JimF-LowBari

Anyone know details of Blue Stars???? All I know is they were DCI Finalists, went downhill while I wasn't following corps and now working their way back up.

Pardon if someone mentioned this before.... Everytime I see the thread title I think of the George Washington Carver Gay Blades and Spirit of St Louis Senior corps. Reason is these corps had all black members. Talk about Historic and Black corps. B)

I'd like to hear the other way. Todays DCI members on piston/rotor jobs would be interesting for the performers and listeners. But on todays recording equipment. Another problem with the mic arrangement back then was the marching bells with two mics right off the 50. Since drum lines then went up and down the 50 the bells came across too loud. DCN had letters in the late 70s complaining about the "Tink Tink" corps. And to paraphrase a post I made on another thread (forget which one), my old DCA late 70s albums listed the mic setup for finals. About every year number of mics of mic placement got changed "for more lifelike sound". IOW, DCA wasn't happy with the sound or they would have left things alone. Not sure about DCI but DCA was the only show recorded with the exception of 1976/1977. So the people recroding didn't have a lot of chances to try things out.

One of the areas of corps that gets is overlooked is new corps starting up or corps coming back after being inactive for at least a season. So much going on with Open, Class A, Minis and Alumni corps, I'm asking for help here. Could DCPers post what corps they know of who have started up or come back after being inactive? Looking for any corps in the last 20 years or so. If possible I need the years when the corps went inactive and then restarted. Not sure what I'm going to do with this info yet. Lot depends on what I find and if I can publish/post anything I write. Seems that even mentioning that corps go inactive is a taboo subject in some places.

One of the areas of corps that (IMO) is overlooked is new corps starting up or corps coming back after being inactive for at least a season. My knowledge of the Junior world is limited so I'm asking for help here. Could DCPers post what corps they know of who have started up or come back after being inactive? Looking for any corps in the last 20 years or so. Edit: If possible I need the years when the corps went inactive and then restarted. Not sure what I'm going to do with this info yet. Lot depends on what I find and if I can publish/post anything I write. Seems that even mentioning that corps go inactive is a taboo subject in some places.

"Copyrighted news or discussion information may not be posted in its entirety on our site unless permission has been granted by the owner / author. This includes emails, private messages, instant messages, website reports, news items in printed and electronic forms and any other material not written by the person doing the actual posting." Little confusing IMO as the second sentence sounds like it might be referring to copyrighted material only.

What I respond to is if I'm entertained or not. Don't really give a rats hindquarters if the artist struggled or not. So who is the artist in the DC world????? Yeah I know, too low brow of an answer... ook, ook B)

Not that I could find. I read it in comic book form in the late 70s and PO'ed I didn't buy it myself. (Read my bus buddys copy on the way home.) NanciD is posting her collection of Drum Corps New but is only up to 1963 the last I checked. Hoping it turns up when she gets to the 70s. Think Don Draper did the series. Anyone know Don well enough to ask?

Always will have A-holes and the timing of the message confirms it. Must be related to the same people who say "Why be in a last place corps". My answer is either "To help it get better" or "Beats the crap out of staying home".

Ditto, my first season and part of my second I played by the fingerings I marked on all my music. Except for me 1 = valve, 2 = rotor. When I got my 3 valver 2 1/2 years ago I was a smart ### and asked the horn instructor. "OK, 1st valve is right thumb, 2nd is left thumb..... what thumb is 3rd valve ^0^ "

It ain't <making note to cancel plane tickets>

And for you first timers, there is one Hades of a echo or reverberation when you practice on the empty stage. Don't worry, all the warm bodies soak up the sound during the show. Just watch the narrow doors when you enter and exit. Lot of times one corps is coming in as another is leaving and it gets tight with the instruments. Just keep moving 'cause if you stop it's traffic jam time and I don't mean the Skyliners.

Back in the 70s, Drum Corps News carried series of comics along these lines. DC went to a draft like sports leagues have, along with 2 sops for that bass drummer type trades. Then to the androids with lasers to check the straightness of lines, etc. Finally a group of humans marched like it was in the "good old days" and the crowd realized that the robots were cleaner but missing emotion when they played. Comic ended with a riot when "Man Corps" (still remember the name) lost in a close one to the robot corps. B)

Well if you picked that up from me, I need to explain better. Easier to overblow the piston/rotor horns, which were a different breed o' cat as opposed to the 2/3 valve horns. Too bad I had a 19 year gap in between my P/R and all valve experiences.

Had to laugh (edit: NOT at you Bill) when I read this because I work at two different places during the day and the Internet security rules are different. Second place I can see RFPADirectors pics and the first I can't because photobucket is blocked. Last I checked I couldn't see Nancis' History site since November at either place. <**>

Thought I saw the first letter with a bunch of #s mentioned somewhere but waited to see if that was really (part of?) the problem. Been doing that off and on since I joined and never heard squat about it. #### (used all #s), never realized it was a no-no....

More instructors on the DCI side yelling "Quit playing so #### loud!"? ^0^ :P

I can believe igor230s post about change in philiosophy based on the few DCI corps and (lot more) DCA Bb corps that I have heard live. That and DCI corps have more time to get used to a different method of playing. The Bb DCA corps appear to be louder than the DCI corps but the sound might be a bit softer than the Gs (horn construction?). Then again, I play G in an Alumni corps which has ye olde "rip it loose" mentality of the loud parts of the music. Then again (again) I do not have a trained ear so I might be full of the brown stuff (again).

Played piston/rotor in the late 70s and they were easy to overblow. Which meant you had to be careful and really listen to make sure you were playing with control. Yeah it was more of a challenge than playing a MB instrument but that was part of what make DC special. Know it made me a better horn player. Anyone who gets bad tones out of a G needs to practice more or listen better. And if you are getting bad sounds out of todays G 3 valvers, you must really be trying to play bad... Only difference I can tell between G and Bb is lack of volume mainly in the DCI corps I have seen. No idea if it's due to instruments or way they are playing. Edit: Just because something sounds different from a Bb horn line doesn't make it wrong... just different. <**>

Good stuff is good stuff no matter who plays it. We're working on a version of "Georgia On My Mind" which is like Mighty St Joes which was like Spirit of Atlanta. When I first saw the chart I didn't like the idea of doing what someone else is doing or did before. After playing it I changed my mind as it's a fun piece to play. Besides almost all the people who will hear us play it will never get a chance to hear MSJ or 1980(?) SoA. (We only get one chance a year to play in front of true DC fans.)

Yeah, we could throw Yankee Rebels and da Pittsboigh Rockets in there too. Hershey Chocolatiers anyone??

Yep, and there was also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to verify the results. I don't know the deal with the "fan-o-meter" but the CPA part was true. The CPA played mellie with Westshoremen who sponsored the show. :P

Heh Jim did you know that doves don't fly in the dark? I didn't until Labor Day Sunday night 1980 in HershyPark Stadium.... Well most don't fly in the dark. Just wish I hadn't left my camera in the car for finals Jeez, corps actually won DCA in 1996. But everyone remembers those ####### feathered rats. Well at least we're remembered for something. :P PS - I typed in seven #s, so I'm cool with the mods. ^0^ B)

I have people in my office saying they should be allowed to smoke where they work because they smoke at home (iow - environment). IMO, it's a question of respecting others. And profanity is not used or condoned by everyone in urban environments. Edit - At home I swear as bad as the next person (ask my wife). But when I'm around people who don't like it, the self filter is ON.

Wow, trying to remember Lewisburg/Bucknell in '78. Riding with Benny in the equipment truck for 5 years makes the shows all blend together. And you don't get to do underwear walks. :( Found the Dauphin parade pics and they were marked '79 when developed. Rotten thing is almost all the photos taken with Kodak paper in the late 70s are turning shades of red. Guess whatever chemicals Kodak used then did not have a real long shelf life. This includes my Nah 'lins pics in '78 and bunch of pics I took in college. <**> And the four parade photos are dark enough because of the clouds and cheapo camera. Did get a shot of John and Julie Close from the back though. Hope to post by end of this weekend.