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The 1993 Thread


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One of my best memories is watching Colts and Star rehearse at DeKalb hs for DCM championships. Colts made DCI finals for the first time and we all know how legendary the Star show was. Watching Star rehearse was jaw dropping. They were so focused. It was also a great way appreciate their show. I can proudly say I “got it” and I loved it. It was disappointing to watch them perform that night and only receive golf claps. 

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3 minutes ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

I guess I am just about the only person that did not care for Star of Indiana's show in 1993.

Wasn't it wildly controversial at the time?

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In the History of Drum & Bugle Corps book published 15 years ago or thereabouts, isn't this the year that gets a long essay complaining about how dark everything was?

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21 minutes ago, IllianaLancerContra said:

I guess I am just about the only person that did not care for Star of Indiana's show in 1993.

I didn't like it at the time, but I only saw it on the PBS Broadcast. I could appreciate its technical difficulties, but on my dinky TV I wasn't blown away.

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I think by Finals many fans had an appreciation for Star. I also think fans were very aware of the way the corps was treated at certain shows. Usually a Finals crowd wants to give the kids all the support they deserve. Plenty of people did not like Star's show in 1993...and many still do not like the show.  It will always be a polarizing show. It has grown on some over the past 2.5 decades and because it gets discussed frequently I think some folks get the sense that it was wildly popular at the time. It gained a lot of respect in the years following. It is still one of the most revolutionary shows I've ever seen and it was impeccably designed. It is easily the most modern DCI show I've seen without using props, mics, amplification, electronic instruments, narration, etc. It is not a meat and potatoes show but more a refined wine and cheese show. The show is a walk through an art gallery and not a hot evening watching Maynard Ferguson. 

Someone already brought this up, but in order to put things in true perspective we have to remember a few things about the late 80s and early 90s:

  1. There were few shows, if any, that featured every top competitor. Most regional shows back in those days included about half the field, with the other half appearing at another regional. In 1992 there was one regional that gave us a taste of all the top corps before finals (Nashville). And in 1993 I think DCI North in Ypsilanti, MI had most of the top competitors.
  2. Many fans did not see Star but one time, if that, and that is a tough show to only see once and try to get a feel for it. I was lucky to see them about 4 times that summer. For some they may not have seen them until Finals or the Finals broadcast.
  3. There was no YouTube, or DCI Fan Network, etc. where we could watch shows over and over to get a feel for them. 
  4. It was still not easy to get scores on a nightly basis unless you were calling 1-900-can-drum or other corps numbers to get scores. SCV used to have a number you could call to get scores. Many of us got our scores a week late if we were lucky enough to be at a show where they sold DCW magazine. 
  5. There was no DCP, and RAMD was a tough place to hangout. Not many reviews of shows, just a lot of arguing and name calling.
  6. There were no uniform reveals or places to find info on what each corps was performing before the season. DCW might carry a little info on this, but drum corps did not have websites (as the web was not really a thing until Netscape Navigator became more prominent in 1994. Some corps may have had a newsletter for alumni and donors.

I always wonder how an audience might react to that show today. Even without the mics, amps, electronics, props, singing, narration, sound effects, I feel the show still has a very modern and artistic element to it. It might still be controversial. Who knows? This is why the show remains a legendary yet controversial masterpiece. 

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I was teaching about 30 miles south of Bloomington and had two students in Star. The first I saw them was at a rehearsal in early June and it was immediate this was a diiferent show. I lved it from the first time i saw them run it rehearsal and still love it today. 

 

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