jras Posted September 6, 2010 Share Posted September 6, 2010 ...goosebumps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gak27 Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 I marched '61 VFW Nationals in Miami and don't remember any "Discussions" there. The legendary "Rumble" in Miami occurred in '57, also Miami, when the Chicago Cavaliers won their first VFW National Championship, thus ending Vinnies' winning streak. It happened in the parking lot post-show, with Archer Epler siding with St. Vincents and Riley Raiders joining in with the Cavaliers. AmFlag61, That's probably the one my dad was referring to... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearlsnaredrummer77 Posted September 7, 2010 Share Posted September 7, 2010 You know you're a "Fossil" ...When making the top 25 was something to be proud of. ...You remember what a DCI "associate member" corps was. Sadly, I've noticed in a number of threads that some posters seem to have no idea that DCI was once, not so long ago, literally hundreds of corps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tansea Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 When Kilties, Troopers, Americanos and Pioneer DMs added claymores, sabres, Spanish swords and Irish swords to their side arms, and did a full salute when trooping the stands. Is that Gail in the center of your photo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blucru Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 If you played it, you carried it (just ask any drummer about the bag of triangles, tambourines, and miscellaneious noise makers they had to sling over their shoulder.......) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fastone Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 If you played it, you carried it (just ask any drummer about the bag of triangles, tambourines, and miscellaneious noise makers they had to sling over their shoulder.......) hahaha, Nowadays having a cowbell on your drum is a big thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennTux Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 "Disscussions":The "Discussion" I actually SAW, was between St Vincents Cadets and St Mary's Majestic Knights (Charlestown MA). It happned ON THE FIELD at the retreat of the VFW Nationals Finals, Miami FL, in 1961. There had been bad blood between the two corps earlier in the seasopn (St Mary's was no "Pushover" either. They came from a really tough "Ville" in metro Boston). VFW had placed the two units side by side at retreat, and some words led to a BRAWL bewteen the two corps. Tony Schlecta (This is really another "Tony" story) droned on and on with a zillion awards, oblivious to the huge fight going on right in front of him. Fleetwood Records had recorded the announcement of scores at 1961's VFW (And would again in 1962 at Minneapolis) but the "Sounds of Battle" came through the open mics, and Fleetwood was unable to add the scores announcements to the albums. A great era of drum corps!!!! Was glad to have seen and been part of it!!!!! Elphaba WWW The membership of the St. Mary's Majestic Knights that lived in Charlestown were also called "Townies".... (Charlestown was (and still) definitely one town in the greater Boston area that one didn't go into looking for trouble...) My wife (Donna) lived in Charlestown and is an Alumna of the 63-68 MK and 69 merger between St. Kevin's Emerald Knights (Dorchester, MA) and MK. (St Kevin's Majestic Knights) Drum Corps of that era were much "different" BITD. I enjoyed my days marching in the Boston area back then and glad I've lived long enough to have made a LOT of friends that were competitors back then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennTux Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 (Several times my mom told me (as a kid living in Lynn) she thought we were all just a bunch of street thugs dressed in nice uniforms playing instruments) You know you're a "Fossil" if you remember when... Most corps were really street gangs that played music. If you didn't beat them on the field you beat them off the field. If they left quickly, you beat the judges. When somewhere in the horn line was at least one horn from every known manufacturer because the corps could only afford a new horn when one fell apart and the corps still owed money on the last one so a new vendor had to be found. Most kids could walk to practice from their parents' homes. Practice was at least twice a week, fifty two weeks a year. Many corps didn't have time to "tour" because they had three to five local circuit shows each week. Many large metropolitan areas had three or more local circuits. When you did travel to one of the really big shows with preliminaries you were always amazed at the large number of corps you never heard of and most of them beat you despite your corps being the local circuit champions for several years in a row. Your warm up for the Saturday night show was the afternoon show that same day that was held less than ten miles away. You knew many kids in several other corps because several of the kids you went to school with marched in other corps. You knew without looking who was on the field at the first show of the year because most corps had a signature song (Yup! SONG!) they played year after year. Some of your instructors didn't make your contests because they were marching in a DCA corps and/or judging in another circuit. Not only was the weather literally freezing but your drill got completely confused because you were doing a half time show for the church school football team and you never marched on a field with football markings. "Where's the 50?" All the corps hung around for the scores even if there was no retreat. All the drums fit in a regular van. The horns went on the buses. One set of flags on the field. The honor guard included your championship flags and/or your streamers for each of your championships. Custom, hand painted bass drum heads. These heads were never to be hit with a mallet as bass drummers only used one mallet. Custom covers for the contra bass bells with your corps logo hand applied. Just about ever corps could execute a moving company front and most did at least once per show. You remember when horns manufactured with slip slides were considered cheating. ("Hey! We spent all winter polishing our tuning slides so they could move easily and those rich guys just went out and bought new Getzens. That's not fair!) Every once in a while one of those slip slides would manage to go flying across the field when the horns were snapped up. You knew the contest schedule because it didn't change very much from year to year and you've been with the same corps year after year. You knew most of the judges because you saw the same ones week after week and half of them were your instructors (though not judging you that night) , relatives or relatives of your corps friends. You knew everything there was to know about that night's stadium and it's environs because you marched there at least three times a year. You knew everybody who sat high on the 40 yard line, at least by sight because the same people sat in the same place at each and every show for many years and they called themselves the 40 yard line group. They always cheered wildly for each and every corps and bought every Fleetwood and or Stetson Richmond record there ever was. "On the bus!" "Off the bus!" "Push the bus!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TennTux Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Sadly, I've noticed in a number of threads that some posters seem to have no idea that DCI was once, not so long ago, literally hundreds of corps. Or that there was "Drum and Bugle Corps" W A Y before there even was a DCI. (You mean all of this didn't start in 1971?....hehe) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George82 Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 (edited) Step-Vans were equipment trucks with flag holders on the front.... Edited October 13, 2010 by George82 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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