"Is your corps ready?"
Author's note: I put together this column as an example of something fun I may write if I worked for a publication dedicated to the marching arts (hint, hint).
Maybe it’s a bit antiquated, but I love seeing how drum majors signal when they’re ready.
Lots has changed about the marching arts over the years, but the classic, “Is your corps (or band or ensemble or whatever) ready?” has managed to stick around. I think the response to that question is a potentially great show initiator and chance for the group and its lead member to show some personality.
The question itself is kind of funny. Of course they’re ready. What do you think they’ve spent all season doing? Although I’d love to see a group one day try to make some adjustment between when the question is asked and answered.
Anyway, the signal for readiness is not exactly the same as it once was — the salute is not always so militaristic anymore, and some groups have figured out ways to squeeze out those little last drops of GE from that moment. Some have mastered timing the question to coincide with a top-notch opening hit and subsequent crowd reaction — a great way to get the most out of all the time you have on the field.
My interest in this little remnant of marching’s past is tied to my experience as a high school drum major. My marching career peaked in 2011 as drum major of my high school band, and I enjoyed that brief moment in the spotlight. (I also once conducted Phantom Regiment's hornline, see below for bonus #content.)
From the 2018 DCI tour, here are some of my favorite ways drum majors and conductors answered that famous rhetorical question.
Carl Huang, Santa Clara Vanguard
Frankly, I don’t know what bomber jackets have to do with the tower of Babel or Santa Clara Vanguard’s "Babylon" production, but they make for one heck of an accessory to go with the first drum corps uniform I’ve seen that could double as hype beast streetwear.
Vanguard drum major Carl Huang offers up a pretty simple salute, but with the right amount of swagger that makes you think, “dang, these dudes are probably gonna win a world championship.”
Little touches like keeping his feet apart and really whipping that right hand back down kick it up a couple notches. It reminded me of watching the first Golden State Warriors season with Kevin Durant, where we all knew they were going to win and they knew they were going to win and we could all tell they knew they would win.
When he pulls down the fishnet mask and takes off the bomber jacket, he seals the deal — just give them the trophy now. Huang’s salute was perfect for the show. My only recommendation would be to give him some Yeezys or reveal a Thrasher logo on his shirt to set the whole thing over the top.
Samuel Crawford, Bluecoats
Haven’t you heard? Jackets are in.
Every member of the Bluecoats hornline looked pretty great this year in their individualized suits. Guard and percussion, y’all looked great too. Especially the front ensemble — I hate when bands make their tubas wear berets, but you really pulled it off.
Anyway, Samuel Crawford’s first year on the lead podium for Bluecoats was in 2016, "Downside Up." That show kind of turned the activity on its head, so it was fitting Crawford’s salute looked pretty different than most others. (He kept his elbow kind of low, making for a much more severe looking salute.)
This year, he did something even more shocking. He didn’t salute. Gasp.
Okay, fine, other groups have bypassed salutes in recent years, but what he does at the end of his readiness signaling is what’s groundbreaking.
First, he acknowledges the corps on the field, bows, then takes off his jacket. Nice and breezy, a lot like "Session 44" was. But then he does one of the low-key coolest things I saw this year.
There’s a coat rack on his podium. Yup, he hangs up his jacket. Immediate bonus points for tidiness. That Bluecoats design team thinks of everything.
C.C. Waggoner, Blue Devils
“This guy is still marching?” I’ve said to myself the last three years when I see the Blue Devils at Big, Loud, and Live.
I thought C.C. Waggoner looked 25 when I first saw him leading the Blue Devils in 2015. Then there he was over and over again, looking grown as ever.
So his salute and crowd acknowledgement isn’t at all flashy. The Blue Devils keep that pretty simple, in contrast to their usual terrific and complex everything-and-the-kitchen-sink show design. And that contrast is great because it reminds you that the Blue Devils have mastered a mix of old and new school.
But just look at this guy. Waggoner could be a Hemsworth. Wow, such handsome. Props to him for a great career.
Claire Wilcox, Phantom Regiment
Phantom Regiment always has my favorite conductors. There’s a consistent artistry and passion I see on the corps's podiums every year, and Claire Wilcox was no exception.
Phantom Regiment conductors do the same salute every year, and it always looks great. No need to change it. Short, simple, direct. And it fits the mystique of the corps. It’s gotta be cool to go up there and uphold tradition like that.
Fist over heart, punch out, right hand up to salute, left hand up on the hip. Hold for a few seconds, bask in the applause. Then after the salute is the famous baton pull from the back of the uniform. Sheesh, how is that still so, so cool?
I should acknowledge that if I were to make this list for any other drum corps season, I would include the Phantom Regiment conductor.
(Full disclosure — I attended Phantom educational camps in high school and really wanted to be a conductor there. Alas, I got cut when I auditioned.)
Gabe Gallegos, Troopers
The Troopers are another group with a consistent answer and approach to that rhetorical question that rings out before shows.
A simple salute and a hat tip from the drum major. But look at that fit! Boots, spurs, a holster, a hat!
Gabe Gallegos gets a shoutout here because he marched for eight years — all of them with the Troopers — and you can feel the intensity coming off of him when he gets up to conduct. Watch this to see what I mean:
Here’s how I imagine the start of shows played out for the Troopers in 2018:
Announcer: “Drum major Gabe Gallegos, is your corps ready?”
Gallegos: (Doesn’t say anything because he’s so focused, instead he does the following)
*turns on heel with intensity of 1,000 waterfalls*
*focuses energy -- It’s over 9,000!!!*
*channels the raw power of every sunburst the Troopers have ever performed*
*salutes *
*"Battle Hymn of the Republic" and a thundering cavalry of horse hooves emanates from everything in his vicinity*
