The Most Influential Drum Corps Show In History

[skywhopper]

Also, I have to say that I think in a few years people will look back at BD 2010 much more favorably than they did/do now. I think it's going to be a major source of inspiration for future productions.

Not saying it won't be, and I'm not trying to be snarky, but: I hear this stated from time to time and I guess I don't really see what features of that show might end up being particularly influential. Would you care to speculate/elaborate? I'm genuinely curious.

[ozarkbugler]

Yup

Honorable mentions are :

1. SCV in 1970 -IIRC that was the year they showed up at Milwaukee unheard of and beat everyone

2. Chicago Royal Aires in 1965. Took brass to a new level.

Thanks for the HM. That 1970 show is still my most cherished memory as a marching member.

[Piper]

I think that you're onto something BRASSO. We all hear rumors, and of course I wasn't there at the time, but legend has it that after I.C. staged their little "sit in" the priest threatened not to sponsor the corps anymore, so they had a "sit down" and formed the 27th Lancers.

[IllianaLancerContra]

In my opinion, the most influential Drum Corps " show " in the history of Junior Drum Corps was the show of the Immaculate Conception Reveries, of Revere, Mass. in the year 1966. Without this show it is highly doubtful that the Bayonne Bridgemen style would have been allowed to take hold, nor would DCI have begun a few years after the I.C.Reveries performance at the VFW National Championship Finals in Jersey City, New Jersey. No other single show performance so altered the Junior Corps activity to any larger degree in my opinion as this show performance ireversibly altered the activity like none before,.. nor none since, imo.

For context, at this time, Corps participated in rigid sets of rules dictated by the VFW ( or AL ). At the 1966 VFW Nationals Championships Prelims in New Jersey the 14th finishing Reveries were afforded penalties, as was the 13th finishing Corps, Racine Scouts ( terrific Corps at the time ). However for reasons unexplained, the Racine Scouts penalties were purged, and they were told they would be in the Finals on Finals Night ( Top 12 ) The Reveries similar penalties however were not purged, and they were not given a satisfactory reason why ( according to them anyway ). This made the Reveries furious. On the night of the Finals, the Reveries showed up outside the gate in uniform with full intentions to march and compete. St. Joe's Batavia, NY, a qualifyer for Finals, saw them, were informed by the Reveries of their intentions and St. Joe's graciously allowed the Reveries Corps to go by them, and the Reveries proceeded to the starting line ahead of the Racine Scouts who were unsure of what was taking place. Once on the starting line, the VFW saw the Reveries there. They were stunned and demanded the I.C. Reveies leave the field. The Corps refused, and instead orchestrated a " sit in ". The entire corps then sat in the lotus position on the ground in starting position and refused to leave until allowed to perform their show and compete. The VFW Sponsors then huddled in a quick meeting while 15-20 minutes went by. Reveries not moving, still in the lotus position. The VFW show sponsors even called the police as a precaution. The Crowd received word in the stands about the penalty dispute, and became sympathetic to their plight, and began to chant " Let them compete... let them compete ". Finally, the VFW announced to the Corps and the audience that the IC Reveries could do their show, but would not be scored. The Reveries performed their show, but were not scored. Keep in mind that this was a protest, "sit in"..., in 1966 at a VFW Convention. "Sit ins " were taking place in areas around the country as a form of civil disobedience and revolt in that time period in the US. The LAST group of folks that would be supportive of protest sit ins in the 60's were the tradition based VFW and AL... and this was now happening at their Drum Corps National Championships, no less.

The reason this Reveries show performance was so influential in 1966 is because from that moment on, the VFW, AL and the Drum Corps community would begin to go their separate ways. The Reveries Management left after that year's " show ", and the Corps Director ( George Bonfiglio who later formed the 27th Lancers from the same community of Revere the next year after the " sit in " ) met with other like minded Corps Directors, and shortly thereafter, they formed DCI... and leaving the Veteran organizations. Once DCI was formed, Corps would be provided MUCH greater lattitude and liberties in show design, styles, etc, and the judging would be developed along new lines as well.... it would be inconceivable for example to witness a Corps with a freestyle like the Bridgemen compete at a VFW or AL with that style of uniform and show. The St. Andrews Bridgemen, yes... but not the Bayonne Bridgemen that would evolve from that Corps a few years later in DCI. So without the I.C. Reveries making a statement in 1966 with their show performance at the VFW Nationals, it is questionable to say the least as to whether or not we'd see the styles of shows we saw the following decade regarding music, show designs, etc. So in my opinion, I'll make the case that the single most influential show perfomance that altered and influenced the activity the most, was not '93 Star, not '77 Bridgemen, nor '83 Cadets, nor the others that had influential shows. It was the show performance of the I.C. Reveries at the Finals of the recognized National Championships in 1966 that had the most influence... by far... on the direction of the Drum Corps movement. That'd be my choice for " most influential show performance " anyway.

I thought it was Madison Scouts, not Racine Scouts. Supposedly they found a way to game the prelim-show system at the time by marching only their opener, and exiting the field except for 2 bass drummers who marked time until they made the min. time. They got killed in GE, but had very few brass, M&M and drum ticks, and thus scored enough to make finals.

Regardless of which Scouts it was - the staff successfully argued that they met the letter, if not intent, of the rules and should not be penalized.

[bksnare84]

Bridgeman - 1980

Garfield Cadets - 1984

Suncoast Sound - 1984

[oldsnare]

In my opinion, the most influential Drum Corps " show " in the history of Junior Drum Corps was the show of the Immaculate Conception Reveries, of Revere, Mass. in the year 1966. Without this show it is highly doubtful that the Bayonne Bridgemen style would have been allowed to take hold, nor would DCI have begun a few years after the I.C.Reveries performance at the VFW National Championship Finals in Jersey City, New Jersey. No other single show performance so altered the Junior Corps activity to any larger degree in my opinion as this show performance ireversibly altered the activity like none before,.. nor none since, imo.

For context, at this time, Corps participated in rigid sets of rules dictated by the VFW ( or AL ). At the 1966 VFW Nationals Championships Prelims in New Jersey the 14th finishing Reveries were afforded penalties, as was the 13th finishing Corps, Racine Scouts ( terrific Corps at the time ). However for reasons unexplained, the Racine Scouts penalties were purged, and they were told they would be in the Finals on Finals Night ( Top 12 ) The Reveries similar penalties however were not purged, and they were not given a satisfactory reason why ( according to them anyway ). This made the Reveries furious. On the night of the Finals, the Reveries showed up outside the gate in uniform with full intentions to march and compete. St. Joe's Batavia, NY, a qualifyer for Finals, saw them, were informed by the Reveries of their intentions and St. Joe's graciously allowed the Reveries Corps to go by them, and the Reveries proceeded to the starting line ahead of the Racine Scouts who were unsure of what was taking place. Once on the starting line, the VFW saw the Reveries there. They were stunned and demanded the I.C. Reveies leave the field. The Corps refused, and instead orchestrated a " sit in ". The entire corps then sat in the lotus position on the ground in starting position and refused to leave until allowed to perform their show and compete. The VFW Sponsors then huddled in a quick meeting while 15-20 minutes went by. Reveries not moving, still in the lotus position. The VFW show sponsors even called the police as a precaution. The Crowd received word in the stands about the penalty dispute, and became sympathetic to their plight, and began to chant " Let them compete... let them compete ". Finally, the VFW announced to the Corps and the audience that the IC Reveries could do their show, but would not be scored. The Reveries performed their show, but were not scored. Keep in mind that this was a protest, "sit in"..., in 1966 at a VFW Convention. "Sit ins " were taking place in areas around the country as a form of civil disobedience and revolt in that time period in the US. The LAST group of folks that would be supportive of protest sit ins in the 60's were the tradition based VFW and AL... and this was now happening at their Drum Corps National Championships, no less.

The reason this Reveries show performance was so influential in 1966 is because from that moment on, the VFW, AL and the Drum Corps community would begin to go their separate ways. The Reveries Management left after that year's " show ", and the Corps Director ( George Bonfiglio who later formed the 27th Lancers from the same community of Revere the next year after the " sit in " ) met with other like minded Corps Directors, and shortly thereafter, they formed DCI... and leaving the Veteran organizations. Once DCI was formed, Corps would be provided MUCH greater lattitude and liberties in show design, styles, etc, and the judging would be developed along new lines as well.... it would be inconceivable for example to witness a Corps with a freestyle like the Bridgemen compete at a VFW or AL with that style of uniform and show. The St. Andrews Bridgemen, yes... but not the Bayonne Bridgemen that would evolve from that Corps a few years later in DCI. So without the I.C. Reveries making a statement in 1966 with their show performance at the VFW Nationals, it is questionable to say the least as to whether or not we'd see the styles of shows we saw the following decade regarding music, show designs, etc. So in my opinion, I'll make the case that the single most influential show perfomance that altered and influenced the activity the most, was not '93 Star, not '77 Bridgemen, nor '83 Cadets, nor the others that had influential shows. It was the show performance of the I.C. Reveries at the Finals of the recognized National Championships in 1966 that had the most influence... by far... on the direction of the Drum Corps movement. That'd be my choice for " most influential show performance " anyway.

I was in attendance at that show - on leave from the navy with the corps I marched with - Magnificent Yankees. They were banned for life from VFW competition after that. To get around this, they came back as another corps - can't remember who maybe 27th, but they came back the next year.

The only complaint from other drum cops was the A-Flag Squad sitting down on the field also.

[BRASSO]

I thought it was Madison Scouts, not Racine Scouts. Supposedly they found a way to game the prelim-show system at the time by marching only their opener, and exiting the field except for 2 bass drummers who marked time until they made the min. time. They got killed in GE, but had very few brass, M&M and drum ticks, and thus scored enough to make finals.

Regardless of which Scouts it was - the staff successfully argued that they met the letter, if not intent, of the rules and should not be penalized.

No, it was not the Madison Scouts. They were not involved in the prelims score and penalty dispute at all. It was the Racine Scouts penalties that were purged, and thus were told they would be allowed in at Finals after what looked like a 13th place finish in the prelims. I caste no dispersions on who was right or wrong on the penalty disputes here either. I was never privy to any of that. I can only speak to the events as they transpired after the penalties were asssessed and then later removed for the Racine Scouts. For all I know the Racine Scouts penalty purged may have been justified. But I know the IC Reveries did not think the process was above board, and so they took the unprecedented action that they did.

Edited August 10, 2011 by BRASSO

[IMcomguy]

Not saying it won't be, and I'm not trying to be snarky, but: I hear this stated from time to time and I guess I don't really see what features of that show might end up being particularly influential. Would you care to speculate/elaborate? I'm genuinely curious.

If anything, perhaps what not to do in the future...

[Volbroker]

1980 Santa Clara - The year of the "fish hook". Drill has never been the same.

1984 Garfield - All the innovation of '83, plus a perfect book, flawless guard & stellar delivery.

[Ellaparka]

For me, it was Star '91. Period.