INTERVIEW WITH GORD MOFFATT

I guess I really didn’t have much choice. My sister played in Parkdale Pirettes, (later Parkdale Lions) girls corps and my brother played in Leaside Lions (Jungle Kings) drum corps. When I reached about 13 yrs old it just seemed kind of natural to follow in their footsteps. In fact, I attended my first (and as it turned out, last) Leaside Lions drum corps rehearsal one Oct evening in 1961, only to get in a car with several others (Ted Huston, my brother John) and Doug Saunders and headed back to the Borough of York, where Doug was going to start a new corps.

I had already decided that I would play a bugle and since I was taking music (trumpet) at York Memorial Collegiate, again there wasn’t much to think about. I started playing second soprano my first year.

Has to be the Lions Club International conventions. Winning the parade (I believe every year), the flag presentations, Watts riots, Shoreham/Norham hotel in Miami, WMCA in LA (what where they thinking???). And at that time of my life a trip to Miami, Los Angeles and New York was a pretty big deal. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel extensively around North America since those days, but lots of people have never left Ontario, so those trips were not only a lot of fun, but very meaningful to a young guy’s life.

Of course, honourable mention has to go to Wasaga Beach. Made every one of those trips, (with and without female accompaniment), and there was something special or exciting about each one. Discretion keeps me from further comment on the female situation, but remember the "flotilla", blowing my whole weekend’s money on Friday night at the go-cart track, putting someone’s little MG or Triumph up on the terrace in front of Doug’s cottage, being the model of a good teenager when we stayed directly across from the OPP station, etc. etc.

Too many other vivid memories……..I could go on for hours.

The corps folded and not wanting to stop participation in drum corps, I did what a lot of other guys did, joined a senior corps. Since guys from Ambassadors had been our instructors it seemed natural that they were the corps to go to. Seems that sister brother effect was also a contributing factor. Brother John had done a stint with them and sister Joan was "dating" Jim Tufts of the corps. Worked out pretty good too, because the influx of York guys into Ambassadors contributed in no small part to their 1967 Canadian Championship in Ottawa. Stayed there until about 1970 or ‘71’.

Somewhere in my busy drum corps schedule I found time to get a job at a company called Taylor Instruments, located at Dufferin and Tycos Drive. (I had quit school early because I was 18yrs old and of course knew everything so higher education was out of the question.) Took a job testing instruments (not musical instruments, but process control instruments, like the kind that make beer!), and gradually worked my way through just about every department in the company until I became General Manager a few years ago. The company has changed names about 10 times in the 37yrs I’ve been there, and I’ve changed divisions once or twice, but I’m still there, looking forward to retirement sometime soon. Right now I can’t afford it because of this strange "hobby" I still have, called drum corps! Which brings me to the last question…..

Wow! Where to start? I guess this response could go on for a long time (and it does), but its really the Cole’s Notes version (do you remember Cole’s Notes?)

Laura (most of you will remember Laura) and I stayed in the Toronto area and raised two great kids. Although both kids were very musical they were also very athletic and hockey and baseball at highly competitive levels didn’t leave much time for anything else. So, I spent the next 20yrs or so coaching baseball and hockey.

Around 1995, with both children now gone (yeah!) I started thinking about picking up the old brass horn. Spent a few months traveling to Guelph for Friday rehearsals and a few Santa Claus parades with a group trying to keep the Royalaires alive. Parades soon weren’t enough so I headed down to Toronto Second Signals and donned one of those bright red jackets and a busby hat. Signals did lots of parades too, but also had a field drill, so it was almost like the "good ‘ol days".

Then I heard about Mighty St Joe’s Alumni corps. In 1995 they put on an exhibition at the Junior Championships in Buffalo. They fielded about 90 horns and were absolutely awesome. So……having nothing else to do on weekends, I started traveling to Batavia NY to march with St Joes. (Side note…….I found out why US Corps usually kicked our Canadian junior and senior butts all those years too. They actually practice hard and instructors teach how to play in addition to what to play. They spent more time doing a warm up then we practiced. No wonder they were so good.) Anyway, I digress.

I spend 1996 thru 1998 with St Joe’s and Laura picked up a horn with the corps in ’97 and ’98. It was a great time, traveling around the US with St Joes and taking side trips for sightseeing. Around this time DCAT was formed. DCAT, is Drum Corps Alumni Toronto and was formed after a few old drum corps folks attended the Great Alliance of Seniors (GAS) reunion sponsored by Preston Scout House. Now, stay with me here….GAS was started by retirees from Princemen, Hawthorne Caballeros, New York Skyliners, Yankee Rebels, Connecticut Hurricanes and Audubon Bon Bons (girls corps of 50’s-60’s) who just wanted to get together each year to reminisce about old times, bang a drum or two, play old horns and generally have a great party weekend. Most of the organizations also have a chorus that sings at the GAS reunion. DCAT formed a chorus to sing at these events and Laura and I sang with them until about three years ago.

Back to the drum corps thing…..during the early part of 1999 I really got the "bug" and wanted to try competitive drum corps again. As mentioned earlier, I traveled quite a lot on business, so I had accumulated lots of frequent flyer miles. So, with no excuse not to, I joined the Kilties of Racine Wisconsin and spent ’99 hopping flights to Chicago and competed at DCA Championships in Allentown for the first time since 1970. Kilties were having money problems (costs a lot to move a corps around and coming east to DCA was difficult), so they had decided 2000 would be a stay home year. I wanted to compete locally and go to DCA, so Empire Statesmen became my new home.

(We’re almost at the end). I still march with Statesmen and can tell you it has been the experience of a lifetime. Empire was voted senior corps of the ‘90s because of their three championships and not finishing under third through the whole decade. Although they have not won since I joined, we are always near the top, (last year 2^nd). What I said earlier about instructional staff and hard work is multiplied ten times from St Joe’s alumni to Statesmen. I’ve learned more about horn playing in the last three years than the previous 40.

During this period I’ve also taken time to play with Hamilton Firefighters, Canadian GAS ensemble, Ghost Riders mini corps (competitive group from St Joe’s), Christmas Brass ensemble (again St Joe’s), marched a Marti Gras parade with Bayou City Blues of Houston Tx, and even spent some time with the newly created Toronto Optimists Alumni Corps.

Currently still with Empire, and recently rejoined DCAT in an instructional capacity.

It’s a long story that started one fateful Oct in 1961 with York Lions Drum Corps. A 25yr hiatus from drum corps then the last 8yrs back at it. There is no life like drum corps and I have friends from all over the continent because of it. If any of you even have a small urge to get involved again, I’d recommend you do it. Alumni corps are starting up all over Ontario and they truly are a lot of fun for us old guys.

thanks Gord.

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