The Star of Indiana Phenomenon

[starmello]

Cadets, probably....they DO take more heat than almost any other corps out there...

I never had the pleasure of meeting Bill Cook....although I passed him and his top hat on the way to the bathroom at a California show in 88.

I DID, however, have a rather nice conversation with Jim Mason in 94 or so when he brought Star out during the Canadien Brass years. Jeff Davis (Rocketman) and I were trying to get Nightfire going and were using public access tv as one of the vehicles. We set up a recruting booth at the Hollywood Bowl concert, and Jim very graciously took time away from his busy schedule to answer some on-camera questions.

The only thing I remember was him saying that he spent the first 3 years frantically shoring up the foundation of the organization. Sure they had a large chunk of seed money and business experience from Bill...but the foundation was just a bit weak.

I DO get tired of people slamming Bill Cook for having the resources to do what EVERY ONE OF US says they'd do if they ever hit the lottery big time...hipocracy....your table is ready.

If he did march Cadets then I find it really ironic that he would do and say what he did about another corps and not expect some sort of

return. Oh, I forgot, he's SECUUUUUURE in himself. However, he's still bruised about being dissed ?years ago by a girl in the Star guard.

later,

tony

[starmello]

sorry about the double post. try to fix one word and........

[Medeabrass]

If he did march Cadets then I find it really ironic that he would do and say what he did about another corps and not expect some sort of

return. Oh, I forgot, he's SECUUUUUURE in himself. However, he's still bruised about being dissed ?years ago by a girl in the Star guard.

later,

tony

He said he's from the mid-west...he felt the need to defend midwest fans for some reason atleast. Why is it that we always got such grief from the Midwest yet out east everyone was more receptive? He says we weren't liked in the Midwest because we "poached" 27th and Bridgemen, but wouldn't you expect the fans back east to be more upset about the supposed "poaching?" I guess too "new school" to understand all of these "old school" rivalries and unspoken rules about hiring staff.

[euponitone]

If he did march Cadets then I find it really ironic that he would do and say what he did about another corps and not expect some sort of

return. Oh, I forgot, he's SECUUUUUURE in himself. However, he's still bruised about being dissed ?years ago by a girl in the Star guard.

later,

tony

I dont think cowtown marched cadets...if you read some of his posts last summer you would know for sure...

[starmello]

I dont think cowtown marched cadets...if you read some of his posts last summer you would know for sure...

Oh, did he "try to like" the Cadets, also?

tony

[star27th]

He likes 27 and not Star. Hmmn...where does that leave me?

FWIW - I liked what what Star did with Crown Imperial and Henry V. Glad my old corps was remembered by my new corps

Reading his prior posts - Seems to be SUTA homer

[NakedEye]

Besides the whole James Dean/vanishing while young and hot thing, I think one of the reasons Star's memory continues to have impact is that they had GUTS. In those days, it was still pretty common for corps to carry over large chunks of shows from one year to the next. A few were starting to break away from that, but others like the Cavaliers, hadn't let go yet. They found ways to work John Rutter's "Gloria" into their productions for years on end, ad nauseum.

Star not only tried something different each year, but their choices were like out of left field different from the previous show. For audiences that were, and still are, ahem, resistant to change, that made some people pretty uncomfortable. It was also pretty ballsy to wear pink. Even though Don Johnson and Miami Vice had made it a hot color at the time, taking the step of putting even the fiercest drummers in cuddly outfits took some fortitude. The best part was, they made it work with great impact.

I was a huge Star fan, partly because I liked getting in arguments with the "real fans" who thought the corps was the antichrist, but also because I so admired that they dared to be different in a very conservative activity. Oh, and then there was that sound. What they produced, especially in the '90 show, was so far beyond what anyone else was putting out that I think the notes are still floating around in the clouds somewhere.

One of the things that made that '93 show so intriguing was that they refused to produce the trademark sound, except for one moment. It was like the audience was sucked into a game of cat and mouse; being toyed with the whole time. There was so much puzzlement and frustration - being brought almost to the point of a big fanfare, only to be pulled somewhere else instead. Brilliantly diabolical idea, to portray angry music by making the audience actually angry. Boy howdy, did it work. When the horns come to the front sideline and let loose with the glorious Medea theme, you know you've been had. That's all you get. Sorry, you don't deserve any more.

I loved it!

We (Lone Star) toured with them the first several weeks of the season. In another of Bill Cook's unsung contributions to the good of the activity, he had brought Star down to be the headliner in the fledgling Drum Corps South circuit. This was not in the corps' best interests, as none of their close competitors were around. The nearest Div. Is in the shows were Sprit and Magic, both of whom were mid-teens corps at the time. At one of the first outings in some tiny Alabama or Georgia town, the end of Star's show was met with either golf claps, crickets or dumbfounded looks and drooling. Granted, there was a bumpkin factor present in the audience, but even so, people didn't know what to make of it. The tired red and white uniforms didn't help matters, as much of the visual impact only started to project when they changed to the creme later on.

After retreat, the corps was circled up on the track and I distinctly remember Jim Mason SCREAMING at them. It wasn't in a "you suck" sort of way, but he said something to the effect of "It does not MATTER that they don't understand it. What you're doing is GREAT." To me, that was a fascinating look into the personal strength, and GUTS that was required to keep going with something that was so "out there."

We met them again about a month later in Oklahoma or somewhere. They were now in the new uniforms and the transformation of the show was astounding. The show still made people angry, but now they were totally controlling the audience, as opposed to being at the mercy of them. This all maxed out at Finals, where that performance still ranks as the most intense I have ever seen, before or after. They did it. They believed in it, and they sold it.

Being disliked for what you want to do is not an easy thing to live with. Everyone wants acceptance, and to get to the point of having the strength of character to push that away and do your best and what you've chosen in spite of those feelings take a lot of maturity, and well, guts.

Like 'em or hate 'em, they did it their way, and history is usually kind to those who follow that path.

[craiga]

And I always thought that drum corps were about entertaining the audience.......

[84BDsop]

And I always thought that drum corps were about entertaining the audience.......

Star did that for all of it's brief time on the field (an argument could be made against that re 93, however)....and they still got #### on by some people for being fortunate enough to have a wealthy sponsor help with startup costs....

[VOReason]

I guess my point was that the current state of DCI at the time allowed them to actually be open to opportunity. Had the same opportunity come around at a different time, it would have likely been received differently.

Not to mention the fact that Star had a boatload of cash and could make any demands to DCI and hell, if the demands were not met (perhaps a bigger piece of the financial pie), they could (and did) just take their marbles and go home...