Jump to content

The 1995 Thread


Recommended Posts

22 minutes ago, Tony Flores said:

Bluecoats Homefront: 1945 was such an emotional production and still is in my top 5 all time bluecoats shows. Also a fan of Colts Sunday in the Park with George. 

Bluecoats that year were special. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i went back to marching DCA, so I didn't see much...Hershey was Cadets really cool, Phantom in black!!!! Bones not jazz, but my bias had me loving it due to ties....bloo could be fun, and Boston needed a lot of work. Suf happening tho not done yet. we played that night, so i caught Surf from the side

 

the next week in Allentown for DCE, we also played, but details were fuzzy...45 minutes before we started warmups, bass#2 got hit by a car crossing hamilton Blvd headed to the convenience store across from ham fam, so i suddenly became basses 1&2 real fast...i really dont remember much but i know watch the corps

 

then finals week..first chance to see a majority of the corps. and wow shifting galore over 3 days!

 

Cavies i loved. it was one of those things that sum of all the parts came together. Bd went from 2nd to 3rd...so dark, so in your face...it was 94 the dark side. cadets 3rd to 2nd...just a great show. proof demand for the sake of demand doesn't have to be there...something they forgot to their detriment far too many times afterward. 

 

Madison..the holy grail of shows. yeah they won in 75 and i loved it as a 6 year old live and forever after but this show IMO is probably their most beloved. Phantom very cool and some serious musical percussive moments a little out of the box for the time. SCV.....over time i have loved it and hated it. Bloo tugging heart strings, Glassmen in one of their best shows ever, Colts with a unique take on sunday in the park...Bones..man with more brass....crown finally getting in and a show that grows on me more every time i listen, and Magic....Bk good, troop so close, VK with a percussion show for the ages, some good stuff below that.

 

a fun year. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I definitely enjoyed 1995. Some great shows, some interesting shows, and a few tributes to the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. The recordings, as others have mentioned, were downright bad. As I reflect on that season, and mind you I have not yet gone back to check some recaps, scores, and recordings, but it seemed to me that the pit writing took a step up in terms of demand and overall use within the fabric of the show. 

Of course, my first reflection of 1995 almost always begins with Madison Scouts. Competition is great and all, and we all love to discuss who won or who we think should have won. If the audience had judged the 1995 season, the Madison Scouts won 100 to nothing. OK, that's an exaggeration but you get the point. When it comes to "baby throwing" shows I tend to think of the 95 Scouts show as the Holy Grail. Madison has clearly had a few baby throwing shows over the decades. Phantom, SCV, Cavaliers, and others have as well. But 95 Scouts was the DCI version of watching the Beatles come to America. I can still remember them entering the field in company front fashion (vertical) for their Finals appearance in Buffalo. They would slowly march that to the 50 yard line and the crowd was on its feet. They probably received 5 or 6 standing Os or partial standing Os during that show. The show was a musical treat that featured an outstanding brass line (they tied BD and Cadets for high brass). Percussion was solid and super fun to watch. The guard doing their tap dancing on the boxes, the bull-fighting moves, and the great flag work was awesome. Visually the show was well written. The rotating company front from vertical to horizontal is so daring, and the push after the rotation lit the place on fire. 

By today's standards I do think the show holds up fairly well, but many younger DCI fans may prefer something like Phantom Regiment 2008 or Crown 2013, or maybe Bluecoats 2014...and many others. It's a different activity today (and I still love it), but comparing eras is not easy. From an entertainment standpoint, Madison had a killer 1990s, and to me 1995 was the apex of that. 

 

Bluecoats had first grabbed a top 12 spot in 1987, and I still consider their 88 and 89 shows outstanding and very important in the build to what we know of the corps today. But you can argue that the 1995 Bluecoats was the best production they had done to that point in time. I had several friends in the corps (they were college friends of mine from YSU), and my girlfriend at the time was marching mello with Cadets.  Ironic that both corps chose to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the end of WWII. 

The Top 3

My first reaction to the Cavaliers that year was they didn't have the brass book to win it all, but I knew their overall visual design would be tough along with a killer percussion section. The mallet writing in this show is excellent. At Finals I felt Cavaliers brass played poorly and could have been scored even lower.  As others have said, the sum of the parts with their Planets show was greater that some of the weaknesses.

When I saw Blue Devils I was convinced they likely had the best overall corps on the field (in terms of checking off all the boxes), but the general effect of this show was not very strong. It is difficult to do a dark show, and BD did an amazing job with it, but I felt GE would likely keep them from winning. Brass and percussion were solid, as they always are with BD. The guard was outstanding. I enjoyed them, but music and visual GE held them back.

The Cadets were very impressive all season. The John Williams music was truly wonderful. Next to Madison, The Cadets had one of the strong musical books (especially GE music).  Cadets brass tied Madison and BD for high brass at Finals. The "Swing, Swing, Swing" segment is fun and really featured the guard well. Their closer is one of the best patriotic endings I have seen and it took multiple re-writes and edits to get to that point. I think the problem I have with 95 Cadets is that they failed to clean a lot of the drill in the first 3 segments of the show. They were no where as clean as Cavaliers visual. Cadets did back-off on demand some and I thought that was a good thing. They often killed themselves with too much demand. But this show could have used a few more hose-jobs and some additional cleaning. From a music perspective this show is an Ace with a great novelty tune and a fantastic closer. With a cleaner visual book this was the show I saw as the winner. I was probably biased with my girlfriend marching mello that summer, but I felt this was the total show if they would have cleaned more and fixed a few visual issues.

 

I didn't have a problem with Madison in 4th. I knew they were likely not checking-off the judging boxes as well as BD, Cadets, or Cavaliers. I, however, would have had no problem with a surprise win by the Scouts in 95. The crowd would have tore the stadium down. 

 

I'll chime-in later when I can review scores and rep a bit more to jot the memory banks. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, jwillis35 said:

I definitely enjoyed 1995. Some great shows, some interesting shows, and a few tributes to the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. The recordings, as others have mentioned, were downright bad. As I reflect on that season, and mind you I have not yet gone back to check some recaps, scores, and recordings, but it seemed to me that the pit writing took a step up in terms of demand and overall use within the fabric of the show. 

Of course, my first reflection of 1995 almost always begins with Madison Scouts. Competition is great and all, and we all love to discuss who won or who we think should have won. If the audience had judged the 1995 season, the Madison Scouts won 100 to nothing. OK, that's an exaggeration but you get the point. When it comes to "baby throwing" shows I tend to think of the 95 Scouts show as the Holy Grail. Madison has clearly had a few baby throwing shows over the decades. Phantom, SCV, Cavaliers, and others have as well. But 95 Scouts was the DCI version of watching the Beatles come to America. I can still remember them entering the field in company front fashion (vertical) for their Finals appearance in Buffalo. They would slowly march that to the 50 yard line and the crowd was on its feet. They probably received 5 or 6 standing Os or partial standing Os during that show. The show was a musical treat that featured an outstanding brass line (they tied BD and Cadets for high brass). Percussion was solid and super fun to watch. The guard doing their tap dancing on the boxes, the bull-fighting moves, and the great flag work was awesome. Visually the show was well written. The rotating company front from vertical to horizontal is so daring, and the push after the rotation lit the place on fire. 

By today's standards I do think the show holds up fairly well, but many younger DCI fans may prefer something like Phantom Regiment 2008 or Crown 2013, or maybe Bluecoats 2014...and many others. It's a different activity today (and I still love it), but comparing eras is not easy. From an entertainment standpoint, Madison had a killer 1990s, and to me 1995 was the apex of that. 

 

Bluecoats had first grabbed a top 12 spot in 1987, and I still consider their 88 and 89 shows outstanding and very important in the build to what we know of the corps today. But you can argue that the 1995 Bluecoats was the best production they had done to that point in time. I had several friends in the corps (they were college friends of mine from YSU), and my girlfriend at the time was marching mello with Cadets.  Ironic that both corps chose to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the end of WWII. 

The Top 3

My first reaction to the Cavaliers that year was they didn't have the brass book to win it all, but I knew their overall visual design would be tough along with a killer percussion section. The mallet writing in this show is excellent. At Finals I felt Cavaliers brass played poorly and could have been scored even lower.  As others have said, the sum of the parts with their Planets show was greater that some of the weaknesses.

When I saw Blue Devils I was convinced they likely had the best overall corps on the field (in terms of checking off all the boxes), but the general effect of this show was not very strong. It is difficult to do a dark show, and BD did an amazing job with it, but I felt GE would likely keep them from winning. Brass and percussion were solid, as they always are with BD. The guard was outstanding. I enjoyed them, but music and visual GE held them back.

The Cadets were very impressive all season. The John Williams music was truly wonderful. Next to Madison, The Cadets had one of the strong musical books (especially GE music).  Cadets brass tied Madison and BD for high brass at Finals. The "Swing, Swing, Swing" segment is fun and really featured the guard well. Their closer is one of the best patriotic endings I have seen and it took multiple re-writes and edits to get to that point. I think the problem I have with 95 Cadets is that they failed to clean a lot of the drill in the first 3 segments of the show. They were no where as clean as Cavaliers visual. Cadets did back-off on demand some and I thought that was a good thing. They often killed themselves with too much demand. But this show could have used a few more hose-jobs and some additional cleaning. From a music perspective this show is an Ace with a great novelty tune and a fantastic closer. With a cleaner visual book this was the show I saw as the winner. I was probably biased with my girlfriend marching mello that summer, but I felt this was the total show if they would have cleaned more and fixed a few visual issues.

 

I didn't have a problem with Madison in 4th. I knew they were likely not checking-off the judging boxes as well as BD, Cadets, or Cavaliers. I, however, would have had no problem with a surprise win by the Scouts in 95. The crowd would have tore the stadium down. 

 

I'll chime-in later when I can review scores and rep a bit more to jot the memory banks. 

As someone marching in DCM that season, Phantom could have easily finished south of 5th...they were struggling with that show early season. The made a push after the DCM season ended. Top 12 in Div 1 was quality up and down, we struggled with being a D2 corps trying to do a D1 schedule after becoming Top 21 the year before. By the end of the season we were all just done and had a D2/3 bad prelims and didnt make finals. I am also reminded of an absolute tragic situation with the Colts in Buffalo, one of the parents, yet they pushed further. we had a great relationship with the Colts then.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The first show I attended in 1995 was the DCM All-Star Preview in Toledo, OH. Below is how scores and recaps would break down.

June 17, Toledo, OH DCM All-Star Preview

Madison Scouts...........70.6 
Cavaliers................68.9 
Phantom Regiment.........68.2 
Glassmen.................58.9 
Colts....................58.6 
Pioneer..................49.1 
Americanos...............34.3 
Blue Grass Brass.........20.9 

Recap


                              GE    Ensem  Perf    Pen    Total
Madison Scouts               28.1   22.0   20.5     -      70.6
Cavaliers                    26.7   21.3   21.2   (0.3)    68.9
Phantom Regiment             26.7   21.3   20.2     -      68.2
Glassmen                     23.8   18.4   16.7     -      58.9
Colts                        23.0   18.9   17.7   (1.0)    58.6
Pioneer                      18.1   16.3   17.7     -      49.1
Americanos                   13.1   10.6   11.1   (0.4)    34.4
Blue Grass Brass              7.9    7.3    9.1   (3.4)    20.9

 

I remember enjoying every corps. I wasn't sure about Phantom in the early stages, but by season's end they found a way to make the show work. The design was not quite as good as 89, 90, 91, 93, and 94. Musically I could not get a read on the Cavaliers early season, but visually you could see that they would be dangerous. Madison was easily the crowd favorite at any show they appeared at. Their GE scores were very good early season. I loved the Glassmen show. I think I liked the 93 show more because I really dug how they brought David Arkenstone's music to life, but this show was right up there. Their "Little Fugure" was fantastic and a great way to begin their show. The Colts were also fantastic in 1995. 

 

Edited by jwillis35
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is a list of all the repertoire by all the corps in 1995.

The Cavaliers 1 98.300 The Planets - Mars (from The Planets) * Venus (from The Planets) * Mercury (from The Planets) * Jupiter (from The Planets)  
The Cadets 2 97.200 An American Quintet - The Reivers * Born on the 4th of July * Blowing Off Steam (from Far and Away) * Swing, Swing, Swing (from 1941) * Land Race (from Far and Away)  
Blue Devils 3 96.700 Carpe Noctem - Buleria (from Jazz Pana) * Conquistador * Coronation of the Dead Queen (mvt 4 of The Legend of Alcobaca) * Ines (Second Movement of The Legend of Alcobaca) * No Heroes * Aspect (from Adventures in Time) * Caribe (from One More Once) * Day Danse * Dom Pedro's Revenge (5th Movement of The Legend of Alcobaca)  
Madison Scouts 4 95.400 A Drum Corps Fan's Dream: A Day in the Life of a Bull Fighter - El Toro Caliente * Concierto de Aranjuez * La Danza Pasillo * Malaga  
Phantom Regiment 5 94.100 Adventures Under a Darkened Sky - Symphonic Dances * Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (variation 18) * Piano Concerto No. 2 * Caprice Bohémien  
Santa Clara Vanguard 6 91.900 Not the Nutcracker - The Clock Breaks (from the Nutcracker) * War of the Nuts * Romance and Seduction (from the Nutcracker) * Celebration (from the Nutcracker) * The Journey Concludes (from the Nutcracker)  
Bluecoats 7 89.500 Homefront: 1945 - Come Rain or Come Shine (from St. Louis Woman) * Shippin Out * I'll Be Seeing You * Newsreel * Sing Sing Sing  
Glassmen 8 88.300 A Joyful Celebration - Fugue in G Minor (Little Fugue) * Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring * Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee * A Mighty Fortress  
Colts 9 86.300 Sunday Afternoon in the Park with George - Sunday in the Park with George (from Sunday in the Park with George) * Children and Art (from Sunday in the Park with George) * Color and Light (from Sunday in the Park with George) * Sunday (from Sunday in the Park with George)  
Crossmen 10 85.100 The School for Scandal - Overture * Symphony for Brass and Percussion (mvts II and III)  
Carolina Crown 11 82.800 Stormworks - Stormworks * Watermark * The Storm  
Magic of Orlando 12 82.400 Danse Animale - Sea * Land * Sky  
Blue Knights 13 81.300 Legacy - Introduction (from Legacy) * Main Theme (from Legacy) * Adagio (from Legacy) * Fugue (from Legacy) * Finale (from Legacy)  
Troopers 14 80.700 A Copland Canvas - Third Symphony, Fourth Movement * Fanfare for the Common Man * Appalachian Spring  
Velvet Knights 15 74.700 Harlequin Carnival - Lau Flora * Afrika * Starfish  
Boston Crusaders 16 74.400 Pat Metheny Music - Are We There Yet? * Beat 70 * Cathedral in a Suitcase * The First Circle  
Southwind 17 71.900 Gospel - Precious Lord, Take My Hand * Jericho * Sweet, Sweet Spirit * Are You Ready for a Miracle (from Leap of Faith) * Oh Happy Day * Brand New day (from The Wiz)  
Pioneer 18 74.700 Shades of the Emerald - Diamond Dance * The Seduction (from The Year of the Comet)Maggie Goes to Scotland * Helicopter Chase (from The Year of the Comet) * The Seduction (from The Year of the Comet) * Cursum Perticio * Storms in Africa * Orinoco Flow  
Academie Musicale 19 73.500 Music from the Empire of the Sun - Cadillac of the Skies (from Empire of the Sun) * Jim's New Life (from Empire of the Sun) * Return to the City (from Empire of the Sun) * Streets of Shanghai (from Empire of the Sun) * Toy Planes (from Empire of the Sun) * Home and Heart (from Empire of the Sun)  
Spirit of Atlanta 20 72.100 All on a Southern Afternoon - Ghost Train (from Fried Green Tomatoes) * XMas in Hooverville (from Fried Green Tomatoes) * Didn't it Rain? * Georgia on My Mind  
Kiwanis Kavaliers 21 69.600 A Tribute to Pat Metheny - The First Circle * Have You Heard * See the World * In Her Family * Finding and Believing * Minuano (Six Eight)  
Mandarins 22 69.100 Cinematic Impressions - Theme Song (from Speed) * The Wedding Night * A Perilous Direction * The Honeymoon (from Frankenstein) * The Creation (from Frankenstein)  
Les Etoiles Dorion Vaudreuil 23 66.300 Iron Will - Selections from Iron Will  
Spartans 204 88.800 Rome - The Eternal City - Ben Hur * Bacchanale (from Samson and Delilah) * Roman Festivals * Pines of the Appian Way (from Pines of Rome)  
Dimension 205 87.700 Music of Yanni  
Oakland Crusaders 206 85.500 A Cole Porter Songbook - It's All Right With Me (from Can-Can) * What is This Thing Called Love? * In the Still of the Night * Night and Day * Begin the Beguine * Just One of Those Things  
Emerald Knights 207 84.100 Symphonic Works by Yes - Roundabout * Circus of Heaven * Close to the Edge * The Solid Time of Change * Total Mass Retain * I Get Up, I Get Down * Seasons of Man  
Jersey Surf 208 83.200 New Age Jazz of John Tesh and Yanni - (Repertoire not available)  
Cardinals 209 81.700 Songs of David Foster - Winter Games  
Seattle Cascades 210 79.700 Salute to Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road * Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting * Funeral For A Friend * Candle in the Wind  
Raiders 211 77.300 A Chorus Line - I Hope I Get It (from A Chorus Line) * At The Ballet (from A Chorus Line) * The Music and The Mirror (from A Chorus Line) * One (from A Chorus Line)  
Allegiance Elite 213 72.500 The Show - Far and Away * Appalachian Spring * Russian Christmas Music  
Golden Lancers 303 88.700 An Aria to Heaven - The Ascension (Movements I, II and III) * Lux Aeterna (Light Eternal)  
East Coast Jazz 304 87.300 Jazz: Red, Hot, and Spicy - Night of the Capricorn Moon * Pegasus * The Musician * Johnny One Note (from Babes in Arms)  
Blue Stars 305 85.400 Dance Pieces - Armenian Dances * Liturgical Dances  
Delta Brigade 306 82.300 A Childhood Suite - ABC Song * Sesame Street * Sing a Song  
Northern Aurora 307 81.600 Keys to Imagination: Yanni Live at the Acropolis - Keys to Imagination * Reflections of Passion * Marching Season  
Americanos 308 83.100 Latin Carnival * Brazil * Make Believe Mambo * Girl From Ipanema  
Contemporary Youth Ensemble 309 82.800 Music by Prokofiev - Ivan the Terrible  
Patriots 310 81.300 Jubilaton Suite * All Things Bright and Beautiful * Sinfonia Voci  
Royal Columbians 311 80.200 Evolutionary Dances - Pagan Dances * Arabian Dances * Dance Panels * Country Gardens * O, Clap Your Hands  
Railmen 313 78.900 Impressions of a Global Village - Daybreak * Saya * Casmir * Africa  
Quad City Knights 318 71.000 Selections from Sunset Boulevard - Sunset Boulevard * Surrender (from Sunset Boulevard) * The Perfect Year (from Sunset Boulevard) * Let's Have Lunch (from Sunset Boulevard) * With One Look (from Sunset Boulevard)  
Marquis 320 69.300 Symphony in Black - Sinfonia Noblissima * Hounds of Spring  
Spectrum 321 68.700 New Age Jazz - Marching Season * Santorini * Baroque Samba  
Coachmen 322 67.700 Special Ladies Do Great Jazz - Happy Days Are Here Again * Miss Otis Regrets * Orange Colored Sky * Deedles Blues  
Empire Loyalists 325 62.400 Mutiny on the Bounty * El Gato Triste * Drunken Sailor * Legend of the One-Eyed Sailor * Bellavia  
Racine Scouts 327 60.700 Music of Respighi - Music of Respighi  
Lake Erie Regiment 328 60.500 The Lion King - This Land (from the Lion King) * Be Prepared (from The Lion King) * Under the Stars (from The Lion King) * King of Pride Rock (from The Lion King) * To Die For (from The Lion King) * Circle of Life (from The Lion King)  
Conqueror II 329 59.700 Selections from Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story  
Marion Glory Cadets 331 57.000 Harlem Nocturne * Orange Colored Sky * End of the Road  
Southern Illusion 333 56.400 Brahms' Lullaby * Night on Bald Mountain * Theme from Beetlejuice * La Villa Strangiato * The Time Warp (from The Rocky Horror Picture Show)  
Cadets of Dutch Boy 335 53.000 Tribute To Hanna Barbara - This is it * The Flintstones Theme * Fireworks * The Jig * Part of Your World (from the Little Mermaid) * A Whole New World (from Aladdin) * Looney Tune Heaven  
Blue Saints 336 49.700 Selections from Tommy - (Repertoire not available)  
Quest 337 45.700 Indian Summer * Carnival * The Rainmaker * Bizarre * Man of La Mancha  
Blue Devils B     Selections from the Mambo Kings - (Repertoire not available)  
Blue Devils C     Mickey Mouse Club March * Electric Light Parade * When You Wish Upon a Star (from Pinocchio) * Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah  
Capital Sound     Man of La Mancha Overture * Carnival Tropical * La Fiesta * Another Star  
Colt Cadets     Simple Songs from Your Childhood - Simple Gifts * I'm a Little Teapot * Tisket-a-Tasket * Chopsticks * Pentatonic Nightmare * Brahms' Lullaby  
Les Stentors     Music by Pat Metheny  
Mirage     Tunes You Forgot You Loved - Orange Colored Sky * Straighten Up and Fly Right * Lover Man * Night Streets * Makin' Whoopee (from Whoopee)  
North Force     Echoes of Africa II - Gula Matari * The Wedding * Toure Kunda * A Night In Tunisia  
Phoenix (MA)     Selections from Beauty and the Beast  
Spirit of Newark/New Jersey     South Rampart Street Parade * Mann's Creation * The Elks' Parade * Big Noise from Winnetka (from Reveille with Beverly) * Over the Rainbow (from The Wizard of Oz)  
Suncoast Sound     Inspirational Music by Sandy Patti - Make His Praise Glorious * Almighty God * Shine Down  
Vanguard Cadets     The Red Pony * Fall River Legend * Wyatt Earp  
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Tony Flores said:

As someone marching in DCM that season, Phantom could have easily finished south of 5th...they were struggling with that show early season. 

I love Phantom's music from '95.  The ballad is gorgeous and the closer with those soprano runs and the tight horn "pops" is so nice.  It's such a shame that the recordings sound so pit heavy.   At least they weren't as bad as the recordings from '81 which sound like the microphones were set up in the tunnel in Olympic stadium. 

I didn't care for some of their design choices.  I thought the guard kind of looked like a Jane Fonda workout video in the purple and I wasn't fond of the frames in the ballad.  However, their musical selections were so nice. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...