Jump to content

Then (1991) and now


Recommended Posts

As i was browsing thru some issues of Drum Corps World this weekend in Indy, I came across this article written by Dr. Robert Smith from the November 1991 issue. It could have easily been written anytime within the past few years. Sorry if it maybe hard to read, I could not find the article online so i cut it out and scanned it.

link to article here

I am not a fan of synths, mic'd soloists and pits, sampled voices and sound effects but I was highly entertained last night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As i was browsing thru some issues of Drum Corps World this weekend in Indy, I came across this article written by Dr. Robert Smith from the November 1991 issue. It could have easily been written anytime within the past few years. Sorry if it maybe hard to read, I could not find the article online so i cut it out and scanned it.

link to article here

I am not a fan of synths, mic'd soloists and pits, sampled voices and sound effects but I was highly entertained last night.

Wonder if he feels that way now. His tweets last night were all very complimentary to the corps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As i was browsing thru some issues of Drum Corps World this weekend in Indy, I came across this article written by Dr. Robert Smith from the November 1991 issue. It could have easily been written anytime within the past few years. Sorry if it maybe hard to read, I could not find the article online so i cut it out and scanned it.

link to article here

I am not a fan of synths, mic'd soloists and pits, sampled voices and sound effects but I was highly entertained last night.

Guessing he wasn't a fan (like I am) of Santa Clara this year :smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guessing he wasn't a fan (like I am) of Santa Clara this year :smile:

Or what he thought of Star '93? :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

from twitter:

rwsmithcomposer Vanguard...very sophisticated. This corps got stronger at each performance peaking tonight! Bela Bartok would be proud! Congrats!!!

Guess he has changed his mind. (Glad that he did)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last sentence: "#### the discontent, full speed ahead!"

After writing an entire article of discontent.

Well, 1992 remains perhaps my most favorite year of drum corps to-date. I was in the 15th-place corps and still root for the 14th and 13th place corps because they survived my beloved SkyRyders. 10th-place VK achieved perhaps their quintessential product ever. Phantom played the 1812. SCV's Fiddler. Crossmen with that masterful 'earth' show--classic, and perhaps my favorite of all time! Scouts improved on their 91 City of Angels with their 92 version. Star's patriotic show, unfortunately, faded finals week, placing 1-2-3. Still awesome. Cadets tamed the perilous skies. And Cavaliers won for the first time.

But I could do without all the anti-Star sentiment. Ironic the choice of perrenial (crowd) favorite SCV this year, huh? Not much complaint about repertoire. Especially about those "California champions of the past," unless you talk about mirrors. I hate the fact that the activity's collective attitude toward Star tainted my view of what the corps came to embody. It took a nice 6-year break from DCI for me to shed some of my early biases instilled in me by people like the author. Star of Indiana, as it turns out, was the best thing to ever happen to the activity and most people still put them down as being "corporate." Entirely inaccurate, but I've come to expect that from most in the activity. The older the more highly correlated that fact is with them.

So the activity changed. Good! Not all things 1970's were great. And I said just yesterday, I would rather have EIGHT Bluecoats and Carolina Crowns (referring to their placements last year and this!) than back-to-back undefeated BD. Recruit from the Bay area and see how great you are. I'll take the talent of my neighborhood and spank your neighborhood every...single...year. And we're not about to get rid of bingo, so start looking for a Concord, Texas and change your zip code cause those "California champions of years past" are about as Texas as I am these days. I've been saying for about 5 years the "top 6" (now the "G7") need to just move to Texas. Cheaper, better economy, more marching band members, less travel expense, better facilities, better members.

How's Cali's economy lately?

How many members in Phantom Regiment from Rockford this decade? Illinois??

The activity changed. It was right in the middle of changing in 1991 when I came into the activity. This is an interesting article to find, because I was headed out to audition camp about the same time it was being published. Everything I was being told was from people with exactly the same attitude, and just about all of it I subsequently tossed in the garbage during my "break."

Ironic, is it not, that the Star of Indiana alumni corps just performed in Indy? Welcome back, Star--I missed you!

Star is now the "model" of DCI--both on the field (see my questions about what the heck is considered GE?) as well as off the field, business-side stuff. And don't even get me started on the whole "Great 8" (now that Blue Stars have qualified for the "G7"). That whole lot of Star wannabe's would still be playing Malaguena and Channel One Suite if it hadn't been for the Bloomington bunch.

Do I prefer electronics? No. Only because I haven't yet heard a good version of a show using them. Some have been close, but none have put on two good renditions, IMHO.

Bye-bye, G bugles? Oh, well! That was the best thing to ever happen to DCI. Not "IMHO"--fact! Uniforms and instruments--the best way to start reaching into the corporate realm. Start with music-related stuff...go for Hard Rock Cafe next! Oh, look at that--they DID!!

#### the discontent, all right. Interesting perspective reading that 20 years later. Wow--through a looking glass darkly, indeed! :thumbup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wonder if he feels that way now. His tweets last night were all very complimentary to the corps.

That is TOO funny!

Guess he has changed his mind. (Glad that he did)

Too bad guys like him had such a negative opinion of anything non-BD/SCV/Cavies/PR. I picked up on that trashy attitude back then a little, but it was really driven home by the vets at PR. When I left the activity around 1998 it was kind of like, "Good riddance!" More with the attitudes and the biases than with the performances. Shut up and perform, you know? Just...don't SAY anything to me and I'll be alright.

I hope he changed his attitude/mind. He and others like him owe a bunch of people a hug, an apology and a great big kiss on the butt.

Ugh. :thumbup: I hope that everybody, whenever you have the chance, takes the opportunity to talk to the "great un(brain)washed masses" about the benefits of drum corps. Tell people what you got out of it good. Shoot, I even like to highlight corps other than the ones that I marched. Especially since one of those isn't even around any more!

Make disciples. Not more sore attitudes. It took me 13 years to shed mine, and I'm sure some of you would contend that is still a work in progress with no hope for a successful conclusion. :thumbup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As i was browsing thru some issues of Drum Corps World this weekend in Indy, I came across this article written by Dr. Robert Smith from the November 1991 issue.[/url]

This whole article is bizarre. First we have the criticism of the use of the images of the cross in Star's 1991 Roman Images show:

... I was disturbed with the actual design of the program, specifically the ending involving crosses in the drill and gleaming golden crosses on the flags, both added late in the year. This appears to make a statement.

In Respighi's "Roman Trilogy" there is virtually no significant reference to the symbol of the cross, as the trilogy is celebratory to Imperial Rome and does not reflect on Christian persecution. Roman Festivals is a tribute to the glorious festivals of the Empire and only the vaguest "cross" reference could be drawn to the Pines of the Appian Way segment in The Pines of Rome, as Roman prisoners were crucified on crosses along the famous Appian highway.

The third and fourth pieces in Roman Festivals is are "The Jubilee" and "The Epiphany" respectively. Both are references to Christian celebrations in Rome (Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire around 400AD) so I don't see why Mr. Smith would take issue with cross imagery.

He then goes off on a tangent describing how a Texas HS marching band who had lifted the show from Star was in some "religion in public schools" controversy for using religious music and symbolism in their show. But he doesn't really follow up on this with a point.

Again, the intended meaning and statement of the cross finale disturbs me, a conservative midwesterner. This outright offended one California fan when unveiled at Star's home show on August 10. In some ways, I can sense the frustration. Precisely the last thing the activity needs at this moment is a statement.

Huh? What exactly was disturbing and offensive? What statement does he think they were trying to make?

It almost seems that he's saying that he doesn't like religious material being used in a drumcorps show but he makes no mention of Cavies show that year which was titled "An Advent Collection" so I'm still lost on what his point is.

Then there's the fact that the whole Star issue seems to be an aside to his main point which is that drumcorps was moving away from entertainment and that we all needed to demand from corps that they go back to producing entertaining shows.

Huh?

I understand we have all have different tastes and opinions of shows but I think 1991 was a pretty darn entertaining year top to bottom. I can only remember the top 14 from that year because that's what's on the CDs, but I felt that all of those top 14 shows were great entertaining shows. To me 1991 was a good year for entertainment.

If we were to compare entertainment value of 1991 to 2010 - 1991 wins by light years.

Edited by bartyount
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This isn't Robert W. Smith. First of all, he didn't live in Illinois in 1991, and second of all, for those of us that know him, he would have never talked like that about another corps. Third, don't quote me on this, but I think he got his Doctorate later than 1991. Think about it...the person who wrote the 1988 Suncoast show, my rookie year, would not have a problem with '91 Star.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...