What Corps....

[rayfallon]

... Apparently, the Bridgemen's 1985 non-fielding of a corps helped the fledgeling Star out, as did Pride of Cincinnati's folding.ek

Hmmm ... 85 was the Bridgemen's Christmas in July show ... I saw them in Clearwater, FL that year ... along with the new SOI corps ... true, they were a mere reflection of what they used to be, but they were still on the field ... it was also the last time I ever saw Bobby Hoffman ... I know the Bayonne staff was hired by Star, but wasn't aware their members went as well ...

:-)

Lots of '84 Bridgekids went to Star - with lots of influence - Drum Major Karen Rushman; Contra/Tuba Stevie Jones (who went on to win 2 I&E awards with near perfect scores at Star - can you tell I'm proud?); The Keays brothers (might have screwed up the spelling - sorry Joe); and more.

I really don't think that the Star emergence had a big effect on '85 Bayonne, and while they got some tremendous members I don't feel that Star benefited hugely from the kids that emigrated from the corps. [i read this and realized it was sort of BS - of course they benefited tremendously from that kind of talent and performance experience - I just mean it wasn't like a merger where the Bridgemen kids served as 1/2 of the new product - they had a great influence, but I think Star was going to blow the top off the Universe pretty much no matter what].

When '84 Bayonne missed finals, they were financially strung way out, and had already lost much of the staff and even kids that went on to Indiana the following year. Many of those '84 kids were simply not ever going to go through a tour like that one again.

The '85 Christmas in July corps was a brave and tenacious group - a group worthy of that Bridgemen name - but between the lost staff and kids that had aged out or moved on after a disheartening '84 (I don't mean that in terms of the missing finals, although no one enjoyed that - it was the general financial gloom that plagued that team throughout the '84 season that dampened the joy for many) there was just not nearly enough talent to support a whacky show like "Christmas in July".

-

Plus in my opinion, as great as Larry Kerchner's charts were, it was the Delucia drumline that made the Bridgemen run from '76 through '83 so remarkable, including the fabled blind-folded solo in '83 when Frank Dorritie pulled some musical changes out of his errrr pocket, and Dennis pulled out all the stops to push them across the finish line into finals during a tough season.

Bayonne - Great corps - Star - great corps. I think the connection, beyond Dennis, is over-hyped (to use a uniquely Bridgemen word).

Edited February 20, 2015 by rayfallon

[Bsader]

This may be a post that can only be appreciated by those either having grown up in Massachusetts or those currently residing there. As most people know the North Star were a result of many mergers. The Corps I remember that eventually became a part of the North Star were the Beverly Cardinals, Wilmington Crusader's, The Blue Angels of Danver's and The Legion Vanguard of Melrose. Their may have been others.

My oldest brother marched 6 years with the Boston Crusader's and then went on to become one of the drum instructor's for the North Star. I don't know if he was the originator of this little jab at the North Star's rise to top 12 prominence but I wouldn't be surprised if he was. Though I heard it from him first I have since heard it several times since, including from members of the North Star themselves. It's a little parody in which one pretends to be a Drum Corp announcer introducing the North Star onto the performance field. It goes like this..."On the starting line from the North Shore, from the South Shore, we're no longer sure...The North Star.

One could make the point that all the Corps I have mentioned above are technically from the North Shore but it's really beside the point as everyone I know whose heard this one has gotten the joke. I also think that it was just a little too clever for anyone in the North Star to take offense to and I don't remember any of them doing so. In fact it could have originated from one of their members many of whom were from the South Shore which, one could argue, makes this little jab applicable.

[Tim K]

Regarding longevity, Crossmen are by far the most successful, but as far as impact, their legendary jazz sound did not come until many years after competing. While Crossmen have made many contributions to drum corps, I'm not sure I find that their sound and style have been copied or in the early years was unique. Yes it was good, and Superman was a great touch in 1980. North Star on the other hand had a very distinct sound and style and is an iconic corps of that era. While North Star shared that grit that was a characteristic of both BAC and 27th, they didn't quite have the determination of BAC or the perfection and attention to detail of 27th, they could and often were a thorn in the side of both 27th and BAC as well as Bridgemen, Garfield, and Crossmen.