The Brassiers Drum and Bugle Corps is proud to announce that its Executive Director/Corps Director/Founder Big John DaWeebs is now taking over a fourth role. John will serve as music coordinator for the corps this year, arranging a score for the corps based on African-American Spirituals. The inspiration for this show came from several sources, the Father was the true guiding light for this year's production.“Our corps really needs to turn some heads this year, so I felt that I should create a program based on a concept that no other corps has attempted before,” said the director. "We draw upon several centuries of music based on the proclamation of faith, and the pleading for forgiveness." The title of the show is "Old Fashioned Tent Revival." The individual movements have not been released, but audio clips are expected to be available by mid-season.


There are several new faces joining the staff this year. Erine Anderson, the new visual caption head, is ecstatic about the Brassiers organization for 2005. “John is an amazing individual, and I can’t wait to see his full package rise up.” Lauren Davis will hold two positions, those of brass caption head and drill writer. Davis has worked with the corps before as music arranger. “John has let me view the score, and I must say that the corps will be very uplifting this year.” Returning head color guard instructor, Raechal Scott said, “I can’t wait for the corps to see the ladies this year! They will be a wonderful partner to the corps’ package.” The percussionists have come the furthest though, having already mastered the exercises, cadences, and all of the show music. Percussion caption head Lauren Raemer feels that “these young men and women have come very far” and she “expects for the ensemble to keep taking longer strides. Until June, we will keep beating the heads.”


The corps will be playing on all Yamaha equipment this year. The 65-member strong horn line will use silver Bb horns, breaking the long-standing tradition of the 16K gold horns used in the past. The percussion section will feature 35 musicians: 9 snares, 5 basses, 4 tenors, 5 cymbals, and 12 frontline members. Michelangelo Caesar, design consultant, is creating an all new look for both the corps’ uniforms for the 34-member color guard. Drum major William “BJ” Jefferson is a sixth-year member of the corps, and bring a slew of experience to the podium. Evans, Zildjian, and Innovative Percussion are the corps' newest sponsors, helping to eliminate the old Paiste, Remo, and Vater endorsement contracts that nearly forced the corps into bankruptcy. “Our successful record from the first two seasons has paid off, and The Brassiers have the name recognition to earn the respect and support that we need to attract the best products."


Stay tuned for more info from The Brassiers of Bloomington, Indiana!

To kick off our season, The Brassiers have endured through a lot of rough conditions during Camp Sullaph. However, this past Sunday, Corps Director John DaWeebs brought in a guest clinician to help prepare the students get ready to tour all across the country with The Brassiers' 2005 Production: "An Old Fashioned Tent Revival."


This guest clinician was none other than Billy Graham, the internationally reknown spiritual leader and motivational speaker. Billy really moved the corps, preaching on such topics as reaching within for power, the wars in the Middle East, and scorning a woman's right to choose an abortion. The last topic confused us, as all of the corps members are men. Then again, Mr. Graham is reaching 80, and his vision is starting to slip. Nonetheless, the corps' spirit was lifted up, the attitude of the men was positive, and their will to work harder soared.


Stay tuned for more info from The Brassiers of Bloomington, Indiana! We leave you with a picture of Mr. Graham playing his piccolo trumpet with the corps on "America/O Canada," with NO hands! This instrument is one of the world's smallest piccolo trumpets, and this particular horn was a special model that was designed for the great Dizzy Gillespie.

After winning the first day and claiming the overall top seed at the Kalamazoo regional, The Brassiers went down to Texas to conquer San Antonio. They succeeded, and scored a whopping 88.900. This was a full 0.5 above the nearest contenders, the Homestar Runners. The competition was very close, as the entire point spread for all Division 1 corps was merely 6 points.

The addition of our ballad, "Were You There?," is the reason for our sudden climb to the top. This piece simply moves the audience to tears. It really connects our entire show, "Old Fashioned Tent Revival." We look forward to the rest of the DLOFDC Season, and we wish all of our competitors luck. Until then, Hallelujah!