jazzmfk

Sorry to quickly re-post, but... for those of you that actually have video, can anybody get me a copy of 1986? 1987? 1988? 1989? I'm good from then on, but can anyone help me complete my collection? Please let me know! Thanks! Matt Krempasky

Hey, all! This thread is probably closed by now...I guess that's what happens when you only visit two or three times a year or so....but just wanted to put my vote in, if it's not too late. (Now, admittedly, I may be biased, but.....here goes nothin') (disclaimer alert: I wrote the brass charts from the closer in '86 thru the Earth trilogy in 94....so, thank you so much for all of the very nice comments in this thread. I'm proud to have been on the team that helped re-define the corps during that time.) As I said......I may be biased, but here are my favorites: 1991 (92 was a better corps, and a better show....but 91 is just more of that in-your-face stuff that we became known for back in the day) 1992 (the best part of this show was in how it evolved during the summer. What an unbelievable staff that year! Few songs have grabbed me like "under the sun" did. Go listen to the original - you'll hear our entire chart! I remember discussing that tune with Dennis and Jimmer (!) in my filthy apartment in Springfield that winter...) 1990 (yup, the total re-invention of the corps. Thanks, Den and Carl. There are lots more folks to be named here, like Shorty and Rick and Jack and, well, I don't want to leave anybody out. We'll just say that a lot of us were finally figuring it out) 1988 (Mark, Eric, and I were still in our "no, I'M the most important part of the equation!" stage, but.....Baker and Doug just killed the end of Cherokee, didn't they? High notes rule. Always have. Always will.) 1989 (Finals! I will never forget standing in the end zone that night. I also knew that we'd be standing a little closer to the 50 the next time around....just didn't know we'd be THAT close....) 1982 (I actually worked with the corps in 82 when I was just 21 (thanks, Tony!) Was torn all summer because we had a lead sop spot, and I was eligible...but few knew it because I was Tony's assistant at Crossmen and Bucs and he wanted to keep it that way...) Good horn line. Fun charts from Tony. (He really was the man back then.) 1976 (Mike Dennis' book was awesome. My oldest sister marched in this corps....and I answered the phone the night she called from the Sevierville show. I will never forget that moment as long as I live...) 1987 (my first full year as caption head/brass arranger. Pure, east coast energy with every step. None of us really knew what we were doing.....but we had a great time that summer as we sort of figured it out as we went along. Thank god for all the frisbee. And the gin.) 1993 (Koto might be my 3rd or 4th favorite tune I've ever written. Karen's mello solo is inspiring. John's drill is really compelling. We never really figured out what to do with the opener or closer, though....) 1994 (I was there through Memorial Day, and then the whole merger/takeover thing happened with George/YEA/the borg/whatever, and I quit. I'm really proud of how "pop goes the weasel" turned out, though it was VERY edited by the time finals came around. Same with the whole closer. Still, a great end to the trilogy.)

Hi, Kevin! You know, it's funny. '92 was such a special year for the corps. Certainly it was the best year, musically, of the trilogy. But I think that the '91 show was such a huge leap up from the NYV show of '90, which itself was a colossal jump from the almost-finished-in-13th-place '89 corps. Bringing on DeLucia and Meehan and Ruocco and everyone else really focused the staff - forcing us, I think for the first time, to actually work as a team, instead of some individual designers trying to write some cool stuff for "our guys" to play or march. I know that I learned more from talking to Dennis and Jack in the hallways of Smoothieville than I ever learned in college. And I learned a whole lot in college. Anyway, thanks for the kind words. You too, Jim - and don't be afraid to call even if you aren't asking for Mac help..... Have a great evening. MFK

Wow! What a list! I, too, am humbled and honored to be accepted into the Pennsylvania Drum Corps Hall of Fame. I wish that I didn't have to read the word "posthumous" above the names of two Buccaneers I had the pleasure to march next to/under/work with/work for over the years - Ned and George were exemplars of the first line from the corps song: "we're all good men....." And thanks again, Doug Rutan, for driving me to my first Bucs rehearsal when I was just 18 years old. It only took about 3 minutes of watching Tony Yaklich work with the horn line to convince us that it was worth the hundred mile trip in from Jersey. (Actually, it might have taken about one lip slur and one breathing exercise, now that I think about it.) Who knew that marching in that amazing '79-'81 horn line would somehow lead to even better opportunities down the road? Drum corps has certainly been very, very good to me. Congratulations to the Pennsylvania Drum Corps Hall of Fame class of 2011. Matt Krempasky

Unbelievable. I just can't believe he's gone. My wife forwarded the announcement from UMass this morning, and I've just been numb all day. I started thinking about how, exactly, to put into words just what this man has done throughout his career for all those kids who have attended the clinics, all those people who have had the honor to march under his direction, all those who have worked side-by-side with him - most notably at Reading, UMass, and the DMA, though the list is practically endless - and all those who have come in contact with him in almost any context, because knowing George, he probably pulled the pizza guy aside every so often and explained to him how he could improve his delivery....and then it came to me: even with all of those lessons he tried to impart directly to all of those students in all of those situations, it was the indirect lessons that we/they will remember the most. It wasn't about the stuff we wrote in our notebooks, or about our eyes or shoulders or posture, or about class, or the importance of being prepared, or about hard work, or demonstrating enthusiasm, or even about one of his favorite words - pride - it was that he personified the seemingly unattainably lofty goals that he set for everyone. He just WAS what he was trying to teach us all to be. We'll miss you, George. Speaking personally, your words and actions changed my life. I consider myself lucky to have known you as well as I did. And I still can't believe that I'm saying that in the past tense. RIP, George. And thanks. You will never be forgotten. "We're all good men...." some more so than others.

Hi, Ray! First of all, congratulations! I, too, take a moment each year during finals week to think about, reflect upon, and then marvel at all that drum corps has afforded me over the past 35+ years. It's been a heckuva ride...and I was glad to have had the opportunity to have shared some of it with you. And your son. Finals week is special. I remember what it was like to not bother to pack something special to wear for Saturday night, because there was no way we were going to be there....to packing something but being superstitious, so you wouldn't tell anyone about it...to actually making sure that your flight home was Sunday afternoon, because not only were you sure to be in the show, but you'd probably need to sleep for a long, long time afterwards. With all of the changes that have affected DCI over the past few years, at least that part of it (for the staff) must be exactly the same as it used to be.... But mostly I think about the people involved. The staff(s) and administration(s) we worked with - and for - were incredibly important to me. But they all pale in comparison to those kiddies who got to wear the uniform of our groups. I loved being a part of the staff - not for the fame, money, or glory, because, as we all know, there really wasn't much of that to go around - but to help provide a show for a group of kids who would probably do anything for just one more tenth, or one higher place. Those days were a blast. Hopping in the bus, fresh from critique, arguing and discussing changes that could be made or what the priorities of the next day would be - there simply isn't anything like that in the "real world"...or at least I haven't yet found it. We had a great time, the kids worked amazingly hard (and had a great time), and, in the end, we made some great videos which will live forever. Yup, finals week is special. Enjoy it. And congratulations on all of your successes over the years. Be sure to tell your kids to keep working hard - sometimes we're all lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. Matt Krempasky

...sorry, just had to comment on this... As the brass arranger for the '86-'94 Crossmen, I'm amazed that you find the '87 show your favorite. I have trouble watching that show even today.....Mark, Eric, and I really didn't know what we were doing yet, and we really didn't know how to work with each other yet. All we knew was that we wanted it to be exciting. It was exciting, but not always in the ways that we originally meant it to be..... What a great time we all had back then, though. Well, except for the people in charge of the money, and the buses, and getting the corps down the road, and...well, the list goes on. I think we figured it out pretty well eventually, though it took some outside help (like Ruocco, DeLucia, and Jack Meehan - thanks, guys!) I do hope the corps finds its way again. MFK

I think it has to do with who has the strongest voice - the most influence - among the staff members during the planning/design phase. Many designers/coordinators/consultants have a WGI (or other indoor circuit) background - and that's influencing the current trends in show design (and maybe even more importantly, judging). The indoor activity, however, trend-setting and unbelievable as it is, is missing one critical element that was always a hallmark of the outdoor activity - the emotion of the instrumental performers. Now, don't go crazy on me yet. I'm NOT saying that indoor doesn't convey emotion - quite the opposite. (I think the indoor activity has surpassed the outdoor activity in terms of creativity, achievement, and probably design - but that's not the point here). What I'm saying is that to the indoor activity, the music is a soundtrack, exactly the same night after night. Press the button, start the show, and perform your hearts out to that same exact music we've heard at rehearsal for all these months. It was never that way in the outdoor activity - at least in the corps that I've had the luck and fortune to be involved with. As a staff, we pushed for the kiddies to be consistent - heck, we begged for it if we weren't screaming about if first - but we always hoped that there would be "one of those nights" somewhere down the road, where everything finally came together maybe even surpassing what we thought we could do....where we turned on the crowd and they turned us on, and then we turned them on all over again...and so on. If you've ever marched anywhere, you know exactly what I'm talking about - and can probably list two or three of those "remember that show in ____________ where we were just awesomely *&%^&* awesome? I will never, ever forget that night as long as I live...." moments in your career.