom bring up from Bradly?

Dan Noel
Gary Wagnor
John Ozinga
Dion Clary
The Barron Brothers
Greg Phillips

I know I am missing some. Anyone know the others?

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

What years were you a Corps member? 70's

Pete, I remember the two drummers were the Barsi brothers, but off hand I don't remember the rest of the horns.

Jim:

Do you (or anyone else)recall what the original connection was between the corp and the Bradley group that brought the two groups together?

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

What years were you a Corps member? 70's

Pete(r),

As far as the original connection it was a phone call from Tom to me asking to be considered for the position of M/M instructor and as I mentioned earlier it was a stroke of luck on our part. During the conversation Tom said he was sure he could bring members to join from the Bradley area. In addition he knew of someone who might be interested in teaching the bugles (Brad Niemi). How Tom heard about us I never did know.

True to his word Tom did bring the people from Bradley. In 1976 those were,

Rick Baron (but not his brothers)
Joe Barsi
Mike Brandt
John Osenga
Dan Noel
Linsay Smith
Steve Hinkleman
Greg Phillips

Later in year others followed, but those were the initial members from Bradley.

How long did Tom stay, and why did he leave? Several of the Bradley contingent were still there in 1978-79, but I never met Tom.

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

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

Tom was active with the corps through the end of 1977. When I decided to hire Hank Grana, Tom agreed to stay on as principal assistant but soon seemed to lose interest. I have always thought that he had decided to start his own corps in the Bradley area, which he did within a few years, and Pete's hockey comparison may have been the real reason. Though we didn't lose many of our Bradley members to them, I do remember that Dominic Lovino, who joined us in 1977, did leave and ended up being the Drum Major for the Royal Grenadiers. I have heard Tom left the area in the 1980's, but I don't know that to be factual.

Jim and others .. thanks for the helpful posts here. You have given a lot of good info.

The mid 1970s is not a well documented period in our corps history. wish it were. And I wish there were someone to take on the project to document and add it to our website. (So far, no takers on that! )

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What did you do in the Corps? drummer; later- quartermaster 1964-66; asst. drum instr. 1964-70

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Dave,

I find your last post concerning history of the 70's totally incomprehensible. I am sure, if you search your memory, that in January 2009 I forwarded to you a history of that period. At that time you had made the same request and I had agreed to compile the history to the best of my ability. I did so, with the valuable assistance of Diane Fiduccia, Bob Shreffler, Doris Ruchalski, and the history written by Keith Normadin, and forwarded the document to you asking that you make such corrections as you saw fit. I then made those corrections, as were necessary, and explained to you why I didn't agree with others. You then stated you felt the history was too long and negative. I might agree that it was lengthy, but as for the negativism, I totally disagree in that the document was to be a work of history and not fiction.

I sent a copy of the history, to Jerry Davidson upon his request, with the understanding that he would shorten it to an acceptable length so that it would be adaptable for the forum and he also would consider adding a history of the 80's. For some reason the editing never took place nor did the updating of the first page history. The information forwarded should have been sufficient for correcting and amplifying the 70's home page.

For these reasons I find your post confusing, to say the least, that you find that "the mid 70's is not a well documented period" and that you wish someone would take on the project as there are no takers.

I feel the period has been documented as well as factually possible. Since I can not think of anyone, other then those mentioned above, capable of adding to the history, I would suggest that perhaps you would be the best one to rewrite and edit the history. I strongly feel that it is well past the time when the efforts of the 1970's Imperials, both positive and negative, should be recognized and credit given to them for their hard earned accomplishents as it has been to the previous Imperials.

I agree that this period should be well represented and I remember the work you and others did. Will try to find out "where it went". Sorry my memory isn't as good as yours.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer; later- quartermaster 1964-66; asst. drum instr. 1964-70

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Jim:

I would be very interested in seeing what you or anyone else has put together. Is that something you could email to me? As far as I am concerned the longer and more detailed the better.

Peter

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

What years were you a Corps member? 70's

Jim:
I agree the more detailed the better. I too would love to read what you put together. Can we have mixed buses?

John

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

What years were you a Corps member? 74-78

No! Now get back in line...

Where have you been?!?! Great to see you out here.

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

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