Mike Killion
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Posts posted by Mike Killion
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Trying to help promote a worthy scholarship opportunity - with only 14 shopping days left !!! I heard that Santa was a 27th Lancer in his youth.....who knows?
Before he was a Lancer, I heard that Santa wore a red, white, and green uniform in the corps from Uphams Corner....lol, some will know who that was
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Bill, Great story!!
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Last night I was sitting at home watching the Patriots/Eagles game when it dawned on me what I was watching, &
what happened in 1977 when the Matadors played 1/2 time at Pat's /Steeler's game. I wrote the following
& sent it to my Matador brothers & sisters................... I thought I would share it with you.
35 years ago yesterday, some of us were in Foxboro Ma. performing 1/2 time at the Patriots vs. Steelers game. If you've never heard the story,
what your going to read is absolutely true. The winter of 76-77 was anything but kind for the Matadors. After a very disappointing 10th place finish in 76 the corps spent the winter in a funk that we couldn't shake off. Until................ end of March (I think) when Red called a
full corps meeting before rehearsal & announced the corps was folding. PANDEMONIUM BREAKS OUT led by Rick Harrington who stood up & told Red he
didn't have the authority to fold the corps. This led to a heated argument between Rick & Red plus an impassioned plea from Rick to give us another chance (little did we know this was all a set up & Red never intended to fold the corps). After 2 amazing weekend camps in April & May at Camp Varnum the corps hit the field in Mt. Carmel Pa. with 55 horns, 30 drums (I believe the largest drum line in DCA that year) & I don't know how many guard but it was at least 20. All the other corps that were licking their chops because they thought they had a chance because of the corps poor finish the previous year were put on notice............... NOT THIS YEAR!
Fast forward to the 2nd NFL exhibition weekend & the corps had a show that just came at you & kept coming. My brother Mark was a season ticket
holder back then & he told me that when 1/2 time came there was a mass exodus by the people watching the game .............. till we started the opener. Then, he said, many of those people came back to sit back down. Because the Steelers were defending Super Bowl Champs the game was a
sellout & the people really started getting into our show. At the same time, the Pat's, who were manhandled in the first 1/2 were in the locker room & they could hear that the crowd was cheering louder & more enthusiastically for the 1/2 time show then what they cheered for them during
the game!
When we finished playing Malaguena they are on their feet with a loud long standing O. Now we start playing Rocky & they go absolutely nuts! As we
turn back field during Jimmy's solo setting up the big push to the stands THE STEELER'S START COMING BACK ONTO THE FIELD! No one from the team told us that they only had 10 minutes allocated for 1/2 time & our show was well over 13. So now we spin around & hit the crowd with a wall of
sound & we can see that the Pat's were also back on the field. The crowd is standing going nuts! THE PATRIOTS, STANDING ON THE SIDELINE ARE GOING NUTS! In the 2nd 1/2 the Pat's dominate, come back & win the game!
NBC, who was broadcasting NFL games back then was irate! They demanded the Patriots reimburse the extra commercial time that had to be aired
(for free) because of the timing screw up. The coach & general manager (Chuck Fairbanks) said the Pat's would gladly pay for the extra time because "That band won us the game". How do we know that last part? Frank Edmonds at the time was Red Corso's son in law, played mellophone
for the Matadors & worked at WBZ television (an NBC affiliate).
The Rhode Island Matadors never won a DCA show............................. but, we beat the Super Bowl Champions!
35 years ago this past weekend.......................... strange but true!
Hope to see you all soon,
Bill Roderick
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Be still thy heart......say it ain't so !!!!
I am reasonably certain our friends from "over the bridge" south of Revere did not lend 27th uniforms for that 1967 Columbus Day parade in Revere. I'll check with some of my fav 2-7 dinosaurs to confirm.
Gotta love it if true. I had read that at one point the uniforms were from the Most Precious Blood Crusaders and thus passed on from your friends in Boston to help 27th get started.
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Thanks all, will do some traffic lookups before I leave tomorrow and probably make a decision then. Sounds like a great show lineup but it sure will be weird not seeing BAC at a local show! Parking situation can't possibly be much worse than when the Beanpot used to be at Hurd Stadium, or the ultimate parking nightmare, Camp Randall in Madison in the days before the parking garage.
I think doing a map quest or yahoo etc and comparing mileage distance is also a good idea depending on where you are coming from. if you are far north going around the 128 loop will add a lot of miles and will not likely be faster; also WBZ 1030 AM has traffic reports every 10 minutes though you may already know that.
Mike
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Does anyone know where the housing sites are for Cadets and Carolina Crown this week? Jersey Surf is at Everett tomorrow. Any other corps?
I believe the Cadets are at Lynn Vocational High School and may be practicing Friday at the Manning Bowl, check their facebook page for updatea; though it will be a pain to get from Lynn to Quincy due to traffic if you are also going to the show.
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What full corps will be appearing?
I have heard that Boston Crusaders Sr. Corps, Manchester N.H. Muchachos, Defenders, SKEK, and Legends of Drum Corps are appearing
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I taught at St. Kevin's (in the school) long after the Emerld Knights, but I'm sure that the corps sang just because Fr. Kierce asked. He had a way of getting people to do anything he asked, and could sometimes make them think it was their idea! As anyone who knew Fr. Kierce can attest, drum corps was only one of the ways he did great things for others..
Monsignor Dalton,the pastor at St Kevins Church, was speaking to our 8th grade class at St Kevins School in 1965, wanting to know our plans for high school, our involvement in the parish activities etc. He told us he had come really close to disbanding the Emerald Knights earlier due to some underage drinking and trouble some of its members had gotten into as a result ( imagine that, kids from Dorchester drinking underage, legal age was 21). Then he said, Fr. Kierce talked him out of it.
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Remind us never to invite your son to appear on The Food Channel.
unless it is a Saturday Night Live version of it.
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Don't forget the baked filet of sole (stuffed w/ crabmeat, covered with Neuburg sauce), or a bucket of "steamah's" (cherrystone or Little Neck clams steamed in beer, served with drawn butter), or the New England clam chowdah (creamy - w/o any stupid tomatoes) .... all washed down by pitcher of Sam Adams Boston Lager.
My son's opinion on the clam chowdah and I quote "throw up looks better than that". He gives a thumbs up tho to the pitcher of S
Sam Adams
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Home Crowd (practically) = big reaction for Cadets
Hostile Crowd = polite applause for BD
I am so glad the judges got it right though.
I was at the show. If it was a home crowd, SCV would have only received polite applause as they and Boston are competing for 7th.
I think people in general liked the Cadet show more and were waiting for something to happen to get them up while watching BD.
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My wife is a dental hygienist and gave me free samples of Biotene. Didn't work. I know the problem is only partly nerves but medication is a factor. Often it's during the easiest song later in the routine. If it were only nerves it would be at the beginning or on more challenging stuff. In the CYO Nationals Tribute show a few weeks ago, I only needed 2 little sips and played the best I have done in a long time.
In an earlier post (on paqe 3)you said you you had a problem at Mission Drums last year, you were going to try the holy water bottle at rochester; it worked; then you "confirmed" it worked at CYO National tribute show a few weeks ago. So what is the status on getting uncircumsised?
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I just finished listening to the Fleetwood Records tribute to CYO Nationals, and it prompted a thought. Back in the day when I marched competitively in the 60's and 70's , you'd have corps members coming to rehearsal with their 8 track blaring in their cars, and after hearing about 2-4 bars of music you'd instantly be able to identify what corps was being blasted through their car stereo, because every corps had their own style, and their sound, and melody of the tune was instantly recognizable.
First off, do today's DCI kids even play the CD's/Mp3's in their cars?, and would they recognize their competitors show? I'm curious because drum corps musical arrangements of today are typically (at least to my ears) less melody-oriented. Don't get me wrong I really appreciate the talent and challenging presntations of today's corps, I just long for ( although 2011 is moving in the right direction) more tunes I can hum while leaving the stadium, and wonder if today's kids leaving humming the shows they just witnessed....
RCC
I think todays kids are aware of their competitors shows as long as they are in enough of the same competitions. A number of corps do enough of the same shows for this to happen.
Then a digression, bitd a friend of mine who marched in the Boston Crusaders came home from school to find his mom listening to a Kevins record. Kevins and the Crusaders were not exactly friendly at the time
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I think we should mic the mutes
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Well, I ended up using the silver polish. I went to a local hardware store and got wright's silver cream, which worked well on my contra. I didn't see any wear on the horn's finish. It looks amazing now. The polish says to wash the horn immediately afterwards, which I think might of helped. Thanks everyone for the advice on how to clean a horn.
Now if only there were a corps on Cape Cod in which I could use the horn, or any corps at all for that matter.
I assume it is too late for DCI Open Class or World Class corps but if you have time and $ to travel check them out anyway including Crusaders, Spartans, and Open Class Corps from Ct. If you want to just play some and have some fun, I think you would be welcome to sit in at a rehearsal and /or join for a while any of the following Pembroke Imperials, Rockland Defenders, StKevins who practice in Randolph and Quincy, or Crusaders Senior Corps. You may already know about them, alumni corps, ages of members vary younger members in Pembroke and Defenders
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I am not a fossil yet but our first bugles in our Class C corps were new G bugles no valves
our next set wer "well used" single horizontal valve bugles with slides we pulled out by hand
Class B and A single horizontal valve bugles with the ring slides
a few years later,1972 at USN Great Lakes, went to try out for boot camp drum and bugles corps
the instructor hands me a frig#@##ing trumpet I look at him thinking WTF and say I am used to the drum corps bugle
he says just hold the 3rd valve down, everything else is the same.
Ps If I told that story before I am a fossil.
Anyway made the drum corps go to first rehearsal and get the single horizontal valve bugle with ring slide
and get to go to parades and drink while in boot camp
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I believe that was "Classical Gas," not 'Tropical.'
You are right, it was Classical Gas. Tropical gas came from my drinking too much Red Stripe beer in Jamaica a few years later. Caribbean cruise courtesy of US Navy.
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- B.A.C. ("Boston's Articulate Crusaders") played the Unsquare Dance drum solo, as well as Conquest (from Captains of Castile), but before Boston included it in their routine, so did St Vincent's Cadets, Chicago Royal Airs, Cambridge Caballeros, and Des Plaines Vangard. Several others have played it since, including Madison Scouts.
- Mighty Saint Joe's played Big Spender but so did others including Blue Devils, Etobicoke Crusaders, Chicago Cav's, L.I. Kingsmen...
- Chuck Quackenbush from Blue Rock played Baby Elephant on his contra, but so did the Royalaires in 63, I.C. Reveries/27th from 1966-69.
.... and I'm so old I don't buy green bananas anymore.
"Boston's Articulate Crusaders" I like that. I remember IC Reveries doing Baby Elephant Walk, so when they became 27th they continued it? I think I remember 27th first year doing Tropical Gas for concert and Impossible Dream for their closer.
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Is this posted on the Open Class and World Class Forums also? Some members of those corps or members of local high school bands may check those forums and not this one.
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Thanks again to the great guys and gals from ST. KEVIN'S and the BHOF for hosting yet another great show....
Hats off to all of you. The SELDEN CADETS enjoyed themselves thoroughly doing what we like to do best!
See you all soon in Bridgeport.
Irene
Lots of great performances by everyone. I am spoiled by having Crusaders, Defenders, and SKEK in my back yard to see. I really enjoyed Selden's performance. Thanks for coming.
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UPDATE TO MY PREVIOUS POST!
The start time IS 1PM
I was given incorrect info! Imagine that!
1pm to give corps extra time in case an equipment truck breaks down on the way to the show ?? just kidding aka lol
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So ... how close is the St. Patrick's Day Parade to the hall the next day and how many corps in the I&E are marching in the parade as well?
:-)
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The closest point of the St Patrick's Day parade in South Boston from the Boston Teachers Union Hall is just about1 mile. The end of the parade route at Andrew Square is probably a little over a mile.
Scituate Mass. parade same day is just under 30 miles south of Boston
and of course there is the Holyoke St Particks day parade which is about 90 miles west of Boston.
I don't know which corps from the Boston BHOF will be at any of these.
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Mike will see you there
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Hard question to answer......................... because time & $$$ is
limited there are a lot of corps that have never appeared in both.
For me it's Plymouth.
Playing outside in September is much warmer than playing at the parade in Plymouth. More corps appearing at Plymouth for the first time the past few years which is nice.
Years ago it was quite amusing to watch the Kilties heading to rehearsal off the main hall at Plymouth with several cases of Bud on their shoulders.
Start your holiday shopping now
in DCP Marketplace
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You are right! If you are from Roslindale, you might have marched in Sacred Heart Band and you would know the Christmas Tree corps from "Dawchesta"