ajlisko Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Interesting POV Fran ... I remember Archie as the first Alumni Corps to take the field at the dream in 78 (or so) ... Reading formed in the early 80's (I think) and the CT Alumni hit the streets in 84 ... not sure when Baltimore formed and put an exhibition on at DCA (they were huge) ... Hawthorne and Sky formed in the mid-90's ... the first BIG show I remember was in Boston in 95 featuring the Crusaders, Marksmen, CT Alumni, BS, St. Joe's, Reilly, Erie and 2-7 ... there may have been others, but I just can't recall who ... it was a fascinating time in drum corps ... reliving the past and loving it ... kind of like the Doo Wop shows on PBS ... :-) The Golden Era of the alumni corps, perhaps. So many alumni/exhibition corps came on the scene from basically 1988 or so through the late 90s. Many of them with a lot of members in the ranks. Times have changed a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Interesting POV Fran ... I remember Archie as the first Alumni Corps to take the field at the dream in 78 (or so) ... Reading formed in the early 80's (I think) and the CT Alumni hit the streets in 84 ... not sure when Baltimore formed and put an exhibition on at DCA (they were huge) ... Hawthorne and Sky formed in the mid-90's ... the first BIG show I remember was in Boston in 95 featuring the Crusaders, Marksmen, CT Alumni, BS, St. Joe's, Reilly, Erie and 2-7 ... there may have been others, but I just can't recall who ... it was a fascinating time in drum corps ... reliving the past and loving it ... kind of like the Doo Wop shows on PBS ... :-) Rebels formed in 88 for the AL parade in Baltimore...led to the corps getting on the field in 89 ( remember them at Carlisle...HUGE!) then performed in 90 at DCA. i've said this elsewhere, and not to great popularity, but the late, great fred Mowbray said this to me years ago......"too many of the alumni corps do not have an active field corps to keep feeding them. As the members get older, and no new blood to keep filling the ranks, you will see them start to fade away". And in some ways he's been right. Yes, some corps do a great job at getting new bodies, and in some cases, the corps lost their identity in the process, which led long time members to have had enough. Even here in these forums, and some back on RAMD, we've seen internal strife pulling at groups and causing issues. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajlisko Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 You shouldn't have taken any hit for your comment ... when we formed Sky's Alumni (initially The Grand St Boys), we were all in our mid-50's through mid-60's ... that was 94 ... we figured if we got 10 years out of it, it would be a good thing (my own body gave out in 2006) ... we accepted anyone who wanted to play Sky's music through the years but never had the chance ... there was never a vision of attracting the ultra young or restyling the corps ... 20+ years later, new bodies are still coming through the door to experience the Sky fraternity ... some years are more lean than others ... so it goes ... and a new relationship has sprung up with the New Skyliners field corps ... but, infinity is not in the cards ... like Yogi said: When it's over ... it's over ... and we'll go back to being a simple Alumni Association ... with a terrific Chorus ... :-) i've said this elsewhere, and not to great popularity, but the late, great fred Mowbray said this to me years ago......"too many of the alumni corps do not have an active field corps to keep feeding them. As the members get older, and no new blood to keep filling the ranks, you will see them start to fade away". 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 (edited) Interesting POV Fran ... I remember Archie as the first Alumni Corps to take the field at the dream in 78 (or so) ... Reading formed in the early 80's (I think) and the CT Alumni hit the streets in 84 ... not sure when Baltimore formed and put an exhibition on at DCA (they were huge) ... Hawthorne and Sky formed in the mid-90's ... the first BIG show I remember was in Boston in 95 featuring the Crusaders, Marksmen, CT Alumni, BS, St. Joe's, Reilly, Erie and 2-7 ... there may have been others, but I just can't recall who ... it was a fascinating time in drum corps ... reliving the past and loving it ... kind of like the Doo Wop shows on PBS ... :-) Saw the Bucs Alumni for the first time at the Harrisburg indoor show in the spring of 1988.... they were unbelievable. Lots of veterans in the ranks from the great Buccaneer horn lines of the 1970s and '80s. Blew the doors off the place!!! Late 1980s, early 1990s... several top-notch alumni corps at that Harrisburg show. Archer-Epler.... Marksmen.... Mighty St. Joe's... Bucs Alumni... YR Alumni... among others. Good times for fans of old-school drum corps. Edited October 29, 2015 by Fran Haring 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Many of the Alumni corps originally re-formed for a "one more time" gig, big parade or local celebration of sorts, kind of like when 27th Lancers got back together to do the DCI championship performance in Foxboro back in '94. A portion of those "one more time" folks decided that they wanted a "few more times" and kept them going, but I think after a few years the slate of performances, parades, and especially rehearsals starting wearing on the older bodies and life and families got in the way. People got it out of their systems and went back into fan only mode. I know some of the members of Light Brigade expressed as much when they made their decision to disband several years ago. Even with corps that have "active" feeder units, the Alumni units are "local" and the marching members of the "feeders" may not be...case in point, Boston Crusaders-how many current members of the DCI Crusaders hail from the greater Boston area? My guess is a VERY small minority. I think one of the things that certainly didn't help the shrinking attendance at the Alumni Spectacular is the fact that a couple years ago, DCA stopped including that event in their ticket packages...now, those who attend have to make a decision as to whether to purchase a ticket and attend, rather than "we paid for it anyway, we might as well go". Inclement weather will REALLY leave a lot of empty seats, fortunately that hasn't been an issue YET. Having to hike half way around the stadium to get to the box office from the parking area, especially for a target audience that is not getting any younger and has mobility issues to begin with, certainly doesn't help matters any. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbriggs Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 don't recall having to hike around to the box office to get Alumni Show tix this year, IIRC, got them when I got next yrs tix right there on the concourse 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 So did I...but the fact they were available there was not well publicized. I wouldn't have known about it myself if I hadn't already been in line for next year's tickets. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 people complained about having to pay for a show they didn't want to go see. thats why it was dropped from the package 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bossop Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 The Crusaders Sr. Corps would love to get recent age outs from the Boston Crusaders DCI corps, but we NEVER do. The fact is that most don't live in the Boston area, and today's drum corps kids have many musical options for them. I don't think alumni corps is an appealing option after they have competed at the top level of DCI. But a corps needs to replenish its membership to survive. Our first year in 1991, we had about 60 horns but attrition brought the number down to about 26. Now we are back up to about 50, of which only 7 or 8 are in the original group of 60. We have a full drum line of 19, and maybe one bass drummer was an original. One cymbal player was an original guard member. I don't think any guard members were original. We have had about 28 deaths over the years. We picked up some of our members from Light brigade and St. Kevins when those units broke up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajlisko Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 >>people complained about having to pay for a show they didn't want to go see<< Hmmm ... sounds like a line out of a talk between Pepe and Yogi ... Pepe: Hey Yog ... you goin' to the Alumni Show? Yogi: What's an Alumni Show? Pepe: Kinda like Old Timers Day for drum corps people ... Yogi: Old Timers Day ... heh ... I heard nobody goes der no more ... Pepe: Why? Yogi: Too crowded ... ya can't get in ... Pepe: Ya know ... somehow dat makes sense ... Yogi: So Pep ... why don't dey call it Old Timers Day instead of this Alumni ting? Pepe: Well, the Alumni's are tryin' ta get younger ... so, dey ain't Old Timers no more ... der kinda like Alumni rookies ... Yogi: Ya mean like when Minor League kids come up and try ta be in the Majors at the end of the season? Pepe: BRILLIANT!!!! ... DAT'S IT!!!! ... da young get older and the older go into da stands ta watch ... and DAT'S why nobody goes to the show anymore ... der's too many OLD people in the stands ... Yogi: See ... just like Old Timers Day ... nobody goes anymore because ya can't get in ... Pepe: Again, my dear Yogi ... dat makes perfect sense ... Yogi: I gotta put the lights on ... gettin' late early again ... Pepe: Oh boy ... ya never give up Yog! :-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.