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I think it went something like ...... If you're flying around back there and no judges are around, what are you going to write? ANYTHING I WANT!!!!!!!

I attended a number of shows in 1997 (I'm thinking 5 or 6), including semis and finals in Orlando, FL. The more I think about 97 the more I realize it was a pretty solid year. I don't quite have it up there with 92, 90, 95, 88, but maybe on par or close to 93, 94. Quick reflections: Blue Devils simply had a total show, top to bottom, with fantastic music arrangements, pretty nice drill, and killer performance levels as usual. A fun show that I did not think Cadets had a shot to catch. The Cadets were amazing in many respects. Difficult show. No show came close to this demand. The opener alone had more notes flying around than you could shake a stick at. Visual was wild. It took them a long time to clean, and as the show got cleaner I felt they simply could not squeeze enough GE to win. Brass Band music is fun and all (they performed music of Philip Sparke that summer, a British composer), and it contains a lot of technical skill but did not lend as well to a theme or GE. Having said that, they performed a similar type show in 1998 and won with it. If you want to hear a demanding music book, definitely give this show a listen. From a technical perspective the show has a WOW effect. SCV was back in the top 3 which was nice to see. They last appeared in the top 3 in 1989, so it had been 8 years. This is one heck of a show and might have been my favorite at Finals -- but I think Madison still gets my vote for Favorite show. The Bernstein music of On The Town, On The Waterfront, and The Age of Anxiety was well arranged. I think a lot of folks in the crowd were rooting for SCV to pull into 2nd. They were only .7 from Cadets, who were .8 from BD. It wasn't one of those years where we had a top 3 or 4 all within .5 or .6. Phantom was 2.7 behind SCV, so there was a little spacing in there. Phantom Regiment took 4th and the 3 corps behind them were all in the running for a potential top 5, top 4 spot. Madison was only .3 behind PR, Crossmen about .9 behind Madison, and Cavaliers only .2 behind Crossmen. Of those 4 shows I liked Phantom the least. Usually I am a huge Phantom fan, especially from the 80s and 90s, but pulling off a Wagner show is not easy. Sometimes you can arrange a small portion of a song, like Elsa's, and make it work for a show; but Wagner's music is long and very developed. If you try to truncate his melodies you end up with something that does not sound so good. If you cut, splice, and chop-up portions of his works to fit into a 12.5 minute show there are strong chances you get a GE product that doesn't flow and music that is less than satisfying. These were the challenges for Phantom. All in all they did an amazing job of it when you think about the task, but I thought the show was still long-winded. Having said all that, I do think Opera can be put on the field. With what corps are doing today and all the bells and whistles they have to work with I think Phantom could definitely do something like this, but it would take some masterful cutting and arranging of the scenes. I personally think a Mozart Marriage of Figaro show could be spectacular. Phantom had great luck with Puccini. Then again, when I think Opera on the field I somehow get this image in my head of VK in 1992 with the "fat lady" singing. Madison Scouts were almost as good as they were in 1995. The show was another classic Madison audience KILLER that had people looking to throw babies onto the field. One of the 3 guys I went to the show with (we all drove down from Ohio) was so overtaken by Scouts that he simply couldn't watch or get into Phantom, SCV, or Cadets. It wasn't until BD performed that he had finally calmed down and was able to appreciate the excellence and cleanliness of BD. When I asked him about Cadets he said something to the effect of "Yeah, they play a lot of notes and perform nicely. Let me know when they make me stand." Madison had that kind of effect on people. The Scouts were definitely my favorite show, just as in 1995. It's another classic 90s action-packed jam fest -- Madison style -- with a nice pirate story, cool percussion feature, and perhaps a company front for the ages. Watching the DM turn to the fans, take a photo of them, then waive the pirate flag, then turn to the corps and take a photo of them (all while they continue to hold a long chord), and then conduct the corps to the finish line was very cool. Now THAT'S what you call General Effect! 🙂 In all honesty I had Madison in 4th. The Crossmen were incredible. It took them some time to clean this show. For a lot of the season I remember thinking they could finish 8th or 9th, or be top 6. As they did in 1992 the corps grabbed the 6 spot. Opening with Birdland was bold and daring I thought, but what a great arrangement (I think more based on the Manhattan Transfer arr and not Maynard). My favorite part of the show was "You Are My Sunshine." I loved it so much that I arranged the song, very loosely based on what I heard Crossmen do, for the YSU Marching Band some years later. The closer always reminded me of 27th Lancers, but Crossmen put their own stamp on it. Interesting note: I think Michael Klesch, now brass arranger for Carolina Crown, wrote the brass book for Crossmen and also did a lot of the cleaning of the brass line down the stretch. Overall the Crossmen had a really good 1990s. This show is up there with the others from that decade. I would rank it this way: 1992 Songs for the Planet Earth New York Voices music in 90 91 Pat Metheny show 97 The Colors of Jazz 1998 The Music of Pat Metheny (2nd show they did of his music that decade) 1996 The Voices of Jazz The 90s were a great decade for Crossmen. This is really great music for the car, walking, and just listening while working at home. I'll chime in with more on my thoughts about 1997 a little later.

Here is the repertoire from the top 26 corps in 1997 Blue Devils 1 98.400 As Time Goes By . . . - Casablanca * One Night in Bangkok (from Chess) * A Night in Tunisia * As Time Goes By (from Casablanca) The Cadets 2 97.600 Celebration - Celebration * Year of the Dragon Santa Clara Vanguard 3 96.900 Fog City Sketches - Pas de Deux (from On the Town) * Presto barbaro (from On the Waterfront) * City Dreams (from On the Waterfront) * The Masque (from The Age of Anxiety) * Variation 14, Poco piu vivace (from The Age of Anxiety) * The Epilogue (from The Age of Anxiety) Phantom Regiment 4 94.200 The Ring - Hagen's Call to His Clan (from Gotterdammerung - The Ring) * Magic Fire Music (from Die Walküre - The Ring) * Hammering of the Ring (from The Ring) * Die Gotterdammerung (from The Ring) Madison Scouts 5 93.900 The Pirates of Lake Mendota - The Adventure Begins * A day in port (Songs of the Quay) * Moods of the Sea (based on Tall Ships Suite) * Confrontation and Finale Crossmen 6 93.000 The Colors of Jazz - Birdland * You are My Sunshine * Niner Two The Cavaliers 7 92.800 The Firebird - Introduction to Rite of Spring * Berceuse (from The Firebird Suite) * Carrilon (from The Firebird Suite) * Retinue (from The Firebird Suite) * Infernal Dance (from the Firebird Suite) * Finale (from the Firebird Suite) Glassmen 8 90.000 The Age of Gold: The Music of Georges Bizet - Scene and Variations * Changing of the Guard (from Carmen) * Intermezzo - The Mountain Pass * Farandole (from L'Arlesienne) Blue Knights 9 88.200 Selections from Ben-Hur - Prelude (from Ben Hur) * Overture to Ben Hur * The Battle, parts I and II (from Ben Hur) * Lithe Girl, Brown Girl (2nd movement from The Lovers) * Father In Heaven (from Prayers of Kierkegaard) Magic of Orlando 10 85.700 Carnivale: Celebrations for Sinner and Saint - Lil Liza Jane * When the Saints Go Marching In * Bourbon Street Crawl * Mass * Mintzer's Voodoo Magic (In the Eighties) * Do Whatcha Wanna Bluecoats 11 85.600 Midnight Blue . . . Jazz After Dark, The Bluecoats' Way - Harlem Nocturne * Moon * You and the Night and the Music Carolina Crown 12 85.000 Postcards from Britain - Crown Imperial * Terpsichore, Mvt 4 * Nimrod (from Enigma Variations) * Jig (from St. Paul's Suite) Colts 13 84.100 The Music of Blood, Sweat and Tears - God Bless the Child * Lucretia McEvil * Hi-De-Ho (That Old Sweet Roll) * 40,000 Headmen Kiwanis Kavaliers 14 82.700 Evita - Requiem for Evita (from Evita) * Buenos Aires * A New Argentina * And The Money Kept Rolling In * You Must Love Me (from Evita) * Don't Cry For Me Argentina (from Evita) Boston Crusaders 15 80.500 Portraits of Our Homeland, Conflicts and Resolution - Original Fanfare * Chester Overture * Lincoln Portrait * Eternal Father * Navy Hymn * Victory at Sea Academie Musicale 16 79.400 Metamorphisis: A Choreographic Suite in Four Acts - Totus Tuus * Quasi Una Fantasia, 5th Movement * Symphonie of Psalms, 3rd Movement * Pie Jesu (from Requiem) Spirit of Atlanta 17 76.500 Southern Jazz - Spirit Style - Georgia on My Mind * Old Man River (from Show Boat) * Amazing Grace * Walk Him Up the Stairs (from Purlie) * Let It Be Me Les Etoiles Dorion Vaudreuil 18 77.400 The 1960s - The Turbulent Years from Nixon * Xizor's Theme (from Star Wars) * The Seduction of Princess Leia * The Creation (from Frankenstein) Pioneer 19 76.800 Riverdance - Riverdance * The Heart's Cry (from Riverdance) * Shivna (from Riverdance) * Woman of Sidhe (from Riverdance) * Russian Dervish * American Wake (from Riverdance) * Firedance (from Riverdance) * Home and the Heartland (from Riverdance) Mandarins 20 73.100 Passport - Ghost Train (from Ghost Train Triptych) * The Ride (from Ghost Train Triptych) * At the Station (from Ghost Train Triptych) * The Motive Revolution (from Ghost Train Triptych) * Bullet (from Ghost Train Triptych) Southwind 21 71.700 Scenes from Childhood (Zimmer, Holsinger) - Nilesdance * Children's March * Daydreaming * Iron Will East Coast Jazz 22 71.300 Threshold: The Music of Patrick Williams - Mull of Kintyre * And on the Sixth Day * This Witch * Threshold Spartans 23 69.800 Three Revelations - Awakening * Contemplation * Rejoicing Patriots 24 69.500 Medieval Visions - Dragonheart * First Knight Troopers 25 68.000 American Salute * The Way West * The Magnificent Seven * America The Beautiful Blue Stars 26 67.200 Divine Comedy - The Inferno (from The Divine Comedy) * Paradiso (from The Divine Comedy) * The Ascension (from The Divine Comedy)

fan-#######-tastic

Cadebts

Dolts Bluegoats Music Pity

1997 For me that means Crossmen. I went to Finals in Orlando by myself in '97. I flew down, spent the days in Disney and the evenings watching the shows. After Finals I went to dinner with some other folks I had met in the stands, we talked and laughed for a while, and I mentioned I had a 2:00 flight the next day. Someone suggested I could go get on standby for an earlier flight, which sounded like a good idea. So I did. I managed to get a seat on a 9:00am flight the next morning. When I took my seat I noticed the girl next to me was wearing a Crossmen jacket and had her medal around her neck. I told her how much I had enjoyed their show, and we struck up a conversation which lasted all the way to Bradley airport in Hartford. She told me about her summer, and school, and her dreams. Just before we were landing we hit some turbulence, and she grabbed my hand. The world stood still. As we pulled into the terminal I screwed up the courage to ask her out on a date. It may have just been my imagination, but when I did I swear that every other conversation on that plane stopped. It was like everyone was holding their breath. Lucky for me she didn't shoot me down in front of everyone. She agreed to go to a DCA show with me that weekend. There's a lot more to the story, but what it all comes down to is we're going to have our 20th wedding anniversary this summer. Unfortunately we're going through a very difficult time right now. She has an extremely serious medical condition that we are frankly just trying to survive. If any of you have any spare karma to share we could sure use it right now... For me 1997 will always be about the Crossmen.

This meme has been circulating for the past day or two: These are some responses I've seen: -- The Polite -- Crowded Horse -- The Why -- Mounting Crows -- Run DMV -- Stalking Heads Strictly speaking that last entry added one letter. If that's allowed, then subtracting one letter should be, too. - - - - - - - - - Can you do the same with some corps names?

Amazing Zoom call, discussed shows, DCI history, technique, etc

I've always felt that Regiment designers in 97 tried to be smarty pants (or innovative, depending on your perspective) in a couple ways that didn't quite work out: pacing and minimialism.

Be well...Both of you

I think part of what Phantom faced in '97 was that it had to follow '96. In '96 the whole was greater than the sum of it's parts. In '97 all the parts were good, often great - including the drill. it missed the one ingredient that I think the audience was expecting - a repeat of how '96 made them feel. We did not need to know about the music in '96. The music made us feel. Everything built to support that music made us feel. What was "Defiant Heart" about? I can't answer that. I can only recall how it made me feel.

Please understand, I don't have a problem with the pit. In fact, I played in the Pit for part of my freshman year at UW-Whitewater. Proof even exists in the 1982-83 UW-Whitewater yearbook. My issue is that they have become overkill. It is now "Pit with drum and bugle accompaniment." That is my issue.

These two words have never been used consecutively.

LOVED this show! '74 was my first year going to Championships (11 at the time). Finals night in particular was amazing! The last 6 corps had the place JUMPING!

I'm sure it has already been said many times and I am probably repeating the comments of many. To be sure, THIS IS WAR! The Pits are the PITS!! They have become OVERKILL!!! Most shows have a significant portion of their show as something VIRTUAL!!!! What happened to this being "MARCHING ARTS"?!?!?!? I am prepared to suffer the SLINGS AND ARROWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1997 was my first full summer on RAMD, so it was my first experience with daily scores, analysis and opinions. So many opinions. Very eye-opening from someone who had no real interaction with other DCI fans to that point. I did get to see the Killeen show live (Phantom and Madison headlined it), which was a blast - Madison's Pirates show was one that was much better live than on video. Overall, the top 12 in 97 were one of the three strongest of the 90's, along with '92 and '95. Not a weak program in the bunch, and program difficulties were increasing leaps and bounds every year, it felt like. Blue Devils had a friggin' *clean* show. They also managed to tie everything together with a nice Casablanca bow without literally retelling the story. Night in Tunisia has my musical highlight of the show, where the hornline just starts blasting old-school nightclub chords with screamers over the top. And yeah, the box drill moves - spectacular. (I also love the orchestral part from One Night in Bangkok as their opener. I've heard it from a looooot of marching bands ever since.) The Cadets had such a bright, signature sound. It's a shame they got away from it down the road. It's one of those things that when you're listening it makes you stop and go "oh. It's the Cadets." Their '97 show was a great casserole of all of the things they do well - breakneck drill, technical horns, aggressive battery, guard work on guard work - very nice! Can't say anything they didn't do well. BD was just... better. It took me a little while to grow into SCV, as the show leans hard into angry chords. I think like all of us DCI fans in the 90's, we still weren't used to the New Normal. But man, this show in retrospect is so much fun. On the Waterfront is in-your-face aggressive, and the Epilogue at the end just keeps building angry on angry. They doubled down in '98, but this was definitely a "new" style from Vanguard. Phantom had a masterful brass line for The Ring. They also had an okay drumline, so-so show design and a bit of a visual mess. It's hard to reconcile that they had the whole of however many operas to source from and ended up with ... some pretty blah charts. Trying to go minimal in the color wheel backfired on them too. I would have put them in 6th. What Phantom lacked in passion, Madison brought in spades. Musically, Pirates of Lake Mendota had a little more sophisticated Madison sound, and when I saw them live midsummer, I really did have their horns above Phantom. It felt like they were really putting the pieces together to make a run in the scores, but it kind of tailed off at the end. I'd have put them in 4th. Regardless, the show itself was one of Madison's best 90's productions, and I'll rewatch it any time it's in front of me. Crossmen's 1997 show might be their best of the 90's. On a technical level, it's the best musicians they had, for sure, and they organically created a *ton* of wow moments. Saw them in person - they were loud loud loud. Colts that summer had hype for blowing everyone's faces off, but seeing them at the same show, Crossmen topped them pretty soundly. The big chord at the end brought the house down. (And as mentioned earlier, this for me too is the definitive Birdland.) I'd have had them likely in 5th. The Cavaliers had a great drill feature to start the show, and nobody online could figure out what they were doing. Again, hindsight - cause in 2020 it's no big deal, but at the time they turned heads wherever they went. ("How can you reward a corps with only 8 minutes of music wah wah") Probably the right placement for them - they were better than everyone behind them, but didn't generate the energy the ones above them did. Glassmen reinvented themselves in '97, and they really became what most people think of when they hear of modern-day Glassmen. Unis kept the gold and black but added the chestpiece, and the music leaned heavily into the symphonic/orchestral. Bizet was a safe choice, but they maximized the hell out of it. Their Farandole closer to me is better than what the Cadets did in '02. Also charmingly naive of us - we were all scared to death someone would fall off of their millions of ladders on the field. If only we have seen what the Bluecoats were going to do to their backfield conductors in the 2010's... Blue Knights were only one year removed from what felt like a young corps and safe show, and they ratcheted up the difficulty pretty significantly in '97. Ben Hur was a great choice for a dark, aggressive vehicle that let them really throw the show in everyone's faces. Their battery was the star of the show - a lot of notes, and very, very clean. Magic of Orlando had two different shows - the first three minutes, then the other 9. The first three were awesome, in recreating a Mardi Gras parade and feel that encouraged the audience to participate. The drum major's were a hoot. Then the "real" show started and it felt flat against the rest of it. This was IIRC the last of the Robert W. Smith years, and along with '96, the peak of Magic as a corps. Bluecoats went a little risque (for their standards) in '97, and their show is fun. Not revolutionary, but fun, clean, professional... however you want to term it. I've spoken with a few 90's BC vets who feel that for those in the corps, this was probably their favorite/best show of that era. It's definitely worth watching. Carolina Crown had a 12th place show that didn't *feel* like a 12th place show. In fact, until I saw the list posted earlier, I would have sworn they were 8th. Terpsichore is one of my favorite 90's horn charts - catchy and fun. Yeah, yeah, they borrowed from 2-7. So what? I wish they hadn't used Nimrod again, but that's about all I can complain about. Other highlights from '97 include the Colts opener, which just peeled your face off, Kiwanis Kavaliers and their 8 bass drums (I still sing their version of The Money Kept Rolling In), Academie's Pie Jesu was just gorgeous, and Pioneer's whole #### show (which was a definite step up in quality as well as demand, but didn't quite generate the excitement the '96 show did). Coming next: in '98 the Cadets put on what might be the (deliberately) ugliest opening big horn hits in a championship show to date. SCV says "hold my beer" with their whole program, and BD plays Tchaikovsky. Nothing strange about any of this. Nothing at all.

Correcto! One of the first DCI corps I saw other than Troopers. Probably was at the Cheyenne show in 1984

I appreciate that. We face so much. So many obstacles. So many challenges. We sometimes put our differences at the forefront to make them the chief obstacles we face. We then lose the most simple of shared experiences that bring us together. A friend of mine lost their significant loved one during this crap we are dealing with. Colon cancer was the culprit. Cancer treatments that reduced immunity was the reason that this person died with one person at home. No family could visit - only a very protected hospice nurse. It was only a matter of time until they died in their home. He died two weeks ago. My friend got the ashes from the funeral home last week. There has been no service. It will have to be at a later date. We all go through crap. Every single one of us goes through crap. I hope we try to remember that.

There are times when I call on that strength from my mother when dealing with crap that I face. You have faced crap. I read your posts. I feel I understand some of what you face as a parent with what you post. We have differences, in some so many. Yet we share a lot. Thank you for your humility.

Jersey Surf: Jersey Smurf ...Gargamels worst nightmare. Each year they play music from Scheherazade.

Or Sansa Clara Vanguard. Arya will be so jealous.

Taps dedicated to his memory today at 3:00 PM.

“Once more unto the breach.” I start my new job tomorrow. I won’t lie, I feel a little nervous— haven’t touched a handpiece since early March, new city, new job and under a double layer of PPE (including an N95, which I’ve never done before). Should be interesting. The state also recommends taking a change of clothes to put our scrubs into at the end of the day. Plus 2x/day temperature checks. Now if we only had the house situation figured out, LOL. One thing at a time...

Minnesota Bras

Some open class: Fold Blue Devils P Liver City Rhythm Golden Umpire Peat Wave

Crassmen Lavaliers Spirit of Mylanta (stretching the rules)

They creep me out. It was even worse after I saw that episode of Black Mirror with the robotic dog.

Thought this might be some sort of rage thread against Will Pitts. Phew.

Bridging the generations and the distance, members of two pivotal years of the Boston Crusaders had the unique opportunity to connect over the weekend. On Saturday night, the 80th Anniversary corps consisting of our current 2020 members, and the 50th Anniversary Corps (alumni from the 1990 corps) met over Zoom for a unique history night. With notable alumni......... and many more in attendance, both corps enjoyed an evening of storytelling, nostalgia, and celebration of all things BAC. As the 1990 alumni traded stories of old rivalries, nicknames, and memorable moments on the road, the 2020 members enjoyed learning and interacting with the corps who preceded them. The 2020 members enjoyed hearing from alumni that went on to successful careers in a variety of fields including professional musicians, engineers, medical professionals, and current BAC staff and board members. Impressive attendance, participation and excitement from the 1990 corps, now 30 years removed from the anniversary season, is a testament to the bond that was formed. Even though the 2020 corps will not convene for a traditional history night at Most Precious Blood this summer, we were able to bridge two notable generations and provide a connection that otherwise would not have been possible. https://bostoncrusaders.org/2020/04/bridging-the-generations-and-the-distance/

Today, my wife and I got tested for the virus and the antibodies. It will take a few days to get the results for the virus, but we got the antibody test results in about ten minutes I tested negative for both antibodies but my wife tested positive for IgM antibodies but not IgG antibodies. This means that she probably has been exposed to the virus within the past ten days and is in the asymptomatic stages of the disease. Your body kicks off IgM antibodies when you are first infected with a coronavirus ... it’s the shotgun antibody. Later in the infection, the body kicks out the more specific IgG antibodies ... it’s the rifle antibody. If you have only IgG antibodies, and no symptoms, congrats, you made it through a bout of the disease. If you have both, you are in the midst of COVID, and if like my wife, you are only positive for IgM antibodies, you may be looking at the beginning of a horrible road ahead. We won’t know for sure until the COVID test comes back, but she is very scared. Please remember that Hope has RA, and because of her medication, she has a suppressed immune system.

Dave Dugan-- the original drum major for the Blue Devils (1970-1976) -- suffered a massive stroke last night and passed away less than an hour ago. I'm sure Jerry Seawright was there to welcome him to Heaven. RIP, Dave.

I am the youngest of 6 children. My mother smoked like a chimney. I won't criticize her as she herself had challenges in her life back in the day when smoking was common - and accepted. She had a great deal to endure as a child. She became sick when I was very young. This was during the time when kids were sheltered from the truth. We weren't told everything and we had no way to know. What adults said remained with them and the young were kept in the dark. She started to have prolonged stays in the hospital. When she came out she would have violent vomit attacks in the morning. Loud attacks - to this day I cannot listen to anyone being sick. It's as if her attacks shook the whole house. It was not a large house for a family of 8. When she was out of the hospital, she would send me on "errands." She would fill my hand with bills and change and off I went to the corner store to buy her cigarettes. Back then there was no question about age, someone as young as myself was not buying them for my own use. She always made sure to give me extra to buy a small brown bag of surprise candy. Off I went to get her what she had asked for and to divulge in the candy I got when I came home. Shortly after she started to invite each of my brothers and sisters into my parents bedroom alone. Eventually it came to my turn. I remember the moment. She told me she was dying and that when she was gone I would have to be strong. I cried. I remember being confused. As is with youth, the summer continued a short while after that. Then the day before Labour Day our family was summoned for a trip to the hospital. We were brought into my mother's hospital room where she laid unconscious, tubes inserted into her nose to assist with breathing. Nothing was said, at least not to me. The next day I was playing at a neighbors down the street. It was the day before school was going to start. My sister called me at the neighbors and told me that I had to come home now. I was mad, why did I have to stop and come home? My family was all at home when my father had arrived from the hospital. He brought my mother's best friend with him. I remember this like it was yesterday. He came in the front door and announced "Kids - your mother died today." I would later understand that my mother was violently ill from chemo treatments. There was one point that the doctors had to tell her that there was no chance, she did not have long. Her lung cancer has spread. That is when she chose to tell six children individually that her time was short. It took me a while later to recognize the strength she had to do this. She was an only child and wanted a big family to not have her children deal with what she had dealt with. We all have different paths. You now have the chance to take a different direction.