SCV Still dropping

[SCVTeerav]

SCV Biker, here's the issue I have with what you're saying.

I've marched in the Santa Clara organization during the past decade. I've been apart of a championship and a crowd favorite. I would still be there if not for a horrible injury. I have poured my heart and soul into this corps for the past 4 years of my life, and I plan to keep doing it until I age-out. Day in and day out, we are told that we still are Santa Clara, that it's not about our placement or our score, it's about giving back to the audience. It's about giving everything you have to those people in the stands every night, grabbing onto their hearts for 15 minutes, and bringing them into the performance. It's about making them believe in Santa Clara, making them see what it is that brought all of us kids to SCV year in and year out, it's about capturing that magical, intangible quality that makes the Vanguard the Vanguard, if even for a brief moment. Last year, standing in that form in the closer, holding that last note out, and looking up past the drum major, watching every single person in those stands on their feet, I knew that we had connected. We had finally achieved what we set out to do. Make it about the people in the stands, not the people in the green shirts. After that performance, we could have come in 12th, but the moment I marched off that field, I knew that I had given every ounce of my soul to those people watching, and that was all that mattered. Shows shouldn't make you physically tired, they should make you emotionally tired because you gave everything you had for those 15 minutes, and you know that you had nothing left to give.

If this isn't the Santa Clara that you're used to, I'm sorry sir. But this is the Santa Clara that I joined, and I love. To me, it's about the star, it's about the class, it's about sharing those experiences with my brothers and sisters. It's not about the score at the end of the night. It's about the love of the activity.

I rarely post or reply but this conversation has intrigued me. Seems that there is alot of A and B mentality with no discussion/debate towards the position of the other.

No offense and with all due respect as a fellow alumn, but this seams like a lot of sunshine pumping to me. When I marched there (not too long ago), it seemed that it wasn't about the people, or whatever and connecting with them and then getting together and singing khum-bay-yah afterwards. You can't connect with everyone so worry about the things you can control, your actions and how you perform your show. Theoretically, if that occurs, then things will take care of themselves.

I can see what SCV Biker is talking about. That the way in which executing the show, the approach, the intensity of intent of each member to execute the show in both practice and performance may be lacking from what the culture was when he marched. Hell, I saw it last year in Allentown when I went and watched a rehearsal. I was apalled at some sections and their approach. What makes scv is its tradition, not its ability to connect. Correlation does not imply causation. Going out trying to connect doesn't mean you will, going out an executing with intensity (the right intensity) will cause connection, because people take you that more seriously and are generally attracted to things performed at a high level.

You could always tell it was SCV from watching a rehearsal and the way in which they went about themselves during that process. Somehow its been lost on me that intensity/killer instinct is to the degree at which it had been ever since '67.

It is about the Star and the Class and sometimes thats not necessarily a feel good process but a growing process. Voluntarily getting your butt handed to you in order to create something great. Becoming tempered. Living up to the expectations of your predecessors that sweat their butt off, slept in the same crappy gym, road on the same sweaty buses with no TV, did 'shups everytime they didn't meet the standard that was impossible to achieve and still produced shows like '87, '89, '98, '92. IMHO that is were the class comes from, the work. That is what the Star has become to symbolize, not vice versa.

Just adding to the discussion.

[Northern Thunder]

IMHO, Santa Clara is the Lou Rawls of Drum Corps.

Had some terrific years, but they were mostly 20 + years ago. Had some terrific connection and emotion with audiences back in the day, but today....meh, not so much.

AJMHO

Considering Lou Rawls died 4 years ago, I'm not sure this is a good thing.

[WestCoaster]

still produced shows like '87, '89, '98, '92.

'92?

Seriously?

[jplattSCV]

IMHO, Santa Clara is the Lou Rawls of Drum Corps.

Had some terrific years, but they were mostly 20 + years ago. Had some terrific connection and emotion with audiences back in the day, but today....meh, not so much.

Current (and especially younger) audience members don't know the history much, and don't care. They see what is on the field in front of them, which is natural.

And what is there recently?

Lack of innovation, too much organizational upheaval, too much copying Cavies in particular, to be seen as anything but a pale shadow of their former greatness.

Those laurels are getting moldy....

AJMHO

WoW! Can't say I agree completely, but its hard to argue with organization upheaval's affect on things. From the mid 70's until 1991, they had 2 percussion coordinators. They had only 1 corps director from '67 thru '92. They had very relatively little turnover in staff from year to year.

For the past 10 years it has seemed like every fall is a nervous waiting game to see who will be in charge once the spring starts.

Innovation is overrated and the word is often misused. The root of the word is "new". There's nothing about "better" in the meaning. though it is usually implied. There have been little things that you could conisder innovative, but its impossible to argue that Santa Clara is leading the charge into the next thing like you would have said about their shows in the 70's and 80's. However, I really do not believe that innovation is really all that important when talking about the history and legacy of the corps.

Intensity and heart are way more important to me as an alum than innovation. And I still feel those coming from the corps. Its just the dirt and the sometimes unreadable drill that gets hard to handle.

[jplattSCV]

'92?

Seriously?

Funny. I thought the same thing and I was in that show. There is no doubt in my mind thst that is the first time that I ever saw our '92 production in the same list as '87, '89, & '98. But, hey, it had its moment. (singular)

[SCVTeerav]

Funny. I thought the same thing and I was in that show. There is no doubt in my mind thst that is the first time that I ever saw our '92 production in the same list as '87, '89, & '98. But, hey, it had its moment. (singular)

Yes 92! talking about knowing that even though the show didn't place high, it was still vanguard out there doing it. I was trying to illustrate the idea that even though placement may not be consistent, the vibe can still exist. this would be an example to people who think only a top 3 corps exudes that je nes sa qouis. all i was saying....

[jplattSCV]

Yes 92! talking about knowing that even though the show didn't place high, it was still vanguard out there doing it. I was trying to illustrate the idea that even though placement may not be consistent, the vibe can still exist. this would be an example to people who think only a top 3 corps exudes that je nes sa qouis. all i was saying....

I know. wasn't really disagreeing. It was just startling to see it on the same line as '89 and especially '87. I respect the opinion. Those were all shows that lived and died by intensity of the individuals in the shows.

[SCVTeerav]

I know. wasn't really disagreeing. It was just startling to see it on the same line as '89 and especially '87. I respect the opinion. Those were all shows that lived and died by intensity of the individuals in the shows.

Cool. sometimes i'm not good at explaining myself.

[NYCFan]

I know. wasn't really disagreeing. It was just startling to see it on the same line as '89 and especially '87. I respect the opinion. Those were all shows that lived and died by intensity of the individuals in the shows.

Exactly. and I LOVED those shows. SCV was THE BOMB back then.

And deservedly so. They earned it.

But those shows were, respectively 21 & 23 years ago.

Which is my point.

Lou Rawls.....

AJMHO

[fsubone]

I rarely post or reply but this conversation has intrigued me. Seems that there is alot of A and B mentality with no discussion/debate towards the position of the other.

No offense and with all due respect as a fellow alumn, but this seams like a lot of sunshine pumping to me. When I marched there (not too long ago), it seemed that it wasn't about the people, or whatever and connecting with them and then getting together and singing khum-bay-yah afterwards. You can't connect with everyone so worry about the things you can control, your actions and how you perform your show. Theoretically, if that occurs, then things will take care of themselves.

I can see what SCV Biker is talking about. That the way in which executing the show, the approach, the intensity of intent of each member to execute the show in both practice and performance may be lacking from what the culture was when he marched. Hell, I saw it last year in Allentown when I went and watched a rehearsal. I was apalled at some sections and their approach. What makes scv is its tradition, not its ability to connect. Correlation does not imply causation. Going out trying to connect doesn't mean you will, going out an executing with intensity (the right intensity) will cause connection, because people take you that more seriously and are generally attracted to things performed at a high level.

You could always tell it was SCV from watching a rehearsal and the way in which they went about themselves during that process. Somehow its been lost on me that intensity/killer instinct is to the degree at which it had been ever since '67.

It is about the Star and the Class and sometimes thats not necessarily a feel good process but a growing process. Voluntarily getting your butt handed to you in order to create something great. Becoming tempered. Living up to the expectations of your predecessors that sweat their butt off, slept in the same crappy gym, road on the same sweaty buses with no TV, did 'shups everytime they didn't meet the standard that was impossible to achieve and still produced shows like '87, '89, '98, '92. IMHO that is were the class comes from, the work. That is what the Star has become to symbolize, not vice versa.

Just adding to the discussion.

See, as a current member, I don't see how things have changed. I still feel the intensity during rehearsal, I still feel like I'm part of Santa Clara, the Santa Clara I fell in love with originally, I don't feel like I'm part of something less. I'm sorry if all of you guys feel like it's not the same SCV you were in back in the day, but it's for sure the SCV I'm apart of, and the SCV that I want to be in. It's about getting the job done, and letting everything else take care of itself.