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An Open Letter to Santa Clara Vanguard


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OK, I was going to post "tongue in cheek" to wit, "How can you people say this about a 5th place show?!"

But then I saw Jeff and Maggie and Moe, my heros, posting and that was right out.

GR did like to win, he was known to gripe about scores but not to or in front of the kids.

Yes, Mr. Fiedler deserves praise but let's not forget Jeff Pearson and all the staff, board and management that have stewarded this tradition through the years since Mr. Royer's passing, a huge responsibility in a high pressure environment.

And I want the kids to know we all support you but don't forget, we envy you too, we all wish we could be out there again :molar dust: =P

What bothered me about SCV this year was that Cadets did it first.....

As a lead bari in '82, I must (tongue back in cheek) say we should have left it there and never, ever have revisited that music, how silly.

Go back and listen to how the push is loud but, almost unbelievably, gets louder, followed by those beautiful sounds quietly reverberating through Olympic stadium.

now the only thing I have a gripe with is that marching technique! but I can deal with it if they continue to put out (haha) shows like this !
wow . . I saw a "Behind the Star" on the bass drum line and they had a clip from the show ( I didn't get to see them live this year :more molar dust:) and I was so jacked to see that classy, relaxed SCV marching style back; effortlessly gliding, very natural and *ahem* classy.

Charlie Anderson would say, "March Like Gods" . . can't wait for '10 and SCVAC '12 :rock:

Edited by the_aborigine
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I'll take exception to that. What bothered me about SCV this year was that Cadets did it first.....

Three guesses as to who did it before Garfield (and your first two don't count). I know you know this, so it's a rhetorical question. But it does bother me that so many people seem to be citing Garfield '87 as the first time "Appalachian Spring" was performed on the field. Interesting trivia question: Which corps/year was the first to perform "Appalachian Spring"? I know the answer -- at least, the answer according to corspreps.com -- but does anyone else know?

As for Garfield doing it better, or being more emotional, I guess that's very subjective. Certainly, Garfield "drum corpsed up" the arrangements, but IMO, Santa Clara was truer to the original composition. I love both shows, for different reasons.

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What I loved about this show was how it pretty much flew in the face of the themed/story-based approach that corps are pressured to do. SCV basically chucked all that and said, "You know what? No gimmicks, no whistles n' bells. Our theme this year is 'We're playing Appalachian Spring. Enjoy.'" Yes, I know it folded in references to Martha Graham. But that was also incidental to the overall package. If you simply had to have some sort of theme, well, just squint hard enough and you could see it. The show was built to be enjoyed, not deciphered.

SCV had their ups and downs this decade, but I'm so glad to see them wrap it up with such a terrific show. GO VANGUARD!!!

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I must ask, am "I" the only one who caught the silent, but physical statement by the whole corps:

"I, AM Martha" ?

SCV and Troopers have been my heartfelt favorites since 1971 because of style, honor and tradition.

Maybe it's time to break away and start...say....a COMBINE ?

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SCV and Troopers have been my heartfelt favorites since 1971 because of style, honor and tradition.

Didn't SCV and Troopers have some type of tradition between the two involving a dollar bill (or was it a $5 bill)? I remember hearing some of the older alumni talking about it once, but I can't remember the details. I would love for Troopers to keep moving up so maybe an old tradition could come back. Anyone else know about this?

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Like they all said--Thanks for yet another great show and a wonderful year!!! You all have truly earned the title "The Great SCV" as we used to call you in the 70's...........

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Dear SCV,

Thank you for some of the finest drum corps I have heard in my 10 years as a fan. I can't begin to count the number of times your show made me teary-eyed.

And an extra thanks for proving that in an age of Phd-level show concepts and technological gizmos, gadgets and doo-dads out the wazoo, simple, elegant, tasteful drum corps STILL WORKS, STILL gets a better crowd reaction than the newest fads and can be pretty bloody competitive at the same time.

Now come back do it again next year, ######! :smile:

:satisfied:

Dear SCV,

Thank you for making sure that my friends who rarely watch drum corps and came to finals will be coming again next year. They (and me) absolutely loved your show and asked LOTS of questions about why more corps aren't doing shows like that. THANK YOU!

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Yes, Mr. Fiedler deserves praise but let's not forget Jeff Pearson and all the staff, board and management that have stewarded this tradition through the years since Mr. Royer's passing, a huge responsibility in a high pressure environment.

I'm not trying to hijack this thread but John, please know that some of these people almost destroyed this corps. Thank god, things are where they are now. And it's not just Jeff, it's a lot of different people that turned this around and made this happen.

Sorry, Randy!!

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Gayle would be proud.

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Three guesses as to who did it before Garfield (and your first two don't count). I know you know this, so it's a rhetorical question. But it does bother me that so many people seem to be citing Garfield '87 as the first time "Appalachian Spring" was performed on the field. Interesting trivia question: Which corps/year was the first to perform "Appalachian Spring"? I know the answer -- at least, the answer according to corspreps.com -- but does anyone else know?

As for Garfield doing it better, or being more emotional, I guess that's very subjective. Certainly, Garfield "drum corpsed up" the arrangements, but IMO, Santa Clara was truer to the original composition. I love both shows, for different reasons.

I know!!!!

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