jbl

There are some things in life we just shouldn't know about. Now I won't be able to sleep tonight with the images coming back. :)

Wasn't 82 the year Phantom's staff stopped going to the post reviews with the judges? I remember Tim Morning talking about it.

Since we're discussing Madison trivia. Are the corps members still required to join the Explorer post? I had heard that this was the practice as late as 1983.

I don't know about "why" the crossman had them. But I do have a story about them. In 1983 when I was marching SCV a soprano's horn needed to repair just before a show. Since there wasn't enough time to have the horn fixed. The staff went looking for a horn to borrow. Crossmen gave us one of theirs. At one point in the show I remember turning around and be startled by facing this brass bell that I wasn't expecting to see.

I remember hearing a story from when I marched SCV that they used to teach music to guys by telling them to memorize open, piston, rotor rotor, open, open, etc.

My first year with BD I stayed at a former members apartment. When we went to all day rehersals he went home to visit family and three of us crashed at his apartment. The second year I slept on the floor in the livingroom at Gary's house. Hey does anyone else remember the impromptu party after Sunday rehersal at Brian Doyle's house that got him kicked out by the landlord?

I don't know if I'd buy the story. I marched SCV in the mid-80s with the forms I had to fill out and present my birth certificate for their records, I just don't see someone getting a call like that.

Hey is it true about the Olive ritual on Madison's buses?

didn't they give out water jugs with the Buddhas also? The wall before the show. And how about the Lansdale, PA show in 84? Not a super great location compared to other shows, but a memorable event Port Huron, MI where the seating started only a few feet from the sideline. Caspar, WY where you could loose to the Troopers with the applause meter. And the warm up before Drums Along the Rockies at Weber State in Ogden, UT.

I didn't know Mike Lore ("Manson") was in 27th! The things you find out 2 decades later! Nor did I know that Peggy Watson was from SCV. She married John Steaveson from the sop line. Still hitched as far as I know... I remember Peggy as being a VERY quiet young lady. Peggy quiet? You didn't ride in a car with her. Yeah Loree and Joe White both had been with 27th. Last I heard from John and Peggy was that they were together in Arizona raising dogs.

A Conn Baritone

Hey didn't you have to travel to rehersal in the back of a white Datsun pickup, that you weren't sure was going to make it?

Those players must have been pretty darn good to go from SCV's matched grip snare line to BD's traditional grip line. And then win drums to boot! Sure, most people can play both ways, but I know I play one way (traditional grip) much better. It is very impressive to me that some of those folks switched grips and performed in two excellent drum lines. Some of the drummers were in 27th before they went to SCV. I know one guy in particular (Tom used to call him Manson) had marched base drum with SCV and then went to snare for BD, but he had started out with 27th. In fact, Dave Glyde was one of them that made the move. And if you look at the end of the 84 BD show there's a shot of the blonde mallet player. She came from SCV also.

At Camp Randall Stadium, in 1985.

I'm surprised that the BD fire of 85 hasn't been brought up. It really wasn't a bright moment. Especially when we finished the tour eating like the Troopers.

The rivlary was intense between the two corps. Yet, as JBL put it, once the show is over, the rivalry pretty much stopped. Back then, this was the relationship between the two corps: Blue Devils director marched in SCV (Mike Moxley) Blue Devils brass arranger marched in SCV (Wayne Down) Blue Devils brass instructor taught SCV (Jack Meehan) Several Blue Devil members marched SCV SCV and Blue Devils members marched together at San Jose State Many SCV and Blue Devils members went to high school together Many SCV and Blue Devils members went to college together Many SCV and Blue Devils members were roommates. The corps are about 60 miles apart from each other. The relationship between the two corps is far more than just two corps who compete with each other on weekends. I recall seeing a rehersal photo of Wayne when he marched SCV, he had hair down to his shoulders and there's a cigarette stuck between his middle fingers as he has his horn up. You forgot that former BD horn instructor Dave Carrico also marched SCV. And I believe now, former BD soloist turned horn instructor, Gino Cipriani is instructing SCV. Has any one mentioned the combined Bay cruise before tour? When I marched both corps would get together before first tour and have a combined S.F. bay cruise. Is this cruise still going on? Just thinking here, but maybe in August when the champions show comes to the Bay Area an alumni cruise for the two corps could be arranged around the events planned?

it's easy to blame the drum major, but it was unintentional.

We accidently played to the wrong Corps at finals (really it was an accident, contrary to popular belief.)

Not to mention the near dozen people who left SC for BD (and STILL did not win at Pacific Procession!) It was closer to two dozen, just look at the SCV 83 drumline and you can see most of the faces in the 84 BD line. A lot of SCV's score had to do at their placement at prelims. They were the first corps of the top 5 to go on that night. (We were second). There was almost three hours difference from when SCV went on to the Cadets. (I think the surprise has more to do with BD's score so close to Cadets with the time span that night than SCV's score and placement). All year long there was this issue in the way scores were calculated. The tick system was gone and many of the judges were still trying to figure out how to judge. There is a great possibility that SCVs score was kept down to allow for room above. The judges weren't willing to give SCV the score and not have room for other corps that were better later that night. Finals is probably the more accurate show for the season re-cap, because of when SCV went on and the improvement of their score from prelims. As a side issue about the judging look at the recap scores at finals for marching, ge, horns etc. in several of the categories there are ties because of the judges keeping the scores closer together than taking a chance and saying a corps was that much better than the others. Unless your a GE drum judge and you want to drop a first place drumline 11 points from the night before.

Getting chewed out by Gail after retreat at 83 finals in Miami.

I remember a comment from a friend who marched in SCV's guard during the 70s. She had said that there was some criticism against the west coast corps because they never took chances to the extent that, in particular, the mid-west guards did. Is there any truth to this belief?

Yeah.....if finals had been the week of Allentown.......it would have been very interesting! Yes, Jim seemed like a really nice person who knew what he was talking about. I can see now why you have always looked up to him. I agree that BD always seems to be one of the ones setting the standard or trend in drum corps. Not only that, but it always seemed to me that they had the total package. In other words, not only were their show designs seamless, but they were also consistently strong across the board, in every caption. It's pretty rare to consider any edition of the Blue Devils and find a glaring weakness. Or not even a glaring weakness, but just an area that disrupts the balance. They've always made it look so easy, when any careful examination of the horn, drum and guard book, along with the visual program, revealed a pretty complex show. There's this saying that the great ones make it look easy. That, IMO, is the Blue Devils' trademark. Unless you consider BD's 1981 drumscore at finals.

To beat Sam to the punch, I would like a do over for 84 BD.

When I first saw this discussion title all I could think of was Dr. Demento's song "Dead Puppies"

No I have a pair of guard gloves from '84 Phantom, one was pink and one was white. I traded for them with the BD chain from my uniform.