mfrontz

Santa Clara Tanguard (SPF 7)

.

Phantom Regimen (extreme diet plan) The Acidemy Blue Scars

It's their Mountain Goats show title.

Crassmen Lavaliers Spirit of Mylanta (stretching the rules)

My wife quit three years ago. My close friend is quitting now during the pandemic. Blessings and strength to you. It can be done!

Can't watch now, but, wow, those are some names.

For some reason, I didn't go to any competitions in 1997. The only live drum corps I saw was the Crossmen's preview show, which was not a bad show to see. Apparently I missed plenty of awesome. Blue Devils (excerpt one) (excerpt two): When I was in 1992 Crossmen, the baritone section tried to march a rotating block. It was backfield and not the focus of anything, for good reason. When I watch the 1997 Blue Devils entire hornline rotate multiple blocks as if it were easy, I feel like some kind of drum corps impostor. This show is refined, classy, powerful, and executed to near perfection. And the story of Casablanca was imaginatively and compellingly portrayed by the guard (who won the non-judged auxiliary caption). 1st, 98.4. Cadets of Bergen County (excerpt one) (excerpt two): I actually prefer this show to both the 98 offering and to the Blue Devils. For some reason I just find it so cool. The GE judges did too, as they topped both BD and SCV by a full half-point in GE. Often this is enough for a win, but BD outpointed Cadets in every other ensemble and performance caption to the tune of 1.3. Nonetheless, this was the year Jeff Sacktig really came into his own in the visual department. 2nd, 97.6. Santa Clara Vanguard: Vanguard tied the Devils for first at Quarters. This show is so dark, so mysterious, so evocative. It really was the beginning of Vanguard getting their swagger back after a few years in the wilderness (if one really can call 5th to 7th place 'the wilderness'). In any case, Vanguard came from far behind at the beginning of the season and tied BD for GE at finals, and gave us some incredible dissonant moments with 'Fog City Sketches.' 3rd, 96.9. Phantom Regiment: I always felt that it was so audacious to put 'The Ring' on the field. It would have been very hard, with any show, to top 1996's incredible story. Some pretty amazing things going on, but I'm not sure that using one flag was the best idea. A little too much black and gold, and a little less visceral emotion, but a show that is probably neglected and shouldn't be. 4th, 94.2. Madison Scouts (Closer): Unfortunately, I don't know that I've ever seen the whole 'Pirates of Lake Mendota' show. I know that the ending was a crowd favorite, as the DM did a 'show the flag' callback and then took a shot of the audience with a disposable camera. In 2021 the drum major ought to take a selfie. A try for a little bit more of a thematic program yielded a similar competitive result, but also a similar crowd-pleasing result, and isn't that what 90's Madison was about? 5th, 93.9. Crossmen: Another show that captured the hearts of the drum corps audience. Mark Thurston had moved on, but the drumline he'd trained worked well with its new staff and scored a 19.5 finals night, with some really exposed arranging. The color guard came into its own, and the hornline swung hard. What a championship weekend, as Crossmen tied the men of Madison for fifth at quarters, dropped to seventh in Semis, and then topped the Cavies for sixth at finals, 93.0. Cavaliers: A very fascinating silent drill at the beginning (and end) of the show which probably would not be out of place at all in the 2020s. But the highbrow concept show didn't especially connect, and there were little ticks in execution which mightn't have been nearly so evident had previous editions of the Cavaliers not been so flawless. 7th, 92.8. Glassmen: The first of the 'Gold' shows. A strong drumline and recognizable yet non-straightforward arrangements of George Bizet music led to an 8th place finish, 90.0. Blue Knights: Music from the movie 'Ben-Hur' powered the corps to ninth place. Some nifty brass arranging and a drumline which was scoring right with corps who were scoring four or five places ahead overall. 88.2. Magic of Orlando: A corps with a guard costumed to the nines, breaking the fourth wall with the audience, playing their parts, serious enough when needed, and full of effect. But the Velvet Knights weren't on the field in 97. Instead, this was the Magic of Orlando, mystery touring their way to New Orleans at Mardi Gras, and placing tenth as the late great Velvet Knights might have, 85.7. Bluecoats: There are times, like the second corps in at Finals, when you want straight-ahead jazz. The Bluecoats were there in 97 to provide for you. 11th, 85.6, with a notable 9 in brass performance. Carolina Crown: Every newer corps needs to get its 27th Lancers on. In 1989 it was the five-year-old Star of Indiana. In 1997 the eight-year-old future champion Carolina Crown (not that anyone was thinking that at the time, not anyone we would have listened to anyhow) did its Brit thing and came in twelfth, 85.0, which is really a high score for twelfth place. I will leave it to you all to talk about other corps, and share your experiences of being a fan, teacher, or performer, in 97, a summer I took off.

Link please?

Yes, and there were so many of us who when we were marching got nothing and liked it. 😆

I was really impressed by Star in 90 and 91 splitting the pit side one and side two. Great effects for the CD, at least. Bluecoats did that recently, as well, IIRC.

That's the problem with me going backwards into history I don't really know all that well. I'll have to rely upon you all for that kind of knowledge.

1987 DCI... The mic placements mean you hear a lot of brass stick-outs from even the best hornlines, but the recordings also capture as nearly as possible that raw power that only G bugles could produce. For the drum people – the sound was different back then. Help this brass guy out and tell me why. And the visuals were classic 1980s – lots of big curvilinear forms and open space. Guard - lots of characterization, costumes, and creative equipment. 1. Garfield Cadets 2. Santa Clara Vanguard The top two corps were truly in a class by themselves. Garfield handed Santa Clara its first defeat at Semis and then topped them by the slimmest of margins at Finals, powered by a controversial 20 in drums. Was there a plot to Vanguard’s show? Some sort of Rasputin-like Russian high priest? There are such wonderful moments in that show but Garfield is so mesmerizing... 3. Cavaliers 4. Blue Devils Cavaliers leaped two corps at finals for 3rd place with a show of contemporary wind band music, repeating ‘Variations on a Korean Folk Song’ and an incredibly well-marched program. Blue Devils kept giving us the best jazz. Just not the same magic as 86, despite having the same ending. And yet, it’s a show I’ll listen to time after time. 5. Phantom Regiment 6. Madison Scouts After being a very solid third at semis, it had to be shocking for Phantom to fall to fifth at finals. But this should not take away from a show of musical and visual elegance that only Phantom could provide. Meanwhile, Madison gave us Captain of Castille, a really good and fun arrangement of American in Paris, and a really weird arrangement of Stars and Stripes. 7. Star of Indiana 7. Velvet Knights Star of Indiana, in its most Velvet Knights year, tied the Velvet Knights. The circus show was full of whimsy, cuteness, and gimmicks, as well as solid playing and marching. VK took us on the first Magical Mystery Tour, playing Brazil first as a ballad and then as a jazzy concert piece, a decidedly un-PC presentation of ‘African Drum Solo,’ and then the Beach Boys, featuring a bikini babe as only VK could. I give my own personal edge to VK as they out VK'ed the VK of Bloomington. 9. Suncoast Sound 10. Spirit of Atlanta (full show audio) (video excerpt) If you like a more laid-back show, Suncoast had it for you this year with 'My Fair Lady, Our Way.' The show never really seems to get above f, but it’s well marched and well-played and there is some really nice solo work. Really elegant color guard costumes, too. Spirit of Atlanta stayed south with an amazing pair of soprano soloists and a guard which won high auxiliary. 11. Bluecoats (video excerpt) 12. Sky Ryders Bluecoats wowed us with Autumn Leaves and about a bazillion snares in their feature. Come to think of it, lots of corps had huge drumlines this year and more than one had a solo with lots of snares. And Sky Ryders. Wow! That corps placed twelfth? Great West Side Story show. I really enjoyed watching all the shows. That explains the delay in posting this year - I decided to watch as much as possible before posting. Glad I did. Hope you can fill me in on your memories of 1987.

But it's not too late!

Bluecoats - Finals Full Show (newly posted)

Let's not neglect that iconic arrangement of Charles Mingus's 'Children's Hour of Dream.' I didn't understand at the time how innovative and cool that was. Not many would have listened to the original and thought 'drum corps,' but Downey made it happen. What a perfect evocation of the darkness of the gangster world, plus the stabs of gunfire ringing through the night. Remember when drum corps would find entire three-minute charts that would work with what they wanted to express in the show? And it was years later, listening to some Samuel Barber, that I realized some 'Medea' snuck into the closer.

'In second place, which is actually...a tie for first place...' Phantom - fourth to third to first. What a finals week. The sound of BD this year was like the full-throated roar of an engine. I loved the Cadets, thought they would win early season. Wonder if the Olympics and the tear in the closer at finals kept it from a three-way tie. Bluecoats grew on me through the whole summer. If Crossmen had only had a full hornline... Drum Corps Planet presents 1996! 1. Blue Devils - DCI Finals, Allentown Victory Concert 1. Phantom Regiment - DCI Finals, 3. Cadets of Bergen County - DCI Finals (The Promise of Living); DCI Finals (The Red Pony - closer); 1996 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremonies 4. Cavaliers - DCI Semifinals 5. Santa Clara Vanguard - DCI Finals (excerpt); Logan, UT 6. Madison Scouts - DCI Finals (opener); DCI Finals (Bolero); DCI Finals (Malaguena excerpt) 7. Bluecoats - DCI Finals (excerpt one); DCI Finals (excerpt two) 8. Crossmen - DCI Finals (excerpt one); DCI Finals (excerpt two) 8. Magic of Orlando - DCI Finals 10. Carolina Crown - DCI Finals 11. Colts - DCI Finals (excerpt one); DCI Finals (excerpt two) 12. Blue Knights - DCI Finals (excerpt)

I've had multiple requests to create threads for years prior to 1989. Technically, according to DCP practice, these would go in the Historical Forums; however, they have not been used well in recent years. So, I'm going to put them here and, moderators, should you wish to move them or advise that I do subsequent posts differently, I will respect your wishes. I'm also going to be going 'backwards,' as it were, beginning with 1988. I will do 1996 next post, then 87, 97, etc. Though I was in high school marching band (we opened with T.O. that fall), my drum corps fandom had not yet started in 1988. So any commentary from me will be completely based on what I've read or heard. I did go with some band friends to a show at Millersville University in late June. Garfield Cadets, Dutch Boy, and Crossmen were there. I knew Garfield was good, but preferred Dutch Boy. Hee hee. Others can comment on the shows. I love the top four and need to become more familiar with the rest of the year. Blue Devils and 'Goodbye Yesterday' was flippin' awesome. Madison Scouts: DCI Semifinals Santa Clara Vanguard: DCI Finals (excerpt one) (excerpt two) Blue Devils: DCI Finals (excerpt one); DCI Finals (excerpt two - audio only) Garfield Cadets: DCI Finals (part one); DCI Finals (part two) The Cavaliers: DCI Finals (excerpt) Phantom Regiment: see below Star of Indiana: DCI Finals (excerpt one); DCI Finals (excerpt two) Velvet Knights: DCI Finals (excerpt one); DCI Finals (excerpt two) Spirit of Atlanta: DCI Finals (excerpt one); DCI Finals (excerpt two) More to come! Suncoast Sound: Bluecoats: Sky Ryders:

.

Bluecoats that year were special.

OP edited to include links to corps performances.

As I recall, DCI decided to partner with IBM for the recording, and despite the name, IBM or whatever intern they assigned to the project couldn't place mics or mix worth a ####.

1995... Rich Stadium, Buffalo, NY. Had tickets to finals, but sold them for some reason (probably because I was poor). Saw the Hershey show (Phantom and 15 contras, the Cadets and their trap sets) and prelims at Allentown. Was shocked by the Crossmen's foray into wind band music and blown away by Madison like everyone. This was also the summer I discovered the way I would still be participating on the periphery of drum corps until now... drum corps discussion forums. I'd fire up my dialup and scroll through the latest posts on rec.arts.marching.drumcorps (RAMD). I found the discussion to be intelligent and respectful in general... that would change over time. Show reviews, scores, debate, criticism, theory. How could the Cadets be judged when they only marched half the show? Was Madison being robbed? Were Blue Devils and their show about death unstoppable? Was 'planar analysis' the wave of the future? (No.) Should and would there be electronics and any-key brass in drum corps? (Oh yes, there would be.) Was George Hopkins the worst person ever? (Yes, but not in the way that was thought.) Logged in on a Thursday night in August to discover Cavaliers had taken the lead and they wouldn't let it go. Even though the recordings were the crappiest ever (DCI's mea culpa to Tom Blair couldn't come soon enough) it was obvious why they won, and that was only confirmed when I saw the drill - unbelievable! And meanwhile, Freelancers were no longer, and the time of the Velvet Knights would come soon. That summer was in many ways the nadir of DCI, and yet there were still so many people who loved the activity and kids willing to sweat it out to do something impossible and make it look easy. Now entering the forum, from Buffalo, New York, Drum Corps Planet is proud to present... 1995! All links to YouTube in compliance with DCP policy. 1. Cavaliers: DCI Finals 2. Cadets of Bergen County: DCI Finals 3. Blue Devils: DCI Finals (excerpt) 4. Madison Scouts: DCI Finals 5. Phantom Regiment: DCI Finals (excerpt) 6. Santa Clara Vanguard: DCI Finals 7. Bluecoats: DCI Finals 8. Glassmen: DCI Finals (excerpt - audio only) 9. Colts: DCI Finals (excerpt) 10. Crossmen: DCI Finals 11. Carolina Crown: DCI Semifinals 12. Magic of Orlando: DCI Finals (excerpt) 13. Blue Knights 14. Troopers: Cedar Rapids, Iowa 15. Velvet Knights 16. Boston Crusaders 17. Southwind

Madison's closer in 93 didn't wow me. It's nice but almost too restrained. But they were blowing the house down for the first seven minutes, so maybe a little restraint was in order.