Jersey Surf

The Jersey Surf Drum and Bugle Corps is a World Class competitive junior drum and bugle corps based in Mount Holly, New Jersey . 

The corps was founded in the winter of 1990 by a group of area band instructors, led by Bob Jacobs, who wanted band members to have some field activity after the traditional marching band season had ended. The corps’ first orgnizational meeting drew more than fifty interested students from throughout southern New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. The corps was chartered as Explorer Post 333 and held rehearsals at the Berlin Community School and at the Berlin Park near the Farmers Market. The corps’ debut performance was at the 1991 Independence Classic Drum and Bugle Corps competition at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field, where Surf performed the “Star Spangled Banner” in band uniforms rented from a local high school. That first performance brought in a surge of new applicants.

The Surf fielded its first competitive corps in the summer of 1992 with 102 members. Arrangements of classics by Harry Connick, Jr. and Doc Severinsen served as repertoire in contests in the Garden State Circuit and Drum Corps East. The new group also performed for the first time at the Drum Cops International (DCI) Eastern Regional Championship at Allentown, Pennsylvania. The corps finished the season undefeated in Garden State Circuit competition, capturing the championship in Bayonne, New Jersey, that August. A highlight of that first season was the purchase of the corps’ first equipment truck, known as "The Cow,” and two blue school buses.

In 1993, camps became a monthly proposition. The season’s repertoire consisted of one continuous 11-minute work from the soundtrack of "A League of Their Own." The guard was costumed in baseball uniforms and utilized balls, gloves and bats in the show. The corps’ touring debut was made at the DCE Championships, rolling into Nashua, New Hampshire, on three chartered buses and performing its championship show on a baseball field.

In 1994 the corps performed the music of Barbra Streisand, and the organization continued to expand with the purchase of a third school bus and fourth bus engine. Operations moved from Edgewood to the Camden County Vo-Tech. The corps performed a full schedule of weekend DCE shows, competed in the DCE Championships in Connecticut, and made its debut at the DCI Championships at Foxboro, Massachusetts.

New staff, some with world-class instructional and performance experience and several world championships between them, came on board in 1995. The corps purchased a tractor-trailer, a symbol of the organization’s growth and a source of pride for corps members. Travel that summer grew to include a mini-tour during the Fourth of July weekend and an 11-day excursion that culminated to the corps’ second performance at the DCI World Championships, held in Buffalo, New York. The corps finished eighth in DCI Division II competition, with the percussion section finishing third and brass finishing fifth.

The 1996 edition of Jersey Surf continued to develop its crowd-pleasing reputation with an extremely strong winter at the Ft. Dix military installation and all of its drill in place by Memorial Day. The corps added three diesel buses to its fleet, including the infamous SEPTA staff bus. The repertoire, 'Cool Tunes from the Back of the Bus,' featured music of Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, and Tower of Power. The corps reached finalist status for the first time at the DCE Championships in Allentown, Pennsynvania, an achievement that included high percussion honors; in fact, the corps’ percussion was undefeated in the DCE tour in 1996. After achieving finalist status at the North American Open in Nashville, Tennessee, the corps experienced nearly catastrophic bus problems but still managed to complete the tour to the World Championships in Orlando. The corps finished the season ranked seventh in Division II.

The 1997 season featured 'More Cool Tunes.' The corps continued to expand its touring radius, adding mini-tours to the far reaches of western Pennsylvania and New York. A highlight of the corps’ season was a special parade performance down Manhattan’s 42nd Street in front of some two million spectators as a part of the world premiere of Walt Disney’s “Hercules.” At the DCI World Championships in Orlando, the corps finished in sixth place. Highlights of championship week included a one-night stay in the grand ballroom at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, which had only been open for eight days prior to the corps’ arrival; and an all-day rehearsal session on the perfectly manicured fields of Walt Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex. DCI recognized the corps staff at the World Championships as DCI’s "Volunteers of the Year."

The 1998 Surf made its way back to the Florida Citrus Bowl for its third Orlando appearance at the DCI World Championships, again finishing in a disappointing sixth place, just out of a finalist berth. With “Pictures of Spain" as a classic opener, the corps received rousing ovations at their performances in West Chester University, Giants Stadium, and at the World Championship Prelims. Jersey Surf was selected the 1998 "Most Improved Division II Corps of the Year" by the directors of the Division II corps at their annual meeting in October.

The 1999 season ended with the corps’ first performance ever at the World Championship Finals. Before a record II/III finals night audience in excess of 10,000 fans, the corps took the field at the legendary Camp Randall Stadium to perform 'It Ain't Necessarily Summertime,' featuring several non-traditional treatments from Gershwin¹s classic "Porgy and Bess." Prior to the performance, the corps performed a field warm-up arrangement of "On, Wisconsin!" earning its first of three standing ovations for the evening. Its longest tour to date, this one lasted some sixteen days and extended to Canada for the first time. The Surf achieved finalist status at the Garden State, Canadian and North American Open contests, and was again crowned the Garden State Circuit Champions.

The 2000 season was one of great surprises and tremendous growth for the corps. Its reworking of Georges Bizet’s opera,'Re-in-CARMEN-ation,' earned the corps not only its second appearance in the DCI Division II Finals, where they finished fourth, their best ever score, but also a DCI Open Class quarterfinalist spot as well. The Championship week festivities, held in College Park, Maryland, were an incredible backdrop for the corps’ first ever tour video, and saw the Surf’s color guard earn top honors during the final week of competition. Earlier in the season, the corps had been crowned DCI Atlantic Division Champions at a memorable "coming-out party" at the University of Pennsylvania’s fabled Franklin Field, the site of the corps' debut some ten years earlier. The corps repeated as finalists at the Garden State Open and North American Open contests as well.

The corps continued to provide a creative outlet for its members and staff in 2001, offering a repertoire of Pat Metheny jazz tunes with unique twists. The corps narrowly missed a finalist slot at the DCI Championships in Buffalo, but maintained its crown as the DCI Atlantic Division II Champion. The Surf was a finalist at the Garden State Open and the North American Open, and won its home show in Blackwood, New Jersey, before a sell-out audience.

2002 saw the corps take a sharp turn in its appearance, with the traditional dress white uniform appearing only during early season competitive shows. (Prior to this, the corps often dressed in costumes themed to individual shows.) Performing a show entitled 'Our Side of the Story: A Celebration of the Spirit of Youth,' corps members dressed in denim costumes, with the color guard changing outfits several times during the show, including to brightly colored wigs and tutus. After a slow start with an incomplete show, the corps quickly gained momentum and regained finalist status at the World Championships in Madison. Adding "On, Wisconsin!" to the field show for finals week, the corps received three standing ovations, and had one of the most talked-about performances of DCI’s 30th anniversary season.

In 2004, the corps moved from Berlin to Mt. Holly, although they continued to have facilities in both Berlin and New Brunswick and to have camps in Sicklerville.

Over the next few seasons, the Jersey Surf was a consistent Division II finalist, but the corps did not truly challenge for the title until 2007. That year's corps toured the West Coast, winning shows in Washington, Oregon, and California en route to DCI Championships at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The Jersey Surf was in first place after DCI's Division II Quarterfinals, but was passed by the Spartans in Semifinals and took second place in Finals. In 2008, the Surf was undefeated until meeting the Blue Devils B in Ohio. Then, they were third in Open Class Quarterfinals in Michigan City, Indiana, a position they held through Semifinals and Finals in Bloomington.

The Surf was featured in an IMAX presentation entitled "Pulse: a STOMP Odyssey," a film based on the successful stage show.

Jersey Surf prides itself on good staff and member recruitment and retention, and a strong financial model. One of the primary concerns of the Jersey Surf staff has always been fiscal responsibility. When the DCI Board of Directors approved the new, two-division competition format beginning in 2008, only World Class corps were guaranteed being paid for their performances. Therefore, following the 2008 season, the Jersey Surf elected to leave Open Class and compete in World Class. Following an evaluation by the DCI staff as to the organization's competitive and fiscal stability, the corps was approved as a DCI World Class corps in 2009.

In April, 2015, a music video was released on YouTube featuring 50 members of the Jersey Surf performing the song "Don't Look Down" with actress/singer/percussionist Janina Gavankar.

The 2020 season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The corps was also inactive during the noncompetitive 2021 season but returned to the field in 2022.

[Jersey Surf Drum and Bugle Corps; Bob Jacobs; Drum Corps World, (various issues); Drum Cops International]