DCI Dinosaur Communications - 2 cans and a string?

[BRASSO]

I NEVER stated that what I wrote was what everyone experienced.

I would HOPE that no one else had the stone age experiences I had in drum corps I'm glad your experiences were so much better than mine

I never remarked above that your unpleasant experiences from your self described " The Stone Age " was " what everyone experienced" in Drum Corps back then. I merely wanted to point out to the BD alum poster that read your remarks that replied that your experiences were (his words ) " well described " were your crappy experiences that were being described only. I'm also glad that my experiences were better than this. But I'm most satisfied with the fact that readers can come to the proper understanding that all our experiences were of a personal nature and that ones experiences, both good or bad, were not neccessarily reflective of the typical experiences that most had marching in Drum Corps back in " the Stone Age ".

Edited June 18, 2013 by BRASSO

[Plan9]

Not really. His personal account of" the Stone Age" does not jibe with mine hardly at all. It might describe his experience, interest then, etc, but not mine at all. But thats cool. If his experience was a such, then thats what it was for him. But please do not conclude from his personal experience and how he saw himself, other MM's, managers,staffs, other Corps, etc that this experience of his is universal, because honestly it is not. His appears a little more jaded and cynical to me than my experience with other marchers, Corps, my manager, etc back then for example. I would nor want to write a similar paragraph of MY experience in " the Stone Age " and have you conclude that it is " well described " by me as it surely differs from his personal depiction here above frankly. Each person's experiences with anything are personal. He has his. I have mine. It appears neither were quite the same... at all. But neither is accurate, nor inaccurate, as its seen thru the personal prism experiences of the former MM themselves. But thats cool, as not everyone is the same, and so not everyone's experiences, interactions with others is the same either. But It would be unfortunate if your sense of " The Stone Age " that this poster has desribed for you is how believe it must have been. Thats because his personal assessment of ( for one example ) of why people primarily marched back then is not shared by most from " back in the day " at all, if we asked them.

I think I was fairly clear when I said "there are some of the best posts on this thread"... suggesting (to someone paying attention) that many others and their stories contributed to a perspective that only can be found from a pasture full of dinos.....including you! Your stories and his, even though perhaps from different sides of the same stadium... are no less interesting and characteristic of a time in Drum Corps that many us didn't experience and are curious about. And the difference is relevant.

[BRASSO]

Your stories and his, even though perhaps from different sides of the same stadium... are no less interesting and characteristic of a time in Drum Corps that many us didn't experience and are curious about. And the difference is relevant.

Absolutely.

Incidentally, I applaud your interest and your curiousity about the past, and your understanding that all the experiences were of a personal nature, and that it was not the same for all. I suspect that in many decades hence, MM's of today will likewise have varied experiences to describe their Drum Corps experirences of today to future generations. I believe that much of it will be" well described" in a positive fashion by most who participate today too. ' Hope so anyway .

Edited June 18, 2013 by BRASSO

[somerville]

I remember calling some phone number to get scores in the 80's.

God I am old.

[MikeD]

I remember calling some phone number to get scores in the 80's.

God I am old.

You had phones back then??

I'm older! :tongue:/>

[BRASSO]

I remember calling some phone number to get scores in the 80's.

God I am old.

Yes..haha... same here. I recall also calling some recruiting telephone number at a college recruiting network to pay to get the " latest, breaking info " on what College football program a valued football recruit was supposedly going to select as only THEY supposedly had the latest scoop on it... ( haha...oh gawd, what a waste of time and money when I think about it now in retrospect. )

[Pete Freedman]

There are several reasons why different people's experiences might be so different: different eras, regional differences in drum corps proximity (and thus popularity), different budgets, different circuits. That's a lot of variables.

But I suspect one of the reasons different people have such a different experience of the activity is that each director was making it up as he/she/they went along. When they started they probably thought there would be a standard method for running a drum corps and that someone would hand them the manual at some point, but they probably had to basically invent their own processes. Then, to display the phony confidence that managers always need to project, they had to act like that was the obviously right way of doing it.

An example: Our best drill instructors were volunteers, but our director got rid of them for the simple reason that he wanted only professional staff. Of course, we thought, just pay them.... but no, they had to go, and so we had no 'vis techs' from there on out that season. He literally didn't trust volunteers. Can you imagine? I don't believe we ever had any after that.

But the directors did the best they could with the information and funds available. Even today it's difficult to get the "best practices" of running a drum corps.

Edited June 19, 2013 by Pete Freedman

[TRacer]

We used carrier pigeons kept in the luggage racks of the busses; it was messy but effective. At night if the busses had to communicate with one another we used flashlights and Morse Code through the windows, while during the day we had a guard member on signal flag/semaphore duty. Sometimes one bus would pull up alongside the other on the left, open the door so the driver on the right could see, and a member would do charades ("First syllable-- sounds like..." <points to butt> ; Bus 2 Driver: "Lemme see...'I have a nice a--'? No, wait-- I got it, 'Bus 1 needs GAS!'")

As Jean Stapelton (may she RIP) as Edith Bunker once sang, "Those were the daaaays...."

Actually, CB (Citizen's Band) Radio ("Breaker breaker 2-1, this here's the Rubber Duck and we got ourselves a CON-VOY!") was used quite a bit then and SCV's "Channel of Choice" was Channel 4. At the time I remember Gail being on the leading edge of technology (such as it was back then) as he had a long distance car telephone installed in SCV 0; when you picked it up an operator on the other end would answer, and you gave them the number. When I drove for Gail in '86 I remember having to rewire the phone due to the really poor initial installation after Gail slammed the phone into the cradle following one of his more "spirited" calls with judges that he'd occasionally make while we were on the move; he also used it to get show results and stay in contact with housing site coordinators. Gail also read show recaps, results or made other annoucements to the busses via CB, as the busses' CB radios could be switched over & piped into their respective PA systems.

[normy diploome]

You had phones back then??

I'm older! :tongue:/>/>

Mike,

You were already a legendary age-out when the big breakthrough happened when DCI arranged for the telephone company to bring in banks of phone trailers which were set up outside the stadiums so that the members could phone their families and not have to stand on mile long lines waiting for the single phone at the local deli or malt shop. These were similar to the phone banks set up with FEMA for disaster situations today. I don't recall which of the major shows was the first for this breakthrough but it certainly made it easier for staff, volunteers, and members on tour.

[MikeD]

Mike,

You were already a legendary age-out when the big breakthrough happened when DCI arranged for the telephone company to bring in banks of phone trailers which were set up outside the stadiums so that the members could phone their families and not have to stand on mile long lines waiting for the single phone at the local deli or malt shop. These were similar to the phone banks set up with FEMA for disaster situations today. I don't recall which of the major shows was the first for this breakthrough but it certainly made it easier for staff, volunteers, and members on tour.

Definitely a great idea, whoever thought of it!