RubellaScurvy

PIONEER Nice brass sound and I loved Crown Imperial. Guard was the weakest section MANDARINS Very nice brass control and balance between brass and drums. Guard was weakest section. TROOPERS Good M & M. I loved the inclusion of the classic Troopers flags (white and yellow with crossed sabres) Weapons were TIGHT! ACADEMY Loved the repetoire. The battery drowned out the brass at times. I don't think they are yet performing this show to its full potential and when they do, they could certainly move up in the rankings. PACIFIC CREST My first time seeing them and I was impressed. Guard was the weakest section. The pit sounded wonderful. SPIRIT Great drumline. Guard was the weakest section. I didn't care for the dancing. COLTS Great guard and I loved the feature guard member during the opening moments in the classic Colts uniform of old. I'm not exactly sure why the baton twirler was needed but he was very good. Better than the Cadets baton twirler from a few seasons ago, I thought. MADISON Nice BIG brass sound. They had marching and guard issues. BLUE STARS My first thought after "YAY! It's the Blue Stars!" was "Where the %#@& are their helmets?" followed by "What the *$#% are they wearing?" The classic Blue Stars uniform is gone but don't get me wrong... I LOVE you, Blue Stars. Even when you were our competition back in the late 70's I have ALWAYS loved you and you have my unending respect for perservering and enduring through good times and bad. so wear whatever you want. BS have a very talented guard and a clever show theme, which they sold well. Nice sound from the brass and drums and great repetoire. GLASSMEN I didn't care for the little girl character - she reminded me too much of the dreaded "Solo Interpretive Dancer" syndrome of the 80s and early 90s but overall I enjoyed the show. I thought the boxes looked somewhat cumbersome but nice job by the guard and exciting and well-executed body movement by the brass line. CROSSMEN Great repetoire and talented guard. The only weakness I observed was in marching. I do hope they can maintain the momentum and stay in the top 12. BOSTON Good overall. The horns and rifles seemed especially tight. The music from the Matrix was wonderfully performed, as was the rest of the musical selections. SCV I love the music, as I am a big fan of both John Adams & Philip Glass. The brass and drums had a lot of power and the guard was very energetic. If they could clean things up a bit, I do think they could move up a couple of spots. BLUE KNIGHTS I enjoyed the musical selections but the guard didn't seem as clean as in seasons past and I thought there was too much body movement and dance from the brass line. CADETS I had to roll my eyes when they brought out the stage set but I was determined to keep an open mind. I guess my opinion of the show is running about the same as the majority here - I just don't think the dialogue enhances the show at all. In fact, I think it detracts from the softer musical moments. And if you are going to have "characters" then you need character development. Eleven minutes and sporadic dialogue isn't enough time to fully develop characters, so I can't say I cared about them. Otherwise, they played, drummed, and spun very well. The ending was somewhat gimmicky and left me feeling cold. PHANTOM So nice to hear the familiar notes from Spartacus again! The theme and emotions are conveyed very well. The weapons were very agressive. The guard seemed to have a few issues toward the end but overall excellent. They have integrated men into the guard quite well. BLUECOATS Best weapons so far today. Boxing is a somewhat unusual theme for a drum corps to explore but they sold it well. CAVALIERS Beautiful, graceful, athletic -- all sections. They included a snippet of a famous Cavalier drill move from the late 80s/early 90s which I was glad to see. CAROLINA CROWN They came to entertain and they did! Took over from Bluecoats for "best weapons" Beautiful flag work, as usual. I really loved the numerous musical themes and the brass sounded better than ever. BLUE DEVILS Don't get me wrong because I do like BD but my attitude (before the performance) was along the lines of "Oh BD wins again ho hum" but I had new respect for them after the first few seconds of the show. The BD guard is Carolina Crown's only equal in difficulty and execution. Very nice rep - I'm glad to see them exploring other musical themes besides jazz because they carry it off very well. Loved the look of the uniforms. So that's it. By the end of the night, my eyes were so tired that I was seeing cross-eyed, but as this was the only show I'll see this summer, I wanted to see IT ALL. RES

I seem to be in the minority but Cadets '86 show is one of my all time favorites. I'll admit that I didn't care for it when I first saw it - due mainly to the lack of guard. But I came to appreciate it more with each viewing, especially when I first saw it from up high. Overall, I thought '86 was kind of flat. To each, her own, I guess. RES

Tiger of San Pedro as performed by us in 1979 and 1980. Although our hornline was much more smoking in '79, I preferred the '80 arrangement. Niner-two would be my second favorite and I prefer the '82 arrangement of it. And coming in at a very close third place, On the Town - SCV's '83 arrangement. RES

Itta Bena, Miss. The freakin' mosquitos were swarming even while we were in the shower under running water. And Cutter spray & Off had no effect on them whatsoever. RES

"More Than a Feeling" by Boston comes to mind. I never really cared for the song all that much but it seems like it was unavoidable back in the late 70s, plus I was too cool to admit that I listened to Julie London albums at home. "I closed my eyes and I slipped away" -- when I hear or think of those lyrics today, I am instantly transported back to 1977-78 and everything is awash in black and orange. I'm a sentimental sap, that's all. RES

We did them in our opener in 1978. RES

Phantom Regiment 1982

SCV 1982 Sky Ryders 1982 Phantom Regiment 1982

Phantom Regiment 1982 Phantom 1982 Memphis Blues 1982

Retreat @ DCI 1982 Retreat 1982

Memphis Blues 1982 Memphis Blues 1982 Memphis Blues 1982

Blue Devils 1982 27th Lancers 1982 Memphis Blues 1982

Memphis Blues 1982 Madison Scouts 1982 Blue Devils 1982

I have found a treasure trove of old photos taken by Tracy Cathey (Memphis Blues '82, 27th Lancers '85) She has graciously given me her permission to scan and post them here. These are the first of many more to come. Memphis Blues 1982:

A few years after I aged out, I was listening to a recording of 1982 27th Lancers and during Niner-Two, I realized I was crying. I also shed a few tears when Lancers did the alumni corps in 1994. I have no doubt whatsoever that I will cry like a baby if I'm fortunate enough to see the Anaheim Kingsmen alumni corps perform. Sometimes, the big crescendo in "On the Town" by SCV in 1983 will make me teary-eyed. RES

ME, ME, ME!!! I'm so excited. After moving to TN in 2001, I've only seen the top eight at the Murfreesboro show each year but I'm not complaining about that. I'm just excited to see 9-21st place and especially the Blue Stars! RES

I just found out that I'm going to the DCI southeastern championships in Atlanta! And I'm most looking forward to seeing Blue Stars - a LONG TIME favorite of mine. RES

Guardsmen were 31st in 1975 and placed 12th in 1976.

I'm pretty certain that Phantom won Best Guard in 1989 at Kansas City. RES

I was thinking about this last night and it occured to me that Bill Solari marched in this parade. He was most definately an age-out. RES

Here's a few more I unearthed of Lancers in the Memorial Day parade 1985:

Guardsmen 1980 prelims (Tiger of San Pedro) Guardsmen 1980 prelims (Tiger of San Pedro) Guardsmen 1981 corps pic at U.S. Open RES

A few more I uncovered: Guardsmen 1980 prelims Guardsmen 1980 prelims Guardsmen 1980 prelims RES

At DCI prelims in 1981, we were waiting anxiously to see if we had gotten into finals. I was down at the opposite end of the stadium from where the prelims scores were posted and I heard cheering like you wouldn't believe. I thought to myself "Well that's either us or the Freelancers" so I wandered down to the scoreboard and saw the Freelancers celebrating. I was crushed of course, but if it couldn't be us, then I'm glad it was Sac. RES

Bridgemen prelims 1980 27th Lancers parade 1985