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Donny Drum Corps

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Donny Drum Corps last won the day on October 31 2014

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Profile Information

  • Your Drum Corps Experience
    many years, many corps
  • Your Favorite Corps
    Blousemen, Phantom Vanguard
  • Your Favorite All Time Corps Performance (Any)
    1994 Empire Statesmen
  • Your Favorite Drum Corps Season
    1991, 1994
  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Upstate NY
  • Interests
    drum corps, music, arranging, teaching and performing.

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    donnymusic1@hotmail.com
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    donnymusic1@hotmail.com
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  1. Unfortunately because Downingtown is now gone, the White Sabers will not get another score until the 29th of July. I have been in there for the past weekends and can tell you that when they come back into the mix, they may have some unexpected surprises! Trust that they are working very hard on a demanding, entertaining show! DA
  2. By golly, I think you may have just hit the nail on the head! DA
  3. That is not true. Up until two years ago when they decided not to either video tape/and or broadcast, the mini corps were liable to secure mechanical/streaming rights as well. The last two years have been no sync rights. needed. DA
  4. No...no problem. I am not apologizing, or do you need to either. I simply forgot why the reason we didn't get to play was the Marines. I conceded that. I also forgot that the show was delayed by hours the year before. I didn't call you a troll because of that. It seemed as if you were trying to bait me and your profile really isn't very forthcoming about your true identity. Everyone knows who I am and I am as transparent as I can be. You are just not. I felt like I was back on RAMD for a minute. No issues or agenda that I am trying to hide. You? DA
  5. Why? Now that Mchromik brought it up, I do remember there was a situation that involved having the Marine Corps at the finals. I was at the finals with another group that won the DCA Class A title that year, so I didn't think about it then. I also won the trumpet individuals that year. I have nothing to be ashamed of at all. As he said, it is the real only incentive that looks like a prize. We didn't get the prize though. Most of our guys had to buy tickets to the show, except for the staff of White Sabers. I am good here. Don't try to bait me, troll. I have been around a while. I have NOTHING but respect for Star United. You will never hear me talk bad about the quality they produce. DA
  6. Good try but I still call shenanigans, because Star did their encore the year before in the same venue at the same time of night. It isn't Star United's fault they are that good. I have never had any problem coming second to them. Third by 5 points may be a different feeling though. We may be back, but I doubt that will occur in Rochester though.
  7. Again, DCA does not care to do anything with this. I have been through this for years. I am still wondering had Star won in 2013, would they have done the exhibition that we did not get to do. We were doing this before Soundsport and WGI winds (conceptually) and I remember Dan Acheson coming to DCA to observe the mini corps show. The next year DCI was offering Soundsport as an alternative. It is what it is. Not as much fun as it used to be for me. DA
  8. The winning corps gets to perform at finals? All except in 2013 when the Ghost Riders won. Thus, more that adds to the frustration of why work so hard. DA
  9. I actually rearranged the iconic Jim Ott arrangement to fit the talent at St Joes, I have never heard of a band named Taxi. DA
  10. Hard to believe I am going to say this, but here goes. Want to see more mini corps? Make it an exhibition and take the judging out of it. It takes too much hard work to compete for second, and even though I can say that I programmed and performed in the only show that ever beat Star United, it is so much work to get a group that good, that it becomes almost unhealthy. I came over to the venue after finally going to the WDHOF banquet. I have missed the banquet every year except the year it was on Friday because of a parade downtown cause I and E to moved to Saturday. Many people were asking of course about why the Ghost Riders weren't there. I won't be ashamed to say that the show needed that group and maybe a few more. The vibe for me was not what I expected. Less fans than usual as well. Star was great as usual, Sacramento was very good, the rest were also good. But there was something missing. I know I missed doing it, but I did not miss how hard we worked to get to the level we had to achieve to compete with Star. I will imagine that this response will take some heat, but it is fine if it does. I got to go to someone's induction that I sponsored into the WDCHOF, Rick Rogers, who I wrote many shows with and worked with on many projects. I have been missing the banquet every year because it is at the same time as the mini corps show. Maybe if that they didn't collide, that may bring some more interest. In the meantime, RIP Mass Brass, Golden Eagles, Erie Thunderbirds mini corps, Minne Brass, Skyliners mini corps, Crossmen Extreme et al. Donny WDCHOF Class of 1995
  11. there are Italian restaurants within walking distance of the stadium, but because of the neighborhood, they close early. Roncone's on Lyell Ave right across Lyell from the stadium and Rocky's right on the corner of Jay Street and Oak, right at the stadium back entrance are both excellent if they are open. Both have great sauce and serve Tripe, and all Italian pasta dishes. Also, a short ride up Jay Street to the west, you will find a very decent place that specializes in Italian fare called Antonetta's. Celebrities visit this joint when in town. It is around the 1200 block of Jay Street. It is worth the one to two mile or so ride up Jay Street. How do I know about these places? I grew up in this neighborhood before it was destroyed by crime and drug activity. These places are very good but they don't stay open at night. except Antonetta's. Go grab a quick lunch at any of them and you will not be disappointed! DA
  12. Ok I will go there. I am speaking for myself and not Doug, who is the director. To begin, it isn't about placement, but maybe about respect. We are tired of doing what we had to do to compete at the level we were at. It was very difficult and hopefully some things will be cleared up. It became not as much fun to compete at that level because of many of the reasons below. Some facts to answer some of the early questions in this thread. 1.) Ghost Riders were born from the St. Joe's Alumni members in the mid 90's to compete as a mini corps by Doug Mellenthine and Rod and Larry Keppel. They played Georgia in 2000 with Kenny Ace Petersen playing the solo. 2.) They have competed in 20 consecutive years, entertaining thousands of fans 3.) As the St. Joe's members began to fade out, Ghost Riders re-invented themselves with an alliance with the Rochester Crusaders 4.) When the Crusaders folded, some of these members went to the White Sabers and became staff. We changed from G bugles to Bb/F brass 5.) The Ghost Riders have shared members with the White Sabers for over 5 years. The performers in Ghost Riders were also performers and staff for White Sabers. We also had many members that were in Bridgemen Alumni. Trying to get all together at one time began being tedious and frustrating for Doug and me. 6.) Those guys would travel back from Scranton, Reading, and other shows after a full weekend with White Sabers to practice with Ghost Riders, who were taking things as serious as Sabers were as far as performance goes. They would drive to Batavia for a 4 O Clock rehearsal Sunday afternoon after working their tails off all weekend. (Me included many times) 7.) Friday night of DCA was putting all those guys on stage after rehearsing all day with WS, hotel check in, etc. to perform with GR. 8.) DCA week is usually band camps for many of our members so we couldn't even rehearse until after 9 PM 9.) I took a job as a band director that is a considerable distance from Ghost Rider Central (in Parts Unknown) so it was difficult to travel back to rehearsals. 10.) We are tired of many things but basically we are just tired. The White Sabers are even more formidable this year as they have been in the past few years. Most of us are enjoying this experience as we are not rushing around to practice, and I am sure this weekend will be more enjoyable and less stressful for all. The shared members have said they are happy to not have to get ready to perform Friday night as most of us are. The Ghost Riders are still as they have been (membership wise) and do many performances and parades in Western New York. GR still runs a BHOF event in the spring as well. We needed a year off DCA competition. Let's face it, competition is competition. We competed at the highest level of mini corps. Who knows if there is a return to DCA, Sound Sport or anything else. We just wont be there this year. DA ( speaking for me, not Doug)
  13. It is only entertainment for DCA. I have been told this many times. The corps that took it seriously are mostly gone. Ghost Riders are only the latest on the hiatus list. Mass Brass, Erie, MCL, Golden Eagles, Lambertville, Skyliners et al...have just decided not to do this anymore. We took it more seriously than most realized. It just became too much work and not enough fun! We were doing it wrong. Ghost Riders are still performing in concert and parade activities. Contact Doug if you would like to have GR at your function. DA
  14. Torn between going to Peckville for White Sabers or Kitchener Ontario to tend to another corps I do business with, I went to Canada. DCA Alumni fans are in for a treat on Sunday AM, if they can shake off the Saturday night festivities! There were 3 alumni corps in the Scout House Tattoo that are worth seeing. Obviously the host Scout House did their thing and feature the historical pieces such as Waltzing Matilda and Bridge over the River Kwai march theme, but also have some new material penned by Dave MacKinnon from the Bluecoats and Gord Cupskey. A bit smaller than some of the recent editions, Scout House still delivers their trademark unmistakably Canadian flair. Brass line was in the 30's for numbers and drums were full as well. These guys are always a crowd favorite and of course at their home show, they were well received! Les Diplomates are back with a strong horn line numbering in the 50's. a cool concept, a great drum major and a different style of front ensemble. The pit featured a cello, tenor sax, a few synthesizers, and numerous latin style drums, The set drummer has constructed a wheel-on rack that has all of the drums just as a set would have them that is very unique. Some former Brigadier soloists showed they still can scream on trumpet, but the remarkable Genevieve on Contra was unreal! A mixed bag of material included cool arrangements of Tequila, some Les Miserables pieces and other Latin pieces. Drum line was solid as a rock and the guard showed a lot of presence with their costumes and theatrical and physical accompaniment to the music offered. The Kawartha Kavaliers were also out for the show. This is the corps I wrote for and they are very good players and performers! The show is a mix of songs one may hear in summer concerts in a park in the 70's. The music selections are a combination of Barbra Streisand tunes, Chicago, Burt Bacharach, Ashford and Simpson, The Supremes and others. (The way we were, happy days are here again, 25 or 6 to 4, Saturday in the Park, What the World Needs Now and Aint no Mountain High Enough are included in the show). Around 36 brass, a strong battery of 5 snares, 3 tenors and 5 basses is formidable. These are many guys that played together for years in the Kingston Grenadiers so they can groove. The brass line is very talented and able to handle the arrangements very well. Thanks to Randy Billings for giving me the call to work with this group. I am going to play as well because it is fun to play with these guys. Get up and come out to the Alumni show on Sunday! Add the Canadians to the rest of the stand by Alumni, Sky, Cabs, Boston, Hamburg Kingsmen et al....and you will get a blast from the past! DA
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