JimF-LowBari

Well he's also a DCP member and wrote for History of DC book. (singing badly) ....two out of three ain't bad <$1 to Meatloaf> :P

Have sat on my hands or did the "golf clap" during things I disagee with (aka amps and vocals). Have done it years ago when my old (Senior) corps sang during part of a show in the 1980s so it's not a DCI thing only. Always stand when a corps troops the stands to show respect for the work put into a show. Boo....never.....

My jacket shrunk (yeah right ) so bad I can't put my arms forward. :( Usually wear something with my current corps on it as I need some new t-shirts. Back when olde phartes like myself were called dinosaurs on DCP I wore my Sinclair Gas shirt. It has a big dinosaur on the front so very appropiate :P Did meet a RAMD/DCP member at a show while wearing it so it worked.

Sorry Jim but that wasn't me and I wish I knew who it was. That was my first gig with the Lancers and I had to leave right after we finished. :( Haven't seen the inside of Viictory either. :(

Just surprise me buddy.... And if we ever do meet face to face that will be a surprise in itself. :P

LMAO, wasn't thinking far enough ahead I know where there would be a fridge just the other side of the Susquehanna..... Oh man, I missed DCA '06, sure hope to make this initial show to make up for it. b**bs

But I don't think they will have anything from Victory Brewing.... :P Guess I better start saving my $$$$ as I have to pay to get in. :( But then again, I won't have to buy much gas for the car to get there.

What's this thing called age? :P Seriously some Alumni corps can be considered All-Age also as they accept under 21 year olds. Some only accept family members and some actually recruit for the younger folks who will not be doing Jr or competitive All Age corps. Heh, if a young person gets the chance to experience corps it's good right? Thus sayeth the guy who marched "Senior" corps from age 16-22.

D'oh post corrected..... And judging by the corps coming to my hometown Mini Corps is (are?) in a growth mode.

Regarding Mini corps or Class A let's not forget two differences: No Field show vs Field show (Until 2007) One show a year vs (hopefully) multiple shows a year It's apples and oranges as it's a lot harder to recruit with one standstill show DCA Weekend as your only time to perform. IOW, if someone wants to do a field show not sure how much they would consider joining a Mini. If someone wants to perform more than once even an Alumni corps would be an option.

Interesting how threads turn out. I started a Div II/III thread last year which went nowhere. Now I started a rebuilding thread which is turning into the thread I hoped for last year. :P But no complaints, anyhting that might help Div II/III or rebuilders is all good. Cozy, thanks for the kind words and I'm rethinking what I want to do with my "Letter to the Drum Corpites". Perhaps instead of only my experiences, get what others have gone thru, rewrite, and use it to help the rebuilding/restarting corps. One problem is figuring out the timing as it should be fresh in peoples minds as they start thinking of what corps to join for the season. (Yeah having gone thru it, I'm kinda(?) anal about it. )

Not to mention microphone placement. Going by the liner notes on my old DCA albums almost every year in the late 70s the number of mics and placement was changed. Reason was almost always given as "truer sound" which translates to "#### still didn't get it right". Except for two years (76/77) DCA Finals was only show recorded. IOW, DCA didn't have much chance to experiment. Marching bells were also a major problem on the recordings. They basically went up and down the 50 with the drum line and since the mics were right off the 50, guess what got picked up waaay too well. Still remember letters to DCN complaining about the "Drum and Tink Tink corps" on the recordings.

Have a couple one valve Baris in the basement myself and know that feeling. And here I thought the "tear inducing" sounds were from my lack of talent. :P Heh, a piston/rotor setup makes even me sound pretty dang good. ^0^ Still want to play one of those one valve beasts at I&E just to show people how it sounds. I'm serious about making a good job of it but hope to be entertaining as well. Safe it AIN'T gonna be. And back on topic: Supersops comment on energy and emotion reminds me of what a lot of the non-musical folks back in the 70s used to enjoy. Lot of 'em didn't know music or what a perfect corps was supposed to sound like. But if it hit 'em in the heart everything was cool.

aka the "World Tour" ... Right Fran

Skyliners in the 60s/70s weren't serious as much as they were scarey. And that was OFF the field as well. And ODBC :P Picturing us at 100 :sshh:

Actually sent in for I&E last year but had to stay home that weekend due to family situations. :( There is a line on the entry form for your past or present corps affiliation. Not sure what they do for people like me who list more than one corps but think Barb was going to decide that one for me. (Barb and I marched together a "few" years ago.) Frank's helpful too..... And finally "size" of what? Thus sayeth the 5'6" Bari. :P

:P And packed in like sardines when I poped my balding head in. Stopped in for a few minutes yesterday and horn line cranked up "Grand Old Flag" opener while we were still in the parking lot. Outside, windows almost totally shut and horns were facing other way and could still hear every note clearly. Yeah kinda LOUD!!! :)

Agree...WWII had battles on more than one theater (Europe/Pacific) and we're way stretched thin in Iraq and Afghanistan. If the crap hits the fan somewhere else we're screwed until more troops are ready. Almost said it would be like Korean War except the NG got sent to Korea until enough troops were drafted and ready. Problem is NG is already in Iraq so stopgap in a new area would be call more NG again..... Question would be how the deferments woudl be handled.

Touche Connor.. :P So it ain't just middle aged people like me (7 months until Oh #### 5-0) who think that way.

Leave it to a Baritone (me) to screw up who said what. ^0^ Just reread the original post and it just got more interesting. Kevin has she seen any video or heard any older shows? My wife never heard of an Alumni corps until I got back into corps in 2004. After seeing Alumnis at the Serenade in Brass concert and DCA Alumni Spectacular I think that's what she likes best. (And knowing a bunch of Alumni members helps too. :) )

Yeah but Lohan looks better in a dress....

If that's a slam on what was done when I marched then you are also slamming what your Uncle Jeffrey did back in the day as we marched the same time. Where did I say that 70s members can't get todays shows? And where did I say that todays shows are not entertaining? If you're going to twist my words you might at least put more effort into it. <**> Edit: In my original post I said "totally get". Meaning people who are not music majors or totally versed in the music being played today will miss a lot of nuances of the shows. And that includes little ol' non-music major me. Jeez, some poeple are so thin skinned you can't compare the past and today without them getting a bug up their butt. And notice in my post I did NOT slam either era.

Ahh, which means the first timer is not able to make the comparision that Gadget is making. Also IMO, the fact that the lady has such a musical background makes a big difference in what she can get from the shows. (Following is based on the Sr/All Age side) Today corps are going more for the complex shows that the non-musically inclined fan might not totally "get". When I joined in the 70s a lot of corps were using more "less musically inclined fan" :P friendly show but some were going to the less well known music. Comparing the make-up of the fans in the stands only seems to confirm this as in the 70s there were a lot more people who were not musical, not corps alumni or did not have family members marching. IOW, they were able to enjoy without a musical background. My wifes only musical background is a few years playing flute and hanging with me at corps functions and with corps people. Her take on Alumni corps shows and members is "These guys are fun!". (And "guys" = both genders )

What about the idea of being young in the 1960s and joining something sponsored by a Veterans group (AL/VFW)? Or being told you had to cut your hair and "conform" (dirty word to some back then) to a military standard. Doesn't sounding like a recruiting plus for the kids not drafted....

Yeah, what Jeff said about the Tenor bugle. Never even heard about these horns until about two years ago. What I have was called a Baritone (Bar-o-tone in an earlier ad) when new and uses a Trombone/Baritone mouthpiece. According to the ads, this horn was pitched one octave lower than the "regular bugles" (aka Sopranos). Then in the 1950s the "Bass" Baritone came out which is like what we still use today. Sometime or somehow later the names switched around. The "Bass Bari" became just the "Baritone" and the smaller original "Baris" became the "Tenor Baris". Then the smaller horn disappeared. Have what appears to be the orignal mouthpiece for my early small Bari. It's marked as a "3" which is the standard beginners mouthpiece which would make sense if you were teaching a bunch of Legionaires how to play. My 1960s Olds trombone "3" mouthpiece is bell shaped and the Conn "3" bugle mouthpiece is almost triangle shaped. Keystone huh Jim? Figures as I think they were from Philly :P (time to check History of DC book).