rgortowski

Yes, 1999 was the last time the Cavaliers lost to a corps not named Blue Devils or Cadets.

Let's look at reality. The first twenty-eight years of DCI, Madison finished lower than 6th place six time. The next seven years Madison has finished below 6th place six times. This is not "a momentary year or 2 of struggles." In my opinion, this is a disturbing trend. I do hope they can stabilize the corps and get back to where they were for so long.

Those of us who have been around a bit longer than you young 'uns have trouble with this reasoning. In the 34 years of DCI competition, Madison has finished sixth or higher 23 times. That's sixty-eight percent of the time they were sixth or above. Their average placement for those 34 years is 6.14, not much lower than Cavaliers 5.40, Cadets 5.60, and Regiments 5.71. So, yes, expectations for Madison remain high for us old fogeys. Though they were not in the top three often, they were generally in the top six. This is why the slide you have pointed out since 2000 is so startling to those of us who Madison beat the tar out of. It goes contrary to all previous history. It is a matter of great concern and I can understand why alumni are worried. I feel for Madison and wish them the best as they try to re-establish the consistancy that we grew to expect from them.

I can't watch the whole shows. With the Cavaliers, the screen goes blank at 1 minute 40 seconds and it goes on to the Bluecoats, which goes blank at 5 minutes 5 seconds and goes on to the Cadets... I emailed DCI, but haven't received a reply. I tried to watch it on my laptop, but it claims I have multiple logins going and won't let me view it there. Is it my computer? Thanks, Rich

Perhaps you mean Bill Howard, who is not the founder, but was the executive director and is currently the business manager. He is a very nice and knowledgable man.

Sorry to disappoint you, but the "Tea Party" was one of my favorite segments in 2006. I found it immensely entertaining.

I am SO looking forward to being part of this. I hope we can pull it off. Madison set the bar awfully high...

While much of Williams music would be trite for drum corps, his "Liberty Fanfare" sounds like it was written to be a Drum Corps opener. I can easily see someone playing this piece.

Yeah, the Cavaliers are really overated. Just the fact that they've lost to both the Blue Devils and the Cadets in the last seven years screams out mediocraty...

Jayzer, I remember Rosie teaching the rifle line for years in the 90's. Unfortunately, I'm too old and senile to remember exactly when, but she instructed for many years. Blue Rock

BD finished 9th in 1974. They were 3rd in 1975.

Yeah, if they would only do a leg kick... Then they would be deserving of the "effin' cheers"...

I resent some people insisting we are just there to "relive the past". While there is some of that, many of us are looking at a different performance venue that gives us more gratification than the community and city bands we play in. Why do you think we marched drum corps in the first place?! Does the desire to perform in front of people die when you age out of Jr. corps? Where alumni corps vary from Sr. Corps, is you still have a bond with the group you marched with and a special "fellowship" with the past and current members. We have an institutional memory of what the corps means to all of us and we have a common basis for making new friends. I think Vince is absolutely correct that you will see more and more of this, especially as some of the "newer" corps continue to age. I would have faked a birth certificate to have been able to march in the Madison Alumni group. Two of my friends did march with them and I was green (so to speak) with envy! I consider this to have been one of the top highlights of the championship week at Madison.

Hey! That was me! That was a real trip bringing the corps in through the airlocks (the Silverdome had an inflatable roof). Glad you liked the show, Russian Sailor's Dance was a blast for the mellowphones!

Cavaliers did it in 1974 for flag presentation. The sopranos used straight mutes for one of the themes. A decent arrangement for the short pieces we did back in the early 70's. You could do a whole show based on the piece.

I enjoyed the finished product considerably. The final product was quite entertaining and showed some remarkable creativity. I found the "Tea Party" segment and the ballad to be particularly riveting.

I totally enjoyed the performance! What a great job on a very limited number of practice hours. Hats off to all of the members! I had asked my friend who was marching if he remembered any short, portly guys who he marched with who had died. I was going to forge his birth certificate so I could march with them...

That's right George, just like you did in 2003 when the entire community was bashing the Cavaliers guard outfit. The endless posts about how feminine (read "gay") the outfits were, the condemnation of the management for "exploiting" the guys, the wailing about how embarrassed the fathers should be to see their sons dressed like "that." Oh...that's right...you did nothing about that, did you? Possibly enjoyed it? As Vito Corleone (the Blue mob) says; "Revenge is a dish best served cold." Enjoy!

Boy, I can vouch for that! As our friend Jayzer had pointed out, listening to the Cavs warm up can drive you to looking for the drums to listen to. It hasn't changed a bit. If you don't believe this, come listen to them rehearse the first week of pre-tour. All of the repetition and attention to detail do result in that wonderful sound they have developed.

Yes, I believe they cut them in pre-season. Not worth the problems they encountered. For one thing, the Cavaliers drill gets so close that the length of the euphs were causing some issues. Yes, I agree that the nature of the show calls for some "äggressive" playing! The more I hear it, the more I am appreciating this show. It has really great potential.

While these people helped, in my opinion, it was David Bertman who dragged the horn line into national prominence. Believe me, there was still a lot to correct! Watching him closely at pre-tour in 2001, I thought he was a crazy man, the way he was laying down the law and refusing to accept what was being played. I had my doubts - thinking he was a maniac and I thought he was going alienate and possibly ruin the horn line. Then, I started to hear the results. I was amazed as the horn line continued to improve that year. The following year, he worked his system and the horn line won the brass caption in 2002. It has been a joy watching him and his assistants work their magic over the last six years. I have no doubt that he is the major reason the Cavaliers horn line has become so good.

Yes, 72 horns. 24 trumpets, 12 mellos, 24 baritones, and 12 tubas. They experimented with, then cut the Yamaha euphs. The sound is still as balanced and as in tune as always - just louder.

Cavaliers beat Phantom in brass by a point at Lisle... Bluecoats also beat them by a tenth at the same show.

Didn't they have the "Robot Club" body movement in the box in the closer with the rifles doing tosses through the horns? After that point, the whole rest of the show was new from Toledo.