Preview ’07
a i n r o f i l a C DCI Championships Head West
I
T TOOK A MERE 35 YEARS for the left coast— Southern California to be exact—to finally land its very own Drum Corps International World Championships. While the activity’s Eastern and Midwestern brethren might be gritting their teeth at the thought of this summer’s long, hot trek to Pasadena—either that or counting down the days—it’s a safe bet their counterparts west of the Rockies are saying, “It’s about time.” The Golden State is home to 18 of Drum Corps International’s 38 title winners, including the first-ever World Champions. California corps claimed 10 of DCI’s
by Ed Medina
first 11 championship titles, and the mid 1980s and early ’90s saw the state boast four Division I finalists and a dominant Division III power each year. California has always been a breeding ground for drum corps. The state has seen the birth and growth of several prominent Division I, II, and III programs over the past 10 years. Pasadena is in the state’s southern area, a hotbed that plays host to a handful of corps— and from which many others draw members. “The West Coast corps have been working on this for years,” says David Gibbs, director of Concord, California’s Blue Devils. “This is an incredibly exciting
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4/12/07 4:28:34 PM