Michael Boo Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I was just wondering what everyone's first experience with DCI was, or the first time they heard of it. When I transferred to the music teachers' college in August of 1974, a couple students who knew about DCI were talking about Cavaliers making Finals. I had no idea what DCI was at the time. I had seen Cavaliers in the only drum corps show I'd been to near my home in 1972, and only went to that because my parents took me to the parade and someone said there was a show that night. I asked my dad to drive me back and he did. Three months later is when a friend I made at the school, a member of The Cavaliers, practically kidnapped me against my will to take me to a Wednesday night rehearsal. (Back then, corps were still basically local, and we didn't start weekend rehearsals for another year.) I was hooked and joined that night, then tried to figure out a way to tell my parents that I was joining the circus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flammaster Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I saw a drum and bell competition at Ygnacio Valley High School in the summer of 1970 and at the end there was an exhibition by a drum and Bugle Corps called the Blue Devils. So I joined up that fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I saw many of the Eastern corps... and some from other parts of the country, like Kilties and Des Plaines Vanguard at the World Open... who were involved in the then-fledging DCI in 1972. Several of us even took a road trip from NJ to a show in the Pittsburgh, PA, area so we could see the Anaheim Kingsmen in '72. They were well worth the trip!!! Saw a show in NJ... not far from where I lived at the time... in 1973 featuring the Santa Clara Vanguard and the Troopers, the corps that would finish first and second at Finals that year. Great showdown. The first DCI Finals I attended was in Philly in 1975. Like Ray said earlier... the Madison Scouts were unbelievable. Sheer, overwhelming power and excellence. The rest of the lineup was not too shabby, either. Of course, those being the days before the Internet... we showed up in Philly that evening for Finals, only to be stunned by the news that the Muchachos had been disqualified. Man... the whole place was buzzing with rumors/innuendo/speculation as to what had happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msumello Posted March 31, 2013 Author Share Posted March 31, 2013 This is rad. I was on the field. I remember this day very well. LOL your like my new best friend! I can't believe you were there, it was almost 13 years ago.You guys really did change my life. .......it was amazing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 My first DCI 'experience', hmmmm... well... bus 2, seats toward the back of the bus, around 3am, this really wonderful guard girl,... and what happens in DCI stays in DCI!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 (edited) I was just wondering what everyone's first experience with DCI was, or the first time they heard of it. 1972. I recall attending shows with 27th, Blue Rock, Garfield Cadets, Boston Crusaders, Blessed Sacrament, etc on the East Coast. But my first DCI championships attendance was in 1974 at Ithaca College in Upstate NY. My brother and I decided on a whim the night before to drive 8 hours for the Prelims. We had no tickets and no housing. We arrived just before the start of Prelims to find out that all housing for about 25 miles around was all booked. We thought we were going to have to sleep under the stars, or in our car, ( or under the bleachers ), or some such. However, we heard rumors that Ithaca College would open their College Dorms to fans and so we scambled over there, which was right up the hill from the stadium. We got lucky. The School charged us next to nothing for a great large room on the top floor of their high rise up on the hill and overlooking the stadium below where we could even see the entire field. We could even see the Corps lined up below for the Prelims Performance in sequential order below from the dorm window. The view was fantastic. We went back to the stadium, and met up some friends there we saw in the stands. They told us they had great rates for a hotel 6 miles away they booked months ago. We looked at one another, but didn't tell them what we got for housing. ( haha ). What I remember about the '74 DCI championships was the regional calls for each section of the Country by fans in the stands in sort of a friendly banter back and forth. When an East Coast Corps performed, such as Muchachos, Purple Lancers, etc, you'd hear chants of " East !, East!, East ! " when they came on. I also remember the sheer numbers of World Class Corps in the Prelims... something like 55-60 Corps competed in the Prelims. I also recall the volatility and excitement of Corps moving up and down from Prelims to Finals. In the Prelims, Madison won, Anaheim Kingsmen 2nd, SC Vanguard 3rd. But in Finals it was SC Vanguard taking home the '74 DCI Title, with Madison 2nd, and Anaheim Kingsmen 3rd. I also recall the Hawthorne Muchachos doing a great performance on Finals Night moving up to 4th after finishing 7th in Prelims... and it was our first look at a new Corps from the West Coast that we thought had great music and was very entertaining. They finished 11th in Prelims, thus making the Top 12 for Finals Night, and moved up to 9th on Finals Night with their performance. The Corps was from " Concord, Calif " we found out. Edited March 31, 2013 by BRASSO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim K Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I can't pinpoint the exact moment, probably 1975 when I marched in a CYO band and BAC still competed in the local circuits, I also recall seeing 27th in an exhibition that year, and watching the first PBS broadcast, probably whetted my appetite, but the 1976 CYO Nationals, the first major drum corps major event I attended, turned me into a complete drum corps fan. How could it not? I addition to 27th, BAC and the new kids on the block North Star, the show included the Bridgemen and what seemed to many to be a far too radical show, Blue Devils just before winning their first DCI title, Troopers, Kilts, Madison, just to name some competitors. What I also remember about those early shows were the old timers, and since I was about 11 or 12 at the time, they looked ancient but were probably no older than I am today (50), complaining that drum corps had gone to hell in a hand-basket. Perhaps that's why now I still love the corps of my youth, but apprecaiate what I see on the field today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ch1k3n Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Wow. You guys are old. First (live) DCI experience, the Scouts blew my head off with the rotating company front. :thumbup:/> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccerguy315 Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 West Chester 2003 was my first live DCI show... attended as part of the George Parks Drum Major Academy (for high schoolers). Two years later (and finding a baritone to practice/learn) in Fall 05 I auditioned and marched the next two summers, woohoo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAC91 Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Many video tapes in the '80s. First live: June 22, 1991; marching with BAC, in Bayonne, NJ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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