Drum and Bugle Corps

I was expecting pictures… or a video..

 

I played in one for a brief time in high school and don't remember them having anywhere near that much stuff to haul around. But boy were they loud, everything seemed to start at 11 with them.

 

Sound like an awesome and fun experience that the usual jobs i hear about

 

Christmas 24/25 I drove the Pulaski bands gear out to LA for the rose bowl. One trailer floor loaded with luggage and one trailer loaded nose to tail, floor to ceiling with band gear. Bass drums and susaphones arent small, but what you dont think of is the boxes for the shakeos/plumes- little suckered, but when you have 200 of them you're looking at a couple pallet

 

The drum corps the OP is talking about are not affiliated with the US military, those are different. IN this video you are seeing the US Marine drum corps they were all modeled afterbeing showcased at a DCI awards show. Drum Corps, as they are usually referred to nowadays, are private entities comprised of mostly college student musicians who work very hard to get in and stay in these corps. It's the elite of marching band, which sounds hilarious to people who don't know anything about it, but it's VERY tough to get in and succeed. It's an athletic event. It's more athletic than most athletic events. They travel around to different shows and competitions during the summer and have a lot of equipment, hence the trucks and drivers needed to support them.

Here's a better example of a modern DCI show, more of a 'show' than just a marching competition. They've all gotten heavily into drama and wow factor with lots of props, etc.

 

It was the mid 70's when I was doing this and I think they had a van about the size of a UPS delivery truck for the equipment for about 50 of us. I think there might have been a bus for us, or perhaps the parents drove us in their cars.

The other thing I remember being different was the parents who walked with us as we matched. We usually seemed to get put by the Shriners in marching band, and there were always at least a few of them that were pretty drunk and obnoxious. But when I matched in the St Patrick's Day parade in Chicago with the drum corps the parents walking with us were like linebackers in football, there seemed to be a never ending supply of drunk people who wanted to walk through the corps. I was grateful those parents were there to look out for us

 

If you want to see a Drum and Bugle Corps YouTube Texas A&M halftime marching band. Awesome!!!!