wishbonecav
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Posts posted by wishbonecav
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So Empire wins drums in 92-93 and 94. How did they get so good? Answer: the Bushwackers. Plain and simple, Frank, Robbie and company set the bar. Empire's mission was to work hard enough to compete with them. Up until 1991, no other DCA lines were willing to outwork the Bushwackers.
The '91 Statesmen changed that. And it brought out the best in BOTH groups. True competition brings out the best in everyone. That's why 92 and 93 were so sweet. Both drumlines were ridiculous. 94...not so much. It's always more rewarding to beat the best.
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Is this Joey from Patriots? 20 years ago?
Yup. :)
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To ALL members of Crusaders and Heat Wave,
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you the VERY best for the upcoming championships. May you, along with all DCA corps traveling, have a safe trip to Scranton. Make the best of your rehearsal time this weekend and all next week. May you perform the very best at prelims and at finals.
CRU- You have come sooooo far and I am extremely proud of each and every one of you. I still cherish my Crusader corps jacket and always will. Mike and Donny and Brian and Vinny and ALL the rest of the staff...you have done an amazing job!!!! Continue going forward in 5th gear and don't let down nor give up. I can't wait to see your name in finals.
Heat Wave - I am sorry that I was not able to share this season with you. My new family means alot to me as well as my own two sons and for once in my life I made the best decision. See, since 1970 I have ALWAYS put drum corps in front of my family, friends and everything else. My step-sons dad who lives a few miles away has absolutely nothing to do with his kids. My step son is now in a rehab program and doing very well. The other day I got the biggest hug from him and he and I had a great conversation. I started to see maturity in him. Five months ago I wouldn't have believed a word he said but today I do. It will be a huge battle for him but with his Mother and I there by his side I believe he can be successful. I finally realized that a marriage and a family mean more to me than drum corps. I still love the activity, will follow it and support it but for a while I will stay away and be a family member.
So.....Heatwave.....work hard, stick together, smile and believe in yourselves. I, along with many others believe in you too.
YOU GO ON!!!!!
Hope you know that guys like me appreciated you being out there with us all summer...even if we were pains in the ###.
Joey Cavallaro (wishbonecav on this deal)
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1992 DCA Prelims
Empire Statesmen
They pulled out a huge American Flag to cover the corps as part of their show. The flag came out, it proceeded to tear into several pieces and everyone underneath it was caught in a big confusing mess. People were falling and crashing, but they still finished big.
'Member that?
We called it "the washing machine" because underneath the flag was a winding block and it acted like a spin-cycle on the tearing banner. Almost like the corps didn't want the flag to get away.
#2 bass drummer (Fran) came off the field covered in frayed string.
I was playing tenors and we saw the thing falling apart in front of us. One of the other tenor players, Dave Pascarella, literally gave me a push and said "THAT WAY!" or I would have ended up in the maelstrom as my dot was right in it.
Ugly. :(
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A DCI corps with a limited schedule is a DCA outfit with younger people. Whether that's Jersey Surf, Pacific Crest or whoever.
Compare the two and I give the DCA corps the nod for quality in that case because of one built-in advantage...the ability to have all the players come back next year.
Every DCA Corps has a core group that sets the tone every year in every section. When I joined Empire in 1992, 4 of the 6 snare drummers had been there since 1987. Plug in a couple of new guys and off you go. Same with the sops, baritones, guard, etc.
Take that formula and bring it head to head with the DCI groups and what do you get? When it comes to the top 6 or 7, how about 11 minutes of good drum corps?
So before we get too 'excited' about a "Top 16 Corps going all-age", take a look at DCA already. I'd say that, through the years, a DCA corps or two makes semifinals every year EVEN WITH THE LIMITED SCHEDULE and a couple give the finalists a run for their money (if not as a whole, then certainly in some captions.)
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26 with or w/o th e mini-corps and Alumni units?
PS "Hello, Tom" from the Florida peninsula (specifically Lake Mary)
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Not as spirited as I hoped.
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And I just went to "The Inflation Calculator" at westegg.com. Here's what I found:
What cost $4.00 in 1981 would cost $8.95 in 2005.
So DCI is a little ahead of the curve.
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I think it's over when someone shows up with a ticket from 1981.
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Down at DCI? Or down across the board?
The picture suggests that DCI is ok. Can't fit too many more in there.
It's the shows before DCI that have taken the hit. Some don't exist at all.
US Open comes to mind. And the World Open in Boston. And, and, and...
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Let's call Foxboro a sellout. How does it get better than that?
Ah, yes...SEMI-Finals. Here's the competitive opportunity.
Could SEMI's be held the previous weekend in a different venue with the top 17 going to the big show? Akin to the NFL playoffs held 1 week prior to the Super Bowl. High drama.
The "Big Show" is a Friday, Saturday all-division shootout in one venue.
Example:
This year it would have been Semi's in Allentown first week of August followed by DCI Finals in Foxboro the following week.
Don't make top 17 out of Allentown? You go on a separate mini-tour with the 18-24 clan. Duke it out on Monday and Tuesday at already scheduled venues. Championship held on Thursday night for ONE SPOT in the DCI Friday show. Where? Haven't figured that out yet.
Championship Format: DII & III go Friday Night at the big stadium (NOT the high school) for the Small Corps Title and the Big Corps #12-17 (plus 1 from Thursday) go right after for ONE SPOT in Saturday Night's show. Winner take all. I bet people show up for that one. Lots of people!
Then pack 'em in for Top 12 on Saturday Night. (And EVERY ticket outside the 10 yard lines goes for $10 bucks!)
Hmmm.
Bombs Away!!
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How do you fit more people in there? I ask the question because it seems like we are hyped on ticket price.
More or less per ticket...where would anyone else sit?
And don't say backfield. Filling the backfield or the end zones does not make the show a success. The view from backfield isn't drum corps.
And any price comparison has to factor inflation. Today's $75 is yesteryears $25. Be fair, then compare.
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Is there a stadium in the USA that has 60,000 concert side seats? Nope. Looking at the picture, this was a hot ticket.
Let's call Foxboro a sellout. How does it get better than that?
Ah, yes...SEMI-Finals. Here's the competitive opportunity. Could SEMI's be held the previous weekend in a different venue? With the top 17 going to the big show? Kinda like the NFL playoffs are held 1 week prior to the Super Bowl.
Then you could have 2 MEANINGFUL competitions. Not slot-fests like San Antonio and Indianapolis, but real competition with something to WIN and something to LOSE.
Pair 'em up. Semi's in Allentown / Finals in Foxboro / DII & III go Friday Night for the Small Corps Title and 12-17 go right after for ONE SPOT in Saturday Night's show. Winner take all.
Hmmm.
Bombs Away!!
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27th Lancers in 1994 had 'em throwing babies.
Crown Imperial was ridiculous. Drum solo (27 snares). Danny Boy was just off the hook. Sustained standing ovation with many audience members in tears.
Madison 95 comes real close to that impact with a sustained standing o for the last minute and a half (I timed it off the vhs tape). Once they hit the 50 and turned the wheel, it was out of its mind.
The Empire Statesmen got that kind of response pretty regularly in the 80's and 90's when they did the color presentation. The GE combined with the patriotism and the smoke and stuff. Fans really dug it.
Wildest ovation, though, was Two-Seven.
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I've asked DCI for attendance figures and found out that it would probably take an true act of Congress to get it.
I've asked DCI to post attendance as part of the Box Score for each show also, but no reply there, either. They tell me that different shows count fans differently. Some count the bodies, others count the paid bodies.
Let's pick a standard and go with it. How about if the person comes in the gate and has a fanny in a seat, you count them? Or give a reasonable estimate of attendance...30 rows, 60 to a row, about 2/3 full...you had 1200 attendees.
Or give attendance as a percentage of available seats from the 15 yard line to the 15 yard line...aka 'capacity'... and call anything beyond that a "SELLOUT"(which I think sounds cool). (I am of the opinion that the seats outside the 15 should be GA seats anyway because the entertainment factor for those on the outsides has lessened dramatically since we got rid of the "off the line" and "exit" songs. Call them overflow or SRO.)
Now, attendance isn't the only factor in determining success, but I'd say it gets down to the short hairs.
Lineup, Marketing, Advertising and PRICE always affect attendance. Who picks how these are done? The show people. If fans look at all the factors and then decide to show up, looks like the show people did something RIGHT. Only part out of their hands is weather.
Given these factors, if DCI FINALS got to 90% of capacity and drew 24,000 paying customers to the Finals event, the result was likely considered a financial success (which is the 1st priority whether we like it or not). If that is the case, I say "Way to Go DCI".
Now DISTANCE is important also. Regardless of all the marketing, the drum corps fan is not likely to travel more than 100 miles to see a show. Same as the NFL or College Football Fan. Fans go to "home" games. We are less likely to go to a regional if it is more than 100 miles away and even less likely to go to DCI...I don't care if the tickets were FREE. Ticket price is usually the last consideration.
Is our Championship unique to the point where folks expand the 100 mile radius to, say 400 miles (a 6 hour drive)? Maybe. But the further one lives from the venue, the less likely they are to attend. Period. Especially if there are other choices (DVD, Regal Cinema, ESPN 2, local show with good corps in it, regional that is close-by)
How's about we look at the WHOLE attendance picture to get an idea of where the fans are and how many of them are showing up? NASCAR is a success because they draw everywhere...not just at the Daytona 500. Same with the Super Bowl.
When's the last time you went to the Rose Bowl? Football plus a parade plus warm weather in January? It never sells out and the tickets are cheap. Why not? It's too far away. DCI in California? Might be too far away, too.
Fire away.
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Real quick:
I went to the Indianapolis show this year and wore a real cool Star of Indiana Alumni shirt to the show. It was bright pink with a big star on the front and it was, as I understand it, part of the Alumni's parade uniform.
Where did I get the shirt? On E-bay.
Long story short, I hear a girl shouting at me "Hey, Star person! I should know you! Who are you?"
I recognize her immediately. It's Becky, the drum major from 86 and 87 (pretty sure that's correct). I tell her, "I know you, but I doubt you know me because I got the shirt on Ebay!"
Well, her and her two friends and me had a good laugh and chatted for the better part of 10 minutes about corps and stuff. We reminisced about some common experiences and that was that. No awkward moments. No ######## stories. Honest from the get-go and a fun and a fun and sincere discussion.
Keep it real. It's better that way.
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More recently, I got a private message from a kid on a Honda forum who claimed to march SCV tenors in 2000. I asked him if he knew Rieko (their hot tenor chick in '99), and he said that he'll have to look up the name, and that he didn't quite remember him. Well, not only could you never mistake Rieko for a "him", but the fact that there was a girl in the SCV tenor line was quite a topic that year.
Here's the funny part about Rieko. She got her ridiculous chops in the 1998 Empire Statesmen playing with Donny (Dutch Boy alum), "Firestone" (SCV), Eric (Bluecoats), Lane (Regiment?) and "Junior" (who also went on to SCV).
What is rare is having the listener to that story give proper credit to the Statesmen organization for that contribution. The assumption is that SCV is where the excellence exists. I would guess that some good players stretch the truth in their desire to get the credit they think they deserve.
BTW, I marched Patriots, Crusaders, Windjammers and Empire (but not with Rieko). I have lied about marching with Dutch Boy, Avant Gard, Bridgemen, Crossmen and Boston and haven't been caught ONCE!!! But I WAS in the "Trash Can Trio / Jammitors" at Walt Disney World and was interviewed by Mike Boo in the 1998 DCI Program Update in Orlando!!! And I know Mike Cesario, too!!! :P
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Saw the Bluecoats at a June rehearsal in Orlando. Best part about them? All class. Top to bottom. Staff to members to volunteers.
They were welcoming to me and my family, friendly enough to invite us to stay for lunch and kick-### enough to put that fresh product on the field. Just good drum corps.
And the 2nd time in my life that this corps has given me the old raised-eyebrow, open mouthed surprise. The first time? At DCI Canada 1987. Ivor Wynne Stadium, warm up after a lunch break. F-tuning by the hornline just outside the gate. OMG! I kept hearing, over and over..."Who is that?" The answer...the Bluecoats. That's when the Autumn Leaves blew in.
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A truly evil reply. ^0^
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It's so strange for me to see how sensitive drum corps folks can be. And how, often times, we assume that the OTHER person in the discussion is not educated about corpsdom. Think about it. Would ANYONE on this site be here unless they knew SOMETHING about drum and bugle corps?
It's a small community. Alienate? No. Educate! Or, better yet...conversate (my word, hope you like it!)
The CABS alumni corps is like a classic car. Some folks love the classic 1973 Dodge Challenger and some prefer a new BMW. Both will get you there in a certain style. And both can be appreciated for what they are.
One is not necessarily "better" than the other and to have a debate about which is "better" misses the point.
Royalaires Alumni (my fave!), Cabs Alumni, Erie Thunderbirds, etc. are all part of the DCA Alumni Corps Circuit that showcases at DCA every year. It's a big enough deal that the corps have their own separate event...separate admission is charged and some folks show up at DCA just to see the alumni outfits. That's good stuff! I mean, heaven forbid we reach out to the old-timers who were (and STILL ARE) part of our activity and give them a product they are willing to pay admission to see.
DCA goes even further with the Mini-Corps. What's that? More than anything, it's standstill groups of 15-30 members who have just as much enthusiasm, but not the membership to compete with the big dogs. But DCA gives 'em a format and a chance to compete. None of 'em suck. Most of 'em are hardcorps veterans who can throw down good solos and pack an entertainment punch. Kind of like FutureCorps.
Last point. The DCA prelims and Finals provide a great entertainment value. The top ticket price is $40 and fans get to see good drum corps, especially the top 6, but it extends through the top 12. Empire, Brigadiers, Minnesota Brass, Renegades, Buccaneers, Bushwackers, Cabs...all these corps have great packages and all of 'em have staffs and members that have competed in DCI so they know "good drum corps."
DCA will never be DCI. To compare them is ludicrous. DCI will win the argument every time. But is that the point?
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Can't we have both styles?
I like Baskin Robbins because they have 31 flavors (but the bubble gum makes me sick EVERY TYIME!)
If we keep on beating each other up, all we'll have left is the top 5 DCI and the Saxophone caption at I & E.
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It's so strange for me to see how sensitive drum corps folks can be. And how, often times, we assume that the OTHER person in the discussion is not educated about corpsdom. Think about it. Would ANYONE on this site be here unless they knew SOMETHING about drum and bugle corps?
It's a small community. Alienate? No. Educate! Or, better yet...conversate (my word, hope you like it!)
The CABS alumni corps is like a classic car. Some folks love the classic 1973 Dodge Challenger and some prefer a new BMW. Both will get you there in a certain style. And both can be appreciated for what they are.
One is not necessarily "better" than the other and to have a debate about which is "better" misses the point.
Royalaires Alumni (my fave!), Cabs Alumni, Erie Thunderbirds, etc. are all part of the DCA Alumni Corps Circuit that showcases at DCA every year. It's a big enough deal that the corps have their own separate event...separate admission is charged and some folks show up at DCA just to see the alumni outfits. That's good stuff! I mean, heaven forbid we reach out to the old-timers who were (and STILL ARE) part of our activity and give them a product they are willing to pay admission to see.
DCA goes even further with the Mini-Corps. What's that? More than anything, it's standstill groups of 15-30 members who have just as much enthusiasm, but not the membership to compete with the big dogs. But DCA gives 'em a format and a chance to compete. None of 'em suck. Most of 'em are hardcorps veterans who can throw down good solos and pack an entertainment punch. Kind of like FutureCorps.
Last point. The DCA prelims and Finals provide a great entertainment value. The top ticket price is $40 and fans get to see good drum corps, especially the top 6, but it extends through the top 12. Empire, Brigadiers, Minnesota Brass, Renegades, Buccaneers, Bushwackers, Cabs...all these corps have great packages and all of 'em have staffs and members that have competed in DCI so they know "good drum corps."
DCA will never be DCI. To compare them is ludicrous. DCI will win the argument every time. But is that the point?
Bushwacker Trivia
in DCA - All-Age Corps Discussions
Posted
Oh BTW. Hamel has the fastest hands I have ever seen. Nash has the biggest heart. And Robbie Robinson always showed tremendous sportsmanship and class.