Velvet Knights Drum and Bugle Corps
the Velvet Knights is currently a Division III junior drum and bugle corps based in Pasadena, California. From the 1960's until the 1990's, VK was a Division 1 corps famous for humerous and irreverant shows.
History
Inception and early years
The Velvet Knights were born in 1963, a result of a split within the Anaheim Explorer Scouts that also resulted in the Anaheim Kingsmen. After the California State Championships in 1963, some Scout staff members wanted to modernize the corps by replacing the existing uniforms with traditional ones, and by jazzing up the musical repertoire. When that did not appear possible, Ziggy Kanstul and some parents left the Scouts to pursue their vision, forming the Velvet Knights (“VK“). The remaining Anaheim Scouts soon reorganized as the Anaheim Kingsmen. Velvet Knights success was rapid. Less than two years after its formation the corps won the California state crown.
Throughout the remainder of the 1960 the Velvet Knights were a West Coast powerhouse, sharing California domination with their erstwhile brothers, the Kingsmen, and trading the coveted California State Championships back and forth. The two corps also traded membership; their corps halls were right across the street from each other in Orange County.
VK first toured nationally in the late 1960s, competing well on the national stage. The corps placed in the CYO and American Legion Finals in 1970. Notably, the corps did not lose a single parade that they entered, beating out even the fabled Troopers.
The corps is credited with being the first corps to perform with G-F bugles, at a 1968 appearance in Chicago's Civic Opera House. They also pioneered electronics on the field as early as 1968 when they fielded an electronic bugle that could sound like a cello, bari sax, or oboe.
The corps had the distinction of appearing in the movie "Americathon" in 1979.
Modern era
VK in the early 1970s couldn't attract the numbers of members needed to keep up with the competitive sizes of the Kingsmen or the Santa Clara Vanguard, which had appeared in 1967. The Knights, however, did seem to attract incredible talent to compensate for their smaller numbers. Regardless, the corps struggled through most of the 1970s, placing in the DCI top 25 twice, but slipping to 33rd in 1979.
During the 1978 season, the California Surf professional soccer team hired members of the VK percussion section to create the sound of pounding surf with specially micced tympani at Surf games.
They took a year off in 1980 to reorganize the staff and plot a new course. This organizational period gave management and staff time to come up with a five-year plan to reach DCI Finals. Demonstrating the mettle that had kept the VK alive since 1963, the corps performed in parades and rebuilt for the 1981 season. The parade and performance activities of the summer of 1980 proved to be a catalyst to membership in the following year. Performances and other activities created a solid nucleus of members to build on.
Many changes occurred in the early 1980s as the staff began thinking more creatively. From 1982 to 1984, the VK made enormous changes to their style and staff personnel, leaving the military discipline behind and adapting a laid-back Southern California appearance in 1982. Hawaiian print shirts, red Vans sneakers, and straw hats replaced the white silks and cadets jackets of the early years.
The VK immediately became recognized as a West Coast version of the East Coast Bayonne Bridgemen, who at the time were known as DCI's entertaining/funny corps. Due to the enormous popularity of the new VK, only a handful of members (fewer than ten in five years) left the VK to march other corps. Members of corps from northern California, Arizona, and Colorado were traveling to sunny Southern California to march with the VK.
DCI placements advanced from 33rd in 1981, to 21st in 1982, 17th in 1983, and the corps' first Finals appearance in 1984. Perseverance was the corps' virtue, and a four-year promise was being kept to corps members and alumni. In 1985 the VK placed 11th, 12th in 1986.
1987 would be a major boost to the VK. Even though the Finals dream was realized in 1984, there were still ten other places in Finals the VK hadn't reached. Former Bridgemen director Bobby Hoffman joined the staff in 1987, and with his fertile mind for the absurd, the VK ascended to a seventh-place tie with the two-year-old Star of Indiana.
Later years and demise
Velvet Knights had carved out a place on the drum corps stage as the "Clown Princes of Drum Corps" and "The Harlem Globe Trotters of DCI,“ entertaining audiences all over the United States and Canada and in countries abroad. VK remained a DCI finalist through 1990 before falling short in 1991, but returned to the top 12 for their last Finals appearance in 1992. 1993 through 1996 saw VK remain in DCI’s top 25, but they would not grace DCI Finals again.
The quest to again reach Finals status led to spending mistakes in hiring more expensive staff and acquiring debt which could not be sustained with existing 'bingo' based fund-raising.
As was common practice at the time, the Velvet Knights organization classified its staff as independent contractors and paid them with notices to the IRS as 1099s. A staff member who disagreed with this practice contacted the IRS which triggered an audit just before the 1997 season. As the IRS determined that drum corps staff were employees of the organization, the organization was ordered to pay federal taxes and medicare costs for that year and for several prior years. Subsequent penalty fees, back taxes, and interest brought about the financial demise of the corps.
The Velvet Knights Legacy
A handful of Velvet Knights Alumni have all affected the Southern California drum corps activity. Many corps have been started, while others have made significant contributions to corps in Southern California. To name a few West Coast Express was started by Ziggy Kanstul, Pacific Crest director Stuart Pompel is a 1988 Alumni as well many of PC's staff are VK alumni. Two former competing corps from San Diego: Esperanza founder, Alan Cox was in VK's 1981 soprano section and San Diego Alliance founder, Pat Marks was in the 1985 french horn section.
Most notably has been Impulse Drum & Bugle Corps which was started in October of 1998 as an "All volunteer organization”. After VK folded in the spring of 1997, Impulse was seen as "the new VK". Many recognizable individuals from the VK "glory years" were present and involved with Impulse's beginnings, such as Jack Bevins (director from the mid 70's through 92) Charlie Groh (VK charter member and long time instructor) Dan and Ron Zeilinger, John Whatley, Al Peralta, and may more staff and board members who VK alumni from the 1970's through the 1990's.
Though from 1999 through 2005, Dr J David Meade (VK 82-87, most valuable brass and VK member of the year 87) was Impulse's Executive Director who drove the program to 4 DCI Div II Finalist placements in 2003,04,05 and toward the 2006 DCI Div III World Title.
The operating directors for the 2006 championship summer that followed Dr Meade's legacy were interim Executive Director Charles Groh, Corps Director Norman "Ike" Jackson and Assistant Director Kendall Crawford. (Ike and Kendall are alumni of the former Sound Machine Youth Band from the Inland Empire)
Impulse's early shows were designed to resemble former VK styled shows which were an instant hit with every audience who saw them. Due to the instant popularity, VK alumni were approaching the organization to help the new corps develop. The volunteer instructional staff, support staff and board of directors was over 90% Velvet Knight Alumni at one point. Over the last 9 years, Impulse's show style's became less "cute" and comedy based and a bit more serious, but still endeavored to relate to today’s audiences by utilizing "pop culture" components in their show designs, like "Willy Wonka", and "The Incredibles" to name a few.
Rebirth and rebranding
With the rich VK heritage in Impulse's ranks, it only made sense that a few of Impulse's founding staff members, support and instructional staff, have joined the effort to organize a "New" VK drum corps; those individuals being Troy Emmons, Myra Iraheta, Joe "Spam" Miller, Dan, Terry and Aaron Zeilinger, Garry Parker, Sean McDurmott and Arwen Hernandez (Sean and Arwen were members of Impulse's 2006 Div III Championship instructional staff)
On October 16, 2005, VK Youth Arts Organization was formed by a few dedicated alumni whose desire is to return a "new" version of the corps to the field. The "NEW" Velvet Knights Drum & Bugle Corps, or VK, marched in Division III DCI Pacific Division for their new inaugural season in 2007.
External links
==