mad_scotty Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I was a huge Scouts fan back then, and I thought that show was nearly a disaster. The strawberry soup arrangement was terrible. A good friend of mine who marched 82 and 83 Soup said he HATED that arrangement and felt bad for the corps every guy on that hornline loved that arrangement and felt honored to play it, it was the highlight of the year for us. and we were all very familiar with the earlier madison arrangement and the don ellis original. we were never sure if the audience would "get it" but most of us really loved playing numero uno as well. it was a very complex, challenging piece, lots of notes, lots of subtle little style things, but very satisfying to play. the only thing the hornline guys didn;t get very into that year was the closer. the point was to reimagine the traditional old madison ballad closers with an original new song, but at the first camp people were calling it "color by numbers" and rolling their eyes whenever it would come up. we didn't appreciate it until we got it out in front of fans, who always responded well to it, but it was a boring song to play in rehearsals. definitely not a disaster year to any of us who marched it, i didn't enjoy the show as much as 92 or 95, but really, crowds went bananas for us everywhere we went, it was fun, exciting drum corps all the way. i wouldn't have traded our book for anyone else in the top 12 that year, even the now legendary star show, it was great, but people sat on their hands for it all summer, who wants to remember that from a marchers prospective? i look back to 93 and remember walking into every stadium feeling like we were the show, and being treated like that by every audience we saw. very nearly the opposite of a disaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scout9193 Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 (edited) I would strongly suggest to someone who hasn't seen/heard the 93 show to watch/listen to 93 first then to 83. Then decide for yourself which version of Strawberry Soup you like better. 1983 for me. As for 93, I liked it overall better than 92 (although 92 from the drumbreak to the end of Funny is awesome). If you didn't see it, you'd never know the snares put on those yellow floor toms at the end of the solo, it's hard to hear on the cd if you don't know it's there. Thought I'd come out of the shadows for this one... Of the 2 years I marched 91 was my personal favorite ( an quite frankly is the more underated program ). I really loved playing "Soup" but to be honest I even prefer the 81 version of "Numero Uno". As for the closer I remember several rewrites to the end before finally feeling like it had that Madison-ish feel to it -- I still believe that staff from 90-99 was one of the best ever in the activity... Visual: Mike L. Ivan, Scooter, Brent, Harmon (God does he still wear that "Lemon Squeeze" tee shirt??? ) the immortal Don Pitzer even ran some vis blocks (by the way ask the guys from 89 about how Don got them into shape for the opener "Make His Praise Glorius" THAT year!!! The one and only Mac--I never did know his last name-- who would come in mid season with his tick counter and just work us over and over.... Brass: Clay W., Van M., Scott B., Craig M. Anyway--93 was a good year with a lot of great memories :-) "What time is it?" "Time to stop losing horns to Phantom!!" We really did sound better in the arc I think. The other thing that really stands out to me from that year is that most of the "old breed"--the guys from 88 and earlier had aged out. I really can only remember like 3 guys who were still in uniform- Matt, Emmet, Bill....perhaps this was a bit of a year of transition? At some point before the season I'd heard staff was considering "Remembrance" as the closer..... To all my brothers out there- lots of miles since then but you are never far from my thoughts Clay Monroe Edited May 15, 2008 by scout9193 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJN Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I remember being very excited when I found out they were playing S. Soup. I was even more surprised finding out that BD was playing it too. Besides the sop. soloists, I really like the intro to the 83 version. Everytime I hear those soloists from 83, I think to myself - Man, what if some guys played stuff like that today. Same with those guys from 81 Crossmen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJN Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 The other thing that really stands out to me from that year is that most of the "old breed"--the guys from 88 and earlier had aged out. I really can only remember like 3 guys who were still in uniform- Matt, Emmet, Bill....perhaps this was a bit of a year of transition? Did Emmet march in 88?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_scotty Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Did Emmet march in 88?? emmet and bill (the 2 tall sop soloists so heavily featured in the city of angels shows, soup in 93) were sprouts in 88. there were several 88 guys still with the corps in 93 though, besides matt g., as i recall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJN Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 emmet and bill (the 2 tall sop soloists so heavily featured in the city of angels shows, soup in 93) were sprouts in 88. there were several 88 guys still with the corps in 93 though, besides matt g., as i recall. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scout9193 Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 emmet and bill (the 2 tall sop soloists so heavily featured in the city of angels shows, soup in 93) were sprouts in 88. there were several 88 guys still with the corps in 93 though, besides matt g., as i recall. Wow...I guess my memory has failed me...I've been trying to think of some others but I keep drawing a blank....I thought of Jason LaFlash but I think he aged out in 92? Emmet I think may have been with the jr's in 88. Help me out here..... Thanks, CM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ndSop4Life Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 The st. soup sop solo in '93 that tried to copy the '83 version doesn't stand up, at all, in my opinion. That's because you can't stand up to Shaun Owens. That guy is a wicked player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_scotty Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Wow...I guess my memory has failed me...I've been trying to think of some others but I keep drawing a blank....I thought of Jason LaFlash but I think he aged out in 92? Emmet I think may have been with the jr's in 88. Help me out here.....Thanks, CM wow. its been a long time, and i'm bad with names, but wasn't toby, the bari section leader, an 88 age out in 93? and one of the snare drummers, too? and i am pretty sure one, and possibly maybe two of the guard guys were, but i'm not certain. don't know if there were any in the sops, or mellos besides matt gregg. i could be wrong, i just sort of recall that there was a little handfull of guys that had been there forever and a day. speaking of toby, you remember the time we were practicing in someones gym, and toby found a piece of styrofoam their high school drama department painted to look like a rock, and tossed it to that japanese euph guy, and he thought it was real and dropped (and badly dented) his horn trying to catch it? i've never in my life seen someone look as sorry after a joke gone wrong, but it was seriously funny, dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triple Forte Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 Every once in a while I'll discover a show that I just can't stop watching or listening to. Previously, that show was Crossmen 1990, and currently that show is Madison Scouts 1993. From the soaking finals performance, to the crashing wedge leading into the high-step push in the intro, a great jazzy opener, sop-screaming Strawberry Soup with a ######## drum solo, and a beautiful closer with a sublime mellophone solo complete with the rotating company front, the show has it all. Not a lick of Spanish jazz, but it's still totally Madison. Unfortunately those of who feel corps should never return to past pieces from their repertoire may not enjoy this show, but they were able to take charts they played in the early '80s and put a fresh, exciting twist on them. The introduction and closer are supposedly original music, but you wouldn't be able to tell by listening to them. I'm puzzled as to why this show barely gets any mention. If you're a new member of the DCI Fan Network and are looking for new shows to check out, make this the first on your list. I love the 93 Scouts show.....especially the closer. That final wedge and note is AWESOME drum corps. 1990 Crossmen is also nothing short of amazing. My favorite show from the X-Men. (I have a small stadium show audio cassette recording of them in 90. Back then you were allowed to bring in a boom box and record the shows) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.