July 20, 2018Volume 47, Number 8Copyright 2018 by Sights & Sounds, Inc. in the United States and Canada. The logo for Drum Corps World is a registered trademark and is protected by all applicable laws. Material originally published in Drum Corps World (in print or on-line) may not be reproduced in any other publication or in any electronic medium -- in whole or in part -- without the written permission of the publisher, in advance. Drum Corps World is published on-line monthly, for a total of 12 issues, plus five weekly e-mail blasts during June, July and August, with additional show reviews and photography. This is a complimentary service provided by Sights & Sounds, Inc., a privately-owned Wisconsin corporation, dedicated to the distribution of news, photographs and feature material on the drum and bugle corps activity worldwide through publishing Drum Corps World, as well as graphic design and recorded products and implementation of printed materials. 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Published by Sights & Sounds, Inc.Mailing/shipping address:4926 North Sherman Avenue, Unit HMadison, WI 53704-8443Madison office phone:608-241-2292 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM Central time, Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM Central time, Saturday/SundayProduct order line:608-241-22929:00 AM to 9:00 PM Central time, Monday - Friday9:00 AM to 9:00 PM Central time, Saturday/SundayWeb site:www.drumcorpsworld.comMadison staff:Steve VickersPublisher / Editor / Graphic DesignE-mail: publisher@drumcorpsworld.comAdvertising sales: Jeff Collins 916-200-8151 (cell, California)E-mail: jcdrumman1@yahoo.com or Steve Vickers 608-241-2292 (office, Wisconsin)E-mail: publisher@drumcorpsworld.com or 608-249-2590 (Steve’s cell, Wisconsin) 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM Central time, Monday - Friday 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM Central time, Saturday/SundayFrom the publisherThe next issueCorrectionsThe August full monthly edition will be uploaded to the Internet on or before August 3.In the “Contents” of the July 13 issue, the article on the Clifton, NJ, show was by Larry Eckert, not Jeff Ream. The by-line in the article was correct.The headline about the Kilties’ Mad Plaid Brass was misleading. The group is another segment of the organization, not instead of the Kilties parade and field corps.Photo creditsSupport our advertisersFront cover: Oregon Crusaders, Portland, OR (Donny Helvey)Back cover (50): The Battalion, Salt Lake City, UT (Donny Helvey)July 20 contents 4 • 07/15 -- St. Louis, MO, Joshua Fontaine11 • 07/14 -- Denver, CO, Jared Westerberg14 • 07/14 -- Clifton, NJ, Larry Eckert19 • Scouts offer “Suitestakes” VIP experience for Indianapolis20 • 07/14 -- DeKalb, IL, Larry Denman24 • 07/14 -- Norwalk, CA, Jim Claytor26 • 07/14 -- Alexandria, KY, Dr. Kenneth Robert Stultz II30 • 07/14 -- Philipsburg, PA, William Aldrich-Thorpe34 • 07/14 -- Denver, CO, Russell Tanakaya38 • 07/11 -- Ogden, UT, John Markle42 • “Lake Erie Fanfare” reaches 35th anniversary milestone43 • TYMBA photos44 • From our photo archives Drum Corps WorldThis is the fourth of the five weekly editions this summer. The final one will contain show reports from August 1 through the weekend of August 11, including full coverage of the 2018 Drum Corps International Championships at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and two DCA competitions. It is scheduled to be uploaded to the Internet on Friday, August 17. I want to specifically thank Jon Farbman from Drillmasters and Cameron Parker from Kaleidoscope Adventures for sponsoring the five weekly magazines produced between the June, July and August editions. Their support is very much appreciated.There will be a table at the DCI Championships where fans can sign up for a FREE subscription to Drum Corps World. Please stop by and also tell your friends to say hello when they are visiting the displays of merchandise and souvenirs along the concourse at the stadium. There will be volunteers with iPads to assist and they will be simply collecting first and last names, plus e-mail addresses to be added to the list of subscribers.Steve Vickers 3 • Drillmasters Shoes 5 • Kaleidoscope AdventuresWARNING TO BAND DIRECTORSIt’s the law. The ROLLED-HEEL™is patented technology that cannot be copied. Otherband shoes’ “turned,” “beveled” or “Tri-angle” heels are unstable and non-func-tional designs. Don’t be fooled.Protected under one or more US PATENTS #4,939,853, #5,469,642 and Design Patent D-327571www.drillmaster.comANY OTHERMARCHING SHOE ISWAY OUT OF STEP™The ONLY ROLLED-HEELTM Marching Shoe.AD 3r2_DRILLMASTER 5/19/14 2:43 PM Page 1The ONLY ROLLED-HEEL™ Marching Shoe.TEST-MARCH a FREE PAIRAsk your dealer, now!If you march our shoes or previously received a free pair please understand this offer is not available to you.any other superdrills.indd 14/3/18 2:41 PM17 of 22 DCI World, 3 of 26 Open corps square off at major Midwest contestby Joshua FontaineJuly 15, 2018 -- St. Louis, MO . . . As a significant predecessor to the first clash between all the World Class DCI corps a week from today in San Antonio, TX, the first major and loaded competition held in St. Louis at the beautiful Dome at America’s Center was staged. Sponsored by DeMoulin Bros. Uniforms based in nearby Greenville, IL, the show pitted the Eastern corps against the Midwest and West for the first time in 2018 and the audience witnessed a spectacular afternoon and evening.Three Open corps kicked things off at 4:00 PM when the Colt Cadets (right, Ron Walloch) feeder unit for the Dubuque Colts, consistently puts a well-designed program on the field and demonstrates a great deal of hard work and maturity for a relatively young group of performers.They opened with a selection from “Madame Butterfly” and moved through some Beethoven material and a couple of more contemporary pieces before concluding with several tunes from “Pictures at an Exhibition.”Hailing from a community that is likely more aware of their hometown drum corps than any other city in the United States, this troupe is impressive for their average age and always a pleasure to watch and hear.Equally impressive is the third-year corps from Oregon, WI, Shadow (left, Ron Walloch). Given their “restriction” to high school-age members because of their affiliation with the school located just 14 miles South of Madison, this group has made amazing progress in such a short time.Their history, however, goes back to the same year DCI came on the scene, 1972, as a participant in the Mid-America Competing Band Directors Association (MACBDA) that brought a significant number of high school bands together during the summer months. They continue to also compete with the small number of groups that still make up membership, but their primary focus is now on DCI competition.One of the truly unique features in their “The Body Celestial” production is when they don mirrored pyramid-like props strapped to their backs that are particularly effective when performing in direct sunlight. Former Pioneer and Kilties member Nick Lane is the executive director and also band director at Oregon High School. He and his staff have created what will perhaps be a model for other schools around the country to maybe turn their fall marching band into a summer drum corps. The final Open competitor, Legends (right, Ron Walloch), is another success story, this time one based in Kalamazoo, MI. Their executive director, Ibe Sodawalla, has produced a consistently-improving and growing-in-size performing group that always presents a unique look and style. This time around the show is titled “Along Came A Spider” and features the guard costumed to suggest the insects along with a collection of web-like half spheres and gausy material.A hint of the nursery rhyme tune Itsy Bitsy Spider is heard, along with a few classical pieces from Shostakovich and Stravinsky, with some more contemporary songs from Imogen Heap, Eric Whitacre and Michael Dougherty.In their twelfth season of competition, Legends has become among the top competitors in their division and show great promise for the future.Music City (left, Chris Maher) began the World Class segment of today’s line-up, making their debut this season with a bigger, more impressive and creative program based on the legend of Casey Jones. Their entrance involved the block of brass and percussion chugging their way from the left end zone and onto the “stage” like a train.Coal rubbed on their cheeks and in a costume that suggested trains, complete with a red neckerchief, it was a total package, highlighted by a number of outstanding solos, some with mutes and I even heard what sounded like a harp projected from the pit.Some of the musical style reminded me of the early Spirit of Atlanta programming and it’s obvious the corps has taken a significant step up to join the ranks of the upper-level DCI corps.Pioneer (right, Ron Walloch) lives up to their familiar slogan, “Better every day,” and this year’s show is one of the better ones they’ve designed over the last few seasons. While the theme, “Celtic Dragons,” doesn’t exactly coincide with their traditional Irish connections, it is still an entertaining product.They’ve costumed the color guard in crowns and an aqua-colored look that highlights the 16 guard members’ contributions to the program. The brass section numbers about 32 and is playing a largely internally-composed score by staff arranger Rob Stein, plus the John Powell tune Taking Flight, derived from the “How to Train Your Dragon” movie soundtrack.The corps continually places at the bottom of the class, but are always enjoyable to witness and are worthy of their place in the class.I’ve been looking forward to seeing Jersey Surf (right, Tom Siegfried) and their “Mondrian” program during their first foray into the Midwest this season. As a fan of the artists’ work, I liked the use of the primary colors of red, yellow and blue, distributed among the tops in the brass, percussion and color guard. They also used three sets using the same three colors.The design of the uniform reminds me of a long-ago Canadian corps called Conqueror from Hamilton, ONT. The corps fielded a large percussion section including nine snares and five multi-toms.A nice baritone solo was highlighted, along with two piccolo trumpets on podiums that were miked and a French horn feature as well.Genesis (left, Robb Quinn) came next on the schedule and opened with an effective formation. The patterned insert inside the pant legs provided a noticeable contrast and I especially liked the guard with white dresses polka-dotted with gray and lime green accents.The big band style of music caught the attention of fans as the brass section provided some wonderful swing-type program of familiar tunes, including an unexpected Doris Day hit, Que Sera Sera and a prop-free production. Spirit of Atlanta (right, Larry Eckert) is a fantastic surprise this summer. They have come out with a strong show called “Knock” and have placed 24 red doors that are intricately painted. A fascinating drill presented the musical program in an effective way. The bowler hats and long feathers are a particularly great look, along with their well-designed body suits.The Colts’ (left, Chris Maher) “True Believer” theme is carried out well through not only the musical selections, but the interesting use of 20 beds that are sometimes tiled on-end to display colorful panels during each section of the show that depicted Loneliness, Whimsicality, Reflection, Materialism and Introspection.Motherless Child beings the presentation and also includes the familiar Farandole, Billy Joel’s Big Shot and concluding with an emotional selection called A Piece of Sky from the closing of Barbra Streisand’s movie “Yentl” by Michel Legrand and the Bergmans.The Mandarins (left, John Matter) are making everyone one -- fans and other corps -- sit up and take notice as they storm across the Midwest, headed toward a likely finalist spot in Indianapolis. The rotating stage at center field focuses attention on a number of brass, percussion and guard features, while the quite unusual look of the guard includes what appear to be inflatable “tentacles” on top.Their production is angry and dark, but the quality of performance is top-shelf. The stilt-walkers make their way around the field during the middle section and there is a moment when a member picks up a box with an undulating light inside. Interesting drill designs are frequent and attention-getting.The always-innovative Crossmen (right, Ron Walloch) began their program with a New Orleans funeral-type procession, complete with black umbrellas. The hourglass primary prop and the “broken” halves of discarded hourglasses were striking. I enjoyed several noticeable bass drum features and was impressed with the Maltese-covered uniforms in silver, gold and black.The use of funeral masks were eye-catching, the male soloist up-front was excellent and the superb flugle horn featured was beautiful as he played with one hand while holding an umbrella in the other.An uncharacteristic look and program is so far keeping the Madison Scouts (left, Ron Walloch) a few notches out of finals contention. It’s obvious the members are working to maximize their “Heart and Soul” show and I’m impressed with the female soloist, but wish she was featured more often. Tonight they poured a lot of emotion into their performance and they’re inching further up the ladder.The Blue Stars’ (right, Ron Walloch) “The Once and Future Carpenter” takes an interesting approach to combining carpentry with several popular songs from The Carpenters, including We’ve Only Just Begun and Close to You. It’s refreshing to have a corps present tunes that are generally recognizable and worthy of fans leaving the stadium humming them.I still find the yellow “work boots” distracting, but the members, all dressed alike including the guard, are performing at a high level. This is a very enjoyable program.After a rather rough winter, The Cadets (left, Chris Maher) have weathered their unfortunate storm and maintained about the same ranking they’ve occupied the last couple of years, at least at this point. The “Unity” theme is working well for them as they work through a typically-challenging musical and visual production.I find the front of their costumes to be quite busy, but it’s contrasted effectively with the all-black backs and the cranberry appearance of the guard. The male/female duet was beautiful, with outstanding voices. The company front was a great surprise, as was the closing flags with the cadet front and silver buckle design, a nice ending touch.Phantom Regiment (left, Ron Walloch) returns to a past theme using segments of Dvorak’s “New World Symphony” along with the Finale from the movie “Mr Magorium’s Wonder Emporium,” a Prokofiev piece and several more recent tunes by David Maslanka and Adam Schoenberg. The missing helmets have been replaced by hoods that are alternately used throughout. The ladder-like props moved around the field and occasionally linked up are used for the guard and sometimes the brass players to hang from, climb on top of and used to feature a male dancer.One of their most affecting productions is keeping The Cavaliers (left, Robb Quinn) in the hunt competitively. The initial uniform is all-black and suggests the concept was taken from Top Secret, the exhibition drum line from Basel, Switzerland. It’s a great look that eventually reveals the familiar green. The color guard is consistently one of the best, with unique equipment work, energetic performance and, during the closing number -- Oh What A World -- use of more colors than normally seen, reminiscent of Tommy Keenum’s productions for the Sky Ryders in the mid 1980s.Boston Crusaders’ (right, Pat Chagnon) “S.O.S.” show begins with a tarp in the right end zone looking like a sandy beach and the ocean. The use of the rotating compass is utilized effectively, as are the periodical messages like the “S.O.S.” formation a the beginning,” then “HELP,” “LOST” and the eventual “Found.”They are reusing their 2017 prop with the “material” flames and blower, but it’s appropriate for the production and is situated in the middle of the intricately-painted compass.Next >