CDHouser

Without a doubt the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field. Watched the Blue Devils win their first DCI title at that stadium and then watched the show again (encore) with Steve Chorazy (BD Snare Tech 76) from the upper deck on the 50 yard line. Loved the sound of those North Tenor Drums and impressed with Madison's rewrite after canning "Shaft" (opener) which they performed on the West Coast.

In 1977 the Sacramento Freelancers percussion section emerged as a force in the West marching 11 snares and competing neck and neck with the Blue Devils for most of the western tour. As corps began to move toward Boulder, Colorado for prelims, we had heard that the Oakland Crusaders had already taken high drums at DCI North, even though the corps took 5th a full 13 points behind Phantom. At the time, I was marching with the Knight Raiders under the direction of Steve Chorazy and Mike Ferreira. The first opportunity we had of seeing the drumline was in a show just before Prelims in Greeley, Colorado. The Crusaders drumline were performing their drum solo during warmups. The 2nd time through the solo, Tom Float told them to dance around while they played. The solo had some intricate tuplet patterns decreasing and increasing in dynamics with RRR LLL sticking. We did not hear a single error through the entire solo. A friend of mine Dennis Mancini (Knight Raider Snare) and I both witnessed this and our jaws dropped. At DCI prelims, I snuck inside the stadium to see them again. As most know they took 1st in drums at Prelims but the corps finished 15th. The only recording I have ever come across of the 1977 Oakland Crusaders is of the drum solo. It's found on a Diceman Radio podacast of the De La Salle Oaklands (Episode 013), not sure when or where it was recorded. http://dicemanradio.com/dhp/?p=228

With respect to this thread and about the Blue Devils Cabaret Voltaire Just a thought... When Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring (Le Sacre du Printemps) was first performed in 1913 there was a riot in the audience. It was not accepted at first. It was different to say the least. It was a creative masterpiece. 27 years later, in 1940, part of it was used in Disney's Fantasia, another creative masterpiece. Charles Houser

Flammaster We were very fortunate to have Steve as an instructor those two years with the Knight Raiders. I have only heard about his whereabouts through a mutual friend of mine, Mike Ferrera who taught the tenors with Steve in 1976. We used to marvel at how fast he could play when he pulled out an original manuscript of "Birds of Fire" (SCV drum solo 1975) that Curt More wrote or co-wrote) with 128th notes. He would always tell us, it's not how loud you can play, it's how soft you can play with control and musicianship. When the corps folded after the "77" season, the musicians either went to the Blue Devils or the Santa Clara Vanguard. Most of the Brass players went to the Blue Devils and the percussion to SCV. Chuck King (DCI Percussion Judge) went to BD. Both SCV and BD were the beneficiaries of that corps folding in 77. Charles Houser Knight Raiders 76-77 Tenors Santa Clara Vanguard 78-79 Tenors San Jose Raiders 81 Percussion Staff

Hi Chuck That is a great vantage point. They have such a history. I remember when they won their first DCI Championship in 1976 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Our instructor was also the snare tech for BD that year. After they won, we walked up to the top of the stadium on the 50 yard line and watched their encore performance. I still remember it to this day. This year, Cabaret Volatire. Wow, so much going on. The opening melody and then... those chord progressions in the brass backfield...Kudos to the design staff and the performers. Charles Houser Knight Raiders 76-77 Tenor Drums Santa Clara Vanguard 78-79 Tenor Drums San Jose Raiders 81 Percussion Staff