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Showing content with the highest reputation on 10/31/2014 in all areas

  1. 2B or not 2B = Sherlock Holmes Very good! The Hellgaters were named for the Hell Gate Bridge that connects Astoria to the Bronx, and were indeed sponsored by the Immaculate Conception Church. Ray Priester will "confirm" this, if you'll pardon the double pun. I'll get back to you on the Ferns and Gardenias. As for the Spamettes, they were for real and actually competed at Legion Nationals a couple of times. They missed finals by .2 on their first try.
    2 points
  2. Thank you, Lia, for speaking out on this. Every Corps has its' traditions, signature moves, or signature songs. And while these may or may not become important to the observer or supporter, they become most meaningful for, and ONLY for, those who have expressed the traditions, moves, or songs on the field of competition. And though I might be speaking out of turn, it is nevertheless my feeling that it is only the MARCHING alumni who deserve the right to determine what is most sacred with any given group. I never had the honor to experience marching with a Junior Drum and Bugle Corps...and though I have, and have always had my favorites, I would never begin to presume that I had a right to determine what is most truly important to those corps. In short...I never earned the right to do so. YOU however, have...and thank you for standing up for the right that you earned as marching and competing Crusader. You have my most earnest respect and jealousy.
    1 point
  3. I am UNDER 50 sir...and I actually had the distinct privilege to be in the corps during the LAST FULL RENDITION of Conquest and Captain from Castile in 1990 for their 50th Anniversary show...playing Conquest is as much important to the members of the corps as it is for the fans...Unless you've been a member of the corps...you will just not "get it"...It really is no different than the 27th Lancers (gosh I miss them) playing their trademark Danny Boy...or Madison Scouts playing Malaguena...That said, it doesn't matter to me whether they play Conquest or not to be honest...
    1 point
  4. Huh - Mid-Western Mello player in the 70s Sunrisers? Donna Kelch (LINY); Billy DiPaolo (Brooklyn?); Lenny Haring (Mars);Stan Roche (Uranus); Kay Williams (New Rochelle if I remember correctly); OK, I'm crapping on out Sun's mellos. I tried - I really did. Maybe Anne DiGregorio before she switched to soprano? BTW I know Donna became a terrific sop - I'm just remembering her as a little kid sitting next to me at the corner of baritones and mellophones. Midwestern mello?
    1 point
  5. Good sleuthing here, folks. Re "The Fresno Ferns", they were in fact an elaborate hoax. One of the pranksters involved was Mel Stratton (Blue Devils M&M guru, and my brother-in-law). He and others went so far as to write and submit articles to various drum corps publications regarding their repertoire, instructors, progress, uniforms, appearances...etc. Said press releases were accompanied by photos of alleged members, rehearsal sites, corps hall and other fabrications. Inquiring about the Gardenias might lead one to Pete China and those in his immediate circle in the '70s. (Actually, to one particular Mid-westerner in his section.)
    1 point
  6. Spamettes were an all women senior corps who did well at Al. Nat's mid 40's. Based out of Austin, Minnesota where Hormel Foods Corp. is headquartered. They actually did well and came in 2 points behind the mighty Cabs, 1948 Al. Nat's prelims in Miami.
    1 point
  7. "OLC Ramblers": Actually DID exist. Were from Brooklyn NY (?). Showed up at 1964 Bridgeport World Open Prelims. There was a mention in a VERY old issue of DCN of a "Corps" called the "Burdett Golden Zippers". Yes, you read that right. They were supposed to be "Sponsored" by the Burdett Golden Zipper Company. This "May" have been a precursor to the "Fresno Ferns" phantom. Happy Halloween to all. Elphaba WWW
    1 point
  8. Also had Lech Walesa (Polish Solidarity Movement) there as a speaker in the late 80s. Sister was going to college at Delaware Valley in D-ville at the time and went as a chance to see someone famous. Too bad many of her classmates were out of touch with the real world and didn't have a clue who Walesa was. At least that's one plus of being an older than average student...
    1 point
  9. 1 point
  10. you have the Ghost Riders confused with Westshoremen I think.
    1 point
  11. And nothing you could do to Spam could kill that taste that told you it was in a can since Adam and Eve closed it up.....
    1 point
  12. I'm beginning to doubt this "list" exists and this is simply speculation over rumors, which may have some truth. Too many people that have "seen" it but aren't sharing anything other that doom and gloom.
    1 point
  13. I know what Conquest means to so many in BAC circles, however I would like to not have the staff have the albatross of the required playing of Conquest around their necks.
    1 point
  14. So... what we are to believe is that an alleged Government researcher(s) found an " an enhancement of spatial- temporal reasoning performance after listening to Mozart's Music for 10 minutes and lasts about 12 minutes after listening to Mozart". Except that its not duplicative with most people as we're told that the " the effect varies between individuals" ( the variance never explained however ) and depends upon the " spatial tasks chosen by the individual ". ( raise your hand here if you believe that the researchers involved in the study probably prefer to listen to Mozart rather than Motley Crue when it comes to their own personal musical biases tastes. ) My hunch... scientifically unproven. however.. is that we lose 27 nutritious brain cells when we read such research nonsense. But that with most people( but not all ) that the loss of nutritious brain cells from the temporary absorption of such nonsense is replenished fully within 12 minutes when we begin the natural process to breath in and out from the diaphragm of the lungs and we begin the natural process to forget we even read such dubious research results on the brain's absorption of the Music of Mozart ( or anyone else for that matter ) and its" 12 minutes" of alleged aftermath reasoning benefits upon some unnumbered individuals.
    1 point
  15. I believe the Fresno Ferns were the manifestation of a left-coaster's imagination. Goes back, at least, to the days of the person who shall not be named on RAMD. Charlie Groh might have had something to do with this/them?
    1 point
  16. Ok...but when asked about DCA just past 2014...more fans (than not) said the 2 most entertaining corps of the whole weekend were Star United and Ghost Riders. Others might say Cabs Alumni and Bridgemen Alumni were the most entertaining. Many people I talked to, including savvy veteran fans, were walking out of prelims and finals complaining about the lack of "entertaining" corps and shows that were becoming similar in design qualities. Believe me Jeff...I know about this whole (only for the member corps) situation. But there are other parts of the DCA experience that just don't get the respect that the WHOLE experience of a DCA weekend entails, that includes the Alumni show. When people come to their first DCA, they go home talking about not just the member corps, they talk about the whole weekend experience. For me that should be a selling point that makes it different from the DCI experience. Now DCI is catching on with the drum battles and soundsport venues. They got that idea from DCA...believe me. The Five Star show was during the day of one of the biggest stage shows of the drum corps world, and most corps members that could have been at that mini corps show were practicing. That cut down drastically the fan base that "would be" ticket buyers, IMO. While I applaud the 5 star guys for doing this, they would have to figure this to happen. Would they have come if they weren't practicing? I am not sure, but would venture to say "maybe" at least. No big deal...I am just thinking out loud. I believe that is more than DCA brass may be doing on how preserve the activity and the circuit itself, I may be wrong, I have been wrong ,many times. DA
    1 point
  17. I want to personally wish the Sunrisers the best of luck with their new music arranger JD Shaw. He is a great arranger! I am glad that I had an opportunity to write for the corps for a year, and would still hope to believe that I gave you what you needed for that short time. Donny
    1 point
  18. Long term, the corps is going to need to get DCA shows out onto the Island (a DCI show or two wouldn't hurt) to expose the kids to the activity. Video is fine, but it doesn't do the trick. I was sold for life at a LI Circuit show in Babylon in 1963 at which Skyliners did an exhibition. You need to get drum corps up in their faces to sell it. One of the reasons that the corps went Massapequa, Mineloa, Hempstead, Massaqpequa, Brooklyn, Edison NJ, Toms River NY, etc. was chasing people that understood the activity. Band is great - but not the same.
    1 point
  19. There are many GREAT band programs on Long Island. Copiague, Mineola, Sachem, Brentwood, Malverne, Huntington, et al. All of these districts have strong marching band programs. It is a great idea to get out to these NYSFBC shows to gain new members.
    1 point
  20. Blue Devils win, again. (thats always the safe bet) Cadets leave the horns and drums at home and do an entirely spoken narrated show, and the judges reward them with second. Bluecoats come out with by far the best show of the season and place a distant third. SCV plays their third version of Phantom of the Opera. Cavies place 5th marching 150 marimbas. Blue Knights play Cavies version of James Bond verbatim. Crown plays Cavies version of James Bond verbatim (BK did it better) Blue Stars move out due to a bed bug infestation. Phantom kills everyone on the field. Boston changes to yellow banana uniforms and does a Bridgmen tribute show. Troopers kill it with only 90 members on the field Crossmen finish out the top 12 with a 150 person drumline. Madison misses out on finals with the second most entertaining show of the year.
    1 point
  21. I predict Bluecoats will do a show entitled "Melt" They can melt your faces. They can melt the turf. The field will ooze off of the sidelines. Impossible you say? That's what I say. That's what D.C.Patrick says.
    1 point
  22. The StarCoatDevilKnights will win, and the StarCoatDevilKnights "B" corps will squeeze into finals, along with the Cadets-Cadets. Phantom Regiment will be taken over by cosplay aficionados and renamed the "Fandom Regiment" for a rebuilding year. The monarchist system in Carolina Crown will be overthrown and replaced with some other Carolina ______ system of government.
    1 point
  23. I want to see Madison turn around I want to see Coats take that gold as if it's been waiting for them for 43 years And I want to see SCV step up their game and start heading into medal territory
    1 point
  24. Anaheim Kingsmen are gonna win it, I can just feel it
    1 point
  25. The members of the '84 Suncoast Sound each wore memorial bracelets containing the names of U.S. armed forces personnel who died in action. I know that several of those members were still wearing the bracelets some 25 years later (and perhaps they are still wearing them now, 30 later.) The impact it had on the marching members may very well be the strongest effect that show had.
    1 point
  26. if your drum clean but no one can tell, is it actually clean? (this is my play on the tree in a forest...)
    1 point
  27. agreed....field judges do their best to stay out of the way, and if a collission happens, they don't feel good about it, and even try to seek the performer out to apologize. Now, some get a little carried away out there, and sometimes to get from A to B, your movements do end up being a little demonstrative. Ifthe kids see you in the way, they'll yell,and hopefully you can hear them. I know on the field if I saw a no win situation for me, I've warned kids. Honestly though...with major shows being in a dome, you move the drum judge upstairs and you won't hear ####.
    1 point
  28. Actually, it was the rather distinct lack of a pharyngeal reflex. She first proved it to me with one of my old DC-10 Rob Carson sticks. Any further commentary on my part would be entirely superfluous, wouldn't it? God, I love drum corps...
    1 point
  29. It's a rare mare that wears a snare.
    1 point
  30. I have thought that as well about Cadets 87...but I think it has more to do with the quality of the recording. You hear some very surprising balance issues with SCV that year as well.
    1 point
  31. I agree, no where near as clean as Phantom was.
    1 point
  32. 1991 Star of Indiana, drill was dirty, that's by nature of their demand though 1993 Cadets, quite a bit of foot phasing here and there, but that's because demand again. There were parts of Cadets 2000 brass wise towards the end, but overall i thought it was clean. 1994 Blue Devils not exactly the cleanest drill..... 1997 Blue Devils color guard, hm...........? 1998 The Cadets brass and guard.. hmm... yeah maybe it was just them off a little, visually wow, but those two sections. 2006 Cavaliers - ummm not exactly all there with the dots here and there, clean up there were some noticable "off dots" these are almost all because the demand at those sections or shows were too hard to keep everything in sync, not cus they just decided to be dirty or didn't deserve it
    1 point
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