Geneva

Victor, NY (near Rochester)...crowd smaller than I expected and a little reserved, though Phantom reached them. This has always been one of my favorite shows. Glad to see so many agree with a well deserved first. The picture was fuzzy particularly in the early years, but I think this may have partly been due to magnification to crop close ups from the original images. Many of those shots reminded me of what I loved so much about old drum corps...the incredible focus and trance-like intensity that the simpler phase of the art-form lent itself to. I appreciate modern drum corps, but sometimes it seems like all the emoting can get distracting.

A little bit of both, I guess. It was 1965 and I was just learning to play the cornet and looking forward to getting good enough to play in the band. One of the guys who I was getting to know in my junior high class was a trombone player in the band. He also was wearing this white wind breaker to school that spring which had this funny emblem on the back of it... (actually this is the senior corps variant, but same idea) When I asked him what that was all about, he told me about this thing called drum corps which for a budding brass player was far cooler than the local high school band. "We are playing in a parade this weekend. Come check us out!" Well, the parade went right past my dad's office and there I was knowing that this was something I had to do. Joined up that fall, marched nine seasons, and have continued on as a fan and part-time participant and avid trumpet player. :)

Hey, Bob, this picture may have been taken on that very same day almost 35 years ago! This is actually a follow up to my story and photo (see post #2366). Well, I finally found a copy of the picture that documents one of my favorite drum corps memories. After six seasons of marching, I was finally going to be marching in the finals of a national championship!. The only other time I was so fortunate was during the 1974 season with the Auburn Purple Lancers. I will have to admit to being partial to this time (there is nothing like the first time). I discovered this photo while visiting an old corpsmate's house in Florida. It is quite faded and in need of restoration beyond my abilities with Photoshop. If any of you wizards out there could fix it up for me, I would be very appreciative. (PS I am the soprano player above the third contra player from the left)

I checked it out!! Good point. Nice total musical moment.

The longer that I have played music, the more I have come to realize that what makes the difference between good and superlative is a mastery of the micro-second moments of tone quality, balance, intonation, and articulation within the composition. One of those moments for me is 1995 Madison Scouts at 7:06-7:07 in La Danza Pasillo. That double G, from what sounds like the whole section, just comes at you from nowhere like a meat cleaver taking your head off!! Perfect timing, attack, intonation and #### difficult! By the way, listen to the whole piece. It is a masterpiece of hot Latin jazz. I think their soprano line that year was one of drum corps' all-time greatest.

76ers were from Syracuse.

I remember the cloudburst well. We were next to perform in prelims and had to wait under the stands until the rain stopped. Man, how wet did you guys get? I remember that when we performed the field was like a wet sponge! During "La Fiesta Mexicana" a small ensemble of horn players sat on the turf wearing sombreros and shawls.The show had a wet ending (pun intended) for them. :P

Wow, this is a great thread! Talk about free association. After seeing this pic and the talk of the 1981 Geneseo Knights West coast tour, it got me rummaging through some of my old corps photos and voile! This picture was taken by my wife-to-be at a show in Cerritos, California (we had just moved to LA that summer). She is a non-corps person, but quickly tuned into the photogenic aspects of drum corps. For years the name of this corps was forgotten to me as it lay mixed amongst images of Phantom Regiment, Blue Devils, and Santa Clara Vanguard who were also at that show. By the way, the California coast at Orange County is quite swimmable. Thank you for refreshing my memories! PS sorry about the rotated image but I gave up on photobucket after several attempts. :sshh:

I didn't get to see the field performance live, but did see the corps a couple days prior at a hockey arena as part of a show featuring Star of Indiana with The Canadian Brass. My ears were ringing the rest of the night! I was amazed to see, on the video, the drill which the corps put on and the awesome guard work! I had already been a fan of theirs for 24 years, ever since hearing them at Shriners International in Toronto. They had a horn line to die for. I can still recall feeling like I was being wrenched out of my seat by the giant dischord at the end of their OTL, "Rawhide".

How about the names of the the soprano and baritone soloists in Garfield's 1977 rendition of "Pieces of Dreams"? Excellent!!

1989 Phantom!! Definitely the best second place corps ever in my opinion. The horn line sound was magnificent top to bottom. This was a corps with a real sense of operatic drama. The tensions building and releasing were incredible. Be sure not to miss the flash of color in their initial OTL move...just like a flower bloom opening, ahhh! I loved the laid back contrast of their second piece after the searing intensity of the first piece. The show was a real design masterpiece wonderfully performed by a corps which really seemed to comprehend the power of what they presented. ^OO^

I like the pic of Purple Lancers 1972. Although the corps is best remembered as the only New York state finalist in DCI history (1974), this corps was very strong in 1972 and 1973 as well with a horn line with razor sharp execution. In Geneva, we dominated this corps until 1972 (when they got their new unis), but couldn't touch them 1972-74. Auburn is about 20 miles from Geneva so you can guess the rest of the story.

Cool pics Old Ohio! Any chance you have a pic of my corps, the Appleknockers, at the 1972 U.S. Open. We made the finals in 1971 and were very disappointed that we were unable to repeat in 1972. It is neat to see the pics of Opti and DeLasalle who we used to compete against all the time.

Well, I have to put in a plug for my old corps, the 1974 Auburn Purple Lancers. It would be great to be able to see those royal-colored cadet style unis come charging off the back field in a wedge to the crisp articulations of "Divergents". Man, I can still remember it like it was yesterday! I was right at the apex. What a rush! But, it would never happen since the prelim recording was erased!! I am still bummed about that blunder. At least I still have the memories and sometimes those are better than the real thing.

1974 Madison is lost in the historical shadow of 1975. In my opinion 1975 was really just completing the unfinished business left after the 1974 upset to Santa Clara.

According to Scooter Pirtle in "A History of Drum and Bugle Corps" vol. 1, the bugle voicing in the thirties consisted of soprano, tenor, and the small-bore baritone to which you refer. I remember these baritones since they were still being used in my corps in 1965 after being handed down to us from our senior corps (which was founded in 1929). They produced a nasty blatty sound when overblown which was the manner in which they were usually played. Probably the reason the old bugle lines were referred to as "horn lines which could really honk"! The "bass" baritone bugle was introduced sometime around 1955 and the euphonium around 1963. The contra bass was used exclusively by the Geneva Appleknockers senior corps from 1959-1962 and designed by Whaley Royce of Toronto. The instrument was redesigned by Getzen in 1963 and over the next several years became a standard part of corps instrumentation. It is interesting to note the evolution not only of baritone instrumentation, but the manner in which they are played resulting in the broader and less impactful sound of modern drum corps bugle sections.

Steve, Thanks for refreshing my memory. I thought the seniors were red-hot in 1972. I was amazed that the Rochester Crusaders could do no better than a tie for fourth with Hurcs even though their horn line was immaculate. I have an indelible memory of Ritchee Price and the Reading Bucs doing up "Russian Sailor's Dance".

Here's my Roosevelt Stadium story (not the Dream though :( )... 1972 and I am driving to DCA prelims, but on the way I am passing through Hawthorne. I have no idea where I am, but want to see the Cabs...No Problem! I just pull over and roll the window down and follow the sound of the horns and drums to their practice site. Just like I had always imagined Hawthorne, New Jersey would be like!

Am I mistaken or didn't the Skokie Indians' unis get passed along to the Chicago (Des Plaines) Vanguard?

#1 DM unis look like the Brigs, but I do not recall the corps ever wearing dark pants.

Hey Brandon, I am playing on one of those horns now with St. Joe's Alumni corps of LeRoy, NY. Three valve G soprano Kanstul with Ventures stamped on the left side of the bell shank just before the flare. I'm guessing Americanos must have sold them to us?

I used to live in LA...just bring your Thomas Brothers map book and have a navigator who can read maps and you're set! The freeway is very efficient and better designed than most eastern cities' highway system with the upcoming exits marked miles in advance. The average California driver is good...you have to be or you are in an accident in no time because of the traffic density.

I thought I would contribute my friend's comparison. He is a pro trumpet player who also played G bugle in the valve/rotor and 2 valve era... First of all I could only compare the old valve rotary or the 2 valve bugle to a Bb trumpet. I haven’t hardly played the 3 valve bugle. The 2 valve bugle plays much more open and with less resistance than a regular Bb trumpet (like a Bach 37 model). Also the 2 valve bugle is slippery as compared to the regular weight standard Bach 37. So it’s much more suited for outdoor playing. The Bach standard 37 has strong slots, but the 2 valve bugle does not. Again it matters which Bb trumpet you compare it to. If you compared it to say a Wild Thing Bb trumpet it plays almost the same. The Wild Thing is made by Kanstul and has a G bugle bell on it. So I think the answer is that you have to compare apples to apples . But if I was to make a quick statement I would say that most Bb trumpets play much tighter than a G bugle. I would also say that most G bugles have a much brighter tone than the average Bb trumpet. I think it matters your skill level and what you bring to the horn ( mouthpiece,skills etc.).

Not a great drum corps venue. The stadium is cavernous and spreads too much horizontally instead of vertically. It will just swallow the sound and not be great for drill pattern appreciation either.

I agree that financial support toward the expansion of Divisions II and III is vital to the future of the activity. I also hear you about the problems inherent in "bailing out" corps that have perhaps been mismanaged. Certainly the primary responsibility should remain with each individual corps. I do think that DCI should get involved in moderating some of the more expensive aspects of fielding drum corps. I think use of electronics is one example of how corps are more or less forced into spending a lot of money in this area to remain competitively viable even though they may not be enthusiastic as to what it actually offers to their programmatic goals. In the past, I think this is what occurred with the evolution of the pit and the movement to a more symphonic sound. I think many corps were unconvinced that the expenditures would result in the type of sound that they desired. As the use of keyboard instruments became more widespread and the instrumentation more sophisticated, however, the result was transforming and the competitive field just became too unlevel to not carry these instruments and risk sounding different from the few at the top who first made the investment. I guess it comes down to the argument of whether the "progress" balances with the inevitable result that more corps will be unable to maintain that level of expenditure resulting in further contraction of the numbers able to compete in division I. I think the negative effects of this type of equipment demand are even more apparent in Divisions II and III. Granted this is very controversial since you are going to end up putting constraints on some show designers' artistic license.