steelcityrabbit

Bob J. & neholgate, if you PM me your mailing address, I will have them out ASAP. The VK snareline in retreat is the only pic of them, there are 3 for Freelancers. Remember, this was back in the day, no digital or phone cameras.

Thanks, sorry I got it wrong, that has to be over 25 years ago, heck, I don't remember what I had for breakfast today.

I was going through boxes of old pics and came across some pics I took at a DCI show in Riverside Ca., maybe 1982, 1983? We, the 29 Palms USMS D&B performed exhibition. If you can prove you marched with any of the corps that night, I will send the pics of your corps to you for free. I don't need DNA, but please be considerate. Also, if you are under tyhe age of 30, you may not have even been born yet. Blue Devils were at the show, but all my pics went to a good friend from Finleyville and Steel City, Mark Ortega, who was in the pit for the Devils that year. Troopers Freelancers SCV Imperials? Valley Raiders? Sky RidersVKBlue Stars SCV a good link!

I have to jump in on this, you say you weren't trying to connect anything, but you put both facts in the same sentence. You started off the sentence by saying "it's kind of interesting". Just man up and admit you were trying to stir the pot. I agree exactly with 84BDSop.

Geez, if it was your first, of course it would be the best ever, for you.

The one thing that sticks out in my mind at prelims '80 was that our corps director felt the need to tell the corps as we were waiting to take the field that the corps was broke finacially and that if we did not make finals, this would be the last show for the Royal Crusaders. We were in about 14th/15th place by standings from previous shows scores and who we had beaten and who had beaten us up to this point. I believe we came in 23rd.

Exactly, you see Super Bowl and world series rings every once in a while for sale or auction.

By the way, last year I sold a couple of patches we found when we went through my mom's stuff. I already have them in my collection so I put them on eBay. One was a General Butler vagabond Booster patch from the early 70's, it went for $10. The other was a 70's patch from the O-Pen color guard circuit, I thought I could maybe get a buck or two for it seeing as it was not from a actual corps. Wrong! $57.00! Makes me think about selling the one from my collection also.

I have: early 70's satin uni top Butler Vagabonds Cadets, yes, it's the same one I wore a pair of bucks (marching shoes) from the 70's that I wore 70's Finleyville Royal Crusaders eisenhower uni top 50's satin white dress shirt Shriners D&B Corps with extensive embroidery 50's red eisenhower with tails Shriners D&B Corps also with extensive embroidery my USMC D&B 29 Palms jacket over 50 D&B buttons from the 70's several 70's corps t-shirts, and no, they don't fit now several programs, DC news & DC world papers my own membership cards for the vagabonds '75, '76 tons of old pics tons of ticket stubs and gate passes and even my original schilke 13A4A from almost 30 years ago I know I can come up with more given the time And yes, my wife gets on me all the time to throw it all away. Lucky we have a spare room.

This may not be the thread to say this, but what the heck. If you get a chance to see St. Rita's Alumni Corps, do yourself a favor and GO! Don't hesitate, procrastinate, etc..... GO ! GO! GO! I promise you will not regret it. Probally the best group of horn players, or should I say, living legends, out there. (you can send my check for plugging you all to the Drum Corps Retirement Home C/O, just another old phart)

I guess you are correct. These days, the crowd only seems to get excited when the guard does something great. Used to be, (please refer to "old phart" referrence) people would clap for a horn solo or drum lick.

Let me start off by saying that I am in no way very good at reviewing anything. This is just my perspective of what I saw and how I felt watching the DCI show at Massillon last monday. The first thing that comes to mind is how all the corps were worth paying to see. They all played and march extremely well, maybe the only difference was their size. First up were the Troopers. I have always been a huge fan and tonight they did not disapoint. I loved the whole concept of the railroad show. The train sounds were great and when the corps all motioned as if to blow the train horn, wow. Of course, the sunburst was exciting, as usual. Next, the Mandarins. Probally the best corps for it's size, ever. Nothing really sticks in my mind from their show except for the fact that they played and marched extremely well. Next up, Blue Stars. Along with Bluecoats, my favorite show themes of the night. The point I would like to make about them is that the whole crowd stood immediatly after the final note. I think they had the best crowd response except for the hometown favorites, Bluecoats. No doubt, a crowd favorite tonight. I thank them for proving you do not need someone narrating what is going on. I really like how they incorparated the bike wheels and the handlebars in the guard. Cool! I also liked the uniform design when going backfield. I know a lot of corps have tried different things in the past to present a different look, but the reversed color pattern really looked great. It gave you a whole other look. Spirit, I hate to say, but the hornline seemed very flat tonight. They just did not come across with much energy. Hopefully just a off night. The drumline seemed to be the one strong point. Boston! Crusaders! Conquest! Just to hear that tune was worth the price of admission. Like my title says, as an old phart, I love the Cadet/military look. They were the first corps of the night that really grabbed my attention with the fast paced and ever changing drill. Blue Devils. As usual, loved the horns. I not sure what the guard was trying to get across with the face make-up, but with their horn and drum line, who really watches the guard that much. I loved how randomly people would take off and run. Again refer to my statement about the Blue Stars that no narrating is needed to get your point across to the audience. My first comment to those with me was that I would have to see their show at least 5 or 6 times to see everything. This was the the show I hoped would win so I could hear it again that night. Win they did, but Bluecoats were alowed to do an encore for their hometown fans, oh well. (I did get to hear that Simon and Garfunkel tune again!) One negative on the Devils is that during one song, there was a amplified drum that really thumped a bit loud. It reminded me of those cars that you "feel" before you see them at an intersection. SCV, the classiest corps of the night. Their uniforms seemed to really stand out. Again, just like Spirit, the horns did not seem to play with a lot of energy. And of the top corps tonight, a bit on the dirty side also. They just did not do it for me tonight, and I have always been a huge Santa Clara fan. I did like the color guard, I thought they were one of the better ones tonight. Also, they were the first corps that I noticed who marched cymbals. Last on were the hometown favorites, Bluecoats. It always amazes me that their are still people who don't know that the crowd is yelling "BLUE" when the enter. I really loved the whole "Rocky" theme. The narration, or should I see ring announcing was something I could have done without, but it did not detract from the show either. My favorite part all night was the big block of horns palying the Simon and Garfunkel tune, man, what a sound. There were a few spots that might need a little work as far as sound balance, but man, what a hornline. Being an old phart, I really liked the guard attire. The use of the speed bags was a great idea also. The drums seemed to be very strong and when the bass drummers played with the boxer on the speed bag, excellent. I know that their visual show has hurt them, but I did not think that it was that bad compared to the other top corps tonight. And now for a few overall thoughts. Where did all the cymbal players go? I guess the same place as the tymp players went. I did notice on a few occasions some noises coming from some of the corps audio systems. I guess that's the price for being able to hear the pit a lot better. As I stated at the top, I am amazed at the level that all the corps play and march at. There were no corps that you could go get a hot dog during their performance. Every corps was worth the price of admission and I would love to see again. I have heard and read all the arguments over Bb horns and the old G horns. I did not notice a projection problem. Maybe if their were some of each to compare, but I thought the horns overall sounded great. And last of all, a big hats off to the folk who ran the show, very well done. They really enforce the no entering the seating during a corps performance. More shows should be this strict.

WOW ! The only thing good about the 70's, tube tops!

WOW! That's great. Steel City is making an appearence in Wilcox Pa. that day, where ever the heck that is. Oh yea, it's in the Alabama part of pennsylvania! YEEHAW! (please see "drum corps in PA" thread for joke)

Having been to Reading more times than I care to remember, "Alabama". Although it is home to Al's Diamond Cabaret!

I read all posts with great interest. However, there are several posters from the western PA area that I can't seem to place a name to. Please let me know who you are, I am sure I know you. Thanks, and great discussion.

Scott Koter, who became a drum judge and lately been a creative consultant to some of the top DCI corps. he was teaching our drumline in 1980 at Finleyville, even though he was still young enough to march. He came up missing during the summer only to be found marching with Schaumburg Guardsmen snareline.

6/14/80 Revere Ma. 1. 27th 2. Bridgemen 3. North Stars 4. Boston Crusaders 57.50 5. Defenders 6. Garfield Cadets 51.05 7. Sprecta DCI Prelims Birmingham Al. 10th. Garfield Cadets 81.45 24th. Royal Crusaders 64.45 25th. Boston Crusaders 63.90

As a side note, when I marched Finleyville Royal Crusaders in '80, our corps director, gary Inks, told us not to worry about Boston beating us, that they would drop in score at finals. We never beat them all season except for prelims at Birmingham. I think if you check, Boston beat Garfield early that season, Garfield made finals at Birmingham, Boston was 24th or so.

Great read, thanks Dan. Let me start another point. When I was in the USMC D&B, I had the honor of playing taps for the last true "GUNNER" on active duty. These were the guys who had a bursting bomb on one collar and a WO bar on the other. They said there were over 30 stars(generals) at his funeral. I cracked a note , but was later asked by a General if I did it because of the JFK funeral legend. He said that when an enlisted man plays taps for an officer, they crack a note on purpose. I believe his expalnation was to show that officers are human also. I had never heard of this, but agrred with the General that I did know of it, whos to argue with a man with stars on his shoulders. Anyone else ever hear this? If you listen to the Army Bugler, he cracks a note at the JFK service.

In my opinion, Boston created the saying, "Quality, not Quanity.",

In Cal., do you pronounce it like they do in NJ or DE? New-irk, NJ New-arc, DE

S Most would say '75 was their best year as far as competition goes. By 1980, the corps lost most of it's solid players.

Do you remember a certain snare drummer beimg added during the season? He went on to become a DC Legend. My bad, wrong Guardsmen, I thought you meant the KFC Kadets.

TRhat would be my cousin. He runs the local Radio Shack in Butler now.