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i went back and rewatched today. Stars drumline in 92 does not get nearly enough love.

I loved it then ... I love it now.

This was my 4th season as a drum corps viewer. 1986 I only went to one show and I had no idea what I was getting into. 1987 was also just one show. But the thing is, I saw SCV live in 87 and instantly became an all-in drum corps fanatic. Let me know if someone decides to break with the rules and do a 1988 thread because I hopped around the Midwest like a deadhead following The Grateful Dead's summer tour at 16 years old. On to '89. (NOTE: Perspective of a nerdy and under-trained musician at the time). My first show of the year was the debut for a few of these groups: June 16, 1989 Goshen IN 1 Phantom Regiment 72.100 2 Star of Indiana 68.900 3 Bluecoats 63.700 4 Colts 46.100 5 Glassmen 38.400 6 Quad City Knights 37.800 7 Northmen (WI) 22.700 8 Guardsmen 17.900 Phantom came out on fire. Most of the corps still felt like they were just getting started. But PR felt like they were poised to plow through the rest of the season's competition. I was a DCI Today subscriber so I had already done my homework and studied up. But nothing could prepare me for the power that this corps packed out of the gate. And they were hitting on all captions. Due to friends marching, I mostly knew what Star had in store for us. They did not disappoint. This battery hit the drums REAL HARD which was right up my alley. By the end of the summer most of my high school friends were playing Cheerio, their Scottish flavored cadence, with obsession. The brass was already a step up on 1988. I was sitting next to a friend that had marched contra at Star in 86, 87 and 88. 89 would have been his ageout and the look on his face was indescribable. He knew exactly what he was missing. It was a wild and sad feeling. But within a matter of days he would be in a plane with Bill Cook to join the corps and march that ageout season. This was a new look and sound for The Bluecoats. It wasn't truly complete and IMO, the most disappointing part of the show was that most complete part: the playful and cutesy arrangement of Johnny One Note. Fortunately there was growth on the way. --Cut to my next show stop, two weeks later-- June 30, 1989 Mishawaka IN 1 Phantom Regiment 82.100 2 Cavaliers 79.300 3 Sky Ryders 70.500 4 Limited Edition 50.400 5 Quad City Knights 43.100 6 Bandettes 42.400 7 Guardsmen 30.600 Phantom still bringing the fire. Great percussion BTW. Sometimes they may have been guilty of a not entirely balanced contribution aceross percussion sections. But this group had front and battery all doing the things. I would just walk along side of this battery playing their Wooten cadence(s) and they were so poised. Cavaliers had begun honing in on what they could, and would, do best. I was at their first show in 1988 when they debuted Firebird with struggles and tepid fan reactions, but this was a new year and a new program. Is it wierd that Limited Edition's Carmina Burana is etched into my brain more than Sky Ryders' rendition? Always enjoyed LE but they could never seem to turn the corner that they were aiming for. --Cut to one month later-- July 29, 1989 DCI Mid-America Bloomington IN 1 Star of Indiana 89.500 2 Blue Devils 89.400 3 Cavaliers 89.200 4 Cadets of Bergen County 89.000 5 Bluecoats 82.600 6 Suncoast Sound 76.400 7 Blue Knights 70.600 8 Florida Wave 69.800 9 Troopers 65.600 10 Colts 64.400 11 Glassmen 57.200 12 Spartans (WA) 49.500 First year of the Bloomington show being at Memorial Stadium. No more soccer field thanks to Bill Cook buying/donating lights to IU for the football stadium. It was also the first year of the Mid-America Regional that would shuffle sites and formats in the 90's. Great venue. Watched Star rehearse there in the afternoon. Basked in that show with the nearly empty stands that would shutter and vibrate when they hit rim-shots. This was back when I was a secluded and naive Midwestern kid and had not been exposed to the Star backlash. In retrospect, they probably didn't do themselves any favors with the haters by book-ending the show with Henry V and Crown Imperial. 😁 As has been stated earlier in the thread, this was definitely a stepping stone year. The show wasn't pushing any envelopes. It was just a top notch vehicle that was setup for them to prove they had the power to move. They were getting into the later season very strong, if a little inconsistent. I have a lot of friends that love the 89 Devils as (I think) a kind of last hurrah for a certain era. But for me, as a big fan of the 88 show, the 89 program felt like a fallback. Almost apologetic for "grey pants and modern footwear" in 88. 😲 They were executing but it felt stale. Bluecoats were now getting things fleshed out. The full show had so much more maturity to it. That hokey Johnny One note would still be a bit of an albatross but look for cleaning and finessing the rest of the show to pay off. As someone that came to drums corps just after the first Florida Suite, I just adored the Suncoast show. I didn't have 1985 as a reference. I get everyone's issues with it now. But I will always be glad that I at least got to experience the 1989 rendition before they dissolved. --Cut to a week and a half later-- August 10, 1989 Dayton OH 1 Santa Clara Vanguard 95.000 2 Cadets of Bergen County 94.000 3 Star of Indiana 93.000 4 Freelancers 87.900 5 Suncoast Sound 87.000 6 Glassmen 68.100 7 Limited Edition 65.800 8 Quad City Knights 62.600 I hustled with some friends in a not-so-safe three hour drive to Centerville because I wanted to see SCV live so badly. 87 SCV sparked my passion for the activity. I had missed 88 SCV live and I WAS NOT going to miss a chance to see their newest rendition of Phantom of The Opera up close and personal. We made this great little show with plenty of time. I was in love with the SCV show and was not disappointed. I didn't know what to think of Cadets from up close. The battery was shockingly full of notes and pleasing to this young drummer. The Aungst transition was now in full effect. But I had zero read for what was going on visually. The section of 2 simultaneous songs being played against each other already stood out to me. Suncoast, Freelancers, Star of Indiana. Also two of the best front ensembles that year in SCV and Star ... man, what a great show! I miss the suspense of not knowing how things were exactly turning out night to night. I understand why it isn't that way so much now. But I miss that feeling. --Cut to another hustle 9 days later-- August 19, 1989 DCI World Championships Kansas City MO 1 Santa Clara Vanguard 98.800 2 Phantom Regiment 98.400 3 Cavaliers 97.200 4 Blue Devils 95.900 5 Cadets of Bergen County 95.600 6 Star of Indiana 95.300 7 Madison Scouts 93.600 8 Bluecoats 90.300 9 Suncoast Sound 88.000 10 Freelancers 87.300 11 Velvet Knights 87.000 12 Crossmen 84.000 Our 6-day off-site band camp was done on Friday afternoon. I went with a friend and his parents on a 10 hour drive straight to Kansas City to catch the final night. Beautiful balmy midwest summer weather. The stadium had a fantastic drum corps sound from even the cheap seats. And we were defenitely in the cheap seats. We had already gotten the dispatch that our friends at Star had won field percussion. Hype. I loved just about everything that night. Win, lose, or draw. I was thrilled SCV won but would have been happy for Phantom to have won. Cavaliers were an uplifiting view from the nosebleeds. BD didn't know they were also saying farewell to an era. That solo frack is etched into my brain. The sensation of a silent stadium of roughly 30K people gasping in uni son. Silently looking to their neighbors, followed by hushed whispers was unreal and something that doesn't leave you. Seeing Cadets from high that night, it all clicked. A helluva underdog show. A lot has been said here regarding "What about *this* ending or *that* ending." But the way I saw it, the ending worked. Most of my friends, especially Cadets friends, wonder ... "What if they had another week, or two." which is probably accurate. Could have done more cleaning and finessing of the show and not had to water the brass so much. Also, the best battery meat on the field. Attack on Rue Plumet sheet music made the rounds like wildfire the next couple of years. Crazy fun notes. This Star show will always hold a special place. And as much as it was a setup to the next Star of Indiana, they aged out a ton of talented folks. They had the I&E champs in Timpani, Snare and Contra aging out. A lot of those tubas from epic 1986 Close Encounters theme were at their end. Madison was fun and loud and reliable. Bluecoats arrangements after Johnny One Note were intoxicating. Funny Valentine was touching. Sing, Sing, Sing was rollicking fun. The beautiful reprise of MFV at the end was a masterstroke. Also, God bless the mylar. Farewell Suncoast The Freelancers practically stole the night. As happy as people were for the Crossmen, the Freelancers' story was obviously a crowd favorite. And they were certainly ecstatic. We felt like we heard them play the ET Adventures on Earth 120 times in the parking lot. Like they did not want the night to end. Can't say that I blame them. I feel like 89 VK gets overshadowed by 87 and 88. I loved the more jazzy feel of this one and they had some crazy soloists in this show. Some classic Matt Savage tribal funky beats. Even if head choice was suspect. I appreciate going with mylar but the Premier Marathons were in a class all their own. Would have been a big difference. When dusting off the cobwebs for this post I realized something. This finals was the first time I ever saw the Crossmen. More jazz. How much jazz was there in drum corps in 89? Wow. Pleasant. A nice way to break back into finals. This show was my swan song as a fan. Finally marching drum corps would change me in many ways. One of the very few downsides is that I instantly lost my naive fan view and watch everything (not just the performances ... everything) with a much more critical, and sometimes jaded, eye. I would say goodbye to my childlike enjoyment of the activity. I still have plenty of drum corps joys, but it isn't the same thing. For any of you that are "just a fan," don't feel slighted. You've got it great.

As I alluded to in 1992, for me this is the Year that DCI Got Weird. Funny personal story - after returning from basic training, I had totally forgotten that DCI was on and stumbled across it on PBS mid-performance. I had no clue what I was watching or hearing, and when they were done and announced "Star of Indiana," my face probably told it all. Then the Cadets came out with their angry, chaotic Holsinger show, and I was scratching my head ever more. Felt like I was taking crazy pills. It wasn't until I got the CD's for Christmas that I found out what any of the other corps had done. Cadets went Dark in '93, completely unlike anything they had shown anyone before. We're looking at it with 30 years of hindsight, but they managed to completely reinvent themselves seemingly overnight. The drumline is just towering, legendary, whatever you want to call it. That said, Star should have won. Silence as a weapon had never been used in DCI before, and the Bill Cook quote from the '92 thread said it best when he said they designed a show with no break point for the audience to exhale and applaud. In 2020 that's called Monday, but at the time it was a novel concept. Angular minimal drill, angular minimal uniforms, liberal use of body movement and an off-the-charts musical demand combined for a revolutionary program for what it represented. Phantom reinvented themselves in '93 while still staying (mostly) true to their roots. The Ginastera arrangements are way less '80's' than their previous few years, and Fire of Eternal Glory brought the house down. Death Hunt was a great closer, if not classical in the slightest. (I personally liked the '94 version better.) Blue Devils went nuts with the Don Ellis musical program. Odd meters, massive hornline runs... it was a technician's paradise. As we know, it was also the end of the "Blue Devils" nightclub look. Not a total reinvention yet, but you could feel it was definitely coming. Cavaliers put together a show that harkened back to their previous years' championship in overall effect, but the music wasn't nearly as seamless. Or, to be honest, as good. You could see what they were going for, for sure, but this does not appear in my Cavaliers Pantheon. Awesomely cool guard uniforms, though. Madison Scouts put on a pretty messy show in a rainstorm. Definitely not as tight as the 92 production, and the finale (custom composition) didn't wow me. Another one I tend to skip over, especially considering what they do the next few years. Yeah, for Santa Clara Vanguard, read Lee Rudnicki's book. It felt very much like a revolution against their populist musical/opera image and a commitment to modernizing their classical music focus. It definitely felt modern, but like Cavaliers and Madison, they didn't strike paydirt until later (years later, in their case). Crossmen tried to deliver a conceptual successor to their wildly successful 1992 show, but couldn't capture the same magic. The drum feature stands out in this show for it's take-no-prisoners approach. Bluecoats managed to rebound from their fuzzy 1992 Beatles show with a more straightforward set of tunes. Round Midnight was very cool, and the Night in Tunisia tag was neat, but Bluecoats were not in the business of capturing your minds yet - just your hearts. Blue Knights jumped head-first into ... well... no idea, actually. I actually dig the Star Trek charts, but the drum feature (though famous on a technical level) didn't fit at all and for me kind of ruined the flow of the show. Glassmen's uniforms... capture the spirit of this year, for sure. The music itself was really nice, and Sailing is a beautiful song (ended up using the source music in my wedding - thanks, Glassmen!) Finally, Colts put on a fairly tame show by '93 standards, with a mostly conventional set of jazz tunes that, while not blowing anyone out of the water, definitely felt Finals-worthy in quality. The horns in particular are very solid. (Honorable mention - not sure who I would have put them over, but Boston should have made their first Finals this year! Russian Easter Overture was awesome. VK's William Tell is one of my favorite drum features of the '90's, and Freelancer's hornline delivered the most legendary opener you've likely never heard or seen.) I realize I'm being way less wordy for this season, and that's because overall, especially considering where DCI ended up going, '93 was a definite transition year that in many ways missed the mark for me. It just felt like an 'off' year where designers exploded out of the box so hard that it merely left a mess dripping down the walls. Things evolved again in '94, and I think lessons learned from '93 might have helped with subsequent years' programming. Mike

I nearly ran over Sandra Opie in a show once. I had to shout at her to run.

OK, nobody go it..............so here is the answer.............I only posted because I was startled when I saw this........... The 1972 Vanguard was the only corps to win a DCI Championship prelims or finals with a judge giving them a score that was not in the top 12......their 14th in marching by one judge is the lowest ranked score a winner has ever received, as they won prelims. The "feat" happened AGAIN in 1973, as they won the DCI Championship prelims, but were 13th in brass by one of the judges. Finally, also in 1973, they were 7th in brass in prelims....the lowest brass rating for a corps that won a World Championship prelims/finals. (9th perf/13th perf/4th MA) They did up things in finals....3rd overall in brass...........9th perf/5th perf/1st MA.......and won their first title. For the record, they did not have a "bad" hornline...............the book was very demanding....this was the "ticK" era...............usually, though, they were credited with how well they were doing with a very tough musical book.............percussion helped get them there.....as Sanford's writing was ahead of his time, and they played really well. I can't imagine a corps in our current era getting 14th by a judge and still coming up with the win.................highly unlikely...............my guess is that this will hold for a very long time...............

star of indiana - recollections by Bill Cook - Founder, Star of Indiana Originally Written: Sept. 23, 1995 Revised: Nov. 17, 1996, Mar. 12, 1999, & January 2, 2001 THE SUMMER OF 1991 Everyone in the corps began to believe that this was their year. It was amazing to me to see these young people go out and perform Jim Prime's "Roman Images, the music of Respighi." And for George Zingali, it was his life wrapped up on the field; his images of Christianity were woven throughout the pictures which came and went as Star executed for him. Our members knew that George was dying and they knew that they wanted to give him a monument, a memorial in life. As sick as he was, he was the backbone and spirit of the corps. He was driven by desire that few will ever understand and his will went out to touch us all. On August 4th, Star arrived in Boston. With the help of his care giver, George arrived at the stadium to meet his corps. Something happened to him that afternoon--he seemed transformed, energized. His strength had returned--it was the "old" George on the field that day--"You've got to be shittin me!" "That's wonderful!" "Cupcake, you were terrible!" Late in the afternoon, he told Jim--"the new closer is not right." A few minutes later, he left the stadium. None of us knew where he had gone or if he would be back.. About eight o'clock, George returned and said: "we are going to have two crosses at the finish instead of one." The next five hours were unbelievable. He ran from one section to another telling members where they should be at the end of the final cross. He wanted them to count measures--"count and run around until time to make your final set." Hour after hour, the corps tried and failed but finally, at 2 a.m. the next morning, the cross was seen. The next night in Lynn, Star put in the new move; needless to say, there were more than a few wrecks at the end but we won over SCV by 1.9 points. Star's greatest performance that year was not at finals but in Little Rock Arkansas on August 12. Most of the staff had gone ahead to Dallas, so the corps was on their own and relaxed. What they did that night will always be a memory for me. To this day, that performance remains my favorite while they competed. The word electric fits it best. The championship week was anti-climatic because the corps knew what had to be done and were confident that they could do it. Even though they were expected to win, they were focused, relaxed, and determined. In retrospect, I wish that the field had been cooler (it was 124 degrees) and I wish that they could have moved a little more slowly because I wanted to hear the sound that I heard that cool night in Little Rock. We became champions of DCI for the first time with a score of 97.30. A truly magical year for a corps that once wore a pink uniform and were branded as a rich man's toy. GEORGE That winter George Zingali passed away, but in the hospital he said: "Bill, the championship was the most wonderful night of my life." George still remains a part of the fabric of Star and I know that other corps cherish his memory as well. What more can be said of George except he lived to create, inspire and teach. I would like to digress a moment and talk about what it takes to win a championship. First, a corps must have experience, a work ethic that goes beyond saying "I worked hard" because working hard on the wrong things will eventually ruin a corps hope for success. I believe that staffs win championships. A corps director must instinctively know where to place the emphasis and the staff must have a music and drill book that is sufficiently difficult. A championship book must appear to be seamless--it must flow and the members must be sufficiently accomplished to make their actions appear easy. If the spectators perceive the work as being easy but executed to perfection, then the staff has done its job and the corps has learned their lessons well. Physical conditioning also is an integral part of the success formula--every member must be able to finish.

If BDs 91 horn line is 1A........then the 93 horn line is 1AA. Two of the best ever.

I think by Finals many fans had an appreciation for Star. I also think fans were very aware of the way the corps was treated at certain shows. Usually a Finals crowd wants to give the kids all the support they deserve. Plenty of people did not like Star's show in 1993...and many still do not like the show. It will always be a polarizing show. It has grown on some over the past 2.5 decades and because it gets discussed frequently I think some folks get the sense that it was wildly popular at the time. It gained a lot of respect in the years following. It is still one of the most revolutionary shows I've ever seen and it was impeccably designed. It is easily the most modern DCI show I've seen without using props, mics, amplification, electronic instruments, narration, etc. It is not a meat and potatoes show but more a refined wine and cheese show. The show is a walk through an art gallery and not a hot evening watching Maynard Ferguson. Someone already brought this up, but in order to put things in true perspective we have to remember a few things about the late 80s and early 90s: There were few shows, if any, that featured every top competitor. Most regional shows back in those days included about half the field, with the other half appearing at another regional. In 1992 there was one regional that gave us a taste of all the top corps before finals (Nashville). And in 1993 I think DCI North in Ypsilanti, MI had most of the top competitors. Many fans did not see Star but one time, if that, and that is a tough show to only see once and try to get a feel for it. I was lucky to see them about 4 times that summer. For some they may not have seen them until Finals or the Finals broadcast. There was no YouTube, or DCI Fan Network, etc. where we could watch shows over and over to get a feel for them. It was still not easy to get scores on a nightly basis unless you were calling 1-900-can-drum or other corps numbers to get scores. SCV used to have a number you could call to get scores. Many of us got our scores a week late if we were lucky enough to be at a show where they sold DCW magazine. There was no DCP, and RAMD was a tough place to hangout. Not many reviews of shows, just a lot of arguing and name calling. There were no uniform reveals or places to find info on what each corps was performing before the season. DCW might carry a little info on this, but drum corps did not have websites (as the web was not really a thing until Netscape Navigator became more prominent in 1994. Some corps may have had a newsletter for alumni and donors. I always wonder how an audience might react to that show today. Even without the mics, amps, electronics, props, singing, narration, sound effects, I feel the show still has a very modern and artistic element to it. It might still be controversial. Who knows? This is why the show remains a legendary yet controversial masterpiece.

I've yet to recover......

Went for a cold bike ride Saturday afternoon, 25 miles or so chilled by a brisk wind, especially when I got near the lake. The longest I've done since early fall, probably.

You are correct.......my statement should be that she "IS" a living legend................what she did with the kids at Argonne was off the hook............. a great judge.......her tapes were loaded with constructive musical commentary and were both accurate and detailed...........and no games........

We got a 2-mile walk in today, after a couple of no-walk days.

Some initial reflections in 1993 I did not attend DCI Finals in 93 or 94. I may have attended 4 or 5 shows in 1993. I need to double check the schedule and some notes (I used to compile a log in the 80s and 90s from the many shows I attended in those days). I have not done that in a long while, but I still have the log book and still try to update things when I can. I know I saw Star of Indiana early in a town near Indy and my head exploded. They were truly amazing and were giving us a glimpse into the future. A very modern show. I saw Cadets in late June or early July. They were up against Madison, Bluecoats, and Glassmen. For some reason they had to go on first after intermission. Not sure of the reason (maybe they were in exhibition -- which I think is the case). I remember sitting near a family who had only seen a few corps in their short time of attending shows (their kid was now in the local HS marching band). I had attended the show with my best friend. I think the show lineup after intermission was Cadets, Glassmen, Bluecoats, and then Madison. As Cadets began marching into the stadium looking supremely confident, and that guard in those amazing outfits, we both looked at each other and said "here comes danger." You could just sense it. The family next to us had asked if this group was any good and we both looked at them and jokingly said something to the effect of "they're just a little bit good." The family could tell we were joking and got very excited. After the opening of the show and the first big hit, that family was screaming throughout the entire show. I've seen Cadets many times, but after the first two sections of the show I think our jaws were on the ground. I wasn't sure if Cadets were as good as Star just yet, but both corps were bringing the heat in very different, yet exciting, ways. I saw Phantom Regiment in Port Clinton, OH that year and they also blew me away. What a brass line and what absolutely great music. Initially I did not think they could compete with Star of Cadets in terms of overall show design, but I had a feeling they would be top 5 and maybe top 3. After seeing DCI North I strongly felt Phantom was the only corps that could keep up with Star and Cadets. It was nice to see Phantom back to being the professional, symphonic monster that could reel-in the crowd and be competitive. The demise of late 1992 was a distant memory once you saw this show. --------------------------------- Quick reflection of the top 3 from my perspective (a satellite broadcast from a H.S. in the Pittsburgh area...I think it was North Allegheny): The Cadets won in a close battle with Star. This will be argued forever. Both corps were fantastic during that season and were the clear favorites from literally day one. The Cadets were giving us another extension of the visual concepts and thematic ideas from 1992. To Tame The Perilous Skies was not a story but a visual impression of flight with a soundscape of music composed by David Holsinger. He had initially written the music for one of the Air Force bands. Their 1993 show was similar. With "In The Spring: When Kings Go Off To War" they give us images of the Christian Crusades with music (also by David Holsinger) that tries to capture the pomp and circumstance of the Kings and the angry nature of the many battles they would endure. The show is truly masterful, although there was one thing I didn't care for, and that was the ending. The last 20 to 30 seconds feels like a run-on sentence to me. Even then I felt the show needed a more regal ending with a somewhat slower push to the finish line. It's a minor complaint. Otherwise there is not much to gripe about. They did not march particularly well on Finals night, and neither did Star. The rain earlier that evening definitely hurt, but I think the extreme heat (until Finals night) caused problems for most of the corps. I had Cadets in 1st after seeing the telecast, but in hindsight I might have put them in 2nd. It's close. Star of Indiana gave us a reversal from their 1992 show with "The Music of Barber and Bartok." Where the Cadets were more a continuation of their 92 show, along with styles they had employed in the late 80s and 90s, Star was giving us a glimpse into the future of DCI. Star's show was truly modern, cutting edge, daring and very risky. The transparent brass writing was a huge risk and placed big demands on the performers. Mistakes would stick-out like a sore thumb as would quality of sound, balance, and intonation. They used body movement to a level we had not seen yet. The guard, with those poles, was cutting edge. They were sporting a killer percussion section (as were Cadets). Looking back on this show I am often less concerned with the who should have won argument, or whether the show was the most cutting edge show ever in DCI. I often find myself wondering just how long it took them to program this beast and the process used. I would have loved to be a "fly on the wall" in those programming sessions. I actually found the show to be quite entertaining, even at the time. I am very fond of it and I do consider 1993 Star of Indiana to be one of the most advanced shows of its time. I like 1991 Star better, but 93 is clearly a step in a direction we had not seen at that time. Say what you want about Phantom Regiment in 1992, but in 1993 Phantom came with their BIG BOY (and GIRL) pants and gave fans one of the most exciting shows of the season. Phantom was strong start to finish, and, in fact, they received the biggest ovations of the night in Jackson, MS. As amazing as Star and Cadets were, it was Phantom Regiment who, I believe, provided the audience with two of the signature moments of the evening: 1) The crab step by the brass line with the 360 spin and pull, and 2) the Fire of Eternal Glory, a moment that jump-started everyone's hearts while they were crying and cheering at the same time. The Regiment was spectacular at Finals and closed the gap some with Star and Cadets. I dare say that with today's judging system (where being clean matters a bit more than just having lots of demand) that performance by Phantom may well have won. If not it would have been very close. Plenty of other great shows that year which I will try to reflect on later.

Phantom '93 Star '93 Cavies '93 What a great year for the midwest!

A full list of the repertoire from the top 25 The Cadets 1 97.400 In the Spring, At the Time When Kings Go Off to War - In the Spring, at the Time When Kings Go Off to War * Ballet Sacra * On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss Star of Indiana 2 97.300 The Music of Barber and Bartok - Parados (from Medea) * Kantikos Agonias (from Medea) * Allegro (from Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste) * Dance of Vengence (from Medea) Phantom Regiment 3 96.200 The Modern Imagination - The Landworkers (From Estancia Ballet) * The Wheat Dance (From Estancia Ballet) * Danza Final (From Estancia Ballet) * The Fire of Eternal Glory (from Novorossisk Chimes) * Death Hunt (from On Dangerous Ground) Blue Devils 4 95.100 A Don Ellis Portrait - Open Wide * Great Divide * Chain Reaction * Strawberry Soup * Niner Two The Cavaliers 5 94.000 Heroes, A Symphonic Trilogy (Journey..Conflict.. Triumph) - The Symphonic Cantata * Heroes, Lost and Fallen * Morning Alleluias (for the Winter Solstice) Madison Scouts 6 91.900 Reflection and Evolution - Numero Uno * Strawberry Soup * Encore Santa Clara Vanguard 7 90.400 A Walton Trilogy - Johannesburg Festival Overture * Richard III * Agincourt Song (from Henry V) Crossmen 8 89.600 Songs for the Planet Earth Part II: A Celebration of Humanity - Fanfare for the Common Man * Myth America * Koto Song * River Music * Freda * Anthem for Humanity Bluecoats 9 87.200 Standards in Blue - A Tribute to Dizzy Gillespie - All the Things You Are * 'Round Midnight * A Night in Tunisia Blue Knights 10 85.000 The Next Generation - Battle in the Mutara Nebula (from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) * Clear All Moorings (From Star Trek VI) * Star Trek VI Suite * Little Green Men Glassmen 11 82.800 A Voyage Through Imagination - Overture * Morning Sun on the Sails * The Lion's Breath * The North Wind * Sailing Colts 12 81.600 The Four Seasons - Winter * A Thousand Summers * Summertime (from Porgy and Bess) * The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter * Reprise Velvet Knights 13 83.100 Kartoon Klassics - The Storm (from William Tell) * The Marriage of Figaro * William Tell Overture * Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 Boston Crusaders 14 82.400 Russian Easter Overture * Scheherazade: The Prince and the Princess * Scheherazade: Festival in Baghdad Freelancers 15 79.600 The Music of Bill Chase - Open Up Wide * Invitation to a River * Two Minds Meet * Stay * Paint it Sad * Get It On Magic of Orlando 16 78.500 Cirque De Magique - Cirque Fanfare and Procession * Rideau * Eclipse (from Nouvelle Experience) * Shango: Chant to the Goddess of Fire Spirit of Atlanta 17 77.900 A Soulful Celebration - Why do the Nations so Furiously Rage? * David and Goliath * Do Not Pass Me By * So Much 2 Say * Let the Words * Better Watch Your Behavior Dutch Boy 18 78.300 Las Vegas Fever - Big Spender (from Sweet Charity) * Fever Pitch * In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning * Luck Be A Lady (from Guys and Dolls) * Come Back to Me (from On A Clear Day You Can See Forever) Troopers 19 77.100 The Last Crossing - East Moves West - Ashokan Farewell * Cheyennes (from How The West Was Won) * Western Overture * Charles County Overture * Battle Hymn of the Republic Sky Ryders 20 74.300 Connotations * Second Symphony, Fourth Movement Carolina Crown 21 74.200 Aztec Dance (from La Fiesta Mexicana) * Mass (from La Fiesta Mexicana) * Carnival (from La Fiesta Mexicana) Southwind 22 73.000 Far and Away - Joseph's Dream (from Far and Away) * Life in Ireland (from Far and Away) * The American Way (from Far and Away) * Reunion (from Far and Away) * The Land Race (from Far and Away) Marauders 23 71.100 Symphonic Portraits of Mexico - El Salon Mexico * Mass (from La Fiesta Mexicana) * Carnival (from La Fiesta Mexicana) * Aztec Dance (from La Fiesta Mexicana) Northern Aurora 24 70.000 The Best of Kansas - Carry on Wayward Son * Play the Game Tonight * Dust in the Wind * Magnum Opus Vanguard Cadets 25 69.300 Selections from Far and Away - Land Race (from Far and Away) * Oklahoma Territory (from Far and Away) * Blowing Off Steam (from Far and Away) * The Big Match (from Far and Away) * Race to the River (from Far and Away)

Pretty sure it was just a sling - I'm not sure what kind of shoulder injury she had, but it was determined that she could march the show rather than sit out completely.

She was a legend. She could be brutal, but one thing that was great is that she didn't care who you were, how many shows you did or did not win, or how you did last night, last week, last month, last year, or the last 20 years. I especially remember a particular show in the east....it was either 1979 or 1980. She flew in to judge. I think that nearly all of the Eastern "powerhouses" were in this show. They announced the caption awards, and I think they were all between the Bridgemen and 27th.....then, the announcer goes, "and the award for high brass this evening goes to...."The Royal Brigade". They had a good hornline that year, and on an "on" night, could hang. They were nowhere close in the show overall....but they won high brass that night. Priceless.

You were close..................1973.............Argonne Rebels won brass in prelims, and were 22nd in drums...........they made finals.......in finals, they were 2nd in brass and 12th (last) in percussion. They beat the champion Vanguard in brass by a tenth, but lost to them by 6.7 POINTS in drums....the corps was 11th. I heard that it was a tough finish for them, as they knew prior to the season that they were going to have a stellar brass section.....but percussion and marching held them back all season long......still, they aspired to win high brass, and did so in prelims, but not finals. It was also the second year in a row for that, as they won high brass at DCI prelims in 1972 as well, but were 4th in finals. The disparity was there in 1972, as the drumline was 13th in prelims, though they did gain some ground in finals, finishing 9th in drums. Two years in a row, though, they won high brass in prelims but did not place in the top 12 in drums. Sandra Opie was an amazing instructor and judge.

Argonne Rebels in 72?

ANSWER...... The 1977 Garfield Cadets had the lowest ranked ordinal given in DCI history of any corps that qualified for finals. In prelims, they were 27th on one judge's sheet in drums (24th overall).....they were 23rd in overall drums, but the strong brass line was 4th.....the corps tied for 12th (Kilts) to make finals.................

No......Perfect GE score was 1975, and that was quite a show.......to play some of the stuff that they played on valve-rotor horns was pretty amazing, and Royer and Sanford really created a gem of a book.........and the drill was very good for the day...........

DCI Finals Week 1992 - Madison, WI As I noted in my first part, this was the coldest finals I have ever experienced. I want to say some of the early mornings were in the 40s and low 50s. Temps did not seem to go much above the mid 70s during the day. Someone may have better facts than my aging memory, but it was definitely cold. Quarterfinals were a blast and the group of friends that I came up with were all thrilled with just about everyone. Scores were as follows: Quarterfinals 1 Star of Indiana 96.4 2 Cavaliers 95.7 3 Blue Devils 95.3 ^ Cadets of Bergen Cty. 95.3 5 Madison Scouts 93.3 6 Phantom Regiment 92.1 7 Crossmen 91.5 8 Santa Clara Vanguard 90.9 9 Blue Knights 90.3 10 Velvet Knights 87.7 11 Bluecoats 85.6 12 Freelancers 84.1 13 Glassmen 84.0 14 Sky Ryders 82.8 15 Boston Crusaders 82.4 16 Spirit of Atlanta 82.0 17 Marauders 80.0 18 Dutch Boy 77.5 19 Troopers 76.1 20 Colts 75.5 21 Magic of Orlando 74.1 22 Southwind 73.6 23 Black Gold 72.9 24 Northern Aurora 71.1 25 Carolina Crown 67.9 26 Mandarins 67.8 27 Kiwanis Kavaliers 65.4 Star powered their way to no. 1 and I thought it was well deserved. Cavaliers were outstanding and looked much cleaner than when I last saw them. One thing about Cavaliers that year was the sound. They really had a lush, balanced, and very in-tune sound with solid power when they needed it. And their percussion was simply THE BEST. It was not going to be a runaway victory for Star, but we still felt Star would win. The Cadets tied BD and they were .4 from Cavaliers. That was an indication right there that judges had noticed how much Cadets had cleaned. It was clear to me that The Cadets simply had a better overall show than BD. Just better design, but through the year BD was the better performing corps. Now that the Cadets percussion and guard were beginning to gel and the visual was cleaning, it definitely made you wonder if Cadets were ready to make the jump. Perhaps the thing that stood out the most was Phantom Regiment's score (92.1). Just 4 days earlier Phantom had beat Cadets by .6 and now they found themselves down by 3.2 points. Yes, everyone is at quarters and spreads can do weird things to the leader board. Many of us were aware that Phantom had beat Cadets on August 9. It just goes to show the subjectivity of judging, the nature of performance, and how things can shift as some corps improve and others stagnate. Whatever the reason, I feel like this led to the events that unfolded on Finals night. Semifinals were also incredible: Semifinals 1 Cavaliers 97.1 2 Star of Indiana 96.9 3 Cadets of Bergen Cty. 96.2 4 Blue Devils 95.7 5 Madison Scouts 94.3 6 Phantom Regiment 92.8 7 Crossmen 92.0 8 Santa Clara Vanguard 91.9 9 Blue Knights 91.1 10 Velvet Knights 87.5 11 Bluecoats 85.5 12 Freelancers 84.0 13 Glassmen 83.9 14 Boston Crusaders 82.2 15 Sky Ryders 82.1 16 Spirit of Atlanta 78.8 17 Marauders 76.7 This was the night when the narrative changed. Cavaliers pulled out a fantastic performance and beat Star by .2. The Cadets also were magnificent at semis (actually better than their Finals run). It was so clear at semis that Cadets had one of the better shows on the field, perhaps the best GE, and deserved their 3rd place finish. I still wasn't sure they would push by Star, and in fact I still thought Star might win. But Cadets were impressive. BD fell to 4th but were outstanding from a musical perspective, even with a somewhat weaker percussion line than what they prefer. The arrangements for their show were just driving and at times down and dirty. When A Man Loves a Woman is one of the classic all-time great DCI closers. Crossmen were perhaps my favorite show of the night, or at least in a tie with Cadets. I also loved Cavaliers and Star, and Madison...and pretty much everyone. But something in me could feel that Phantom was not performing their best. Something had happened. They still had a .8 lead on Crossmen and .9 on SCV...but all that would change. Finals Night 1992 DCI World Championship 1 Cavaliers 97.5 2 Cadets of Bergen Cty. 97.0 3 Star of Indiana 96.7 4 Blue Devils 95.4 5 Madison Scouts 93.7 6 Crossmen 92.2 7 Santa Clara Vanguard 91.8 8 Phantom Regiment 91.5 9 Blue Knights 90.0 10 Velvet Knights 86.6 11 Bluecoats 84.6 12 Freelancers 83.5 The Cavaliers grabbed a well-deserved championship. They were the one corps that cleaned just about everything, and they had a beautiful, well-constructed show that gave you everything you could want. Solid brass, incredible percussion, guard, drill, and solid GE. They earned it. The Cadets pulled off a tremendous run that, at times, didn't seem like it was going to happen. Their Finals run was not as clean as semis, and in hindsight I thought their brass struggled some on Finals night (4th place in brass), but percussion, guard, GE, and visual propelled them into 2nd place. In fact, here is a corps that come mid-season they were running 5th or 6th and come DCI Finals they won high GE and took 2nd place. Their show was amazing, even from the beginning of the season. But they started so slow, had many holes to fill that it literally took them all season to finally hit a point where the judges could really reward the tremendous design of this show. To Tame The Perilous Skies is an impressive show. Definitely championship design, but not the cleanest Cadets corps. You had to love the push they made and the hard work those kids put in to ride this show to 2nd place. They seemed to be a scrappy bunch that fought and clawed their way to 2nd place and high GE. In all honesty, I was wondering if Cadets had not won the title after the show. Now in hindsight I think 2nd was fine and I could make a case for 3rd due to the sloppy brass in finals. But the crowd seemed to be in agreement with the 2nd place finish. They were a testament to hard work and not giving up. Star of Indiana was incredible all season. Come mid season I had wondered if they were going to become unbeatable. There were times they seemed to hit those kind of strides. But I feel the show peaked and perhaps too much was put into the Americana-style effects when they should have been cleaning feet. If you look at recaps Star was hit pretty hard in GE Visual and Visual. Still a fantastic show and a truly talented corps. With the right corrections they could have easily won, but 3rd was probably the correct placement. Blue Devils do music so superbly and 1992 was no different. I even enjoyed their percussion. I realize it was not where they needed it to compete for a title, but keep in mind most of the season they were in the thick of things. I'm sure it was disappointing to fall to 4th, and perhaps more annoying to see the spread between them and Star. Madison gave us the best version of City of Angles and were a blast. They were running top 4 for much of the season. Great show music with fantastic soloists. Crossmen, in many people's minds, gave us one of the best shows of the night. Honestly, they were amazing and one of my 2 favorite corps of the evening. It was clear that if Phantom did not perform well that Crossmen were going to beat them. The crowd went nuts for Crossmen. SCV also came out with a vengeance and performed their best show of the season. Fiddler on the Roof was special. The issue for SCV in 1992 was not show design or GE but I felt inexperience. They lit the crowd-up like Vegas lights and Bottle Dance was...well I actually don't think I heard it. The crowd was loud. Something had happened to Phantom. I could not put my finger on it, but here was a corps beating Cadets within 4 days of Quarterfinals that was often running top 4 or 5 during the season. After Finals they were sitting in 8th having been passed up by Crossmen and SCV. While all credit should go to Crossmen and SCV for cleaning and performing. Phantom had a wonderful show that year, and 1812 Overture was a huge hit. Maybe it was just a bad run, but for whatever reason they were dropped to 8th place. The corps seemed angry to me considering the way they played themselves off the field after retreat. It was a gross, forced, blasting kind of sound from their hornline. Not typical of Phantom. They seemed angry. I have heard stories. Do not know what is true. Phantom members from that era, or specifically from 1992, can chime in and comment. Would love to hear your thoughts. They were really the only corps on Finals night that did not perform well. The Blue Knights seemed to be on at Finals, and although their show was more symphonic, I just loved it. Still one of my favs. Velvet Knights were not only on fire but they may have received the largest ovation of the night (maybe). The crowd ate them up. It is a legendary show with all kinds of gags and some great music. I still remember this show almost as well today as I did back in 1992. Bluecoats were a very talented corps in 92, but their first attempt at the Beatles was not the best design. Having said that I still enjoyed them and thought they could throwdown when they needed to. It took them roughly 2 1/2 decades to give us another attempt at the Beatles, and boy was that worth the wait. Freelancers and Glassmen were both great. I was rooting for Glassmen to make top 12, but Freelancers did deserve it. Fantastic show! All in all 1992 was one of the top 5 DCI Finals I have ever attended...for many reasons. I would not get to see Finals in 93 or 94 so I was glad I made the trip to Madison. It was cold, but the sound in the stadium was crisp and clear, and the crowd ate it up for just about every corps.

Here's some fun... a look at last year's April camp

Reflections on 1990 - Part 2: So as I look at the back half of the 1990 season, and I remind myself of show scores using scorpsboard.com, several things were evident: 1) what a fabulous season it was with so many great shows, and 2) we still didn't know who would win. In fact, although the Cavaliers had made perhaps the biggest statement of the season with their dramatic win at DCI Midwest Finals, what we did not have yet was a contest with all top 6 corps in one place. This is something we don't see today due to how regional shows are scattered and how the tour operates. In 1990, at no time until DCI World Championship Finals week did all the corps finally match-up. This is something that would probably drive people crazy today. What ensued after the Cavaliers thriller on July 28 (detailed in my part 1 reflections) was simply chaos among the top 6, and plenty of excitement for the fans with all the corps performing so well. On July 29, one day later in Normal, IL, the Cavaliers would meet The Cadets (CBC at that time) and they would beat them as well, continuing their magic from the night before. I was not at this show. We drove home after DCI Midwest Finals - through the night. We were not tired however as we had so much to talk about. Of note with the Normal, IL show is Dutch Boy's score. They were clearly making their case for top 12 status and they had a beast of a trumpet soloist that year. Scores below from the Normal, IL show. Normal, IL DCI Prairie Brass Review 1 Cavaliers 88.6 2 Cadets of Bergen Cty. 87.6 3 Dutch Boy 76.7 4 Blue Knights 76.3 5 Spirit of Atlanta 73.2 6 Orlando Magic 72.1 7 Troopers 71.0 The scores from this point onward began to show just how close everybody was among the top 6 groups. On July 30 Phantom Regiment scored an 88.6 On July 31 Cadets hit an 88.0 in Ohio. The Blue Devils scored 88.6 in a win over the Cavaliers who scored 88.2 in Indiana. Star of Indiana beat Santa Clara 88.8 to 88.1 in Louisiana. August 1 had the Cavaliers beating Phantom 89.9 to 88.5 August 2 saw the Cavaliers top BD 88.8 to 88.2, with SCV scoring an 89.5 in Arkansas August 4 featured DCI South in Alabama and SCV topped the Cadets and Star in prelims 90.4 to a tie 90.1 (Cadets & Star), at Finals SCV won the show with 91.4 followed by Star at 90.9 and Cadets at 90.8 August 4 also featured DCI Canada: BD won prelims 90.1 to Cavaliers 90.0 and Phantom's 89.7. BD won finals 90.6 to Cavaliers 90.0 with Phantom in 3rd at 89.6. The scores for this show below: Hamilton, ONT DCI DCI Canada 1 Blue Devils 90.6 2 Cavaliers 90.0 3 Phantom Regiment 89.6 4 Madison Scouts 83.2 5 Dutch Boy 78.7 6 Blue Knights 77.4 7 Orlando Magic 76.3 8 Boston Crusaders 75.3 I did attend DCI Canada in 1990. This used to be one of my favorite shows to attend. It was a great drive to upstate NY for wings and a visit to Lake Chautauqua, then up to Buffalo and Niagara for some sight-seeing, and then a full day of drum corps on Saturday. Obvious I had seen all three of the top corps at this show back in Wisconsin at DCI Midwest. Despite BD's win (and I loved their show) I still felt they did not have the room to grow where Cavaliers still astounded me. My gut feeling was that Cavaliers were still top 3 in the end. Phantom's performers were amazing and that is largely what kept them in the race, but from a design point I felt they had the weakest design among these 3, Star, and Cadets. Keep in mind I had not seen SCV yet, and I only saw Cadets once (in Hershey) and while impressive their show was unfinished and not very clean. More scores: August 5: Cadets beat SCV in Atlanta, GA 90.3 to 90.0 and Cavaliers beat Phantom 91.0 to 90.4 in Michigan Putting the Spit & Polish on their Show August 6: At the Night Beat show in Charlotte, NC the Cadets beat Star of Indiana for the first time that year. Cadets scored 91.6 to Star's 90.3, and although I likely did not get these scores until later you can argue this was the turning point for Cadets. My friend insisted to me all summer that their stunning marching excellence, visual design, fantastic music book, killer percussion and top-rated guard would ultimately be the difference as they cleaned their show. I was not at this show so it is difficult to say if the spread was true and if Cadets were on fire, but it seemed from here on out that the judges had called their shot. The Cadets would not lose another show and as we followed scores into DCI East and DCI Finals it was apparent that The Cadets were in the no. 1 slot. On August 11 I drove to Allentown to meet my buddy who lived in Philly and we enjoyed DCI East prelims and finals. Prelim scores were as follows: Allentown, PA DCI DCI East Prelims 1 Cadets of Bergen Cty. 93.6 2 Blue Devils 92.1 3 Phantom Regiment 91.4 4 Madison Scouts 87.9 5 Crossmen 87.0 6 Freelancers 83.6 7 Dutch Boy 82.6 8 Boston Crusaders 82.2 9 Troopers 78.5 10 Orlando Magic 77.8 11 L'Insolite 72.6 12 Marauders 69.8 13 Colts 69.6 14 Black Gold 66.3 15 Carolina Crown 59.9 Keep in mind that Cavaliers, Star, and SCV were not at this show as they were at DCI Mid-America in Bloomington, IN. It was a long day of drum corps but I loved just about everyone. The Cadets were really impressive. The 1990 show is not my favorite Cadets show, nor do I think it's one of their legendary shows from an entertainment perspective, but all the things my buddy had detailed to me (he had seen them plenty of times that year) were really apparent. Compared to BD or Phantom, and even over what I could remember from seeing Star and Cavaliers, The Cadets marching, legs, upper body, intervals, complex visual design and tempo adjustments...it all seemed to be so professionally polished and seamless. The music book was wonderful with what I thought would likely be a top 3 brass line, perhaps the best percussion on the field, and best guard as well. It was clear they would be very difficult to beat. Of course, come DCI East Finals the Blue Devils put up a fight (as they always do) and Cadets had some major flubs that night. They still seemed like the better corps to me, even with the mistakes, but scores were much closer. Cadets would win 93.0 to BD's 92.7, with Phantom in 3rd at 92.3. At DCI Mid-America (also on August 11) Star of Indiana pulled by the Cavaliers and SCV. Scores below: Bloomington, IN DCI DCI Mid-America 1 Star of Indiana 92.5 2 Cavaliers 92.2 3 Santa Clara Vanguard 90.3 4 Bluecoats 86.5 5 Velvet Knights 84.0 6 Spirit of Atlanta 80.9 7 Blue Knights 80.3 8 Glassmen 72.9 9 Sky Ryders 72.6 10 Florida Wave 65.5 11 Limited Edition 62.9 To this point it was becoming more clear that Cadets might win Finals, but who would end up in 2nd and 3rd was totally up for grabs. On August 12 The Cavaliers returned the favor and beat Star 93.2 to 92.6. Also on August 12 The Cadets showed some real muscle in a win over BD 94.0 to 92.5 in Endicott, NY The following are how scores came out for quarterfinals in Buffalo: ------------- Thursday, August 16 ------------- Buffalo, NY DCI Quarter Finals 1 Cadets of Bergen Cty. 96.0 2 Cavaliers 95.9 3 Blue Devils 95.6 4 Star of Indiana 95.1 5 Santa Clara Vanguard 94.2 6 Phantom Regiment 93.6 7 Crossmen 90.6 8 Bluecoats 90.3 9 Madison Scouts 89.6 10 Velvet Knights 87.8 11 Spirit of Atlanta 85.9 12 Blue Knights 85.7 13 Dutch Boy 84.8 14 Freelancers 84.7 15 Boston Crusaders 84.0 16 Orlando Magic 82.8 17 Troopers 81.1 18 Glassmen 79.5 19 Sky Ryders 75.9 20 Ventures 74.7 21 L'Insolite 74.4 22 Academie Musicale 73.9 23 Colts 72.8 24 Marauders 72.7 25 Black Gold 70.0 Talk about close. Cadets were up by .1 over Cavaliers, BD was .3 back of Cavies and Star was .5 back of BD. I was happy Crossmen were in 7th since they had one of my favorite shows that year, and Bluecoats in 8th also made me very happy. I highlighted BK, Dutch Boy, and Freelancers because the next day would be interesting. Here are semifinal scores: -------------- Friday, August 17 -------------- Buffalo, NY DCI Semi-Finals 1 Cadets of Bergen Cty. 96.8 2 Cavaliers 96.2 3 Star of Indiana 95.4 4 Blue Devils 95.3 5 Phantom Regiment 94.1 6 Santa Clara Vanguard 94.0 7 Madison Scouts 90.8 8 Crossmen 90.6 9 Bluecoats 90.3 10 Velvet Knights 88.5 11 Spirit of Atlanta 86.9 12 Dutch Boy 86.3 13 Blue Knights 85.1 1.2 down to DB 14 Boston Crusaders 84.1 15 Freelancers 83.9 were only .1 behind DB at quarters but judges hit them hard at semis 16 Orlando Magic 83.2 17 Troopers 79.4 Cadets opened their lead a little, Star made a move over BD and Phantom jumped SCV. I felt as if Star or the Cavaliers could have been 2nd place and Finals were going to be fun. ------------- Saturday, August 18 ------------- Buffalo, NY DCI DCI World Championship 1 Cadets of Bergen Cty. 97.7 2 Cavaliers 96.9 3 Star of Indiana 96.5 4 Phantom Regiment 95.3 ^ Blue Devils 95.3 6 Santa Clara Vanguard 94.0 7 Crossmen 89.6 8 Bluecoats 89.2 9 Madison Scouts 88.7 10 Velvet Knights 87.3 11 Spirit of Atlanta 83.4 12 Dutch Boy 82.2 I'll say it again, 1990 is not my favorite Cadets show but it's a darn good one. I don't consider it one of their legendary shows like 83, 84, 85, 87 or 2000, 2011 and a few others. That aside, WOW did they perform. You had to be their live. Video does this no justice. They put the spit and polish on the visual and musical package and performed their best show of the season. The Cavaliers were stunning and seemed to have the crowd pulling for them (at least where I sat). Star took brass as I thought they might and were also stunning. In the end I think Star had my favorite show that year. Crossmen were a close 2nd, then Cavaliers, Cadets, BD, Velvet Knights, SCV, and Bluecoats. But in all honestly there was no show that I did not enjoy. Finals in 1990 was a fun ride with lots of entertainment, and at no time did all the top 6 corps meet at one show until Quarterfinals during world championship week. There was plenty of suspense, great competition, and the scores were all over the place. I loved it. Thanks for reading. I had some fun times that summer and attended a good number of shows (not all of which I detailed here). I was younger and could travel more in the summer, and for me this was one of the best.

A few thoughts from 1990: I went to an early show in Canton with 2 friends (the old Fawcett Stadium) to see Bluecoats, Phantom, Star, and others. The show was held June 16. We were mostly excited to see Bluecoats after their 1989 production, and perhaps even more excited to see Phantom Regiment after their fantastic 1989 production. Phantom won the show by a BIG margin (5+ points); but it was Star of Indiana that BLEW US AWAY! Just watching them march onto the field in those uniforms was attention-getting, but then they hit you with that sound and by the end of the opener our jaws were in our laps. It only took a minute into Star's show to realize they were making a move on top 3 despite the huge gap between them and PR. PR had to follow Star and they were much cleaner and ready for the season, but you could tell Star's show was going to surpass them at some point. Scores from the June 16 show in Canton: Canton, OH DCM 1 Phantom Regiment 72.7 2 Star of Indiana 66.9 3 Bluecoats 64.3 4 Northern Aurora 40.0 5 Limited Edition 36.1 6 Northmen-WI 17.1 I drove to Columbus, OH on June 18 to see some of the same units plus Glassmen and a few others. By then Star had cut the lead to around 4 points, and my opinion had not changed. I still felt Star was going to be a top 3 corps. Columbus, OH DCM 1 Phantom Regiment 73.0 2 Star of Indiana 68.9 3 Bluecoats 65.2 4 Glassmen 53.9 5 Pioneer 38.3 6 Northern Aurora 35.7 7 Limited Edition 34.7 8 Northmen-WI 26.8 Blue Devils were undefeated on the West Coast and were the first to score an 80, registering an 80.5 on June 23 in Riverside. SCV was about 2.7 points behind them. The only way to follow other corps news was through DCW magazine or you could call a phone number to get scores. Madison had gone west that summer and were at that Riverside show, sitting in 3rd about 2.7 points under SCV. My next live show was Hershey, PA on July 7. It was the first match, I think, between Cadets and Star, plus Crossmen and Bluecoats were there. Again Star looked incredible and were cleaning nicely, but we were impressed with Cadets. My buddy in particular felt Cadets were marching a killer visual book and he felt Cadets legs and overall body technique was quite a bit stronger than Star. Cadets percussion section was also a beast. Cadets were also not finished with their show and that caused some of the difference in point total. I was still more impressed with Star, but I could see where Cadets were going with that show. Crossmen also blew me away. I love that show. Their percussion section was driving and fun and staged so perfectly. Great charts...I think this was their NY Voices show (or was that 91?). Hershey, PA DCE Hershey Spectacular 1 Star of Indiana 81.9 2 Cadets of Bergen Cty. 80.3 3 Crossmen 73.5 4 Bluecoats 72.6 5 Florida Wave 52.6 6 Limited Edition 48.3 By July 14 scores were all over the place, and if you were following DCW and scores by phone all you knew was this: BD and Phantom were still undefeated. Star was cleaning and looking very strong. Cadets were cleaning as well, and SCV and Cavaliers were also in the game. Here is a look at scores from July 14-15: JULY 14 In Georgia Star was at an 85.7 and Cadets an 83.5 in Madison, WI Phantom was sitting at an 86.2 and Scouts at an 80.6 In Concord, CA BD was sitting at an 85.6 and SCV at an 83.6 Dutch Boy had scored an 81.2 with Ventures at 72.6 in Ontario, Canada JULY 15 On the 15th Phantom's scored dipped to 84.2 and the Cavaliers were at an 83.1 JULY 16 In Ogden, UT BD also dropped some to 84.1 and SCV was at an 82.5. VK was sitting at a 73.6 and beginning to clean what would be a fun and excellent show. Cadets hit an 84.7 in Columbia, SC JULY 18 Cadets scored and 86.1 in Virginia and looked to be putting some major polish on a most difficult show Star on the same day in Illinois scored an 83.0 to Bluecoats 75.1 Scores were all over the place and it was most difficult to tell who had the show, who had GE, Visual, Brass, Guard, Percussion, etc. I was still confident Star had the brass and that they were a top 3 candidate, but I kept up with scores and it seemed the top 6 or 7 corps were all sporting fantastic shows. JULY 19 At College Park, MD the Cadets knocked out an 89.7 to Dutch Boy's 79.3 Interesting note, while Cadets did not have some of the other top contenders at this show to truly compare scores, my buddy (who lived in Philly at the time) had gone to this show. He called me and said "Look out...here come the Cadets." He was most impressed again with the visual program and the level of marching and overall execution of the show. I believe he said this was one of the first shows that they performed the full closer with a Z-pull that reversed and went into an S-pull. He said the crowd went nuts. There score would come down over the next few shows, but not by much and it was clear they were in the running. On Saturday, July 28 I attended the Drum Corps Midwest prelims and finals in Whitewater, WI. I drove up (from Ohio) with 3 other friends. My buddy from Philly was one of them who drove in to make the trip with us. This was to be a battle, at least many thought, between Phantom and BD. Both were still undefeated even though Star, Cavaliers, SCV, and Cadets were all beginning to score well. We could not have predicted what we would be witness to, but to this day it remains one of my favorite drum corps trips. After prelims BD had won with an 88.1, Phantom was 2nd with an 87.3, and Cavaliers were only .3 behind Phantom. Bluecoats were sitting in 4th and Crossmen in 5th. VK and Blue Knights were in 6th and 7th after Prelims. Of all the corps that morning, I thought Crossmen had my favorite show, but I fell in love with BD's play on Tommy. Still one of my favorite Blue Devils shows. During the break between prelims and finals our conversations were all over the place in terms of what we thought from an enjoyment standpoint and competition. My buddy from Philly was clear that Cadets would eventually beat everyone at this show and that their visual mastery, cleanliness, and complex musical book would ultimately put them ahead. I was still thinking Star was the best thing I had seen, but I also fell in love with the Cavaliers show and thought they might pass Phantom at DCI Midwest finals later that night. I thought BD was the clear-cut winner from prelims. Another friend was all Phantom and was ###### that BD had topped them. Here is a rundown of how Prelims played out: Whitewater, WI DCI DCI Midwest Prelims 1 Blue Devils 88.1 2 Phantom Regiment 87.3 3 Cavaliers 87.0 4 Bluecoats 80.5 5 Crossmen 78.5 6 Velvet Knights 75.9 7 Blue Knights 74.0 8 Dutch Boy 71.8 9 Spirit of Atlanta 70.7 10 Troopers 67.5 11 Colts 63.0 12 L'Insolite 62.6 13 Marauders 58.0 14 Limited Edition 50.8 What happened at MIdwest Finals is one of the great stories for the ages in DCI. Everybody performed their hearts out, including Bluecoats, Crossmen, and Velvet Knights who had some amazing energy and shows that I fell in love with. VK was a gas, and Crossmen continued to be perhaps my 2nd favorite show after Star. But when it came to the top 3 at this contest, it was the Cavaliers who rose-up and slaughtered the competition. I could not believe how well they were performing. They must have received 5 or 6 ovations. Talk about being "ON FIRE." The scores reflected what they had done. The Cavaliers jumped over Phantom and BD and won the show by 2.5 over Phantom (who jumped BD) and 2.6 over BD. And to be honest, not a single person in the stands that night seemed to be surprised. The Cavaliers won every caption. That might have been shocking, but I do believe they deserved it. It had become clear at that point that all the talk of BD and Phantom being undefeated and potentially being the top 2 corps of the summer was no longer the story. Now the story was 1) are the Cavaliers in the lead?, 2) where do Star and Cadets fit into this, and 3) how about SCV? Things were still unclear, but what WAS CLEAR was that The Cavaliers were likely a top 3 corps to be reckoned with. And just like that the narrative on the season had shifted in a dramatic way. Below are Finals scores from Midwest. Whitewater, WI DCI DCI Midwest 1 Cavaliers 89.4 2 Phantom Regiment 86.9 3 Blue Devils 86.8 4 Bluecoats 82.8 5 Crossmen 81.3 6 Velvet Knights 79.7 7 Dutch Boy 76.0 8 Blue Knights 73.7 ^ Spirit of Atlanta 73.7 10 Troopers 69.7 I'll update part 2 of my reflections later on. Thanks for reading.