marty_lucy

Please call my cell at 817-374-2762 if interested. I will not have access to e-mail or this board after today. Marty Schlenker Cavaliers 90-92

1990 had the four boxes (diamonds, actually) of 16 marchers each that turned into X's then back into the boxes. We had been doing "the snake" during the drum solo for several years, starting in 1987, maybe, before my time. The snake involved lining the whole horn line up on a yard line, then making an "S" in four counts, back to the line in 4, then a backwards "S" in four, etc. 1990 was a little more involved, included the kaleidoscopic boxes, which we called "snake in a blender". 1991 had the same concept/effect as the boxes, but with triangles instead.

McHenry IL July 23, 1989 1 Cavaliers 84.900 2 Star of Indiana 84.400 3 Phantom Regiment Cadets 46.400 4 Guardsmen 40.500 5 Madison Junior Scouts 38.100 Not in CorpsReps - the Racine Scouts and Chicago Vanguard (they were a hoot) were there in exhibition.

I couldn't have said that better if I'd tried 500 times.

That's a kick. If I'd have known DCP was like talking to God him(her)(cellphone)self, I'd have probably gotten myself banned by now! I swallowed one of those about two hours ago! Couldn't resist.

BD 2005 Cavaliers 1997 I'm not worried for the Cadets.

To any DCI judges or other in-the-know types out there: How is verbalization supposed to be judged on the sheets, specifically the non-GE captions? Does it depend on which section does it, or what kind of verbalization it is? Any section of a corps could do any of the following: Whistling Singing Chanting Narrating "Drum speak" "Uhh!/Whoa!" Etc... you name it... Doesn't seem quite right for the brass/drum/colorguard judge to judge it just because the brass/drums/colorguard does it. Is it part of any judge's required background that they have vocal/choral/public speaking training/experience? Just curious...

Bloomington, IN 1990. End of our opener. I almost never got distracted by the crowd while I was on the field, but this was nuts. As we started to push forward for the last 16 counts, the crowd--thousands acting as one--just JUMPS out of their seats screaming. The stands at IU are steep and close to the field, and it looked like they were going to topple forward on top of us.

I've gotta agree there. Most seasons, I've thought BD was at or near the top in visual performance, but their high GE visual scores puzzle me. Is it that electric shade of blue that dazzles the GE visual judge? I voted "yes" because I think this year's show is a *bad* idea, faithfully executed. I can just hear the staff... "OK guys, portray 'utter tedium' on the field!" And they go out and do it, God bless 'em. The announcer has captured his role perfectly, which is to try to convince the audience *against all evidence* that they're not idiots for sticking around and watching this. The horn line still parted my hair but that was it for me this year. Now, having said that, Madison or Phantom will have to make some pretty substantial changes if they really want something other than the 4/5 spots. Madison: I love 'em this year, but Carmen needs to spend way more time tormenting individual marching members. Dragging them around by their citation cords only to toss them away like so much trash. As of San Antonio, she was a one-woman production for way too long. Where was the vixen, the temptress, the tormentor? Phantom: Definitely also scoring where they deserve, but Rhapsody in Blue is so full of subtlety, and Phantom and subtle are two words that just don't go together most of the time. Phantom needs a few "pianistic" moments, in my opinion.

Fair enough. Just seemed like several folks who responded took their cue from the "#### the placement" in your original post to question SCV's placement. Maybe I misread it too. Anyway, yup, the emotion is definitely there. RCM rules, in concert and on the field.

Haven't seen the APD but I was in San Antonio last night. Have all of you who are emoting about this show based on the APD seen/heard the competition? As SCV marched off, I had two thoughts: 1. Vis program was no better in design or execution than BK or Glassmen 2. Wonder if they're being judged against themselves and not the other corps... Then Crown and Bluecoats came out and just blew me away, and it went on from there... I agree that SCV has a great music book, but the competition isn't exactly sitting on their behinds. That's why drum corps is so great. We can be mightily entertained by the 9th place corps, and have two hours of show ahead of us.

Lots of collective farmers worked really, really hard to keep Russia fed during the communist era, too. Still, they labored mightily to support an idea that ultimately failed. Before I go on, everybody here must know that I'm not comparing communist Russia to Carolina Crown. I haven't seen Carolina Crown this year. I loved 'em last year. I'm not crazy about amps in drum corps either. The thing that it took me a while to get used to about reviews (and internet discussion boards generally) is that they're a showcase for people's opinions, which, as we all must remember, are like a body part that everybody has. Be prepared to not like what you see if you go looking.

This has been quite a thread. I thought I was the most rabid Cadet-disrespecter out there, but I actually liked their show this year. They actually march this year, although it makes me chuckle to hear the comment about their drill being as hard as the Cavaliers'. Maybe because they straight-leg it... I agree that the Bluecoats are where it's at. My boyz are teaching them to march. Go Mitch, Mike, Tony, George!

During the years I marched, there really weren't a whole lot of solos going on anywhere in the top corps other than BD. The one who stands out in my memory is Phantom's JD Shaw on mellophone.

BTW, Jeff, I really enjoyed your review. Thanks!

Hi George - It's not the score that's the issue. The Cavaliers could have won the show or come in sixth and assessed it the same way. For every show the Cavaliers put on, the issue is, "Did we do what we were capable of doing?" If the corps and the staff feel that they performed like they rehearsed, and rehearsed to make sure that the talent of the members is fully showcased, then everything is fine, regardless of whether the result is first or twentieth place. As several posters suggested and Sluggo confirmed, the Cavaliers seem to have had an off night. Every corps has 'em, and no corps wants 'em or likes 'em. I can remember shows where we all rocked, and where we all did so-so, and where everybody did great except for me, and vice versa. Our quarterfinals performance in 1992 was one of those nights where everybody said "hmmm...." afterwards, but fortunately we brought our "A" show the next night. Everybody who marched in 1990, and I mean EVERYBODY, can tell you about the difference between Whitewater prelims and Whitewater finals. Every season has little cycles in it (no pun intended). I'd be happy to have all my off nights in June and July, and none of them in August! Sure, I root for the Cavaliers to win every show, but what drives the organization deep down is whether they achieved what they set out to achieve, irrespective who else is there, or how they perform. Best regards -

Those were pretty great years for DCI as a whole and the midwest in particular. You could finish fifth or sixth at DCM championships and still be pretty #### proud of what you'd accomplished!

I agree strongly with those two picks. "Short Ride" and "Letter from Home" were just fantastic. I also want to mention the 1993 Cavaliers. Haunting, emotional music, intricate visuals. Wish I could have marched it. Obviously there was a lot going on in 1993, and this show gets lost in the hubbub over Star, Phantom, and Cadets, but it still grips me.

He's got my vote too. We had a show together in Stillwater, MN that year. We had gone on a couple of corps before Phantom so I got to hear the show from the front stands, toward the side 1 end zone. He was staged pretty far towards the opposite side of the field, but I remember thinking, dang, that guy fills up the whole stadium. Lush tone, long phrases.

Back when I marched it was 2 years on a DEG 2-valve french horn and 1 year on a Kanstul 3-valve (with the upturned leadpipe). The Kanstuls were big improvements over the DEGs. You could actually find a high F on a Kanstul. The note just wasn't in the DEG anywhere. I now play on a Yamaha 862 and an Alexander 103. In the closet I also have two old E-flat horns (one single horn and one alto mellophone) given to me out of the attic of the high school where my brother-in-law directed the band.