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What shows first turned you on to drum corps, and why?


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First audio intro was via C-90 cassettes that were copies of the albums.. I'm pretty sure I had 82 - 86. Could get the whole top 12 on two cassettes

First visual intro was a borrowed VHS copy of a copy of a copy etc. of the 1987 live broadcast, full top 5 and highlights of 6th-12th. Only got around to throwing it out a few years ago.

First live intro was seeing Madison during their 1988 European tour. Not a bad show for a 1st timer!

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1979 Drums Along the Rockies. What a show that was.

Madison

Crossmen

Spirit of Atlanta

North Star

SCV

Blue Stars

Velvet Knights

Florida Vanguard

SkyRyders

Spirit won that evening, and their hornline was deafening. SCV and North Star's drumlines were incredibly tight. That North Star show was what did it for me. Best drumline of the night and their soloist was by far the best screamer of the show. I was hooked from then on.

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The 1993 Cary, NC show whetted my appetite (Star was there! Was really into Magic, too), but I wore out my tape of the 1998 PBS broadcast, watching CBC's Stonehenge show. Stonehenge did it for me -- the silk colors, the awesomely clean drill ('toilet bowl'!!!), the intensity.

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In the thread about the Star of Indiana 1986 show. Sean Conley mentioned one never forgets their first show.

I still remember clearly the first drum corps show I saw and how the winning corps excited me. (And just over two years later, I ended up joining them.)

What corps and shows first turned you on to drum corps, and why? What did you feel when you saw that show? How did it change you?

How many of us share the experience of being turned on to the activity through witnessing a particular corps and show? Was it live or via a recording?

So..... were you gonna give us yours?

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Two shows...

1999 Madison Scouts: Incredible hornline, great screamers, pure Madison Scouts. Also I was on a big JCS kick right then.

2002 Cavaliers: Darn near perfection. Visually I had never seen anything like it. The general effect was off the hook as well.

From those two videos on YouTube came a lifelong love of Drum Corps along with 2 years marching.

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So..... were you gonna give us yours?

The first show to which I referred to in post #1 was in 1972 the small town of Momence, Illinois, 20 miles south of where I lived. It was associated with the annual Momence Gladiolus Festival. I saw Cavaliers and the other corps in the afternoon parade and begged my dad to bring me back for the show at night when I heard the groups would be competing on the field. I had never been to a drum corps show before. Cavaliers won, followed by Black Knights and Geneseo Knights. I remember Midshipmen from Petosky, Michigan were also there. Unfortunately, corpsreps.com doesn't have any scores for Momence from 1970 to 1978. If anyone has scores for those shows, please send them to chris@corpsreps.com.

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1983 - Key to the Sea

In this order Garfield, SCV, and Bridgemen.

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The first show to which I referred to in post #1 was in 1972 the small town of Momence, Illinois, 20 miles south of where I lived. It was associated with the annual Momence Gladiolus Festival. I saw Cavaliers and the other corps in the afternoon parade and begged my dad to bring me back for the show at night when I heard the groups would be competing on the field. I had never been to a drum corps show before. Cavaliers won, followed by Black Knights and Geneseo Knights. I remember Midshipmen from Petosky, Michigan were also there. Unfortunately, corpsreps.com doesn't have any scores for Momence from 1970 to 1978. If anyone has scores for those shows, please send them to chris@corpsreps.com.

Allright stop right there. Are you kidding me? I'm from Petoskey, Michigan. I was in the Midshipmen, and until this minute I was pretty sure no one had ever heard of them. It was a small town corps that competed locally mostly, started in the early '70's, and was gone by the late '70's. Wow.... what a thing this drum corps is.

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In 1986, my band director, God rest is soul, asked this awkward, lanky, bass drumming kid who hadn't even technically started his freshman year of school (ahem, that'd be me) if he wanted to go to this thing in Bloomington with him and some other bandos. I had no life, so of course I said yes and my parents acquiesced. Hopped into a van and road tripped. But first we stopped at some tiny school outside of Bloomington. There was one of my drum instructors, as well as some other recent band graduates. Apparently, they were preparing for another performance of the show that was to become last week's DCI Download Of The Week. I had little-to-no idea of what was going on here. But the scale of what was taking place with the loading and prep was impressive. Our drum instructor gave us some goodies (sticks, mallets, heads, etc) and we were off to Bill Armstrong Stadium. And this what I saw:

Wednesday August 6, 1986

Bloomington IN DCI

1 Cavaliers - 92.000

2 Suncoast Sound - 90.500

3 Garfield Cadets - 89.100

4 Star of Indiana - 87.600

5 Sky Ryders - 80.200

6 27th Lancers - 79.600

7 Les Eclipses - 69.600

8 Connexion Quebec - 57.700

I was in way over my head. I remember the experience of Sky Ryders, Star, very little of Cadets and also little of Cavies and 27. I know the shows back and forth today, but I'm talking about remembering the moment in time. I also distinctly remember my dear band director leaning to his son, my other drum instructor, and whispering "mingusmonk (not real name) is going to like this" and then Suncoast threw down their incredible bass feature. Mind ... blown. :worthy:

So that was my introduction to drum corps, but it is NOT the answer to the question.

About one year later, I was asked if I wanted to go again. Still loving band, still having no life ... of course! But this time I came with knowledge! :cool: After another stop at Brown School to check in with our friends (which I was now fully aware of), this is what I saw:

Thursday August 6, 1987

Bloomington IN DCI

1 Santa Clara Vanguard - 94.900

2 Star of Indiana - 88.800

3 Velvet Knights - 88.400

4 Dutch Boy - 78.200

4 Troopers - 78.200

6 Boston Crusaders - 74.000

7 Colts - 73.700

I remember just about every detail of that show. And the ultimate answer to the question posed is this: Experiencing SCV's Russian show killing it in Bloomington Indiana was the moment that I knew "this is what I must do." They were incredible. And then the standstill of Russian Christmas after the show was like nothing I had ever experienced. Just ... wow. I distinctly remember going back to band rehearsals and spending the next 2 or 3 weeks pissing off the rest of the drumline, because they OBVIOUSLY DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE!!! WE NEED TO TRY HARDER! IF YOU ONLY WERE THERE!!!

A couple of them actually were there, heh!! Some of them had known drum corps 3 or 4 years already. Stupid kid (SMH). Luckily, they didn't hate me forever. I was fortunate enough to march along side of 4 of them in the same corps. And compete against some of them that would march elsewhere. And that's the moment that started it.

Sorry so short. Blame Boo. He asked.

Edited by mingusmonk
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Dutch Boy Cadets . . . . . in either 1975 or 76.

I grew up in a small town ouside of Marion Ohio and each Summer a corps competing in the US Open would stay at our high school. The DB members were so kind to a kid like me as I would literaly stalk them and watch rehersals. I was 12 at the time and immediately hooked. I did indeed march corps a few years later and I remain friends to this day with one of those Dutch Boy members.

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