The 1985 Thread

[Cptcastile]

I marched in the Scouts in 1985.  I will never forget the sound when we came out of the tunnel for finals.  The crowd EXPLODED!  It was so loud that we could not hear our drum major start the show.  You can see this if you watch the video.  The back of the horn block actually steps off about two counts after the front of the block!  We did recover, but that was rough.

The top 12 in 1985 was very strong.  Great music and some wonderful performances.  The top 4 corps had amazing shows.  Truly one of the best years of my life!!

[troopers1]

6 hours ago, Continental said:

One of my favorite things about '85 Freelancers was the way they could alter the color on the front of their uniforms using multiple folding flaps.   I thought it was really effective.  

 

 

I remember that from the Denver show.  There were yellow, blue and red flaps, IIRC.  Very cool concept, well done.

[Continental]

1985 Garfield - High Cam from Semi Finals.

 

[oldsoprano]

14 hours ago, Continental said:

Who did Brandt announce High CG for initially?

Not 100 percent sure, but I believe SCV was initially announced as winning high guard, and the actual winner was Spirit of Atlanta. Back then, the recap sheets were on two pages, six corps on page 1 and six on page 2. Whoever was feeding Brandt the information on caption awards only looked at page 1. Spirit, finishing in 8th place overall, was on page 2 of the recap. Spirit's guard staff noticed the error when they checked the recap sheets and alerted DCI officials on the field and a correction was made.

 

[rysa4]

On 7/2/2020 at 10:15 AM, Continental said:

Vanguard '85.

It didn't win.  It didn't have to.  The show was monumental and so Vanguard.

To this day one of the most beautiful ballads on the field - Grover's Corners. 

There are no pyjamas, there are no props.  It's just Vanguard. 

 

Sort of. That was the year of the velcro tunnel with the pant change. Looked cool though. I like the opening formation and the opener.

[rysa4]

On 7/5/2020 at 6:21 PM, TRacer said:

I marched that show...I was the Last Man headed for the tunnel (you can even see the recording device I wore for a split second) and in the field closeup of the two baritone players during the push in Tenderland; I’m the skinny lead bari in glasses on the left and Vince Noble (RIP) who taught Cavies & SOA for many years is the euph on the right. Both of us aged out that night. 

Angelica was in the judges box on Finals night as a “guest” but not on the slate, and was “quite vocal” during our run per a stunned SCV staffperson in the back who witnessed it. Brandt announced the High CG Award winner wrong, which added insult to injury. GH had already let his kids know “great job but roses go to SCV”; I was on the very left edge of the retreat block when we turned to it play to GC a few feet away and many of them couldn’t look at us. 

Gail took the loss very hard, so much so he had infamous “red circle slash 85” T-shirts printed up the next summer. 

Fast forward to Denver Finals 2004...I was walking to the souvie area while wearing my jacket when a guy wearing a Boston jacket stopped me when he saw the Madison Finals patch on my sleeve. He first asked to shake my hand, then he unexpectedly hugged me. He said “those four words” in his Bahston accent, smiled and walked away. That was huge. 

Fascinating. So the reason why GH said whatever it is he said was that all season the Cadets had been conditioned to have to be near perfect to win and we screwed up in the finals as many know. THe Cadets 85 show was light years ahead of what was happening otherwise. Just look at the drill and the horn arangement. SCV had a female snare drummer on the end of the line who couldn't play their book and faked it all season long. That has always stunned me as a long time fan of the superiority of the SCV field drums, and having marched next to an SCV snare drummer in my college drum line who could eat me for breakfast as a snare drummer any day of the week. ( before I marched Cadets that is-kidding he was phenomanal and an inspiration to me, as was Fred Sanford as an instructor).  I do know Gail Royer was upset, but very professional unlike Scott Stewart of MAdison (who I saw throwing chairs around during the season after losing shows). Well you asked for 1985 stories. So there ya go.

[mfrontz]

On 7/5/2020 at 7:21 PM, TRacer said:

I marched that show...I was the Last Man headed for the tunnel (you can even see the recording device I wore for a split second) and in the field closeup of the two baritone players during the push in Tenderland; I’m the skinny lead bari in glasses on the left and Vince Noble (RIP) who taught Cavies & SOA for many years is the euph on the right. Both of us aged out that night. 

Angelica was in the judges box on Finals night as a “guest” but not on the slate, and was “quite vocal” during our run per a stunned SCV staffperson in the back who witnessed it. Brandt announced the High CG Award winner wrong, which added insult to injury. GH had already let his kids know “great job but roses go to SCV”; I was on the very left edge of the retreat block when we turned to it play to GC a few feet away and many of them couldn’t look at us. 

Gail took the loss very hard, so much so he had infamous “red circle slash 85” T-shirts printed up the next summer. 

Fast forward to Denver Finals 2004...I was walking to the souvie area while wearing my jacket when a guy wearing a Boston jacket stopped me when he saw the Madison Finals patch on my sleeve. He first asked to shake my hand, then he unexpectedly hugged me. He said “those four words” in his Bahston accent, smiled and walked away. That was huge. 

You don't happen to have the tape from the recording device you wore, do you? 🙂

[jwillis35]

Garfield, SCV, Blue Devils, and Madison were all amazing in 1985. Cavaliers in 5th with Planets and you could tell they were pushing their way to the top. Suncoast Sound was easily one of my favorite shows of the night. Once again, as with 1986, this corps' brass line was stellar. Star of Indiana made top 12 in their first year (10th) with a fantastic show that by Finals had more fans than doubters, who early in the season were not sure the Disney theme would work. Freelancers were amazing too with a fantastic brass line. Troopers were one of my favorite shows of the night. VK was great, Spirit of Atlanta was great -- heck I think I liked everyone. Phantom was good, too, but a bit disappointing with parts of the show -- and probably not the placement they were hoping for.

A look at scores from Finals and show music:

1)  98.4   Garfield Cadets       Jeremiah-Make Our Garden Grow-Candide
2)  97.2   Santa Clara Vanguard  Festive Overture-Tender Land-Red Pony
3)  97.1   Blue Devils           Lovecraft Earth-Karn Evil 9 (ELP)-First Circle (PM)
4)  95.0   Madison Scouts        Ballet in Brass-Rhapsody in Blue
5)  94.1   Cavaliers             Planets (Mars-Mercury-Uranus-Jupiter)
6)  92.7   Suncoast Sound        Florida Suite
7)  91.0   Spirit of Atlanta     Gershwin Concerto in F
8)  90.1   Phantom Regiment      Symphonie Fantastique
9)  86.7   Troopers              Symphonic Dance#3-Copland#3-Buckaroo Holiday
10) 85.8   Star of Indiana       When You Wish-Zipidydodah-It's a Small World
11) 85.3   Velvet Knights        Peter Gunn-NBC-Chimes Festival
12) 83.2   Freelancers           Immanuel-Minotaur-Island-Forest-Bells

 

In terms of competitive standing I didn't have a problem with scores and placements. I imagine it was hard on Gail Royer and SCV to lose that one. I'm not sure if Don Angelica's comments had anything to do with how SCV was scored. I did not realize he was in the booth with judges. I heard the comment that he stated on the PBS broadcast with Rondinero.

SCV was .2 off of Garfield after semis, but on Finals night they fell behind by 1.2 which means a number of judges must have seen/heard some issues that pushed them back. All I know is I personally thought it was close. I could have accepted either corps as champion, but Garfield stood out a bit more. By Finals Garfield was a polished machine that pushed the boundaries of demand and visual. The Bernstein music they performed was downright demanding and it was played very artistically as well. It also pushed what an audience would listen to and perhaps appreciate. That first half of their show was complex and not easily hummable. I felt Garfield had won after Finals, but I will still expecting a .2 to .4 spread. The 1.2 was a surprise.

On the other hand, SCV was also spectacular. SCV 1985 was for a LONG TIME my benchmark in show openers. That whole production of Festive Overture was absolutely amazing. The prop, the pants change, the timing of it all, the musical arrangement, the brass sound, guard, it was all there. Loved Grover's Corners, and the Tender Land is still one of my favorite closers. Seriously, this show was a championship worthy show; but Garfield just had one of those shows that came together in the last few weeks and managed to take the title. Incredibly this was the first year in a stretch of 4 in a row where SCV took 2nd place. The next year they would take 2nd with BD in 1st. Then Garfield beat them again in 1987 in one of the all-time great shootouts of top 2 corps, and then they take 2nd in 1988 when Madison pulled a surprise victory and BD fell to 3rd. Finally in 1989 SCV reigned, and it was Phantom Regiment who felt the sting of another 2nd place finish (though 3 of them were in the late 70s). 

I still love the Blue Devils 1985. That is another show that just worked. Different for them, but great stuff. Seeing the guard in wings was cool. First Circle (Metheny) was great, and I was such a huge fan of Emerson Lake and Palmer, so it was nice to hear Karn Evil 9 on the field. 

I thought coming into Finals that Madison had a chance to take BD. The Mad men were seriously amazing in 1985. Ballet in Brass was a great opening chart.

Cavaliers were captivating with their kaleidoscopic drill (nothing like what we would see in the 90s and 2000s). I had not seen anything like that up to that point.

Suncoast did Florida Suite, which I believe was one of the first original music shows, and I believe Robert W Smith composed the music and the book for SCS. One of my favorite shows of the night. SCS had this killer brass line in the 80s. I really miss them.

Overall I think 1985 was strong. Good shows top to bottom. Many of the units were beginning to explore new concepts and styles. For much of the season I felt SCV was the best corps on the field, and I saw a good number of shows that summer. But in the end, Garfield put the polish on a very demanding and well designed product and simply elevated to a slightly higher level. 

 

 

[rysa4]

So what was going on in 1985 behind the scenes was a discussion among DCI leadership as to whether or not it was bad for the activity to have a corps win three times in a row. Many of the judges had to hide their cards to get on the finals judging crew, so the top four early on and then the top three were judged close all season long. I am consolidating a year with far more twists and turns in it. It was never a question of who had the championship show, although I had no clue about ths during the season. It was a time of transition in that traditional drum corps for that time was giving way to Garfield changing the landscape on drill, speed, and an unusual approach to music and visual performance and meter in combination. Don Angelica got thrown out of judging after 1984 because some felt he biased the judges when Garfield won by a tenth of a point that year. He had ZERO impact on the 1985 judges and certainly not a positive one for Garfield as far as judge scoring. I suspect he DID derive great satisfaction wtaching Garfield speak for itselt by being so far ahead of the rest that year.

LIke many, I get energized by just about every drum corps show I have ever heard live. THe energy is just there. THe SCV show, to me, was not a championship caliber show. They didn't have a bad finals performance at all. Not in the least. The finals judges just let out what they had kept in all season long. Rewarding the championship show for what it was. THe SCV show was strong until 1:48 in. Then it picks up at 13.25 for 45 seconds. In between, It could have been the Freelancers or any other good show from that year. Durm features without any marching,, horn lines that take entire minutes off from playing, marching basically straight head at 120 with no time signature chanages...and on and on...all fine. But not championship caliber. THe 85 Cadets were not the end all be all. But it was the clear, and in my opinion, only championship caliber show for that year. It was also the first time that as a very young person, I understood what people meant when they talked about " politics". DCI is not unique in this regard as we all have learned over the decades. " Life lessons?"   HAHA. No one even used the term back then but they were there and still apply today both in the positive and in the negative. And yes I know this honest post will NOT make me very popular. But I know 1985 DCI very very well. NOt everything ( obviously).  But some stuff.

[jwillis35]

On 7/7/2020 at 9:24 PM, rysa4 said:

So what was going on in 1985 behind the scenes was a discussion among DCI leadership as to whether or not it was bad for the activity to have a corps win three times in a row. Many of the judges had to hide their cards to get on the finals judging crew, so the top four early on and then the top three were judged close all season long. I am consolidating a year with far more twists and turns in it. It was never a question of who had the championship show

This may all be true, and I will take your word for it; but...to be honest even if the judges thought Garfield was the one corps that truly had a championship caliber show it must be noted that Garfield was extremely dirty early season. They had to hose some things and really clean to get that beast to the level it was come Finals. There was no guarantee they would clean that show to a high level, and I do think SCV had a championship caliber show. They just ran into a corps that was pushing the envelope to a point that once the show was cleaner it became evident that SCV was in for a fight. 

I remember seeing SCV and Garfield in Canton in August and I think SCV won by 1 point. Then I saw them again at U.S. Open in Marion, OH and Garfield beat SCV in prelims and they tied at Finals. It was at prelims that I saw the Garfield that made my head explode with the demand and artistry in music and visual. At that point I was shocked they tied at Finals, but I had a feeling that Garfield would win their 3rd in a row at that point.