MY 2ND ALL-TIME FAVORITE DRUM & BUGLE CORPS:
CROSSMEN (San Antonio, Texas)
CADETS (Garfield, New Jersey)
PHANTOM REGIMENT (Rockford, Illinois)
I ABSOLUTELY adore these corps!! My 2ND ALL-TIME FAVES.
I hold a VERY special place in my heart for these drum corps. Each one of these corps has helped create a positive impact on me & my life.
Crossmen's show was the first official drum corps show I ever heard. I had stated before (on my older blog) that SCV (not shown here) was the first corps corps I had ever seen, but it was the second drum corps show I had ever heard (Blue Devils' '99 show being the first drum corps show I had ever heard AND seen). Crossmen's '92 show, "Songs for Planet Earth", was the very first show I had ever heard from any drum corps (courtesy of my high school band director when he was recruiting 8th graders who were going to be potential marching band members in the next year; hence us listening to the show music). This show definitely means THE WORLD to me and I will always be FOREVER grateful for everyone who made Crossmen's show SO INSPIRING that year.
SAME APPLIES for CADETS. I ended up marching Cadets' 1992 (and some of their '93) shows in high school. Absolutely AWESOME music. A significant show that still inspires me to this day (having played the music on the marching field AND in the concert hall [by Mr. Holsinger himself; NOT JOKING; A TRUE BLESSING & HONOR]). I will ALWAYS LOVE THIS SHOW. ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. This show was the one that got my high school's marching band (Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.; GO BEARS!!) to Bands of America (BOA) at the National level of competition (normally we'd compete at the regional level). Although I have many fond memories of watching Cadets perform, they don't exist anymore as a corp (although their vets are still out there in the world; I'd trust they are upholding the values & lessons that the corps brought into their lives, as it did mine [having been taught by a good amount of Cadets when I marched Magic in '02]). I'd like to encourage everyone who enjoys watching drum corps shows to go back and check out all of their shows throughout the decades. There were a LOT of people who made Cadets an incredible part of the drum corps community, and the impact they left was not only on each field that they rehearsed & performed their hearts & souls out for, but they also left an impact on the lives of everyone who had ever become a fan. They are truly missed.
Phantom Regiment is a corps that needs no introduction. A corps that will light a fire in your soul. Without a doubt one of the most powerful corps that has ever performed on any field. The first Phantom show I had ever seen was actually the first show they ever won a championship with, and it happened right here in ORLANDO. Actually come to think of it, a great amount of AMAZING drum corps moments happened right here in Orlando, Florida, U.S.A. The first year Phantom Regiment won DCI's Gold medal was in 1996 (and they tied with Blue Devils; having gone into finals night from a 3rd place finish on semi-finals the night before). Phantom's example truly left a remarkable impression on me when I had learned about how they tied with Blue Devils (commonly a heavy favorite) coming out from third place the previous night. I know normally people hate ties, but I have always thought it was one of the most beautiful things to ever happen. There's something truly profound about Phantom's first championship (their second was in 2008, "SPARTACUS"; an INCREDIBLE show; they got the title that night all on their own, no ties that night). The true beauty lies in the show itself, if you watch that performance of Phantom, there's no denying the power & majesty of that show and the performance of the corps. An absolute work of art and one of the most inspiring drum corps shows of all time. The best part is you know they gave it their all & performed their hearts out (as evident in the tear-inducing show of Drum Major Kristy Spears as the closer comes to an end of epic proportions). I will ALWAYS LOVE PHANTOM REGIMENT!!
So, there ya have it, folks.
My 2nd ALL-TIME FAVORITE DRUM & BUGLE CORPS is a tie between Crossmen (San Antonio, Texas/formerly Pennsylvania & Delaware), Cadets (Garfield, New Jersey/also Pennsylvania), & Phantom Regiment (Rockford, Illinois).
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL DRUM CORPS!!
