Fran Haring Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Wasn't there a picture in DCN that had one of your guys wearing a Star Wars "storm trooper" helmet or something like that??? Yes, I remember that.... I think it was one of our drummers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Oops.... I see Tony's already commented on that. Next time I'll read the thread from the beginning to the end instead of the other way around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 And if they did, it sure made up for the 70's and 80's of not getting gifts in 90, we saw a lot of Donnie Lee, and we were playing well...too well. he had us up, and got himself protested off of finals. and we saw how that mess turned out for us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) Kind of fun to hear that old chestnut again. Madison had a version of it at that time- and some folks thought our version was better- theirs wasn't really well arranged and also suffered from even more of a lack of oomph. Remember seeing Madison at DCI East Prelims on out way to a show that turned into an enxihibition in a monsoon? Think almost the whole horn line wanted to hear their Smoothie version plus check out the trombonium and 2v horns. Couple of us ran down to check out the 2vs as Madison was leaving the field. Think Fran was at that monsoon show too (Brick, NJ?). Bus drivers got lost on the way to the practice field and at one point asked directions from a couple standing in their front yard. You guessed it, they pointed the opposite of the direction we were heading. Same show where one of the lenses (bulb?) fell out of the portible lights while Mark was directing. Landed a few feet behind him and he jumped half a foot but couldn't turn around. Told him later what it was and think he almost had to clean his pants on that one. Funny thing about that opener in Smoothie. We cut out one of the lick and Madison left it in. Know I'm used to our version but playing the album with that extra lick in, it sounds like the album skipped. Album - Stan Kenton - Icarus - down in the cellar somewhere. Probably next to TIME MACHINE And as for 78 Smoothie BigW... we played it... that was the best way to say it... we (just) played the right notes... Starting to remember the dynamics issues in 79. Hazy memory of half way thru the song the mid-voices have the melody and Baris are going "da da da daaaah". And Dave/Ray pulling teeth to get "da da da daaAAAAHHH". Maybe it's a false memory but thinking... "C'mon it's just one note, get louder". LOL 1978 we opened with Alexanders Ragtime Band and we were just brutal with the way we played it. We came out like Lawrence of Arabia "Take no prisoners!". 1983 (I just checked) Sun had the same arrangement and played it light and bouncy..... Guess which way sounded better... OK guess which way sounded less like crap.... Could say we had some problems in 1978 (besides Time Machine). Edit (cuz I just remembered): WSM played Smoothie as the concert number. Scouts marched while they played theirs. Only heard Scouts version twice (DCI East Prelims and DCI Finals on TV) but yeah.. it lost something. Edited March 9, 2012 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaminbenb Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 1978....Yeah, I remember hearing Alex's a few times that year....cute little drum ditty to start then BAAAH BUP BAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! I forget who was there when we were talking about it, but the general consensus was "Westshore would be good if they didn't blast everything" (and got rid of the old Blue Devil unis) As I recall, they all had different shades of blue, and the corps just didn't look good on the field...I never got to wear one because the drumline wore corps jackets until the uni's arrived because apparently people took them home and never brought them back from the previous year. I forget WHAT show it was when we finally got the black ones...I also remember standing at Danville when Reading walked up in the new blue coats and hearing 120-odd peoples bowels evacuating when they saw them! Sort of took the wind out of OUR sails that year! Cuz Readings 1978 uni's were pretty god-awful as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) I forget who was there when we were talking about it, but the general consensus was "Westshore would be good if they didn't blast everything" (and got rid of the old Blue Devil unis) As I recall, they all had different shades of blue, and the corps just didn't look good on the field...I never got to wear one because the drumline wore corps jackets until the uni's arrived because apparently people took them home and never brought them back from the previous year. LMOA, never heard the blast everything line but can't argue.... Can't remember the details and it's ####### me off. Nate Ward telling the horn line "loud, loud, hellish loud" but can't remember if he was chewing us out or telling us that's what he wanted. Another time (77 or 78) horns were going over the music before a early season show and some were goofing out while Nate was working with other people. Nate got PO'ed and said "Just don't stand there... finger your parts". Got real quiet cuz we were trying not to laugh. Ye olde BD unis were a step up from the ancient WSM-BS powder blue bake ovens we had. But under some stadium lights some of the tops looked like they had streaks of red in them. Tried not to think what the #### caused that, dry cleaning chemicals or people with weird sweat. Edited March 9, 2012 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaminbenb Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) LMOA, never heard the blast everything line but can't argue.... Can't remember the details and it's ####### me off. Nate Ward telling the horn line "loud, loud, hellish loud" but can't remember if he was chewing us out or telling us that's what he wanted. Another time (77 or 78) horns were going over the music before a early season show and some were goofing out while Nate was working with other people. Nate got PO'ed and said "Just don't stand there... finger your parts". Got real quiet cuz we were trying not to laugh. Ye olde BD unis were a step up from the ancient WSM-BS powder blue bake ovens we had. But under some stadium lights some of the tops looked like they had streaks of red in them. Tried not to think what the #### caused that, dry cleaning chemicals or people with weird sweat. I remember when they were passing them out, I received mine, and it was a tad purple in comparison to some of the other ones...I know some were lighter, some were darker...I guess it was the way some people cleaned them....I had to bring it back the following week because they discovered that they didn't have enough, and they expedited the jacket order so we could all look sort of the same.... Another thing that just came to mind....78 leading into Impossible Dream, the drumline played a short solo (Dulcinea) For 79, they removed half of it...that always tweaked me because I thought that was a cool part of the exit. I guess they didn't want to give the drumline THREE solos that year (we played a short solo right before What I did for Love, Music in the Mirror from Pippin if I'm not mistaken) I always thought 78's drumline was VERY musical! Flowers did some nice writing that year, sitting there watching them warm up and run the tunes before shows was always a fun thing because I didn't think they needed the hornline Edited March 9, 2012 by Jaminbenb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 in 90, we saw a lot of Donnie Lee, and we were playing well...too well. he had us up, and got himself protested off of finals. and we saw how that mess turned out for us That, I'll never figure out. You guys were beating everyone.... big win at the Scranton regional, and again the weekend before championships... and then, suddenly, 4th place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairbear Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I don't know all that much about judging, nor do I really want to. But a friend of mine once said: "You have to get the judges that favor what YOU are doing, on the panel". That seems almost too simple an explanation, to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaminbenb Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I don't know all that much about judging, nor do I really want to. But a friend of mine once said: "You have to get the judges that favor what YOU are doing, on the panel". That seems almost too simple an explanation, to me. Or you could do what a friend used to do with HIS line...keep notes of which judge likes what, and play to the judge at any given show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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