This post could seriously go on for pages, taking the rest of your life to read. I don’t have that much time, so I’ll shoot for a brief introduction.

When I mention to someone for the first time that I am an avid fan of drum corps, the first question I get asked is: What is drum corps? Drum corps is amazing. I really feel that the only description that does it any justice is the activity itself. Imagine a “professional” marching band comprised of 150 16-22 year olds who are spending their entire summer, with rehearsals going back to November of the previous year, learning and refining an 11 minute field show. Imagine that these athletes (yes, it is very trying on the human body) are running, moving in an extremely precise manner, and blasting away at their instruments all at once. Did I mention that these individuals are also either musicians, playing brass and percussion, or highly choreographed dancers in the color guard? You’ve now imagined just the tip of the iceberg around what makes up the drum corps activity.

DCI stands for Drum Corps International (http://www.dci.org) and they host almost nightly shows each summer between mid-June and mid-August for around 40-50 competitive corps. These corps compete in two divisions – World Class and Open Class. The corps are judged on their musicianship, their marching and visual performance, and their show’s overall general effect.

I could talk for days about drum corps and DCI, but I’ll have to save that for another post. As I said earlier, you really just have to see it live to understand just how great this activity is. However, since I can’t transport you to a show right now, video will have to suffice! Please enjoy the following clips from The Cavaliers, a World Class corps, performing their 2002 show titled “Frameworks”.

Start Here! This is typically the first clip I show my friends when explaining drum corps. The ability of The Cavaliers when it comes to their formations on the field is just outstanding and it starts to give you an idea just how precise these individuals must be while performing on the field.

Did you like that? Check out the first ten seconds of this next clip:

This next clip is about mid-way through their show. It’s been termed the “Fight Club” sequence – very cool and fun to watch!

It dawns on me that these clips, at least at the beginning, haven’t featured marching and playing! It is terribly difficult and not for the faint of heart. Check out the end of their show in this next clip, which includes a little reprise from earlier…

Since I’m sure that you fully enjoyed all of the clips above, feel free to watch the entire show here from start to finish.