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bradrick

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  • Your Drum Corps Experience
    Sky Ryders 87, 88 - SCV 89, 90
  • Your Favorite Corps
    Any corps that can crank out an amazing performance.
  • Your Favorite All Time Corps Performance (Any)
    Too many to list them all. 87 SCV and Garfield - 88 Top 3 -89 SCV and PR - 91 nearly everybody - 96 PR - 99 SCV - 2003 PR
  • Your Favorite Drum Corps Season
    1989... but I suppose I'm a little biased...
  • Location
    Dallas, TX

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    bradrickSCV89
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  1. I think it is important to note that this is not a matter of OYAA missing or forgetting to fill out one annual form: According to the Texas Secretary of State, Overture Youth Advocacy Through The Arts (OYAA) filed as a Domestic Nonprofit Corporation on Friday, December 11, 2009 in the state of Texas. However they only became a 501©(3) according to the IRS on November 1, 2010. That is when contributions to the corps would have become legally tax deductible according to the IRS. This was also after they had marched their entire first season. That date is important because November 1, 2010 is also when they became accountable to the IRS for filing a financial statement at the end of each fiscal year. -- At the time OYAA was founded, a 501©(3) was required by law to maintain proper records and file annual tax returns. (Before 2008, an exempt organization could skip filing a tax return if it earned less than $25,000 in gross income during their yearly fiscal period.) -- As part of being granted 501©(3) status, OYAA declared (to the IRS) their fiscal year/accounting period to be December to December. Therefore, the first 990 form for OYAA would have been due by May 15th of 2011. -- No Form 990 has ever been filed with the IRS since OYAA came into existence. (The IRS makes Non-profit and 501©(3) financial data available through multiple sources on the internet.) -- The "automatic shutdown" rule for violators was enacted after OYAA recieved 501©(3) status. But the financial reporting requirement was in place all along (since those rules went into affect in 2008). ALSO IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Some of this might have been confusion among those on the Forte Board over whether Forte was actually under the MYPAA umbrella. MYPAA is The Memphis Youth Performing Arts Association - and still the parent organization of the now innactive Memphis Sound Drum & Bugle Corps. It was initially announced after the 2009 season that Memphis Sound was moving to Grand Prairie TX. Later it was also announced they were changing their name to Forte but still functioning under the MYPAA - which WAS a 501©(3) non-profit, youth-serving organization. You can find multiple occurences on the internet where absolutely Forte and it's related ensembles were being identified as under the MYPAA umbrella - based at an address in Grand Prairie TX. But MYPAA never actually moved from Memphis.
  2. I may be WAY oversimplifying my answer but - it was a combination of things. And I believe the biggest factors were: They won because the COMPLETELY owned their show in a way no other corps could match that year. (The hornline - for that space in time - was jaw dropping. Just ridiculous.) They won because Zingali did what he did best in a show that so brilliantly matched the music that I believe his particular style of drill writing peaked with that show. By "his particular style", I mean the snaking morphing style where forms morphed from set to set while staying basically connected - as opposed to what drill evolved into after that. (Which was shows with practically no discernable transitions between sets. And no relationships from one form to the next. Form. Disolve. Form. Disolve. Like looking into one of those Viewmasters. Anyone remember those? Where every picture was completely new with each click.) Zingali made the drill itself come alive. Like watching an organism moving across the field. A giant amoeba swimming around and BAM stopping with the perfect set at ALL the right spots in the music. Certainly Marc Sylvester and Myron Rosander (among others) had their own shining moments in the years to come. (The 93 Cadets and 99 SCV shows come to mind. ) But the 91 show remains in my own mind as the peak of Zingali-esque writing that was never surpassed. If you can get your hands on the Star of Indiana Anthology DVD, there is - MIRACULOUSLY - a High Camera angle of the 91 show on there. It is a gift from the Gods that they put that on there. And anyone who watches that angle should have no problem understanding why Star won that year. And would hopefully also recognize Pure Genius when they see it.
  3. *** DISCLAIMER: This comment is in no way meant to be taking a position on the OP's question of which one I like better. They both were total BULLSEYES for what they were trying to accomplish... in my opinion. And were each obviously trying successfully to be something VERY VERY different. I believe it's probably pointless to compare the two unless you take that into consideration. But... I guess once you take that into consideration, I still think it's pointless to compare the two. *** ---------------- Unfortunately, unless you have seen 87 Garfield from a High Camera angle video (which is very difficult to get your hands on, and impossible through DCI or the Fan Network) you are just not getting all the "info" you need to truly form an opinion of that show. (And I would say this whether or not SCV did "Ballet for Martha" in 2009). This is not anyone's fault. I know people are using the only option most of them have to evaluate that show. But you can't truly appreciate the visual masterpiece of Zingali's drill from the multi-cam mix. And anyone who tries to size-up 87 Garfield using only the multi-cam video is at a severe disadvantage.
  4. And the hornline guys who were the guard's "death partners". I can still feel the shinsplints I got from jazz running across the field to meet her.
  5. I am always happy to be reminded of how much I miss Suncoast Sound. 1988 Suncoast IMO, a true revolutionary show as far as storytelling that can't be overlooked. You had to experience it live to really feel it. That show was WAAAAY ahead of it's time. I've said it before on other threads: 2005 Cadets would not have been possible without Marc Sylvester and Karl Lowe and company trying a similiar thing 17 years earlier with Suncoast. (surreal fantasy, girl running around on the field taking us through the show's "story") Robert W. Smith's music and Karl Lowe's program design of "Symphonic Dances for the Contemporary Child". I don't think the activity had seen much of anything quite like that show and what it was attempting to be. It was nothing like what everyone else was doing that year, IMO. And probably more than a few years ahead of it's time. It took a few live viewings for me to "get it" - but in the end, that show haunted me. If I had a time machine, I think THAT show would be my one choice from all four years that I marched (87-90) to go back and experience again. (with 87 SCV and Garfield being very close runners up. They didn't represent the same fundamental change or evolution of the activity, IMO. I just loved those shows.) And I just can't say enough about the amazing colorguard from 88 Suncoast Sound. One of the finest examples of selling a show I've ever witnessed from the stands. Even if you didn't quite understand what was happening (for me, the first couple of times I saw it) they made you feel the intensity of what they were doing - and how seriously they took it as individuals.
  6. This time of year, dontcha think you should be giving Head Slapping Gift Cards... instead of actually doing it?
  7. That makes me sad. Even after 20 years. It's too bad someone didn't think to confiscate his member jacket before turning him out in in Ohio. The "Vanguard" thing to do would probably have been to give him back the money he'd paid for it - but I'm not sure if anyone would have felt that nice in the moment. (But, I guess you don't really buy your jacket from the corps directly. You buy it from whoever does the embroidery. Still... wish that had happened though.)
  8. Thank you for that. I'm just glad that none of the legitimate 89 SCV corps has to live in the shadow of having our championship week performances tainted with those two guys being part of the show. (And I'm certain G.R. felt the same.)
  9. OK, Thanks for reminding me how much I miss Suncoast Sound. 1988 Suncoast IMO, a true revolutionary show as far as storytelling that can't be overlooked was 88 Suncoast. You had to experience it to really feel it. That show was WAAAAY ahead of it's time. I've said it before on other threads: 2005 Cadets would not have been possible without Marc Sylvester and Karl Lowe and company trying a similiar thing 17 years earlier with Suncoast. (surreal fantasy, girl running around on the field taking us through the show's "story") Robert W. Smith's music and Karl Lowe's program design of "Symphonic Dances for the Contemporary Child". I don't think the activity had seen much of anything quite like that show and what it was attempting to be. It was nothing like what everyone else was doing that year, IMO. And probably more than a few years ahead of it's time. It took a few live viewings for me to "get it" - but in the end, that show haunted me. If I had a time machine, I think THAT show would be my one choice from all four years that I marched (87-90) to go back and experience again. (with 87 SCV and Garfield being very close runners up. They didn't represent the same fundamental change or evolution of the activity, IMO. I just loved those shows.) And I know this is a music thread but I can't say enough about the amazing colorguard from 88 Suncoast Sound. One of the finest examples of selling a show I've ever witnessed from the stands. Even if you didn't quite understand what was happening (for me, the first couple of times I saw it) they made you feel the intensity of what they were doing - and how seriously they took it as individuals. 1985 Suncoast Whenever somebody makes a statement on a thread on here that "All this original -written for drum corps- music is just boring and is killing drum corps and the music side of shows by leaving us with too many shows that are musically forgettable" --- I always immediately think of 85 Suncoast and how Fantastic and Memorable the music that Robert W. Smith wrote was. (It's not about original music. It's about the music that is actually written by the composer. And about what seems to be an approach of "all impact and no substance" ... that has evolved today. ) "Midnight in Miami" - Definitely on my list of hottest closers (and hornlines) ever.
  10. When they added the "Death of Carmen" all over the field to the end of 90 SCV, I got shin splints from running across the field to meet my "death partner". Was very painful and kinda caught me by surprise. And we worked that ending many times. Had to do that jazz run over and over. I had to wear a sort of orthopedic sock thing that went up to my kneee for the last week or so. (Can still see it in the video my dad shot of our final runthrough that year.)
  11. For me personally, I have to say the entire 1987 season I spent as a member of the Hutchinson Sky Ryders was my single toughest drum corps experience. But for different reasons it’s also one that I value more and more as time goes on. With the never-ending bus problems (we called it "Hell Tour 87"), missing so much rehearsal time, missing shows, being impounded in Boulder Colorado for almost a week because our busses were unsafe to be on the road, having a brass caption head who's idea of leadership was to beat you down and then cut you out of chunks of the show... MANY times, I wanted to just throw down my horn and go home. I remember thinking “Can’t we just march and play? Don’t other corps get to do that?!?” It felt like we didn’t get to do that much at all. But I was a rookie so maybe that’s just the way it is? I just hung in there. But I consider myself very fortunate to have been a part of that show for my rookie season. Lots of DCPers look back now and talk about how the Sky 87 show moved them. If it hadn't been for our fantastic color guard, Marc Sylvester's drill and Program Coordinator Tommy Keenum's love for us all and his ability to make us believe in ourselves, our show and the message behind West Side Story - we would have certainly never had a snowball's chance in Hades of making top 12 that year . Program Coordinator Tommy Keenum Tommy Keenum made sure that each one of us understood and felt the emotion that was supposed to be conveyed by every minute of our show. He also took every available opportunity to emphasize to us that the core motif of West Side Story (and thus the 87 Sky Ryders) is that “Everything that’s wrong in our world today is somehow caused or related to the fact that people just can’t accept those that are different.” I remember one particular time when Tommy had the entire corps get together to talk about the show and how each of us have been affected in our own lives by some form of discrimination or being considered an “outsider”. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the entire corps after that amazing pow-wow. (I mean, just by being a band kid or a drum corps kid, made us all part of something that many people look at sideways… right?) --- Meanwhile, we played our closer "Somewhere" with a huge push, and as much internal emotion as I'd ever hope to be able to feel during a performance. ... and reunited Tony and Maria (no longer separated by hate) ran off the field and out of the stadium... holding hands. I seem to remember Sky being introduced at some shows in 87 as "The great storytellers of Drum Corps"... or something like that. There was one show where the announcer really laid it on thick and started out shouting "IT'S A STORY ABOUT THE JETS.... AND THE SHARKS!" - after which the audience roared with that anticipation applause that really gets your blood flowing when you're out there on the field on the "starting line". Sylvester’s Drill A HUGE chunk of the coolness of the 1987 Sky Ryders show was generated by performing that drill written by Mark Sylvester. I missed getting to be in Hutch when he was there helping the corps get the visual ball rolling because Texas schools graduated a week later than Kansas schools. Bus Hell Another thread recently asked “What did your corps do on long bus rides?” In Sky Ryders, I remember mostly sitting on the side of the road waiting for the staff to give up on a broken bus and tell us all to get on one of the busses that happened to still be running at that point (to become dreaded "boat people” sitting in the aisles ... leaving our clothes and personal belongings behind ). Lather, rinse ... repeat. Death Camp in Boulder and then Limping Our Way to Allentown “I wanna play in the Mambo. But Mr. Lindsey says NO NO NO. I’m getting cut from the whole d*mned show. Cuz of the Death Camp in Boulder CO!” (to the tune or America from West Side Story) I previously posted this in other Sky Ryders threads but it bears repeating now... (It's been a couple of years since I originally posted it.) This may help ya to understand what we went through just GETTING to Allentown in 87. The Website corpsreps.com is incorrect in showing Drum Along the Rockies was in Denver (it was in Boulder that year) - but correct in showing that The Sky Ryders didn't compete at any shows between July 25 (DATR) and August 1 (DCI East in Allentown). We were stuck in Boulder because our busses had been impounded and were deemed unsafe to be on the road. Many of us fondly remembered this time as "The Death Camp" Oh and the week started out with a bunch of us having money stolen out of our wallets in the gym while we were outside rehearsing - by a janitor who worked a the school. Just par for the season really. He got caught and taken away by the police after asking Sky Corps Director Dale Antoine if they couldn’t just “Work this out.” I may be getting some of these details wrong but here's how I remember the drive to Allentown: After finally leaving Boulder, we stopped in Bloomington, IN to borrow busses from Star of Indiana and still barely made it to Allentown, dropping the remainder (I think) of the Sky Ryder busses along the side of the road, as they broke down one-by-one. At one point, I think we had the members that usually fit on four Sky busses packed onto two Star busses for part of the trip. We even had a breakdown on the way to pre-lims in Allentown. I remember some of the hornline members were all excited and doing mental warmups, singing through the show, etc. on the bus (because we knew we were already supposed to be at the stadium and warming up) - and then KERPLUNK!!! We once again pulled the broken down bus over and began to figure out how we could travel the remaining few miles to compete in DCI East pre-lims. … Miss ya Sky Anyway, I just wanted to share some of my Sky 87 memories --- and say “Thanks for the memories” to the Sky Ryders – to the ones I marched with, the ones who came before and after me – and to the one’s who were Sky Ryders just by loving us when we stepped onto the field. “Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high. There’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby…”
  12. You know you're in for a really bad shower experience when the directions to the shower go like this: "Alright, you go down the hall, take a left, go down to the double doors. Go outside and walk to the end of the sidewalk... and then walk in the direction of the screaming." That's a true description and that's really how I found the shower once when I was in Sky Ryders.
  13. I'd be very interested to hear what that specific reason is. The ONLY reason I purchase the DVDs for any given year is to have access to the High Camera angle. And having read these reports, I will definitely not be spending any money on the 2009 DVDs. (...Even though there are some shows I'd like to see again.) It's bad enough when the high camera zooms in on one portion or side of the field and omits a huge portion of the drill for whole segments of time (seems like it's usually the colorguard that gets cropped out when this happens) - basically negating the whole reason for the "High Camera" option on the DVD . But when the field view is limited to begin with by camera placement, I'm just gonna want to pull my hair out the entire time. Not an experience worth paying for... in my opinion.
  14. If success is the goal (and here I am defining success as "scoring higher"), then my opinion is that they are probably better off doing it this way. They have eliminated the potential that the newer folks (probably with a better feel for what it takes to succeed right now) would encounter resistance and be held back by other folks on the visual staff - who may not have the same philosophy or understand or appreciate that there are better/smarter ways to do things.
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