Top Ten Vanguard drumlines of all time

[sarnia sam]

75

79

87

04

74

78

80 wasn't the cleanest drum line around, but they deserve an honourable mention for playing the best drum solo anyone ever wrote.

Regards,

John

[SomeOtherJoe]

Also, they placed third in drums that year iirc.

Talk about "best of the rest", in a year where the only question was whether BD or the Lancers were gonna take the drum trophy. Vanguard definitely pulled off something special by showcasing practically a "rudiment free" show and still taking the rest of the field to school.

I'd say that had a helluva lot to do with a brilliant writer combined with the 1st year of the subjective judging system applied to drums, but you'll get no disagreement from me on accomplishment within context. Credit due where credit's deserved! Definitely a testament to the instruction and some hard working kids.

[Gaddabout]

Also, they placed third in drums that year iirc.

Talk about "best of the rest", in a year where the only question was whether BD or the Lancers were gonna take the drum trophy. Vanguard definitely pulled off something special by showcasing practically a "rudiment free" show and still taking the rest of the field to school.

Hardimon was born to compose for drum corps. Even as a die-hard BD fan, I was always amazed at SCV as an ensemble. Actually, I thought this year's book was a great homage to those 80s ensembles ... and they got knocked hard on tech for it. Too bad. It was some good Hardimon-esque writing.

[Ben]

'04

[Tom Brace]

does this mean...for balance...we need to have another 20 of these threads?

I hope not.

[jplattSCV]

As a member of three of the OP's chosen lines ('88, '91, & '92), I feel honored to have been a part of Vanguard's tremendous percussion legacy. Aside from being ridiculously talented individuals, the percussionists of the Santa Clara Vanguard tend to be exceptional people as well. This was true with those I met who marched before me, those I marched with, and those who have marched since. While many other lines have enjoyed incredible success over the years, I can't think of a percussion program whose roots, tradition, and innovation run as deep as those of SCV.

Now a few reflections:

1988 - A very different line than anyone had ever seen at that time. Ralph's beats were all about expression that year. They complemented the music book perfectly, and the one thing that sticks with me to this day about that line is a quality of sound and touch on the instruments that was a refreshing change from the norm (thank you, Glen Crosby). And no, this was NOT the first SCV line to play flam drags! :D

1991 - Great line from top to bottom-no weaknesses. That show was the perfect fit for Scott's and Lee's writing (not to mention Scotty Sells' pit book as well) and for that particular line. We were described by a friend in BD's line that year as being "stupid good".

1992 - Make no mistake about it, this line was a friggin' juggernaut. 1991 was every bit as talented, but 1992 SCV had a swagger that can't be explained. This was one of our greatest strengths and was also our Achilles' heel. This line could play tickless at will but attitudes, immaturity, and stupidity often got the better of us. Check out Walter Powell's interview on snarescience.com - he makes reference to this. However, when this line was focused it was ridiculous. I asked Scott Johnson in 1992 who he felt had the best snare line ever. His answer: "SCV 1975, hands down...until this year. We might be there."

Great years...great times!

Hey Kevin,

I'm with you about the 1992 line. I blame 1991 for this. Everything came together so perfectly in 1991. The battery, the pit, the staff, the writing, and the general focus of the show being centered around percussion made 1992 somewhat of a let down. We became immature because of our maturity. I know that sounds like Yogi Berra, but what I mean is, there was absolutely nothing for us to prove that year and when the vehicle (the show) we were presented with was so weak in terms of structure, it left way too much room for us to just say heck with this...let's just goof around.

At one point there were 5 top-12 caption heads that came from these lines (Between 1991 and 1992). Jim Casella, Murray Gusseck, Colin McNutt, Jeff Queen, Nick Angelis.

That's one of the common things you see between the top lines off all time. The members go on and vreate more great lines later on. All of the great SCV & BD lines. Cadets lines. You name it. Find a year that produces captions heads and you've probably got a pretty amzing group. Like the line that contained Ralph Hardimon, Tom Float, and (if I am not mstaken) Marty Hurley. To this day I've never heard a decent recording of their line, but I can only assume it was good stuff.

Edited August 14, 2009 by jplattSCV

[hostrauser]

For me...

#10 - 2000: I don't care how much dirt there was, that's one of the finest pit books ever put on the field.

#9 - 1989: Terrific, very musical book that drove the show and put SCV on top. Even though I think Phantom should have won the title. But it helps make up for...

#8 - 1987: Lost in The Cadets (IMO, bloated) perfect score is the fact Vanguard had a darn good line in a show that should have won the title.

#7 - 1997: Vanguard's "return to prominence" show. Still love how hard they threw down during "On the Waterfront". Drumline was 2nd by 0.1 at finals.

#6 - 1991: Quite simply carried the corps that year, because the hornline had issues.

#5 - 2008: An underrated line and an underrated show, IMO. Aside from Phantom, probably the most difficult book on the field.

#4 - 2003: Killer line. The finale to "Anima Mundi" remains one of my Top 10 moments from this decade.

#3 - 1993: They won field percussion in semis; but they also finished 3rd in field percussion at finals (behind Star and Cadets). Think about this: as a corps, they were 7 pts behind the Cadets; the battery was only 0.1 of that.

#2 - 2004: Beasts.

#1 - 1998: Beasts +1. If only the Cadets hadn't been so good visually (because, IMO, SCV was by far the best musical corps of the year, even with the gassed brass at the end)...

[DCIHasBeen]

I'm going to have to call out the '70s Fred Sanford drum lines as being among my favorites. Sanford's writing was just so far ahead of its time ... and ####, those lines could play.

1974, '75, '78, '79 in particular.

[WestCoaster]

That's one of the common things you see between the top lines off all time. The members go on and vreate more great lines later on. All of the great SCV & BD lines. Cadets lines. You name it. Find a year that produces captions heads and you've probably got a pretty amzing group. Like the line that contained Ralph Hardimon, Tom Float, and (if I am not mstaken) Marty Hurley. To this day I've never heard a decent recording of their line, but I can only assume it was good stuff.

I wonder if you're thinking of Al Murray?

I don't think Marty was in that line.

[Lance]

98 = wow