About the Author. Mr. John J. Dunne began marching with the Mark Twain Mini-Cadets (Mark Twain Pilots) of Elmira Heights, NY in 1972 where he played Baritone, and was voted "Most Improved Low Brass, Pilot of the Year," 1973. Dunne continued with the Mark Twain Cadets as a Baritone between 1974 and 1977, after which he stayed with the corps' merger with the Empire State Express in 1978 when it became the Grenadiers of Elmira Heights/Broome County, NY. As was the case with his family, John began marching in drum corps at the age of nine, and left at the age of sixteen. After graduating from high school, he moved to Arizona and, except for a brief period back in New York, has lived there ever since. In college, Dunne began to develop a talent for writing (while majoring in Finance) and had several works published in magazines and newspapers. While in Arizona, John remembered his drum corps roots and several years ago, decided to write a manuscript about my life in drum corps. Though the 200-page manuscript was never intended to be published it encouraged him to write a publishable book about drum corps. While researching the new book, John gained access to the internet and began "a crash course in learning about what had happened to drum corps since I left in 1978." Much of John's research has been done in the form of questionnaires, sent to people who have ties to drum corps in one way or another. At this time, approximately 1,300 questionnaires have been sent to people, with over 100 responses received from around the world. These responses have given him an intimate view into how people have viewed drum corps over the span of several generations, and they provide glimpses into the history of the activity as well. Dunne has also created several webpages devoted to drum corps. The main page, The Drum Corps Alumni Homepage, is located at http://personal.netwrx.net/dunner/dcalum1.htm . Other pages include links to color guard and winter percussion units (dcalum2.htm), folded drum corps (dcalum3.htm), and individuals' pages to drum corps (dcalum4.htm). In "real" life, John is a financial analyst for U-Haul International. To paraphrase Isaac Asimov, he is "as youthful, as lively, and as lovable as ever, and grow more handsome with each year."