Don’t Call ‘Em a Marching Band

Those attending the eighth annual Kingsmen Invitational drum and buglecorps competition will think twice before leaving their seats during halftime shows at football games this fall.

But then again, the more than 3,000 fans who recently watched seven teams from California, Arizona and Texas compete in Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium know there’s a big difference between drum and bugle corps and marching bands.

In fact, members of the Velvet Knights, from Anaheim, say they don’t like to be called a band because their focus is on using music and marching as a vehicle to compete.

“You get nervous when you see the lights and the people, but there is also that adrenaline rush you get before you go on,” said Dave Martin, a senior at Orange High School who joined the Velvet Knights as a drummer two years ago. “It makes you want to do better; it forces you to do your best.”

The more obvious difference is that the drum and bugle corps perform only with the instruments their name implies. The corps had its beginings after World War I, when veterans formed corps to perform in parades. These units, which were first formed for patriotic reasons, were attached to Veterans of Foreign Wars or American Legion posts or to youth centers. They began to develop into musical units, and by the 1960s, they started becoming more creative.

In the ‘60s and ‘70s, drum and bugle corps evolved from quasi-military drill formations and march music to show biz, with a broad spectrum of music and movements.

The Velvet Knights, formed in 1962, is a 128-member unit of people between the ages of 14 and 21. Their tour this summer, which will culminate in the Drum Corps International world championships Aug. 12 through 17 in Dallas, will take them through California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

Tryouts for the Velvet Knights are competitive, with more than 300 people vying for the available spots. Once they are selected, members must continue to prove they belong.

“It’s just like a sports team,” said John Walter, president of the Velvet Knights’ board of directors. “You need to continually improve.”

The budgets for the Velvet Knights, their eight-week summer tour, staff salaries, equipment and uniform purchases and upkeep run between $350,000 and $500,000 a year. The majority of that comes from fund-raisers, corporate sponsorships, grants and contributions.

“The only cloud over the future is when the economy is bad, it’s harder to fund,” Walter said. “But the future will be bright as long as we can get funding and buy gas.”

Members practice every weekend for nine months each season, first working on the music, then learning the drill for an 11 1/2-minute show. Weekend camps are held monthly so members can practice as a full corps.

“It’s hard work and takes a lot of self-discipline,” Martin said. “I’ve worked with a lot of other groups, but this has been the most intense.”

Dawn Albertson, a junior at Mission Viejo High, is a first-year member of the Velvet Knights’ color guard.

“I’ve learned so much--I’m a better dancer now from all the practice,” Albertson said. “You have to practice to be good. My friends think I’m crazy, but they like the show.”

When the Velvet Knights go on the road, they sleep on buses and in high school gyms. They eat from their own chuck wagons, which are manned by parent volunteers. But even when the corps is on tour, there are practices every day.

“You get burned out and miss what you had at home--sleep and TV,” Martin said. “Once you get on tour, you can’t wait to get home. But when you’re at home, you can’t wait to be on tour.”

Has Albertson ever felt like quitting the corps? “Yes, but you get over it and go to rehearsal,” she said.

Both teen-agers say they want to continue with the Velvet Knights until they “age out” at 21, after which they hope to continue in the corps in some way.

For now, however, both have more immediate plans, as they and their teammates prepare for the Drum Corps International World Championships, which are expected to draw more than 70,000 spectators for the week’s events.

The Velvet Knights, with their Motown-themed show titled “A Night at the Apollo Theatre,” are looking to move up in the rankings from their 10th-place finish in the 1990 championships.