What Memories Do You Have of....

[gsksun4]

Great clips ... and if the beginning shows are from 1965, it verifies that RA had no contra's ... at least when these vids were shot ...

:-)

Good eye Andy. No contras and ya know what, who cared? They sounded so great it didn't matter, and those mellos came screamin' through. I seem to recall they had the National Champ sop too in 65. The entire horn line was top shelf. Tru did a great job and swingin' to Battle Hymn. Lord have mercy.

[ironlips]

That 1965 VFW Finals show was the very definition of "you had to be there": from Bridgeport PAL's drumline to St. Kevin's French Horns to Beverly's incredible full company front wheel in "Heat Wave" to Boston's relentless driving intensity to the game-changing Royal Airs,... all the way up the ladder to the roof of McCormick place.

Years later, when SCV had risen to the top of the heap, someone asked Gail Royer to recall the best drum corps he had ever seen. He wasted no words. "Royal Airs in '65" was his reply.

You had to be there, and it's gratifying to know that Alan, Ghost, Andy and so many of the rest of us on this forum actually were. We all need to get together for a drink.

[Ghost]

That 1965 VFW Finals show was the very definition of "you had to be there": from Bridgeport PAL's drumline to St. Kevin's French Horns to Beverly's incredible full company front wheel in "Heat Wave" to Boston's relentless driving intensity to the game-changing Royal Airs,... all the way up the ladder to the roof of McCormick place.

Years later, when SCV had risen to the top of the heap, someone asked Gail Royer to recall the best drum corps he had ever seen. He wasted no words. "Royal Airs in '65" was his reply.

You had to be there, and it's gratifying to know that Alan, Ghost, Andy and so many of the rest of us on this forum actually were. We all need to get together for a drink.

If you make it to this years CYO tribute, you have the first round Ironlips!

[gak27]

27 Lancers playing Danny Boy at Whitewater in 1982 after the thunderstorm passed.

:thumbup:

[BRASSO]

Can't recall if we (BAC)were on after the Royal Airs,

I believe the St. Mary's Cardinals had the misfortune of the performance draw in '65 to go on after The Chicago Royal Airs at the CYO Nationals in Boston. I could be wrong on that as it was a long time ago. I had good seats at BC'S Alumni Stadium for that show .Big crowd and the Corps were good. But my jaw dropped with the performance of the Royal Airs that night.

Edited April 11, 2013 by BRASSO

[alankarls]

I had a special moment in 1967. We were at the Kilties's show in Burlington and it was rained out, so we all crushed into the gym for a standstill. 1967 was not a good year for the Kilts. They got killed early in the year by the likes of Millstadt Crusaders and a lot of other corps that never came close to them before. Then they brought in a drum instructor who cut half the snare parts and replaced them with tuned bass drum riffs (that year, everyone had 5-8 tuned bass drums, from tiny to big ones, playing melodies), and then Ken Norman wrote the greatest chart ever written for drum corps.

I was in the hallway filled with marching members in damp wool uniforms in the damp heat of the night when I heard, for the first time, Auld Lang Syne. I, a member of a cross town and bitter rival, pushed my way into the gym, listened, and started crying. I had never heard anything so beautiful from a drum corps. Up until then, a corps' sound was pretty much dependent upon how good their leads were. Norman was the first arranger to realize that bottom was what really made a great brass sound. He was the first to understand and properly use the contra bass. Every person in drum corps has heard that arrangement and I will never forget that first time I heard it.

Kilties went on to zoom past corps that had beat them for 2/3 of the season and finish 5th at VFW. And Auld Lang Syne became the chart for all time.

Edited April 12, 2013 by alankarls

[BRASSO]

I recall the Racine Kilties coming to the Boston area for a show in the mid 70's. I believe it was at Cawley Stadium in Lowell, Ma... anyway, about halfway thru their performance, the stadium springler system comes on.. and it begins throwing huge gushes of water in every direction on the Kilties. The crowd began to howl in impulsive laughter naturally. The Kilties never flinched, kept their poise and composure, and kept on. The crowd responded in kind. And gave them a great standing O for BOTH their terrific performance and their poise and determination under ridiculus circumstances.

[Legolaus]

I must say that this is one of my favorite all time topics. Thank you for starting it. The stories from 1965 and 1966 are awesome. Although I have not been an active fan of the activity for many years the stories shared here have rekindled my love for the activity. It was definitely a different time and age back then.

Of particular note was the story of the "sit down protest". Thank you so much for providing some first-hand experience and shedding some new light on the situation. I cannot even imagine something like that being possible today.

Thank you for the great stories! This old fart certainly did enjoy them.

[blucru]

The first time I saw SCV and BD live. I was the 17 year old kid in the stands with my mouth gaped open and thinking,HOLY ****!!!!

Spirit Of Atlanta hornlines of the 70's/80's. Man, were those cats LOUD!!

Bellville Black Knights black and cream uniforms. ###### to the extreme!!

Bridgemen and their on-field antics!!

The all-girl corps. There were some very decent corps in that circuit!!

[KeithHall]

1972 US Open was AWESOME!

1974 Phantom Regiment was in our home show and blew us away!