abgiles

When we went to add the Bottle Dance in 82, we were looking for whatever little edge we could get over Concord for the finals. They pretty much kicked our butts all season, but we thought a little blast of GE might do the trick. We were taken away from our normal practice field to a high school in the suburbs of Montreal. We had been practicing on a beautiful field in the shadow of Olympic Stadium. It was all very secretive as we learned the music and drill. If I recall correctly, we learned this between prelims and finals, so we didn't have a lot of time to practice. The drill had the hornline spread across the front sideline, so it was very hard to see our drum major, Mike Zapanta. Once we started into the Bottle Dance, it was total chaos; the crowd was going nuts, and we couldn't even hear ourselves playing. In the end, I think the side one horns ended about a full second earlier than the side 2 horns. YIKES. Needless to say, Concord took it all home that night, and deservedly so. I have been getting back into drum corps this last year after 20 years away from the activity (largely due to Tournament of Champions and my son starting marching band). I have been listening to the BD shows from 80 - 82. Holy crap, were those guys good!

The Police - Ghost in the Machine Rocky III Soundtrack (Survivor, Eye of the Tiger) Joe Jackson - Jumpin' Jive Stan Kenton DCI State of the Art (which had come out the year before) Those were all on the bus system. I wasn't listening to much rock then, so I am sure the was a LOT more rock that I am not listing. On my Walkman, I was listening primarily to classical and the Evita Original Cast Recording.

I guess you could call me old school. I marched SCV in 81-82, and I love tradition as much as the next guy (who the #### is that "next" guy anyway?). I was away from the activity for many years, and this summer attended TOC in San Jose. What I saw there was a group of kids with a great deal of heart, executing drill we never dreamed of, playing with skill we never imagined, and performing like stars. I fell in love all over again. To think that these kids don't "get it" is riciculous. So what if they don't know about the old tick system, or don't feel compelled to march around with mallets or tympani, or can't tell you what the closer was from some obscure corps that played its last note before they were born? history is important, but they are a part of that history, the result of evolution. I can go back and watch shows from the 70s and 80s and, of course, still be wowed by them. But these corps today wow me just as much.