Eddie Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 rumor has it they broke a window in a judges booth with that wall of sound of theirs. Urban Myth? stated fact? anyone know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Ream Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 incredible wall of sound and such feel....and feeling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byline Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 (edited) rumor has it they broke a window in a judges booth with that wall of sound of theirs.Urban Myth? stated fact? anyone know? Found a thread about this on RAMD. Sounds like it was an urban legend . . . though, broken glass or not, Spirit had one fine horn line: SPIRIT 1980??? Edited January 14, 2004 by byline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhsalan Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 Comparing the '79 and '80 lines to '86 Blue Devils.... (all three some of my favorite all time drum corps performances) I had the good fortune to see all three corps multiple times. From a pure power standpoint, I've not heard anyone that can match what I "felt" (as everyone mentioned) from those two Spirit lines. Not even '86 Devs. Because of the difference in the way Wayne D and Jim O wrote, don't think that Devs ever could sound the same even had they been taught by the same individual. Just to much of a difference in the way the books were written to provide the same "type" of sound. As for the press box legend.... who knows..... LOL Later, AA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skajerk Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 rumor has it they broke a window in a judges booth with that wall of sound of theirs.Urban Myth? stated fact? anyone know? Urban myth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarContra4-85 Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 rumor has it they broke a window in a judges booth with that wall of sound of theirs.Urban Myth? stated fact? anyone know? Urban myth. Their hornline did break balloons on a regular basis. For their public clinics and camps, (anybody remember the Spirit Camps for band directors in the mid-80s?) they would put a regular "nickel" balloon on the end of their mouthpieces after their breathing warmup exercises and then blow up the balloons until they popped. b**bs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellrks Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 I didn't know what a drum corps was back in 1979, but I've heard a number of people state that Spirit's hornlines in '79 and '80 were the loudest they've heard (the loudest I have personally heard would be Blue Devils '86; when they hit the first loud chord in "Channel One Suite" at Camp Randall, it was like "HELLOOOO").So, please describe the sound (volume, intonation, tone quality, overall sonority) of Spirit's hornlines those 2 years. Compare it with BD '86 if you can (at least that will give me a frame of reference). Wolfgang In one word, I would say...FAT! The sound was not only in front of you, it would wrap itself around you, enveloping you in its dark richness. Jim was a big believer in playing mouthpieces with the largest bore and bowl size possible. Of course, that meant lots of time working on breathing exercises and long tones to maximize both the volume of airflow and breath control. This partially explains how he achieved the incredible sound that people still have a hard time explaining. I think it's an important point to make though because of all the years I played (third grade through college) he was the only instructor I ever had that made mouthpiece selection a priority and actively pursued which brand and size mouthpiece he wanted you to play on. In general I would say that the Blue Devils have had a brighter, soprano dominant sound since Jim left them. Wayne Downey being a soprano player and Jim a baritone player may account for this shift. Funny that you mention Blue Devils '86 playing Channel One Suite as your loudest corps. That was the 10 year anniversary of BD's first DCI championship and Channel One was a reprise of the 1976 version arranged by none other than Jim Ott and taught by Jim and Wayne Downey. If you ask me, not much was changed in the '86 arrangement, which begs the question... How much does the writing itself contribute to the listener's perception of volume, and how much is in the actual playing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhsalan Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 In general I would say that the Blue Devils have had a brighter, soprano dominant sound since Jim left them. Wayne Downey being a soprano player and Jim a baritone player may account for this shift.Funny that you mention Blue Devils '86 playing Channel One Suite as your loudest corps. That was the 10 year anniversary of BD's first DCI championship and Channel One was a reprise of the 1976 version arranged by none other than Jim Ott and taught by Jim and Wayne Downey. If you ask me, not much was changed in the '86 arrangement, which begs the question... How much does the writing itself contribute to the listener's perception of volume, and how much is in the actual playing? Russell, As to the difference in teaching, I agree. Wayne obviously likes a brighter more "piercing sound". If you listen to the lines when Jim was teaching and writing, it was much "thicker". Part of that was the writing but I'm sure you are correct in that part of it was the teaching. Once Jim moved on and Wayne was writing and teaching, the soprano parts were thinned out to make it more piercing and I'm sure the "concept" behind the sound was more soprano dominant. Interesting you mention that about the '86 show. Hadn't thought about WHY I liked that arrangement so much, but in thinking about what you said, it makes sense. I like that "thicker, fuller" sound. That chart on Channel One, if written consistent with the way Ott had written it for them originally, would have been one of the reasons, I liked Blue Devils '86 so much No matter what, both men taught some great lines and wrote some legendary drum corps books. Later, AA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevingamin Posted January 14, 2004 Share Posted January 14, 2004 (edited) rumor has it they broke a window in a judges booth with that wall of sound of theirs.Urban Myth? stated fact? anyone know? Found a thread about this on RAMD. Sounds like it was an urban legend . . . though, broken glass or not, Spirit had one fine horn line: SPIRIT 1980??? Sounds like something for the Mythbusters to test! ^0^ Edited January 14, 2004 by kevingamin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Well whether true or not, I think it's a great story to pass down from time to time. Here's to breaking glass :mmm: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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