bdon15
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Posts posted by bdon15
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The last line of her article...
"Think drum corps are totally awesome? Chat with Elana about it at esiegel3@wisc.edu."
What is she...twelve?
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I hear you in that if you marched Drum Corps in ANY era, you need not feel that any era was better... or worse... than any other. If you're like most, the era you marched was the " best era " ,and anyone who says that would be of course be correct. That's because it's personal. Most of us get that.
But comparing Corps, and eras is no different than comparing Joe Montana with Tom Brady, or comparing Michael Jordan with Lebron James, or Kobe Bryant with Magic Johnson, or Albert Puljols with Hank Aaron or Ken Griffey, Jr. with Willy Mays, or Bobby Orr with Nicklas Lidstrom etc. and so forth. Comparing something in the past with something recent is what people do. That will continue. And they need not feel compelled to " move along " when the urge to " compare " takes hold, imo.
Absolutely no criticisms from either of these years, but one comparison between 1980 and 2010 is the difference in uniform (design) that either made the feet more visible or helped to hide them.
In 1980, every corps (that I can think of) had either white shoes/spats against dark pants or contrasting stripe(s) down the side of the pants leg.
In 2010, only two corps come to mind that had a stripe incorporated into their uniform and that was The Cadets and Blue Devils and BD's was a stripe down the front of the one leg, but it still offered a contrast and made that (one) leg more visible from a distance.
1980 and 2010 SCV offer the best examples of this and rumor had it that Madison almost went with spats this past year.
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GREAT picture!
Yeah Buddy, what a great little corps!
A picture taken from our POV would not have been very good. We were on at 9:00 in the morning and there was nobody in the stands except for a handful of sleepy support staff,instructors and a few stragglers.
There's nothing worse than playing to empty stands and although we placed as well as we could have expected, it didn't help.
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Yes. Yes, we did. In 1985. In my completely biased opinion, the best small corps show of its time. (Maybe of any time.)
You may be right Tommy, maybe...
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I think your uppity attitude sucks. Drum corps is not the end all/be all of marching. Geoff is absolutely right when he says no drum corps could do that blind pass through. Perhaps you should view the entire video before further disparaging the abilities of the people involved. You can find it here. You will notice that their routine is without cadence. Yes, there is a person calling out commands but that is it. Furthermore drum corps does not have a monopoly on choreography. Check
out.Wow! that second link video is amazing (and not any of this "Teehee....hardly" nonsense). That is probably the cleanest ensemble work I have ever seen.
Drum Corps is amazing as well, but we don't need to cut down other similar activities to prove it.
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There were no Semi-Finals in that era and DCI sold video tape of only the top 15 corps that year. Videos of other corps are pretty rare.
Yes, you're right. There was just "prelims" and "finals" back then and we placed 15th (with 36 horns) the term "semi's" was used incorrectly, much as calling the top corps "world class" when referencing the earlier days when they were actually "Open Class" then "Div.1" or whatever they were later called.
I'm still looking for that 15th place video if anyone has one....I'll even buy it as part of a set.
Edit: more fun facts... we had only 80 some members on the field in 1980
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Shows you what I know too.
Of course it's 1991. Durr.
Your posts are always a pleasure Tommy, in one way or another...and you're always a good sport.
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SCV 1981 made a comment on the losing of th Viet Nam war,
All the times I've seen that show, I never would have guessed that show even had a theme....
Shows ya what I know.
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The Imperials actually fielded in '83 and did the northwest circuit tour. They might have made the California trip as well (not sure). We lost them after the 1983 season.
Correct, due to DCI being in Miami in '83, Seattle couldn't afford the trip. That was of course after Montreal (x2) and Alabama (x2) so they stayed local but did do a small California only tour.
Membership fizzled out quickly because too few wanted to be in a corps that wasn't going to DCI
FYI...We were on the road for almost 6 straight weeks in 1979 ( I kid you not) July 17th - August 24th
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I would like to see more of that today... I mean it takes a special personality to get out front and play stuff that is from a sport analogy standpoint, A LOW PERCENTAGE SHOT and knock it out of the park... To get a glimpse of what I mean, look at the 1983 Blue Devils and watch "Larry Dodd" play his many solos... he eyeballs the crowd the whole time, looking to make them scream instead trying to hide from them... Watch the Bari Sop duet "Everybody loves the Blues" and listen to the stuff Eric Schedine (Bari) is playing and how he looks into the eyes of the crowd... There is also this cocky kid Bari soloist in the concert piece who just couldn't stop looking at the crowd after he played... Look at 1984 into the eyes of "Stymie" (Steve Lenaine) during La Fiesta when he is pegging the high notes! He looks mean and mad... That is what I would like to see more of!
Larry has been screaming on soprano since 1977 when we were in a small but strong corps called The Titans before we went across the water to the Seattle Imperials. He and I both had Mercury Cougars, his a '68 and mine a '67. We both still have them to this day.
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Any market for VHS tapes these days?
I have an assortment going back to 1980 that I am interested in selling:
1. '80 prelims vol 3 - Bridgemen and North Star
Is it just the 2 corps from '80??? The Imperials made the semi's tape ( Hi-Cam?) but I've never been able to find it....
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It's different. Using a mouthpiece to get range is a short-term fix that could be detrimental to your playing overall. I don't think you quite understand.
So you shouldn't use a mouthpiece at all? just pucker up to that lead pipe.
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QUOTE (Geoff @ Oct 31 2010, 04:37 PM) *
Horrific.
Boy, was that a dopey bad rendition of a parade street beat, huh ? Why even have bass drums if the bass drums have no bass at all. And the formica countertop sound of the snares is simply gawdawful. The whole thing is a complete mess. In the spirit of the Halloween season, they all should be drawn and quartered, then burned at the stake.
Wow, you guys must be really great to be so critical.
No wonder this activity is going down.
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<Oooh oooh oooh...
(ala Horshack)>
Open mouth...insert age...
Let's just say that my next "dot" is right on the 50.
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A drum corps that regularly places 20 spots out of first place at the DCI World Championships gets a new director via Craigslist who replaces one who was killed in mid-July when a meteor hit him in the head in front of his corps during an outdoor rehearsal. The new director motivates the members to work extra hard in memory of the fallen director and the corps, with only 75 members, comes out smoking. Everyone in the stands knows the story of what happened and we see lots of close-ups of the audience crying during the corps' performances, especially when new flags emblazoned with the deceased director's image stream across the field. Each week the corps moves up in the rankings and takes tenth in Prelims, fifth in Semifinals and wins Finals by half a tenth with a performance that has the audience throwing seat cushions towards the field. The corps that was undefeated all season until Finals is initially shocked, but then breaks ranks to lift all the members of the smaller corps up on their shoulders. A John Williams fanfare blares forth from the speakers and no one leaves the stands before their victory run-through. On the way to the buses, everyone is still crying and we hear a member from the second-place corps state, "I wouldn't have believed it if I wasn't here." The corps makes it back to the gym of their school, still on cloud nine. During a celebratory pizza party, a sudden rogue tornado demolishes the gym and everyone dies. [Roll ending credits.]
Oooh oooh oooh...
(ala Horshack)
Can there be a back story, cast of Ellen Page? Where Ellen is a first year guard member and one of the veterans comes up to her with a saber and throws a six and catches it dead on, then get's in Ellen's face and says "You've been served".
Then, Ellens friend...ummm Drew Barrymore comes over and grabs the girls sabre and not only throws a six but also does a perfect plie' while in mid air. Catches it so solidly that the mean girls hair flies up. Drew then bats her covergirl lashes and says "Bring it"
Of course, by the end of the movie, they're all great friends and comrades, and text each other daily.
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QUOTE (perc2100 @ Oct 19 2010, 12:45 PM) *
No kidding. I aged-out over a decade ago, and I agree that these types of posts are little more than trolling from bitter has-beens (or never-was)
Nobody is a "never was". Anyone who participated in any capacity for even just one season contributed as much as anyone else to the activity.
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What they REALLY need to bring back is:
What is Hip? From Tower of Power. 1975
Yeah, but all we'd get is "What?"
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I guess the real loser in not having any video of 1981 other than DCI Midwest would be the Freelancers.
Does anyone know if they had any professional video done that year?
I really enjoyed their return to finals show that year with You Are the Sunshine of My Life, I Get Crazy, Malaga and (of course) Even Now.
See now that is another reason I'd like the Prelims\Semi-Finals audio (at a minimum) as I am interested in their 13th, 14th, and 19th place shows preceding 1981.
1980 Freelancers placed 19th at Birmingham, but they also placed in the top 12 at DCI East Finals which was taped and televised on the East coast and copies do exist.
If only we can get DCI to "Fan network" those regional shows.
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Just don't open the tread if you don't want to participate. It's not like the forum is that busy this time of year.
Forums where the whole front page is stickies of five year old threads with 900 pages each suck.
It's kind of like calling someone up to tell them you don't want to talk to them anymore... Why take the time and effort to click and compose a reply just to state you're not interested.
If the topic is interesting, I enjoy any new comments or ones I may have missed the first time around. If someone is totally put out because of a recurring thread, report it to the mods and let them decide.
1988 SCV for me although I didn't see either live, just going by the videos.
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A lot of people think your statement in correct, but it isn't. Drill was very different, Drum book was completely different (I know I played quints in '79 and triples in 1980). And the corp had a huge turnover in people, especially the drumline.
From a performng standpoint I loved 79 over 80. From a placement standpoint I loved 80 (would have liked it more if the season had ended a week earlier
That is interesting in that I always thought the '79 corps was younger. I was in an "A" class corps in 78 and watched you guys practice all day long in Golden Colorado. Although not the best placement year, you guys were intense.
I don't think the '79 corps get's the credit it deserves.
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"If a synth can extend the range or double up a weak spot, why not?"
Isn't this kind of what Ashlee Simpson did on SNL a few years ago?
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I can't help but feel like drum corps as I once remembered and loved is gone. I'm not just talking about the recent rules changes either. In the past two seasons we've seen attendance come down drastically finals week, top shows designed only for effect, synths doubling the bass note of every sustain, and now we're about to see a divide in the drum corps community with this World Series of Drum Corps.
When I performed in 2009 and 2010, it didn't look feel or sound anything like I had imagined when I had watched any other finals performance in drum corps history. I want to perform outdoors to a packed Camp Randall filled with 35,000 spectators. I want to play a brass acapella chord without a synth covering up the contra sound. I want to go to a finals and be able to enjoy the championship show because it's designed to be entertaining, not effective. I just don't think this is ever going to be a reality again, which is disheartening because I love the activity so much. I would give an arm and a leg to march even 6 or 7 years ago. I suppose I'll just hope that things will change for the better.
Enjoy your moment, because that's all you get.
Or... to quote Nate Fisher
"You can't take a picture of this, it's already gone"
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I've got 1980 prelims too, I've got every year's top 25, including 1981 from Midwest.
G
I've got a VHS copy of 1981 DCI East/Allentown. It didn't have the line-up that 1980 did as '81 was earlier in the year than normal and there was no West Coast entries.
Hard to tell how good the video quality really is because my player is a p.o.s. 27th, Madison and Bridgemen especially were smokin' that night.
I've also got a vhs of 1982 BD rehearsal in Montreal, includes drumline (standstill) run thru and full corps run thru on the field.
I also had 2 Nathans beef hot dogs for dinner so be jealous!
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The broadcast features multi camera to boot. I'm pretty sure it was just a local PBS broadcast to the Lehigh Valley...so this guy not only had a VCR, lived in the Lehigh Valley, didn't go that night for some reason & stayed home to tape it...I'm glad he did. You see parts of shows on this version (drill, close-ups at certain points) that didn't make it to the 80 Legacy dvd...different perspectives.
To digitize? Can you make it better at all? I'm asking because I do have a dvd recorder but it only transfers to dvd; I can't make anything better.
1980 Allentown was an amazing event. 10 of the top 12 were there, plus 27th won over the undefeated Blue Devils. Add to that, many corps that are no longer with us (as they once were) Bridgemen, Spirit and 27th had their highest placing years. Plus a very entertaining Madison, Cavaliers and the groundbreaking SCV shows.
Fan Network, FAN NETWORK!
DCI (and WGI) Should not be seeking Chase Community Giving Votes!
in DCI World Class Corps Discussions
Posted · Edited by bdon15
The only thing I'm not wild about is this, which you must agree with before you can vote...
"Access my basic information
Includes name, profile picture, gender, networks, user ID, list of friends, and any other information I've shared with everyone."
What are they going to do with this information? I already receive (at least) weekly e-mail spam from Chase via 3rd party advertisers.