DRB

When I was active in the activity (1980's), DCM seemed to be thriving and doing very well. There was also a DCE and DCW which ran contests as well. Now all these organizations are gone. What happened? Is this a result of the tremendous decline of what was corps and now brass bands?

Although I had seen corps in parades, the first contest I remember was 1976 Alton IL. Seneca Optimists, Oakland Crusaders and the drum line that was fantastic, Phantom, Kilties, Blue Stars. Ended up aging out 1980 Guardsmen.

Leaker - someone who tic's

I was told that in the mid 70's, there was a year with about 15 corps from Illinois.

Late 70's = first time seeing Blue Stars and the girls in the shorts = still a classy uniform Mid 70's - first time seeing brilliant finish cymbals and trying to figure out how they did that Bridgemen - enough said mid 80's Sex Cymbals 1985 - 1st show ever Star of Indiana

The OaKland Crusaders drum lines 76 & 77 - amazing even today Hearing Spirit of Atlanta and that horn line letting loose late 70's into 80's Seeing Madison for the 1st time late 70's Phantom late 70's and those horns with Beethoven's 5th and Flight of the Bumblebee Sky Ryders entertaining shows in the 80's PR & Kilties with Pagliacci in the late 70's (somebody needs to play this today) North Star and the chrome wall 1988 Madison Scouts at KC - enough said - they won fair & square Late 80's SCV - amazing every time

I will probably be crucified for some of my thoughts but here goes. As a person who was very involved in the activity in the 70’s and 80’s, my perspective on the current situation is based on what I saw develop during this time. I have not been active or seen any shows in the past 20 years. I was given a ticket to the quarterfinals at a local theater and was surprised at what I saw. Prelims/Finals In my time, prelims were a two day affair. Although I do not have the statistics, there were probably upwards of 50 corps in prelims, maybe more. Back then, there were only prelims and finals. You either finished top 12 or you were out. Given the limited number of groups today, I think DCI should go back to this system. It’s highly unlikely that a 15th place group is going to improve enough in 24 hours to make finals. I would suggest that open class prelims be on Wednesday with finals on Friday and world class prelims on Thursday with finals on Saturday. This would give the finalists 48 hours to change/improve/perfect whatever they want. Show Design The metamorphosis in show design is stunning. Certainly things change with time but are the changes for the better? Is there such a thing anymore as a color presentation? Does anyone bring the American flag onto the field? Is there any reverence to our past? It wasn’t that long ago that having the flag on the field was a requirement. It was really difficult to understand to what extent show design has changed. In my outlook, there are no more color guards. There are dance troupes. There are not even unis which in any way match the brass & percussion. Some of the dance troupe attire looked like it came from K-Mart. I realize this is a negative statement. I fear that the activity has lost much of the “class” we worked to develop. It felt like an attempt to be Broadway rather than being corps. There is nothing wrong with being either one. It appears creative side has overtaken the performance and execution side. Is there still a .1 penalty for drops? I saw many drops throughout the evening. Corps always prided themselves on execution and precision. Certainly the visual aspects are more demanding. At the same time, I saw visual breakdowns in the top four units. It may be worth considering re-instituting some of the old tic sheets. I think there are far more tics out there than people realize. And another quick issue. Are there no longer defined beginnings and ends? I noted corps having pits playing and/or movement just prior to the main part of the show starting. Why is this allowed? Music Selection I remember the 1st time I saw some of the major corps, Phantom Regiment, Kilties, Oakland Crusaders, Spirit of Atlanta, Blue Devils, Vanguard, Garfield. To this day, I think I could still hum some of their music. Beethovens 9th, Flight of the Bumblebee, Georgia, Pagliacci, El Gato Triste as examples. I just sat and watched several hours of performances. I don’t think I could hum anything I heard. This is just a thought, and I will probably be severely criticized, but I would love to see someone play music that is catchy and memorable. Not to say that anyone is playing anything which is improper, it just does not leave the same impact on the next generation as it did for me a few years ago. I’m going to use Spirit of Atlanta as an example, I’m not individualizing or saying this only applies to them. I would suggest that every drum corps fan of the 70’s and 80’s at sometime left a stadium humming Georgia and/or Let It Be Me. Who left IU humming something from BD? Who left humming something from Garfield? Who left humming anything that they will still remember years down the road? I believe that if the activity is going to continue to attract members and grow rather than decline, that improved music selection will be a key factor. I’m not saying we have to back up to the 1930’s. I’m suggesting that revisiting and revising some of those great favorites from 20-30 years ago could be a healthy and prosperous move. When I see BD, I expect to hear some beautiful jazz with creative arrangements. I’m still not sure what I heard from BD. Madison, Troopers, & Carolina Crown were, in my opinion, headed in the right direction with their pieces. And drop the narration stuff. Maybe a little like Bluecoats had was tolerable but theirs was probably too much as well. Garfield was off the deep end. The narration was completely detached from the musical performance and was distracting at best. For decades, corps designed shows that people could understand and appreciate without narration. If the activity has reached the point whereby narration is necessary, I suggest that the activity has moved backward by decades. Brass I was told that the traditional 2-valve G bugles are gone in favor of 3-valve B flat horns. If the activity is going to be honest to itself, the name should be changed. These are no longer drum & bugle corps (D&B) because bugles are not being used. They are drum and brass bands (D&BB). I’m not passing judgment here about the merits of these, I’m just being honest. I think the activity has lost a great deal of uniqueness in that the sound is not nearly as bright and full sounding with the B flat. But it is what it is. I suspect the driving factors behind this were easier transition for band students and cost. I just want the activity to be honest and there is nothing wrong with being D&BB. Just do not claim to be D&B when you are not D&B. Percussion As a former percussionist, I was amazed and disappointed at the same time. I do recall the time when the pit was created. I also recall when everything was carried. I think the pit has grown out of control. I specifically watched one of the top eight and unfortunately cannot recall specifically which D&BB it was but the pit extended 30 yards! It seems like there is a contest as to who can find the most stuff to throw in there. Does anyone beside me enjoy watching some of the 70’s and 80’s corps on You Tube? If you’ve not done so, go watch some of them. Notice how clean the field is compared to today. Sure there has been some interesting musical effects added, but at what cost? What would happen if someone dropped about 50% of the pit and went back to marching equipment? A renaissance could develop in the activity by having some movement in this direction. There’s no easy way to say this but I’m really disappointed with the drum tuning. The snares sound like thud with snap and the altos (formerly known as tenors) are way too high in pitch. That may be why they do not seem to project as well. And for the bass lines, drop the high drum and add some bottom out there. If I were running one of the lines, I would go back and try 15” snares with Silver Dots. At least they had some tone quality. On a positive note, the demand is there given the number of notes played combined with the running across the field. Is it tougher than those of years ago? I’m not sure.

Making finals my last year of eligibility.

I recall a thread about the best year ever maybe about 1 year ago. The winner as I recall was 1980. That happened to be my age out year.

About 1985, I was at a contest where the Geneseo Knights had won the past few years. Unfortunately for them this time, someone named Spirit of Atlanta was part of the show. Someone in the crowd said Geneseo would win again. When I told them that Geneseo would be lucky to get within 20 points of Spirit, the question came, "Well are they good?" No lady the are not good. That's why they have been a DCI finalist for the past 8 years.

Carolina Crown GE 38.800 0 Visual 29.000 0 Music 28.900 0 96.700 0 The Cadets GE 38.250 0 Visual 28.850 0 Music 28.350 0 95.450

If Madison could magically pull out the 2-valve G's, they would probably move up to 11th.

It's been a long time and the old brain cells do not work as well as they used to but I think it was 1980 when Jim Ott died. I recall the Guardsmen playing Greensleeves for Spirit either the same day or the following day.

Jim Ott died in 1980. 10 snares 6 quad 6 bass 6 cymbals 4 marching timps 4 marching keyboards

The best way to answer would be to send an email to one of the greatest drum guys there was, Marty Hurley.

1976 Madison

I have really not been attending shows for many years, and I'm going to show my age here but how about some retro shows? From what I've seen, I would like to leave a show humming some music that sticks with me for a couple of days. Let It Be Me, Danny Boy, Greensleves. I cannot find anything like this in the current environment. How about some guard unis that match the rest of the corps. Ditch the dance stuff and go for some solid rifle lines. Get rid of the pit and have a true marching percussion section. Could the lines these days deal with this? Just an idea.

Would love to see a vid of the Kilts and Pagliacci, I think 1977 if anyone has it.

Sure do miss those cymbal players.

I was in the 1980 Guardsmen (Schaumburg) drum line and I do not recall Scott Koter being in the line or adding any members throughout the year. If I'm wrong, I'll blame it on old age. It's been a long time ago.

1979 and 1980 Guardsmen - a horn line that didn't stop and the rest of the corps worked to keep up.

Sent an email to Roger Kellaway. Here is the response. Yes. It was originally written for "The Singers Unlimited" for the CD called, "Just In Time" [The Singers Unlimited w/ The Roger Kellaway Cello Quintet]. Into The Light, Roger The "yes" was a response to my question, are you the composer of this piece? I never heard the original. Now I have a new piece of music to find. Thanks to everyone for the assistance.

Maybe that happened in 1983. It's been a long time to remember the exact details. I was not a member - just infuriated with what happened that day. It was an adjudication massacre to say the least. Always felt DCI "owed" the Knights for this screw-up.

At least that's what it was in my mind. I think it was 1982. The corps from Geneseo IL had a chance to be a DCI finalist. Really had a strong corps there for a few short years. It's been a long time, so my facts may not be totally accurate. As I recall, it was DCI Midwest prelims and something happened which has not been, or at least not known by me, to be adequately explained what happened that day. Here was a corps who dropped something like 15 to 20 points from Friday night to Saturday prelims. As told to me by a very good friend and reliable source who was marching with The Knights, there was no explanation, justification, or concern expressed by DCI. I'm not sure there has been a discussion about this to this day. A case could be made that this beating by the judges initiated the downfall of Geneseo. It seems to my old memory, that the corps really declined over the next 2-3 years. This single, solitary event damaged the corps so significantly that I'm unsure if they ever made another appearance in Whitewater. There was an unsigned editorial of sorts in Drum Corps World that covered this day's events in detail but I to this day, do not know if DCI ever made any efforts to help Geneseo with the emotional and psychological trauma inflicted on the corps that day. In my years in the activity, this was without a doubt, the most heinous act by a judging crew every witnessed. I was told, by a member of the corps, there were some significantly upset people. Well, I hope that someone out there can enlighten and refresh my memory about this event.

Was that an original composition for SCV or was this taken from somewhere else?