PJS53

The first version I know of a harness for tympani was designed by one of our players. The usual factory installed method (Ludwig Tympani) was to use two crossed snare straps with a leg rest mounted on the drum. This of course caused tymps to bounce pretty badly not to mention you had to compensate your marching style so you didn't look like you were marching with a limp. As seen in the previous photos with the pre-carrier tenors tympani players had to lean back to compensate for the weight of the drum. During the winter of 1973/74 prior to the 74 season one of our tympani players Kurt Groh decided to play around with some ideas. The result was the following. We still used crossed snare straps but removed the legrest from the drum and in its place Kurt developed a wooden block built from two pieces of 2x4 wood bolted together. The front of the block was rounded out to conform to the shape of the drum shell and had a belt screwed in place. The players strapped this block around the body at about hip level with the belt and it pushed the shell of the drum slightly forward and level. After some experimenting we attached some foam to the side of the wooden block that contacted the body for comfort. We all had bruises from those blocks but the improvement in our marching style and the fact that the tymp was not bouncing with every step was a major step forward in comfort and performance. During the 1974 season we removed the legs from the tympani for performances which also cut pounds off the payload and allowed us to play the whole show keeping the drums on rather than grounding them for concert which was a very typical thing for tymp lines to do in those days. The "Groh carrier" may have been crude in its design but the concept was solid and I believe helped us be a much better playing and marching tymp line.

Chicago Boy Scout Troop 111 became the Chicago Cavaliers named after the image on the package of Cavalier cigarettes. Warren Alm provides a great version of the history of the early years of the corps including the name choice, uniform selection etc. on the Cavalier website.

Been a long time since I've posted on this site. I had the pleasure of marching in the drumline with Mr. Milano in 1973-74 and can assure anyone that his recounting of the story of Cavaliers 1974 is 110% accurate. There are times I remember Frogs speech in that gym like it was yesterday. He put the fire in us and the effect was synergistic. My memory of the immediate response to our prelims performance was looking at my fellow Cavaliers and thinking "did we just nail it like I think we did?". Since then I've had the pleasure of speaking to many members of the Cavalier corps over the years and I'm constantly surprised that the 1974 corps is held in such high regard to this day. I feel privelidged to have marched that year with a group of guys with tremendous heart.

Thanks for posting that Mike and well done to both Chris and Dave. Competing against each other for 60+ years this exchange is a true example of what our activity is really about. It may have started when Cavaliers loaned Garfield Cadets drums for nationals after Holy Name dropped sponsorship. Cavaliers staying at homes of Cadets and many examples of cooperation between the corps all while being intensly competitive on the field.

Regarding non drumcorps units here's what I seem to remember. They did particpate in the big parade. They had their own competitions and I believe a prelims/finals type of format. Not sure if they had to stand inspection but my guess is that they probably did. The categories outside of corps that I remember were bands, drill teams, and I think baton and twirling corps. The drum and bugle competion was kind of the "big show" but those other units also had quite a stake in becoming national champions in their own right.

Copying or "improving on" other corps tunes goes back a long ways and probably the 1909 Boys Bugle Corps of Poughkepsie played something done by the corps down the street two years before. Who knows? Here's one that I remember that wasn't the same tune but an obvious attempt at picking up on the success another corps had with a piece. Kilties arrangement of Chatanooga Choo-Choo followed by Cavaliers Casey Jones. Train effects and all. Worked ok for the Kilts not so much for Cavs. In this whole discussion you have to take into account arrangers moving from corps to corps or new instructors coming into the game who think they have a different twist on a tune or take a scrapped piece and re-work it. Didn't Blue Stars do a very similar version of Hall of the Mountain King several years after Cavaliers had success with the piece? Hmmm, now that I think about it Sal Ferrara may have been arranging for Blue Stars that year and put the tune back in play. Maybe a compliment or maybe just thinking "we can do it better". Overall I prefer hearing corps playing something new but sometimes a few years in between arrangements and a different take on things creates a classic. "Russian Christmas Music" was a cool piece when Cavs first played it but it really took wings when reworked for SCV. Don't forget different drill and the whole visual package can move a piece from being a "nice tune" to a corps classic. Bottle Dance without the rifle line is just another song from Fiddler.

You know, that's not my favorite show and not even my favorite Cavaliers show but I remember going to their camp in DeKalb right after move in. I heard the corps play a run through and said to myself "oh my god, they're going to win". I've never heard a hornline sound so mature and professional that early. They really did have the whole package that year and I never predicted a win before or since that time. It just seemed so obvious that they wouldn't be touched.

I couldn't be happier for the Blue Stars. Lots of credit goes to the staff, volunteers, alumni, and fans who have believed in this corps over the years. They brought a corps from the brink of extinction back to national prominence. They never lost sight of the goal and maintained the best standards of tradition over many years in the background of this activity. Alway a class act no matter where they placed in competion. Good for you Blue Stars!

I'm fond of the version played in the movie "Brassed Off". I believe it's the Black Dyke Mills Band playing.

Ok, could a couple of you fellow dinosaurs stop bickering for a couple minutes to answer a question for me? Last weekend I had the pleasure of being interviewed by one of the young men in the Cavaliers for a report he is writing. I couldn't remember if we had keyboard mallets in 1973. My memory is that there were no mallet instruments in 1973 and that they came onto the scene in 1974. I distinctly remember the mallets in 1974 and beyond. There may have been some around but not in Cavaliers to my recollection or in any of the other corps that we frequently competed with. Can anyone confirm this?

Believe me I had some serious consideration about throwing Blue Stars in there and they very nearly did it in 72. Muchachos on the other hand is clouded in so much controversy and speculation that I don't think of them in the same light. A great sounding corps with tons of GE but I seem to remember that they suffered a bit in M&M execution. I could very well be wrong about that.

Avoiding the Phantom Regiment situation I'd have to say hands down the BEST corps to never win the DCI title is the Twenty Seventh Lancers. Honorable mention to the Troopers. Both these corps were within reach but just couldn't lock on

My youngest son marched for a year with Racine Scouts and then two years with Blue Stars.

Colts did a BS&T show sometiime around the mid 90's I think. I'll have to check corpsreps to be sure. It was a rockin' good show as I recall. Part 2 ok I looked it up 1997 and included Symphony for the Devil, God Bless the Child, Lucretia MacEvil, Hi De Ho, and 40.000 Headmen. They just missed the cut and were in13th place that year.

Being a drummer I love drum visuals. Some that come to mind were the Anaheim stick flip circa 72-73 can't remember exactly. The Bridgemen blindfold drum solo. Cavaliers around 76 I believe snares playing a roll with the sticks coming up to their ears and playing clean!

I must have seen that show over a dozen times that year and it brought a smile to my face every time. Just a great, fun, and extremely well performead show. Thanks for bringing that memory back.

As soon as I saw this, the phrase " Santa Clara staff early 70's" jumped into my head. In truth it could have been the staff of a few other corps as well.

Please elaborate on number 5. That's a story I've never heard mentioned before and I've heard a bunch!

No particular order: 1973 SCV Young Persons Guide: Nobody before this ever attempted anything so sophisticated and complex and then manage to make it work on the football field. 1976 Blue Devils the best integration of arranging, horns, drums, drill, and GE I had ever seen to that point and for a lot of years after. The pit: Introduction of a full percussion section completely changed the sound of drum corps Dance/Movement etc. not sure what to call it but like the addition of the pit the evolution of the "color guard" has likewise changed the look of the activity Cavaliers three-peat years. A stable design team takes a new approach to putting together a show, takes risks, and motivates the corps. Then works the heck out of it and sells it to the public and the judges.

I'm with Susan in the department of enjoying playing in the tymp line. Yes they were heavy and awkward and I bruised the heck out of various parts of my anatomy wrestling with those things but... playing split parts was quite a challenge as the music got more sophisticated. Most of the tymp parts I've heard from the really early lines were fairly simple but both SCV and Kingsmen were in the forefront of changing that. By the time we got into the mid 70's parts were becoming quite interesting and the really good lines were playing with pretty reasonable technique and intonation considering the limitations of the instrument. I was a music major at the time I played in the line and know we spent a lot of time working on things like ear training and proper technique. I distinctly remember picking out notes in the horn charts that we could use as reference pitches to check our tuning or get close enough to the xylophone player to pick up a pitch from him. By 74 we were carrying tuning forks with us and using them to check pitches when possible. As far as the original question is concerned. I agree that the usefullness of marching tympani is long gone and can see no reasonable purpose for bringing them back in any form other than nostalgia. Cool to hear that Kingsmen will be using them but in todays competitive corps they have no place. I do think there is a special "fraternity" among those of us who carried those beasts. Even when I marched we seemed to have a kinship with our fellow competitors in other tymp lines. Ok, off to the chiropractors office.

1973 SCV 1976 Blue Devils 1983 Garfield Cadets 1991 Star of Indiana 2002 Cavaliers Shows that redefined how the game is played. Not to take anything away from the other fine shows that have been mentioned but these were jaw-droppers.

Absolutely an outstanding decision and commitment both from the corps and Jeff. I always thought that kid from the cadet corps would do ok. Congratulations.

Happy to see that Scouts have acted quickly to bring a new director on board. Congratulations to everyone involved and best wishes to Jeff as the new director. Madison is a class organization and I'm sure will put the pieces together to bring us another quality production in 2007.

Get ready UCLAsurfer. I heard next years show a guard member goes through a beaded curtain and comes out as Jeff Spicolli. New guard equipment will be flipping pizzas and they will carry hornline members across the field on surfboards. That deep enough for you?

You took the words right out of my mouth Z.