tommyfromhowardst

Though your picks are random, those three corps had about the coolest shows that year! Argonne with the killer horns, DPV with the "original" West Side and Planets, (crowd favorite) and the Kingsmen who just hung it out to dry, finally beating the Blue Stars, who owned them all year. What a show down!!! And the funny thing is, the first picture we see of the show has a caption that hails the Kingsmen as champs yet the photo on the cover clearly shows the DP Vanguard. Dewey Defeats Truman---HA!

Agreed. And while they're there, it would be cool if all 12 corps could learn one tune and play it all together once before they play themselves off the field. Audience too. 1200 musicians and 30,000 vocalists performing the Flintstones theme or MacAurther Park etc. Everyone's already standing there, might as well.

Corps #306 is from Brooklyn--photo shows them marching along Suydam St....their AL Post was on Wilson and Hart..........1969.......

Wow, these stories are great. When I was drumming, it was the transitional 70's. At First, we were taught by Mitch Markovich who came from Cavies to Royalairs to N. Ambassadors (Argonne Reb. too) and big, high sticking was the deal--if the second beat of your diddle wasn't as high as the first one you were a weenis. And both beats better touch your forehead. A guy could get hurt. Then I head over to the DP Vanguard and they "unlearn" me that style and say no, you got to be cool and learn musicianship. (Most I ever learned about drumming in a season) So the sticks come down and we got syncopation and music that actually compliments the horns. Then I'm in LaCrosse (just because) with Stars in my eyes because these guys just took 2nd in drums behind SCV in'73 and now my sticks are up in the air again! But somehow this was not a good year for BS drums and sadness was all I remember. So I give it one more try and head to Racine and the Kilties for the '75 season. Turns out they hire these two ex-Trooper guys named Kearby and Sanford to write the drum show and to instruct and a third guy from the Pittsburg Symphony named Kumer, another genius. They come in with the low angle approach and Moeller-esque flams and accents and stress musicianship and again my arms are back at my side and I'm whip lashing the heck outta' my tub. Finally, the technique I was looking for. Don't know how I got out of that without breaking something.

Best moment was at DCI Finals when Marine D&B Corps cymbalist walks slowly forward as if to play solo--only to bend down and retrieve dropped snare stick--the crowd was faked out and loved it!!

Nisei Ambassadors--Nisei Envoys, feeder corps.

Whitewater.

The sound was good at finals, it was just competing with a longer reverb--more than an outdoor stadium. And not really winning but you had to know that going into Lucas--big hard surface indoors=much reflection. Roof open or not there is ample opportunity for sound to travel in chaos. The Marine D&B Corps sounded the best IMNSHO--(looked the coolest too) And here's something I haven't read anywhere yet on DCP but I thought the LIGHTING was rather crappy--florescent lighting that bleached everything. The lighting during the grand finale was way hipper (dimmed the seat lights, left the field lights on), they should have lit the show that way instead. Much more detail, flattering. Probably should leave the roof open.

Agreed. Anything over done becomes tiresome. We were just at finals Saturday and I turned to my friend and said that they'll end the drum solo/feature with a slow down boom boom bam and front some attitude. And that it'll happen 11 times again with each corps and sure enough it did. Was tiresome after 5 or 6 times. If you're gonna' try and dazzle the crowd, do it by playin' the #### outta' your drum. And quit squirming around--looks like your trying to distract the observer from sad musicianship. You wear a uniform which on natural merit warrants at least some uniformity--it's what's so cool about Corps! Watching one snare drummer is very cool but watching NINE snares wipe the pigment from the kevlar is mind bending as well as magnetic--never saw a 12 year old kid see their first drum line?? Please. I came, I saw, I became--happened to all of us strikers. If I want to see drum corp people meandering aimlessly, I will stand outside of Lucas Oil and watch the fans milling around in front. They're more convincing!

They are 100% from Brooklyn, NY.

LOL hahahaha!!!

Like they all said--Thanks for yet another great show and a wonderful year!!! You all have truly earned the title "The Great SCV" as we used to call you in the 70's...........

I was at finals with an old friend who hadn't seen a drum corps show for almost 30 years. He was heavily involved back in the 60's and 70's and has sent me his review of the show--great perspective from an old timer. And absolutely NOT politically correct so please take it with good spirit. I think he catches highlights we think but do not speak!!! I have posted it below..... Forward: 2009 DCI Championships BLOG All opinions are strictly my own, but after careful analysis and consideration, I've concluded that they're all exactly right. So, quit cryin' and live with it! · The show opened with an exhibition performance by the US Marine D&BC. This was a very knowledgeable audience and we all really respected the Marines. They are great, but, when you're used to corps with 150 members blowing your face off, 88 members is just kind of a letdown. A very traditional show. Drill was mostly straight lines. Old-timers like us would recognize it! HOWEVER, when they closed with Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" THAT brought the audience to our feet! THAT'S what you expect out of the Marines! They left the field playing the Halls of Montezuma. WOW! The drum major out front with his six-foot chrome standard with the Marine Corps globe on top. the audience ate it up! There are just certain things you expect from the Marines. They delivered! · There was also an exhibition by the Open class champs, the Blue Devils B. But, that’s when I hit the john so I wouldn’t miss any of the rest of the show! When you would have thought anyone’s “B” corps would win a national championship? Ø 12th place - 85.10 - Troopers The audience was WAITING for the Troop. After a 23-year absence from the DCI Finals, everyone was really glad to see them back. They played a show themed "Western Side Story". Did their old sunburst which brought the crowd up again. As you expect from the Troop... very sharp drill and a high "coolness factor". A good way to start the show. Looking forward to seeing the Troop climb the ladder back to the top again! Ø 11th place - 86.45 - Blue Knights, Denver CO Guard wore tight fitting ski outfits. What can I say? Ø 10th place - 87.75 - Glassmen, Toledo OH Ø 9th place - 89.70 - Phantom Regiment I already commented on Facebook but, I think Phantom got the place they deserved this time. They're not quite as "classical" as some years, but still very classy, as always. Some real nice jazz this year. Sops were a little sloppy, as were the snares. But, big horns and contras were great. Their quads were the best percussion of the night! They had been "up-and-down" at practice all week. Tonight was just "down". Sorry to all you local Phantom fans. But, remember... my opinions are exactly right! Ø 8th place - 90.05 - Blue Stars One of my two personal favorite shows. A real crowd pleaser, if not the best corps out there. Their theme is "The Office" and they set a dozen or so full-sized desks and chairs on the field as props. I could do without the props. They're more distracting than anything else. They also use some kind of recorded voice saying something. But, I couldn't make it out and the use of electronics is a real controversy this year. REAL nice drum line! Liked Blue Stars show very much. Lose the props. Ø 7th place - 90.70 - Boston Crusaders All I can say is... VERY well-fitting guard uniforms! EXTREMELY well-fitting! Was the rest of the corps even out there? It was hard to notice. Actually, Boston has a very controversial show this year, because of the guard. Their theme is "Seduction" and that's exactly what the guard tries to do to the audience, and the rest of the corps. This was NOT your typical east coast guard! No skirts down below their knees. Hell… no skirts AT ALL! Lots of dancing and that's kind of distracting from the rest of the corps. But, it's still the BIG, clean horn show you'd expect from Boston ... if you can get past the guard to notice. Ø 6th place - 93.15 - Bluecoats, Canton OH Ø 5th Place - 95.65 - SC Vanguard After Boston 's guard, SCV was MY favorite show of the night! Very sophisticated, as usual, but still very crowd pleasing. Fantastic drumline, as always. I thought the best of the night. Not "too" much fancy dancing and other distracting stuff. LOVED their show! Took the Best DM award. Ø 4th place - 96.15 – Cavies To all you Chicagoans I apologize in advance but, their show was a real sleeper this year. They were going for the "controlled" image and they got it... at the expense of any emotion. And, as I've come to expect, their guard was just WAY TOO flaming for me! Dressed like mountain climbers, dancing with ropes belonged around Belmont and Clark, not on the field. Yaaawwwwnnn! Ø 3rd place - 97.20 - Holy Name Cadets, Allentown PA Good old Garfield ! Looked as good as ever. They did an all West Side Story show I loved. But, not the same old WSS corps have been doing for 40 years. They played some of the songs from WSS that you never hear. And, the arrangement was totally different. Really brought home the feeling of conflict and struggle WSS is all about. I hear there is a new arrangement of West Side Story out in the theaters now. This was probably it. I like this show tremendously. Ø 2nd place - 97.50 - Carolina Crown, Ft. Mill SC The big crowd favorite, but I just didn't get it, myself. They won the award for favorite corps in the fan voting. And took the horn caption. But, those funky uniforms almost made be bring up dinner. I've got to admit, though, their show was great. I picked them to upset BD and win the whole enchilada. But, with those uniforms… I shouldn’t say “enchilada.” Ø 1st place - 99.05 - Blue Devils It's been obvious for half the season that DCI wanted BD to win this year. They took every other caption tonight: Percussion, Color Guard, GE, and Visuals. I didn't think their drumline was anywhere near the best. Sloppy snares IMHO. But, drum corps hasn't changed that much in 35 years. You pretty much know that whoever they want to win is going to win. Other BLOG... o The Lucas Oil Stadium is a really nice venue for the show. But, all the comments about the acoustics are pretty much correct. DCI raised a big black drape along the entire back side of the field, about 20 feet tall, to help the sound. I think that was a good idea. But, the indoor venue really accentuates the lower register. Drums can sound overpowering, even when most of them aren't playing. Big horns and drums can echo for 3-5 seconds after a big release. I don't know that opening the roof at The Luke would entirely fix it, either. I'd like to hear the show outdoors. It sounded better the closer you got to the 50 yard line. But, out along the 5 where I sat you missed some. It wasn't "terrible" though. o A big controversy this year is the use of electronics on the field. And, I don't mean just an electronic keyboard. I mean a complete synthesizer and mixer with mikes and full-blown speaker setups with giant subwoofers. Some of the corps have their own sound engineer running a giant sound board off field! They're actually picking up the corps with the mikes, enhancing the sound the way they want, and piping it back to the audience through the speakers! This is just NOT RIGHT!!! I don't mind the judicious use of a little dancing or voice to enhance the total show. I can do without the keyboards. But, full electronic enhancement of the show is OUTRAGEOUS! We should all bombard DCI with mail and make them ban this electronic enhancement immediately! o After the show my friend and I jumped over the chains and cruised the parking lot for quite a while. This part of drum corps is exactly the same as it ALWAYS has been. Hundreds of kids celebrating… or crying. Saying good bye for another year to friends from all over the country. The aging out kids all crying because they won’t be back. Exhausted, sweaty kids changing clothes and putting away their instruments onto equipment trucks. THE SMELL OF DIESEL FUMES FROM 50 BUSSES AND TRUCKS ALL RUNNING AT THE SAME TIME. God, I miss diesel fumes! We caught up and chatted with a lot of friends from “the old days” who are teaching, managing, or have their kids in drum corps now. My friend got to shake the hand of the Blue Star’s National Champion snare drummer. And, got the meet Phantom’s girl in the red dress with the violin. My friend used to march with her parents. I got to play with the violin! She calls it “Chunk.” o After the show we crashed the VIP after-party at the Slippery Noodle. When the bouncer wouldn't let us in for not having the correct VIP passes, my friend shouts, "Are you kidding? We're ALUMNI! I marched in the Vanguard, Blue Stars and Kilties! He marched in Nisei for crissake! Jeez!" The bouncer looked around for a minute, then said... "Alumni? You're ok." I haven't crashed a bar party in probably 30 years! It felt great to be a kid again... for one night. And, it was good for my kids to know daddy can still party ‘til 3am! o It was fun to shoot the breeze with other alumni who marched around the same time, and in the Midwest . So, they all knew Nisei! "Oh yeah... Neesee. What ever happened to that hot DM with the long black hair?" (No offense, Linda, but you're still famous in some circles!) o Met a guy who marched a long time with... get this... the Polish Falcon Cadets! I asked him to try to find me a t-shirt. Reminded me of our the "Polish Kamikaze" shirts! I will DEFINITELY be at the show for as long as it's in Indy. I'll try to plan earlier and get better seats next year. It was fairly crowded. I guess between 25-30 thousand. I'll offer my backyard again next year for any old Nisei and families who want to come down. You should all try to do a DCI championship as long as it's fairly close. It's the best time I've had in years! And that's the skinny from the Midwest.

You could look in on the Troopers in Casper WY if you can march Jr. corps.

Quite honestly, my friends and I felt there were many reasons to put either Cadets, Crown, or BD in first place. Inter-change-able. Like the stars on the Tennessee state flag. We felt more comfortable with Crown's volcano victory than with BD's judges victory but respect BD's victory all the same. In our mind as well, the Cadets won simply on playin' the West Side charts no other corps has the stones to do. All three performances were brilliant and creative, all had much dirt and tics (true), where one excelled another would lack and the other par. We wouldn't have been surprised had any of the three won and for that there's every reason in the world Crown could nail it next year!! Ya' know, unless Phantom comes flying back to firmly hammer everyone into fertilizer.

Sound was not terrible, but there will need to be improvement in the future. Reverb was averaging 3-5 seconds and since this was really only the 3rd show there's still plenty of tweaking to be done. Not sure what it sounds like with the top down yet but less boomy would be the CW. Dry it up a bit I'm sure. The big baaaad backfield curtain I had been hearing about was not much of a factor in wrecking shows but was doing the job it was given. Considering how sound travels from a source, there were plenty of other reflective surfaces to take up the slack. Seemed to help more than hinder, cool. I would like to hear it with the top down, though. Funny thing (or not), the electrics and extra verb helped smoothy up a lot of the brass but jacked a lot of the drum parts. Not all, mind you--tenors generally sounded first rate but bass--not, and snares produced fuzz unless they were up front. Cymbals pushed--their sustain was as long as the reverb. Pit highlights were spotty due to volume but I always felt the pit is a bit overused anyway. (Pit people, I really do like you, please don't send flaming bags of poop). Big horns sounded real good and fat. But they would in that environment. Crowd sounded good. I was waiting for the halftime football game but turns out there wasn't one. What gives?

East coast guys, I'm off to finals in the morning--any requests?

They just have to stay healthy and put the big thump on the Cards--so they can blow it in post season yet again, so says my pal Bartman any way...

Did you say---Cubs?

That's what I meant to say.

What do you want from me, I'm a drummer.

It's a contra bass. People change names 'cause they're board.

Me too.

There's that word evolve again. Just because something changes due to outside forces does not mean it evolved. It generally means someone ###### it up. When I go to see a DC show, I don't want a theatrical experience with Dorothy, I want drum corps. I look at a lot of the latest "fads" in drum corps as barnacles on a boat, just need to scrape 'em off to get sailing again---not chalk it up to evolution. Let's try evolve to something else, not this. If you want a mallet and prance corps, please start a new circuit and call it a band. If you ever had the chance to see Royal Airs '65 or SCV '73 or Caballeros (pick a year) or any number of unbelievable performances you would think differently. ...that's of course, IMHO.

What they said.