snare36

Yeah, especially in a drum line it would have to be impossible to suddenly dislike a guy to which you have become so bonded. I had heard at some point there was a "girlfriend" component to the whole thing. Imagine if that hadn't happened before finals and the 1989 championship would forever have that pesky asterisk next to it. Eventually the truth would have to come out. Still nobody out there that has spoken to them since?

Imagine being the snare drummer that would have marched in that guy's place. What a terrible disappointment to find out that the guy who got the spot you wanted so bad was a fraud.

Fantastic info, Brad. Very insightful. What a strange thing to do at the age of 25. I believe they were 25. Saying goodbye to drum corps when I aged out was rather hard and I remember watching the 1999 corps with such longing. But to do such a thing to march again is vary peculiar.

Hard to imagine, impossible really, that Gail would be in any way negligent or complicit in this. He was a man of integrity. This obviously happened TO Santa Clara. I'm much more interested in what that event entailed for the fellow members and how this effected those who were bonded to these guys. 89 Alum, I know you're out there.

OOH, Rough.

Sorry for digging up old ghosts but for some reason I began thinking of this situation the other day. I wanted to ask anybody associated with the 1989 SCV what it was like to find out two of your fellow members were over age and had essentially left town after their cover was blown. How did it go down? How did the Corps handle the blow amidst finals week? Has anybody kept in touch with these guys after all these years? They can’t be all bad for crying out loud. What were they thinking? I would imagine whatever the circumstances, these guys would have been bonded to Corps members and it had to be very difficult for them to leave the Corps just before such a fantastic victory. Any insight? It’s one of those things many wish they never had to hear of again, but for some strange reason this event visited me in a dream the other night and I began to try to put myself there. It had to be strange, painful, out of the blue, upsetting, and distracting for the Corps. What’s the story?

A personal favorite of mine is the Blue Devils 1986 drum tape where the only words said are the judge exclaiming "OH, Sh--!" during the drum solo. Now that is something special. What a fabulous line.

Ha! Pony up! When you do, send me a note and I'll sign your book.

I have a video of Jeremy W. in a bus fight. He gets thrown against a window as the bus is flying down the freeway. The emergency exit releases and the window comes open. Jeremy is pulled back into the bus and without hesitation another fight broke out. Jeremy usually held his own.

If any of you are interested in what it was like to be in the 1998 SCV drum line you should check out my book. It was a really fun line to be in mainly because we were so aggressive on the field. Drum our rear ends off all day, fight club on the buses at night. Great year.

A few words to describe Glen: No nonsense, cut to the chase, tough, thoughtful, methodical, deeply emotional (though you SELDOM have the opportunity to see this side of him), honest, serious, and an excellent judge of character. Glen's forte is ensemble cohesiveness. In a short time, Glen can figure out the most convoluted of listening situations and teach young musicians to play in time in situations when doing so is next to impossible. He is short with time wasting, impatient with ego maniacs, and can never be beat in a battle of sarcasm. Glen is not in the business of sparing feelings or accepting mediocrity. Glen is a man of deep integrity who will not accept less than the best from members. Glen's lack of notoriety, in my observation, is not due to a lack of talent or "second best" status to Ralph. Rather, Glen does not seek the limelight or have much use for great personal recognition. It seems to perhaps make him uncomfortable. In the short two years I worked with Glen I found that he gleams his greatest satisfaction in life from the excitement of creating excellence and quality music from young people. When he showed up at SCV in 1997 we were sure he ate young children and rusty nails for breakfast. But as the year wore on, he became one of the most revered and trusted members of our staff by the drum line even if we did peek in his breakfast bowl every so often just to be sure. He never lost his cool but had the voice of a volcano when the drum line reverted to stupid mistakes. One never wanted to be the focus of Glen's wrath. Glen is one of the best teachers drum corps has to offer, period! Thanks for everything, Glen

So proud of you SCV. I just can't wait for the next few years. The best of the best to you!

It's so wonderful to see the corps perform such a memorable show this year. Congrats to the organization for beginning the trek in a fabulous direction!

Well known instructor: "People! If you receive a correction more than twice, YOU SUCK!"

Well known percussion caption head to snares after a dirty roll: "Alright, who didn't pull out?" Bass instructor to well know percussion caption head: "Your dad!"

Admittedly through bias and appreciation, SCV.

I'm not sure I have much of great intelligence to add other than I tend to find the "old drum corps was so much better" argument enduringly obnoxious. Each year has memorable and unmemorable moments. e.g. Sparticus is a show people will talk about for years to come. It was exciting. It was also a show only the modern era could bring to the table. SCV made my hair stand on end this year. Some shows do it for me, others don't. Hasn't it been like this every year? Just because the object of drum corps is no longer to rip the faces off the audience every minute and a half takes nothing away from the enjoyment I experience watching these corps. These kids continue to work their rear ends off to bring greatness to an audience. A little respect.

That night was incredibly intense. It was an honor to watch the culmination of the prior 3 years of the Corps push toward the top. Myron's drill was always exposed and had a small margin for error. (none actually) Let's not forget that the night of finals was incredibly emotional for the corps in part due to bereavement. (SCV lost a drummer to a car accident that May) That's one emotion that is pretty darn difficult to control.

Didn't change it. That night was a bit of a fluke. It never happened again.

When I marched SCV 96-98, I held a similar opinion of BD to Cuban. There was such a competitive spirit between the corps and I was totally swept up by it. I was just sure politics and judging malfeasance was the reason for our continual struggle to beat them. Many years later I can see that the Blue Devils were more talented from the get go, more consistent, and had shows better suited to their talent level. We always started with an overall talent deficit that caused us to work very hard to overcome. BD was confident and so extremely consistent they didn't seem to have "off" nights like we did. It took some time, humility, and perspective to see that, but without boring all with details, consistency and well suited shows have made BD a force to be reckoned with EVERY year. Calling their shows "easy" is a very simplistic argument.

I happen to have the general effect judges tape from the 1998 Allentown show where the snare drummer ate it. The moment goes like this: Judge: "Great job with the staging in this moment and I can tell... OH! OH!... OH! NO! Oh, God... One of your drummers has taken a terrible tumble. Oh, dear! He looks alright. I hate it when that happens... It also appears to have stolen the steam from your opening impact as all eyes are drawn to the poor kid scrambling to get back in the drum line... Oh, such a shame."

That wasn't one of my years but I believe it happened at some point between 93-95. I remember hearing something about that. Pretty hideous. I think it may have been 1993. That SCV Corps was so young and the drill and music was so challenging. They struggled all summer.

Ercan was a pro!

I was in that drum line. That was 1998 in Allentown and the snare drummer was Ercan Erhan. The guard member took some strange short cut while running in a crouched position and took the legs out from under Ercan just before the opening impact. Ercan's drum went flying and I remember watching him pick up his aussie and smash it back on his head. He then spent about 10 seconds getting his drum back on the J hooks before rejoining us. Oh, we were hot that night at the poor guard member. JW Koester saw how hot we all were and had a quick meeting with us after the show to calm us down. The guard member spent the whole rest of the night afraid to come around us. Tenors are a beast of an instrument. I have fallen with them a number of times but never in a show. I've done summersaults, back flips, and the traditional stumble to the knees. It's a lot of weight to handle and it can be quite frightening to be on the ground with them on top of you when you know a fast moving line of brass is backing up into you at one step intervals.

Well said