...Basel's Top Secret Drum Corps will appear at this year's Edinburgh Tattoo, the first Swiss group ever to have been invited. Fifing and drumming are very much part of Basel culture, and fifers and drummers march and play at Fasnacht, Basel's version of Carnival. The drumming patterns are very unusual; they are military insofar that they play in (slow) march time, yet the ornaments and patterns used are highly unusual and not at all military - they don't actually reflect what the fifers are playing. They practise all year for their three days of glory (4.00am Monday - 4.00am Thursday) at Fasnacht. TSDC burst on the scene some years ago at a Charivari (fife and drum competition), with an astonishing display of virtuoso precision drumming - their tricks included tossing drumsticks between members and playing in the dark with luminous drumsticks (very spectacular). For the Tattoo, the group has been augmented to 25. Lovers of drumming should watch out for it. See also: [URL]http://www.topsecretbasel.ch/800/emt03_800_eng.htm[/URL]
