Just Beat It

If a halftime show is your favorite part of a football game, consider the Drums Along the Rockies your warmup for the fall season.

One of the nation's most recognized drum-corps competitions, the 32nd annual Drums Along the Rockies is hosted by Denver's own Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps. Don't make the mistake of calling the Blue Knights a marching band -- they leave the woodwinds at home. Still, they perform everything from the Beatles to Bernstein, using a blend of music and sport. Participants execute synchronized routines while playing bugles and drums, which combines showmanship with technical skills to create a "wall of sound."

"This is really about physical conditioning; it's very rigorous," says executive director Mark Arnold.

Drums Along the Rockies, which will move to Invesco Field at Mile High for the August 3 event, promises a myriad of marching musical pageantry. "It certainly is a world-class venue, and we draw some of the best corps in the country," says Arnold. "It's really the ultimate performance experience, to be out there in front of tens of thousands of fans who are there just to hear you. And the best part is that we get to perform in front of our home community."

They're hoping to leave 10,000 pairs of ears ringing this year with their selections. This will be a high note for the nonprofit Blue Knights, who were founded in 1958 as a parade corps to strut strictly in the Denver metropolitan area. Yet the organization quickly grew to be one of Denver's largest youth musical organizations, and in the process emerged as a national powerhouse in the field.

Musicians from across the Front Range and around the world audition each fall for the coveted 128 spots. Hopefuls are between the ages of fifteen and 21, and they must be willing to give up a summer. The Blue Knights spend those months on the road, traveling more than 10,000 miles coast-to-coast as they perform in 27 cities in less than three months.

"Everyone certainly develops really strong friendships, many that last a lifetime," says Arnold, who has traveled with the group by bus for the last sixteen summers.

"You have to be a maniac," asserts Paula Wiens, also with the Blue Knights. "We look for good, strong musicians -- team players -- and they have to be fiercely dedicated."

Drums Along the Rockies, which features eight drum corps, is one of two Drum Corps International regional competitions, a precursor to the World Championships in Madison, Wisconsin, held the very next week. And even though the Blue Knights definitely have home-turf advantage at Invesco Field, they are expecting a battle of the non-bands. Last year, as evidence of this fierce competition, the Blue Knights placed fourteenth out of eighty, their lowest finish ever. But Arnold has faith that his group will redeem itself this year.

"We've got a lot of talent, so we'll be able to take care of business this year," he says confidently. "We're definitely going to be a contender, but it's kind of like figure skating; it's very subjective."