The 80's

[tommytimp]

I'm sitting here watching the 84 & 83 final DVD's. I look at these shows and I had to think about why I like this so much better then today's corps. Yes this again.

Drill, I like pretty pictures. I was watching some corps with my 8yo granddaughter is she kept asking whats that..but she loved the butterfly in Vanguard and other drill patterns she undrstood.

Butterfly was Phantom 84.

[bluecoats88]

82 into 83 was a big drop too ! Especially in the east.

G

we folded in 1983, but came back in 1984 and thankfully the corps is still going strong.

[KeithHall]

JAZZ

Music of the 80's

(BD T-shirt)

[Northern Thunder]

82 into 83 was a big drop too ! Especially in the east.

G

The numbers from 1982 into 1983 weren't too bad. It went from 205 junior corps in '82 to 191 in '83.

Most of the Eastern drop off was in Massachusetts, which went from 30 to 23. New York lost 4 corps from '82 to '83, and New Jersey went up in '83. Pennsylvania had the same number in both years.

The East: CT/DE/ME/MD/MA/NH/NJ/NY/PA/RI had 77 junior corps in 1982, and 67 in 1983.

In 2010 these same Eastern states had 8 juniors on the field. Yikes!

Edited October 30, 2010 by Northern Thunder

[Fran Haring]

Speaking of the 1980s...... IMO, Phantom Regiment's marching performance at DCI Finals in 1980 remains to this day one of the most flawless visual-execution performances I've ever seen.

[tommytimp]

Speaking of the 1980s...... IMO, Phantom Regiment's marching performance at DCI Finals in 1980 remains to this day one of the most flawless visual-execution performances I've ever seen.

I agree. I was in corps for 6 years and never marched a beat of drill, so I know little about the marching art. But I know that you could eat off that performance.

[pearlsnaredrummer77]

I'm sitting here watching the 84 & 83 final DVD's. I look at these shows and I had to think about why I like this so much better then today's corps. Yes this again.

High Mark Time - People today talk about the speed of todays drill. Try marking time ankle to knee. To my way of thinking its the same as running across the field. I did both and I'll take high time anyday and it looks like your actually marching.

Guard work. I look at Cadets, Blue Devils and especially Vanguard in 84 and it blows me away. The work is so beautiful. yes there is some dancing in all the shows but its still GUARD not dance troop (see Colts/Bluecoats) I watch Madison and they still had that power that makes you sit open mouthed. Now I usually laugh (at what the instructor gives them to do, not the "kids") Props are used to highlight not feature.

Drill, I like pretty pictures. I was watching some corps with my 8yo granddaughter is she kept asking whats that..but she loved the butterfly in Vanguard and other drill patterns she undrstood. My 19yo was the same way. The randomness of the drill never matched whats being played. That bomb in Suncoast show tells a story by itself. Everyone is Salvador Dali when some people what Rockwell.

Concert -The old park and blow. It gives the corp a chance to show some good musicianship and really feature the gaurd. It doesn't have to be 3 mins of standing around but less movement and more music.

No themes - If you play, march and perform the show I'm pretty sure people wouldn't care if the show was called RED, Methodod Madness, Emeraldscapes or nothing at all. For a long time no corps had a theme and did just fine. Now we "have to tell a story" guess what story I want...good music, good drill, good guard work. I listen to drum corps to relax. I don't want to think about why the show is called La Noche de la Iguana and why those guys are running around dressed like that.

Drum Solo's..yes 2 mins of a drumline paying music. not a 30 second drum break. But out front grooving and moving. When was the last classic drum solo, Cadets 2000? God I miss the Vanguard solos of the late 70's early 80's

I agree with all the above and especially about the show themes. A lot of what nowadays masquerades as 'art' is banal. I actually prefer the days before all of the themes.

I also like that there was a lot of stylistic differences in approaches whether in drumming, guard, drill, etc. There was something for everyone...

Finally, I also agree about having over 100 corps...

[DoubleHighEZ]

Speaking of the 1980s...... IMO, Phantom Regiment's marching performance at DCI Finals in 1980 remains to this day one of the most flawless visual-execution performances I've ever seen.

Fran,

I've always felt the same way. The closest to perfect forms I have ever seen in drum corps.

[craiga]

The numbers from 1982 into 1983 weren't too bad. It went from 205 junior corps in '82 to 191 in '83.

Most of the Eastern drop off was in Massachusetts, which went from 30 to 23. New York lost 4 corps from '82 to '83, and New Jersey went up in '83. Pennsylvania had the same number in both years.

The East: CT/DE/ME/MD/MA/NH/NJ/NY/PA/RI had 77 junior corps in 1982, and 67 in 1983.

In 2010 these same Eastern states had 8 juniors on the field. Yikes!

I'm sure these figures are accurate, BUT....in the interest of full disclosure:

Many of the 77 corps you referenced being around in 1982 (the MA/NH/ME groups in particular) were small...actually, TINY in terms of membership. I don't think the ME Pine Tree Warriors, Northern Lights, and 5th Maine Regiment had 50 kids combined. I recall going to EMASS and CYO shows in Massachusetts that summer and seeing 20-25 corps in competition, and not one of them was even close to be 50 kids out there. There is NOTHING wrong with small, community-based corps with less than a dozen horns like many of these were, but somehow some folks (not you, Brian) like to infer that these were more than they were. I would also note than in this era, these corps (at least in the Northeast) were not particpating in the DCI touring model at all.

In fact, it was common to see little corps (and their parents) actually leave the show after they performed even if a North Star or 27 showed up to do an exhibition. Most of the little corps had no interest in being anything other than, well, little. I don't judge this as being a good thing or a bad thing...it was what it was.

One other piece of trivia: in that summer of 1983, Boston Crusaders had 51 members....in 2010, they had 157. Not everything fits into the trend.

[craiga]

Of course the other piece of this puzzle concerns the Open Class (now referred to as "World")class....it was quite possible, in 1982, to have a "World "class show in Massachusetts of of Massachusetts-only corps. The lineup may have included:

27th Lancers

North Star

Boston Crusaders

Defenders

Alliance

and, you could add smaller, but strong corps like:

Guardsmen

Amvet Brigadiers

Diplomats

Arbella

(these would have been comparable to today's "Open Class"----sorry if I left anyone out....doing this from a 50 yr old's memory....)

Why all these corps except for BAC are gone is for someone else to address.....so, YES, corps have dramatically decreased, but I am not convinced there was all that much commonality between them. Boston also found itself on the brink after 1982, but the reasons for that debacle had little to do with DCI....