MikeD Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 ...hahaha...I saw 'em first at their home show, probably sometime in June. Dang near yacked-up a furball when they came out (could have been the debut...dunno for sure)!!! Like I said, I was with the Hawthorne team and they were generally down on the uniform and low MT...I stayed in the closet, kinda, at least for awhile. I was really happy for Bobby and knew I was witnessing a sea change in the activity... cg We were at the same show! That is the first place I saw them in 76. Bobby was our main visual guy all three years I marched with Garfield, 70-72. A genius! In those days he came to practice either in a Corvette or on a big motorcycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiodb Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 The Cadets of Garfield are attempting to add an extra dimension to their routine this season through introduction of a story line based on America’s struggle for Independence – 1776. This is not an easy task, since the Cadets must work without the benefit of spoken dialogue, scenery, costumes or the special theatrical effects of the stage. Instead, the story line must be developed exclusively through choice of musical selections, sequence of presentation and coordination of drill and visual effects. I remember when drum corps was as described in the above bolded phrase. It was uniquely entertaining! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 I remember when drum corps was as described in the above bolded phrase. It was uniquely entertaining! it still is IMO............so theres less restrictive rules..I would hope so its 40 years later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hafe Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 For me, the period from about 1975 to about 1985 was huge. First Blue Devils and their open visual and musical style of the mid-70's. Followed by SCV from 1980. Then the next step with Cadets from 1983 & 1984. I believe along that time, the pit as we know it now started to appear. Very influential time in the activity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrlandoContraAlum Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 For me, the period from about 1975 to about 1985 was huge. First Blue Devils and their open visual and musical style of the mid-70's. Followed by SCV from 1980. Then the next step with Cadets from 1983 & 1984. I believe along that time, the pit as we know it now started to appear. Very influential time in the activity! This is a very insightful post. You also saw Suncoast with the first original show in 85, the introduction of Star, Bridgemen 76, the "fall" of Bayonne and the rise of VK, and the beginning of the Cavaliers return to prominence (from which they have not left). Truly a great decade of the activity, with lasting repercussions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUARDLING Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 (edited) This is a very insightful post. You also saw Suncoast with the first original show in 85, the introduction of Star, Bridgemen 76, the "fall" of Bayonne and the rise of VK, and the beginning of the Cavaliers return to prominence (from which they have not left). Truly a great decade of the activity, with lasting repercussions. and soon after the fall of VK then return again the fall of SunCoast the return of Bridgemen as an alumni corps the fall of Star..well maybe not fall but the folding of Star............Drum Corps is constant change as it should be .....thats why I dont get some who get stuck in time,....lol.....its always changing..lol Edited September 15, 2011 by GUARDLING Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideways Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 No love for Suncoast '88? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 (edited) For me, the period from about 1975 to about 1985 was huge. First Blue Devils and their open visual and musical style of the mid-70's. Followed by SCV from 1980. Then the next step with Cadets from 1983 & 1984. I believe along that time, the pit as we know it now started to appear. Very influential time in the activity! Agree but than again that's when I marched in that "other circuit"... Well 3 other circuits. Far as drill/visual, we got away from symetrical drills, corps having to set up outside of the field and that big thing of having yard markers instead of just the 50 which IMO was a boon to setting spots in a drill. One of the reasons for the pit was to allow more movement from the drumline as the heavy tailed stuff couldn't be marched that fast. Have some older vids and as late as 1972 (DCA) corps were using the starting line to the audience left and going off the field to the audiences right. IIRC, it wasn't until 1975/76 that the whole corps was allowed on the field to set up for the show. Edited September 15, 2011 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 ...hahaha...I saw 'em first at their home show, probably sometime in June. Dang near yacked-up a furball when they came out (could have been the debut...dunno for sure)!!! Like I said, I was with the Hawthorne team and they were generally down on the uniform and low MT...I stayed in the closet, kinda, at least for awhile. I was really happy for Bobby and knew I was witnessing a sea change in the activity... cg Refresh my memory Charlie, wasn't the first thing they did in those unis was "William Tell Overture" with a drill move right off the starting line. Was kind of a drill any other corps corps have made... but with those unis it was. Then at the end of WTO, the one DM acted out getting off a horse and then there were the two members in dance outfits going to town in "Land of Make Believe". Yep... whole different world of GE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollywoodNeoCon Posted September 15, 2011 Author Share Posted September 15, 2011 (edited) Guys and gals, I started this thread (that seemingly will not die), so I reserve the right to comment on it yet again... I've made the effort to watch each and every show mentioned herein, and still am not persuaded that the '77 Bridgemen weren't every bit as influential as I initially claimed. Yes, there have been corps that have influenced the activity, be it from a musical or visual standpoint. However, I remain stubborn and isolated in my pathological devotion to this corps' show, regardless of the attendant scandal. My father had aged out with the '66 Cavies, so to have had the privilege of seeing the '77 Bridgemen show live, a scant eleven years since the uber-millitary show I finally witnessed on 8mm in 1978, followed by what my own corps would accomplish in 1980 (with me on cymbals), I remain hard of heart in my belief that the missing link between our generations (and those to come) was, indeed, to come from Bayonne. EDIT: It was my dad's show in '66 that I finally saw on 8mm a few years later, just for clarification. But besides that, being well aware of the divergent opinions (and now generations) in drum corps, I'm well aware that many are going to define "influential" in ways far different from my own. However, for the purposes of my own experiences, I'm going to maintain that given what corps were doing up until that year of 1977, the Bridgemen took the manual and threw out of the window. Hence, if I'm to embrace what they did that year (scandal notwithstanding), then I have absolutely no business criticizing the likes of George Hopkins for doing exactly what Bobby Hoffman did back in the late '70's. To this day, I cannot watch that show and not enjoy AND compare it to any of my favorite shows since. It is timeless, it is supremely entertaining, and it holds up exceptionally well to anything being fielded today. In addition, elements of it can easily be seen in many of the shows fielded in the ensuing decade. The Bridgemen may be no more as a competitive junior corps, but their influence can #### sure be seen in much of what we currently enjoy. Edited September 15, 2011 by HollywoodNeoCon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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