Putting Our Best Foot Forward


Best Foot Forward

With anything you take pride in doing, ya gotta have the right stuff to do it well. Naturally in any performing drum and brass corp, good equipment is essential. The willingness to work hard, the time spent practicing, great coordinators and volunteers all adds up to nothing if your corp doesn’t have an impressive look. I’m speaking about clothing and the right outfitting. “To look good is to feel good.” Whether you’re corp is physically active or performs on stage, the first impression you give is very important.

Are you polished and put together? Is your look as authentic as your love of the music? Lots to be considered. At Patriots Drum Corp, we have used Dinkles for years. Dinkles has been around for over 6 decades and they have become the go-to place for equipment. Entrepreneur, Sam Savoca sets a standard and won’t settle for anything less than making the best craftsman marching shoes ever produced.

From shoes they’ve branched out to include all things corp. A family owned company from the beginning, Dinkles is the place most Drum and Brass groups know they can get what they want. If Dinkles doesn’t have something a band needs, they employ modern technology and use a 3-D Printer to prototype a piece. From there with approval, it can be custom produced.

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A Glimpse At The History of Drum Corps


Civil War Fife and Drum

There have been volumes written on the history of the musical ensembles formed as drum and bugle corps. My article will touch on just a few of the highlights which brought this beloved practice to us throughout the centuries and is still actively prominent today.

If you have had the pleasure of participating as a member of a corp, it’s no secret where the attraction lies. If you have even been in an audience of spectators you have felt the primal rhythm that calls out our innate patriotism. It’s impossible not to be moved by the steady call of the drums and brass, and that’s exactly how the corps came into existence in the first place.

When men needed to be rallied for combat, the bugle was heard from a long piece away. The drum supported the call to action and together they helped to unite in a cause. War has never been approached from the cushy seats of luxurious waterloo limousine services and getting men and their families to rally for a campaign meant stirring up their primal instincts.

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