Cadetsnare

Yeah....Maslanka is a serious no-no. I was on the premier recording of "A Child's Garden Of Dreams" with the UMass Wind Ensemble back in 88-89. I got to meet the cat....really eccentric. Lives up in a cabin in Montana. Cavaliers did a snippet of his stuff in either 89 or 90...you hear a bit of it as an intro to a tune...just enough to not get nailed! :) Child's Garden would be insane outside, especially the movement where the dreamer is being chased by a whole horde of animals...then eventually eats her! BTW, Jim Ancona was on that session with me...played a lot of keyboards on that chart.

1987....to go back and be a member of the 87 Garfield snare line....and..... 1993 Star....to play those ahnnum beats, and experience that whole season, top to bottom as a marching member! And...1988 Garfield....a drum corps that got their a**es beat into the ground by the staff all summer long, but in the end....won percussion performance...some of Hannum's best writing, IMO.

Aungst and Larivee at Blue Stars....GAME OVER!!!! SWEET!

I love how they say "Kids, leave the sharp instruments and cutting to your parents!" Of course, kids can load and unload semi trailers, drive to rehearsals, carry heavy instruments all day, work their ***** off, but don't let 'em use a knife!!!! Oy Vey! Cadetsnare..........out!

I can assure you, from personal experience, that it will be tasty, with ridiculous amounts of dynamic contrast! And untouchable quality of sound!

I talked to Thom a few weeks ago, and he had mentioned it...I had to keep a lid on it! Glad he's back in it...he's a BRILLIANT man!

My fiberglass carrier from Pearl broke the last 5 or so seconds of the show at q-finals in 91. Pearl replaced the next day..... ....and I didn't tick!

1990 Birmingham. Stupid, stupid hot. 125 on the field. Us IN WOOL UNIFORMS. Closing the gap to Star and SCV to 1 tenth, then never being beaten after that night. 1993 Jackson. Enough said. Watching 27th do the pinwheel in Danny Boy. Goosebumps. BD at Allentown in 86. Untouchable. Seeing SCV perform their drum solo at Allentown. Seeing that big stupid prop for the first time with the Bluecoats in 1992. Hilarious! Eating at Star's food truck after shows, hence the reason for making friends with folks in that corps! Watching Thom Hannum go nuts in 93 in the middle of Star's show! Seeing the end of Cadets show in 97 for the first time! Watching SCV warm up early season in 04...mind-boggling! ....and #1...watching cadets do the final dissolving company front in 87...it took 20 minutes just to pick up all the babies!

Darth Quad!

I taught at a school in So Cal that had some pretty outstanding DCI instructors on staff... Me (Colts) percussion, battery arranger Roger Carter (Madison Scouts) percussion Jaime Holly (Blue Devils) visual designer, vis tech Pete Sapadin (Troopers) percussion Peter Gomez (Academy) guard Kieth Dunton (Madison Scouts member) brass Jenifo Leseth (Crown) guard consultant Don Hill (Blue Stars) wind arrangements Tom Rarick (Bluecoats) pit arrangements Michael Klesch (Crown) wind arrangements That band went from nowhere to being second at the western BOA regional in a year! What a fun ride that was!

If you've won/earned a DCI ring, EVERY ring has stones !!! ...or perhaps the wearer is the one with the stones!

Paul Hindemith IS the downfall of wind ensemble literature.....AND the Sky Ryders!!! And so is George Hopkins....AND Jim Mason! Hell, for that matter, so is Thom Hannum, Jim Prime, George Zingali, and Todd Ryan! F Them!!!! F them ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHO F***ING CARES what their attitude toward their fans or DCI was? They were brilliant, and I don't care if they disliked DCI, fans, the New York Giants, or the Catholic Church! As far as I'm concerned, they could have mooned the "fans" before every show. I'd still be on my feet cheering them. And who the **** are you to judge what their attitudes were? I am going to bluntly ask you...have you ever marched in drum corps, and what years? Or....are you an "armchair quarterback"? Usually guys like you with some off-the-wall opinion are the ones who never walked the walk. "Clean-up on isle 2....."

Someone get the tin foil hat....fast! I smell an armchair quaterback. Perhaps this is Catherine from RAMD? Oops...I must have that disappointing Star attitude.

Cadets have announced Colin McNutt and Ian Moyer as arrangers for the Cadets. Should be a smooth transition....they're both great arrangers and teachers. I marched with Colin for 3 years at UMass when I was in the cadets...great guy, great hands, and was mentored by Thom Hannum. Should be a great fit for the corps.

Ah....the good old days...back when men were men, sheep were scared, and you could still give 'em a good beat-down without having their moms on speed-dial!

This thread is Chock Full 'O Win!

And....Clark "Center Stick" Gardner for the win!!!!!!!! For what it's worth, Hannum outdid himself. Awesome use of space...and the pit writing? Sublime. I literally stood next to Hannum at finals in 93...watching that masterpiece unfold, and watching a reserved man like Thom go ballistic in the show was a treat I'll never forget! For anyone that didn't dig it...that's cool. To me, it's THE show that re-defined depth of composition in DCI. And Clark...I promise I won't post about this any more !

I had a feeling Tom was retiring, but I didn't know about Neil

Last year, a member of the Colts died from injuries sustained in a car wreck. Just a tragedy.

Yup...I'd take it, too....(oh wait a minute...I DID take it!) We were very, very clean at the end, but that didn't happen until right around Birmingham (hottest place on Earth...yuck). 1990 was cool, but I hope they won't be using material from that year. My vote is for using some material from the Jeremiah Symphony. THAT would be the shiznit! 1985 was a RIDICULOUSLY risky show that was spectacular at the end!

At that time, Yamaha owned Premier, so yes, they actually were Premier snares with Yamaha stickers. This was pre-ffx/sfz, so they were the only free-flaoting game in town at the time.

Hee hee! I know I don't teach like that....AT ALL. My students definitely know when I am on the podium or anywhere in front of the band, it's ALL business. I've had my share of parents complaining about being "mean" to the kids. Well, it IS an elective, and there are plenty of other places at the school where they can go to "feel good". That being said, there are a lot of parents who appreciate a teacher calling it like it is. Most of these kids were raised by female teachers through grade school, and haven't encountered a strong male who will tell them when they are wrong. Thank GOD I had Thom Hannum and Tom Aungst as instructors! If any of you here reading have worked with them, you know what I mean! Apoch, you're in Portland, yes? I think it might be an Oregon thing, being a recent transplant here from So Cal. Fear not, it's not like that in most places.

I marched the Cadets 89 show...thanks for the props. I just found the q-finals performance on "That Site We Can't Mention". I forgot how killer of a tune that was. I try not to watch the shows I marched in, but man...that show was off the hook! You may want to hunt it down...the camera coverage at q-finals was WAAAYYYY better than finals. PS The others you mentioned, especially Stone Ground Seven, were awesome as well. If some of y'all haven't gone back to listen to the masterpiece that is the 1985 SCV, I'd HIGHLY recommend you do. Top to bottom, I think it's Ralph's best writing. Check out Festering Ovaries (Festive Overture).....