Fran Haring

Ream??? Dead!!! Neidermeyer??? Dead!!!

St. Rita's Brassmen Hawthorne Muchachos Bracken Cavaliers Chessmen Brookhaven Crusaders

My first exposure to drum corps was in 1967, when my older brothers joined a NJ corps that was in the Garden State Circuit. I remember going to some shows and seeing the Riversiders.... they were the first corps to make a big impression on me. They were great that year!

Looking at the title of this thread.... three or four years ago (heck, two years at this time), who would have ever thought we'd see anything like this? Sure, there were rumors, etc... there had been for years. But now... just looking at this title... wow.

I don't know of any at West Chester (Brenda's alma mater). None I've heard of, at least. As you know, Jim... a lot of similarities between them and IUP. Two solid football programs and two great bands... where the fans stay in their seats for the halftime show! Unfortunately, another similarity is that both football teams got eliminated early in the playoffs this season. LOL

Right now, that would be correct. LOL. The RU band has gotten better in recent years. Saw them at a high school band show a couple of years ago and they did a great job.

I'll get back to you on that....

It's a fast closer. Good for that extra quarter-mile at the Belmont.

Yep... I have a feeling the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band will still be doing those 6-to-5s long after more drum corps have faded from the scene. LOL

Yep... fewer scholarships and and other differences (obviously, the size of the schools, the facilities, overall budgets, etc.) But there is some really good football at those Div. 2 and 3 levels!!! You are correct. The Div. 2 title game, Minnesota State vs. West Florida, is Saturday in McKinney, TX... and the Div. 3 championship, AKA the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, is Friday in Shenandoah, TX... North Central (Illinois) vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater. UWW is one of the perennial powerhouse programs in Div. 3.

Wow... good for them. That's quite a jump!

Sacred Heart Crusaders (Manville, NJ) Royales (Eatontown, NJ) Raiders of 88 (Highland Park, NJ) Bon Bons (Audubon, NJ) Bridgemen (Bayonne, NJ)

Kind of like a "who bah-do-bah who" and then the drum accent.

Even though Woodwinds is starting way outside in the #20 post position... it might have enough to get to the rail and take the lead someday.

Then perhaps crow will be served? Those dining on it will get to choose two sides. LOL

And now they're setting him loose on the community!!!

Well said!!! (I shortened the quote just to save some space.) Similar situation with the local junior corps I was in from NJ. The corps was sponsored by a church... part of the corps' official name was that of the church (Sacred Heart Crusaders). But, as you've said with the Boston situations, the sponsorship, from I recall, did not involve the church giving the corps any money. We did get a rehearsal space, and a place to park cars when we were on the road for a weekend... but no, or minimal, money. We raised cash through various fundraisers.

So... you're saying that there weren't 30,000 fans in that 20,000-seat stadium???

And a reason why senior corps came into prominence after World War II. A number of teenagers... junior-corps members... who had served during the war returned home as 20-something young adults, too old for junior corps. As a result, numerous senior corps... Hawthorne Caballeros, NY Skyliners, Reilly Raiders, Yankee Rebels, among others... arrived on the scene.

I remember my mom not being happy when service stations stopped giving out Green Stamps with a fillup.

Absolutely... the NJ band scene changed drastically from the 1960s-70s "festival bands" to dozens upon dozens of competition bands arriving on the scene.

I marched in an Eastern States corps, and I'll second that. Some shows were well-attended... we did alright with our home show in Manville, NJ, in part because we promoted it as a "town event"... something to do close to home on a summer day/evening. Lots of locals in the stands. (Including a lot of parents/relatives of the corps members.) But several other shows... a whole bunch of folks dressed up as empty seats.

That is one factor, I agree.

It might snow here in Baltimore Wednesday. I'll save any other worries for after that.

I agree. Bad = tinny, overmodulated, harsh, whatever. Good = nice sound, an enhancement rather than a distraction. The band Mike Davis worked with in NJ a few years ago.... saw them a few times at the USBands shows and they were, IMO, a good example of how to use electronics, especially for a smaller group. Never really heard any tinny, obtrusive, or "artificial" sounds from them. Especially the year or two when they used a cello in their show. 1) The young lady playing the cello was terrific, and 2) the miking was spot on.