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ironlips last won the day on February 9
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'96 Glassmen In Cedar Rapids Show
ironlips replied to kevingamin's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Deal! FD -
'96 Glassmen In Cedar Rapids Show
ironlips replied to kevingamin's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Thanks for the info! Whoever was making the management decisions for the Glassmen did a great job. -
'96 Glassmen In Cedar Rapids Show
ironlips replied to kevingamin's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
There was great innovation within that "traditional" music. The rope drums in the opener were a nod to the ancients but a brand new sound for modern ears. Was Dan Acheson the director that season? -
Source music you discovered from DCI shows
ironlips replied to frank4now's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Indeed, and both pre-date DCI. My first hearing of Debussy's Clair de Lune took place the night I joined the Sunrisers in '63. John Sasso's chart was spectacular and, the cursed mellophone not yet invented, the score was enhanced by 8 glorious, heavenly French Horns! A bit later, I heard the Verdi Requiem for the first time, courtesy of Red Winzer's pen and the Reading Bucs. The generation before me witnessed Commonwealth Edison playing Wagner, ... it goes on and on. Drum Corps served to introduce many of us unwashed to the wonders of musical styles we would not have otherwise experienced. It's been happening for over 100 years! -
Shows that surprised you and glad you saw live
ironlips replied to HockeyDad's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
THAT'S what I'm talking about, and some of these corps produced some pretty big surprises. Two in particular, from Bridgeport, CT, are prime examples, the PAL Cadets and St. Raphael's Golden Buccaneers. The former performed in that legendary 1965 VFW Finals mentioned earlier, finishing just a couple of tenths behind Madison, and the latter established themselves as national contenders that same year, finishing 3rd at the World Open. Those achievements surprised many in the Drum Corps community. Most of these folks are still around and managed to stay on the right side of the law. In fact, one became a police chief and mayor. Surprise, surprise. -
Shows that surprised you and glad you saw live
ironlips replied to HockeyDad's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
I couldn't agree more, and I'm not kidding. -
Shows that surprised you and glad you saw live
ironlips replied to HockeyDad's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Ok, climb into "The 'Way Back Machine": St. Kevin's Emerald Knights at the Dream in Roosevelt Stadium, August, 1964 B.M. (Before Mellophones) They had been solid for years, but that show had always belonged to Jersey corps like Garfield and Blessed Sacrament. Not this time, though SKEK won by only a whisker thin margin of less than 3 tenths, on the tick system. Truth be told, it really wasn't close at all. If the "Stars and Stripes" company front (complete with obbligato sop on the piccolo part) wasn't evidence enough, by the time Barbara Bergdoll had stepped out of her Color Guard captain role and finished conducting the concert of "South Rampart", all of us in the stands knew it was all over. (Note the crowd response.) To this day, I have never heard so many "fuggedaboudits"! (This may sound primitive to "modern" ears. Bugles were barely more than glorified plumbing parts, with most accidentals played by pulling the tuning slides. Acceptable intonation was more of a hope than a reality and brass sections averaged about 32 members. Multi-toms and tympani were not yet on the horizon. Nobody could read music, save one or two instructors. Corps were not arts education entities, more like musical reform schools. It was the best of times.) -
Madison Scouts 2024 repertoire: “Unholy”
ironlips replied to Swmstom1998's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
"Ken Norman was pretty tuned in, I guess." That's putting it mildly. Compared with all the other arrangers in the history of this game, he came from another planet. (I can imagine Yoda saying, "Tuned in, he was, Ken Norman.") -
Shows you regret NOT seeing "Live"?
ironlips replied to frank4now's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
"(Steve Beard) solo was in 1974 and he nailed it .." I stand corrected. I wish I had seen that show, too. -
Shows you regret NOT seeing "Live"?
ironlips replied to frank4now's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
I wish I had witnessed Anaheim in '72 at the first DCI Championships in Whitewater. Saw the movie, but it would have been far more satisfying to have been in the stands when Ralph Hardimon and Tom Float were anchoring the snare section and Steve Beard was wailing that bari solo in "Artistry". -
Shows you regret NOT seeing "Live"?
ironlips replied to frank4now's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Whoo, good call. Lucky me. I hitchhiked from NY with a buddy to get there. In the scramble for seats at McCormick, we ended up on a picnic table just behind the GE judges. Life's priorities underwent a seismic shift that evening. -
A Great Article on The Cadets
ironlips replied to Terri Schehr's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Depending on alumni donations to fund a contemporary World Class drum corps to any meaningful extent is folly, and that's been the case for a very long time. These units do not have "mom and pop" expenses. One could run a small country on what it takes to staff, feed, equip, insure, and tour such a group these days. Alumni ties and loyalties can be strong but contributions from that sector will always be at best ancillary, at worst, insignificant. -
Madison Scouts 2024 repertoire: “Unholy”
ironlips replied to Swmstom1998's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
I see what you did there. -
The "Music Corps Should Do" thread
ironlips replied to Lance's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
As Gerry Shellmer might have said, "That Frankie kid has a heavy pen." I particularly like that Ticheli is confident enough to end a "modern" piece with a Major Triad. How bold, to give the tritone a rest. -
Madison Scouts 2024 repertoire: “Unholy”
ironlips replied to Swmstom1998's topic in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
No question. Consider this: some of these folks are grandparents today.