mfrontz Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 (edited) 1995... Rich Stadium, Buffalo, NY. Had tickets to finals, but sold them for some reason (probably because I was poor). Saw the Hershey show (Phantom and 15 contras, the Cadets and their trap sets) and prelims at Allentown. Was shocked by the Crossmen's foray into wind band music and blown away by Madison like everyone. This was also the summer I discovered the way I would still be participating on the periphery of drum corps until now... drum corps discussion forums. I'd fire up my dialup and scroll through the latest posts on rec.arts.marching.drumcorps (RAMD). I found the discussion to be intelligent and respectful in general... that would change over time. Show reviews, scores, debate, criticism, theory. How could the Cadets be judged when they only marched half the show? Was Madison being robbed? Were Blue Devils and their show about death unstoppable? Was 'planar analysis' the wave of the future? (No.) Should and would there be electronics and any-key brass in drum corps? (Oh yes, there would be.) Was George Hopkins the worst person ever? (Yes, but not in the way that was thought.) Logged in on a Thursday night in August to discover Cavaliers had taken the lead and they wouldn't let it go. Even though the recordings were the crappiest ever (DCI's mea culpa to Tom Blair couldn't come soon enough) it was obvious why they won, and that was only confirmed when I saw the drill - unbelievable! And meanwhile, Freelancers were no longer, and the time of the Velvet Knights would come soon. That summer was in many ways the nadir of DCI, and yet there were still so many people who loved the activity and kids willing to sweat it out to do something impossible and make it look easy. Now entering the forum, from Buffalo, New York, Drum Corps Planet is proud to present... 1995! All links to YouTube in compliance with DCP policy. 1. Cavaliers: DCI Finals 2. Cadets of Bergen County: DCI Finals 3. Blue Devils: DCI Finals (excerpt) 4. Madison Scouts: DCI Finals 5. Phantom Regiment: DCI Finals (excerpt) 6. Santa Clara Vanguard: DCI Finals 7. Bluecoats: DCI Finals 8. Glassmen: DCI Finals (excerpt - audio only) 9. Colts: DCI Finals (excerpt) 10. Crossmen: DCI Finals 11. Carolina Crown: DCI Semifinals 12. Magic of Orlando: DCI Finals (excerpt) 13. Blue Knights 14. Troopers: Cedar Rapids, Iowa 15. Velvet Knights 16. Boston Crusaders 17. Southwind Edited May 13, 2020 by mfrontz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Continental Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 So much good music played in '95. Too bad the finals recordings sound like they were done with a Ronco Mr. Microphone. That was the year IBM did them I think. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllianaLancerContra Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 2 hours ago, mfrontz said: rec.arts.marching.drumcorps (RAMD). I found the discussion to be intelligent and respectful in general... that would change over time. Understatement of the day. ook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.E. Brigand Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 2 hours ago, mfrontz said: Even though the recordings were the crappiest ever (DCI's mea culpa to Tom Blair couldn't come soon enough) What was the reason for the bad recording quality? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfrontz Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 2 minutes ago, N.E. Brigand said: What was the reason for the bad recording quality? As I recall, DCI decided to partner with IBM for the recording, and despite the name, IBM or whatever intern they assigned to the project couldn't place mics or mix worth a ####. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leed17 Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 1 minute ago, N.E. Brigand said: What was the reason for the bad recording quality? IBM did the recordings from 95-98...no Tom Blair, no Larry Rock, etc. those years. IBM meant well, and I’m sure they may have saved some money for DCI since those years things were pretty rough financially, but they did not have the experience to record drum corps. I think it was trial and error each year for them. 96 sounded like the audio was being played through a transistor radio from the 70’s. One good thing in 95 was that they released full quarters, semis and finals on vhs sets that year. The Video Express years before that only offered full quarters or finals on vhs. If you wanted semis, you had to buy each corps individually for $40... The bad thing for 95 was high camera wasn’t offered for sale to the public, although I have seen 95 Cavies high cam floating around on YouTube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfrontz Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 OP edited to include links to corps performances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevingamin Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 I need to find the Glassmen Finals VHS. It’s the only recording which includes the pre-show version of Little Fugue. All other recordings start with the official start of the show. I had one but lost it years ago. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hostrauser Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 20 minutes ago, kevingamin said: I need to find the Glassmen Finals VHS. It’s the only recording which includes the pre-show version of Little Fugue. All other recordings start with the official start of the show. I had one but lost it years ago. Pretty sure I have every year from 1987-2002 on VHS. Let me do some digging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hostrauser Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 Back on topic, you will never, ever convince me that the Blue Devils shouldn't have won in 1995. They were undefeated all season until Championships week, when judges started "finding" issues that weren't there the prior week. Cavaliers' brass was horrendous (they received a ridiculously generous Finals score) and their show had very little musical GE (great two-minute opener, great two minute closer, seven minute snorefest in the middle). Cadets were a visual mess and had a fifth place worthy show design. When I auditioned for BD in 1998 there were several vets who were STILL grumpy about 1995. You ask any Devil who marched in the mid-to-late 90s and I'm sure they will say they are certain they should have had a four-peat from 94-97. Also from NorCal that year, Vanguard had a show that took me a long time to warm up to, but is now one of my all-time favorite Vanguard shows and one of their most under-rated. Loved Dave Carico's arrangements folding Shostakovich's Symphony No. 11 (and others) into a very dark take on The Nutcracker. 1995 is my all-time favorite DCI year. I know all 12 Finalist shows by heart, even 25 years later. Crossmen wearing shakos and doing dark symphonic music (not their style but a great show nonetheless). Crown's debut with sloppy-but-massive-GE "Stormworks" show. Phantom playing all-Rachmaninoff. Scouts with maybe the best show in corps' history (and certainly setting DCI records for baby-throwing). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.