General Butler Vagabonds

The General Butler Vagabonds (GBV) drum and bugle corps was organized on February 16^th, 1966, as an all-male corps by Andrew Yaracs, Butler City Police Officer Leo Burgess and Alexander Shott.

The corps received its name when the citizens of Butler County responded to a contest held on radio station WBUT by station owner Larry Berg. The Vagabonds were an all-male corps for the first two seasons, performing in parades and exhibitions the western region of the state, before entering the field of competition in 1968. The corps’ symbol was affectionately known as “bum with a drum”. The following season, the corps integrated girls in the color guard section and competed in both the 1969 VFW and Legion state convention championships placing 9^th and 7^th respectively. They went on to win their first U.S. Open Class A championship title that same year.

By 1970, sporting a cadet style burgundy jacket with gold and white trim, the Vagabonds now gender integrated, competed in the Legion state competition once again placing in 7^th position on their way to a 2^nd place finish in the World Open “Class B” finals and placed 3^rd in the U.S. Open “Class A” finals. Over the next two seasons, the corps placed 2^nd in the 1971 Canadian Open “Class A” championships, 4^th in the World Open “Class B” finals and successfully defended their 1971 and 1972 U.S. Open Class A titles.

Beginning in 1973, the General Butler Vagabonds, now competing within the “Open Class” division, were the host corps and sponsor of the popular American International Open (AIO) championships, held in Butler High School stadium as a two or three day event with National corps hoping to capture the lucrative purse. In its inaugural season, the corps placed 11^th in the “Open Class” preliminaries and also participated for the first time in the “Open Class” in the U.S. Open preliminary round.

The next year saw the corps place 23^rd and 26^th in the prelims of the “Open Class” of the 1974 US Open and Key to the Sea regionals and participated in their first DCI championships, finishing in 41^st position in the “Open Class” preliminaries. 1975 was the watershed year for GBV, placing in the finals of  3 major regionals including the Key to the Sea (4^th), AIO (11^th), U.S. Open (8^th), culminating with a DCI associate membership, when they finished in 23^rd position, the only time in their history they would rank among the elite “Top 25”.

From 1976 to 1981, the Vagabonds continued to tour extensively and participated in several regional “Finals” championships that included the AIO, finalist during that span with the exception of 1980 (between 6^th to 12^th), the 1976 & 1979 US Open (11^th & 12^th), the 1977 American Legion & VFW Nationals (10^th & 6^th), as well as preliminary performances in the 1976 Key to the Sea (15^th), the 1977 & 1978 DCI North (9^th & 11^th), the 1978 & 1980 DCI East (20^th & 22^nd) and the 1981 World Open and Drum Corps East (DCE) contests (17^th & 15^th).

By the late 1970s, the Vagabonds were sporting white jackets with gold and burgundy trim and cavalier style burgundy hats with burgundy pants. In 1981, the corps reaped some benefits from the Royal Crusaders’ demise, however, by the end of that season, the first generation of Vagabonds came to an end and in 1982, the corps marched in parades and rebuilt with heavy recruitment from Beaver County. 

In 1983, the Vagabonds would return with a large “Class A" corps, featuring a strong 32 brass players, 22 in the color guard and 25 percussionists. When they stepped onto the field at Allentown to open the competitive season, it was almost an entirely new corps. Less than five members had prior DCI experience. This version of the Vagabonds, with few seasoned members, emphasized crowd entertainment. In 1983, musical director and drum corps legend Robert "Pepe" Nataro chose a traditional show of drum corps traditional favorites and managed a finalist position in the AIO (10^th), an 8^th place finish in the DCI Midwest and 11^th & 16^th rankings in the prelims of the Key to the Sea and US Open regionals. By the end of the summer, the young corps showed noticeable improvement.

The 1984 season saw considerable improvement in the young corps’ playing abilities, as much of the same nucleus from the previous returned. With a show design and music choices of a more traditional drum corps style, the Vagabonds were very competitive within the “Class A” division making the finals of several National shows including the AIO & US Open, placing 8^th & 10^th respectively. By 1985, the drumline was becoming quite powerful and locally influential. During the winter of that year, they participated in a successful seminar at Latrobe, conducted by Drum Corps Hall of Famer, Fred Sanford. Competitively within the “Class A” division, the corps held its own, placing 2^nd in the DCE circuit & 12^th in the DCI championships prelims. The combination of both long-time drum major Melanie Gardener aging-out and some members seeking a more competitive experience led to the corps going inactive over the next 3 years.

In its place, the Vagabond Cadets continued the corps’ legacy via the parade route from 1986 to1988 in order to rebuild. By 1989, still very much in a rebuilding stage, the Board of directors reorganized the Cadet program as the General Butler Vagabonds, reactivating the corps name after a 3-year hiatus. During this period, they were voted the best marching and playing military unit at the Baltimore National VFW Parade in 1990, in the New Orleans 1991 parade and in Indianapolis in 1992. While competing in the parade circuits, gradually a new membership base began to come of age.

Finally, after 7 years of patience and commitment, the General Butler Vagabonds returned to the field of competition as members of the “Division III” class, reverting back to the cadet style uniforms and placed 14^th in the 1993 US Open preliminaries. Over the next two seasons the core continued to improve with several competitive appearances that included the 1994 U.S. Open prelims and in 1996 & 1997, the Butler unit expanded their travels, participating in the preliminaries of several regional “Division III” contests that included the Canadian Open (19^th - 1996 & 10^th - 1997), the North American Open (16^th) the Coast Guard Open (9^th) and after an 11 year absence, returned to the DCI preliminaries, finishing in 16^th in both 1996 and 1997.

Despite the Vagabonds' small membership base, they continued to mature and, under the direction of Dave Campbell, started to enjoy true success in the DCI “Division III” competitive arena from 1998 to 2000, touring in regional “Finals” championships such as the 1998 North American & Canadian Open (5^th & 3^rd respectively) and the Garden State Open, winning the 1999 title and placing 3^rd in 2000. The GBV went on to a finalist position in the DCI championships, placing 6^th in 1998, 3^rd in 1999 & 4^th in 2000.

During this span, they were also members of the Drum Corps Midwest (DCM) circuit, were they placed second in the 1999 & 2000 finals and were awarded the 1999 DCM "Most Improved" corps along with the coveted 1998 "Spirit of Disney" award for its’ innovative show design and the 1999 "Most Improved corps award for Drum Corps Midwest. Before the 2001 season, the Dave Campbell-led version of Vagabonds had collapsed due to conflicts between the Board of Directors and the Artistic staff and many members moved on to other more competitive units.

During their long history, the corps participated in field contests and parades in 38 states in the USA and Canada. The Vagabonds of the 1970s produced many fine soloists and players such as Scott Koter, Andy Yaracs Jr. (son), Curt Hawkens, Pat Cavenaugh, John "Rabbit" Gilliland, Barb Yaracs (daughter) among others. During their marching careers, many of the 1970s era Vagabonds would have success in DCI Individuals contests. Candy Weiger, for instance, one of the first females to compete in DCI individual snare drum competition. Sheplaced 14^th in 1979. In that same year, Pat Cavanaugh would win the DCI French Horn Individuals.

Many of the 1970s era corps members would return to instruct the Vagabonds and also served as local band directors and instructors. Andy Yaracs, Jr., for instance was the band director for the award winning Butler High School Marching Band. Others such as Gilliland would march in the United States Marine Corps Drum and Bugle Corps. All told, the 1970s era Vagabonds were highly influential in Western Pennsylvania-if not national marching circles. Ron Crusan, a former member of the Royal Crusaders, served as musical director. The staff featured Andy Yaracs as Percussion Caption head, Tom Milchick, also a former Crusader assisted manning the percussion section. Jack Ratica returned as drill writer, and a young bass drum tech named Dave Campbell rounded out the staff.

Influential Vagabonds of the 1980s had included Cathy Jo Carnahan, Bob Beatty, Diane Mabin, Chuck Lee, Jim Baker, Mike Hoebler, Greg Gumina, Deb Knisely, Donnett Bell, Melanie Gardner, Paul Devlin, Ray Dugan, Fred Weissert and Melissa Fend--all of whom served as local instructors or marched in top DCI corps. During the mid-1990s, long-time Corps Director Andy Yaracs remained the organizational strategist. Meantime, a new staff led by musical director Dave Campbell, former instructor of several smaller corps; With a talented, dedicated staff, and hard working membership, the corps began to concentrate on thematic shows, rather than the Pop/Jazz music favored in the 70s/80s. Gone were the dated drills and musical selections of the 1980s.

Over the years, the Vagabonds had many notable instructors including drum corps great Pepe Notaro; Scott Koter (former DCI percussion caption head and current Cavaliers  program designer), Andy Yaracs Jr. (Butler HS Band Director), Tom Acheson (instrumental in the rise of the Glassmen), Jack Rattica, Dave Campbell, Dan Mullen, Joe Stultz, Ron Crusan, Frank Yurkovich, and many, many, others. The 1990s version of the Vagabonds featured Deanne Heller, Alan Fear, Austin Osterhout, Adam Street, among others.

The most dedicated instructor has been Amerigo "Riggie" Laus. He joined the Vagabond family in 1974 as a brass instructor. The famed Pittsburgh Rockets soloist has been with the organization ever since. Riggie holds the first place championship for individual bugle for 9 consecutive years. (1956-1965) In addition, he was inducted into the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame in September 1986. Many generations of Vagabonds can recall Riggie's kindness, tact, and fundamental decency.

While Riggie Laus was the corps' longest tenured instructor, Andrew Yaracs remained the Corps' CIO and held the keys to any attempted return to DCI competition. Yaracs  built a strong financial base for the corps through development of a successful bingo. In addition, the Vagabonds own a large corps hall that is rented for weddings and other events. This structure is an important part of the Butler County community assets. The Vagabonds' strong financial base made the organization almost unique amongst other DCI drum corps: there was no tour fee. In addition, the Vagabonds instruments were always new (or fairly new) and the best available.

The corps also maintained a fleet of buses and trucks over the years. In addition, Yaracs and the Board of Directors prided themselves on providing a quality experience for youth. This meant that the corps ate extremely well on tour, and never went through the "peanut butter and jelly" diet. In addition to the strong financial base, Andy Yaracs established good relations with the Butler Community and the Vagabonds are one of the most well-known entities in the county. Quite deservedly, Andy Yaracs was a member of the Drum Corps Hall of Fame. The Vagabonds organization was always about more than just scores. The corps provided musical instruction, touring opportunities and a fun-filled summer to countless numbers of young lower middle-class or working-class youths.

After the Vagabonds withdrawal from field competition in 2001, the Vagabonds organization supported a short-lived DCA corps, the Allegheny Nightstorm circa 2001-2002. For the period from 2001 to 2012, the corps featured younger performers and did mostly local parades and performances at the Veteran's Administration under the directorship, once again, of Andy Yaracs, until his passing in 2012. After several abbreviated attempts to relaunch the corps as a competitive group until 2016, the new board of directors decided to try their hand at the exciting world of indoor percussion; Nomad Indoor was then founded in 2017. As of 2025, the Nomad Indoor continued to provide quality musical instruction and complex visual productions as a competing ensemble in Winter Guard International. The group has been a National finalist on several occasions.

The Vagabonds Facebook & Fandom; Paul Legault (DCX)

CORPS 8 items

General Butler Vagabonds

General Butler Vagabonds from the Bill Ives Collection

Copy Link to Clipboard

General Butler Vagabonds

General Butler Vagabond Cadets Uniform 1971 from the Bill Ives Collection Contributed by John Gillilland

Copy Link to Clipboard

General Butler Vagabonds

GeneralButlerVagabonds,Butler,PA,Patch1-Booster(RPE)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection Contributed by Robert Pero

Copy Link to Clipboard

General Butler Vagabonds

GeneralButlerVagabonds,Butler,PA,Pin1-DrummerLarge(RE-3.0)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection

Copy Link to Clipboard

General Butler Vagabonds

GeneralButlerVagabonds,Butler,PA,Pin2-DrummerSmall(RE-2.25)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection

Copy Link to Clipboard

General Butler Vagabonds

GeneralButlerVagabonds,Butler,PA,Pin3-DrummerBrown(BJA-3.5)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection

Copy Link to Clipboard

General Butler Vagabonds

GeneralButlerVagabonds,Butler,PA,Pin4-DrummerYellow(BJA)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection

Copy Link to Clipboard

General Butler Vagabonds

GeneralButlerVagabonds,Butler,PA,Pin5-Butler(BJA)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection

Copy Link to Clipboard

LOADING.....