A Look into the Past: "The Devil's Staircase"

A retrospective of Santa Clara Vanguard's 2011 production...

Imagine you’re in Hell, and you want out.

These eight words from Brandt Crocker on DCI Finals night in 2011 took the place of the expected announcement of the corps’ name, and that name was the Santa Clara Vanguard. Following those eight words was a brief silence, then one of Vanguard’s iconic “horn clicks” (bringing up the horns all at once so fast that an audible “click” from the valves hitting the casing is heard throughout the entire stadium), ushering in an explosion of brass with the aggressive tone the corps became known for in this decade of DCI, including their win in 2018.

This is how SCV’s 2011 show, “The Devil’s Staircase,” started. The show is inspired by György Ligeti’s Piano Etude 13, which is often referred to by the same name given its bone-chilling chromatic ascending motif. However, we don’t hear that piece until the show's end. Instead, the first thing we hear is the introduction to Samuel Barber’s First Essay for Orchestra, a brooding chorale performed by the brass in pods scattered throughout the field before condensing into one pod in the center of the field and expanding out again. This is where the iconic yet all too often overlooked introduction described in the paragraph above occurs. 

Ushering in the opener alongside the brass explosion is the color guard revealing their plain yellow-orange flags, which, moving throughout the corps in their traditional red uniform tops, look like flickering flames. This visual effect, combined with the bombastic second movement of Avner Dorman’s Piano Sonata No. 2, perfectly captures the panicked feeling of being trapped in Hell with no way out. Throughout this movement, the drill makes sure that the audience has no questions about where you are, with the most prominent example of this being when the brass form three arrow-shapes resembling a devil’s tail that morph into three sixes, which is widely recognized as the “Mark of the Beast” out of Revelation, the final book of the Bible.

 One of the sections most prominently featured (and remains so throughout the show) is the percussion section headed by Paul Rennick. This year was Paul and Sandi’s first year with the Vanguard following a very successful run with the Phantom Regiment that included Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Awards in 2006, 2008, and 2010. They would stay with the Vanguard through the 2022 season before going inactive for 2023, and despite not winning the Sanford until 2014, the seeds for SCV’s percussion dynasty were planted and unmistakably present this year. 

The corps then takes us through a dramatic tone shift, transitioning into the ballad as a sole member of the hornline becomes engulfed by guard members. Any fan of recent drum corps will recognize the piece used in the ballad as Karl Jenkins ‘“The Eternal Knot” (aka “Benedictus”), which was also played to near-unanimous praise by Carolina Crown in 2022. Throughout the movement's first half, the lone brass player ebbs and flows throughout the color guard’s cluster, initially fighting against their will but gradually becoming more “knotted” into the group. Finally, the brass begins to move up from the backfield into a unified line as they build into the dramatic climax of “Benedictus,” as now the once trapped baritone player is just as much a part of the visual ensemble’s movements as any of the guard members. After the glorious release of the brass from the big hit of the ballad, the entire guard scatters in tandem with a burst of discomforting arpeggiations from the front ensemble, foreshadowing what’s to come, and we hear a brief reprise of the Barber intertwined with the Jenkins played backfield.

We are sent straight back into a state of panic as the percussion finally introduces Ligeti’s etude, which inspired the whole show, into the mix. The brass begins to layer in with the contras, introducing the off-kilter chromatic climb, and just as it does in the original Etude, layers are added on top of the motif in higher registers. Just when you think all hope is lost and there’s no escape, the heavens call out to you (it’s actually the audience yelling “VANGUARD!” as is tradition) and a final reprise of the chorale from Barber’s First Essay for Orchestra, now at full volume, enters gloriously. The brass then staircases their way forward to the front of the field, playing lush and modulating chords to finish off the show. The color guard forms a staircase on either side of the corps for two members to escape through. They did it. They were in Hell, and they got out. 

In my opinion, this is one of the most underappreciated drum corps shows of the 2010s, if not of all time. Vanguard takes full advantage of all elements at its disposal to immerse the watcher in the feeling of being trapped in a place where it seems impossible to escape. The anxiety of feeling alone and at the mercy of forces acting out of your control, contrasted by the realization that you aren’t alone and can make your way out of what seems like Hell, is perfectly encapsulated musically and visually in just under 13 minutes. While you may be able to relate this show to something you’ve experienced in life, what you may not initially think about is how the very organization that fielded this production can relate to it as well. 

After the 2009 season, the Santa Clara Vanguard had found themselves somewhere new. For the first time in DCI history, it had been an entire decade without an SCV championship. In a way, this was a “hell” for the organization. Changes needed to be made to climb their way out of the rut they found themselves in, and this show marked the beginning of that climb that culminated in 2018 with “Babylon.” The Santa Clara Vanguard is now in a new, much more severe “hell,” having decided not to field a corps for the summer tour, which will end their streak of making finals every year in DCI history. However, alumni and fans of the Vanguard can look to this show for encouragement, knowing that this organization has historically shown a willingness to change to climb its way back to the top. 

Aaron Blackley is one of the original contributors for General Effect Media. He has a vast knowledge and passion for the marching arts and has worked alongside the likes of HornRank as a ranker and moderator as well as the TxBands.com liveblog team since summer 2021. Aaron currently works front of house at Interstellar BBQ in North Austin. He can be found on Twitter as @GEMAaronB.