General Butler Vagabonds
Junior Drum and Bugle Corps
In 1985, the battery would step to the fore with 8 snares, 3 quads, five bases, 4 cymbals, five pit and a quality of sound that was rapidly approaching the upper ranks of DCI Class A. But the hornline had declined in number to 18 members. With competitive scores remaining relatively low, seasoned members began seeking a more competitive experience joining more competitive and larger organizations within the East Coast.
With a very small amount of brass players remaining, the corps retired from DCI competition for the 1986 season. The Vagabonds returned to the parade route in the late 1980s in order to rebuild for a second time.
The corps remained mostly a local performance organization for much of the remainder of the 80's and into the early 90's. A new team of staff including former multiyear Vagabond member and former Bridgemen and 27th Lancer alumni Richard Zamperini took the helm and got the corps back into competition for the 1993 and 94 seasons. Although the corps remained small, they had some success on the road and secured a solid rebuilding effort. Disagreements between the new director and Yaracs and the corps board of directors lead to a parting of the ways in 1995.
1996 saw Mr. Yaracs return to the director chair as the corps competed in Drum Corps East and the Ontario Drum Corps Association in Canada. A larger corps was fielded but the show met with limited success in the new Drum Corps International Division III division. Yaracs hired a new young and eager staff and the corps was, once again, on the road competing once again.
By the late 1990s, the General Butler Vagabonds entered a new 3rd era of success. While Andrew Yaracs remained the organization's guiding light, a new staff led by former percussion instructor Dave Campbell rejuvenated the corps. While much smaller than the corps of the 1970s and 1980s, the Vagabonds enjoyed success in the DCI Division III. This version of the corps performed more sophisticated shows emphasizing themes and songs from musical and operas.
The Vagabonds made DCI Finals as a Division III corps in 1997 with their ground-breaking "Fiddler on the Roof" show. The corps received the coveted "Spirit of Disney" award for most entertaining program in 1997, and the Bronze medal and 3rd place in Division III in 1998. The 99 program, music from the opera "Carmen" finished 4th and secured the High Brass trophy.
Unfortunately, by 2000, the Dave Campbell-led version of Vagabonds had collapsed due to conflicts between the Board of Directors and the artistic staff. Many of the 1990s era Vagabonds moved on to other more competitive units just as was the case in the mid 80's.
For the period from 2000 to 2012, the corps featured younger performers and did mostly local parades and performances at the local VA hospital and other Butler locations under the directorship, once again, of Andy Yaracs.
The corps performance schedule gradually shrunk as his health declined. Mr. Andrew Yaracs died on March 26, 2012 and age 88 and left a huge hole in the organization.