HornTeacher Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 (edited) I'd like to echo Chris Cartwright's sentiments, and extend my appreciation to all who have (so far, I hope) contributed to this thread. Having seen my first show in August '74 as a high school marching band member, I was instantly blown away by the "Corps World." Reading all of this has provided me some much-needed perspective of an activity that has provided me with so much enjoyment ever since that first show (Syracuse, NY...an exhibition the night following DCI's finals at Ithaca). I think this is the most enjoyable thread I have yet read on DCP. Please accept my gratitude. Edited August 16, 2013 by HornTeacher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajlisko Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Unfortunately volume one is completely sold out (for the second time) and it will not be reprinted. Brian ... do you know if Steve has any plans to put it online somehow? ... Maybe as a "fee per view" or a "download price? :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Thunder Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Brian ... do you know if Steve has any plans to put it online somehow? ... Maybe as a "fee per view" or a "download price? I haven't heard anything regarding that possibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajlisko Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Not sure about calling AL/VFW a circuit as I'm thinking a bunch of individual shows that were judged under AL/VFW rules. There were a bunch of local circuits for both Jr and Sr corps and think they mostly (if not totally) followed AL or VFW rules. As I recall, Legion sheets were used throughout the year by the various circuit and open shows ... I only remember VFW sheets being used at the VFW State competition and VFW Nats ... no other time ... the Legion held a Rules Congress at the end of each season to consider and discuss potential rules changes ... similar to what DCA and DCI does now ... then corps were notified of any changes for the upcoming season ... most of the time they were published in DCN ... :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 ...... Both Juniors and Senior Corps tended to compete locally in local circuits, and on weekends. Both would generally go to 2-4 regional or national competitions each season that would take them out of their local region for competition, usually to wherever the VFW or the AL held their annual Convention. There was no such thing as national tours of Corps in the 50's. The first Corps to go on a national tour per se were the Troopers from Caspar, Wyo who did so in the early 60's. This was primarily that there was no local circuit, nor too many Corps near them to compete with for this Junior Corps. Expanding on this: Back in the day, the senior corps were held in higher esteem than the juniors. Because both junior and senior corps had similar levels of time commitment, they were similar in performance quality, with the seniors having a slight advantage due to experience and physical development. This began to change in the late 1960s, when the top juniors began following the example of the Troopers and taking tours. The additional rehearsals, performances and focused time together enabled touring junior corps to reach higher performance levels than their senior counterparts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironlips Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Brian ... do you know if Steve has any plans to put it online somehow? ... Maybe as a "fee per view" or a "download price? :-) There's at least one copy available now through Amazon (along with several other specialized, corps-specific books like Jud Spena's "Echoes in the Valley"), and Volume I occasionally shows up on Ebay. Since Mr. Vickers has recently moved Drum Corps World to the digital world, he may consider an online version of the history books as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elphaba01 Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Expanding on this: Back in the day, the senior corps were held in higher esteem than the juniors. Because both junior and senior corps had similar levels of time commitment, they were similar in performance quality, with the seniors having a slight advantage due to experience and physical development. This began to change in the late 1960s, when the top juniors began following the example of the Troopers and taking tours. The additional rehearsals, performances and focused time together enabled touring junior corps to reach higher performance levels than their senior counterparts. "Seniors Held in Higher Esteem": Indeed they were. They were THE "Trendsetters" of the entire activity, with the aforementioned soloists & instructors accorded what today would be easily considered Rock Star Status. I remember well our "Boys" endlessly talking of "When they went senior" as most of them did, to the upstate Connecticut Hurricanes. This is one of THE BEST history threads I've ever seen.... Thanks so much to all who contribute.... Elphaba WWW 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRASSO Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 (edited) Expanding on this: Back in the day, the senior corps were held in higher esteem than the juniors. Because both junior and senior corps had similar levels of time commitment, they were similar in performance quality, with the seniors having a slight advantage due to experience and physical development. This began to change in the late 1960s, when the top juniors began following the example of the Troopers and taking tours. The additional rehearsals, performances and focused time together enabled touring junior corps to reach higher performance levels than their senior counterparts. This is an accurate assessment, imo. The Junior corps abilities got better as MM's and staff began to work weekdays to perfect their Corps abilities ( as well as better relationships with the marching bands). Senior Corps, comprised of primarily older marchers back in the 50's, 60's. etc, had many more MM's with full time work and family commitments and obligations that limited them in comparison to the younger marcher aged Junior Corps. The downside however is that the National Touring Model adopted by DCI Junior Corps exacerbated and then accelerated the loss of Corps ( and number of marchers in the Junior Corps activity ) as lots of the Junior Corps found criss crossing the country for 9-12 weeks in Busses, Kitchen Trucks, and with more equipment, larger Corps, bigger staffs, more props, etc way beyond their financial resources to meet the new massively increased financial obligations. Edited August 17, 2013 by BRASSO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironlips Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 This is an accurate assessment, imo. The Junior corps abilities got better as MM's and staff began to work weekdays to perfect their Corps abilities ( as well as better relationships with the marching bands). Senior Corps, comprised of primarily older marchers back in the 50's, 60's. etc, had many more MM's with full time work and family commitments and obligations that limited them in comparison to the younger marcher aged Junior Corps. The downside however is that the National Touring Model adopted by DCI Junior Corps exacerbated and then accelerated the loss of Corps ( and number of marchers in the Junior Corps activity ) as lots of the Junior Corps found criss crossing the country for 9-12 weeks in Busses, Kitchen Trucks, and with more equipment, larger Corps, bigger staffs, more props, etc way beyond their financial resources to meet the new massively increased financial obligations. This is a very accurate assessment, overall. One factor that's often omitted is the fact that no one ever forced those "local" corps to take on the touring model. They could very well have continued as they were, doing parades, local appearances...etc. while the more financially stable units toured the country. It was the unpopularity of the Viet Nam war (reducing enthusiasm for veteran's organizations) in conjunction with the change in demographic (the baby boomers did not support church and fraternal groups as had their parents) that ultimately doomed those smaller corps. In addition, the Selective Service decimated the ranks of drum corps from the mid-'60's through 1975 or so. Most of those folks were the cream of the crop, the older members of junior corps and the incoming classes for the seniors. Some of us were able to stay involved despite military commitments, but many never came back. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearlsnaredrummer77 Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 Did each show have to consist of (something like this): OTL: from a certain point in the field 2nd number Concert Drum solo Color Presentation Ballad Was that the general format? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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