The 1984 Thread

[Continental]

44 minutes ago, Dmlkmen said:

Madison 84 is one of my favorite shows from the corps.  
In particular, Waltz of the Mushroom Hunters.
One of my favorite pieces they have ever played.
If Strawberry Soup was going to make a comeback this year, I would love for them to bring this back at some point as well. 

https://youtu.be/GaJm9FB9Oqc

On my Ipod specifically because of Madison.  A few other pieces are there also because of Madison.

Was '84 the year Madison won best guard?

 

Edited September 6, 2020 by Continental

[84BDsop]

4 hours ago, Continental said:

On my Ipod specifically because of Madison.  A few other pieces are there also because of Madison.

Was '84 the year Madison won best guard?

 

No....BD took guard in 84 (not that it helped us....guard didn't have their own points then).

I think Mad was 83 for the guard?

[GUARDLING]

3 hours ago, 84BDsop said:

No....BD took guard in 84 (not that it helped us....guard didn't have their own points then).

I think Mad was 83 for the guard?

Sure it did. Guard blead over into many captions as it still does beyond their own score. All the score did was call attention to the weight the guard was already contributing.

Edited September 7, 2020 by GUARDLING

[84BDsop]

1 hour ago, GUARDLING said:

Sure it did. Guard blead over into many captions as it still does beyond their own score. All the score did was call attention to the weight the guard was already contributing.

Being part of other captions isn't the same as having one of your own like brass and drums.

[GUARDLING]

1 minute ago, 84BDsop said:

Being part of other captions isn't the same as having one of your own like brass and drums.

Yes and that is why they gave guard the points deserved and to show guard already spread through all other captions and did dating back to the 70s and held quite a bit of weight. Even then

[vanguard87]

21 hours ago, quietcity said:

Thanks for the post, Continental, it brings back a lot of memories and helps make up for the inept finals-night broadcast that year. I joined SCV just about a month before this show, to fill a French horn hole. I had quit drum corps two years before to pursue college, but a friend invited me back at the last minute. I remember my terror the first few shows, including this one, trying not frack or fall over while performing the most difficult book and drill I had ever marched, all with one month of practice. You can see me at the exact 10:00 mark, the right-most French horn with the cheesy mustache and anxious demeanor. 

I had totally forgotten about those blue flags the horn players were sporting. The flags got ditched after just a few shows, and the horn line got taught interpretive dance moves instead. Horn players learning to dance was one of those "Oh, so this is SCV" moments for me. 

The show remained amazingly intact throughout the season. T-Racer, correct me if I am wrong, but I don't recall any major drill or horn re-writes that summer. Mr. Royer and his crew knew what they were doing. The exception is the end of the show, which got re-written just about every week. New horn arrangements of the last couple phrases, sometimes twice in a day, and constant drill tweaks, and a slow evolution to the final "tableau" of horn poses by the end of the season. The very end of the show was remarkably difficult, requiring the horns to play at pianissimo at the front sideline, seconds after that long company front played, tunefully, at a lung-emptying volume. You can hear what a challenge it is on this video, when the intonation on the final note goes all to hell. 

But ####, overall, we were pretty impressive for so early in the season. 

Because you joined late, QC, you missed out on the 1.0 version of the drum solo "drill". The blue flags were already a climb-down from the original idea, which was to have the horn line full-on dance with the guard. Dave Owens brought in a choreographer at a very early-season camp (February or March, maybe). Her big mistake was to start with the low brass. I remember the session lasted for less than an hour, with the choreographer looking increasingly distressed as it went on. We were all pretty inept, but in particular the contra line doing lifts with each other was quite a spectacle. So the dancing became the blue flags, which eventually became the hand movements. 

I really wish GR and Dave had stuck to their guns. As with the props and costumes starting in 1986, a dancing SCV horn line in 1984 would have been 25 years ahead of its time.

[Continental]

On 9/6/2020 at 1:06 AM, quietcity said:

Thanks for the post, Continental, it brings back a lot of memories and helps make up for the inept finals-night broadcast that year. I joined SCV just about a month before this show, to fill a French horn hole. I had quit drum corps two years before to pursue college, but a friend invited me back at the last minute. I remember my terror the first few shows, including this one, trying not frack or fall over while performing the most difficult book and drill I had ever marched, all with one month of practice. You can see me at the exact 10:00 mark, the right-most French horn with the cheesy mustache and anxious demeanor. 

I had totally forgotten about those blue flags the horn players were sporting. The flags got ditched after just a few shows, and the horn line got taught interpretive dance moves instead. Horn players learning to dance was one of those "Oh, so this is SCV" moments for me. 

The show remained amazingly intact throughout the season. T-Racer, correct me if I am wrong, but I don't recall any major drill or horn re-writes that summer. Mr. Royer and his crew knew what they were doing. The exception is the end of the show, which got re-written just about every week. New horn arrangements of the last couple phrases, sometimes twice in a day, and constant drill tweaks, and a slow evolution to the final "tableau" of horn poses by the end of the season. The very end of the show was remarkably difficult, requiring the horns to play at pianissimo at the front sideline, seconds after that long company front played, tunefully, at a lung-emptying volume. You can hear what a challenge it is on this video, when the intonation on the final note goes all to hell. 

But ####, overall, we were pretty impressive for so early in the season. 

I need to correct one thing - I was saying that final show flags were not in the above performance.  The resolution of the video isn't good but I now realize you had the final show flags....the video makes them look all white at times. 

I always admired how guard uniforms evolved over the years - the early '80s showing a lot of new direction.

BD in '81 (looking like flight attendants), Garfield in '82 (flowers in the hair) and Vanguard

The guard uniforms so fit the style of the corps - the detailing on them is really nice.  They look very expensive. 

 

Edited September 7, 2020 by Continental

[Continental]

12 hours ago, vanguard87 said:

Because you joined late, QC, you missed out on the 1.0 version of the drum solo "drill". The blue flags were already a climb-down from the original idea, which was to have the horn line full-on dance with the guard. Dave Owens brought in a choreographer at a very early-season camp (February or March, maybe). Her big mistake was to start with the low brass. I remember the session lasted for less than an hour, with the choreographer looking increasingly distressed as it went on. We were all pretty inept, but in particular the contra line doing lifts with each other was quite a spectacle. So the dancing became the blue flags, which eventually became the hand movements. 

I really wish GR and Dave had stuck to their guns. As with the props and costumes starting in 1986, a dancing SCV horn line in 1984 would have been 25 years ahead of its time.

The attached video isn't that great, but it gives a better glimpse of what the horn line was doing in the drum solo after the changes.

The tempo in the intro to Tenderland was slowed down a bit from early season. 

 

Edited September 7, 2020 by Continental

[jwillis35]

Just found this old, but vintage clip that someone put together of Garfield's Brass line during the 1984 and 1985 season. The recording quality isn't bad for that time and most clips sound like they were rehearsals at show sites or just a private rehearsal facility. It's a combination of music from 84/85 and also a few warm-ups. Nice!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTl-JbonDNM

[84BDsop]

5 hours ago, jwillis35 said:

Just found this old, but vintage clip that someone put together of Garfield's Brass line during the 1984 and 1985 season. The recording quality isn't bad for that time and most clips sound like they were rehearsals at show sites or just a private rehearsal facility. It's a combination of music from 84/85 and also a few warm-ups. Nice!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTl-JbonDNM

Nice find!