esch Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 In the 70s the Troopers showed up with these spinner handles: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/3710669.pdf Looked flashy, but didn't really catch on. Effect from the hardware, rather than from the players' skill. Interesting.... it's dated 1972 and I remember seeing them at least in '70 (notably by Blue Stars and Madison). Sure made the cymbals sound horrible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirit7698 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I had no idea so much went into the making of a cymbal line...all these techniques and choices for certain sounds, it's all very interesting. I also wasn't aware (haven't been around the activity in a loong time) that Diaz Clark had become such a renowned name as cymbal instructors go (props to you, Diaz). If you mention Diaz though, the person who taught him must also be recognized, and that was a guy named Kyle "Plates" Johnson. Kyle took over the cymbal line from "Nobody" because "Nobody" was working the Cymbals before Kyle, that I know of. Kyle single handedly gave Suncoast's cymbal line a "Style" and an identity, a sense of pride, if you will, incorporating many different looks, positions and techniques that really made our cymbal line stand out as a unit within the corps. For Suncoast at least, Kyle created "Cymbal Hype." Yea I heard about Kyle from Jack Starling and John Zollo. Where did Kyle come from oh and when you were at Spirit in the 70's who did the cymbal line then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellrks Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Yea I heard about Kyle from Jack Starling and John Zollo. Where did Kyle come from oh and when you were at Spirit in the 70's who did the cymbal line then? Kyle was one of the local instructors whom, I believe never marched in a drum corps. He was looking for ways to be helpful and contribute and saw the cymbals being pretty much left on their own and so he adopted them and started working with them. He also helped me with teaching and cleaning the drumline's drill. He wasn't a band director, but I know he wound up being a principal or vice-principal in the Tampa Bay area somewhere. Back in the 70's I don't know how many corps, if any, had a specific instructor just for the cymbals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Doherty Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Another of my fuzzy memories: I don't remember anyone in the 50s having more than one or two cymbal players locked between two bass drums. Then St. Kevin's Emerald Knights coming to NJ to compete in the Dream starting in the early 60s. They utilized up to four platers who took many positions as a section on the field, so they became a feature. I remember plenty of spins and flashes, etc. No head chops, though. The most attention drawing factor about this section was that their plates appeared to be chrome plated. I don't know how this didn't kill the tone or crack the plates, but it certainly was visually spectacular. No one cared what they sounded like because they were so entertaining to watch. The cymbals were small - no more than 14". Kevin's had a great Corps in 64, but peaked out and St. Lucy's started taking the lead in the East in 65. When I hit the lottery, I'll be buying CDs of the old days by Fleetwood and Stetson Ritchmond as well as all the DCI stuff on DVD. Anyone in the market for a crate of VHSs? Kevin Doherty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I've always felt that marching cymbals served a good purpose (not just musically). A lot of kids got their start in perc lines by playing the plates. I guess that you could call it "baptism by fire". Today many corps prefer to throw them in the pit, which might be a mistake. I've known many good snare drummers who emerged from cymbal lines. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobB Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Back in the mid- to late-60's the Racine Scouts had a couple guys carrying very small (12"-ish?) cymbals with t-handles. They did all kinds of tosses, exchanges, over-the-head stuff,--even wore berets as was the fashion for bass drummers at the time. Musical they certainly were not, but they were fun to watch. I've searched for photos of these guys on the web, but no luck. Also recall, for a short time in the late 60's and early 70's, it was fashionable for corps to have one guy carrying a monster pair of plates (24"-ish?), rendering a huge crash about every 32 counts or so (it took that long to wind up!). Again, not particularly musical but fun to watch. I recall Blue Stars and, maybe, Cavaliers doing this...not sure who else but I know there were others. Cymbal techniques have come a long way since then... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madrid Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 I gotta tell ya, folks - I'm loving everything that I'm reading here in this thread! Great stuff and some fun photos, too! Keep it coming, please! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esch Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) Back in the mid- to late-60's the Racine Scouts had a couple guys carrying very small (12"-ish?) cymbals with t-handles. They did all kinds of tosses, exchanges, over-the-head stuff,--even wore berets as was the fashion for bass drummers at the time. Musical they certainly were not, but they were fun to watch. I've searched for photos of these guys on the web, but no luck. Also recall, for a short time in the late 60's and early 70's, it was fashionable for corps to have one guy carrying a monster pair of plates (24"-ish?), rendering a huge crash about every 32 counts or so (it took that long to wind up!). Again, not particularly musical but fun to watch. I recall Blue Stars and, maybe, Cavaliers doing this...not sure who else but I know there were others. Cymbal techniques have come a long way since then... When I first joined Santa Clara (1970) we marched four cymbal players, 3 16-18" and one carrying 26". The next year ('71) we went to 18"-20"-22"-26" so we could do some tuned stuff (we even played the melody to "Sunrise, Sunset" in the exit that year) and get a variety of colors. For the record, we always used straps rather than handles, but you are right, A LOT of corps used the t-handles (esp. on their smaller cymbals) I want to mention the Cavaliers' 26" player (since you do) in 1970, who they called "Baby Huey." He was an amazing showman; every crash was spectacular. Edited August 2, 2011 by esch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madrid Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 When I first joined Santa Clara (1970) we marched four cymbal players, 3 16-18" and one carrying 26". The next year ('71) we went to 18"-20"-22"-26" so we could do some tuned stuff (we even played the melody to "Sunrise, Sunset" in the exit that year) and get a variety of colors. For the record, we always used straps rather than handles, but you are right, A LOT of corps used the t-handles (esp. on their smaller cymbals) I want to mention the Cavaliers' 26" player (since you do) in 1970, who they called "Baby Huey." He was an amazing showman; every crash was spectacular. Hey, 'esch' - That's awesome! Melodic parts going back to the 70's! Cool! Wondering if you remember what grip you used with those straps, who was your tech at Vanguard back in those days, and who was responsible for writing melodic parts back then? So thankful you chimed in on this conversation/ Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirit7698 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) Also recall, for a short time in the late 60's and early 70's, it was fashionable for corps to have one guy carrying a monster pair of plates (24"?), rendering a huge crash about every 32 counts or so (it took that long to wind up!). Again, not particularly musical but fun to watch. I recall Blue Stars and, maybe, Cavaliers doing this...not sure who else but I know there were others. Cymbal techniques have come a long way since then... In 95 and 96 during the wait for the Rode Island July 4th parade to start, we ( Spirt's cymbal line ) got to play around with Al's ( ? ) 24" plates from Connecticut Hurricanes. We did a few flip ups and downs and tried crazy 8s but that was some serious work haha!! Edited August 12, 2011 by spirit7698 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.