I came to the Crossmen in a strange way. I had been a drum corps fan ever since I was introduced to it by the Drum Captain of my high school drumline, Frank McCarthy, back in 1977. I was an impressionable lad and worshiped the ground Frank walked on. So when he suggested the drum line watch the 1977 DCI Finals broadcast on PBS together, I was all about it. From the first moment of the broadcast, I was hooked. I don't remember a lot about the 1977 Finals, except that the Bridgemen were disqualified for over-age members and the Blue Devils won. But from that moment on, drum corps was in my blood.
In 1978, I saw my first live corps. The Bridgemen gave a clinic in Chesapeake, Va. I was awestruck. To this day, the '78 Bridgemen remain one of my all-time favorte drum corps shows. At the show that night, I was introduced to a brand new corps from Atlanta, Ga. The Spirit of Atlanta. Their cool southern style, incredibly loud horn line and smokin' drum line totally appealed to me. They quickly became my favorite. Later that summer, a bunch of us Band-o's again watched the DCI Finals broadcast. One of the coolest moments that night was when the Crossmen drumline painted their faces. Little did I know, that this corps would play such a big part of my life just a few years later.
By 1979, I was a full fledged drum corps nut. I listened to it in my car constantly. It was all I could think of. Going into my Senior marching band season, I was made Drum Captain and I think for the first time, I really started considering the possibility of marching with a drum corps. But my parents were dead set against it. I told my mom that I wanted to march with Spirit of Atlanta and was told in no uncertain terms that it would not happen. I remember sitting in my car with '79 Spirit blasting on the stereo, crying like a baby because I would not get to march. But that only served to strengthen my resolve to someway, somehow make it happen.
In August of 1980, a bunch of us went to Allentown, PA to see DCI East. By then I knew I wanted to march with Spirit but I really did not know how to go about it. While there at Allentown Prelims, we struck up a conversation with some folks sitting near us that seemed to know an awful lot about joining a drum corps. When I mentioned that I wanted to audition for Spirit, they pointed out that Tom Float (Spirit's Percussion Caption Head) expected his drummers to move to Atlanta in January. Now, I have no idea if that is true or not. But it sure threw cold water on my plans because I was going to be in college and would not be able to move in until May. It was suggested that I look into the Crossmen since they were not quite as strict about when members had to move in. I had always liked the Crossmen ever since I saw them with the painted faces on the 1978 DCI Finals telecast. They had a cool jazz sound, a really good drum line and a certain "swagger" that I found appealing. So there in Allentown in 1980, I took a closer look.
It did not hurt at all that the 1980 Crossmen had such a great show that year. It is still one of my all-time favorites. And the Soprano feature in Jack Miraculous is, in my opinion, one of the greatest drum corps moments of all time. So the decision was made there in Allentown, that I would attempt to audition for the 1981 Crossmen.
Thanksgiving weekend, 1980 found me, Frank McVeigh, Frankie Jones, Steve Canard, Jeff Bernas and Cole Candler at Indian Lane Elementary School in Media PA. Things went extremely well and it looked like we would all make the corps. But pretty quickly, Steve, Cole Frankie and Jeff called it quits. Frank and I hung around for a few more camps. But the big hangup, was that all but me were still in high school. It was their Senior year and I think they felt like it would be tough to do that and corps. I think I even recall Frank saying that he could not miss graduation for corps. Now I don't know if anyone even bothered to ask the corps if it would be a problem. I think we all assumed that it was a zero tolerance situation and we HAD to be there. I kinda wished we had looked into it, because knowing what I know now, makes me think it could have worked out. But we didn't and one by one, we all dropped out. I stayed the longest, making it all the way to the March camp. But my situation was really hampered by the fact that I did not have anyone to make the 6 hour trip to Philly with me. Also, my parents were still dead set against it and were not willing to help me financially. So even I had to bail out eventually. Seeing the Crossmen on tour that summer just killed me. Knowing I was so close to realizing my dream but having it not work out was really tough. But again, it just served to strengthen my resolve.
Thanksgiving weekend 1981 saw Frank and I back to audition again. It has been clear from the start that 1982 is going to be a very big year for the Crossmen. There are a TON of vets returning to the drum line and there is a real focus on trying to win high drums. Winter camps have gone quickly, it's a great show, and I can't wait to get this thing rolling. It should be a lot of fun.
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