On January 19, 2012 the Hamburg Kingsmen Alumni Drum and Bugle Corps was created by former Kingsmen members specifically to participate in a parade commemorating the 200th birthday of the Town of Hamburg, NY. The corps motto for this mission was, “One and Done,” signifying that, unlike other alumni corps, they would only do this one parade then disband.
On June 16, 2012, the corps completed its “One and Done” mission by marching in the Town of Hamburg bicentennial parade. After their performance, corps members sadly realized this was probably the last time they would hear the phrase, “Ladies and Gentlemen, from Hamburg, New York … the Hamburg Kingsmen.”
But alas, later that year, a few of the past members realized that the Drum Corps Associates (DCA) Championships were returning to Rochester in 2014. Since this was in celebration of DCA's 50th Anniversary, mention was made about another, “One and Done”… this time on the field for DCA's Alumni Spectacular over Labor Day Weekend. After all, the Hamburg Kingsmen were one of the top ten DCA Corps in the 60’s and 70’s.
After a few practices during the summer of 2013 and a performance in September at a charity concert in Batavia, NY, the Hamburg Kingsmen Alumni anxiously waited over the winter for an invitation to the Spectacular. That special invitation arrived in January, 2014. This resulted in the announcement on August 31, 2014, "Hamburg Kingsmen Alumni, you may take the field in DCA Alumni Spectacular Exhibition!"
After the well-received performance at the 2014 DCA Alumni Spectacular, the Hamburg Kingsmen were revitalized and reorganized as an IRS Exempt Section 501.3c Organization. The Hamburg Kingsmen Alumni have performed in many DCA Alumni Spectacular shows as well as many other field shows, stage shows and parades.
Over 100 past and present drum corps are represented by members of the Kingsmen Alumni, who hail from Western New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Connecticut, California, Canada, and South Korea. Member’s ages range from 12 to over 80 years old, with the majority being former Kingsmen who are now over sixty years old and have marched in the 60’s and 70’s.
The Kingsmen do anywhere from eight to ten performances a year and rehearse in Lackawanna, NY. They currently have openings in all sections of the corps, and still use G-Bugles! If you have the desire and want to fulfill a lifelong dream, now is the time to get on board. If anyone thinks they have any more drum corps left in them, consider doing it with the Kingsmen Alumni Corps!
2023 marked the eighth year that the Kingsmen performed in the DCA Alumni Spectacular show. We had a special guest appearance of the "Little King" on the field with us, playing bass drum. The Kingsmen began our show with "Once Upon a Time, featuring our soprano soloist, Gary Wood. We continued with "Hallelujah", which was the off-the-line number in 1970. Next was the 32 drum solo into their Color Presentation of "America", followed by "Cry Me A River” featuring soprano soloist Gary Wood. Our next number was the 60's drum solo. We closed with "Ecstacy of Gold" into our trademark song, “Ghost Riders in the Sky”.
In 2024, the Kingsmen performed in a DCI show in Rochester, as this was the first year DCA merged with DCI.
All brass music is arranged by Kingsmen's horn instructor Steve Cooley. Assisting with the horns is Drum Major Chuck Lute. Drum parts are written and arranged by Kingsmen's drum instructor, Paul Neiss, Jr. with instruction assistance provided by Terry Roof. Ron Raahauge is Honor Guard Captain.
The Kingsmen Alumni are directed by:
President - Paul Neiss, Jr.
Vice President - Gregg Smith
Secretary - Marcie Delgaty
Business Manager - Vicki Anetrini
Board Members - Cindy Anderson
Donna Klinko
Bruce Lindsay
Corps Director - Stephan Anderman
Corps Director Emeritus - Larry Keppel