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Showing content with the highest reputation on 11/30/2020 in all areas

  1. Re: Sunrisers and BAC "bells" "...both had John Flowers as drum instructor. " Close. Both had the incomparable Gerry Shellmer as percussion instructor. When the VFW decreed that Boston would be DQ'ed if they used the bells horizontally (they had been legal since the 30's if played upright, like a glockenspiel, with one mallet), Gerry said: "They put the bells IN JAIL, the a..holes." He was never one to mince words.
    2 points
  2. That show rocked our world Greg! Can I humbly offer the original Spartacus in 1981? Told a complete story.
    2 points
  3. 1969 BAC used bells in their show, except at VFW Nats when they were forced to remove them, ruining a GREAT percussion section. I was in the stands at finals in Philly; it was very sad to me. I had seen them a few times with the bells over the summer, when my GSC corps was not competing. "Pop Goes the Weasel" and "Unsquare Dance" were their percussion features; they were ruined with no bells. Also gutsy in 69 was the corps marching to "Unsquare Dance", a piece in 7/8. They basically marched 4/4 time, to not get hit on the Cadence sheet that was used back then. So every other measure of 7, they were marching to upbeats.
    2 points
  4. http://soundsport.com/rules-faq/ "Teams can consist of 5 or more members."
    2 points
  5. The original Bottle Dance from SCV. Had no idea what the reaction would be.
    2 points
  6. Bluecoats 2016...unis, ramps, etc.
    2 points
  7. I’m a graduate student and I’m 57 years old. Really looking forward to an extra year or two of DCI eligibility. Have a call into the Blue Devils regarding whether muskets are allowed in the rifle line.
    2 points
  8. The following is from an article posted on the African Americans In Drum Corps site on facebook. Thomas L. Brown did the research behind the article and wrote it. I am happy to re-post the article over here for all to read. Enjoy our history in Drum Corps. In 1957, the George Washington Carver Gay Blades, an African American senior drum and bugle corps; were formed as The Masonics out of the Prince Hall Masonic Temple, Belmont Ave., Newark, NJ. Their original 27 horns and 7 drums, won the first contest that they entered. In the late 50's, the name of the corps was changed to the George Washington Carver Gay Blades, sponsored by the Washington Carver Chapter, Order of Pythagorean, P.H.A. Newark, NJ. The Carver Gay Blades won championships in both the Yankee and Northeastern Circuits. In 1959, they were undefeated in the Yankee Circuit and were champions in both the Yankee and Northeastern Circuits. In 1960, they repeated as champions in the Northeastern Circuit. By the mid sixties, the Carver Gay Blades were faced with dwindling membership and soon out of existence. However, in their brief tenure, the Carver Gay Blades managed to: win their first show, win multiple circuit championships, go undefeated in the Yankee Circuit and gain the love, respect and admiration of both the Newark and drum corps communities. And boy could they swing and they were rocking the timbales, with a harness, long before others caught on to the concept (see photo). Business Manager: Joseph Tucker Members (partial): Drum Major: Charles Hampton; Color Guard Captains: Thomas Drummond and Charles Davis; James F Jordan, Cliff Humphrey, Hubert McQueen, Charlie Hampton, Burnell "Big Man" Henry, Dave Blocker, Walter Caldwell, Sonny White, John & Jerome Cherry, Woody Shaw, Ray Dandridge, Dr Gene Grant, Joe 'Red' McDonald, Henry Grant, Eugene Bennett, Roy Dandrige Jr (father in Negro Baseball Hall of Fame) and Roland Casey. Instructors (partial): Victor Casella, Dominic DelRa, Hugo Evarelli, Frank Luke (drums), and William Carrig (drill) Repertoires (partial): 1962 - Theme from Samson and Delilah, King of Kings, Sincerely, Temptation (from Singin' In the Rain), Sweets for my Sweet, Rock Around the Clock, Keep Your Sunny Side Up (from Good News!), To the Ends of the Earth. 1963 - Sweets for my Sweet, Miserlou, Temptation (from Singin' In the Rain), What Kind Of Fool Am I (from Stop The World I Want To Get Off!). I loved me some 'Sweets for my sweet!' Yankee Circuit Champions 1959, 1961 and Northeastern Circuit Champions 1959 & 1960. 3 September 1959 - Northeastern Circuit Championships - Agawam, MA 1 85.630 George Washington Carver Gay Blades, Newark, NJ 2 85.420 Interstatesmen, Troy, New York & Pittsfield, MA 3 84.750 Amboy Dukes, Perth Amboy, NJ 4 83.160 Springfield Marksmen, Springfield, MA 5 80.310 Connecticut Hurricanes, Shelton, CT 6 78.370 Colonial Cavaliers, Port Ewen, NY 7 75.950 Sunrisers, Long Island, NY 8 73.800 Fitchburg Kingsmen, Fitchburg, MA 4 September 1960 - Northeastern Circuit Championships - Agawam, MA 1 80.780 George Washington Carver Gay Blades, Newark, NJ 2 80.730 Interstatesmen, Troy, NY & Pittsfield, MA 3 80.260 Springfield Marksmen, Springfield, MA 4 78.610 Connecticut Hurricanes, Shelton, CT 5 78.400 Criterions, Newburgh, NY 6 77.850 Amboy Dukes, Perth Amboy, NJ 7 74.710 Sunrisers, Long Island, NY 8 71.160 Fitchburg Kingsmen, Fitchburg, MA 15 September 1961 - Northeastern Circuit Championships - Agawam, MA - 3rd 83.28 2 September 1962 - Northeastern Circuit Championships - Agawam, MA - 4th 83.830 1 September 1963 - Northeastern Circuit Championships - Agawam, MA - 2nd 83.290 15 September 1963 - World Open Finals at Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, NJ 1 87.033 New York Skyliners, New York, NY 2 83.483 Reading Buccaneers, Reading, PA 3 80.850 Syracuse Brigadiers, Syracuse, NY 4 80.766 Sunrisers, Long Island, NY 5 77.900 Pittsburgh Rockets, Pittsburg, PA 6 77.150 George Washington Carver 'Gay Blades,' Newark, NJ 6 77.150 Springfield Marksmen, Springfield, MA 8 76.583 Amboy Dukes, Perth Amboy, NJ 9 50.663 Keesler Air Force Base Blue Knights, Biloxi, MS 6 September 1664 Northeastern Circuit Championships - Agawam, MA 4th 76.680 Disclaimer: The info above is only as accurate as its source material.
    1 point
  9. Suncoast Sound '88 for being about a decade ahead of their time in both content and style.
    1 point
  10. SoundSport could have a covid division, where the max size is 10 performers and they must maintain 6-foot spacing throughout the performance.
    1 point
  11. because it's...and i'll use caps....ALL AGE. 15 wanna march? Sure! 40 wanna march? Sure! it's been a great place for kids to get training to go to DCI, and heck of a lot of them came back after their time was done in DCI.The year we won DCA about 20% of the corps had marched DCI, and another 20-25% went on to march DCI.
    1 point
  12. In their prime, the Blades were the hippest drum corps on the field. As Fran mentioned sometime ago, many CGB alums marched with the Sunrisers after their corps folded, among them, Gene Bennett, as Guard Captain and drill instructor, lead soprano Bob "Soupy" Cephus, first baritone Ronnie Isom, and the most incredible rifle master of his era, Duke Jordan, spinning and tossing his 11-pound Springfield like it was Fred Astaire's walking stick. And Carver's music matched their aura perfectly. Besides the trademark "Sweets" (which they virtually owned, to the degree that nobody else ever played it, as far as I know) they put indelible stamps on "To The Ends of the Earth", "Temptation", "Laura" and "Miserlou". As Tower of Power later put it, "Hip just is, what it is".
    1 point
  13. From the Boston Crusaders D&BC Friends & Alumni FB page. "The BOSTON CRUSADERS have been true Innovators of the Drum Corps World. BAC was the the first to create Marching Bells, Marimbas and Tympanis. To eventually having the very first Stationary Pit. In 1985 the Boston Crusaders shocked the DCI Judges and Fans. In being the first corps to use an Electric Synthesizer. To play none other than "AXEL F." From a BAC mm. "At the beginning of the 1977 drum corps season (I was 13 yrs old), Danny Pitts (our BAC drum instructor) made me into a one man marching percussion accessory member. I carried a variety of instruments “borrowed” by Paul (Pitts) from the BSO and other places. I carried bongos, a gong, wood blocks, triangle, claves, sleigh bells, tambourine, & castanets. I did this for a number of shows until there was a need to fill in at bass drum. I have no photos of me in this unique role. I am pretty confident that no other drum corps at the time had this marching position.
    1 point
  14. '83 Vanguard - down ending '84 Vanguard - that percussion solo '82 Garfield - so many risks and it paid off beautifully
    1 point
  15. I do feel for those that would have aged out to miss their last season(s). However, as others have stated, this is a pandemic....life throws people curves, and they have to face things. We wouldn't have a drum corps season if the continental US was under attack from a foreign invader....guess what....we are...the invader is simply invisible. For those who still have the urge and means to march, but have aged out, they can march with a DCA corps. I do think that those members who have paid corps most or all of their fees/costs...the corps should be mandated by DCI to refund these folks. "Oh, well....that's just the way it is....we don't have it......we spent it", are not going to be acceptable answers, and members could pursue legal action. If they already spent the money, they should have to liquidate assets to pay their bills and these refunds. I find your comment about "only full time college students be offered this opportunity" to be quite discriminatory. Drum corps has already become a "rich kids sport", as many young people are simply priced out of the activity. In this case, you could have a case where "rich mommy and daddy" are paying 50K+ per year for a member to go to college, also paying most or all of their corps fees, and you are blessing them with another year due to the covid cancelled season(s).....but you are not for the kid who graduated high school, could not afford to go to college, lives in his/her parents' basement, and worked very hard at a low/minimum job for 3 years to earn every penny needed to march....but you won't extend them..........really?? I think adding a "no props" rule and keeping it in place for awhile would be helpful. It will encourage corps to be frugal, and help those that must be in order to survive, and put emphasis on performances. One thing for certain.....the days of 2+ million dollar budgets are over....and corps management that puts the blinders on regarding this will find themselves bankrupt quite quckly......those who are already making plans to get by on 500 - 800 K may have a shot at survival. We will likely be in a depression when corps returns, and DCI would be wise to start planning for that now........an attempt to make it affordable to march, and affordable for fans to attend shows. ....the current "country club" approach is not going to survive; that money simply will not be there.
    1 point
  16. DCA is far closer to DCI age than ever before
    1 point
  17. The Long Island Sunrisers benefited greatly when they picked up some folks from the Gay Blades in the 1960s. Two of them... Gene Bennett and Alfred "Uncle Nick" Nichols... are both in the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame as well as the Sunrisers Hall of Fame. Two of the best Sunrisers, and best people, ever.
    1 point
  18. Age groupers don't matter only the podium matters.
    0 points
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