Bleu Raeder

Cistern fed showers at a school in Wheaton, IL. Unbelievably cold.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/Alamodo...r_selected.html Alamodome didn't have management in place and now they have hired someone with small venue experience.

This

So many "what if's"... If the merger had been kept in place after 74. Regiment Militaire was very strong and recruiting from other locales in Louisiana and the Golf Coast was becoming more widespread. This would have kept a lot of folks from heading for other stronger corps' programs after 75.

LOL! It wasn't that SCV's snares were louder, it was that the Scout's hornline was louder!

We had Silver Eagle busses from which the bathrooms had been removed to allow for some additional seating (some of you have seen comments about how large BR and RM were). During the day busses could be coed, but at night they were strictly seperated. On the boy's buses we installed a unique device that would allow us drain liquids as we headed down the highway; a large funnel rigged into the door well attached to a piece of surgical tubing that ran outside and underneath the door. To afford some modicum of privacy a shower curtain was hung acroos the well so that the driver and user of these facilities would be isolated from each other. The use of this device required some bus surfing along with one hand on the rail and the other hand to guide 'equipment', making it somewhat of a challenge to use. Couple this rig with a few sadistic drivers and you get a rookie initiation like no other. When a rook would go to use this facility for the first time he would inevitably get introduced to nature by the door flying open when his fly was open. Funny? Outstandingly! Said sadistic bus drivers would often drift into the left lane (when on a four lane stretch) and attempt to pass other vehicles (girl's bus included) before opening the doors to reveal all. I think I recall the girls devising score cards at some point since drivers didn't seem to care after a while if you were a rook or not. They would perform the manuever randomly. Dangerous? You bet! We almost lost one rook this way as he lost his balance and had a grip on the door and the hand rail. Someone had to assist him back into the bus amidst yelling and laughter. It was then that the practice came to a halt.

This merger could have skyrocketed Louisiana back into top 12 status. I am unsure of the details but the merger was essentially voided headed into the 1975 season. Bleu toured but never was able to climb out of the 60's point range. I will try to recollect some more and post. There are a couple of other Raeder's on the board from time to time, maybe they can help.

Just to clarify Vistalites were made by Ludwig but Slingerland and one other company who's name escapes me also made acrylic drums. Not only did they get squishy, but if you cranked on them too hard they would crack. The acrylic needed to be much thicker.

heels at a halt you can't march, you look like a monkey f*****g a football!

Who are the all of the corps on the DVD (crossing fingers!!!!)? Never mind....I found the missing in this thread.... http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/inde...howtopic=111563

From the annals of Ripley's Believe it Ot Not! New Orleans has been home to at least 13 drum corps although not at the same time; http://www.louisianadrumcorps.org/ 1947 1963 New Orleans Cadets Southernairs New Orleans 1963 Crescent City Rebels 1957 1961 Mt. Carmel Eaglettes Abbeville 1960 1977 Southern Rebels Metairie/New Orleans 1964 1971 Masqueraders New Orleans 1961 1974 Stardusters Arabi 1971 1974 Bleu Raeders New Orleans 1969 1971 Golden Shields New Orleans 1974 1974 Regiment Militaire Kenner 1975 1981 Bleu Raeders Metairie 1975 1981 Stardusters Arabi 1981 1983 Louisiana Southernaires Kenner 1987 1992 Expressions Hammond (not New Orleans technically) 2003 now Southern Silver Star New Orleans 2004 now Echoes of New Orleans New Orleans

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When will the vids from finals be posted to the Fan NetworK? And many congrats to PR! A well deserved win!

I think it interesting that one of the prettiest musical moments this year that received some of the greatest crowd response in the shows that I saw suppports your arguement here. The Bluecoats play the Boxer (Paul Simon) chorale style about 3/4's of the way through their show...it is a brief but powerful moment, well played and beautifully arranged. The music very much stands on its own. I am admittedly old school but I have enjoyed many of the changes creatively and technically that have come about in DCI. But like the OP I fear that drum corps identity is getting lost. If we do end up with 10 "super" corps' it will be the same as any other sports league with all of the tripe that comes along with it. Once that happens, and the activity moves the furthest away from its roots as a youth activity, we will have lost forever all the things that drum corps has meant to so many.

Now that would be an interesting exercise.