Kingsmen Alumni/Reunion Corps performance

[Ryan H. Turner]

Love reading all the stuff on this thread. Couple of quick observations for me personally...

1. Standing on the field awaiting my turn at the microphone after Mr. Crocker and Mr. Potter were done, I noticed so many people leaving the stands. I was DISMAYED. Come to find out later by means of a complaint (or 20) that there were ABSOLUTELY no announcements--or as I call them, commercials--teasing the audience about what was to come. Now, that's a simple oversight easily corrected, and I'm certainly not going to bash DCI for "forgetting" to remind Mr. Crocker to say "Hey folks--you don't want to leave after the last performance--later tonight, you'll get to see what made DCI...DCI!!" Something corny like that--whatever. It doesn't matter. But what I find VERY VERY interesting...there were programs being sold and (get this) FREE HANDOUTS OF THE LINEUP BEING FOISTED upon people as they came into the stands. It wasn't a surprise to the community that KMEN were coming to perform. So why were so many people leaving?? And what did they miss??? Well besides the historical significance--it was just a BAD ### SHOW!! Hands down. And I LOVED the crowd that stayed--you all were SOOOOOOOOO enthusiastic. It was hard to announce because I kept having that #### lump in my throat! ACK!!! We annnouncers are supposed to stay PROFESSIONAL dang it!! :P

2. As I was walking out of the stadium to go find the KMEN busses with my friend and former VK DM back in the day Richard King, I walked by someone who made a comment out loud that is absolutely etched in my mind, and it will never leave me, probably because I didn't turn around and engage the guy in a....uhhh...discussion. Yeeeeeeeeah...that's all...just a....DISCUSSION. Anyway...as I was heading out, this clown--er, person, was leaning up against a wall and had the ear of a small crowd of people. I didn't recognize him, but he was older than me and was in my brief but accurate ability to "size up" a situation, was apparently talking to this group, and had their attention. And as I got closer, I heard the words come out of his mouth in a very condescending tone: "....and well, of course you have to realize, they weren't a TRUE alumni corps. They had plugs out there...people from other corps you know...." and then he faded out as I walked past his position. And I'm thinking...well, I'm thinking two things. First...WHY TURNER DIDN'T YOU GO BACK, MR. "VOICE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA" and at least stand up a bit for the corps??? And second, why did it MATTER that there were guests from other corps, and what was this guy's malfunction??? Apparently he missed my announcement when I already openly stated there were guests from all over the country in the corps--GUESTS FROM CORPS THAT BACK IN THE DAY WOULD HAVE GIVEN THEIR LEFT ________________ (insert body part) TO HAVE BEAT THE KINGSMEN!!! How freakin' COOL is that!?!?! COMPETITORS...RIVALS...HATED ENEMIES...now all on the same team. If there's ever a "story" that could be written, it would be THAT ONE POINT!! Hell, how freakin' ironic can it get that a former drum major of the VELVET FREAKIN' KNIGHTS was their "voice"!!!??? So...what???? So what that not everyone was an "alumni" by the strictest sense of the word. Was their unbelievable performance lost on this clown--er, person, because of this apparent "sticking point"? If so, how unbelievably sad. JUST sad. Because it was a performance of a lifetime, that thank GOD I had a chance to participate in by at least announcing for them, because had I NOT, and had been sitting in the pressbox with my family instead, I would have probably jumped off said pressbox because I would have realized I really SHOULD HAVE BEEN OUT THERE MARCHING AND PLAYING!! Some people choose some things that really are so trivial to be worried about. Amazes me.

and lastly...

3. I absolutely was working on not getting overly teary-eyed on Friday night. I was under my OWN stress and I soooooooooo wanted to make sure I kicked major ### on my announcement. So, I was two steps shy of being a basket case. And I'm already one taco short of a combo plate as it is, so, I mean....COME ON! I was lucky that I was able to form coherent thoughts enough to allow me to walk down the stairs to get on the field and announce in the first place. Case in point--when I shook Mr. Crocker's hand, he said, "So you're the guy announcing for the Kingsmen." I don't believe words actually came out of my mouth--I believe I sort of grunted, snorted, raised my eyebrows, and sort of "drooled" out an answer like "Uhhhhhhhhh...IIIIIIIII....uhhhhhhhh." Gee...THANKS. But anyway--my point being, I was REALLY pulling some major freaking Vulcan mind over emotion stunts out there. Didn't help also that I think I had exactly 14 cans of Diet Coke in my pressbox suite before coming to the field (THANKS RON GUNN!!! APPRECIATE THAT!!! NEXT TIME, JUST GO AHEAD AND SET UP A FREAKIN' IV FOR ME!!! BETTER JUST TO MAINLINE THE DIET COKE!!! Sheeeeeeeeeeesh!!). I kid I kid...anyway. Where was I? Oh yes, the emotion thing. So I'm down there and after the corps starts, I can't contain it, so I turn into typical Ryan H. Turner and place the microphone on the table and proceed to jump around and applaud and what not. I was having a great time. As the corps started to knock the house down with Firebird, I turned around, got the microphone and got ready for the final post show announcements. The crowd is absolutely going beserk--the kids in the corps that were pretty close to me were freakin dang near hysterical. And I look up--and forgive for not being sure about this, but I believe I was looking at a large contingent of Phantom Regiment members--but heck, it could of been Carolina Crown--it's sort of blurry. But what was NOT blurry was what I saw. And that was an elderly gentlemen, white shirt, sort of bald, kinda big like me--ahhhhhhhh heck...I need a Dave towel (inside KMEN joke)--anyway, he's standing in the aisle and the crowd is just going nutso. He must have been in his 80's if anything. And he's just bawling. Wiping his eyes...I think he was holding his hat....all red in the face...and just for that brief moment--everything stopped. And I just focused on him for a second--and I wondered who he was. Where did he march? Who was he? What memories came back to him for him to react that way? I didn't feel sorry for him at all--but I sure could feel the moment. And then, time sped back up, the crowd intensity seemed to take another leap up the meter, and I found myself getting overwhelmed--because of that old man crying!! "MUST LOOK AWAY...MUST LOOK AWAY...MUST LOOK AWAY!!" :) And the rest is history...

I missed a chance to march with KMEN because of the way MY LIFE is and I was never chastised....well, not much at least....there was always Charlie Groh and Mike Duffy getting after me. But they did it because they KNEW that I would have had the time of my life. I know I had the time of my life ANYWAY--and I was living it vicariously through my friends that were marching like Vince Stewart and Ron Zeilinger and Charlie Groh and Wendy Tran (who NEVER marched corps before!!!) and Gary Wampler in the snare line and tons of others. I was totally HAPPY FOR THEM that they had the chance to do this. And I chose to focus on that instead of the lack of MY participation. And besides, I filled a role ANYWAY for the corps, and I was TOTALLY honored to do that.

So that is that.

And for the purists out there...sorry the term "alumni" gets in the way of the MIRACLE that was the Kingsmen Alumni Corps. For your ONE complaint, there a MILLIONS of stories that would knock most people off their feet about the how, when, where, what, and if's about the formation and implementation of this unbelievable corps. And to the fans that stuck around in the Rose Bowl...thank you for being the drum corps crowd I remember back from my days in VK. That UNBRIDALED power and giving it up for what you see and hear. You have NO idea, unless you've been the recepient of it, of what that kind of crowd response does for a group.

Thanks...

Edited August 18, 2007 by Ryan H. Turner

[BlueSteelRifle]

Wow Ryan! Thanks for that great post and thanks for your wonderful announcing. I never thought that after 33 years I would once again hear us announced at DCI. It was an experience I will cherish forever. I just wish there was some way to turn time back and do it again! I want to be able to cherish all of those emotions. I was so busy concentrating on my rifle work and drill that it was really hard to expience much of the emotion from the crowd. Its only afterward reading all of these wonderful posts that I can truly appreciate what we did and what it meant to so many people. I'm not going to start a new vs old drum corps discussion but this experience made me really appreciate just how much I miss the emotion and excitement generated by drum corps from my old marching days. Just glad we could bring joy to so many people.

Thanks to everyone in the stands that made us feel so welcome.

[byline]

And as I got closer, I heard the words come out of his mouth in a very condescending tone: "....and well, of course you have to realize, they weren't a TRUE alumni corps. They had plugs out there...people from other corps you know...." and then he faded out as I walked past his position.

News flash (not for you, Ryan, but for the dim bulb who was grandstanding):

Let's take the way-back machine to 1994. Did you think that every single person who took the field as a 27th Lancer was an alumnus of that corps? Think again, brainiac. That amazing 27th Lancers corps had many welcome guests among their alumni, and I can't count the number of times I've read here on DCP that the alumni are very proud of the "outsiders" who joined their ranks to put on such a memorable show.

[BDMOM]

The Kingsmen Contra Queen and her court

For hire for the right price!

[Rocketman]

It isn't that I didn't enjoy it, I just didn't rate it as high as some of the others. Just my opinion. They're still allowing those on here, right?

Pour vous ? Non! Recevez une indication. Peut-être vous étiez dans un différent stade? Peu importe. Les opinions de l'ignorant sont peu importantes.

RM - Je détestant les gens stupides.

ampssuck

[Rocketman]

Apparently, Mr. barkermarker was not too happy about my post and decided to respond elsewhere. To read, please go to: Barkermarker Response

RM - I love it when people prove me right

ampssuck

[GuyW]

Cool! Indeed..."50 or 60 oughta do just fine" ... I hope some drummers will be in there as well!

That's great to hear! ^OO^

As of this morning, Kingsmen Alumni Corps has 73 horns / 9 snares / 2 tymps / 22 perc total / etc etc...143 members signed up to march the Anaheim Halloween Parade in Oct 2007....in full cadets this year...

Edited September 4, 2007 by GuyW

[Jay B]

I may have missed this but did DCI ever give you your 72 trophy?

[Scout]

B)-->

QUOTE(Jay B @ Sep 4 2007, 04:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I may have missed this but did DCI ever give you your 72 trophy?

Don Pesceone (sp?) presented it to a sub-set of 72 Kingsmen at a show in Costa Mesa, CA in June, 1992.

[oldAKbroad]

B)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jay B @ Sep 4 2007, 04:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->

I may have missed this but did DCI ever give you your 72 trophy?

Don Pesceone (sp?) presented it to a sub-set of 72 Kingsmen at a show in Costa Mesa, CA in June, 1992.

Unfortuntately, we received the DCI flag, not the trophy at the show in '92. The trophy was kept in the basement of DCI for years, and in recent attempts to have it sent to us, was told it never existed. Well, it did exist. I saw it, and I touched it at the ceremony at the Chicago Marriott in 1982 when those wonderful replica trophies were presented to all the DCI champions thus far, minus the Kingsmen. DCI didn't present ours to any representative that night because in their minds, we didn't really have a director in 1972. Mr. Porter had left under duress, and the leadership at the time wasn't considered worthy (a good decision.) Anyhow, apparently over the ensuing 25 years, the trophy has disappeared, and is probably hidden in someone's home. Oh well, we have our memories. The trophy would be nice though...

I know this is almost seven months after the fact, but thank you SO MUCH to all the wonderful people who stayed to watch and support the KAC on August 10th. Believe me when I tell you that your energy and enthusiasm was an enormous part of our total experience.

A note too, about our "Alumni" corps fielding non-Kingsmen alumni. Our journey and ultimate experience was all the richer for having these fantastic people with us. They brought their stories, good humor, kindness, friendship and dedication and made us all the better for it. The lines blurred long ago about who is a Kingsmen alum and who isn't. At the end, who cares? When we all hit the field for our final grueling week of work and the payoff on August 10th, every single person who wore the blue cadet was a Kingsmen.

Finally, for those folks who might still be interested in purchasing a DVD of the performance, you can do so by going to: www.xkingsmen.com there is a tiny link to it right there on the first page.

Edited March 1, 2008 by oldAKbroad