DCI Trivial Questions...

[Walter]

I think as far as 1974 goes, DCI knew the Muchachos were going to be disqualified the next year so they destroyed the 74 evidence as well, then destroyed everyone's finals tapes while they were at it. Something about 'burning down the village in order to save it.'

Do you really believe this...theory ?

Edited July 12, 2008 by Walter

[uncle z]

That was awesome to witness,..............that place exploded!

It was just as awesome to be a part of!!!

[Michael Boo]

In 1981, PBS didn't record Finals because they couldn't work things out with the Canadian broadcast concerns. That's why the video recordings are from Whitewater a couple weeks earlier. But there's that Easter Egg on the 1981 DVD that allows one to hear the audio from Montreal.

In 1974, a local New York State television station recorded Finals, but used half the tape for a news broadcast a few days later. One of their employees absconded with the remaining tape to preserve it...at least as I was told. That is why only a handful of corps recordings are available on the official DCI video series. PBS came on board in 1975 and Finals was preserved from there on out.

It is true that some recordings bit the dust in the fire in the office, but I don't know what was involved in that.

It's a shame that in the earlier years of DCI, it was not a priority to save the early shows. Frankly, the general attitude at the time was no one would be interested in such a commodity. I did an article a few years ago about the Blue Star alum who sold the first DCI t-shirts. He got permission to do so and incurred all expenses. No one in the office thought anyone would buy them. When he proved them wrong, DCI started selling their own shirts the next year.

Check out http://www.dci.org/news/view.cfm?news_id=e...79-b502fd8f1813 for the full story.

[WarriorHal]

In 1974, a local New York State television station recorded Finals, but used half the tape for a news broadcast a few days later. One of their employees absconded with the remaining tape to preserve it...at least as I was told. That is why only a handful of corps recordings are available on the official DCI video series. PBS came on board in 1975 and Finals was preserved from there on out.

I don't see how finals could have been videotaped. They were moved from Ithaca to Philly in '75 specifically because the lights at the Cornell stadium were inadequate for a PBS TV broadcast. The local PBS station in Syracuse did videotape a bunch of corps during the daytime prelims. This was edited into a one hour broadcast that was televised later in the year, featuring the top three corps--SCV, Madison, and Anaheim. The Madison PBS station put together and broadcast a similar one hour highlight show of the 1974 DCI Midwest regional at Whitewater, featuring Troopers, SCV and Madison and short clips of the other finalists. Then around 1987, 800 Video Express transfered those two broadcast tapes to video, and that became the 1974 DCI "finals" videotape they sold for years. That videotape later became the 1974 Legacy DVD. The Syracuse PBS crew did videotape the Muchachos and many other corps during prelims. but they were either taped over or lost in the editing process when the one hour program was put together. I recall reading comments by Tom Peashey several years ago recounting this story--he was the expert commentator that appeared on the DCI prelims broadcast and subsequent 800 VE videotape. He tried to get the broadcast tape of the other corps not shown in the TV program, but was told by the Syracuse PBS station that they no longer existed.

[drumno5]

I think as far as 1974 goes, DCI knew the Muchachos were going to be disqualified the next year so they destroyed the 74 evidence as well, then destroyed everyone's finals tapes while they were at it. Something about 'burning down the village in order to save it.'

Got any hard evidence to support this wild theory?

Fred O.

[TomPeashey]

I can respond to 1974...

I think it's pretty funny how things develop and stories grow... It's almost like a he said/she said... The '74 DCI was taped by WCNY TV Syracuse. They only did prelims because of poor lighting at Cornell's Schoenkopf Stadium. I was the color commentator for the TV Station. They came to me because of my drum corps radio show and on air experience as a morning drive time host. It was the first Nationally released broadcast of a DCI Championship. It wasn't released till fall. I was called into the studio during editing to add some voice overs and assist in the editing.

The show was actually shot on 1" pro video that all TV Stations used at the time. They did NOT tape over it. They did NOT use it for a newscast. (although it was expensive and they may have been tempted) Some years later, when I realized that DCI did not have a copy, I went to the station and talked to them about it. By then, the equipment had changed and the 1" video was obsolete. Only a few weeks before I stopped in, they had thrown away all their 1" tape as it was a fire hazard. Yes, I could have cried.

Any '74 Ithaca video dci has been able to resurrect came from some darn fine rework of someone's early home video recorded when the show was broadcast. It's hard to believe, but all DCI would have had to do is ASK before the tapes were destroyed and they could have had the entire package for nothing. Having seen all the original tapes, I can tell you that the earlier corps in the show were kind of training grounds for the non drum corps video crew... but the final few corps came out pretty well... anyway... it was a great experience and got me into the original dci trivia book.

[tommytimp]

Got any hard evidence to support this wild theory?

Fred O.

Yes. But it's underground, hidden away in Area 51, guarded by a three-headed dog that speaks Esperanto while waiting for a return on the $25,000 investment he made with the Most Lauded Chancellor of the King of Nigeria In This Country.

Focus, poodles. I'm not going to explain the concept of "Humor" to you until you explain the virtue of "Gullibility" to me.

[scv74]

While I'm sure in general you're right...

Wasn't any "1" pro tape in 74. It would have been 2".

And the 2" tape isn't a "fire hazard" (although they probably used that as an excuse; it's not like film) it just takes up a lot of room and was no longer used.

But I'd give a lot to see the 74 finals show. We (SCV) really stunk it up in the prelim performance and that is what was saved for posterity.

I can respond to 1974...

I think it's pretty funny how things develop and stories grow... It's almost like a he said/she said... The '74 DCI was taped by WCNY TV Syracuse. They only did prelims because of poor lighting at Cornell's Schoenkopf Stadium. I was the color commentator for the TV Station. They came to me because of my drum corps radio show and on air experience as a morning drive time host. It was the first Nationally released broadcast of a DCI Championship. It wasn't released till fall. I was called into the studio during editing to add some voice overs and assist in the editing.

The show was actually shot on 1" pro video that all TV Stations used at the time. They did NOT tape over it. They did NOT use it for a newscast. (although it was expensive and they may have been tempted) Some years later, when I realized that DCI did not have a copy, I went to the station and talked to them about it. By then, the equipment had changed and the 1" video was obsolete. Only a few weeks before I stopped in, they had thrown away all their 1" tape as it was a fire hazard. Yes, I could have cried.

Any '74 Ithaca video dci has been able to resurrect came from some darn fine rework of someone's early home video recorded when the show was broadcast. It's hard to believe, but all DCI would have had to do is ASK before the tapes were destroyed and they could have had the entire package for nothing. Having seen all the original tapes, I can tell you that the earlier corps in the show were kind of training grounds for the non drum corps video crew... but the final few corps came out pretty well... anyway... it was a great experience and got me into the original dci trivia book.

[84skyrydr]

That was awesome to witness,..............that place exploded!

It was loud, but evrything in that horrific stadium was loud and echoed for ten minutes after each corps was done playing. Cavie thing was cool though. One other neat thing about that fan reaction. No corps member had to run full boar to 20 different sets to achieve it.

[Rocketman]

Thankfully, I uncovered some silent Super 8 movies my dad had taken of both Kingsmen and SCV at prelims in Butler in 1974. I had them converted to DVD and though silent, WOW!