[Fran Haring]

BigW, on 18 June 2012 - 01:30 PM, said:

The Cabs were one of the first to establish their brand, and it's worked for over 60 years now. There are other things that have kept them dynamic and surviving when others corps have not.

-The relationship they have had and will continue to have with the fans. They know how to reach through the 4th wall and involve the fan. It's why they're so loved, and should be.

Good points.

Another big reason for that corps' success through the years, IMO... the director-business manager team of Jim Costello and Bob Murray, who were together for decades. Best management team in the history of drum corps, for my money.

[Fran Haring]

BigW, on 18 June 2012 - 01:30 PM, said:

I'm unfortunately not as familiar with Y-R.

One of the main YR marching instructors in 1969 has told me that when Truman Crawford first laid out his idea for the "Requiem" production, the rest of the staff was like, "Wow, Truman... you need to take a week or two off." LOL.

But the staff and corps bought into the idea, and it worked. Big-time.

[Jeff Ream]

Jaminbenb, on 18 June 2012 - 09:19 PM, said:

Actually...my one local drum shop (Klocks, for Jeff's benefit) sold Fibes, and as far as set drums, they had a decent sound. I loved the bass drum punch, and the toms had a neat overtone to them. When I first encountered the Stingray's (North Hagerstown) I totally hated them! The first day we had the tenors, I BROKE one by tuning it up too high... I was told that I tensioned it too much... I said "BULL! IT's SUPPOSED to be this high!" They sent a new set (all three sets, actually) and the shells were a tad thicker. I hated trying to tune the snares (we didn't have bass drums, thankfully) they never got to where I really wanted them. I also think I broke one during the season (Falams heads..they were known for that)(hated the crap out of those, too)

I really think that the sounds that corps try to get these days really sucks..sorry..nothing like the sound of a silver-dot strider on a snare, and thick single ply's on the tenors! (Fibre-skin two's on bass drums were my favorite sound, but Brian never wanted to get them....see Sun's bassline )

The falams/bulletproof heads and the high tension snares are just too artificial sounding for me.. I like a little depth to drums, and I always loved tenors with a little depth to the tom shells themselves (i.e. Phantom) the tone was incredible!

we used the falams top and bottom, but we also triple hooped and did more of the tuning on the top...allowed some more of a snare sound come through

[BigW]

Look up "Boom Boom Percussion Phantom Regiment" on YouTube. Rennick explains the deal with Phantom's set-up. I believe he says that they tune more open and resonant to make sure the ensemble sounds like real drums, but it can tend to make things a bit boomy to the staff and the judge right in front of them.

[BigW]

Got dinner and hung out with a friend after the show.

Blue Stars: The "Blue World" show's a nice package, the drill needs some serious work. When there's stuff I could help clean and I'm seeing as issues... there's issues.

Phantom's "Turandot" show is absolutely fantastic. Well worth seeing, lovely book, great moments, great emotions. I wish I was the "Phantom Dude" who gets to kiss Turandot at the end of the show. One lucky dude.

Crown's hornline's got brass ones the size of beach balls. The "Crown-Man" and "Carolina Girl" superhero guard costumes are a bit freaky for me, but the book's great, the hornline can blow white hot plasma, and the field spread of the visual package adds to their sound and depth of sound. They definitely have a show that's worth watching.

The Cavies Fame program- well, the Andrew "Dice" Clay outfits for the guard are okay I guess, the Cavies have changed the feel and aesthetic severely, and I'm unsure if it's for the better. The drill isn't as stark and geometric- it looks like it could be any DCI corps visual package. The brass book is a lot harder. There's not those eye-popping drill moves within this program that people have come to expect out of them, and I think it's hurting them right now.

I'll tell you who really knocked me dead and I felt was underscored and under appreciated by the panel- the Coats. I felt they were making a statement that last year was a fluke and that they were BACK. The corps smoked the performance visially and musically, flat-out went for the jugular. The Bari section is absolutely BEAST, I'd KILL to be playing out there with them. Even better than a fine Phantom Euphonium seciton.... definietly underrated.

I LIKE the Cadets and the show- BUT, it wasn't as refined by far, and was obviously incomplete- yet they won handily. The message was sent to Coats and Phantom, who had far more complete programs and were far cleaner, that they have no hope. I felt after watching it that the program had fantstic untapped potential, but the last I knew, one judges what's THERE, not what WILL be there. Just my 2 cents. I don't have the time to do a full write up and the Cadet faction here will screeeeam like stuck piggies on the grill because I haven't waxed poetic about a great show that's not there yet that could be fantastic or is not as ready as Phantom's, Blue Coats, or Crown. They COULD be great, but not yet.

[Jeff Ream]

BigW, on 19 June 2012 - 03:59 AM, said:

Look up "Boom Boom Percussion Phantom Regiment" on YouTube. Rennick explains the deal with Phantom's set-up. I believe he says that they tune more open and resonant to make sure the ensemble sounds like real drums, but it can tend to make things a bit boomy to the staff and the judge right in front of them.

didn't seem to hurt them several of his last years there

[BigW]

Fran Haring, on 18 June 2012 - 10:03 PM, said:

One of the main YR marching instructors in 1969 has told me that when Truman Crawford first laid out his idea for the "Requiem" production, the rest of the staff was like, "Wow, Truman... you need to take a week or two off." LOL.

But the staff and corps bought into the idea, and it worked. Big-time.

For what little I knew Truman, and what I did know personally from it was he was a heckuva guy, and more important to him maybe, a heckuva Marine.

The show makes too much sense for the corps looking in hindsight. Truman loved America- and distinctively American music. The last time I remember listening to a Y-R recording might have been with Rook BITD when they did Joseph Wilcox Jenkins' "American Overture for Band(Drum Corps)" as their opener. Very forward thinking for that era to use Wind ensemble literatire, especially something that was that much of a beast on field.

All that and the whole brand image of the "on the border and a bit of both" made the idea come easily to him, I'm certain. I wonder if some of Clare Grundman's patriotic Wind Band compositions also influenced him.

The internal forces that wiped them out is a shame and one of those object lessons that I keep in mind when the circumstances are similar to make sure somehting awful doesn't ever happen like that again. Had Hamilton Post backed them and supported the corps like Post 199 did and does for the Cabs- a lot of stories and history might have been different. For all I know-- I may have been marching there instead!

[Jeff Ream]

BigW, on 19 June 2012 - 05:13 PM, said:

For what little I knew Truman, and what I did know personally from it was he was a heckuva guy, and more important to him maybe, a heckuva Marine.

The show makes too much sense for the corps looking in hindsight. Truman loved America- and distinctively American music. The last time I remember listening to a Y-R recording might have been with Rook BITD when they did Joseph Wilcox Jenkins' "American Overture for Band(Drum Corps)" as their opener. Very forward thinking for that era to use Wind ensemble literatire, especially something that was that much of a beast on field.

All that and the whole brand image of the "on the border and a bit of both" made the idea come easily to him, I'm certain. I wonder if some of Clare Grundman's patriotic Wind Band compositions also influenced him.

The internal forces that wiped them out is a shame and one of those object lessons that I keep in mind when the circumstances are similar to make sure somehting awful doesn't ever happen like that again. Had Hamilton Post backed them and supported the corps like Post 199 did and does for the Cabs- a lot of stories and history might have been different. For all I know-- I may have been marching there instead!

there was a lot more to them folding than just the post

[BigW]

Jeff Ream, on 19 June 2012 - 11:32 PM, said:

there was a lot more to them folding than just the post

A big reason, though. It didn't help. Money, recruiting, everything seemed to hit them all at once from what we all saw BITD and from what was told to me. Your Dad was right there in a lot of it, it couldn't have been pretty.

The one thing it did help was that quite a few of them came up I-83 and helped Westshore get over some humps afterwards and gave osme experience and a boost of confidence to a lot of us in many ways.

[Jaminbenb]

BigW, on 20 June 2012 - 02:49 AM, said:

A big reason, though. It didn't help. Money, recruiting, everything seemed to hit them all at once from what we all saw BITD and from what was told to me. Your Dad was right there in a lot of it, it couldn't have been pretty.

The one thing it did help was that quite a few of them came up I-83 and helped Westshore get over some humps afterwards and gave osme experience and a boost of confidence to a lot of us in many ways.

There were actually a few that I knew from my Hershey daze...Bill Tabeling was the horn instructor/arranger, Allen Powell and Kenny Nye were supposedly members at one time as well. (but I really didn't know much about it at that point...Boswer told me where people marched before, and I didn't have a clue...) There was another guy whose name escapes me...

IIRC, the general consensus was not wanting to get into the whole "Southwind" debacle, and take some time to enjoy corps for a season or two.

Hershey had some obscure people marching there... we even had a guy that played contra for Phantom in 76 & 77.

What was even more interesting was where a bunch went to after the whole "power struggle" crap...there was a LARGE crew that went from Hershey to Reading all fell into their 79 & 80 corps, one of the soprano's (Chuck Wilson) went to Matadors and became part of the "trio". Not many went to Westshore, Me, Bowser, Rich Adams (Sr. & Jr.) a couple guard girls Rich Handy (who was dating one of the guard girls) Larry peck came back over. That's about it. That "Lebanon" contingency that all went to Buc's was the biggest chunk though.