This weekend saw the UK's premier all-brass big band, High Brass, return to Parr Street Studios in Liverpool to record their 3rd album. An unrelenting rehearsal schedule followed by a grueling 96 hour recording session resulted in some of the finest playing the band has ever produced. Chris Jones (mellophone) claims "even at this early stage in the production process, it is sounding awesome and we can't wait for you to hear it."

The Strutters Drum & Bugle Corps of Edmonton, Alberta, will perform for the Queen of England and the Duke of Edinburgh on May 23 as part of the 100-year anniversary of the formation of the Canadian province of Alberta.

The presale of tickets for the DCE contest in Middelburg - The Netherlands on May 28 will end next Saturday. Tickets will also be available at the contest venue on a first come, first serve basis.

As part of their commitment to maintaining and developing the UK drum corps activity, the DCUK Board of Trustees has decided to put together a Task Force in order to examine all aspects of the activity.

The admission tickets for the DCE show in Kortrijk, on June 25, have been sold out. Approximately 1750 tickets have been sold in four months time through the DCE webshop. Do you have no tickets yet? You will still have a chance to witness the event.

Less than 24 hours after its launch, more than 4,000 beta testers have signed up to test the DCI Season Pass. Those testers have listened to almost 30,000 streams of DCI shows.

Defending DCE Open Class Champion Beatrix from Hilversum - Holland has registered for the DCE show in Kortrijk - Belgium on June 25. By entering this contest, Beatrix will appear in two Drum Corps Europe events this year.

Beta testing for the DCI Season Pass has begun. Drum corps fans can head on over to register and start streaming now. Beginning right now, fans have access to 396 drum corps shows, spanning 32 years, all streaming audio available 24 hours a day.

Beatrix Drum & Bugle Corps from Hilversum - The Netherlands will enter the DCE 2005 Championships in Rotterdam. The corps accepted the invitation of Drum Corps Europe, after the Forgemen informed DCE that they are unable to compete in DCE, including the Championships and the DCE contest in Kortrijk - Belgium. This contest has now one open spot.

Showband Rhythm Stars from Sneek (The Netherlands) will enter the DCE 2005 Championships in Rotterdam on Saturday, September 24. The corps will replace Cadence that had to withdraw from the competition this year.

The Senators are proud to announce that they are now a Yamaha artist. After spending a long time forging a relationship with both Yamaha in the UK and in the USA, the corps today took delivery of a full line of Sfz marching percussion.

Drum Corps International has been slaving away all winter, compiling repertoires, massaging audio files for consumption and brainstorming ways to make the DCI Season Pass the most comprehensive and dazzling drum corps destination in internet history.

Southern Aurora from Brighton - UK will enter the Drum Corps Europe show in Kortrijk - Belgium on June 25. The corps will participate in the Open Class. Aurora is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.

It is with much regret that The Cadence Drum and Bugle Corps based in Reading, Berkshire have been forced to make the decision to become inactive as a competitive unit for the summer of 2005.

On the 23rd April, The Kidsgrove Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps celebrated their 95th year of existence with a concert at the Victoria Hall in Kidsgrove. To a packed house, the Kidsgrove Scouts performed their 2005 show 'The Conquest'.

Although all the details and a timetable for rollout of the program are not finalized, there will be a time very soon when one will be able to subscribe to a special access section of DCI.org and be able to stream the DCI audio archives to their computer. One will also be able to purchase individual titles for permanent download to their system through this program as well.

Tickets for the DCE contest in Dordrecht (September 3) and the DCE European Championships in Rotterdam (September 24) are on sale now! You can order your tickets through this website.

On April 23 and April 24, European judes had a chance to attend a judges training with DCI judge Bob Thomas. The training was initiated by Drum Corps Europe and took place in Wemeldinge - The Netherlands. 13 European judges from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium attended the training.

Drum Corps Europe has announced the date for the DCE 2006 Championships. The sixth edition of the European drum corps championships will be held on Saturday, September 23, 2006.

BDEntertainment has had high visible TV appearances this year with the All-star game in Denver and now performing in the NBA Playoffs with the New Jersey Nets and Phoenix Suns. Now, BDE will perform on the Ellen Show.

The Phantom Regiment's 50th anniversary will be celebrated in
2006. As part of the celebration, a 50th anniversary logo will be designed, which will be incorporated into souvenirs, letterhead and other commemorative items.

Drum Corps Europe has confirmed the ticket prices for the DCE Championships in Rotterdam on September 24, 2005. There will be two price levels: one for the centre section of the stand, and one for the other sections.

The new show program of Carolina Crown is called 'Angelus'. Angelus is about the spiritual messengers that many believe walk among us while living our daily lives. There have been songs written, movies created and folklore passed from generation to generation that look to explain what only the soul can feel.

No injuries were reported last night when the 2005 DCI Classic Countdown telecast in Bellingham - Massachusetts, was evacuated due to a nearby mulch fire, according to Lt. Joseph Robidoux of the Bellingham fire department.

Ticket sales for the DCE show in Kortrijk on June 25 (with participation of The Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps from Concord - California) is going very fast. We have only a few hundred tickets left for the show.

Distant Thunder are pleased to announce a deal with Vic Firth which will mean that the complete Percussion Section will be playing with the Corpsmaster range of percussion equipment over the forthcoming season.

Join Southwind on a journey where the vision of Tim Burton meets the imagination of Cirque Du Soleil, where the soul of Saint Saens joins the whimsy of Willy Wonka, where conscious and subconscious merge in a compositional, visual whirlwind entitled 'A Distorted Imagination'.

Equinox Drum & Bugle Corps from Biggleswade - Bedfordshire has announced that they will hold a 'Southern Preview' show next month. Several corps will perform at the event.

Red Stars Drum & Bugle Corps from Hannoversch Münden - Germany will enter the DCE 2005 Championships in Rotterdam. The corps has accepted the invitation of Drum Corps Europe to participate at the event, after Pride of Bristol had to withdraw.

Since the launch of the renewed Drum Corps Europe website (june 2004), the editorial staff has published more than a thousand news stories - approximately 100 stories a month. Do you have news for the DCE website? Please contact us!

Regretfully, the board of directors of the Americanos unanimously decided to stop drum corps activities for the 2005 season. The corps was off to a wonderful start this season holding at around 80 members and things for the competition field were coming together very well.

On Saturday and Sunday, April 23-24, Drum Corps Europe will hold a clinic for European drum corps judges in Wemeldinge (The Netherlands). The clinic will be hosted by Bob Thomas (judge for DCI, WGI, DCA, Bands of America and DCE), and will also be open to drum corps instructors.

Phoenix Drum & Bugle Corps from Coventry has presented their show 'Words'. The show is called 'Words' for a reason. "How do you define something that means so much to so many people within corps... you simply can't. Determination, pride, friendship, commitment, performance - the list is endless."

The 2005 show of 37th Kingswood Drum & Bugle Corps has been announced. The new program is called 'A Day in the Life of a Jazz Lover', including some well known jazz pieces.

Starting in 2006, the color guard caption will be added to the overall score in the DCE Competition Manual. Drum Corps Europe announced this change during the '2005 KICK OFF' Symposium in Middelburg this weekend.

A new Dutch drum corps association on the horizon: Drum Corps Netherlands (in Dutch: Drum Corps Nederland). The foundation of Drum Corps Netherlands is initiated by Drum Corps Europe. It is expected that the new Dutch drum corps association will run its first circuit in 2006.

Jubal Drum & Bugle Corps from Dordrecht - The Netherlands will be the first corps to enter the competition field in the Open Class Prelims of the DCE 2005 Championships. Yesterday, a drawing determined the order of performances for the Open Class Prelims.

Santa Clara Vanguard will have a new uniform debut this season. The current uniforms are four years old, and they could easily see another four years. Instead, with the help of Fred J Miller Inc and Michael Cesario, Vanguard will have a brand new, fresh look starting in 2005.

Jeff Fiedler, longtime director of the Cavaliers (and an alum) who lead that corps to six DCI World Championsip titles, and Peggy Twiggs, whose groundbreaking work with the color guards of the 27th Lancers and the Cadets influenced a generation of members and designers (and a 27th Lancers alum), have been elected to the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame for 2005.

This Saturday, the DCE 2004 Championships DVD will be projected on a big screen. Everyone who will attend the Mega Clinic and/or the DCE '2005 KICK OFF' Symposium, is invited to watch the DVD, featuring Dolby Digital Surround Sound.

The DCE '2005 KICK OFF' Symposium in Middelburg (April 9) will feature a drawing of lots to determine the order of performances during the DCE Championships Open Class Prelims in Rotterdam. The drawing will be covered by a live 'webcast' on the DCE website.

In 2003, the last DCE videotapes were produced, before the DVD knocked the VHS tapes out of business. We still have some copies of the tape available, and next week we will offer them for a very special price during the Mega Clinic in Middelburg.

Drum Corps Europe is ready for the summer season! The 'Dates and Places' page on the DCE website has been extended with detailed information on all 2005 events, including the symposium, the contests and the 2005 European Championships.

A recent phenomenon in technology and the internet is that of podcasting. Podcasts (taken from 'iPod' and 'broadcast') are radio-style shows regarding various topics, genres, and styles - now including drum corps.

The DCE '2005 KICK OFF' Symposium in Middelburg (April 9) will feature a drawing of lots to determine the order of performances during the DCE Championships Open Class Prelims in Rotterdam.