A Red Team drumline aspires to match the best in old school DCI lines from 1976 to around 1986 when
Suncoast Sound had the last decent Red Team line. Red Team is a philosophy about
drum techniques which opposes
Blue Team.
Red Team drumlines are generally from the
East Coast although a notable exception would be the
Santa Clara Vanguard, where Red Team playing originated.
Red Team drummers do not
play through the drum, they play on top of the head, relying mostly on hand motion and not rebound to do the lion's share of the work for them. The hand and finger position is very
tight and heavily
emphasizes control. As thus, the
quality of sound suffers, but because there is less motion there is less margin for error: hence, Red Team drumlines are often cleaner than Blue Team lines.
Examples of Red Team drumlines are:
Red Team was pioneered by instructors like Robert Lee Lazenberry, Jeff Prosperie, and Jeff Moore
See also: Blue Team