Phantom Regiment still loud, strong at 50
ROCKFORD — Pat Seidling was dealing with a reporter who didn’t know much about drum and bugle corps, other than, well, they have drums and horns.
So he tried some sports analogies.
“This is our Stanley Cup,” he said, pointing to the trophy in a glass case that the Phantom Regiment won in 1996 at the “Super Bowl” of marching music.
This corps is so strong on a national level, that it’s “kind of like the basketball team that always makes the Final Four,” said Seidling, director of the Phantom Regiment.
The Phantom Regiment is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
And it’s an additional year of 35 performances in 40 cities with 15,000 miles logged on the odometer. The group, ranked third in the world last year, will try to win its second Drum Corps International World Championship.
The drum and bugle corps has 140 members, of which 135 are allowed in any performance, and about 2,500 alumni. Members come from as far as Texas and Japan, but none are from the Rockford area this year.
“Over the last couple years, we kind of stopped apologizing for that,” Seidling said. “I always use the example of the IceHogs. There are no players from Rockford on the IceHogs, but no one would deny the IceHogs are an important commodity.”
Like athletes who get endorsement deals to wear a shoe brand, the Phantom Regiment gets free equipment from instrument manufacturers. The organization then loans the instruments in the off-season to about a half-dozen high school bands and the Rockford Symphony.
“That’s our gift back,” Seidling said.
The Phantom Regiment has community support in spirit, “but it doesn’t translate into dollars,” said Tim Farrell, a former member who serves as president of the board of directors.
The organization has a $1.2 million annual budget, and nearly a quarter comes from tuition. An additional 15 percent to 20 percent comes from performance fees.
The rest is fundraising, including selling souvenirs, hosting band competitions and getting donations.
“You go to any college or high school band in America,” Seidling said, “and you say the word ‘Rockford,’ they’ll say Phantom Regiment. I guarantee it.”
To learn more about the group or to donate, visit www.regiment.org.
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Phantom Regiment history
1956: Formed by a group of VFW 342 members who wanted to see a competitive drum corps, it was named the Rockford Rangers, with an all-girl color guard to be called the Rangerettes.
1962: The original Phantom Regiment Cadets were formed.
1965: A fire in the corps hall took away the corps home, the uniforms and the instruments. The Phantom Regiment tried to field a corps in 1965, but eventually was forced to cancel the season due to a lack of finances.
1967: A new board of directors, comprised of former members and staff of the original corps, reorganized and incorporated the Phantom Regiment.
1970: The corps included 40 horns, 24 color guard, 14 drums, 10 rifles and 1 drum major for a total of 89 members.
1974: The Phantom Regiment made the finals at the Drum Corps International World Championships for the first time, finishing eighth in prelims and 11th in finals.
1989: Finished second in world championships with the second- highest score ever, 98.4.
1996: The Phantom Regiment tied the Blue Devils of Concord, Calif., for its first DCI World Championship.
