Friday, April 03, 2015

Drum Corps World

This is from Drum Corps World:




Go directly to the magazine: click here
Dear readers:

Well, this issue is another special one to me as the publication reaches its 43rd anniversary.  I've owned it since July 1974 after serving as editor beginning in June 1973.  Needless to say, I had no idea it would turn into a career when I started in the Drum Corps World office on Hampden Avenue in Denver, CO, on that beautiful June day.  I was the sole employee, so no one was there to show me the ropes.

My assignment was to produce an issue in three days and get it ready for mailing.  It was the third week after the beginning of the season and what I found on my desk that morning were galleys of text, waxed on the back to create page layouts, and a bunch of pre-screened photos to fill the pages around the various show reports.  In truth, I had never done a layout before, so it was literally a "baptism under fire."  Somehow I got through it, but the issue didn't look that great.  Thankfully, I was a quick learner and the second one was better.

Now 42 years later, I've seen and heard a lot about and around this great activity.  And sometimes I discovered bits of news I would have preferred to not know.  But 99% of this job -- now my "hobby" -- has been wonderful.  I find it hard to fathom that I've produced nearly 900 issues over the years with assistance from dozens of writers, photographers, artists and the local friends who worked with me through many of those years -- Barbara Loeffelholz, Steve Powers, Chris Hollenback, Ed Matheny, Kip Ritchie, Jeff Collins, David Prueher and others who were here for shorter times.

So, here we are, nearly at the beginning of another season that promises to be filled with great performances, interesting and no doubt innovative uniforms, costumes, equipment and visual designs, all framed by the confines of a traditional U.S. football field.

I trust that you will be able to see at least a few shows in your area, make it to one of the two movie theater presentations in June and August, and perhaps even ben among the 20,000+ fans who get to see the season-ending DCI Championship in Indianapolis or the DCA Championship Labor Day weekend in Rochester, NY.

Thanks for your continued support of this publication through its various forms -- tabloid newspaper, printed magazine and now on-line electronically -- and, if you're in a position to purchase products from our very supportive advertisers that make DCW possible to come to you 17 times each year -- your support of the companies, suppliers, manufacturers, show sponsors, national and international organizations that play a big part in keeping this movement viable and moving forward.

Steve Vickers, Publisher
Go to the Website:
Drum Corps World Magazine.
Feedback:
publisher@drumcorpsworld.com