What was the first drum corps show you attended?

[CrunchyTenor]

Blue Devils home show: 1972 Precision West in Pleasant Hill, Ca.

In attendance:

1) SC Vanguard featuring soprano soloist Wayne Downey

2) San Francisco Conquistadors, taught by Wayne Downey

3) Capitolaires. I don't think they were renamed to Capitol Freelancers yet, could've been.

4) San Jose Knight Raiders

5) Stockton Commodores. My favorite corps and the only one I remember.

There were probably others. My dad has a recording of that show. I was surprised at how well Blue Devils sounded in 72.

Here are the only scores I could find for a show in Concord that year. This was after DCI finals.

1 Santa Clara Vanguard 86.550

2 Stockton Commodores 73.450

3 Blue Devils 68.800

4 Capitolaires All Girl 68.550

5 Imperial Cadets 65.050

6 Velvet Knights 64.200

Fast forward to 1984, and I went to the Drums Along the Rockies show in Cheyenne. Why? Because my band director told us we should go. I remember Troopers, the Dons, River City Railmen (almost the biggest standing O of the night when they played the UPRR song - Cheyenne's a big UP town). PR, possibly BD and SCV, and a corps I think was Kiwanis Kavaliers (wearing kilts, IIRC).

1 Blue Devils 91.400

2 Phantom Regiment 90.400

3 Madison Scouts 88.200

4 Velvet Knights 76.500

5 Troopers 74.100

6 Blue Knights 61.300

7 Railmen 43.800

8 Calgary Caveliers 34.500

Garry in Vegas

Edited April 5, 2010 by CrunchyTenor

[CrunchyTenor]

Yes, at Nippert. I had listened to records for a couple of years. We got there a couple of hour before the show. We saw a corps practicing beside the stadium. They were not playing at the moment. As we were walking up I remember counting the horns. They only had 44 and then I noticed it was the Kingsmen. I thought to myself, "they must be having a down year". Then they started playing. Holy cow. They were working on Mambo, their opener. What a great corps.

Not that unusual for 1974, though a lot of corps were starting to push 50 brass. Kingsmen won DCI in 1972 with 42 brass.

Oh, and my first show was in 1970. A guy tansferred into our HS who marched VK. He brought a whole new level of drumming to our drumline, and we decided to go see a show when the season started. I was hooked and started marching the next year.

Garry in Vegas

Edited April 5, 2010 by CrunchyTenor

[burdettsky]

I guess I'm a bit younger than most here at a spry 34.

Drums at the Meadowlnads 1991 at Giants Stadium.

1. Phantom Regiment

2. Cadets of Bergen County

3. Corssmen

4. Spirit of Atlanta

5. Boston Crusaders

6. Dutch Boy

7. L'Insolite

[DAvery]

Not that unusual for 1974, though a lot of corps were starting to push 50 brass. Kingsmen won DCI in 1972 with 42 brass.

Yes, that's true. But they were smaller than most of the other corps I saw that day. I think Madison had 66 and SCV had 54. And of course Kingsmen only had 5 snares that year.

Edited April 6, 2010 by DAvery

[GMichael1230]

I guess I'm a bit younger than most here at a spry 34.

Drums at the Meadowlnads 1991 at Giants Stadium.

1. Phantom Regiment

2. Cadets of Bergen County

3. Corssmen

4. Spirit of Atlanta

5. Boston Crusaders

6. Dutch Boy

7. L'Insolite

I was there...PR beat Cadets the whole Eastern swing.....I remember driving up to their food truck after the show blasting "Bachnalle" from 1990...they all stood up and cheered and came over tot he car and chatted away......it was an awesome show !

Edited April 6, 2010 by GMichael1230

[GMichael1230]

Here are the only scores I could find for a show in Concord that year. This was after DCI finals.

1 Santa Clara Vanguard 86.550

2 Stockton Commodores 73.450

3 Blue Devils 68.800

4 Capitolaires All Girl 68.550

5 Imperial Cadets 65.050

6 Velvet Knights 64.200

1 Blue Devils 91.400

2 Phantom Regiment 90.400

3 Madison Scouts 88.200

4 Velvet Knights 76.500

5 Troopers 74.100

6 Blue Knights 61.300

7 Railmen 43.800

8 Calgary Caveliers 34.500

Garry in Vegas

Garry, just going by memory, I feel that the show was in like the third week of JUly-or-so basedon those scores ! .....Remember thinking how high they were for so early in the season ? Phantom beat Garfield that year at either "north" or "Canada" .....

G

[tommyfromhowardst]

Blue Devils home show: 1972 Precision West in Pleasant Hill, Ca.

In attendance:

1) SC Vanguard featuring soprano soloist Wayne Downey

2) San Francisco Conquistadors, taught by Wayne Downey

3) Capitolaires. I don't think they were renamed to Capitol Freelancers yet, could've been.

4) San Jose Knight Raiders

5) Stockton Commodores. My favorite corps and the only one I remember.

There were probably others. My dad has a recording of that show. I was surprised at how well Blue Devils sounded in 72.

When I was in the Des Plaines Vanguard in '73, I saw the Commodores for the first time and their rep was that they were ex-convicts or audy home graduates which scared a lot of folks except my corps the Vanguard--who's members wanted to know if the Commodores had the same parole officers or did time at the same facility. Wacky wacky wacky.......

[cavies79]

My first show was 1978 Canton, Illinois (DCM) show.

I remember seeing Phantom Regiment, Madison Scouts, Colts, Geneseo Knights, and I cannot remember the others. However, seeing that show got me to join a corps (Cavaliers) the next season.

[Storkysr]

July 4, 1964 - Oswego, NY On the parade grounds of historic Fort Ontario, overlooking Lake Ontario, the Syracuse Brigadiers, Rochester Crusaders, Fulton Gauchos, Albion Grenadiers, Hamburg Kingsmen, Canadian Commanders, and Springfield Marksmen competed in a late afternoon/ early evening show.

Just a few hours before the contest, I had seen these corps in the parade down Bridge St. That was my first exposure to drum corps.

By 6pm, I had become a seasoned expert. I ran around the area, watching the corps warm-up, and had decided that the Crusaders would win the contest. The Rochester corps did in fact win, followed by the Brigadiers in 2nd.

Thus began my 46 year love affair with Drum Corps...

WOW. That was like the second show I ever marched in (Grenadiers). That parade was great going under the RR overpass-huge reverb! Marched in several subsequent shows at that unique venue and always looked forward to it.

[TomVV]

My First show was VFW nationals in 1972 in Minneapolis. I was 13 and actually competing with a VFW band, the Warren Jr. Military Band, from Warren-Youngstown, Ohio. We went to watch the finals, and we watched some corps practice. I believe The Cavaliers won, but (as I found out many years later) the show was "boycotted" by many of the big corps who had formed DCI that year. We mostly watched practice of the Spectacle City Mariners, since they were staying in dorms near us. I remember their playing "Victory at Sea," which remains one of my favorites. I also remember someone with a huge sabre/sword toss from one Drum major to another. And I remember cymbals being thrown high into the air (and sometimes caught) after the corps was off the field. I guess it all made a big impression on me at 13. (Oh, and we were second place band at that convention. The WJMB had previously won 20 national VFW and American Legion titles.At that time There was concert, parade, drill, and inspection for the bands.) I remember that we were told we would be penalized if not DQ'd if we flashed a peace sign anywhere, especially not visible from the bus. Interesting times in 1972

---tom