Often are blogs posted on 64Digits about member's hobbies and talents, taking the occasional break from talking about game design and music. Well, it's about time I share mine with the community. Let me introduce to many of you that didn't know that beyond marching band there is a professional league called drum corps, organized by Drum Corps International, each year since 1975. The activity has come a long way from playing songs like "Let the Sunshine In" and the music of Chuck Mangione, to marching at 240 beats per minute and blasting music to the crowd at fortississimo (fff). The sport (yes, a sport, because it's competitive and also scored) is full of tradition and history and endorsed by some of the largest instrument manufacturers in the world and many aren't aware of the fact.

The golden era of drum corps – in mine and in many an opinion – was between 1975 and 1993 (after the fold of Star of Indiana). Each corps' had something to contribute and many changed the way marching is today, from The Cadets (formerly known as "The Garfield Cadets", "The Holy Name Cadets of Bergen County", or just "Holy Name"; contributed the "Z-Pull" drill and the Garfield Grip for cymbals), Santa Clara Vanguard (revolutionized prop design, and progressive show themes), and the Star of Indiana (fast drill, minimalism in field shows, created the divide between "technical" shows and "crowd-friendly" shows), and many others.

Drum corps is composed of only percussion and brass (trumpets, mellophones, baritones/euphoniums, contras (shoulder tubas)) and the horns can be in any key, as long as they have valves and are bell-forward (meaning the bells, or the opening of the instrument where sound is produced, faces the crowd). Drum corps is also often referred to as "marching music's major league" and "marching band on steroids–without the woodwinds".

Without furter ado, The Crossmen…

Much can be said about something through a YouTube video but to understand what one is saying, it must be described. Here we see a clip of the finals performance of the 1992 Crossmen. This segment features the drum solo transitioning into the closer.

The front ensemble enters with a soft "rainforest" melody to hold time and allow the members to move sets. The drumline enters with snares and an equally soft triplet fill, later accompanied by basses and tenors, crescendoing into a ball-busting snare solo mixed with triplets and 32nd note diddles. Tenors pick up with crazy fast crossovers, sweeps, and crushes. Ending with a flourish, the snares transition to edge and play a simple "chugada-guh zzz", and moving closer to the center while brass bursts, facing backfield, and upon about-face the crowd goes nuts in screams and applause. It's something that can only be seen and heard to grasp.

Note: The drumline is not dirty (a term meaning they're not playing together and sound "off") – the video is old and most likely ripped from VHS so the audio is soft.

Absolutely my favorite! This starts in the same segment, just a tad earlier. Field judge Charlie Poole critiques the Crossmen percussion ensemble during the show and leaves some pretty beast comments. If you listen to the whole video, try to hold your tears at the end.

Here one can listen to the whole drum solo without the brass. This is part of the routine warmup and helps them perfect the solo and the rest of the book (the music).

How does this all compare to the modern Crossmen? The video above, uploaded by the organization, shows how much the activity has changed. Snare drums no longer use mylar heads and have switched to kevlar. Brass lines no longer use G bugles but instead use Bb brass, just as any marching band.

If you have any questions, just ask. I'll be happy to answer anything about drum corps or The Crossmen.