Masters of the Marching Arts
Devoted to the past, present, and future
of drum and bugle corps and other marching activities
Devoted to the past, present, and future of drum and bugle corps and other marching activities
This Quarter’s Featured Articles
America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration – 2023
by Phil Dennesen America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration happens annually on the weekend before Thanksgiving in the quaint historic town of Plymouth MA. Each year several well-known Senior Alumni Corps will make their much-anticipated pilgrimage to perform in...
R.I.P. (Temporarily?), Cadets
Recently, a friend asked me why the Cadets are my favorite corps. That decision took 12 minutes and 36 seconds to make as they finished their semifinal performance on August 14, 1985. That was my first live viewing of the Garfield Cadets, and I made it my mission to...
The Human Jurrasic Park
Introduction by Linda O'Connor My head's been spinning this morning. How could it already be Labor Day weekend? Somehow, life has, once again, stepped in the way of great plans. I'd hoped to be in Rochester, New York, this weekend for the last DCA show. No, not the...
Threepeat*
DCI committed another championship to its annals. Per usual, the Internet reacted from all sides of the dodecagon (one side for every finalist). Who let Judge A work Finals? Corps B was CLEARLY better; everybody on Drum Corps Planet SAID so! Park and bark! What are...
2023 DCI REVIEW
Indianapolis – August 10-12, 2023 It is the first intermission of Thursday’s Preliminary show in Indy. I turned to head up the stairs to the food court when I thought I recognized the guy behind me. “Hey, aren’t you The Czar?” I said. “I’ve read some of your columns...
Anybody (Else?) But BD
From 1976-1980, DCI fans experienced the first Reign of Terror by the Concord Blue Devils. They won four out of five championships, and despite placing third in 1978, they were a few mere tenths away from winning that one. Ditto to 1981 where their percussion hit an...
Ka-Ching, Ka-Ching, DCI
Santa Clara Vanguard’s tragic decision not to field a 2023 corps shocked the DCI world. Drum Corps Planet, Twitter, and Facebook exploded with elegies, eulogies, and touching memoirs. One of the common thoughts of the social media: if it happened to SCV, no...
2022 DCI REVIEW
Indianapolis – August 11-13, 2022: Drum Corps is alive and well. From my seat in Row 1 on about the 48-yard line, I turn around and look up to the top row where it meets the rooftop of Lucas Oil Stadium. I nearly need binoculars to see that far. Fans are packed in...
DCI’s 50th
Finally! Another full season, complete with scores, is in the books. I spent Thursday in my local theatre sparingly taking notes on my iPhone and emailing them to myself. "Big, Loud & Live" takes me back to my Boomer days of the live PBS broadcasts which I still...
How ‘Fair’ Is the Judging System?
People who have followed drum corps for decades have seen significant changes in the activity and in the rules and logistics that govern competition. Most people who are passionate about the activity have - at one time or another - expressed strong opinions...
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Letters to Aunt Mildred
by Rick Connor
Many years ago, I became friendly with a lady at Mission Drums whose name was Mildred. She was at the show with her two sisters, Phoebe and Henrietta and her brother, Phineas. I found Mildred to be an astute drum corps fan who …
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