CHRISP Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 The first show I saw was also the first show I marched in. 1981 in Cary, NC with Long Island Kingsmen. We came off the field and I got back into the stadium to see Northstar. Wow!! Then Spirit of Atlanta, Bridgemen and 27th Lancers. I fell in love with 27th right then and there. The were incredible - Crown Imperial, Niner Two. What a show. I eventually joine 27th 4 years later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BanditKir Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Here's one for the new age. The former band director at my high school arranged some pretty spectacular drum corps shows. My show my freshman year was a show done by Spirit. I realized this when I found a recording of Spirit's show on napster. I wasn't quite hooked yet. Eventually I heard more about this drum corps thing and decided to look more into it. I googled (or rather, altavista'ed) and found out there was a corps in my state called the Cadets. A search on KaZaA returned the video for Cadets 2000. I remember watching it and being relatively unimpressed until I got to the drum feature (it took me longer to appreciate the stuff going on before then). Since then I've been nothing short of obsessed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowFarCanOurBodiesGo Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I never saw a show live until I marched, and so far almost none of them have really impacted me in any significant way (excluding Madison last season). That's just me, however. 2004 Cavaliers got me interested in drum corps. 1992 Crossmen made me want to march. 1993 Star of Indiana made me want to be a brass player who was chasing perfection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hostrauser Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 1993 Phantom Regiment. I can't describe what it was like see that show on the Finals broadcast for the first time. 93 Star is given so much credit for revolutionizing drum corps from a visual standpoint, I don't think 93 Phantom gets enough credit for being not only visually innovative but exceptional from a programming standpoint. It was so... different from anything I'd seen or heard on the field before: the corps starting spread out over the entire stadium it seemed; the pit not just on the field but off-center, at an angle, on a stage with a custom-designed back-drop; the repeated "swirling" nature of the drill, yet still chock-full of original ideas... The four or five standing ovations speak for themselves, I guess. The end of Madison's 1995 is the biggest "in the moment" crowd response I've ever seen, but Phantom 1993 has the most wild, start-to-finish crowd response of any DCI show I've ever seen. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindap Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 1966 or 67 Troopers were housed a couple doors down from my house and showed me the difference between a big corps and a small corps (like the one I was in). 1970 or 71 I saw SCV in La Crosse and they showed me what drum corps was going to become. 1972 our corps was housed at the same H.S. as Anaheim and they showed me how champions behaved and performed, unfortunately that evening we went on after them - humility would be a good word to describe that night. 1974 I saw Madison in Milwaukee, where I had moved and was working, and they made me wake up to the fact that I still had 2 years to march. I was lucky enough to then march my last 2 years as a Scout. 2006 MSARP showed me that you can indeed go back in time and be a kid again. thanks, you`re good people :) i started getting hooked on drum corps June 21, 1969 with Kilties Boston Crusaders Blessed Sacrament St. Joseph's of Batavia DeLaSalle Oaklands Cadets Lasalle Toronto Optimists Les Metropolitains but after I saw Young Person`s Guide to the Orchestra on the field, I was completely turned on to drum corps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perc2100 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 (edited) 1993 Phantom Regiment. I can't describe what it was like see that show on the Finals broadcast for the first time. 93 Star is given so much credit for revolutionizing drum corps from a visual standpoint, I don't think 93 Phantom gets enough credit for being not only visually innovative but exceptional from a programming standpoint. It was so... different from anything I'd seen or heard on the field before: the corps starting spread out over the entire stadium it seemed; the pit not just on the field but off-center, at an angle, on a stage with a custom-designed back-drop; the repeated "swirling" nature of the drill, yet still chock-full of original ideas... I always thought Phantom 1993 has been a sort-of underrated/under appreciated show. I dig the design that year: one of Phantom's strongest ever top-bottom, I think. That was a really great Top 3 in 93 Edited January 19, 2012 by perc2100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lastknight Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 OK, this makes me old.... The first show I saw was the first show I ever marched in. Springfield, IL, 1979. We were the host corps (Statesmen) and got "written" off the sheets" scoring a 21! We exited the field and lined up on the home side track to watch the Guardsmen. Classical intro....Tiger of San Pedro...all good. Greensleeves played backfield, exquisite. But the three count turn and push (WOW) made me realize this was something completely different. I was hooked. Later that summer it was Madison and Phantom at DCM, Cavies every weekend in a parade or show. Saw my first DCI finals on PBS at a pizza place with a big screen TV because we were too broke to make the trip to Birmingham. Two years in Springfield (79-80) and three years in Geneseo (81-83) and then I gave up DC at 19 so I could go gigging. Last summer the new generation started with my (then) 16 year old filling spot 150 with Madison two weeks into spring training. It changed my life, my family's lives, and now my student's lives. Too bad we keep it such a secret. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Anello Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 (edited) Like someone else in this thread, my first experience hearing a corps was at a parade in the mid-1960s. I was in a band, and whover it was had circled in the staging area and was playing. I don't remember much except the power. Later on, in either 1965 or 1966, I started seeing full shows. I think it was the Kilties at old Fireman's Park in Cedarburg who really did it for me. When they turned on an angle to blow the opening fanfare of Scotland to the crowd, the combination of the uniform, the high knee heights and the sound just blew me away. The crowd - especially the girls - went beserk. They were rock stars. Edited January 19, 2012 by Jim Anello Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warriorbone Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I hadnt even heard of Drum Corps untill i started high school band and my band director(former star of indiana member) turned me onto it, and i was very slightly interested in it. But it wasnt till year that i truly fell in love, perhaps because of my marching bands success this season. But I have three performances that really got me hooked, Blue Knights 2010(my first live show), Bluecoats 2011, and Madison Scouts 2011 especially "Empire State of Mind." Empire state of mind is what made me really fall in love, weird considering I only saw youtube videos, but for me personally this was one of the most emotional moments in music ive ever heard, gives me chills everytime. Ever since hearing that ive become drum corps crazy, already bought tickets for a few shows next season and I hope to audition and hopefully become a member someday! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevlar496 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 (edited) In the thread about the Star of Indiana 1986 show. Sean Conley mentioned one never forgets their first show. I still remember clearly the first drum corps show I saw and how the winning corps excited me. (And just over two years later, I ended up joining them.) What corps and shows first turned you on to drum corps, and why? What did you feel when you saw that show? How did it change you? How many of us share the experience of being turned on to the activity through witnessing a particular corps and show? Was it live or via a recording? 1971, Illinois State Fair on the horse track. Saw the Black Knights and fell in love. "Impossible Dream", wow, what a soprano solo. Then Cavaliers came on doing the clown show and I was hooked. Told my parents that's what I wanted to do for the rest on my life. My dad said that's good, because we have a drum corps in our hometown. 5 months later he convinced my mom to let me join. 41 years later, I'm still loving it and still doing it as a band director. Changed my life. Edited January 23, 2012 by Kevlar496 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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