Drum Corps Page

From Concord California

Prior to 1957 the Blue Devils were known as the Martinettes in recognition for their founder Bill Martin. The Martinettes were primarily a all boy Drum Corps with only percussion instruments, and a separate all girl drill team. After Bill Martin's resignation in 1957, the Concord branch of the V E W. acquired the unit and called them the Blue Devils. Blue for the V F W. color and devils after Concord's local land mark, Mt. Diablo.

Mr. Tony Odello resigned as the manager of the Bell Corps in 1964 and Jerry Seawright assumed Tony's duties as manager of the Bell Corps with Erlene Shaffer as manager of the majorettes. In 1965 the Twirlers fielded a group of twelve members to compete in field shows and parades.

As a competing Jr. Drum & Bell Corps, the Blue Devil's were invincible. Victory after victory, both on the field and parades forced competitors to flee from the category as a "Jr." Drum & Bell Corps. Therefore, the Blue Devils petitioned and were awarded a "Senior" category status. The average age was 16, however, they looked forward to competing in the senior category.

A third unit was added to the Blue Devils when the previous Jr. Drum & Bell Corps elected to compete as a Senior unit. The new unit was a new Jr. Drum & Bell Corps. All of these units did extremely well. So well, that the Senior Drum & Bell Corps lacked the necessary challenge to continue as a bell corps. They thought that the natural transition would be to convert the bell corps to a bugle corps. 'The parent association agreed and a few instruments were purchased late in 1969 and recruiting began in 1970.

Soon, the Blue Devils had 10 or so brass players that provided us with the nucleus that was needed. The 10 brass joined the talented percussion line and color guard from the bell corps. The fledgling Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps was on its way to achieve history in the drum corps activity. On February 14th 1971, the Blue Devils attended their 1st competition, a "standstill" in the southern California city of Downey. The curtain rose and there on the stage bathed in a blue spot light was the embryo of what would become one of the most celebrated drum corps in the history of the activity, The Blue Devils!

They spent the rest of 1971 recruiting, practicing, recruiting, developing philosophies and recruiting. Also in 1971 the Cadet Corps ("C") was added with Ted Loney as the first manager.

By the spring of 1972 the corps had enough members to compete at home as well as up in the Northwest. The Corps changed their category from "B" to an "A" status this year.

The Blue Devils toured on a National level for the first time in 1973 and gained Associate membership in Drum Corps International by placing 23rd at the DCI Championships in Whitewater, WI. In that same year the Jr. Drum & Bell Corps was replaced with the "B" Corps under the direction of Al Piepho.

In 1974 the "A" Corps earned a full DCI membership by their 9th place finish at the DCI Championships in Ithica, N.Y. Also that year the Twirling corps continued to grow. They went to their first USTA National Championships in San Francisco. The Twirlers were 40 strong at the time and were accompanied at this competition by the "B" Corps.

In 1975 the "A" Corps made a tremendous jump to 3rd place at the DCI Championships in Philadelphia, and in 1976 won their first Drum Corps International Championship. Since 1975 the Blue Devils have never finished out of the top five at Championship and have won 10 DCI World Championships Titles.

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1996

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1999

The fist, and original, was formed in 1956 by Alex Haddad and a group of VFW 342 members who wanted to see a competitive drum corps formed. In the fall of 1956, Mr. Haddad's new corps was being formed under the name of the Rockford Rangers, with an all girl color guard to be called the Rangerettes. Many of the members did not feel the name "Rangers" was good enough for their corps. Some of the members had been listening to some Stetson D. Richmond records, and were impressed with a tune the Syracuse Brigadiers had played, entitled "The Phantom Regiment." Thus, before the corps had made any public appearances, the corps name had been changed to the Phantom Regiment and the all girl color guard was called the Phantomettes. Many of the charter members of the original Phantom Regiment had been members of the St. Thomas Crusaders.

The years between 1967 and 1974 were the most exciting in the history of the corps, they were the formative years and defined the style of the Phantom Regiment. During those years, we saw the growth of young nucleus members to a mature world class drum corps.

The remainder of the 1970s would be years of rapid advancement for the Regiment as the corps matured to become a contender for the DCI crown. In 1975, the corps placed 10th, in 1976, they placed 4th, and between 1977 and 1979, the corps places second, only a tenth or two from becoming World Champions. Although those years were frustration from a competitive standpoint, they established the Regiment as a world class powerhouse and as the decade ended.

During the early 1980s, the Regiment produced some of the most innovative programs ever to grace the field of competition. The corps was well ahead of its time with the 1981 and 1982 productions of the Spartacus Ballet, a project two years in the making. Critically acclaimed and loved by audiences everywhere, the Regiment fame grew throughout the world.

In 1996 the goal and dream of everyone involved with the organization over the past 30 years came true. The Phantom Regiment tied the Concord Blue Devils for their very first World Championship. As we head into the 21st century, the Phantom Regiment is ready to continue our past success and strive for future goals.

The Madison Scouts , founded in 1938 and celebrating 62 years of continuous operation in 1999, is one of the oldest and most successful drum corps in the history of the activity. Throughout the years, the Madison Scouts have combined an exciting educational and developmental approach designed to give each member the opportunity to achieve personal and performance excellence, while sharing in a unique fraternal experience.

The corps has also established an admirable tradition of consistently presenting innovative, challenging and exciting programs designed to communicate with and entertain each and every person who views the Madison Scouts.

From Santa Clara, California

A world-renown, world champion drum and bugle corps that travels between six and eight weeks each summer throughout the United States and Canada performing in competitive field shows and parades. The Vanguard (A-Corps) provides instruction for the experienced through the advanced member in the areas of brass, percussion and color guard. The Vanguard won its first championship in 1970 at the American Legion Championships in Portland, OR. In 1971, the Vanguard traveled to Dallas, TX and won the coveted Veterans of Foreign War Championships. In 1972, Drum Corps International (DCI) was formed with the Vanguard (A-Corps) as one of the founding members. The Vanguard (A-Corps) has won six DCI world championship titles (73, 74, 78, 81, 89 and 99), along with many other regional championships titles. Membership is primarily between the ages of 16 through a maximum age 22 (birthday is after June 1).