Blue Devil Legend

wow.....that's really cool of your sis to do that......... :)

will do!...... BTW....her name here is "Yenta"

awwww shucks Rob....just doin what every other brother would do........... :P

she never wanted to join the Devils, she was Vanguard through and through.......

great story Lisa......... :) Send in the Clowns...........it was my fathers favorite song......when he died in '83, unbeknownst to me, the Blue Devils had a group of about 7 horn players come out to the funeral, and play Clowns during the funeral ceremony....was quite touching.....I can remember choking up bigtime. Total class act by the Devils................

thx Bam........got a little out of control at the end there, but was a fun one to be a part of.............

:lee:

well good to hear that.....glad we could inspire you!

well....I really don't think '74 Anaheim was underrated whatsoever, peeps here just don't talk about it much, mostly a younger crowd here.....heh From experience, the '78 Devils was quite interesting, we basically changed our Drum solo, and closer during the year, if anything, I felt we were fortunate enough to catch SCV, and PR.....by seasons end.

hmmm......twas a good one also...... throw in "My Heart Belongs to Me" from '79 also.......... btw,....it was "Dindi" :P

Chase the Clouds Away - 75,76 Blue Devils..........

THAT.....just hit home with me.............thanks. :)

lmao.....as a drummer, I knew one move......"make it look like my feet were moving" :P

Thanks Mama!!!!!!!!!.......

again....a VERY touching situation.......I can only imagine what she, and you also felt like. I can say that I felt a similiar feeling after '78. We had made up a huge deficit with SCV and PR that year, and were bunched within .5 of each other in prelims. I can only say that I feel fortunate in what was accomplished that season.

great story.........DC can move you in some wonderful ways..........

Well.....no, sis left SCV in '77, so she never had a chance to experience what it was like to win DCI. Maybe in a way, she did through me, as she was VERY supportive of what I was able to be a part of in 76,77,79,and 80. I know this for a fact, she wore the Red and Green of the Vanguard proudly, so that in itself was her pinnacle........... "Tradition"

thanks Lisa.........mucho appreciated........ :)

Thanks for the kind words Maggie. I do accept that it means something winning in 1976, but at the time I mentioned, it didn't. I also realize the pain all of you went through that night in '75, as we were right there along with you......... :) It was one of those moments in time that come without warning, and then leaves in the same manner. As I mentioned, it was SO different because it was my sister. BTW.....her name is Sandi.

well...I guess I needed one to..........

My sister got me interested in Drum Corps. I started attending parades and so forth, while she marched with the Blue Angels Drum and Bell Corps from San Lorenzo, Ca., from the time I was 9, and thru my 13th year of my life. The one thing that always intrigued me were the tenors. From then on, I wanted to be in DC. I would take my set of sticks and CONSTANTLY play along with the album recording from Combine West '71. (Cavaliers show) God I loved SCV back then. In 1971, I had asked my sister to see if I could join the Blue Angels, I had the "fever" bigtime by then, but she was advised at the time, that I was not good enough to be a member of the Corps. That's cool, no worries....heh. Finally, her and I decided to join the Royalaires Drum and Bugle Corps (where I met Scott Johnson), from close by San Leandro, Ca. I auditioned, and was accepted to play bass in the drumline. Sis and I remained with the Royalaires until 1974, when the corps merged with the Stockton Commodores, to form the Royal Commodores, which lasted one season. Then came the turning point in our DC lives...........1975. She had always adored the Vanguard, as did I, but by then, I had grown an admiration for the Blue Devils jazz sound. So off I went to Concord, and she to Santa Clara. Then the fun began, she with her VERY conservative Vanguard, and me with the swashbuckling Blue Devils. SCV had just come off a DCI Champoinship year, and the Devils had just made a jump from 24th in '73 to 9th in '74. I always liked an underdog. :P Drum Corps from that point on was an interesting topic in our house, but Mom and Dad always stayed neutral, and did what most parents would do in that case, cheer for BOTH sides! In '75, SCV ended up in 2nd, and we (Blue Devils) in 3rd (we had beat SCV quite a few times throughout the year, including the World Open, and CYO Nationals leading up to Finals week), so no "blood" had been spilled.........yet. :P Then came 1976, the year that gave me SO much joy, yet so much sorrow also. For those of you who don't know, the 1976 Blue Devils dominated DCI in a way that no other had EVER done, as we swept all captions, and won by 2 FULL POINTS! What I will remember most about 1976, was the announcer in Philly......... "in 2nd place, with a score of nine zero, point seven zero........................the Madison Scouts!" - The world stopped for me and I'm sure the rest of us in the corps for a few moments. We all jumped, hugged, kissed (heh), threw our shakos in the air, ran around like little kids. Pure pandomonium had broken out. I can vividly remember the euphoria that was going through my body at that moment. At that particular retreat at finals, we were staged between the Scouts and SCV. At a time that I thought NOTHING could change what I was feeling, something did. As I made my way around the corps to congratulate my co-members, I looked towards the Vanguard, and what I saw, made the title seem meaningless. - My sister had been in DC since 1967. - She was my hero for twirling her baton, while the drummers drummed, and the bell players played, I LOVED watching them. - She had brought me to the activity that really gave me some direction and MUCH joy in my young life. - She tried desperately to get me into Blue Angels. - She brought me along to join the Royalaires. - SHE looked out for her little brother. What I saw that night in Philly, STILL chokes me up to this day. I saw my sister, standing at attention in the proud Vanguard traditon, her knee's buckling, overcome with emotion, trying to keep from breaking down, heart broken, exhausted, but she dug deep inside, and showed the pride that SHE had taught me. - In the span of 2 or 3 minutes, Time stood still for me again. Everything that happened in 1976, the hard work, the sweat, the thousands of hours of practice, meant absolutely NOTHING to me. The only thing I could focus on was my sister, and the pain that she had to be feeling that night. After the years of marching she had experienced, and was gracious enough to let her little brother "tag along", it was I who had just gone to the pinnacle of Drum Corps. I felt like someone had just ripped my heart out. It was not allowed to break the SCV ranks, especially at Nationals, or break any corps rank in general. I felt SO helpless, this was not a casual acquaintance that I was looking at in pain, this was my own flesh and blood, my sister. If I could have changed uniforms with her at that moment, I would have....afterall, SHE deserved it more than I did. I wanted SO bad to go over to her and hug her, tell her that they had given it all they could, that I loved her for what she had given me the opportunity to accomplish in DC. But I couldn't. Retreat had ended, SCV left the field, and my sis and I didn't see each other until we came home to Cali. I learned something that night in Philly, that heart was more important than winning. That giving was more important than receiving. My sister gave so many things to me in life, and in Drum Corps, including the championship in 1976. So I will take this opportunity to say........... Thank you sis, for on the night of August 21, 1976......it was you who was the champion on the field.

Russian Christmas Music - SCV '87

I think in ANY show, it is important, and neccessay to have a guard that not only enhances, but like back in the day, accents what is goin on musically,........... just recently, a friend of mine and I sat down and watched the DVD's from back in my day, and in that short time, grew an appreciation for what our guard did in regards to accentuating our repitoire.

I hear ya Rob...........I too enjoyed my short experience with the 'gades...........however, when it came down to it, my family took priority also. My joining in mid May AFTER plans had been made for the summer, and although the family had backed me doing this, I just didn't feel right, so it looks like November is a better fit for me. Renegades is truly a class organization, the two camps I attended were fun. I had my reservations attempting to come back to Drum Corps after such a long layoff (23 years), but I was greeted by a support system that made me feel like I could do it again. Good luck you evil people, and I'll see ya in Hayward, and Concord. Peace

well.....sometimes I would concur with that statement.....................