Writer Update - SCV Tale of a Drum Line
Work in progress
I’m currently working on the first-ever “book” edition of Tale of a Drum Line: The Legend of the 1993 Santa Clara Vanguard.
The first thing to know is that the original story was my most widely read “anything,” it appeared in Drum Corps World and Modern Drummer Magazine. But the story has never appeared in book form for one simple reason; it was too short. So, the story has to be expanded significantly.
Also, the original story was solely about the Vanguard; the other corps were barely mentioned.
Last week, I researched all of the 1993 scores and shows of our DCI competitors, including Blue Devils, Star, Cadets, VK, Freelancers, etc., and started fleshing out the world of DCI 1993, not just telling the story of the Vanguard but also the story of the drum and bugle corps activity that year, as it related to SCV. Suddenly, I had a very different story — which is what happened with The Renegades.
The other experiment I tried, which is still underway, started when I realized that the Vanguard was founded, and I was born, within a few months of one another. So, if this literary experiment works (looks good right now), I tell the story of the Vanguard from Day 1, the Sparks, Gail Royer etc — but also, at the same time, the story of “me” from day 1 — how I heard about the Vanguard for the first time, how the Crestwood band director loved SCV, designed our uniforms after the corps etc, the trip to Montreal for 1982 DCI.
I think this is going to work beautifully, my only concern is flow, having too much material before the 1993 season starts. Having said that, the SCV story must expand for it to be a book, so that question may already be answered,
The other thing I am doing is inviting the entire 1993 drum staff to provide their comments or thoughts at the end.
Final fun fact – I don’t have a release date yet, because I want to take Tale of a Drum Line to the same level of writing as The Renegades. I work on it every day, and when the light at the end of the tunnel appears, I’ll have more intel on a release date. Definitely this year — my guess is October.
If you enjoy my writing, please check out The Renegades, it’s my best.
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