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DCI Grand Reunion/Anaheim


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As you probably know, DCI is celebrating a 40th birthday this summer, which is good. Also, they are having a special celebration, which is good.

When I heard that they were going to do this, I thought it was great.....until I saw the "packages". The bottom line is that unless you shell out

at least $79 minimum in advance, you are not celebrating anything. Frankly, I find that to be a bit "steep", and I have informed them of that

feeling. Whereas the $79 does include some things, such as a post-contest party, shirt/pin/patch, in addition to the on-field celebration.....I stated

that perhaps they should have an "alternative" where the cost is little to nothing (ie perhaps a token $10, with a pass you can purchase at the show....this

would keep those who are not affiliated from doing it) in order to go down to the on-field ceremony and stand with your former corps. They expressed no

interest in anything below the $79 package.

DCI championships is already a fairly expensive venture......Indy's an airport with few non-stops and few discount flights, great show seats are costly. and a venue that is average at best for sound (I will say they have improved it a bit) It would be totally out of hand if it were not for the fact that I will admit that lodging is not too bad, and you can also find reasonably priced food. I think that they are asking a bit much for people who gave years of their lives to drum corps to just walk down onto the field and stand with others from their corps who did the same.

I just happened to look, and out of the 400 corps that have marched in DCI, they currently only have registrations of alumni from 32 at the moment....ie,

not even 10% of the corps, even including several finalists. I can't help but think that in these tough economic times, they could have thousands more alumni participate if they considered an economical option for those who don't have money to burn. I have no problem with them offering these packages, and I do understand that profits they make are returned to the corps. However, I do think anyone who is at DCI who is an alum of a corps should be given this "moment" at a cheaper cost......especially if they are already there with purchased tickets.

My other idea deals with the Anaheim Kingsmen, DCI's first champion. If I read the story correctly.....they lost prelims by 3.2 points, finishing third. Going into finals, they pretty much felt that their chances for the title were nearly zero. They had new uniforms, with shows left after DCI. There was some drizzle happening before retreat, and they made the decision to not risk messing up the uniforms due to the upcoming shows, and only sent the drum major out there. The members were on the buses. They were confused when people started passing by them in the parking lot yelling congratulations, not comprehending that they had won the title. So, the members were not on the field for the scores and championship announcement.

Would this celebration not be a good time to do that, with their former members ON THE FIELD?? They wouldn't have to announce the entire '72 top 12....just the top 3 would be fine, and it would take a whole minute and a half. If they wait until the 50th, it will make it rougher on aging alumni. I actually felt they should have done it at the Rose Bowl when their large alumni corps put on quite a show. I don't see what the problem is with giving these alum a moment they deserve to have. Let me also state that I am an eastern corps alumni and have zero affiliation with Anaheim, nor has anyone from them requested this, though I think it would be a fantastic gesture on DCI's part.

I am curious as to how others feel about these things as well.

GB

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Assuming your story is accurate, DCI didn't take the moment away from the Kingsmen, the Kingsmen took it away from themselves. DCI does not owe them another announcement. Especially not 40 years later. How many people would have any idea what is going on? The vast majority of the 72 members won't even be at the 2012 championships anyway.

I don't think the reunion attendance would be significantly different if they sold a $10 version. If people are going to spend the money to go to Indy for a week, they can afford the price of the celebration. Personally I am not big into celebrations that are full of random people I have never met and will never met again, so I have no interest. But I realize others are different.

Edited by soccerguy315
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Assuming your story is accurate, DCI didn't take the moment away from the Kingsmen, the Kingsmen took it away from themselves. DCI does not owe them another announcement. Especially not 40 years later. How many people would have any idea what is going on? The vast majority of the 72 members won't even be at the 2012 championships anyway.

I don't think the reunion attendance would be significantly different if they sold a $10 version. If people are going to spend the money to go to Indy for a week, they can afford the price of the celebration. Personally I am not big into celebrations that are full of random people I have never met and will never met again, so I have no interest. But I realize others are different.

I'm not saying that DCI "owes" the Kingsmen anything, and yes, those who ran the Kingsmen decided to not risk messing up their new uniforms on that evening in '72......however, I don't think it would be a hard thing to explain to the people, and that you were simply going to re-create the first title score announcement....about a 2 minute task.....You might get a handful of Kingsmen alumni from '72 to go if this was offered, and I'm sure it would mean alot to them.....they had a decent contingent in their alumni corps at the Rose Bowl...which I would agree may have been the best time to do it...........also, keep in mind that the marching members of the Kingsmen had no say in regards to retreat in '72, as it was most likely an administrative decision.

I have to say that I will politely disagree that you wouldn't have a significantly greater number of alumni to take the field at $10......$69 bucks IS a big deal to me (I live alone...that's two weeks of groceries), and many others.....and many don't go to Indy for a full week.....this year, I will arrive Friday morning, and head back on Sunday night......so just 2.5 days. I cut out Thursday to save costs..... I guarantee you that there will be many former alumni, staff, and support personnel of DCI corps sitting in the stands at Indy and not participating in the reunion because they are not going to shell out the additional $79...........the fact that not even 10% of all of the corps that ever participated even have one member signed up for the event speaks volumes.............

Random people?? Perhaps I am lucky, but I look forward to seeing many of my old corps comrades when we have an informal reunion in Allentown, and one other show, as well as random meetings during the season. Although there are emails, this is the only time I see many of these people......not nearly as many of them go to nationals, mainly due to cost. Some do, though. However, I can tell you that I believe very few of them, if any, will shell out $79 additional dollars just to go onto the field at Indy....I do believe that most of those present in Indy would do it for $10, though........

If you disagree, that's fine......

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I didn't know about DCI in 1972, but I've always heard that most corps ran off the field to their buses when the huge storm descended. Would someone please verify if that was true. I also remember David Kampshroer, director of Blue Stars, talking about ducking under a table to stay dry and when Santa Clara was announced before his corps, he jumped up in excitement and hit his head on the table, forgetting about Kingsmen still being in the way.

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I didn't know about DCI in 1972, but I've always heard that most corps ran off the field to their buses when the huge storm descended. Would someone please verify if that was true. I also remember David Kampshroer, director of Blue Stars, talking about ducking under a table to stay dry and when Santa Clara was announced before his corps, he jumped up in excitement and hit his head on the table, forgetting about Kingsmen still being in the way.

Sounds right..........Kingsmen had new uniforms, and I think they also may have had shows left, perhaps as soon as the next night....so, with the weather being bad, it makes sense that they chose to not go out there.......it would be cool to get more definitive details, although the story that I read was that Kingsmen were on their buses when scores were announced, and thus they didn't hear them, or know they won, until others were congratulating them on the way out......and I still think that it would be cool if they were given that moment, 40 years later, that they didn't get to experience in '72.......even if it's just a handful of them...... less than 2 minutes to acknowledge DCI's first champion.......with no chance of rain....lol....

GB

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sounds right..........Kingsmen had new uniforms, and I think they also may have had shows left, perhaps as soon as the next night....so, with the weather being bad, it makes sense that they chose to not go out there.......it would be cool to get more definitive details, although the story that I read was that Kingsmen were on their buses when scores were announced, and thus they didn't hear them, or know they won, until others were congratulating them on the way out......and I still think that it would be cool if they were given that moment, 40 years later, that they didn't get to experience in '72.......even if it's just a handful of them...... less than 2 minutes to acknowledge DCI's first champion.......with no chance of rain....lol....

GB

I was a member of the Anaheim Kingsmen from 1970 to 1972 and was on the field that night. This is a classic example of the old game where you whisper something into someone's ear and it goes around and around and the person at the end shouts out something that is completely different than what was originally said.

What happened was that the Anaheim Kingsmen had a management shakeup a few weeks before tour and Don Porter the Anaheim Kingsmen Corps Director and founder was forced out. What followed was chaos and turmoil with the corps nearly folding. In a nutshell the Kingsmen hosted the Santa Clara Vanguard and the La Crosse Blue Stars in Southern California in late June with only two thirds of the drill finshed. Got clobbered by several points by both of them.

We left on an eastern tour with 27 and did not see SCV or Blue Stars again until DCI. The Kingsmen had a tremendous amount of catching up to do and practiced long into the night and even after shows.

At DCI we did take third in prelims to SCV and the Blue Stars. It was not a major concern because in those days prelims was your show condensed into five to seven minutes. For most corps it meant dropping the standstill type concert piece. For the Kingsmen the concert (Ritual Fire Dance) was a barn burner, and we played it cleanly so there were only a few additional ticks. Or to put it another way our score was skewed torwards the finals show since we did not absorb very many ticks in the concert.

Our finals performance was our best of the year and we were just "on" that night. I might also add that Santa Clara (in a very rare showing) did not put on their best performance of the season.

At retreat all corps formed on the field for the annoucement of the scores. With the rain coming down the announcer did not wait for the drum major to step forward and collect the trophy, he just read off the scores as fast as he could. If I recall it correctly at about the eighth place point it began to rain extremely hard. All of the corps ran for cover. As I was running up the back grassy area of Warhawk Stadium I heard 27 taking fourth and I thought I heard that SCV had taken third but was not sure. As we got on the busses as was stated already I did not know who won. And it is correct that other corps members did come by in the pouring rain to congratulate us. When the rain subsided I got off the bus and walked around the parking lot for a few minutes kind of taking it in.

We did have new uniforms issued the night before CYO. It turned out since the company that made them was in New England it was cheaper to receive them in Boston than to ship them to California. Uniforms getting wet did not factor into the decision to leave the field.....it was raining so hard that everyone left the field.

The final show of the tour was the following night at the Wisconsin State Fair at West Allis. It took place in front of the grandstands on an auto race track. It was dubbed the demolition derby and I believe the Blue Stars won it. Everyone had to modify their drill to fit what was effectively a half field front to back and march on asphalt.

A few years back an audio recording surfaced of the scores being read at the 1972 DCI finals. It is posted on the Kingsmen Alumni website and the link is.....

http://xkingsmen.com/sites/default/files/mp3/72finalsscores.mp3

If you are interested in a photo of the retreat in 1972 prior to the rain it can be found at....

http://xkingsmen.com/content/1972-kingsmen-2

Look for photo number 29 of 43 which is on page 5. From right to left it is the Anaheim Kingsmen, Argonne Rebels, Casper Troopers, and I believe the Chicago Cavaliers. Not sure who is after that.

And lastly with respect to the question of having the scores read, it was mentioned a few years back when the Kingsmen reformed for the 2007 finals at the Rose Bowl. The thought was to play the recording above of the 1972 scores and formally present the Kingsmen with the championship trophy following our alumni corps performance. I served on the board of directors for the Kingsmen Alumni Corps and the whole idea never seemed to have legs and it was shelved. As a side note there were about thirty of the 108 members from 1972 that performed with the Kingsmen Alumni Corps that night.

The Kingsmen of 1972 was a life long lesson for anyone who was a part of it. From where we started nearly folding, and working our tails off to come back not only to make finals at DCI, but to win it is the stuff of lore.

Keith

Edited by Powderkeg
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I was a member of the Anaheim Kingsmen from 1970 to 1972 and was on the field that night. This is a classic example of the old game where you whisper something into someone's ear and it goes around and around and the person at the end shouts out something that is completely different than what was originally said.

What happened was that the Anaheim Kingsmen had a management shakeup a few weeks before tour and Don Porter the Anaheim Kingsmen Corps Director and founder was forced out. What followed was chaos and turmoil with the corps nearly folding. In a nutshell the Kingsmen hosted the Santa Clara Vanguard and the La Crosse Blue Stars in Southern California in late June with only two thirds of the drill finshed. Got clobbered by several points by both of them.

We left on an eastern tour with 27 and did not see SCV or Blue Stars again until DCI. The Kingsmen had a tremendous amount of catching up to do and practiced long into the night and even after shows.

At DCI we did take third in prelims to SCV and the Blue Stars. It was not a major concern because in those days prelims was your show condensed into five to seven minutes. For most corps it meant dropping the standstill type concert piece. For the Kingsmen the concert (Ritual Fire Dance) was a barn burner, and we played it cleanly so there were only a few additional ticks. Or to put it another way our score was skewed torwards the finals show since we did not absorb very many ticks in the concert.

Our finals performance was our best of the year and we were just "on" that night. I might also add that Santa Clara (in a very rare showing) did not put on their best performance of the season.

At retreat all corps formed on the field for the annoucement of the scores. With the rain coming down the announcer did not wait for the drum major to step forward and collect the trophy, he just read off the scores as fast as he could. If I recall it correctly at about the eighth place point it began to rain extremely hard. All of the corps ran for cover. As I was running up the back grassy area of Warhawk Stadium I heard 27 taking fourth and I thought I heard that SCV had taken third but was not sure. As we got on the busses as was stated already I did not know who won. And it is correct that other corps members did come by in the pouring rain to congratulate us. When the rain subsided I got off the bus and walked around the parking lot for a few minutes kind of taking it in.

We did have new uniforms issued the night before CYO. It turned out since the company that made them was in New England it was cheaper to receive them in Boston than to ship them to California. Uniforms getting wet did not factor into the decision to leave the field.....it was raining so hard that everyone left the field.

The final show of the tour was the following night at the Wisconsin State Fair at West Allis. It took place in front of the grandstands on an auto race track. It was dubbed the demolition derby and I believe the Blue Stars won it. Everyone had to modify their drill to fit what was effectively a half field front to back and march on asphalt.

A few years back an audio recording surfaced of the scores being read at the 1972 DCI finals. It is posted on the Kingsmen Alumni website and the link is.....

http://xkingsmen.com/sites/default/files/mp3/72finalsscores.mp3

If you are interested in a photo of the retreat in 1972 prior to the rain it can be found at....

http://xkingsmen.com/content/1972-kingsmen-2

Look for photo number 29 of 43 which is on page 5. From right to left it is the Anaheim Kingsmen, Argonne Rebels, Casper Troopers, and I believe the Chicago Cavaliers. Not sure who is after that.

And lastly with respect to the question of having the scores read, it was mentioned a few years back when the Kingsmen reformed for the 2007 finals at the Rose Bowl. The thought was to play the recording above of the 1972 scores and formally present the Kingsmen with the championship trophy following our alumni corps performance. I served on the board of directors for the Kingsmen Alumni Corps and the whole idea never seemed to have legs and it was shelved. As a side note there were about thirty of the 108 members from 1972 that performed with the Kingsmen Alumni Corps that night.

The Kingsmen of 1972 was a life long lesson for anyone who was a part of it. From where we started nearly folding, and working our tails off to come back not only to make finals at DCI, but to win it is the stuff of lore.

Keith

Your reply is right on point and as can only be told by one that was actually there. Just one minor exception though...1972 with the advent of DCI was the first year that prelims performances where the full show. Thanks for a great post!

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Just one minor exception though...1972 with the advent of DCI was the first year that prelims performances where the full show.

Yes - good catch. At U.S. Open a week earlier, the short prelim routine was still in effect, but the DCI Championship prelim shows were full-length.

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Yes - good catch. At U.S. Open a week earlier, the short prelim routine was still in effect, but the DCI Championship prelim shows were full-length.

Just brokeout my copies of Drum Corps News from that era and I stand corrected. It says right in the article that all corps did their full shows for prelims.

I guess we really cranked it up for finals.

Thanks for pointing that out!!

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Great Story!

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