Fran Haring Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 and the "power" of the final charge for NY was deafening - with only 39 horns that year! Man... I hear that!!! Big sound from that line that year. Andy, why was their horn line so small that season? (At least relative to some other seasons when they fielded larger horn lines.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironlips Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 What I remember most about Sky's "Aquarius" was Pepe's solo. He was a constellation unto himself. As spectacularly gifted and trained as today's players are, there just do not seem to be any opportunities for spotlighting individuals in he same way. Of course, there will never be another Pepe, but there sure as heck are some great players out there in both DCI and DCA. Why they are not given features baffles me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajlisko Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 Viet Nam Man... I hear that!!! Big sound from that line that year. Andy, why was their horn line so small that season? (At least relative to some other seasons when they fielded larger horn lines.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Viet Nam Ah yes... the "ranks thinner" of that era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 What I remember most about Sky's "Aquarius" was Pepe's solo. He was a constellation unto himself. As spectacularly gifted and trained as today's players are, there just do not seem to be any opportunities for spotlighting individuals in he same way. Of course, there will never be another Pepe, but there sure as heck are some great players out there in both DCI and DCA. Why they are not given features baffles me. I enjoy the modern-day product... but I agree, I wish more corps featured their top players more. It's even fading from the scene a bit in DCA... and the "featured soloist" thing has long been a strength for the senior/all-age side of the activity. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Thunder Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 How about "Hello Dolly" in 1964. 1964 Hello Dolly Ballantine Brewers Belles of St. Mary's Cathay Knights Commanders CT Hurricanes Esquires Geneva Appleknockers Interstatesmen Jolly Whalers Men of Brass Reading Bucs Sacred Heart Crusaders St. Brendan's St. Mary's Crusaders St. Mary's Lancers (MD) Spartans (IL) Speigleaires Vasella Musketeers Winfield Scott Rebels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajlisko Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 Boston and Sky also had two other common songs played in the same year: 1965 Hava Nagila and Once Upon a Dream (from Manhattan Towers) :-) Boston Crusaders-64&65 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironlips Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 (edited) There was a kind of "Great American Songbook" for drum corps in an earlier era. Sometimes current "popular" tunes would overwhelm these standards (see "Dolly", above, and others like "More" and "Downtown"). This reached it's peak in the late '70s with the Mangione tsunami. Before the advent of "Everybody Must Tour and Go to the Same Big Show" phenomena, arrangers commonly sold the very same charts to several corps, on the theory that they were unlikely to actually meet. (And I'm talkin' big-name writers here.) WARNING: Side-Bar Rant to follow: Today this is still fairly common at the smaller HS band shows, for a different reason. Many directors buy "Off the Rack" charts from publishers for budgetary reasons, primarily. Ironically, these seem to be either watered-down versions of "Drum Corps Greatest Hits" like "Dindi", "Echano" and "Georgia", or fairly pedestrian "originals" from writers who call their shows something like "The Enchanted Cave" but produce things that would be better named "My Acid Reflux Nightmare in Bb". These cats all think they are Stravinsky on roller skates. Since almost all of the current drum corps players are re-cycled band kids (and instructors) this kind of repertoire is now the rule. One of the finest DCI corps is performing a piece that could best be described as "Sixteenth-note Exercise with Flags". (They render it exquisitely well.) In further irony, all these unique and original musical selections begin to sound identical. That said, today's folks get to do it their way. God knows, we did. We both earned that right. Edited August 5, 2015 by ironlips 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajlisko Posted August 6, 2015 Author Share Posted August 6, 2015 (edited) Pepe talks to Joe Genero and Hy Dreitzer about tunes: Pepe: Joe Joe: Hi Pep ... how's yer Mother ... been to the old neighborhood lately? Pepe: Yeah ... went down of Out Lady of Mount Carmel's festival ... man ... that Madonna statue is heavy now ... Hy: Gentlemen ... how are ya? Pepe: Hy, I need a number for da Hot Shots ... der a GNYC corps from Norwalk Hy: But, Norwalk is in CT ... Pepe: Point taken ... Joe, wadda ya got for me ... you live in CT now ... Joe: How about How The West Was Won? They used bullets and guns in that ... it could be a theme show ... Pepe: Jeez Joe ... ya just gave that to St. Raphael's and dey got Archangels ... Joe: Yeah, but they wear cowboy hats ... fits a theme ... Pepe: You wit da theme again ... gimme sumptin' I could work wit here ... practice is at six ... Hy: How about Summertime? Pepe: Hy, is der anyone you HAVEN'T given Summertime to? Hy: Fair enough ... how about Night on Bald Mountain? Pepe: Christ Hy ... you wanna kill deze kids? Sky even hadda drop dat one Joe: I got it!!!! ... Hello Dolly!!!! ... sure winner!!! I have at least six charts you can choose from ... Pepe: OK ... dat'll work ... ... Hy, anything you can contribute here? ... I gotta go run the 50/50 before practice or I don't get paid ... Hy: Yup ... Cool ... Pepe: Wadda ya mean cool? Ya didn't give me nuttin' ta work wit yet ... dat ain't cool ... Hy: No ... Cool ... from West Side Story ... Pepe: Deze are little kids from CT ... dey ain't no street gang ... Hy: Trust me ... Cool is cool ... Pepe: OK ... you guyz are da best ... ... and that's the way music was shared amongst like minds in the 60's ... right Frank? :-) Before the advent of "Everybody Must Tour and Go to the Same Big Show" phenomena, arrangers commonly sold the very same charts to several corps, on the theory that they were unlikely to actually meet. (And I'm talkin' big-name writers here.) Edited August 6, 2015 by ajlisko 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironlips Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Correct, Andy. And every show was a theme show, with a new theme every two minutes. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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