Big Sounds

[brichtimp]

I remember seeing a documentary in the late 60's/early 70's on Revelli (RIP) and the Michigan Band ... and I thought, this is not your father's marching band ...

:-)

Yes, Revelli was very influential in his insistence on college marching bands producing quality sound with attention to the same musical elements as a sit-down band. His symphony band was remarkable in its beauty of tone and controlled dynamic power. Since our band directors at Long Beach were U of M grads who survived Revelli's dictatorial approach, they had him come out and do a guest conducting shot with our band....man, the rehearsals were intense...no one wanted to be called out for even a moment of inattention.

One more thought about marches. Out in So Cal, there is still a long standing tradition of high school competition parades....really cool to hear a band like Arcadia or Rancho Bernardo nail great marches like Purple Carnival, Voice of the Guns, etc....a very focused competition zone where scoring is a blend of ticks for marching/phasing/alignment flaws and judging of the musical performance as you might expect.

[ajlisko]

One more thought about marches. Out in So Cal, there is still a long standing tradition of high school competition parades....really cool to hear a band like Arcadia or Rancho Bernardo nail great marches like Purple Carnival, Voice of the Guns, etc....a very focused competition zone where scoring is a blend of ticks for marching/phasing/alignment flaws and judging of the musical performance as you might expect.

You just awakened another dormant part of my memory cells ... in the very early 70's, some sales guys I worked with had accounts in So Cal and would tell me of a massive annual gathering/competition of marching bands on/near the Santa Monica Beach ... you have any recollections of this?

:-)

[brichtimp]

That was the All Western Band Review in Long Beach....the best 75 parade bands in California.