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hairbear

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Everything posted by hairbear

  1. And some more history regarding the Angels and Marion merger: My Jr. Corps from Mt. Carmel Ohio (Black Shields of Sparta) got most of the angels uniforms. The remaining Angels uniforms were worn along with Marion's uniforms, for the first year of that merger.
  2. But: If some of those "cars" are missing bumpers, tail lights or other essential parts, they're not going to command as much money as those that have all their parts firmly in place. Want a higher score? Arrive in the parking lot with all your parts and you'll get a higher score. Problem solved. :)
  3. If you don't value competition, then you have no reason whatsoever to be angry, when you find yourself in last place.
  4. The point I was going for, was that technology has seeped into every corner of our lives. A friend of mine once said: "The music business is cyclical. It will come around again". This was in reference to audience and attendance at live performances. At some point, maybe folks will seek out live entertainment again. In the bar band scene, I doubt it. Why? Stringent enforcement of DUI laws and smoking bans that have cut into profits, for the bar owners.This is the first question a band is asked, these days: "Do you have a following"? Or: "How many people can you bring?" The irony is that a band can sound like crap, but if they have 100 people following them around, they'll get booked every weekend. Being good doesn't even matter, to most bar owners! DCI has a following. Simple as that. DCA needs more young folks in the corps AND in the stands.
  5. I had to give this some thought, before posting. I have been a bass player, playing for years. (even before I joined a drum corps, as a kid) Locally, every musician I know is complaining about shrinking audiences, low pay and being forced to do everything but unlock the bar's door, just to get people to show up! We do it all. Rehearse the music, load the gear, promote the bar AND the band, play the gig, nag our friends and family to come to the gig, advertise in print and online, fill the tables with flyers, pay for photos, spend our own money on every expense.... And what does the bar owner do? He unlocks the door and sets up his cash register. That's it. I'm going somewhere with this, be patient. LOL! If we are lucky enough to put butts in the seats or there just HAPPENS to be people already there, they have their noses in their I-phones or they are watching the "big game" on one of several wide screen T.V.s., as we play. The irony is that I played to bigger crowds, when I had less talent in the 1970's. Now that I have a handle on my instrument and have more talent, I get smaller audiences! It sounds ridiculous, but it's true. I've seen and heard bar bands "firing on all cylinders" nailing a show, while the audience virtually ignores them. WHY? Well, why go out and risk a DUI, when you can sit at home with 500 channels of cable or satellite T.V.? Why go to the movies and pay 25 dollars for tickets and another 40 dollars at the concession area for popcorn and drinks (you KNOW those prices are grossly inflated) when you can wait until the movie shows up on cable? Why go out at all, when you have social media, video games, big screen T.V. etc, etc.? Why do people sit across a room from each other and text back and forth? (Yes, I've seen this) The frustration is almost overwhelming. It's kinda sad, actually. It seems everyone is struggling for an audience. Why should drum corps be any different? You can "think" yourself into a corner, trying to come up with a solution. I think society has changed. We have all this technology but with it, almost NO reason to leave the house! The music business has changed. It's nothing like it was when I started playing in the mid 1960's. Maybe the drum corps business has changed too?
  6. I saw Minnesota Brass this season. They blew me away! I can say this with complete confidence: Sandy would have had his Congas lit up, like that house in National Lampoon's "Christmas Vacation", If he was still alive today. If we could figure out how to put them on his uniform: That too! Electronic percussion? We were doing that (outside of the activity) Years before DCI or DCA allowed it. Synths? We had that, too. Electric bass? Look at my avatar. :) (Thanks for performing with us, Big W. We had a blast. And thanks for your kind comments)
  7. A slightly different perspective: On the 21st of May, 1971, I boarded a plane for Texas. I was my Jr. Corps first "age out" at 19 years old. I still had three years of eligibility, but "Uncle Sam" had other plans for me. The drum corps I knew, was what we all knew it to be, at that time. Half a world away in 1972/73, drum corps was the last thing on my mind. There's no time for drum corps, in a war zone. I was 20 years old, hoping to see my 21st birthday. On the morning of December 5th, 1973, I took a seat on that beautiful silver and white C-141, with a smile on my face. I made it! Discharged on April 4th, 1974, I went home. I went to something called "DCI" finals, later that year. All the corps I knew, where there. "Who's this? Blue Devils. never heard of them. Bring on the Troopers!" While everyone else was around for the "Combine", the formation of DCI and the changes in rules, drill design, etc, I was not. Sitting in the stands that night, I had a choice. I could reject what I saw, or I could accept it. I accepted it.
  8. Well, I see things are moving right along, over here on DCP. The way I see it: Somebody has to carry on with the activity when I'm dead and gone. They have to add their uniqueness and talent, their youth and vigor (both of which I am lacking, at 62 years old) to the advancement of the activity. If they show up and don't see what they recognize and expect, they (todays young participants) will turn around and walk away. I don't want that to happen. We had our day, it's the young folks turn, now. Don't be so selfish.
  9. Trampolines in Drum Corps. Didn't somebody do that already? LOL!
  10. Perhaps in your world, but not mine. When's the last time you used a rotary dial phone? I'm 62 years old and the last time I did, I was probably 10 years old. I will always point out irony whenever and wherever I see it, NE Brigand.
  11. I'm posting the following status/comment from my Facebook timeline, because I was dared to do so and I like challenges. The comment is 100% mine: "All the old farts crabbing about DCA allowing electronics, synths, etc in 2015, voicing their objection online using an I-Pad or Laptop, with a cell phone in their pocket, driving a car with computer chips that monitor emissions, pulling into the driveway of their house that has an electronic security system, checking their email and Skype with a friend who lives halfway around the world and yet somehow, a Synth in drum corps is bad?" :)
  12. Well, that accounts for 60 of those years. Where ya hidin' the rest? LOL!
  13. Somehow, the thought of Tom doing a "pizza dive" on a bus trip nowadays.....I don't think todays young DCA corps members would appreciate it, Jeff. Certainly, the DCA corps of today do a far better job with the membership, in all the areas you mentioned, BigW. Our 96 season was the most focused and purposeful effort I'd been a part of, since 1987. I think what we are discussing here, is exactly what C.Holland is asking about. Do you guys recognize a change in attitude, in todays DCA members? I see a sense of professionalism, individually as well as collectively. Coming from Ohio Brass Factory to Steel City Ambassadors was quite a change of culture, for me. Then from Steel City to Westshore in 1991, another "adjustment" period.
  14. I haven't seen or met anyone capable of what Tom achieved in the way of loony behavior. I think he set THAT bar pretty high. I have a feeling that was confined to our days in the activity. Things have changed. I doubt for instance, that an entire bus bay is reserved for cases of beer, today. It just isn't accepted, like it was in our day. I could be wrong, but I think the activity is viewed differently not only by management, but by the younger members. I'm too far out of the loop to know for sure and I haven't been on a bus ride in years. I'd venture to say things HAVE changed, because society has changed. What say you, Big W?
  15. As I watched, I said to myself: "Here's a guy with no barriers at all." LOL!
  16. 1991; Tom swiped "somebody's" favorite Crossmen t shirt, attached it to a pole and set fire to it, then quickstep marched it across the rehearsal field, in full view of the shirts owner. HUT HUT HUT HUT! LOL!
  17. One of yinz ought to post that photo of Tom wearing the bathing suit. Whose was it? Troutman, something?
  18. Bernie Pack: Yep. But still not to the level Tom McShane reached. HAHAHA!
  19. Bus trips? You got to ride on busses? LOL! Bus trips in DCA were a treat for me, because I drove almost everywhere! How's THIS example for you: Westshore, 1992. I drive 9 and a half hours to Hershey to catch the busses for Ontario. I arrive at precisely the time I told Dan Bowman I would. NO busses! They left without me. I refilled the gas tank and left Hershey for Ontario. I crossed the border with pocket change. I'm guessing 18 hours ONE way. It felt like 18 hours. After the show, I stayed in Hamilton at a friends house, got up the next morning and drove home. The corps footed the bill for my gas and years later, I got even with Dan Bowman. I gave his 15 year old son a Marshall half stack ( 100 watts) for his guitar. VERY noisy in Dan's house for a while*. LOLOL! *Dan still likes me. :)
  20. Let's' see... Started with my local Jr. Corps. (1968) Didn't know a thing. A "beginning horn instructor" taught me how to get my first note from a single piston baritone. I don't recall the corps having a dues structure in place, but we were required to bring a small amount of money for travel, when we went to Legion or VFW state championships. With no hope whatsoever of making finals in such a contest, we always sat in the stands and watched the other corps, after coming in dead last in prelims. Paper drives, bake sales, etc, were the fundraisers of choice. DCI didn't exist when I began my time in Jr. Corps. Vietnam and the draft put me halfway around the world, when DCI came into being. Drum Corps was one thing when I left and quite another, by the time I returned. By the way, I was in the ranks of the Kilties, as you described when you were standing in retreat. :)
  21. I saw Ghost Riders at this years mini corps show. They are not an alumni styled, "blowing the high notes" type of corps. Far from it. They have an established identity and a solid ensemble sound. The entertainment factor is solidly in place, as well. There are plenty of alumni corps around nowadays. But that won't last forever. I think it's the nature of the beast. We (old guys) aren't getting any younger, but DCA sure is. Isn't that how it should be?
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