Ace Holleran

I can imagine some of the critics of this wonderful piece of work on a Circle Line cruise in New York Harbor. "Why isn't the torch in the left hand?"

Not for my money, sorry WBC. In the Jurassic era, when I marched, I often thought that the activity would be better without start/finish lines, color presentation, constant 128 bpm and judges in military khakis. Grownups I asked about this viewed me as a heretic. Today's product is more musical, more sonorous and designed soooo much better than BITD when designers where shackled by archaic rules. Some of those fans on the 20 gabbed during performances, walked around the track during shows and counted how many people fainted at the end. I don't want to ask performers who have just given their all to park and bark at the stands, no matter how "traditional" the song is. On the other hand I enjoy the alumni corps and have been privileged to emcee the Alumni Spectacular at DCAs more than a couple of years. One of the most marvelous dc instances I've seen was this year's Teal Sound exhibition at the Barnum show in Bridgeport. One of the oldest, stodgiest and hidebound crowds you can find in the biz were enthralled by these young people--who performed complete with amplification--and a rock band, to boot. They easily received the biggest ovation of the night next to the hometown Hurcs. My fifth of a dime. Peace.

Great job; nice use of still photos! Ace

I would pay $20 to see the Mitch Williams Cadets! Acey

1. JFK in Beepo (by the way, the first stadium in history to carry this name). 2. Roosevelt 3. Yale Bowl 4. Fenway Pahhhk 5. Sugar Bowl 6. Shea My favorite stadium for a non-corps gig: Exhibition Stadium, Toronto. Tace

I was simply gassed by this corps' exhibition at Bridgeport, CT Barnum show on 6/27. A wonderful marriage of corps, pit and rock band, all contributing in a fine blend. Huge ovations from the popcorn munchers, and get this: I'm betting most of them have seen precious few DCI corps, and about 99% had never seen/heard any amplification. Congrats to Randy Blackburn and crew on the trail this summer. Ace

Thomas, thanks for not poaching scores and waiting for me. A great night, great show. Big props to the Thunder from the Valley. BTW, this is rumor, but Roch was absent a slew of members due to a graduation of some sort. I don't think any show has a more old-school audience than the Barnum, but Teal Sound (with amps and a full-time four-piece rock band in the pit) got many huuuuge ovations. A nice, soft night, too, unlike the Seattle weather we've been having. Ace, alive and well in Beepo.

I have plenty of stories but am too shaken to write very much. I am proud I was his colleague. Ace Holleran

Great stream of consciousness stuff, as always, , Cozy. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Acey

Videos are great--wish I could be there! Nice job John D. and co.! Ace

I'm going to chip in and say that I think Rochester has been an outstanding host for DCA the past two years. 1) I think the stadium is just fine. Granted, I am on the field most of the time, but I don't understand the cavils here. 2) The city fathers are drum corps friendly and actually are eager to have us there. Can you say that about other burgs? 3) The presentation of the "street" I&E plus the indoor convention venue are superb. It's a short stroll from most downtown hotels. 4) Costs are still relatively sane for lodging, food, etc. Priced a room in Allentown lately? 5) Events go off without a hitch: seamless integration between city, local staff and DCA. 6) There is a certain je ne sais quoi about a cheeseburger garbage plate from Nick Tahou's. No? 7) Most corps are housed within a 10-mile radius, to my knowledge. But most of all--and I reiterate--you need a hospitable city and an excellent group of local organizers. And we now have that in Ra-cha-cha. My tenth of a dime. Ace

I predict that I will be hooking up with Return of the Jetta for some juicy quotes for my Finals diatribe. And some godawful, turquoise schnapps. Anybody for lunch on Saturday at Schaller's in Rachacha? Ace Haring understudy Cozy's lackey President, Sons of Ruocco Moe Knox Fan Club, Recording Secretary

Superb execution and technique across the board. Seamless horn line--these guys breathe so darn well! Corps' grasp does not exceed its reach Easy-to-digest program with plenty of "ooh" moments. The best pit in the business. Top-cabin staff. Hard f^&*ing work. That's just for starters. All IMVHO, Ace

Back in my Jurassic day, Garfield and BAC had already moved away from church affiliation. I never competed against any Catlick corps outside of the Northeast. I'd have to say that the most consistently excellent RC corps in my period (62-67) was BSGK, with St. Lucy's a close second. After that came the Beantown crew: St. Kevin's, Beverly, I. C. Reveries. I'd also put Queensmen and Loretto in this group, along with MSJ of Batavia, who were splendid in '67, as I recall. Then OLPH, St Rafe's, Brassmen, hmmmm, OLC Ramblers, and too many others. All girl: N-Dettes and St. Iggie's. I know I'm leaving out only hundreds of corps. But who can forget Our Lady of the Single Valve Cadets? Ace

Okay, so I didn't march there in '65, but I am a PAL alum (see photo) --go red, black and white! Ace

Wonderful photos! Thank you. A privelege top be in photo with the Amazing Ruocco. Ace

Some Barnum sideline addenda: CV was the first DCA corps in the parade, Hurcs were last. CV wanted to get on their buses and back to Hotlanta. If you don't think people love drum corps, try this. As I got to my announcer's station for the parade on Sunday morning, I noticed a familiar gent sitting in a lawn chair on the curb nearby. It was Jimmy Russo. He coulda been back home in his Barcalounger, but apparently is glued to this activity--even a parade. I introduced him near the end of the gig, and he got a very warm round of applause. IMHO, I thought all corps were more "ready" this year than they have been in recent seasons. I like when I go to a show and the bottom two finishers thoroughly entertain me. The SCV flashbacks helped me to enjoy RCru, and CV's variety (loooved the dark, scary middle piece Inferno) was exquisite in a compact, easy-to-digest show. I promise to get cracking with some Barnum folks to make this a more well-oiled event next year. Some folks are actually talking about an event Friday night, perhaps merely social. Thanks to all who came, saw and posted. Most of all, thanks to the corps. And Mr. Ponzo. Ace

Great show. Thanks to all corps. No review from me. Please subscribe to DCW. For half the corps, I believe, 'twas their first show of season. Numbers notwithstanding, I think many of you will be surprised by Hurcs this season. J. Dugan has really come up with an excellent program. I also really enjoyed CV's program. Silky, smooth and easy to digest. Won't see them again 'ti Rachacha. Bush, as usual, putting difficult show on members' backs; holes to fill; cleaning to be done. But they've seen this movie. Ditto the Bellbottoms. I'm not giving Prezteltown the Finals trophy yet, but--surpise, surprise--they are oozing technique and overall quality. I think I like this year's program better than '07's. My apologies to all who attended for the Mattel P. A. system at JFK. Kudos to corps putting in hard work and having their charges good and ready this early in season. My fifth of a dime. Ace

In short, I'd like to know more about your corps' program this year. Unless Steve Vickers fires me, I'll be at DCA weekend in Rachster, and writing up Finals once again for Drum Corps World. Needless to say, this has been an honor and privilege for me. And yes, thank you members for the gobs of entertainment, excellence and goose-bumps you've delivered over the years. Since I am as non-biased a poster as you'll find, I can honestly say that the overall quality of charts/concept and performace has escalated greatly over the last decade and a half. Due to various duties in my daily life, I can get to only a precious few DCA shows each summer. This means that, at semis, I am often seeing programs for the first time. It would be a great help to me to have a summary of your programs for the season. This especially applies to corps doing classically based repetoires, where the show may be divided into movements--or other "non-song" based shows. My goal is to convey a "being there" tone for readers, and sometimes I am not familiar enough with the material to use my what little is stored in my cranium. To that end, can I ask for a document from each of you--all classes, alums, everyone? Please. It need not be in lovely prose--I am not going to quote you. Bullet points are fine. As are details: examples: Name of movement Historical value (first played in 19XX) Soloists/instrument Special visual effects or guard sets during song/piece Extraordinary arrangers for a certain piece Mood or meaning program/piece is trying to convey And such. I hope this is not asking for too much. Email me (or contact with questions) me here. Thanks in advance--am looking forward to seeing it all this summer. Ace Holleran Drum Corps World

I was fortunate enough to catch a smidgen of the 2008 Hurcs at a winterguard show, and was very impressed. I did not listen with critical ears, but nonetheless enjoyed--immensely--what I heard. I still say Kate Socha is one of the most underrated conductors in DCA. Looking forward to to much thunder from the valley this summer. Ace

The average horn player back in my day wasn't a true musician. H/she knew only how to play the parts. Drummers couldn't read. Put them on a kit and they would play a streetbeat. Today's DCI players know how to read; they have some grounding in theory. The better ones are consummate players. This type of education, nowadays, comes only from school systems. Most urban areas I know of barely have music programs, if at all. I think that's why drum corps is primarily white. I bemoan this but don't know how to fix it. I also dislike the "showband" milieu, as portrayed in "Drumline." I think these players are getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop, because the overall quality is so poor, IMHO. I partially blame the educators for this. But, this fall, I emceed a HS band show and was amazed, for the most part, at the talent levels I saw. Ergo, somebody is doing the right thing. It's just not happening in our inner cities. Okay, I'm done.

It was truly a wonderful day. I was privileged to be there. Ace

What terrible news. I am in shock. Sky and the activity (and all of us) lose one of the great ones. Requiescat in pace. ace

By my count, Maurice D. Knox Jr. has been on the sidelines--probably weraring same dungo bell bottoms--for over 45 years wth his trusty tools. The lucre he's raked in from this activity wouldn't provide most of us with beer money, much less a living. He's at virtually every Park City Pride rehearsal; if you asked him, "Hey Moe, d'ya have any shots from the 1967 Dream?" he'd show up with some the next week. Not only should he be in the HoF, but some interested parties should look into digitizing his zillions of photos. Kudos to Al Chez for getting this thread rolling ... Ace

The more competitive it gets, the more entertaining I find DCA to be. I applaud the variety within the circuit: Open, A, Mini, it makes not a difference. I have seen a good many corps--at all levels, over the years--who claim to be "entertainers," and present a sloppy, poorly wrought show. Fans invariably boo when the scores are announced. I have witnessed corps try to effect "artsy" shows and fail miserably because they're not flat good enough to execute the books properly. I am proud, and lucky, to have covered DCA Finals for Drum Corps World for the past 12 years. I know what you're thinking: big deal. Unlike the majority of this august group, I cannot be a fan of any corps. Yes, some corps captivate me in various years, and I try to give them props, regardless of scores. However, the way the activity is set up precludes harsh criticism. The players are amateurs; they are devoting tons of time and energy to march drum corps. If I ever printed the quotes I have received from various DCA (and DCI) players, judges, corps staff and administrators, it would cause huge rumblings in this activity. Trust me on this. Perhaps this is off topic. Simply put: if you erase the competition, then, at least for me, the entertainment level plummets. I said this in my Finals article: The Crusaders this year were the best tenth-place DCA corps I have ever seen. I think this speaks volumes about how the DCA model has progressed. The best competitive unit I saw all weekend, however, was Star United. I have never seen any drum corps, junior or senior, approach this level of excellence. Period. It was one of the best muscial presentations I have ever witnessed: any venue, any genre. Okay, I feel better now. Ace