DORCHESTER GUY

Those nitwits at Drum Corps News are still wondering why the Ferns never showed at the '69 World Open.

DotRats only took members from St. Ann's, St. Peters and St. Williams.

The Fresno Ferns have been conducting secret practices on zoom.

They looked incredible and sounded great when in tune. The problem was the tympani could be tuned by ear relative to each other, but it was often impossible to hear well-enough to tune to the horn line, especially when giant cymbals were stationed in between. The early move to "ground" tympani was beneficial to sound as well as bodies. I would never change the past, but I do have a fused disc and one leg 1/2 inch shorter than the other. The radiologist says it occurred "right around the age of 15", which was my first year carrying that instrument. We did always have a front row seat during concert, and got to hear a very ###### drum corps closer than anyone (inside the arc as FD would say), and see and hear the crowd sitting within feet of us. Marching tympani were a huge step in the evolution of drum corps, but tympani belong in the pit, being played by a single musician.

I'm teetering on the brink of insulting a corps which I enjoy, which is the opposite of what I am trying to say. Justice Potter Stewart famously wrote in a case about defining pornography (bad analogy), "perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly defining [it], but I know it when I see it". That is probably how it is with GE, that je ne sait pas quoi of drum corps, where judges are in the position of comparing apples and oranges. For me, sometimes the fairest approach is watching the reactions of die hard fans of Corps A to the show and performance of Corps B. When people spontaneously respond by screaming and jumping out of their seats, there is GE. Top GE for me is a combination of unique design, difficulty, and performance, without which the show design is meaningless.

Respectfully, because as enjoyable as they are to watch, it is more reminiscent of a BOA show. Cute does not take top GE in DCI.

1969: Falmouth Flounders and Cotuit Quahogs merged to form Chatham Chowdaheads Islington Lizards and Viagra Vagabonds merged to form Ereptile Dysfunction

Harvard Band show design is thoughtful and relevant to the thing most on the minds of students today: http://www.boston.com/life/2015/11/17/harvard-band-gives-unwanted-anatomy-lesson-claims-wan-purpose/jMWlQ4pFZagdMlLkEPD46H/story.html?p1=story_hp#comments

Has SUNY Albany ever been considered? Located at the intersection of 87 and 90. New stadium with upper deck. Give away the seat outside the 20 yd lines to youth groups. http://www.albany.edu/map/

The road beside the stadium, running off Hancock St., leads to a baseball field, and eventually a larger multi-use field. You will most likely find warmups there. There is also a new jr. high across the street on Hancock, but the stadium is probably too close for playing. The entire area there is a system of parks which is worth exploring, and given the traffic, go early.

If they were 65-ish, they didn't march in the Blue Devils when they were winning, if they ever did march. I marched in BAC in the somewhat bad old days of the late 60's. We were regularly booed in Massachusetts, and occasionally even spit at by blowsers entering the stadium. We did our talking on the field. Today at shows, I keep my mouth shut unless it's to cheer for something I appreciate. I never lose sight of the fact that every competitor works harder than we ever did "back in the day". Most importantly, the competitors are someone else's kids. These days, that crap is not tolerated in the stands in Massachusetts. If it occurs, people should not hesitate to speak up. If that should lead to unpleasantries, well then its a trip in the drum corps time machine, when the fans were a cross between roller derby and a biker bar.

That snare line is really beginning to cook, as is the entire corps. Tough to lose a member but virtually impossible to bring someone into that position at this point in the season. Close the gap and go BAC.

This seems like a lot of effort to produce a sound which ought to be available using any decent synthesizer. Come to think of it, most of those heavy, bulky percussion instruments from prior centuries could also be eliminated. The open positions would of course be filled by vocalists and woodwinds.

5. In 1968 at the US Open, this corps placed 7th in prelims beating Madison Scouts, Hawthorne Muchachos and Boston Crusaders. The Boston Crusaders did not compete in the 1968 US Open.

Madison Scouts 1975 CYO Nationals

Boston actually beat the Cavaliers in 3 out of 4 meetings in 1967, by more than 3 points in each instance. The AL at Fenway was a heartbreaking loss for a corps which probably had the highest winning percentage in the activity from 1964 through 1970, winning everything except the AL or VFW. They certainly weren't known for playing the game in those days, and paid the price on the scoring sheets more than once. They are remembered as an innovative balls to the wall drum corps, populated by street-wise kids primarily from Dorchester, Hyde Park and Southie, with many other Mass towns contributing talent, as well as a few brave souls (zealots) from other states and even Canada. The great Denon arrangements, the outlandish Shellmer drum charts and that double barrel booming bass which revolutionized marching percussion, all contributed to that history. As for the Cavaliers, the Crusaders in those days wanted to beat no one more, with the possible exception of SAC, because they were a truly great corps, and a class organization, as they still are. What is most ironic about the current roster of corps, is that such a high percentage is populated by corps who were champions 43 years ago, and most of the rest were in business at the same time.

BAC was "among the elite" competitively from the early 1950's through 1971, so that is likely long before you were born. Whether or not you have noticed, the Corps has been among the elite in terms of class, dedication, and attitude in every year since 1940. Although making "finals' in a field of 20 DCI corps may be a great accomplishment, BAC regularly made it with ease when the field was three or four times as large in pre-DCI days of yore.

If you fools want to continue trying to gratuitously bash the Roman Catholic Church, please take it somewhere else. Without the Catholic parishes, the VFW, AMVETS and American Legion veterans posts, there would be no drum corps today, and no discussion boards to stroke your pathetic egos. If the Cadets use the name Holy Name next year, and I hope they do, I sincerely hope that the true meaning of the Name is respected and the legacy honored.

Nothing has changed in at least 50 years. As good as they were, the Troopers in the 60's and early 70's were not in the same league as many corps musically, but their marching overcame it all, coupled with the frenzied crowd reactions, to succesfully influence the judging. The Cavaliers, Kilties, Royal Airs, SAC, Boston, St. Kevins, and later 27, were clearly superior musically, but the spreads were only given in drill.

I wasn't there, since I was merely a lad in St. Ann's Band, prior to turning pro with BAC. Could it be that the show was held 3 weeks after the VFW Nationals, and some corps might not have been at their best, or just performed without regard for the scores? For SAC, Bridgeport was virtually a local show, so they would be at their best. Even in an "off" year in the 60's, SAC kicked ###. What pot exactly are you attempting to stir? Where was Holy Name in the finals, at Nathans? Kilties won VFW in a mad dash at year end, and probably didn't care about the results at WO. The Green Machine was what it was. BAC and St. Kevins were at each other's throats in those days (both not only from Boston, but from Dorchester). The World Open was sometimes like the Dream, or the Barnum Festival, a circus.

Lucy's won the '68 Legion, which I believe was held in November, in Outer Mongolia. They had quite the double bass player that year, with those cherry bomb muffler resonators. However, they finished second to Boston in the Bridgeport rugby tournament in June.

Sully did teach, and was a real gentleman. CODI, it is time for the Erie. Perhaps we will meet Tubba Ford and Tiny there. Joe Bananas is coming to the Fenway Theater to see DCI quarterfinals. I always thaought it was ironic that the Pembroke Imperials were the only Massachusetts corps to win the VFW. After all the gnashing of teeth between Boston, Revere, St. Kevins, Beverly, and even Cambridge, the meek inherit the earth. It wasn't DCI, but then again, St. Lucy's once won the Legion.

They were a great corps, and a great group of people. Jack Donovan played snare in St. John's Misslemen, St. Mary's Cardinals, and Boston Crusaders, and taught their drum line in the early 70's. The organization still exists. http://www.pathwayproductions.org/imperials.htm

You may conclude that Boston is average because they perform a seamless, smooth show. Their guard is absolutely outstanding. Perhaps some color could be added, and they could dispense with some of the easels, by substituting backdrop paintings to evoke the periods of Picasso. However, they barely stop moving, while executing difficult moves. The percussion simply cooks. The brass has power that Boston has somewhat lacked during the last couple of years, and their book is hardly average. I only saw them in Lawrence, MA, but it was obvious that they were confident enough at a relatively early point, to begin really playing with emotion. There is no way that the corps mentioned will pass Boston, especially with their history of consistent improvement in the final weeks of the season.

1. Boston Crusaders Conquest 1969. 2. Cavaliers Bully 1966 3. Blessed Sacrament marking time, any time, especially on a sunny day. 4. Boston and SAC partying after '69 Shriners. 5. Boston, SAC and Cavies standing together against locals in parking lot at '70 CYO.