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I just hope people realize that the intense rivalry between Cru and Phoenix was an inspiration to the next generation of Rochester drum corps talent.

Those feuding "Last Names" of that era came together and set the foundation for the DCA Corps of the 90's, the Empire Statesmen.

I wish every drum corps person in the country could see Wally Filkins' movie "Impossible Dream." It chronicles Phoenix from May '75 to DCA '75 in documentary format on Super 8 film. Wow!

Is it on DVD and how can I get it?

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I wish every drum corps person in the country could see Wally Filkins' movie "Impossible Dream." It chronicles Phoenix from May '75 to DCA '75 in documentary format on Super 8 film. Wow!

Must have been living (or asking) right as I was able to buy one of these (yes Keith it was on DVD). 1975 was my first full season of DC but I only saw Phoenix at DCA Finals (from the back). My non-DC background wife watched it with me and her comment was "Now I really have an idea of what you guys did when you competed".

It was also the first time she saw someone playing a P/R Bari :thumbup: (parade at the start of the movie).

No idea if you can still get these....

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Is it on DVD and how can I get it?

wally filkins has passed away. so don't know

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thanks for your input... It must have been tough when they couldn't even announce the scores on retreats because of the distance was so much between Phoenix and the other corps in RCA. While it may be true that the guys that were in Phoenix were used to competing against DCA competition, we were really gearing to get as good as we could get for the DCA championships on Labor Day weekend. I will apologize now for beating the crap out of the RCA corps on a weekly basis. We didnt mean to do it. We probably didnt belong there to begin with, but it was the only place we could get shows then.

Donny

Wow reading your reply just proved my point....well done. We competed against them 4 times, including the championship, and I do not recall any contest where scores couldn't be announced , so in reality what shows are you talking about. It was plain that Phoenix was DCA quality and you are right they shouldn't have been in RCA as they were "too good" for the rest of us.... but without those contests Pheonix would have died long before Sept. Of course it was alright to "beat the crap out of the RCA corps" and use the association for your own goals and not put back in ....no appology needed we all competed for the love of the hobby, the friendship and of course the beer.

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But Phoenix did run a very well attended RCA show in Rochester, so we in effect we did give back.

Look, it is easy to figure out that Phoenix wasn't planning on staying in RCA. Arrogance is in the eye of the beholder. I am not denying that we had a chip on our shoulders. We were good and we knew it.

You got mad because we were good, and we got mad when people booed.

BTW didnt your corps fold soon after that season as well? I wonder why people are not asking why you guys folded 30+ years later.

Donny

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But Phoenix did run a very well attended RCA show in Rochester, so we in effect we did give back.

Look, it is easy to figure out that Phoenix wasn't planning on staying in RCA. Arrogance is in the eye of the beholder. I am not denying that we had a chip on our shoulders. We were good and we knew it.

You got mad because we were good, and we got mad when people booed.

BTW didnt your corps fold soon after that season as well? I wonder why people are not asking why you guys folded 30+ years later.

Donny

I think you are missing out on the point, first of all I or to my knowledge any other member of our corps were mad at the skill and talent of Phoenix nor were we mad because we were beaten, thats all part of the game - the only time we got mad was when we had to leave the party. We had our own rivalries with corps that we came up against regularly and in our own "class" so Phoenix didn't play a part in that and we didn't care much how you scored etc.

Yes our corps did fold after the next season for many reasons but the prime ones were $, lack of membership and travel times. Our closest contests were over 300 miles away and we were from a part of the country that had no other corps to provide members. But we were competative for 7 years did they?

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I should have stuck with my reply in this thread on post #2. Bitter...party of one, your table is ready.

It was 30+ years ago...it was a great time, we were very good. My memories are like Beecher's about Phoenix...probably my most enjoyable summer was 1975.

Thanks for your input, John. Have a nice day.

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1975 Phoenix was a labor of love for everyone involved. It was a work in progress that ended before it was finished.

The biggest mistake was not keeping the same book in 76. DCA had only seen it once.

What a trip it was while it lasted.

Happy Holidays to all of my Phoenix Brothers & Sisters

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speaking as a NON Phoenix supporter (how's that for an understatement Donny?) but an admirer of their product who learned much from the "Fabrizio school of drum corps" it's crap that after all these years anyone in RCA could carry a bitterness... Phoenix added MUCH CREDIBILITY to RCA... The sponsors (including many who were member corps) appreciated the quality they brought to their paying audiences... had there been more corps like Phoenix coming up, RCA might exist today making it much easier to get a new corps started...

As for not getting a DCA schedule up front... that's life... DCA has become a bit more "user friendly" trying to help new organizations, but membership in DCA is WON... (as it is in DCI) DCA certainly did not owe Phoenix anything until they had won that right... (and boy did they win that right) and as I remember it, they had a fine schedule in '76.

For those who did not have the pleasure of seeing them in late August of '75, it is my educated belief that a little larger color guard allowing a bit more visual show design would have seen them competing to WIN in their first ever appearance. As it is, they shook up the world with their prelim performance.

Wally's work and several other Phoenix memories are available somewhere... I have it but it's packed away and I wouldn't be able to copy it for some time... besides, it was my honor to receive it and enjoy the memories of many of my good friends (some who are now gone) and a wonderful program... not sure if it would be right for me to copy it... Some of the Phoenix people must know where it is available...

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speaking as a NON Phoenix supporter (how's that for an understatement Donny?) but an admirer of their product who learned much from the "Fabrizio school of drum corps" it's crap that after all these years anyone in RCA could carry a bitterness... Phoenix added MUCH CREDIBILITY to RCA... The sponsors (including many who were member corps) appreciated the quality they brought to their paying audiences... had there been more corps like Phoenix coming up, RCA might exist today making it much easier to get a new corps started...

As for not getting a DCA schedule up front... that's life... DCA has become a bit more "user friendly" trying to help new organizations, but membership in DCA is WON... (as it is in DCI) DCA certainly did not owe Phoenix anything until they had won that right... (and boy did they win that right) and as I remember it, they had a fine schedule in '76.

For those who did not have the pleasure of seeing them in late August of '75, it is my educated belief that a little larger color guard allowing a bit more visual show design would have seen them competing to WIN in their first ever appearance. As it is, they shook up the world with their prelim performance.

Wally's work and several other Phoenix memories are available somewhere... I have it but it's packed away and I wouldn't be able to copy it for some time... besides, it was my honor to receive it and enjoy the memories of many of my good friends (some who are now gone) and a wonderful program... not sure if it would be right for me to copy it... Some of the Phoenix people must know where it is available...

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