Tad_MMA

BD had been the standard for 10 years. In the three times they lost ('78, '81, '83), the average was under 0.5. Love 'em, hate 'em or envy 'em, that's impressive. The 1984 Blue Devils were very good; no one can deny that. Because of drums, it can easily be said that they were the Most Balanced Corps of the year. But if Miss Congeniality doesn't win Miss America, is that really consolation? I see it this way: something Brand New vs. Same Old, Same Old. BD found their groove in 1975 and just stuck with it. Corps had to play catch-up and usually didn't. But that 1984 groove (rut?) was compared to a corps that did what no other had done: won DCI and followed w/ a completely new show. Cesario said, "We were just doing our wacky thing TO 'West Side Story' which had a lot of heart." True, but their "wacky thing" was -- and probably still is -- the most dramatic change in the course of one year that DCI has ever seen. Because of Percussion, Garfield got lucky that the rest of the show was judged so highly. In fewer words, Garfield was rewarded with taking extreme risk while BD was pushed aside with their typical showing.

From his own words on the Cadet Alumni site: "The best part about the crack was hearing all of the dopey HS bands that actually wrote it into their shows the following fall!! Well......if you're gonna miss, make it musical!!" :cool:/>

PUBLIC DOMAIN works are USA-defined as pre-1922. Puccini died in 1924 having not completed "Turandot." It was completed two years later, so no P.D here. However, Canada and the EU consider it P.D., as their definition is 70+ years. ---> "The Italian libretto of Turandot is copyright 1926 by G. Ricordi & Co. The inclusion of the text of the aria "Nessun dorma" is a quotation for the purpose of illustration and commentary, as permitted by the fair use doctrine of U.S. copyright law. All other text is copyright © 1997, Mark D. Lew"

In 1985, the Glassmen finished dead last in Open (now called World) Class. It was either that year or the next that I was so shocked during a show---I have perfect pitch and could not figure out in what key they were playing. Granted, it took a while, but watching them make Finals in 1993 (and top 5 in 1998) was pretty amazing.

There is a rather expensive little gadget I bought called GRex ( . xdimax. com/grex/grex.html ) which decodes all copyrights. I use it for my DVR to record shows to DVD which I cannot buy commercially. It's $90 and comes from Galilee, Israel. The one problem is that it will not record in HD, but those old DCI vids don't count anyway.

I have it in pretty good condition. Years ago, the Cadets sold a high camera VHS tape of 1982 - 1986. All are semi-final perfs (DCI never sold finals high camera for whatever reason back in those days). Contact me privately here. Maybe you have vids to swap?

OK, Cadets, I've heard 100 stories about how the beginning of "Candide" was screwed up, but I can't really hear it. I have both the semifinals tape (high camera) and of course finals for comparison. There's a huge thread on this at the Cadets' alumni site, and Hopkins/Cesario discuss it at length on their threepeat discussion DVD. The "worst" thing I can see is a pit member not getting to her keyboard in time... and there's a look on her face like "uh oh." Hopkins said one side was 2 counts off, but again, I can't hear anything. "Candide" sounds fine from the start, so please explain!

The Cavaliers' 2012 Horn Sergeant is in the 2013 Blue Devils' euphonium section. Interesting.

Ok, the thread is in hijack mode. Back to the subject at hand. 1987 judges tapes?

I still have my college band recordings on cassette. :satisfied:/>

I noticed there are several judges tapes on YouTube as well as on the fromthepressbox recap site. I would PAY to have the three drum judge tapes from 1987 Garfield Cadets (and SCV for comparison). Are they out there anywhere, or do they become the sole property of the drum corps? If so, Cadets, I would PAY to have these! I have the sheets, but they aren't nearly as detailed. Ted Nicholeris wrote, "And that's the way you play THAT!!" Jay Kennedy's reads, and I quote, "Unf_ _ _ing believable performance!!" Who wouldn't want to hear the accompanying tapes? Little help here, please?

At DCI’s 60th anniversary, we could very well look back at 2012 and say, “What were they thinking? How could they do this without lighting?” ~~ M. Cesario, aka Nostradrumas

The winter issue of “Masters of the Marching Arts” is due by Christmas, and I want to know what makes our DCI audience tick. Here's a chance to have your opinions published! A few years ago, I wrote an article from the viewpoint of solely being in charge of all DCI rules. I discussed maxiumum corps size and show length, electronics, the dreaded INT at small shows to name a few examples. What would you do? Also: ** Your favorite performances and why. ** What attracts you to buy a ticket to a show? ** How far will you travel to a show (excluding Indianapolis)? ** How often do/have you attend/ed Championships? ** If you could march anywhere (with no obstacles in your way), which corps? Why? ** How important is a corps' theme in understanding what you see/hear? This can be “Fantasy DCI” and your chance to be the (I hope) benevolent dictator of the activity. Be as specific as you can; no opinion will be regarded as stupid or useless. If you comment on others' suggestions, be cool. Thanks! Tad F Oh, if anyone criticizes me for looking for help in my writing assignment, my Muse was a corps that shall not be named which went to the Internet to pick its 2013 repertoire. From the East. In Maroon and Gold. With 10 DCI trophies. And about 20 name changes.

In full disclosure, I usually go grab food or hit the bathroom at halftime. To me, TBDBITL's pregame is hair-raising and almost patriotic, but halftime never compares to what I just saw in August in Indy. I stayed for this one, and it was a riot! There was a hive of Cornhuskers behind us, and they were thoroughly entertained. By the way, along w/ Texas fans, I do have to say that Nebraska travels very well, and the fans are GREAT!

Nobody was talking about Tom Smith. But since you brought him up, he waited and waited and waited in Finals to make his appearance. "Where is he?" we said. Made the opening even more cool:)

The Cadets have an alumni/fan site. From the comments, I gather that the field drum judge knew something happened--SUPPOSEDLY, he said that they were first in drums until that moment. Really? Again, interesting.

I've just read many things on how the beginning was messed up. To those who don't know, apparently, before "Candide" started, something was really off somewhere (the only sounds came from the pit). On the live broadcast video, I just don't see or hear anything wrong. I know Hopkins thought it cost them the show while Cesario said it didn't. On the recording, there is clearly a "hut hut hut hut!" and then "Candide" started (and sounded fine). I always thought that was the DM, but I just read that it was a soprano player (the fellow who ran out of the tunnel to open the show). Interesting. Any thoughts?

In YOUR opinion. Of COURSE it's cerebral--- especially at the General Effect level! That's where the Apples meet the Oranges. The Proficiency judges don't care whether it's Dada, Stravinsky or Sanny Claus; who is cleaner??? GE doesn't just tell us which meat tastes best; it tells us that one is Burger King, another is Porterhouse and a third is Kobe. And this IS and always HAS been about ART. Funny, people weren't shrugging their shoulders as much when Cavies won in 2002 or Cadets in 2005. Look at their GE music numbers! OFF THE CHARTS! Where the HECK was the melody??? Neither show (in MY opinion) stands on its own without the visual presentation. I wish the Interneck had been around after Garfield beat Santa Clara in 1985. There would have been MUCH more of an outrage. Erte topped Frivoloty. Oh, the ART of it all!

A tie is a tie is a tie.

Just to correct: beginning in 1984 (build-up system): High Visual Tie: 1984, 1987, 1990 (not 2001) High DRUM Tie: 1991 (not 1984 and certainly not 1987---I just checked the tape, and he announced Garfield only.) High Brass Tie: 1984 (3), 1985, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1995 GE: 1990, 1991 They didn't start adding/averaging to secure a caption winner until recently. Frankly, since DCI no longer uses a tiebreaker or averages total scores from one night to the next, why do those things w/ captions? The best place to go is fromthepressbox.com to find scores from 1972-2012. It's about 99% accurate.

It's no secret that I've never been a rabid BD fan, but I have to praise their accomplishments. They've won more titles than my FOUR favorite corps (and one of those has won 10x). Even in their "drought years" (1988-1993 w/ no championship), they won 3 horn and 2 guard trophies. Think about this: we just completed the 2012 season. Since 1976, BD has failed to win a caption award only THREE times: 1987, 1989, 2005. That is amazing. They're doing something right.

I clarified Quad Aces. BD/Crown were announced as a tie for the Visual Performance Award. Someone forgot to break that tie for the announcement. Is this clear enough? And FYI, Percussion and Color Guard are Performance Captions as well as Music and Visual Analysis. Crown did NOT dominate with a drill lacking clarity at times--or an "ok" drumline.

B. Crocker announced them "alphabetically" as a tie. (The OOPS was Brass.)

I think I get your drift.