Tad_MMA

Yes, "The Big Apple." They repeated the "Stonehenge" move where a speedy block rotated and grew, grew, grew. They lost DATR by a bunch. No, they received a 9.1 (4th) on the field; in visual ENSEMBLE, they got a 10. No, it wasn't perfect. It was merely 0.2 better than SCV's 9.8. In prelims, Garfield was 0.3 better than SCV in V.E. Frank Morris judged all 13 minutes... not just the last 20 seconds. Hell, they may have been 0.6 better, but he wasn't allowed to score 10.4. Remember, folks, that 1984 drill was something nobody had ever seen...attempted....written. Their 1982-1983 drills were innovative and state of the art, but they weren't as consistently speedy and exposed. Garfield scored very high all year upstairs (SCV won GE Visual that night, btw). This was 1984. The gun and ticks finished their existence in 1983. Frank Morris (I think it's "Frankie") is still judging visual. I'll try to poke the bear and release my findings. ;)

As many championships as they've won, that might certainly be their most sonorous sound. Not to mention phenomenal baritone/bass chops.

Since both perfs were so similar, here's how to tell: after the company front in "Tonight" as the corps moves into the Z-pull, one of the baritones down front TRIPS over his own feet in the FINALS perf. He's the third guy in on the left (down front). After Whitewater, he probably crapped a little during the finale.

No, it had nothing to do with 2009. It was more Kevin Bacon than that. In comparing SCV's down endings to Garfield 1987, I went to the dark side and brought up (like a poisoned lunch) SCV's overrated, overscored, overBLOWN 1987 hornline. I used to make quite a living reviewing films; when I liked one, I tended to overpraise. When I saw a stinker, it was, as someone once told me, "vomit on a page." Same goes for drum corps. (and since the 1987 DCI membership is all WAY over 40, I'm not concerned about.... the children.)

Thanks for the knowledge, everyone! And I stand by my filthy "I would WRECK that tone quality" bidness. :p

I was watching "A Capitol Fourth," and he was a featured trumpet soloist. I was told he he was a sop player for Spirit of Atlanta under his dad, Freddie Martin. (?) True or false? If his tone quality were a human being, I would $@#$%$ and then #$%^%$^@ and even #$%^%$# it.

Cadets 1987 (App Spring): the ending worked very well because of the "pre" ending, the dissolving/reappearing company front. Plus, they weren't exactly masters of fortissimo that year, and that musical section peeled some paint (without splatting and losing pitch, SCV.)! This allowed their "curtain call" fantasia to really work. Well, the Finals audience can't hear the sop soloist. SCV had successfully pulled off the "down ending" but did it in usual Vanguard straightforwardness. All Garfield had to do was weave some sweet drill and just "go away." Once they hit the block, it was horns down and get outta dodge. Genius. This Cadet show doesn't have a dynamic-enough "pre-ending" for the finale to work. Remember "Les Miserables" and their 1995 "American Quintet?" EVERY time I saw those shows, there were different endings. It's early. And no matter who wins, Samuel Barber has already replaced that nasty Christmas taste in my mouth. Ugh.

"12 Nothings?"

Yeah, I saw the same thing for the most part. I live less than two hours from Canton but rarely am moved by whatever the Bluecoats program. This year, they are dynamite! It's compelling and very well done. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see them fighting Phantom and SCV for 4th (premature statement, as this is June and I've not seen SCV). I highly doubt that Phantom will medal again. They basically "appear" for 11 minutes... there's really nothing new or special about what they're doing. "Nimrod" might have more impact if it hadn't been done 247 times in recent memory.... Welcome back, sash, though. Cavaliers are a cold, cold mess. Is this really the only corps to win 5 titles in a decade? Wow. It isn't just muddy programming; they don't look or sound confident at all. At this point, I wouldn't bet $10 that they make Finals. Seriously. They'd better watch their backs. Yeah, Boston didn't gel. The music isn't very fun. They sound and move as grey as they look. But there's quite a bit of potential here. Spirit is GOOD. They'll move up. They look and sound more serious about their intent. It's a fun show that reminds me of their mid-80s mid-top 12 corps. Good for them! Cadets are basically what I expected. It's TONS better than last year in terms of programming (and potential). The guard is an absolute blast to watch (their best one since 2005, for sure)--- the drummer sitting next to me practically had to breathe in a bag. Haha, he was practically catatonic. "Flams. Flams," he kept whispering. Dennis DeLucia said after their show: "I'd take that drumline in August!" Medea needs some tweaking in order for it to be really effective. EVERYONE remembers Star '93 whether live or on YT. If they're going to use it, they need to IMPROVE it. It's not there yet. But this is easily a medal-worthy show. Which one? Stay tuned. They end the show pretty much the same way they did App Spring in 1987. Fine but there's not a strong enough "pre-ending" to make it work. (Again, it's June.) We were treated to some Volume 2 of DCI's latest moneygrabbing video set. It reminded me of a youtube vid out there "before amplification was needed..." Blue Devils 1976? Puddles, baby. Puddles.

I liked the closer. They finally became "The Cavaliers" after 9 minutes of WTF. I thought Daniel Radcliffe would make an appearance. They had that deathly hallows-like symbol, and the parsel-tongue whisper. They should change this show to "Harry Potter and the Secret Society."

Now THAT... Ladies and Gentlemen...is how a question is answered!!!!!

Cry harder? In at least 4 years, there were FOUR California finalists (+ Freelancers & VK). Not to mention the 22 Golds from CA (out of 44 winners). Not to mention the first DCI prelim winner (SCV); first Champion (Anaheim). Hell, they won the first 9 out of 10 championships. But I get your vibe.

Hmm, on further review, the Illi show didn't have a drum judge..just Music Analysis and Brass (and a veteran 5-person panel). In 2011, the 5-man did drums rather than brass.

The Cali show had a full panel (8) of veteran judges which has a more accurate spread (such as it is for June). The other shows have the abbreviated 5-man panel which is all upstairs (unless the drum judge is at Ground Zero). e.g., Phantom might be closer to Cadets since there was no visual proficiency judge (I'm only guessing here, but the Cadets probably take more steps than PR. If wrong, I'll mea culpa after the BG show). Regarding SCV and drums, remember last year (maybe 2011, too) how they came out storming in that caption? The dust takes a long time to settle.

Vanguard had won the big DCI Midwest regional over everybody. Two weeks later they were a distant 4th in semifinals (a full FOUR points out of 1st). In Finals, they jumped 3.9 and were only 0.6 away from winning. I recall reading that they were delayed or something at semis. Rain maybe? Was their semifinal show that bad? What happened?

Remember, the 70s were almost all TICK judging. Part of the issue was WHERE the judge stood. (They didn't have to run, scoot and duck so much.) Some judges were just more rigid than others...one's definition of an interval error was slightly different than another's (look at 1978's Finals recap). This reminds me of the story of the 1983 Garfield Cadets. Their last 10 shows had the same field drum (TICK) judge who was particularly hard on them (they weren't very good). At the most frantic part of the snare feature in "Gospel Sermon," he always positioned himself in front of the pit, as the drumline was so close to the sideline. So, they had a guy in the pit playing those huuuuuuge cymbals just crash crash crash, so the judge couldn't hear the bad line. /> Build-up scoring sees much less dramatic shifting of numbers. It usually takes something monumental to alter scores/placements (like Cadets 2009: their drumline fiasco cost them 2nd place to be sure). As for SCV 1984, I'll start a new thread.

The first show of the year occurred two days ago, and not a single DCP reader attended? Somebody say something! I realize it was an abbrev. judging panel, but Crown's 73+ is promising.

It WAS a miracle: * They didn't get "Jeremiah" charts until March (while the other top corps had been learning theirs since November) * Since a threepeat was unheard of, it was all about just pushing DCI to a new level ("Let's make their eyes bleed!") *They were still inventing things as they went along Find me a show with sicker field coverage. In "Jeremiah" before the snare feature, just LOOK at where every section is located. Not to mention the drum break in "Candide." The form is just huge. Corps are larger now but don't come close to that. Wow.

Wasn't he voted "Least Likely to Present a Proper Downbeat?" Relive 1982's "Bottle Dance"---the LAST time they ever pulled it out just for Finals. He added a count before the "dance" started, and it all fell apart. It's really uncomfortable to watch.

On the other hand, isn't he the only Corps Director in DCI history to win 10 times? Other than BD's Wayne Downey, that consistency is unparalleled. (And to those who downplay the competition in Drum Corps, rings might not be the total end result, but when was the last time SCV figured into this kind of discussion? They're the only corps to make Finals every year, yet they've been off the championship radar since that overrated 2004 show.)

So what happened in "Happy Endings" before the drum break? There's a huge ensemble tear, and it was scary enough for us watching. That was the first time I thought a corps would have to stop and regroup, but they managed to pull it together for the big hit. There's nothing on the sheets, but the GE Music judge scrawled "TAPE!" across the page.

Anyway, the point of the thread was that I've studied the show and just can't find a tear. There's a "KA-JEESH" by the drums (clearly a mistake), but the hornline all seemed to come in together. And my friends and I were at their rehearsal Finals day. I don't remember them making that mistake (which has been told happened). I do remember the DM recalling a flubbed part of "Garden"---a horn player replied, "We won (semis), didn't we?" I thought that was rather snarky. :cool:/>

"From being there?" Well, according to actual interviews, it was Don Angelica who brought Hopkins and Cesario together during the 1981 tour break. Angelica made Cesario tell Hopkins everything that was wrong w/ the show --- Cesario suggested giving everything an ending and calling it "A Compendium of Jazz." (And Cesario told him that the people Hop wanted to fire needed to go BEFORE Cesario came on board so it didn't look like his idea. haha) Meanwhile in Revere, Zingali's creativity was held back by George Bonfiglio and the 27th Lancers "traditions," so Zingali brought Marc Sylvester and Margaret Twiggs (etal) to Garfield in 1982. Whether or not GZ was "fired" by GB is unknown by me. Meanwhile in Jersey, Dr. Santo met w/ Hopkins in Sept. 1981, handed him the keys and said he was retiring. (Apparently, he had been putting in much of his own $ to the corps, and his wife said "no mas.") Interesting tidbit regarding an early camp of the 1982 season: the first time the corps attempted to play "Rocky Point Holiday," Cesario looked at Hopkins and said, "They're gonna fire us. There's no point in worrying, because they're gonna fire us." haha This all comes from the Cadets' pre-2005 season DVD set celebrating their 20th anniversary of the threepeat. There's a long one-on-one conversation w/ Hopkins/Cesario and a long round table discussion w/ Hopkins, Hannum, Bob Morrison, Michael Klesch Marc Sylvester and Margaret Twiggs. It's really great stuff for anyone interested in some DCI history. Listening to everyone talk about how the process came about is fascinating. (I wish the Star of Indiana people would get together and reflect on their 1985-1993 times. I'd pre-order THAT DVD!) And incidentally, 27th Lancers' stubbornness to hold onto the past led to their ultimate demise. After Garfield's 3rd place finish in '82, 27, the Bridgemen and the Crossmen all suffered big hits in recruiting.

BD 1983 is the least respectable DCI show for me (right up there w/ SCV 1989). They were the first to go undefeated--nobody even came close. 1982 still stands as one of the greatest shows I've ever seen. But to repeat so much of it the next year was really a disservice to the entire activity. (And I don't care what they say, but every judge compared '83 to '82.) Anyway, Garfield's "culmination" began after 1st tour in 1981 when they brought on M. Cesario, but I know what you mean. (Really, DCP? Are you STILL doing a spell check on "Cesario?" And "DCP?" and "DCI?")

My source is corpsreps.com. 1980 SCV lists "Selections from Evita" while 1981 lists "Don't Cry For Me..." If SCV was the first to completely (read: 100%) change their show, props to them.