The Blue Devils are proud to be the champions!

            Photo courtesy of www.dci.org

    For 40 years, a phenomenal experience that young adults may participate in has caught the eye of many of those with musical talent during their summers - Drum Corps International, or DCI.  DCI is much similar to a marching band, both contain a brass section, drum line, front ensemble, and color guard, but unlike a marching band, lack the woodwind section.  Both a drum corps and a high school marching band are judged upon the level of difficulty of the work and if they execute it in a precise manner that looks “together,” how they sound musically, along with how they appear visually.

    This summer was the 40th anniversary of DCI.  Many young adults worked all summer, or even long before, to learn their music, be a part of this awesome experience and hopefully win the DCI World Championship.  This year, the Blue Devils, a drum corps from California took their 15th Championship title with a score of 98.70, their fourth in the last six years.  Their show this year was entitled “Cabaret Voltaire” which received Best Color Guard, Best Visual Performance, Best Percussion, and Best General Effect.  Their show was based on the Dada art movement of France that was formed from the negative reaction to the horrors of WWI. David Gibbs, Blue Devils corps director says that, “We’re just blessed.  We’re so thankful that the whole activity is going great.  This is one of the best ensembles we’ve had.”  The corps were invited to perform selections from their show at halftime for the NFL’s Colts versus Rams Sunday, August 12.

    Behind the Blue Devils, Carolina Crown placed second with a score of 97.65 and Phantom Regiment scored third with a score of 96.55.  Carolina Crown took home the awards for Best Visual Performance, tying with the Blue Devils for this award, and Best Brass section.  Mike Roach, field commander of Carolina Crown says, “This was the best way we could have gone out.  It was a great show.”  Field commander of Phantom Regiment, Dean Patterson, says, “It was a very emotional performance and everybody is just so proud of what they’ve accomplished.”  Carolina Crown’s show was entitled “For the Common Good,” and was about humans becoming the best that they can be when pushed to their limit.  Phantom Regiment’s show was entitled “Turandot,” the story of the ice princess who sets up challenges for suitors who are killed if they fail, and falls in love with one of her suitors which makes her ice heart melt away.

    This long competition week went from August 9th to August 11th and included a preliminary round, semifinals, and finals.  The preliminary round was streamed live at the Cinemark theatre and many members of both our LOHS band and members of our new McCracken County Mustangs Marching Band attended.  Nick Elias (12) saw the preliminaries at the theaters and said that his favorite show was Carolina Crown, because it connected with the audience more than other shows.  Jake Clutts (12) attended the DCI finals live and said that, “All the talent goes to the Blue Devils.  Auditioning members know that their corps will win or score extremely high, so each member works hard.  I enjoyed their show, but it is very complex.  One would not understand its true meaning after watching it only once.”

    Although the Blue Devils’ show relied heavily on electronics and the percussion, overall it was spectacular and showed the corps talent again through the complexity of their drill on the field and music that was played.  The color guard was fantastic as well, and had very difficult and clean work. The percussion, both drum line and front ensemble, were excellent, and never missed a beat.  The future of the corps is very bright, and will hopefully continue to have young adults to help it shine as brightly as it does now.

Sydney Chambers

Staff Writer