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Most Famous Show Ever?


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So...

DCI is worse for drum corps because BEFORE DCI...

...it was considered OK for a grown adult to allow the youth in his charge to stage a sit in over competitive results.

The Vietnam War and racial discrimination seemed to bring out the protest element in many people. Seems to me, this was a political statement, supported by penalities given, and recinded to some corps and not others.

...there was an inconsistency in competitive results large enough to warrant a grown man approving these actions.

Apparently so. Kids (not little kids, mature teens and perhaps some 20 yr olds) that had worked hard all year to compete - were subjected to penalities that were dropped from other corps. All that was requested was a review of the penalty - like that was done for corps that were allowed to compete.

...when a sponsoring organization was displeased, the answer was to form another corps and march with a snarky sign.

The difference is - the IC Parish was not only displeased, they disbanded the Reveries. There was no corps - so a new corps was born from the energy of the members - and - the new membership was not restricted by parish membership. As for a snarky sign - sounds to me like you tried out for 27th and were cut? Those members made sacrifices to march, the merits of which I doubt you comprehend.

...it was considered OK to mortgage one's home to run a marching band.

Again - a personal decision. When there is no gravy train, before bingo games were thought of, the quickest way to get some cash was to mortgage personal property. From where I sit, it was the best investment George B and Patsy ever did - and I am grateful. They could have lost everything - but look at the ROI !!! (And that's also Richard "Ike" Ianessa'a initials !!!!)

Are all these facts correct?

Knowing the facts first hand from my association with 27th, knowing the people involved, your points look like opinions to me.

For the record - I am a product of a CYO band program - and had the opportunity to march with several great corps in the Boston area when I wanted "more" from the activity. From the first time I saw 27th perform in Oct 1969, I knew I was going to be a 27th Lancer. I never worked so hard in my life as I did to earn a spot, and I worked even harder after I made it. I wanted to earn respect from the warriors that paved the way for me.

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For the record - I am a product of a CYO band program - and had the opportunity to march with several great corps in the Boston area when I wanted "more" from the activity. From the first time I saw 27th perform in Oct 1969, I knew I was going to be a 27th Lancer. I never worked so hard in my life as I did to earn a spot, and I worked even harder after I made it. I wanted to earn respect from the warriors that paved the way for me.

You have done that and more, Jim.

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I marched with 27th from OCT 1969. I knew George B as well as anyone. I was part of the everyday discussion of what had happened at the sit-down, hearing it from the people (adults and youths) who were present at that event.

People who were part of the organization will attest that George ran the corps like a strict father who makes sure that everyone had a stake in operations (in the rise and fall of events, in the planning future events) were kept closely apprised of the "WHAT" was going on as well as the "WHY" information. George used this style to enhance everyone's buy-in.

He told us all the time: "It isn't easy being a Lancer" because he demanded buy-in to his participatory democracy. He was a great listener and would make his decisions around the information and ideas we shared. (You may not agree with his final decision, but you had no doubt that George had listened to you.) He encouraged us to hang out at his house on South Cambridge street. His own children were like our brothers and sisters. (BTW, each of them marched in drum corps, one is still a nationally-recognized instructor.) His wife Patsy was a cross between everyone's aunt, big sister, and mother, depending on the circumstances.

George B did not have a disingenuous bone in his body. He was brutally honest, stunningly (sometimes brutally) candid, and squeaky-clean honorable. His pet peeve was "quibbling" -- playing games with facts and circumstances to make a lie seem like the truth, telling half-lies to avoid responsibility.

He had no time for cheats, back-stabbers, con artists, promise-breakers, and above all, people who took advantage of kids.

That being said, VFW National Championship organizers didn't promote drum corps for the good of either participating organizations or the youths participating. Organizers just wanted to promote a top-notch slate to ensure VFW conventioners made the Championship part of their planning each year, thus increasing the likelihood they would make the VFW National Convention an annual event. The prize money was ridiculously low for the finalists, and non-existent for the rest. Nobody was supposed to receive "appearance money." ALL corps funded everything (food, travel, housing, etc.) to get there and go thru the prelims. (In 1970 each of us paid $375 to cover transpo to Miami & our housing, and were individually responsible for 100% of all our food and beverages, even water at practices.)

To have all "his kids" pony-up all that money to get to the Nationals, and then be (seemingly) capriciously bumped-out -- while the lower-finishing corps leap-frogged over his kids and be allowed into the National Championship Finals because (as George viewed it) they'd quibbled themselves out of an unsportsmanlike penalty -- infuriated George. When AJ Schlecta told George he had zero interest in hearing anything George had to say because the mission of the show organizers was to expeditiously entertain the spectators, not support the kids trying to compete, George formulated his plan for the sit-down, not an unheard-of strategy in the Sixties.

It wasn't about George's ego.

BTW: In the years I knew George, I never knew him to say "F*** You" to/about anyone. He made decisions very deliberatly and for a purpose that we (mostly) understood because he wanted stakeholders to be in-the-know. I cannot recall any decision based upon the desire to use "his kids" to send a message of "Go screw yourself."

It's not a surprise the organization isn't here today. These things aren't OK today.

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It's not a surprise the organization isn't here today. These things aren't OK today.

Most people who have replied to your comments are former 27th Lancers. If they marched between 1976 and 1984, or were part of "Once More in 94," they gave me some of my favorite drum corps memories, so thank you. I was never a member of 27th, so my comments are not defending a beloved director or mentor. You do not believethe IC Reveries should have been put in the position of a sit-down strike. Youmay have a point though others disagree. However, to see a correlation between an event in 1966 and a corps that disbanded in 1986, a span of twenty years, doesn't make sense. While I can't remember which Massachusetts corps folded in1986 other than 27th, there were five or six others. In 1986 the Commonwealth was facing a recession, many schools were laying off teachers and cutting back on music and athletic programs in schools, and many organizationswere competing for fundraising dollars. 27th's ending was due to economic and recruitment challenges.

Edited by Tim K
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So I was wondering:

when a parish decided to no longer sponsor a corps, did they lock up the equipment so the new corps (like 27, BAC, Bridgemen, etc)have to obtain new stuff or was an arrangement made? Seems like the IC/ Reverie break wasn't very friendly.

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So I was wondering:

when a parish decided to no longer sponsor a corps, did they lock up the equipment so the new corps (like 27, BAC, Bridgemen, etc)have to obtain new stuff or was an arrangement made? Seems like the IC/ Reverie break wasn't very friendly.

I can speak for Immaculate Conception Parish and 27th: the parish council decide to fold all property and assets into the Reveries "feeder corps." The "Junior Reveries" then became the "New Reveries" and continued on, and kept competing for several years.

27th started with NOTHING. Some former Reveries did not cross over to the 27th, and were subsequently replaced by a bunch of non-Revere kids from the Greater Boston Area. Surplus West Point Cadet uniforms in storage f(rom when the Boston Crusaders cut away from that parish) were borrowed from Most Precious Blood parish in Hyde Park until a permanent solution was found. Horns and color guard equiopment was borrowed from the defunct Majestic Knights of Charlestown's feeder corps. The 1968 "hit-the-ground-running" season (27th made finals of VFW their first year ) was part of the proud history of the corps, and the legacy of the management team led by George Bonfiglio. George B-isms: "Do it right - and do it it right THE FIRST TIME. Anyone can get it right the second time" and "It won't be easy being a Lancer."

Edited by Navillus WP
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Fascinating discussion about the sit down. I had never heard a lot of the background before.

So we have the '66 Reveries, the 27th Lancers, the 83-85 Garfield Cadets and 91-93 Star all bing mentioned prominently in this thread.

Anyone else see a pattern here?

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