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Alumni show finale


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I think they can be cool.

it's the times when a patriotic tune isn't used for it that really baffles folks of my generation ( no offense to Cabs...I know it's your national anthem when you do it)

For years Hawthorne played Valencia and the Guadacanal March (from Victory at Sea) as a Color Pre ... they also played Patton and The 1812 Overture in the early 70's ... I'm not sure if their Alumni has done these through the years since they started (in 95 I think) ... for me personnaly, I like having a patriotic tune in the rep ... brings me back to my days at the Condon AL Post #11 listening to real "War Stories" from the WWII and Korean Vets ... it also gave the corps a tune to play in Memorial Day and July 4th parades ... in fact, two of the first three tunes Sky's Alumni learned were Columbia and Broadway/France ... along with Alabama Jubilee ... all three were big hits in any parade - which, pay most of the bills ... :bigsmile:

Andy "think I'll listen to Sky's The Longest Day from 71" Lisko

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This event is all about honoring all the people who have served in the armed forces, especially the few remaining WWII vets who will be honored guest.

What better venue to have this event than the Alumni Spectacular where most of the participants and audience appreciate a good salute to America, Freedom and the people who have served their country to protect our way of life.

I am sure this display of patriotism will be a part of the Alumni Spectacular for many years to come.

Thank you Tommy Allen, DCA and others who are hard at work to make this event a huge success.

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See this is where my disconnect to the Alumni activity really hits home. I don't see why a color presentation should be in every corps' program. I doubt I am the only one of my age group that feels that way.

Hi Liz. A look back at history is useful when considering the place of the color presentation in drum corps. Many of the senior corps such as Skyliners, Caballeros and others were started and/or their ranks were filled with veterans in the years after WWII. The American Legion Post 1523 that was the home to the Skyliners was named after Raymond A. Garbarina who was killed in action in 1944. The post was renamed Garbarina-Mazarakos after the passing in 1951 of John Mazarakos who died of complications of a disease he contracted while serving with the Marine Corps in the Pacific theater.

Just about everyone in the generation that fought and won WWII was directly involved in some fashion in the war. My father was an Army Air Force pilot. My uncle served on a destroyer in the Pacific for two years. My wife's uncle was in the Army and was combat wounded in Europe. My wife's Mom was a riveter in an aircraft plant, and her father worked in the ship building industry. The pediatrician who delivered my sister and I served on the infamous cruiser USS Indianapolis. And on and on. Patriotism was ingrained in their generation.

I was born in 1949 and grew up raised by a father who held deep allegiance to his country and his flag. I came of age in the 1960's and became draft eligible at the peak of an extremely unpopular war in Vietnam. The country was deeply divided, often along generational lines with the WWII generation generally supporting the government and the war and my generation in some cases vehemently opposed. The sentiment that was echoed by many toward those who opposed the war was summed up as "My country - love it or leave it". Try and imagine the distress that was felt by many when the color presentation that represented a tribute to the flag that they had bled and in some cases died for was removed from drum corps shows.

The underlying issues remain today. War is sometimes justified but is never a good thing, and we have been embroiled in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that have dragged on with little resolution for far too long. Nevertheless, those who serve our country deserve our honor and respect. It is always necessary for us to separate how we view those who serve from how we view the politicians who send them to fight and die. The color presentation was one way that this respect was shown in the past that we do not have today.

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Very well said, Roger. That is where my disconnect with younger people who think they know everything begins.

Edited by Santana
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Very well said, Roger. That is where my disconnect with younger people who think they know everything begins.

Hi Mike. I don't think it is so much a matter of people who think they know everything. We only know what we know - if you weren't around during those days, you don't have the social and historical perspective.

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I'm from the boomer years. My dad served in Europe in WWII.

I was staunchly against the war in Viet Nam. Two of my drum corps buddies went over there and didn't make it back.

Even when I was a li'l squirt in Our Lady of the Single Valve Cadets, I didn't like the obligatory color pre. Before you draw and quarter me, my opinion is based solely on musical value.

I remember some thrilling cp's back in the day. I probably saw many of the posters on this board march. But I also saw some programs where the cp was wedged into the mix and didn't make sense in the overall show.

In my early teens, I was full of heretical questions for my instructors. Some examples:

"Why do we have to start and finish at the goal lines?"

"Why can't we march at a different tempo than 128 bpm?"

"What if the drums didn't play during the first part of a song?"

"Can't we do without 'four for nothing' and the roll-off?"

Of course, these posits were met with icy stares. I might as well have tried to join Audubon.

Even when I was a stripling, dc had gotten away from its military roots. The Hurcs doing "Maria"; Gabby reaching for the sky with "Caravan"; Sac exiting with "Laura." The cp had to go eventually.

This activity had to progress. I'm glad it did. How many people today would pay to see khaki-clad judges with guns and bass drummers with one stick? I was a member of a corps that a black person couldn't join. I knew of others, too, some of them national-caliber corps.

I had goosebumps when BAC came out with Tony Smith playing the horizontal, one-headed bass drums. Ditto, the ensuing timps, mallet instruments and the grounded pit. I like Bb horns, amplification and synthesizers. Note that none of these innovations is mandatory.

I like to see DCA corps with honor guards. Rich Tardie and his crew with The Wind do it up proud. I equally enjoy a well-sorted cp from an alumni corps. My good friends with Park City Pride do a swell job with "America the Beautiful" led by the venerable Jack Sullivan and his guard.

I have never disrespected our flag, our country or its vets. I admit I do have intermittent problems with people who think that the more hidebound rules, the better.

Bring it on. I'm old enough to take it.

Best,

Ace

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Very well said, Roger. That is where my disconnect with younger people who think they know everything begins.

By not ever having marched a show that had a color pre, I don't feel remotely like I know everything, and I find it rather.offense that you paraphrased what I originally said. I guess knowing from 84 on (the time I saw my first drum corps show) may be considered offense to some....

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By not ever having marched a show that had a color pre, I don't feel remotely like I know everything, and I find it rather.offense that you paraphrased what I originally said. I guess knowing from 84 on (the time I saw my first drum corps show) may be considered offense to some....

I wouldn't even call it paraphrasing Liz. More like twisting or totally misunderstanding an opinion into a slap at the past. And reading your past posts and knowing who you marched with I know you have more respect than that.

s/ Who saw his first show in 1974....

Edited by JimF-LowBari
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I've been wondering for many decades just how thousands of legionaires would jump to their feet and salute for the color pre of "VALENCIA"??????????????

truly one of Jimmy Costello's great magic tricks....

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I wouldn't even call it paraphrasing Liz. More like twisting or totally misunderstanding an opinion into a slap at the past. And reading your past posts and knowing who you marched with I know you have more respect than that.

s/ Who saw his first show in 1974....

C'mon, I realize I'm not in the DCP click, but what I said is hardly offensive. I can get offensive and that ain't it. It's just a shame you have to explain anything about it at all. I marched many of those years, with and without a color-pre. Since 1967, Jim, and I'm still marching actively in both alumni and our fledgling competitive corps. I also managed to do some cruises on a destroyer in the Navy. She isn't that young that she shouldn't understand. Why make that statement in a thread about people who want to do a nice thing and honor America's military men and women? I don't understand why I'm the bad guy here. Other than I'm not in the DCP lovefest.

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