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Spenser7

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Posts posted by Spenser7

  1. Wow Garry, thanks for the response.

    A little off topic for this thread, but this is by far the most I've read about when and where I marched I've ever seen on DCP.

    You mentioned the pool party before and I had no memory of it - now I know why. That first year was kind of a blur since I had no idea what I was doing; too young (13) and still didn't really know what this drum corps thing was.

    Back to On Topic a little more - In '72 I still hadn't dialed in to drum corps. When some corps mothers brought me my ticket to Finals I complained that I didn't want to go!

    In midsummer '73 we convinced the corps' directorship that we might have a chance to make Finals after scoring a 75 in Canada (very much a fluke in retrospect) and held mucho fundraisers to go. I couldn't wait to go to DCI in '73 and '74. Youth was wasted on the too young for me in '72.

  2. I've got lots of repertoires and scores from back then, Keith (much more than you'll find on any website).

    What in particular would you like to see?

    I'd like to see all the Northwest corps reps from '72, '73, '74, and '76 (there's a selfish theme here). Also all Patriots and Renaissance scores from those years. Pics would be amazing too!

    I would PM you for these but maybe others would like to see these as well. As I mentioned before, this particular info seems hard to come by.

    If memory serves we lost a few shows in '72 to those invaders from Concord...

    Thanks Brian.

  3. To the best of my knowledge, the answer is no. I believe '74 was the last year for the Percussion-Naut Patriots. They didn't compete in '75 at all and were resurrected as Renaissance in '76.

    I have emailed "Spencer7" an ex-Percussion-Naut Patriot to get a definitive answer though.

    Rice

    Rice is correct - the Patriots did not compete again after 1974. Sounds like the program was set up before that decision was made.

    As far as "Sensational" - that would be in the ear of the beholder; and we were always "Percussion-naut", never "Percussionist" (but we were called many other names by our competition, I'm sure!)

  4. Yep! It's called the "Machine Gun lullaby" and I have searched all over for a recording of it. It does not appear on the soundtrack or any other media formats.

    Does anyone have any idea where I could purchase a copy?

    It's on my copy of the soundtrack, which is by Ennio Morricone. It's track 13, and it shows as very cheap used on Amazon. Don't know if it's on iTunes.

  5. You're half right. A huge lightening bolt went off with a loud clap of thunder seconds into Stockton's prelim performance. A judge tried to wave the corps off the field, but they kept right on coming with "Russian Sailor's Dance." As I recall it, the crowd went bonkers! Stockton's concert began with "Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down." A good choice given the weather conditions.

    Probably the most single exciting corps show I ever saw. I used to have a cassette tape of it before my car was broken into and it was stolen, along with Madison's early 1976 show.

    Close second, for similar reasons was the Glassmen at Allentown a few years back in the middle of a torrential downpour.

  6. Thus concludes my first review, I apologize if for length, long-windedness, any conflicting opinions and overall pretty poor writing. Friday I’ll be in Lawrence and this weekend Allentown, which will unfortunately conclude my viewing season this year. So if you thought this was a long review, my Allentown review will be sure to bore you for many an hour.

    Nice job - well-written review.

  7. Probably want to include Marksmen, Imperials and Black Watch. How about Argonauts possibly Renaissance.

    Renaissance didn't start until 1976, and the P-N Patriots were inactive competitively after 1974.

    I don't remember if the Seattle Shamrocks, Bellevue Sentinals (sp?), or Tri-City Columbians marched in 1975.

    Inquiring minds want to know - does anyone remember?

  8. Hey Bruce - At the risk of getting all "PM" - Big Buddha Bob Yeager was an usher at my wedding over 27 years ago. A NW drum corps fixture.

    Poncho was an entertainer and a half.

    It's about time some Western (and Northwestern) corps got some space on these forums. Can't blame anybody, though. There were many more Eastern and Midwestern corps for a longer time.

  9. The corps from Spokane that I remember was the Percussion-naut Patriots. Is that the one?

    Can't really respond without bias.

    Jim Ott wrote most of the 74 Patriots book, and Ray Baumgardt(sp?) and Mike Duffy had worked with the horn line. Judges said we had a very big sound. Plus we had a couple of amazing sop soloists, one being Dave Tippett, who was a soloist with the 75 champion Madison Scouts, and is a name associated with many legendary corps.

    Patriots never fielded another competition corps after 74, but many former Patriots created Renaissance in 76. First year we were small but avereage age and talent were very high, including Dave Tippett's last marching year. I left the corps after 76 but heard they were pretty darn good.

    I remember the Argonauts when they were the Flamingos with Pedro(?) as the DM, and then the quite competitive Argonauts after that.

    Black Watch was a small and young corps that we, the big boys, snickered at, but they sure grew quickly and had a very successful run.

    Another upstart corps we ran into my first year (72), was a Northern California corps that invaded the Northwest and took all our trophies...the Blue Devils. What ever happened to them? :)

  10. This isn't bizarre in the same way the shows described were bizarre, but it was an odd decision.

    At 1973 DCI, I saw a corps from the Pacific Northwest ( I think) that performed the Star Spangled Banner as part of their show. I remember a lot of confusion on how to react. Some people stayed seated, some stood up, some put their right hands on their chests. This even included judges, if I remember correctly.

    Like I said, compared to some of the other examples, this may seem a little tame. But, it sure was strange to me at the time.

    Yes - it was the Tri-City Columbians. Built-in standing ovation, no matter how well or poorly it was played.

  11. There were three corps I can think of.  The Gatesmen from South Boston, the Peabody Musketeers and the Portsmouth Golden Eagles.  Looks like the Gatesmen folded in 1965, Peabody and Portsmouth in the early '70s.  I wish they were still around though.  :(

    I wasn't in New England in the 70's. Are we talking Peabody, MA, and Portsmouth, NH? It would be so cool if these towns still had corps.

  12. I was confused......What was the drum solo that went "dum da dee da dee dee dum" on the xylophone?  I guess I didn't know the name of the percussion feature.  "Chump Change" was a tune on a game show right?

    The drum solo I was talking about was the best and I believe a chromatic run up at the end.  Anyone?

    Keith - Unfortunately I don't know what the tune is called either, but from your "Dum da dee da dee dee dum" quote I know what you're talking about! I've often wondered where it came from too. I stole it for my HS marching band the following fall. The hooks are really catchy.

  13. I didn't notice a bell at Quarters or Semis (same seats as Finals, just the opposite side). Since the sides were switched for finals, maybe no one realized the bell was going to go off constantly.

    Maybe...but it doesn't make sense that one side of the stadium would have an alarm-bearing elevator and the other wouldn't.

    Maybe it was a lightning alarm.

    It was actually a test to determine the powers of focus of drum corps fans. Did most of us pass?

  14. Don't know about parking. As far as I know there are no construction projects on the stretch from Braintree to Boston. If you can, check the traffic updates on Boston.com. I drove the 95 stretch past Foxboro to Mansfield last Saturday afternoon and it was clear.

    Be aware that the major highways move very fast, if there are no jams; faster than any Western highways I've driven.

    Everyone please be careful of the breakdown lanes! Many breakdown lanes are opened during rush hours, but many people still use them at other times of the day. If at all possible, DO NOT STOP IN THE BREAKDOWN LANES. If you have to pull off, try to get to grass or well off the road. I don't know how many times I hear of accidents in the breakdown lanes, usually involving drivers from out of town, who aren't aware of yet another New England quirk!

    Hoping all drum corps fans stay safe during Finals Week...

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