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jbl

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Posts posted by jbl

  1. Tim Morning...now THERE'S a name that brings back memories....sudden step-size changes, specifcally!

    And the vets trying to snuggy him, only to find out he wore some sort of polyester shorts that wouldn't rip  (unlike the three cotton ones I had ripped away)

    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. :)

  2. Nope....they were undefeated until they met BD in Denver in early July.  DC World then labeled Phantom "nearly undefeated".....we always felt there was a bias against us, that statement fueled the flames even more (I still have the article).

    According to the DC World Articles I have, Phantom was having problems with their performances.  They were, as one article put it, going through the motions.  Garfield, a 7th place drum corps at the time, was beating Phantom. 

    The closer a corps gets to that undefeated season, the more intense it gets.  Odds are a loss is coming.  You just hope to get it out of the way sooner than later.

    Well...being part of of the "history" you mentioned, I think you might want to check your history.

    Wasn't 82 the year Phantom's staff stopped going to the post reviews with the judges?

    I remember Tim Morning talking about it.

  3. 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.

  4. 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?

  5. A friend from high school was telling me that Garfield and SCV called his dad up when he was 24 wanting him to march. He simply told him that he was way too old. Their response was "we have ways to work around that." This had to be around the mid-80's. He didn't march with them because he already had a kid by that time and was wanting to finish college.

    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.

  6. My favorite shows to compete at were:

    George Wong's Odyssey Classic in LA

    Again, large crowds, big stadium, astro turf, Budha's for trophies, and killer non-typical stadium food. This show used to have a ton of corps at it.

    didn't they give out water jugs with the Buddhas also?

    Drums Along the Rockies

    Incredible stadium.  Used to love looking at the multiple decks packed with people in the early 80's.

    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.

  7. 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.

    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.

  8. I commuted 40 miles everyday with a small group of people. If you can work it out, join and have a blast. There is always a way to work it out in the Blue Devil Family.

    Kimela

    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?

  9. 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.

    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.

  10. It's also interesting to hear about the relationship between BD and SCV. They are contrary to the stories I remember hearing.

    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?

  11. With respect to 84 SCV.  I do know that quite a few of their vets from 83 opted out on marching 84 so they could do the Olympic band down in LA.  Perhaps the pressure of Prelims got to them without those vets.  I don't recall.  Vanguard had a great corps that year, beating every corps on the field.

    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.

  12. Absolutely, I'm blown away how much they cleaned, etc. as I hadn't remembered that they were that much behind.

    I think had it been held a week earlier....well you know what I mean!

    On Brass Roots my good friend Jim E. who you met in Orlando said something like the 1980 Blue Devils were the total package. He was going over the corps that set the standard so to speak during certain eras.  So for that year to stick out in his mind is a nice feeling knowing we and other corps were very close! 

    But, BD seems to have set the standard period.....oh they were/are so seamless.

    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.

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

    Dead puppies

    Dead puppies

    Dead puppies aren't much fun

    They don't come when you call

    They don't chase squirrels at all

    Dead puppies aren't much fun

    My puppy died late last fall

    He's still rotting in the hall

    Dead puppies aren't much fun

    Mom says puppy's days are through

    She's gonna throw him in the stew

    Dead puppies aren't much fun

    Dead puppies

    Dead puppies

    Dead puppies aren't much fun

    Dead puppies

    Dead puppies

    Dead puppies aren't much fun

    Dead puppies

    Dead puppies

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