Favorite Drum Breaks

[macbillmac]

+1 on St. Joe's line.........but I gotta be a spoilsport and point out that they only got 1/2 the drum trophy in '68--tied with Kilties, who just happened to pull off an incredible performance that night.

Back on topic, a few nominations/seconds:

1966 Troopers: Solo #1

1968 Kilties: Solo #1

1969 BAC: Unsquare Dance

1972 Kingsmen: Uh, whatever that was...off-the-charts snare visuals, among other highlights

1973/74/81 SCV: YPG, of course

1974 Kingsmen: Tubular Bells

1978 Madison: Star Wars solo...not cutting-edge, but what fun--perfect use of a huge line

1981 Madison: Downwind

1984 Cavaliers: Ozark

And +1 on tommytimp's nomination of 82 Defenders Medieval Overture. Only saw/heard it once (Whitewater prelims) and still remember it--great writing.

[macbillmac]

Mr. Bob,

I must say that I was very proud to read that you only saw/heard Medieval Overture once and that you still remember it! I was in that snare line and we had an absolute blast that year. If you would like to hear it again, there is some old Defenders stuff up on YouTube. Check out BFDTV in the Channels section. The video isn't that great (high 50 yard line for entire show), but it sounds pretty good. There is also a CD available at DefenderAlumni.org.

Thanks for remembering. I remember a funny thing (probably not funny to you) that happened to the Kilites one year on the east coast. You guys were on the field at the World Open in Lynn and the sprinklers turned on in the middle of your show. I don't remember what year it was, but I think it was during the early 70's.

[macbillmac]

That would have been Steve Volpe.

He was our instructor in 79 and 80.

Our little corps placed 29th in 1980 in Birmingham but the drumline placed 17th!!!

Very, very intense guy

[macbillmac]

I am guessing you were in the horn line. Steve Wolpe used to get more than a little upset when anyone would call him Volpe. Again... just a guess.

Steve is again working with the Defenders. He is writing for the Defenders Alumni Corp along with Mike Cahill. He is still VERY intense, but his writing has only gotten better!!! That's probably because he doesn't have to be concerned too much with ticks!!!

[HUGADA]

Kelly, is that you? I am happy to show and play Clock with you. It will just have to be at half tempo!

Hey Dale! Scott Kubitz has the music to this solo and we would love to go over it together you! Let us know when you can call a "sectional!"

[Dale Lofgren]

Kelly,

You, Scott and I need to catch up.

Back on topic, how great would it be to go back in time and see your favorite lines play your favorite solos? The first line that I would love to see first hand again is the 1972 Anaheim Kingsmen. I remember seeing these guys with their eight man pyramid (tall guys in the center) chromie snares swaying as they marked time and marched, blue, black and white stripie sticks, powder blue cadets with the shiny buckle, and the shakos and black plumes that made these guys look like formidable giants. They were all military and all business. These guys were intimidating before they even played a note. When they got to the notes, the music was intricately intertwined with visuals that seemed to have no end or limits. They worked hard and just kept going until they won the first DCI percussion trophy. The solo that year, Play in Time by Jethro Tull, was deeply and richly melodic using only the trios, basses and timps for melody. The stick visuals, split triplet down-the-line notes and stick tosses were simply awe inspiring, like watching an amazing Cirque Du Solei act that combines difficult physical moves with live music.

The second line that I would see is the 1974 Santa Clara Vanguard. These magnificent seven snares strapped with copper drums, cut-off white pro-mark 3S sticks, and white plumes softly flowing in the breeze were simply inspiring to watch. They were art and musicianship in incarnate. They were smooth, flowing, powerful, precise, musicians on drums. The Fred Sanford parts were intricate and orchestral, pure genius in many ways. The Young Person's Guide drum solo was an exhibition of musicianship, rudiments, and state-of-art drumline presentation all in one. The intensity and soul that these guys put into their playing was awe inspiring. The opener, solo and production push took me and many other fans to a loftier place of rarefied air and notes that we had not visited before or even knew existed. Simply magnificent!

Moving on to another variation, how fun would it to be to have your chops and then jump in and play some notes with lines that you enjoyed? If I could actually do this, I would play some notes in the 1976 Blue Devil line with their 10 snares and North tenors rammin' that drum solo with the raw and brute upbeat rim-shot tap sevens.

I would also enjoy flipping my left stick over and jumpin' in matched grip style into the 1979 SCV 12 snares and rip on Lez, especially the smooth as silk diddle part before the horns re-enter.

Lastly, give me a handkerchief because I would strap up and and come down the 50 doing a bunch of left handed isolated taps in the Bridgemen snareline before hitting the sideline and slammin' out the drum-to-drum visual notes without a tic inner city style.

Those would be some cool notes to play for a night. Maybe there is a business venture there waiting to happen? Have a convention, learn some solos and then play them with some guys from these lines and others.

[BobB]

Mr. Bob,

I must say that I was very proud to read that you only saw/heard Medieval Overture once and that you still remember it! I was in that snare line and we had an absolute blast that year. If you would like to hear it again, there is some old Defenders stuff up on YouTube. Check out BFDTV in the Channels section. The video isn't that great (high 50 yard line for entire show), but it sounds pretty good. There is also a CD available at DefenderAlumni.org.

Thanks for remembering. I remember a funny thing (probably not funny to you) that happened to the Kilites one year on the east coast. You guys were on the field at the World Open in Lynn and the sprinklers turned on in the middle of your show. I don't remember what year it was, but I think it was during the early 70's.

Mac--

Thanks for the info on the Defenders. To us midwesterners, you were definitely a "who are these guys" surprise at Whitewater that year.

The Kilties sprinkler thing at WO was after my time---~75, I think---but it's semi-famous. There might be a photo on DCP somewhere......

[fleabag]

The Kilties sprinkler thing at WO was after my time---~75, I think---but it's semi-famous. There might be a photo on DCP somewhere......

There are a couple photos of the sprinklers here,

http://www.drumcorpsplanet.com/forums/inde...t&p=1017369

Along with several Kilties photos from the 60s and 70s.

Its a great thread to start at the beginning and go through, but you can use the search at the bottom left of the page, right below the very last post on any page in that thread and look for certain corps.

[tommytimp]

I would also enjoy flipping my left stick over and jumpin' in matched grip style into the 1979 SCV 12 snares and rip on Lez, especially the smooth as silk diddle part before the horns re-enter.

Ladies and gentlemen, this sentence is People's Exhibit A as to why I think drum speak sounds so much like coded sex talk. All that's missing is talking about "tapping some Swiss triplets."

Edited October 2, 2008 by tommytimp

[HOOKEDBYLEGEND78]

Ladies and gentlemen, this sentence is People's Exhibit A as to why I think drum speak sounds so much like coded sex talk. All that's missing is talking about "tapping some Swiss triplets."

Edited because I got too close to crossing the line.

Edited October 4, 2008 by HOOKEDBYLEGEND78