Cascades Drum and Bugle Corps

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Cascades

[[|Cascades]]

Location Seattle, WA
Division World Class
Founded 1957
Director
Championship Titles 2000 (Division III)
Corps Uniform Half-white, half-black jacket with green/metallic silver striped baldric, black gauntlets with similar striped pattern, black pants, black shako with 12-inch black plume

The Cascades Drum and Bugle Corps is a World Class (formerly Division I) drum and bugle corps, historically based out of Seattle, Washington. The corps has existed in various forms since 1957 and is still the Pacific Northwest's only World Class drum corps.

Contents

[edit] The Beginning: 1957

In 1957 Jack Avery created the all-male Greenwood Boys Club Drum and Bugle Corps in Seattle's Greenlake area. With 20 boys, the Pacific Northwest’s first drum corps was created as a school-sponsored musical troop. At the same time, Roderick Stubbs had just become principal of the area’s new school, Woodrow Wilson Junior High School. This would become the first practice site for the corps.

In 1958, Stubbs became the director of the new corps and changed the name to the Seattle Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds, complete with a totem-pole logo, traveled south to the recently opened Disneyland. Corps performances usually consisted of concerts, exhibitions and parades. To help with funding the organization, a bingo game was started at the Greenlake VFW hall.

In 1963, VFW Nationals was held in Seattle at Memorial Stadium on the grounds of the Seattle World’s Fair. One competing corps, the St. Paul Scouts from Minnesota, performed show tunes previously unheard of in competition in the Northwest. The following season the Seattle corps’ staff asked the St. Paul Scouts’ arranger to write the Thunderbirds’ musical book. In following seasons the corps also fielded contrabass bugles in their horn line and added multi tenors to the percussion section.

[edit] The Feeder Corps: 1964

In the mid to late 1960s, the directors of the Thunderbirds were George Laumin and Jack Little. In 1964, the Thunderbirds started a feeder corps and named it the Thunderbird Cadets directed by Rod Stubbs and Jack Avery. The major performance during its inaugural season was the Portland Rose Festival parade in Portland, Oregon.

[edit] The New Corps: 1966

In 1966, after administrative strife, many of the Thunderbird Cadet members were moved up to the Seattle Thunderbirds "A" Corps. Stubbs left to create a new corps with some of the Thunderbird Cadet members. They were renamed the Cascade Cadets. The Seattle Thunderbirds continued to field a corps until 1972.

Also that year, The Thunderbird "A" Corps traveled to Southern California where they won the AA Nationals. The head judge of that show was Gail Royer, who put the Santa Clara Vanguard on the field the very next year.

The first time a color guard was included in a field show involved an American flag section. Eventually rifles and very tall and heavy flags were added. In 1969, Stubbs helped create a local winter guard circuit in Seattle called the Northern American Pageantry Association, which later became the Northwest Pageantry Association. The first indoor winter color guard show was held in a navy base airport hangar. Talk about a humble beginning!

[edit] The New Name: 1970

In 1970, many of the Thunderbirds staff defected to the Cascade Cadets, bringing many of its members with them. The corps chose to operate under its current moniker, the Seattle Cascades. The organization made its first appearance at the fourth-ever Drum Corps International (DCI) World Championships in Boulder, Colorado in 1976, placing 45th in Open Class (World Class today). They also competed in the American Legion Championships, held in a nearby Denver suburb. This was one of the last times that the American Legion held a drum and bugle corps championship. DCI was gradually becoming the premier drum corps association due to the reluctance of the VFW and American Legion to allow more creative freedom in the activity. The following year, the Cascades moved up to 34th in DCI with a score of 64.45.

The Seattle Cascades lost many of its members because of a lack of direction in the leadership. There was no desire or financial backing to make it a national corps. Many members were running out of years prior to aging out. Many wanted to taste big time drum corps while there was still time. Some traveled to California, where many championship corps were on the rise. Some joined the Seattle Imperials. Others realized it was time to move on. With a significantly reduced membership, the organization persevered as a parade corps for several years, performing only at local events and parades. For one brief year in 1985, the Cascades returned to DCI national competition, placing 15th in the smaller Division III.

While the corps grew, becoming a competitive national power was not the primary focus of the organization. Rather, the philosophy was to provide a healthy experience in the drum corps activity for local youths. If the corps was ever going to achieve national prominence it would be as an unplanned byproduct of its primary reason for existence at the time. That humble attitude and the isolation of drum corps in the Northwest likely contributed to the corps’ health and financial stability for so many years. In contrast, the high costs of operating a large traveling organization in the 1980s led to the downfall of many other corps across the country.

While those were lean years for the Seattle organization, they were even more heartbreaking for many other corps. From the mid ‘80s to early 1990s all the remaining Northwest corps ceased operations, mostly due to financial constraints. Yet, the Seattle Cascades continued to march on, year after year.

Beginning in 1991, the corps returned to DCI national competition, placing 12th in Division III (now known as Open Class) that first year. The Cascades moved to Division II the following season. This period of consistent national exposure culminated in a sixth place finish in 1996 with a score of 86.60, the highest the corps had ever achieved at this point in its history.

However, one year earlier in 1995, there was much internal parental strife concerning the overall direction of the corps. The years of national competition inspired a desire in many for a more nationally competitive unit. After 36 years, Stubbs stepped down from the corps director position and remained as the executive director until 1997. Roderick Stubbs, who never received any financial compensation during more than three decades of service, continued to be involved with the activity. He directed the Echo Lake Elementary School and Einstein Middle School Winter Guards.

The next few years saw a great deal of turnover in the corps leadership and staff as the Cascades worked to develop a focused and strong direction for its future. The growing pains were difficult but the board of directors was determined to build the corps the right way. Board member Sal Leone, who started his association with the corps as a parent of a member, became a leader in advocating for quality in all aspects of its operation.

Jim Johnson was the corps director from 1996-1997. Following Johnson’s departure, the corps was forced to make the difficult decision to become inactive for the first time due to funding and staffing issues. After the success of 1996, the corps spent the 1997 season inactive, but took a great deal of inspiration out of that summer, helped by a determined group of supporters who refused to let the Cascades die. Leone became the executive director in 1997 and continued leading the corps until 2006. With an emphasis on ethics, quality and performance excellence, the Seattle Cascades Drum and Bugle Corps entered a new era in its history.

Following Sheri Evald in 1997, Mike Martin in 1998-1999, Jeff Ray in 1999 and Toby Bathhurst also in 1999, Sal Leone added the title of corps director in 2000 to ensure continuity and stability, a position he kept until February 2006.

The Cascades' show in 1996, and again in their return to competition in 1998, featured music of the rock group The Beatles. Taking the Beatles' words to heart, the corps adopted John Lennon's classic "Imagine" (song) as their corps song following their return from inactivity.

[edit] The New Beginning: 2000

In 2000, the Cascades had one of its greatest seasons to date, winning the Division III DCI World Championship in Washington, DC with the highest score the corps had ever received. That score enabled the corps to compete in Division I, the most prestigious class in drum corps. The Cascades placed 23rd with a score of 67.50. The [1]organization was also honored at the championships with the Spirit of Disney Award, which is given to one corps in each classification with the most entertaining family-oriented show.

Moving up in class to Division II in 2001 was an obvious decision. Nearly doubling in size, the corps had a spectacular year. A talented group of more than 100 members helped bring the Cascades to a pivotal point in its history. Winning most shows and never placing lower than second, the corps surprised and entertained audiences everywhere during its national tour! Powerful musicians, the intriguing, contemporary music of David Holsinger, an entertaining field drill and one of the best percussion sections and color guards the corps had ever had led to a summer spent battling other top corps. Ultimately, it brought the corps to a Division II silver-medal finish at the DCI World Championships. Once again, due to its high placement in Division II finals, the corps competed in Division I, beating several larger, established Division I corps. The Cascades placed 17th in semifinals competition, receiving a score of 78.30 and an ovation from the Wilson Stadium crowd in Buffalo, New York.

Before leaving New York, the corps declared its intention to compete in Division I in 2002, the first time since 1994 that the Northwest would be represented in this elite class of nationally touring corps. Nearly 200 musicians and color guard members auditioned for positions to perform the show known as City Riffs. The inspiring music of Leonard Bernstein and drill designed by Myron Rosander led the Seattle Cascades to have the most successful season in the history of Pacific Northwest Drum and Bugle Corps. The 2002 Corps became one of the elite, making the Top 12 as a world finalist DCI Corps.

During the years of 2003, 2004, and 2005 the corps maintained their hold on semifinalist status at DCI, continuing to pursue their primary objective of being a strong Division I corps on a national level.

Sal Leone resigned from his position as corps director in March of 2006 with Jimmy Fursman taking his place. Throughout the winter, spring, and summer, the corps endured many changes in staffing, both in administration and instruction. The corps toured in 2006 with Pat Davis, head cook for the past several seasons, acting as tour director. The corps ultimately finished just out of semifinals for the first time since entering Division I competition.

After the 2006 season, Mike Leone, the oldest son of Sal Leone, was hired as the executive director of the Seattle Cascades. Mike marched baritone with the Cascades in the 90s, and served as a visual and brass staff member from 2000-2002. He had previously served as the executive director of the Division II Oregon Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps, based in nearby Portland.

The 2007 season saw a name change from the "Seattle Cascades" to simply the "Cascades", as well as substantial organizational restructuring. With a show entitled "Three," the corps finished in 18th place in quarterfinals competition. 2008 marks the first season of Cascades Independent, a winter guard also sponsored by the Cascades Youth Music Association.

On April 11 the Cascades Independent Winter Guard became the Independent A Class World Champions of Winter Guard International (WGI).

[edit] 2008 season

The corps will remain inactive for the remainder of the 2008 season. This is planned with the hope that the summer will give the corps time to regroup financially, as it has struggled since the 2005 closure of the Seattle Cascades bingo hall, a longtime revenue source.

[edit] External links

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Drum Corps International World Class member corps