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funcorpsagain

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Posts posted by funcorpsagain

  1. I know that there has been a transition from G to Bb, but I'm curious as to how many corps still use G bugles ( in any division).

    Can anyone inform me?

    Troopers, I think.

    Alumni corps like Bridgemen and Madison, of course.

    Bridgfemen's have 3 valves, though. In '94 Lancers I was first handed a piston-rotary. All I can say is how phenomenal some of the hornlines in the early 70s had to be to get such a great sound out of such a clumsy instrument.

  2. Well...wasnt the village of Rosemont added as Chicago's 77th neighborhood? Or was that just O'hare?

    I know that Chicago had 75 "official" neighborhoods. The city then split the Austin neighborhood (home of the great Stef) in half for 76 and then added the O'hare area to make 77.

    Chicago Neighborhoods

    You win this thread (at least you're close).

    The city annexed O'Hare and the expressway that goes to O'Hare.

    The expressway cuts Rosemont into two pieces. So, although Rosemont is not technically Chicago, it is very much a Chicago neighborhood. If anyone really cares, the link in the quote shows a map -- O'Hare is number 76, sticking out to the west, and Rosemont is in between.

    Unless things have changed in the last few years, they don't rehearse there anyway! Except for indoor camps.

    Logan Square, the corps' roots, is most definitely Chicago!

  3. I hate them! HATE, HATE, HATE!

    Their shows are monumentally boring. The drill could have been written by a 3-year old. The guard is afraid to let the equipment leave their hands. The drums sound like mud.

    Have you ever been near them? They don't even bathe.

    And the staff! A bunch of drunks -- when they're not kicking and cursing the members, they're trashing other corps.

    I hear they torture kittens on their buses.

    The Cavaliers are the epicenter of evil in the modern world. So much to hate...

  4. p.s. I think the decision to allow non-alumni into the 1994 corps was a brave and right decision. It gave people who never got the chance to march with 27th their opportunity to show they have what it takes. The break-up of ANY corps does not just effect that organization, it saddens the entire drum corps community.

    ####, yes!

    [i just previewed my own post. What kind of mommy-state web site is this? It filters out the "h" word. You've got to be kidding....]

  5. I remember this very well.

    Truly one of the saddest moments in corpsdom. Another moment that ranks a close second with me is in 1980 when Blue Stars missed making finals by 2.3 points. Another stalwart of DCI finals since 1972's first championship.

    Blue Stars put on a very powerful performance in exhibition that night (13th place corps used to play the exhibition) leaving many wondering if they should have been in finals!!

    Even sadder to be a Trooper that day.

    Troopers were 13th on the sheets, but got a penalty for being late. The year before, they started with a 51 and ended up with an 81. In '80, started with a bang at a 66, and finished with a 76. Many reasons, but no good rehashing.

  6. Despite all the nostalgia, Camp Randall is really a bad stadium for sound. It rounder shape means that seats near the center of the field are further away than in most newer stadiums.

    And the inverse square law applies -- double the distance from your ear to the corps, and you get 75% LESS sound.

    Pasadena will be even worse; very flat, and most seats are far from the field.

  7. Did the Bridgemen do a full field show? Any of their old drill moves?

    There was just enough drill to make it seem like a "full show." Actually, only about 20 pages. We kept the horn line inside the 30s, facing the audience, but there was drill. The only things missing were the shuffle (it wasn't pretty when we tried it a few months ago) and marching on our knees (most of us are middle aged, after all).

    We did more drill in the '94 Lancers, but Lancers were better known for drill than the Bridgemen. Of course, the Lancers had only been "dead" for 7 years; Bridgemen have been gone for 19 -- it does get harder with the passage of time.

    In comparison, the Bridgemen's music book is more demanding. Kerchner's charts are deceptively simple, but layered in very interesting, often complex, ways.

    Kudos to the Bridgemen staff for picking just the right mix to make sure that the show was complete, but feasible given the membership. We rehearsed pretty heavily in the spring, but have only had "day of show" rehearsals since June 10. Thats about 25 hours on the field. Some of the corps in Allentown had 25 hours in the last two days! All things considered, I think the corps pulled it off pretty well.

    I am just thankful to have been living in Boston in '94 and NYC in '06 -- two incredible experiences. There is nothing more addictive than the roar of the crowd.

    I hear that Madison's alums will be doing a lot of drill along with their wall of sound. Can't wait to hear and see them.

  8. Ummm......no.

    Free markets work best in almost everything except "natural monopolies."

    Same goes for corps. Allowing unfettered movement likely makes ALL corps stronger. Restricting access would probably lead to fewer members overall, and even fewer small corps.

    It's like rent control -- it is well intentioned, but in exectuion actually does the opposite of it's goal. It creates less incentive for inexpensive housing, thus reducing the overall housing stock, and artificically increasing the rates for uncontrolled apartments. Living in Manhattan, take my word for this!

    Besides, there are many reasons to change corps, and not all associated with "medal chasing." I went from Troopers to Cavaliers because I went to college in Chicago. If there had been rules to prevent the movement, I wouldn't have been in a corps at all.

    Having lived in Boston and New York, it has been easy to participate in the alumni corps of two organizations I have loved since the '70s. It is possible to be a corps whore and still be loyal to all of them. I wore my Cavalier gears under my Bridgemen coat last night!

    Rick

  9. Hey...I'm all for the winner doing the encore at these big DCI weekend shows. However, if you look back over the past two seasons since this "better for everyone retreat" started:

    2005:

    Murfreesboro - Cavies played last, won the show, did the encore

    Indy - Cavies played last, Cadets won the show, Cavies did the encore

    Allentown - corps that played last did the encores

    2006:

    Lisle - Phantom played last, Cavies won the show, Phantom did the encore

    Indy - Blue Devils played last, won the show, did the encore

    Battle Creek - Blue Devils played last, won the show, did the encore

    San Antonio - Blue Devils played last, Cavies won the show, Blue Devils did the encore

    I do think the winner should play the encore, sort of a reward. Last year at Indy and this year at San Antonio the winner had to leave...and the 2nd place corps did the encore...STRANGE!!! :blink:

    Does this mean that on August 5th at Allentown, Bridgemen play the encore? I know we'd be happy to do it!

  10. Someone I marched with in '83 was in the stands in '82 and immediately commented to her boyfriend, "They just lost nationals."

    BD had it won, anyway.

    But the crowd went nuts! Would any of today's corps take a chance like that? Last year's big finals hype from the top 2: Cadets had someone extra, or a DCI judge, or something else forgettable pop through the door. Cavaliers dressed their ball player like a Red Sox.

    Daring.

    Bring back the gun?

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