With its loud playing, fun spirit and unmatchable style, the UW Marching Band is a staple of the UW-Madison's campus. You would be hard pressed to find anyone, even a freshman, who hasn't heard the band play. Yet an entirely separate world of marching music exists outside of the university setting, one that very few people have heard of: Drum corps. As much a physical sport as an arts activity, marching music's ""major league"" is an intense, highly demanding activity that explores a new frontier of the arts. I experienced this hidden marching world when I saw the Drum Corps International Championships in Indianapolis this past August.
Drum corps are non-profit entities made up of young people ages 16-21. Members audition for a spot in one of these highly selective organizations. If accepted, they ""move in"" to their corps in late May to begin pre-season rehearsals. From this time until championships in August members live, rehearse and travel with their corps. A corps consists of three sections: The hornline (brass players), drumline (percussion players) and color guard (dancers and flag/rifle spinners). These three sections come together to perform one 10-minute show they perfect throughout the season. Shows are scored by judges on the field on the basis of how well the musical and visual packages are executed and how well they fit together.
The crowd-favorite performance this year was The Cavaliers' ""Mad World,"" based on the song of the same name by Tears for Fears and covered by Gary Jules. Throughout this show, members of the corps portrayed a growing level of insanity that culminated in an a capella rendition of the ""Rifleman's Creed"" from The U.S. Marines. The performers were stunning; they portrayed the intensity and violence inherent in such a show convincingly and without creating caricature. The haunting music was transferred into the movements of the performers so the two complemented but did not conflict with each other.
The Madison community boasts its own drum corps, the Madison Scouts, which came from a disappointing 17th place finish last year to place in the top 10 at this year's championships. The Scouts announced early in the pre-season that they planned to march 20 tubas, about double the standard amount. Their announcement was met with some skepticism, both that the sound of the corps would be unbalanced and the tuba section itself wouldn't be able to blend with such a high number of instruments. Despite these concerns, the tuba sound turned out to be a benefit for the Scouts. The rich, dark tone the section produced provided a strong foundation for the Scouts' show, and the publicity generated by marching 20 tubas created a strong buzz of interest throughout the drum corps community.
The 2010 champions were the Blue Devils, based out of Concord, Calif. The Blue Devils excel in creating a strong visual package that pushes the boundaries of the activity; unfortunately, this creativity often comes at the expense of their musical package. The Blue Devils' show featured members running with their elbows at a strict 90 degree angle and then stopping suddenly to strike a pose or form a picture with other members. Brass players did barrel turns (where one turns in the air on an axis), a move usually reserved for the more dance-oriented color guard. These feats were visually exciting and executed well.
Yet the Blue Devils' total playing time was under five minutes of a 10 minute show. A corps' score is supposed to be based half on the visual presentation and half on the musical presentation of the performance; it seems impossible that the Blue Devils could win championships when they played only half of their performance time. The quality of the Blue Devils' playing was worse than some of their competitors as well. Phantom Regiment from Rockford, Ill., played a beautiful and emotional rendition of the Second Suite from the HBO series ""Band of Brothers"" that far outshone the playing of the Blue Devils, and yet the latter placed in first.
Regardless of placements, the opportunity to see the physical intensity and artistic maturity of these artists certainly gave me a different view of what ""the arts"" can mean. The Scouts host a drum corps show every summer. You can find out more information about their shows at madisonscouts.org.
Think drum corps are totally awesome? Chat with Elana about it at esiegel3@wisc.edu.
