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From: [e-mail] (Michael J. Fath)
Subject: rec.arts.marching.drumcorps FAQ  1/6  General info; DC on-line
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Summary:  Introduction; DCI; drum corps on-line; corps information
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Archive-name: drumcorps-faq/part1
Last-modified: 1994/02/27

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for rec.arts.marching.drumcorps
Part 1 of 6  Introduction; Drum Corps On-line; Cybercorps!; Where to
get drum corps information

Written by Michael Fath and Donald Chinn.
Administered by Michael Fath ([e-mail])

NOTICE:  This FAQ is copyright (c) 1994 by Michael Fath and is made available
as a service to the drum corps and the Internet community.  The FAQ may be
distributed freely in printed or electronic form, provided that it is not
modified.  The FAQ may not be sold in any medium including electronic, CD-ROM,
or database, or published in print without the express written permission of
the authors.  Contact Michael Fath ([e-mail]) if there are
any questions.

Comments welcome on any aspect of this FAQ.  We are especially looking
for information on Div. II/III corps, and early drum corps information
(VFW and American Legion Championships and pre-DCI corps in general).
If you see anything that is inaccurate (such as corps address information
or repertoire), please let us know.

Table of Contents:

1.0 What is drum corps?
    1.0.1     DCI and DCA

1.1 Drum corps on-line
    1.1.1    History of drum corps on-line
    1.1.2     Rec.arts.marching.drumcorps
    1.1.3     Internet-Mail Gateway
    1.1.4     FTP site
    1.1.5    Archive site
    1.1.6    Cybercorps!

1.2 Sources for drum corps information
    1.2.1     Drum Corps International
    1.2.2    Drum Corps World
    1.2.3    other drum corps associations
    1.2.4    books
    1.2.5    scorelines

1.3 Audio and video recordings
    1.3.1    compact discs and cassettes
    1.3.2    videos


1.0 What is drum corps?

    Drum corps is an abbreviation for drum and bugle corps.  During
the competitive season, corps from all across the US and Canada perform
to crowds of up to 35,000.  The closest kind of group to a drum corps that
is not a drum corps is the marching band, but the performance levels of
the top drum corps is in general higher than top marching bands.

    The music.  Drum corps do NOT play Sousa marches or "um-pa-
pa" music.  The repertoire of modern drum corps consists of classical,
jazz, contemporary, and symphonic literature.  Broadway musicals are
also popular.  Some organizations tend to play a single kind of music.  For
example, the Concord Blue Devils tend to play jazz each year, while the
Phantom Regiment plays classical music each year.  Gone are the days of
sitting on the 50 yardline playing the theme from Rocky and Stars and
Stripes Forever (which used to be common in both drum corps and
marching bands).  The music is arranged by professionals.  The brass and
percussion instructors are among the best in the country.  There are
many college music professors involved in the activity.

    The drill.  Drills are also designed by professional artists and
choreographers.  Smooth curves during delicate passages and sharp angles
during aggressive passages accent the presentation of the music.  Color
and dance also add to the interpretation of the music. The drill and the
music are integrated into a whole (unlike many field shows one sees at a
typical halftime show) in a constantly moving show.

    There are three sections of a drum corps: the brass, the
percussion, and the color guard.  See later questions for descriptions for
what are allowed in the brass and percussion sections.  The color guard (a
misnomer in today's performances) is the group of performers who
handle the flags and other props that visually enhance the performance.
They typically do quite a bit of dancing and equipment work.

    Forget about any experiences you've had with high school and
college marching bands.  Drum corps is a completely different animal, and
any music-lover ought to consider seeing a show towards the end of the
season.

    1.0.1 DCI and DCA

    There are many organizations devoted to drum and bugles corps
world-wide.  Many of these are listed below in section 1.2.  But the two
most important organizations are DCI (Drum Corps International) and
DCA (Drum Corps Associates).  DCI supervises the junior drum and bugle
corps in North America.  These are corps that are restricted to members
21 years of age or younger.  Most drum and bugle corps in fall into this
general catagory.  DCI corps march in the DCI circuit which culminates in
the DCI World Championships on the third Saturday of August each
summer.

    DCA differs from DCI in a number of respects.  DCA corps are often
called Senior corps and are open to people of any age.  DCA runs its own
circuit, too which culminates in the DCA Championships over Labor Day
weekend each year.  In this FAQ, I have grouped the information on DCA
corps together in Section 6.  This is because the DCA information is
maintained and updated by Martin Cross ([e-mail]) and
this proves to be the simplest way to do it.

1.1 Drum corps on-line

    1.1.1 History of drum corps on-line

    The first on-line newletter about drum corps that I am aware of
was called Off-The-Line (The Marching Arts List).  It was administered
by several people, most recently by DJ Foremsky
([e-mail]).  In March of 1992, Michael Fath
([e-mail]) formed an alt newgroup called
alt.drumcorps.  The success of alt.drumcorps resulted in the demise of
Off-The-Line, since most people on the list had access to UseNet and
discussion moved there.  After nine months of activity, readers of
alt.drumcorps decided to hold an RFD and CFV to create a mainstream
newsgroup for drumcorps discussion.  The vote was run by Phil
Earnhardt and Michael Fath and held during November, 1992.  The vote
was successful and two groups were formed under the hierachy of
Rec.arts.marching.*.  Rec.arts.marching.drumcorps and
Rec.arts.marching.misc were created on UseNet in December, 1992.  In
it's first year of existence, over 8,000 messages have passed
through Rec.arts.marching.drumcorps.

    1.1.2 Rec.arts.marching.drumcorps (RAMD)

    The home for most all drum corps discussion on the InterNet is the
Newsgroup Rec.arts.marching.drumcorps.  The newsgroup is often
abbreviated RAMD.  There is a companion Newsgroup called
Rec.arts.marching.misc that is devoted to the discussion of other marching
arts such as marching bands (college and high school), color guards, and
everything else.

    1.1.3 Drumcorps mailing list

    A Drumcorps-Digest mailing list has been created by Mark
Baushke ([e-mail]) to allow people without access to UseNet to
receive a daily digest of articles that appear in alt.drumcorps or
rec.arts.marching.drumcorps and post articles to alt.drumcorps and to
rec.arts.marching.drumcorps.

    If you have administrative requests regarding the digest, please
direct them to [e-mail] as Mark is NOT on
the digest mailing list himself.  Typical administrative requests should
be:
    - please remove me from the drumpcorps-digest list
    - please add me to the drumpcorps-digest list
    - please change my old address <old-address> to <new-address>

    Two addresses have also been created which will post e-mail sent
to them to the corresponding newsgroup of:

    [e-mail] (posts to alt.drumcorps)
and
    [e-mail] (posts to
            rec.arts.marching.drumcorps)

    Any replies you wish to make to newsgroup postings you read in
the digest are as simple as sending e-mail to the appropriate address.  The
digest software runs an NNTP reader client once per day which will read
all previously unread articles in the group and package them as a single
e-mail message. If there are no new articles, or the news machine is
down, then you will not get any articles that day. If you have not seen a
digest in more than three days, you might want to send e-mail to the
administrivia address to have me look into any problems.

    1.1.4 FTP site for drum corps information

    The most recent version of the FAQ can be found at the anonymous
FTP site:  charon.mit.edu  in the directory
/pub/usenet-by-group/rec.arts.marching.drumcorps/

    Recently, a new anonymous FTP site has been established by
Kelly Hall ([e-mail]) for keeping the FAQ, drumcorps GIFs,
scores, and other information.  The information for this site is:

Name: lal.cs.byu.edu
IP: 128.187.2.182
login: anonymous
password: <your email address>
dir: pub/dci

This site can also be reached through the World Wide Web (WWW).
The address is   http://lal.cs.byu.edu/dci/dci.html
Contact Kelly Hall for more information.

    1.1.5 Archive site for rec.arts.marching.drumcorps articles

    An archive site for drum corps articles has not, to my knowledge,
been established.  If any computer experts would like to help me get one
started, please let me know.

    1.1.6 Cybercorps  by Jeff Butera ([e-mail])

What is this Cybercorps thing?
    I have been asked this directly (or other fellow RAMDers have
fowarded misguided souls to me to ask) more times than I wish
to count.  So I have created this nice little explanation which
I can send to reply to those who ask.  I am the "keeper of the
list".  That's it.  My EMAIL is [e-mail] and I
am the one you need to talk to "audition".
    Many people call Cybercorps a "virtual" corps.  Yes, we are real!
We have a drum major, all the basic instruments covered, and a staff.

Does Cybercorps have auditions?
    Yes.  I will accept your EMAIL request to be added to Cybercorps
as your audition.  To be sucessfully added, there are certain rudiments
every member must perform:
   1) I need your full name (as you'd like it to appear on something
    semi-official, like a T-shirt).
   2) I need a valid EMAIL address.
   3) I need a position (instrument, guard or staff, etc) for you to fill.

What can I play/spin/etc?
    It doesn't matter what you know for an instrument or guard equipment.
Heck, people who in reality play horns could be in the guard, and vice-versa.
Thus, you aren't limited to a piece of equipment you already know!  Pick
something you always wish you could do.

Do we perform?
    Heck ya!  Well, if you count showing up at various and sundry DCI
shows during the hot summer months in a Cybercorps uniform as performing,
yes we do.

So what does Cybercorps really "do"?
    My best explanation is that Cybercorps exists for those who have
aged out, did not get to march, can't march, or do actually march in a
DCI corps, but still want to share an allegiance with other fellow RAMDers.
We (the members and staff) basically meet at DCI shows by wearing T-shirts
printed each year (well, we're 1 for 1 right now!).  That way you can put a
face to the names you see flying about on the net every day you read your news.

    That's it.  Want to join?   Audition as described above.

1.2 Sources for drum corps information

    1.2.1     Drum Corps International

    The official organization devoted to promoting the junior drum and
bugle corps activity in North America is called Drum Corps International
(DCI).  DCI and its Board of Directors plans the summer performance
schedules, coordinates judging, hosts regional competitions, and runs the
DCI World Championships during the third week of August every summer.
It is roughly analogous to the NCAA for college athletics.  DCI was
organized in 1972 as a reaction to the "harsh" way the VFW (Veterans of
Foreign War) and AL (American Legion) were governing the activity.  DCI
publishes a bimonthly newsletter called DCI Today.  It is a must for any
drum corps fan.

DCI Today
P.O. Box 548, Lombard, IL  60148-0548
1-800-344-2772 or 708-495-9866
Six bi-monthly issues
1st class - $12.00/yr
4th class bulk rate - $6.00 (lifetime subscr. - delivery not guaranteed)

    1.2.2    Drum Corps World

    Drum Corps World (DCW) serves as the only independent
publication devoted to the drum and bugle corps activity world-wide.  The
editor is Steve Vickers, and DCW prides itself on providing nearly
complete coverage of drum corps compeitions every summer as well as
news during the winter months.  The magazine is expensive due to it
limited circulation but well worthwhile for the serious drum corps fan.

Drum Corps World
P.O. Box 8052, Madison, WI  53708-8052
1-800-554-9630
20 issues per year
1st class - $63.00/yr
2nd class - $45.00/yr

    1.2.3    Other drum corps associations

    In addition to DCI, there are many regionals and international
drum corps organizations that promote the activity world wide.  Here is a
complete listing of these organizations.

DCA - Drum Corps Associates
Michael Petrone, 10 Columbus Drive, Monmouth Beach, NJ  07750
908-222-3835

DCI - Drum Corps International
Ellen Palmer, P.O. Box 548, Lombard, IL  60148
708-495-9866

DCI regional organizations:

DCE - Drum Corps East
Anthony DiCarlo, 246 West Street, South Weymouth, MA  02188
617-331-9500

DCM - Drum Corps Midwest
Roman Blenski, 4601 West Holt Avenue, Milwaukee, WI  53220
414-327-2847

DCS - Drum Corps South
newly reforned in 1993.

DCW - Drum Corps West
Tom Hope, 372 Florin Road Suite #303, Sacramento, CA  95832
916-429-9545

Independent regional organizations:

DCNY - Drum Corps New York
Carl Pynn, P.O. Box 22, Wampsville, NY  13163
315-363-8889/313-363-1230

E-Mass - Eastern Massachusetts
Elaine Blinn, 18 Jef Road, Billerica, MA  02821
508-667-2443

GSC - Garden State Circuit
Carmen Cirlincione, 249 Crystal Street, North Arlington, NJ
07032
201-998-4222

IAA - Illinois All-American
Aurelia Kmiec, 4622 North Kostner Avenue, Chicago, IL  60630
708-725-8235

UDCA - United Drum Corps Association
Ralph Parkhill, 523 Montauk Highway, Sayville, NY  11782
516-589-5047

International drum corps associations:

DCD - Drum Corps Deutschland
Thomas Rohr, Faselwiese 5, 6700 Ludwigshafen/Rh., Germany
0621-664010

DCH - Drum Corps Holland
Jos Brusse, Farenheitlaan 29, 1222 LM, Lilversum, Netherlands
011-31-78-164512

DCUK - Drum Corps United Kingdom
John Garton c/o The Oliver Hind Club, Edale Road, Sneinton Dale,
Nottingham, England NG2 4HT
011-44-602-483200

DCWI - Drum Corps West Indies
Junior Ricketts, 375 Pine Street, Brooklyn, NY  11208
718-235-0716

FAMQ - Federation des Association Musicales du Quebec
Carol Plante, P.O. Box 1000, Succursale M, Montreal, Quebec,
Canada
514-252-3025

ODCA - Ontario Drum Corps Association
Lynne Sosnowski, 258 King Street North Suite 12-J, Waterloo,
Ontario, Canada  N2J 2Y9
519-746-0042


    1.2.4    books

    Jodeen E. Popp's 1978 book on drum corps is called Competitive
Drum Corps.  It is a 8 1/2" X 11" paperback book which includes sections
on the origins of drum corps and on individual corps' histories.  It also
includes yearly summaries of the drum corps activity from the 1950's
through 1979.It includes two supplements for 1980 and 1981.  It can be
ordered by writing to Olympic Printing Inc., 83 N. Broadway, Des
Plaines, IL  60016 or calling 708-296-3015.  I paid $35.00 for mine
in 1992.

    Introducing the Drum and Bugle Corps.  There is a book called
Introducing the Drum and Bugle Corps.  It is a book for young adults and
describes a girl's experiences marching with the Diplomat's from Malden,
MA.  More details will be added on this later.

    1.2.5    scorelines

    Every summer, several of the top 12 drum and bugle corps set up
their own individual scoreline to allow drum corps fans to get daily
updates on scores.  These scorelines are free except for any long distance
costs.  In addition, DCI has a number
1-900-CAN-DRUM that can also be used for daily score updates.  The cost
for this call is $1.50/1st min, $0.95 for each additional minute.

Here are some of the scoreline phone numbers:

DCI Scoreline        1-900-CAN-DRUM
Blue Knights        303-730-1765
Cadets of Bergen County    201-384-7088
Cavaliers        312-763-3807
Santa Clara Vanguard    408-727-5591
Star of Indiana        812-323-3770


1.3 Audio and video recordings

    1.3.1    compact discs and cassettes

    DCI sells cassettes and CD's of recent Championship years.  For the
cassettes, you can order the top 12 corps' performances (3 tapes) or the
top 24 corps (6 tapes).  The CD's come in either the 2-disc version (top
14 corps) or the 3-disc version (top 21 corps).  The 3-disc CD set costs
about $50.  You can order through the address and phone no. for DCI
above.

Current prices for CDs - a summary from the NOV/DEC issue of DCI:

Phone Number:.......1-800-344-2772
Address:............DCI Merchandising
            P.O. Box 33059
            Northglenn, CO 80234
Payment:............Visa/AMX/Discover/MC/check/M.O.
Merchandise:
  CS-93-XMAS  $14.00  Ornaments in Brass Cassette
  CD-93-XMAS  $20.00  Ornaments in Brass CD
  CAL-01      $10.00  Calendar 1994-95 (18 month calendar)
  CS-93-2V    $24.00  Cassettes (Top 12)
  CS-93-2VPK  $36.00  Cassettes (Top 12) plus Ornaments in Brass
  CS-93-4V    $40.00  Cassettes (Top 24)
  CS-93-4VPK  $52.00  Cassettes (Top 24) plus Ornaments in Brass
  CD-93-2V    $40.00  CD's (Top 14)
  CD-93-2VPK  $58.00  CD's (Top 14) plus Ornaments in Brass
  CD-93-3V    $50.00  CD's (Top 21)
  CD-93-3VPK  $68.00  CD's (Top 21) plus Ornaments in Brass
The following is a special Holiday Collection.  It is packaged in a 10x13
gloss black album that includes the 1993 Championships and Ornaments in Brass
recordings, and the 18 month full color wall calendar.
  CS-93-HC    $60.00  Cassette Tape Holiday Collection
  CD-93-HC    $75.00  CD'S Holiday Collection

    Individual corps also have recordings of their own corps.  The Blue
Devils, Santa Clara Vanguard, and Cadets of Bergen County have
recordings in one form or another.  They may be other corps that do this
as well.

    1.3.2    videos

    800 Video Express is the company that sells videos of all previous
championship performances.  Any particular years' championship
program (top 12 corps) costs $98, and they have all years of DCI.  They
have other packages, such as a set of tapes that only has performances of
the Blue Devils for the past 17 years (substitute "Blue Devils" for your
favorite corps).  For a complete catalog, contact 800 Video Express.

DCI World Championship Video's
Phone:.............1-800-848-8433
Address:...........800 Video Express, Inc
           P.O. Box 142
           Palatine, IL  60078
Payment:...........MC/VISA/check
Merchandise:
  $39.00 each  Individual performances for any Div II/III or Open class corps
           (length approximately 15 min.)
  $98.00       Full finals show of top 12 corps.  Two tape package taped from
               the PBS broadcast.  (Over 3 hrs)
  $175.00      Top 25 performances.  This 3-tape package includes the top 25
               corps recorded exclusively at Thursday's quarterfinals.  This
               package is available in multiple as well as high camera version.
           (Over 5 hrs)
  $98.00       Div. II or III complete performance finals show.


    1.3.3    music for wind ensemble

    Corps play a wide range of music including classical, contempory,
jazz, soundtracks, and music for wind ensemble.  Original recordings of
much of this music can be bought at your local record store.  But most
music for wind ensemble is not widely available.  I have found a good
source of music for wind ensemble.  They are:

West Coast Music Service
P.O. Box 3501
North Ft. Myers, FL  33918-3501
813-731-0565

    I have ordered a few CDs from them and they have been great.
They have almost everything that has been written for wind
ensembles available, mostly performed by university bands.
CDs I got from them had Cincinnati Concervatory performing
Gavorkna Fanfare and Heroes, Lost and Fallen; and Tokyo Kosai
Wind Ensemble performing Morning Alleluias.
--
MM   MM FFFFF     Michael J. Fath
M M M M F    Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology
M  M  M FFF     The University of Chicago
M     M F       Chicago, IL  60637                [e-mail]