Quadman1

BD's '86 show was one of my all-time favorites. IMHO, Buddy Rich was the greatest musician I ever heard and saw play live, and perhaps, along with Jascha Heifetz, the greatest musician of the 20th Century. BD did Buddy very well in '86 (and in '76, '77, '88, etc.). We don't necessarily need 100 repeats of Malaguena, Channel One Suite, or Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor, but we need more of this style and other accessible music if we hope to attract non-musicians as fans of the activity. (However, I would LOVE BD to play Channel One again - it's been 23 years since the last time!!!!) Maybe Chuck Mangione will have a new creative explosion and reclaim the title of "Composer to the Drum Corps World"!

I think electronics have no place in drum corps, period, end of story. They just sound bad and detract from the brass and percussion. Perhaps we should ground all instruments in the pit and just have a professional dance and tumbling troupe do the field work! At least the narration and associated vocal vomit seems to have diminished somewhat this year. Let's hope it dies a quiet death as soon as possible.

Sam, you make a good point. I remember '84 well. That was a very unique situation with the ties. I was pulling hard for BD to win, but Garfield's "ants on a hot plate" drill seemed to carry the night. It seemed like they marched at a 1-step or at most 2-step interval the entire show and got away with tons of errors due to the free-form movement and shapes, and that BD got jobbed on the brass front that night at Grant Field. At least the drum line (tight) and color guard (gorgeous) got their well-deserved trophies! That was the last drum corps show my Dad saw in person before he passed, and we were pretty upset at the final outcome.

I attended DCI at Madison in 1985 and 1987. It was hot and humid (like most places east of the Rockies). I vote for Denver. If the event has to be held in the Midwest, what about Ohio Stadium in Columbus? Or the brand new stadium of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis? That venue has tons of open space in the neigborhood for warm ups.

Rick - This is a great post! The variety of styles and sounds across the top corps when we marched was wonderful. SCV under Fred Sanford, Ralph Hardimon, and Curt Moore really perfected the "tap space double" style, which had the effect of sounding like the "meat" of the 6 and 7-stroke rolls was accelerated, when if fact it was mathematically correct. My own favorite all-time drum line was the '79 Vanguard, in which every segment of the line was #1 that year. Etobicoke, Spirit, and BD under Tom Float also played the mathematically correct style, but perhaps with a higher wrist turn (and using scoops). Bridgemen played the opposite style rolls, literally slowing them down at times, but perfectly clean. Watching them warm up at prelims in 1982 was mind blowing. Freelancers and Phantom used the Ludwig Hi-Volume snares (cut outs), which produced a sort of "hum" (less crisp than BD or SCV's sound), but which really projected from anywhere on the field. The variety also extended into tenor lines, with 3-4 types of drums being used across the top 12 (Slingerland Cut-a-Ways, Ludwig Power Toms, Rogers standard cylindrical shells, etc.) Some lines went for total legato tonality (witness the '79 Guardsmen, who tuned their Cut-a-Ways very loose and achieved perhaps the loudest quad line sound in the history of drum corps - literally every note in the show could be heard live and in the recordings). Others went for a more staccato sound. The pre-Kevlar years were great! Except for a head pulling just before the start of a show!

Nice to hear Rod Goodhart mentioned in your post. In my opinion, he was the greatest drumming judge I have known in the activity. When you played clean and musically, he gave you props. But if you were dirty or played without control or dynamics, he was tough! One of the very talented guys to come through the Air Force Drum & Bugle Corps (along with, I believe, Bosworth and Flowers).

They've done this off and on many times over the years at DCI finals, even in years when the caption awards were not "averaged" over the final three shows. I agree that it takes away a bit of the mystery and is kind of annoying. Better to do the captions at the end to keep the suspense going.

Well, what do you expect from a Bruin? UCLA's fall 2009 quarter starts September 21. They have three football games (including two home games) before classes start. (Disclaimer - I marched with Harrison (original poster) in the Freelancers, but I went to USC.)

Agree. Absolute scores mean nothing when they are subjectively awarded. Has any corps performance in history really EARNED 99th percentile? No way in my opinion. But to complain about BD getting it and not recalling the others who have been there before (HNC and Cavies) is silly. BD was totally dominant this year. In the wonderful world of contemporary drum corps (no ticks, synths, electronics, singing, half-baked retreats, Bb horns that aren't bugles, movement uber alles), expect dominant corps to be awarded 98s and 99s.

That really sucks for the snare drummer to have fallen down. That would definitely mess up the entire snare show. Too bad for that drummer; I hope he is ok! Maybe the drills have just made the drumming subservient and it's time for music to reclaim its importance over the crazy marching drums corps have to perform these days.

Seems like Lucas is as bad or worse than Montreal's Olympic Stadium (the "Big O") was in 1981-1982. Although I believe the 1982 finals attendance was the highest ever, that stadium sucked for drum corps. As a spectator there in '81, I recall hearing most notes on the 1st or 2nd echo, with only BD's and SCV's hornlines powerful enough to cut through to the audience before the sound bounced around that warehouse-like excuse for a stadium. As a competitor in '82, at least the weather in Montreal was mild (especially compared to the following year in Miami). What the heck is wrong with the leadership of DCI? No TV contract, 10 consecutive years in Indianapolis (whoo hoo!), and an echo chamber venue for a musical performance competition event? Good grief! For my money, the best accoustics for drum corps were in the now-decrepit Legion Field in Birmingham, AL ('79-'80). Of course we also had vintage Spirit of Atlanta, BD, Phantom, and Madison G bugle hornlines pushing the stands back a few feet in those days.

Agree, 6 decently musical shows is pretty good for this decade. Used to be in the '70s/'80s that 9 or 10 of the top 12 were very listenable with only 2-3 clunker shows. Maybe the crazy copyright rules enforcement (leading to corps having to compose and use "original" music) is a big part of that. For example, too bad that John Williams has been such a stingy jerk regarding allowing his compositions to be performed by drum corps the past 15 years or so.

Agree that the scores are too high, but let's be honest: absolute scoring died along with the tick system. Ever since then it's been a relative scoring game. Too bad, in my opinion. Movement is great, but it too often detracts from the music.

Hear, hear! It's bad enough that we've lost G bugles and are stuck with relatively weaker sounding horns, but the synths are simply foul! Drum and Phony Corps! Thank God pipe bands still play pipes and drums!

In the past 15-20 years it has become less common for a corps to have a "terrible" night in one subcaption or another. It seems that more often than not the corps tend to be slotted by semifinals and there is relatively little movement in the placings at finals. In the '70s and early '80s, there were many cases where a corps was not only might have been great at bugling, drumming, and GE, but also perhaps be saddled with a simplistic technical visual package or poor/sloppy marching technique. Or perhaps one corps would be excellent in one area (e.g. the drum lines of the 1977 Freelancers, 1979 North Star, and the ultimate case, 1977 Etobicoke Oakland Crusaders (first in drumming at prelims but 13th place overall) but not so hot in the other disciplines. In addition, performance, rather than design, seemed to count more in the early years of DCI, especially when you had two drumming execution judges and one percussion analysis judge on the field. When musical performance counted more than visual design and GE, it seemed that more contests were up for grabs, compared to the modern era of drum corps (at least until this year). Perhas Cadets (I still refer to them as "Garfield") just had a percussion performance problem on the field tonight. I have no idea since I wasn't there next to the judge to hear what he heard. However, if they were dirty, then I'm glad the judge didn't just give them a pass.

1. 1976 Blue Devils - Total Domination 2. 2007 Kingsmen Alumni Corps - Bringing Old School Forward

In my three-year high school, I played tenor saxophone in marching band (10th and 11th grades) and baritone, tenor, and alto in jazz band (all three years). I wanted to march in drum corps, so I learned how to play drums the summer before my senior year and then tried out for tri-toms in the marching band and made it. That was the fall of 1979, and by the spring of 1981, I was playing snare in the Blue Knights, then tenors (quad) in the Freelancers in 1982 & 1983. So it can be done! I would agree that baritone is probably the easiest best brass instrument for a woodwind player to learn from an embouchure and blowing standpoint. I actually tried it my 11th grade year, but it was tough as I still had braces on my teeth! I was trying to help out my high school band and also try out for the Velvet Knights horn line, but I gave it up due the pain. Good luck to you!

Is Diane Brady (former Bridgemen drum marjor and color guard member) the sister of Jim Brady?

Hey, scvfan, I understand and agree with your approach! Let's take it a step further, though. I would use: - Slingerland Cut-a-Way quads (@ 1982) with uncrimped Remo PinStripes, size 8-10-12-14'. I still have a set of these that has NEVER had a broken lug casing, tension rod, or hoop. The things project like nothing else ever designed! - Slingerland TDR snare drums (14") with Ludwig Silver Dot heads. - Ludwig Marching Tympani (with four or five huge guys to carry them). At least for the opener, just for effect (a la Phantom Regiment 1979).

Nothing made as big a visual impact on me as a young drummer as the 1979 Santa Clara Vanguard drums. The Red exterior with White interior Slingerland Cut-a-Way tenors, matched by a similar design on their marching tympani, was a visual feast. Add a 12-man snare line and the entire drum line wearing green uniforms, and you have perhaps the best-looking percussion section of all time. Speaking of Slingerland, I still have a set of Cut-a-Way quads that I played in the USC Trojan Marching Band in 1982 and 1983. Despite the somewhat ugly gold sparkle finish, the drums are in great shape! The shells have not caved in, and the hardware has held up well for more than 20 years! I can't say the same for the Yamaha quads we used at USC in 1984-1985, or the Ludwig Power-Cuts we used in the 1984 Olympic Band or the 1986 Liberty Band.

Rich, I didn't hear about Rob getting his award. That's great that he finally was recognized! As you know, the guy had amazing chops (especially his burning singles). You might remember Brian Bingham (who played bass drum in BD for 7 years). He taught Freelancers' bass line for a number of years in the early '80s. Our top bass in 1982 was a former Etobicoke drummer named Mark Blandford, probably the "loudest" bass drummer I've ever known. The guy could have easily played snare, but he loved the bass drum. In 1982 and 1983, our drums were in fact setup in a traditional "tri" configuration (12"-13"-14") with a fourth (10") placed in front of the 13" drum and to the right of the 12" drum (and bolted to both of them). We used Ludwig Power-Cuts in Black Diamond Pearl finish. Freelancers used that general setup from 1981 through 1985. In 1981 they were Slingerland Cut-a-Ways in 8-10-12-13 sizes (also in Black Diamond Pearl). We got the aforementioned Ludwigs in 1982 and used them for two years. In 1984, the corps bought new sets of Ludwigs in the smaller sizes (8-10-12-13). No question, today's drummers are in MUCH better shape, and generally have far better chops. Too bad, though that for all the parts they are playing, much of it is inaudible due to the heads and the tuning. E.g., I still enjoy listening to the Phantom Regiment tenor lines from 1979-1982 (when they used Ludwig Power-Toms). Virtually every note they played punches you in the face (even the parts with puffy mallets). Nowadays, by far the best thing for drum fans is the post-show victory concert! BTW, you must remember Doug Storer from BD in 1979. I knew him in high school down here in the San Fernando Valley. He marched in Freelancers in 1980. Haven't heard much about him in the past 20+ years. Do you keep in touch with him? Thanks!

Rich, you are so dead-on right. I saw you guys in both 1979 and '80 in Birmingham (along with the early tour in California). Those are by far my favorite two years of Drum Corps. You can actually HEAR the tenor lines (unlike today), let alone the snare lines. I love Kevlar/Tendura heards for pipe band drumming, but not drum corps. I'll take the old uncrimped pinstripe heads any day over what they play on now. By the way, I went to school with one of your snare drummers, Dan Coykendall (sp?) at CU-Boulder in 1980-81. We were in the marching band there. Also, Rob McMillan taught our tenor line at Freelancers when I marched. He was one hardass instructor! A great player too. Our Ludwig tenors were 10-12-13-14 also, but with the 10" drum out in front of the 13" drum in that weird setup Freelancers used from 1981 through about 1985. It was almost 3 feet from our belly to the front of the 10" drum, meaning lots of leverage to multiply the weight and keep our chiropractors in business! They even had Ludwig "die-cast" hoops that added weight (and made tuning a hassle)! We used Menke carriers (no flip-up; once you put the drums on, they stayed on until after the show; usually about 45 minutes to an hour without taking them off). We each had a routed plywood "mallet table" routed out to carry several pairs of mallets/sticks, and carried wood, felt, and puffy mallets. In '83 we also carried timbale sticks in a plastic tube/holder attached to the drum brackets, as well as tambourines, with a water bottle holder attached to the 14" drum. I'd like to see one of today's tenor lines march a modern drill with those quads, or with your 1980 tenors (with extra decorative hoops on the bottom)!

I agree 100% about Dave Vose. As a young drummer, I loved listening to, and watching, the Chrome Wall. Dave wrote ultra-exposed parts that were cleanly played. The North Star drum line was extremely well featured visually. The ending of "Good Vibrations" in '79 was particularly cool, with non-stop sextuplets on the drum, the ride cymbal, each others' drum, etc. I think Dave Vose went on to teach the Alliance in 1983. Does anyone know where he is today?