rayfallon Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 HAHA ... was just talking with the wife over the weekend remembering the three parades we would do on Memorial Day in the Bridgeport area with the PAL Cadets, then hop on a bus to somewhere in NJ for the first show of the season in the 60's ... a very long day for sure ... we opted for some simple yard chores this year ... LOL ... in my Skyliner days, Mount Carmel was definitely first on the list of any season ... it wasn't until 1973 that Hoffman put together an impromptu exit formation due to some miserable weather ... we finshed the actual drill the next Friday night before the Hamden (Hurcs) show ... Andy "no more parades in my contract" Lisko Without giving away any of my likes and dislikes, weren't a lot of Bobby's "formations" somewhat impromptu? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfallon Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 (edited) Hey Ray,I remember back in the day we used to make fun of old guys that started their sentences off saying "I remember back in the day....." But I digress..... Memorial Day meant a killer parade down Broadway and then strutting down that hill into Veteran's Memorial Stadium for our first performance of the season! Shows are harder now.......more sets in one show than we did in three seasons.........members come from everywhere now, not from the next parish..............members go to college now for goodness's sake.......we didn't have guys in college in the Bridgemen.... It was fun then.....it is fun now........Labor Day is still great! I love watching Prelims! Man there are alot of great Corps still out there doing their thing! I wish there were more....like the old days....but I still dig what I see and hear nowadays too. Hope all is well with you Ray! Peace, Dennis ! Den, One of my most concrete (as in like concrete shoes and dump him in the river) was our show in Vets' Stadium for ourselves Memorial Day of 1978. Don Angelica came out to check out the show and we had been in the armory all winter sounding incredible - then we went outside!!! I could have died... But we got it together in a hurry if I remember correctly. As to making fun of old guys - Bobby brought Joe Genero to the Stadium to check things out - they both worked with Matadors at the time. I remember saying to Greg Neuleib (hey I just got an email from Greg BTW) "Can't these old guys figure out when their time is up?" He was 44 at the time!!! Yikes - I don't ever remember being 44!!! Guess my time is up Edited June 2, 2010 by rayfallon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfallon Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 Yeah it's soooooo much warmer in Rochester over Labor Day. Memories of '75(?) sitting on the blacktop of the airport parking lot to get warm after dark. Or memories of last year of my wife saying she didn't need her jacket..... Then we got in the shadows and I got that "Oh crap... oh honey..." look. Rochester Labor day for me will always be retreat in 1976 - 42 degrees - froze my ### off while the Yankee Rebels played their whole friggin' show because John Flowers was ###### off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Rochester Labor day for me will always be retreat in 1976 - 42 degrees - froze my ### off while the Yankee Rebels played their whole friggin' show because John Flowers was ###### off. I hear that..... REALLY cold there that night. I was a spectator..... a few of us from the Manville Crusaders drove up for Finals that year. We had a day off from drum corps that Sunday.... so what did we do? Drove six hours to see a drum corps show. Yes, we were idiots. LOL. So there we were.... freezing half to death.... standing along the back fence during that Finals retreat ceremony, watching not only the Rebs play all their stuff... but also the world-famous (infamous? LOL) "Phoenix Three-Ring Circus." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donincardona Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Rochester Labor day for me will always be retreat in 1976 - 42 degrees - froze my ### off while the Yankee Rebels played their whole friggin' show because John Flowers was ###### off. not only was it cold but the wind was blowing hard. my hands were so cold i could barely play. no wonder cabs won by so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfallon Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 not only was it cold but the wind was blowing hard. my hands were so cold i could barely play. no wonder cabs won by so much. They were like 97 pts over 2nd place Reading... swept every caption and a couple that didn't get judged - "high buses" "Whitest shoes" "Most beer under the bus" etc. etc. Oh wait - I think Phoenix won "most beer under the bus..." My mistake... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 (edited) Rochester Labor day for me will always be retreat in 1976 - 42 degrees - froze my ### off while the Yankee Rebels played their whole friggin' show because John Flowers was ###### off. Maybe it was '76 . And that was the Rebs last hurrah as far as Finals was concerned. Wow, just realized I can't remember a #### thing about '76 DCA except playing in front of the mics before the gates opened for Finals to get on the record (we came in 11th). Recording us and Guelph ran late and there were a LOT of PO'ed looking people waiting to get in. After that moment, zero, zilch, nil, nada, nuttin'..... Yeah, total CRS (Can't Remember ####) and only thing I drank that night was soda (I was 19). Edited June 3, 2010 by JimF-LowBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donincardona Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 Maybe it was '76 . And that was the Rebs last hurrah as far as Finals was concerned.Wow, just realized I can't remember a #### thing about '76 DCA except playing in front of the mics before the gates opened for Finals to get on the record (we came in 11th). Recording us and Guelph ran late and there were a LOT of PO'ed looking people waiting to get in. After that moment, zero, zilch, nil, nada, nuttin'..... Yeah, total CRS (Can't Remember ####) and only thing I drank that night was soda (I was 19). i drank lot's of genny that night. glad i was in my home town!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2remember Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 I think Dennis hit on something significant. Shows are so complex and performance levels so high in the last two decades, or so. No longer can a kid off the corner spend the summer in drum corps, just to avoid the pains of an ill-spent youth. This also speaks to much of the G-7 debate on which you speak so well. Peace, always. PHM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 (edited) Hi Liz ... I think he was referring to the Jr corps of yesteryear ... it wan't unusual for the circuit championships (Penn Jersey, GNYC, etc.) to be in October (actually snowed once on Randalls Island) ... HOO HAA!!! ... now it's early Aug for DCI ...Andy "yes, I know this is a DCA old timers forum" Lisko Junior Corps competitions sometimes started outdoor competitions as early as May 10th in some circuits.... and circuit championships held as late as October ( where holes in line sometimes would be common ). That's as long as 21 or more weeks in an outdoor competitve season. ( some years AL, VFW Championships could be in mid October in warm weather locales like Miami) Today, DCI competitive season goes approx. 7-8 weeks. Much shorter season. Then again, these marchers can learn the notes, the proper fingering, and the proper playing for a song on their horn in about 20 minutes. It took me and others in line about 20 days ( haha! ) Edited June 3, 2010 by BRASSO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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