JimF-LowBari

I thought CapitalAires was an All Girl corps... ^0^ :P That does suck though, especially the video. Out worst problem was being called by our old name "Westshoremen-Bonnie Scots" two years after we dropped the Bonnie Scots part. At least we didn't get confused with another DCA corps.

Oh I like a lady with a sense of history. :) Interesting thing is both DCI and DCA can trace their creation by getting PO'ed at the Veterans organizations (American Legion and VFW) that ran the major corps shows. Believe breaking point for the Junior world was the VFW rules pushing total military bearing. Madisons 1971 "Alice in Wonderland" show even had a young girl dressed like Alice. Well.... Alice sat in the stands when the VFW said "NO". Forget the name but the man running the VFW shows had a rep of "my way or the highway". Never did find out why VFW quit having a Sr competition after 1962. DCA had started but not all the major corps had joined until the mid to late 1960s. Then the one of American Legion Championships had an outcome that many questioned. Forget the year but it was enough for all the major Srs to take a look at a new circuit. And of course the Drum Corps shows at the VFW and AL were only "something to do" at the conventions. Lack of respect towards the corps was a major reason for creation of the "Combine" and DCA.

And you're not the Southern most one either Fran. WSM Alumni has three Carolina Gold members in the horn line that have come up from Raleigh (about 6-7 hours each way) for the last three years. The game is to figure out which one is really the Alumni of the corps. :P

I checked the web page and love your "selfish" motives... :P Agree with Matt on Class A is DCAs best idea in the last 10 years. #2 Best ideas are a tie: Creation of Mini Corps competition and Alumni Spectacular being run DCA weekend. Just the idea that Drum Corps outside of DCA/DCI competitions is a good thing and should be supported can only help the activity as a whole. Should be interesting if DCI does more than having an Alumni corps perform during DCI week.

My thoughts exactly on Class A but didn't want to steer the thread when I started it. My experiences in 1974 and 1975 were: practice all day Saturday, 1 or 2 run thrus Sunday morning, do Prelims, get changed to watch Finals. Only difference between mid 70s and 1995 is the "lesser corps" went on after the big guns to give the Finals corps a chance to rest up and the audience to go get supper. (Back in the days of one day Prelims/Finals). Think biggest reason most of the smaller corps went to DCA back then was to try for Associate membership (position 11-14) to get some DCA show invites (for better $$$).

Non-traditional gigs sounds like a great thing. Playing to people other than fellow DC fans and parade crowds gets the word out about corps. As Seniors, oops All Age gets more spread out it's also a way to perform and get some $$$ to pay the bills. Most "outside" we did last year was doing a standstill at a local (Gettysburg) band concert. Lot of the band folks knew abour DCI but didn't know there was a corps they could join in their own backyard.

Back when I marched in the 70s and 80s there were so many smaller corps they had their own DC circuit (RCA and ICA). Then in the 90s things got really rocky as there were only 13 to 15 corps at Prelims. And almost all of them were the "same old" corps you saw every year (Cabs, Buccs, etc). Last year 26 corps showed up to compete at Prelims and this year looks about the same. A lot of last years corps were Class A and new. So what the heck happened that a lot of smaller corps were created in the last ten or so years? Or in Govies case, that they started coming to DCA weekend? And might there be a connection between this and growth in the Mini and Alumni movements? Annnnnnd... any thoughts on what the next few years might bring. Now this is the type of DC evolution I like

CMCC Warriros appeared in Richard Priors movie Brewsters Millions Hope no one thought that's what DC sounds like as they played a sucky verion of Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Friend swears he saw MBI or another corps in Redfords "Electric Horseman". Can't bring myself to rent it just to check. :sshh:

Live not quite 40 miles from the Hanover AL Post. About an hour each way depending on how many "Church ladies'" I get stuck behind on the two lane road outside of Hanover. :( There is a down side to Sunday afternoon rehearsals. Church Ladies - n.: little old ladies coming back from church which must be the only time all week they drive. My first corps was less than 4 miles away. Too bad they folded three months after I joined.

Not if you've seen the shirts. :P Really not what nature intended...

When I saw the title and subtitle my first thought was "Depends on the corps". <bleep> check 'em both out and see which one is a better fit. Like both corps but there's an Underdog t-shirt in my dresser. :)

And one of 'em was with him at the show. I lost my SB scorecard so I forget which one was which. ^0^ Also saw Don Barry and Shawn Gilmour (early 80s Bari) at the show. Oh yeah Ruth guess which one of your family members I talked to at CD. :P LOL, for everyone elses benefit Kris and I went to Gilligans after the show and ended up sitting next table to the 5 Star brain trust. :P Seeing how two of them used to give me rides to practice my first year it was one #### of a flashback. Especially because they used to hit a bar after rehearsals at CV (with a 16 year old me in tow). Should have seen Bill Lights face when I asked if we were in Bills Tavern in Hogestown ^0^ . Then "Ream, party of 50" :P walked in the place.......

Too much info on the boxers Matt :P Guess I wonder 'cause I don't get a chance to see Jr shows anymore. Well I would go to a Div II/III if it was nearby.

Thing I always want to know is if a high percentage of the "bandos" are sticking around to follow DCI after they age out. If DCI has a constant cycle of fans staying for a few years and leaving forever that can't be a good sign for the future. If this is true then DCI is truely following the MB world as not that many people follow HS bands after they or their kids graduate (from what I can tell).

I don't like Georges showlaces ^0^ :P

Is GH the only Drum Corps Grand High Poobah <$1 to Flintstones?> with a blog? Jes' wonderin'......

Ditto, keep getting reminded of my nephew and one of his Little League coachs. Kid was good but just wanted to play BB with his friends. #### he would have been happy to be playing on a dirt lot with a lot of rocks. Anyway one coach was building an "All Star" team and kept pressuring the kid to join. Nephew came #### close to quitting playing altogether until his dad confronted the coach with a "What the #### part of NO don't you get!". Moral: Sometimes the "adults" can muck up something the kids enjoy, by imposing their own desires.

Mmmm, half agree with this. I go to be entertained and appreciate what it takes for all corps (from first place to last) to get a full show on the field.

Last I remember a corps cannot compete in both DCI and DCA in the same year as per DCA rules. Yep - all age is all age.....

Too early in morning...... Too much thinking of wierd stuff...... :sshh: <Head exploding like in episode of South Park when Johnny Cochrane is doing the Chewbacca defense> :P

1980 Rhode Island Matadors (DCA) had three gig ###ed megaphones mounted on posts. The three lead sops played an (triple tongued?) intro before they kicked into Rocky to close the show. Jin Centarino(sp!!) then played the bridge part of Rocky thru one. You can actually hear the crowd freaking out over top of the horns playing. b**bs Can't remember seeing it done in DCI (at least on the telecasts).

Say only a few weeks until DCA :P You gave the opening George, and too early in the mornig to exercise self control.

Fran, remember you don't need to say anything when the corps are on the field. :P Sounds like a good mix of corps - kudos to the Warrenton folks. Too bad the only thing I know about the area is it's where I turned off of US-15 when I avoided the Washington beltway on work trips. (Camp Hill - Warrenton - Fredricksburg - Richmond beltway - Norfolk)

(This is being said to audiodb) Oy veh (and I'm Lutheran)

No because out of 1200+ corps, 1100+ are gone. Hard to support a dead group. And the Buccs and Yankee Rebels were right down the street when Westshoremen reformed to less than average results in the 1970s. Guess we never should have restarted either. Having been there I don't see the point. If this is what the young people want to do, then more power to them.