The DCI Yearlys: 1980

[gellio]

Hi All - Being that I found the 'Santa Clara 1984' thread so interesting, I thought I would start yearlys threads. I think we could do one year from the 70's, 80's, and 90's each week, and tack on the 2000's at the end.

My experience with drum corps began in 1984 and I would just like to hear from those who experienced drum corps during different years, whether member, staff, support, or spectator. I think it is fun to talk about the "old days" and learn things about them you may have never known (like the 'Santa Clara 1984' thread).

So, I am hoping that all of you that experienced drum corps in 1980 will share your memories. Next week, I will start a 1981 thread and move through the 80's each following week.

[piobari7980]

I have some very fond mmemories of the 1980 season. The Pioneer horn line took a large step backwards. The corps went back with us as

a whole.

However, I recall the WALL OF SOUND generated by the Spirit hornline that any brass player would certainly appreciate. The repertoire was outstanding.

Of course, the Blue Devils were very crisp. The 27th Lancers were solid.

To me, hands down the Bridgemen were the most entertaining with Spirit

nipping on their heels. Absolutley great and competitive finals.

[Malibu]

Aaaah.....the "Summer of 1980!" That was a great summer for us...not as many bus break downs (only one time)...unlike the year before. Heck, we even beat Spirit at few times (5xs) before they changed their show.

We saw a lot of places and a lot of things together. We saw Disney World and Pat O'Briens in New Orleans. We laughed and played in Tallahassee and cried with our sister corps (Spirit) in Memplhis. We were happy in Ithaca, concerned in West Chester, and joyful in Birmingham.

All the above memories made that unforgettable summer of 1980!

[GmenBari78]

1980 was the second year I attended finals as a fan in the stands. My memories of it are:

Spirit of Atlanta - the wall of sound was unforgettable. The absolute loudest drum corps I have ever heard.

27th - the pinnacle of their history, it would have been wonderful if they had won it all.

Blue Devils - they were simply amazing, smooth, controlled, deserving of the win.

Bridgemen - the pinnacle of their history as well, and what an awesome show. The War Between the States still makes me tear up.

Top 3 - BD, 27, and Bridgemen had a point spread of 0.55, one of the closest in DCI history.

[piobari7980]

1980 was the second year I attended finals as a fan in the stands. My memories of it are:

Spirit of Atlanta - the wall of sound was unforgettable. The absolute loudest drum corps I have ever heard.

27th - the pinnacle of their history, it would have been wonderful if they had won it all.

Blue Devils - they were simply amazing, smooth, controlled, deserving of the win.

Bridgemen - the pinnacle of their history as well, and what an awesome show. The War Between the States still makes me tear up.

Top 3 - BD, 27, and Bridgemen had a point spread of 0.55, one of the closest in DCI history.

The Guardsmen weren't bad either!!! Tiger of San Pedro...WOW.

[LancerFi]

Oh, where do you begin when that's your 10th year marching? It's the people I guess that I remember most. Not only the members, but the staff was tight with the corps, some members were on their bus. Especially in 80 we'd need to plan ahead, the schedules, the logistics, etc. Of course we never stayed the planned course, but we did try.

I will remember DCI East both prelims and finals, and how proud we were, more than usual I should say. Breaking into that top 3 was a trip, but we had worked very hard as everyone did.

I will also remember how easy it was to be the leader of the guard, nothing extra to be done for the members, they had their own pride and their own energy. I wanted to stay in the line and that did happen, however just as I was feeling good in my skin as captain, they were announcing the scores at finals. I was shy in that position, which was really too bad.

I'll always be so happy that I did a pre-tour to cities we'd be going to: Port Huron, Montreal, Canton, OH. They usually sent drum majors. But the happiest thing is having the interview after coming off the field, just Zingali and I. They sent me a still of it, however I've never seen it yet to this day, I'll always remember both of us crying while smiling, but I believe both knowing the truth.....I believe we didn't answer a single question, we just cried....

[tlmaddox]

I marched with Atlanta.

I remember the pain, agony, and misery of a bazillion degree heat as we rehearsed each day that summer;

I remember the moment when we were told by a sobbing staff that our man Jim Ott had died the night before and that Lloyd Pesola was gravely injured;

I remember cursing an un-knowing crowd in Memphis as I stepped out to play feature stuff in Sweet Georgia Brown;

I remember how we huddled amongst ourselves and decided that we were gonna destroy every stadium that dared to stand before us; and

As we stood off the line in Birmingham, Alabama, that one night in August, I remembered that one year before, just as we were about to enter the same place, I took Jim Ott by the hand, shook it real good, hugged his neck, and told him that I loved and appreciated him for what he had done for me;

I don't remember anything about the show. On video, I see and hear me and point me out to my wife and kids;

I remember standing in the age-out arc saluting the stands with our glasses of campagne, then turning to look at the faces of our drumline who had been handed a lousy 2nd place mention;

I remember a bunch of great folks whom I love to this day.

If drum corps does not light your fire, then your wood is wet...

[scv guy]

I will remember DCI East both prelims and finals, and how proud we were, more than usual I should say.  Breaking into that top 3 was a trip, but we had worked very hard as everyone did. 

Hi LancerFi,

As someone who sewed a HUGE 27 patch on my corps jacket in '79 and with us unable to beat just about anyone that year, I was routing for you at Finals to unseat BD. (I also had a Spirit patch!)

1980 was my second year marching bari with Santa Clara. It was a painful ride. The lowest placing of any SCV unit ever at finals. We got our rear kicked all the way across the U.S. I'm still not sure that we deserved such low scores. We had SUCH high hopes for our innovative show. Probably too many years ahead of its time and not fully realized.

We had a rough year out of the gate as the staff wanted to give the brass line a new jazzier sound to our concert production. Remember Caravan anyone? I doubt it! Only lasted one or two shows It was SO fun to play because it was sorta BD-Spirit sounding whom every SCV horn guy secretly admires. In fact, I believe it may be documented in the "State of the Art 1" CD available here.

Jim Elvord was brought in from the Scouts as our new brass instructor (BOP du - Jim!). The judges panned it so badly, that we had to scrap our efforts and start over with Evita...which I actually ended up liking--but it put us behind.

We also had a new kind of drill that was almost completely assymetrical and the judges didn't know what to make of it. As you all know, old school side 1/side 2 stuff was the norm at the time. Take a look at the picture below. This kind of drill is commonplace today, but it was innovative for its time.

The Santa Clara Vanguard's Off the Line at the 1980 DCI East Finals

Tour was brutal. Things didn't start off well getting beat BADLY by BD in every contest. We only won a couple of shows, and those were shows with no other top 5 corps. We got beat by Spirit a lot that year, most painfully in Stillwater, MN by half a tick. We got 'em back in this horrible contest in Michigan City, IN which I recall was a baseball stadium with the pitching mound still in. God bless Spirit though, they were a great corps that year and were inspired by the death of their beloved instructor, Jim Ott.

The fondest memory of the '80 season was playing Ott's chart of "The Naval Hymn" in tribute to the man on 7-19-80 at the Precision West show in Concord. The combined horn lines (200 horns in total) of BD, Spirit, SCV, Freelancers and the Commodores played the song twice. Once nice and pretty and again at FFFFFFF. I'm sure he heard us! This experience was really moving. In fact, I am pretty sure I shed a tear or two. Ott had been around BD and Freelancers, so the feeling was of great loss to the corps at retreat. I think that Spirit played with unbridled passion that year because of this painful experience. "Let it be Me" still gives me chills because of that.

By the time we got to CYO Nationals, we knew where we stood and the picture was not pretty. SCV - the "class" corps, was losing its confidence. Our charts started getting watered down, and we were getting beat. I do remember when 27 won in Allentown and when the buses were rocking as you mentioned LancerFi. We were envious, but proud that you took down BD. No disrespect to the blue crew, they deserved respect in '80.

I do remember one thing about Finals. There is a "freeze" in the middle of the drum solo where you have to keep your foot up. The guy in front of me dropped his foot.

We did knew that maintaining our "top three" status was going to be tough. If you think about it - probably impossible, the championship was up for grabs between 27, BD and Spirit. The rest of the pack was all within 1 point (87), so it was an extremely competetive middle of the pack. I knew we could not do much, though. We were consistently getting beat by all the heavies that year, but we thought we might be able to do well on drums, GE and marching and topple Spirit at the very least. Uh...well, that didn't happen.

There was a lot of pressure on us at finals and we fell flat in pre-lims and in finals. 7th place. <**>

AAAAARGH.

We thought our show was so much better than what the scores divulged but our image as an unstoppable Top 3 corp was compromised. I was happy to see them come back and win DCI in '81.

My favorite drum corps that year were 27 (as I mentioned), The Guardsmen, Northstar, Madison, Crossmen and Spirit. Of course, I have a love/hate feeling for BD. I don't think we beat them once in '79 or '80. They're always awesome to behold, no matter the year. Almost impossible to topple! Not a Phantom kind of guy. Always felt their shows were really dry.

I'm glad that I marched in 1980, though. It was a humbling experience, but I'll never forget it.

The 1980 Santa Clara Vanguard - A tough year

[Jd83]

1980 was the second year I attended finals as a fan in the stands. My memories of it are:

Spirit of Atlanta - the wall of sound was unforgettable.  The absolute loudest drum corps I have ever heard.

27th - the pinnacle of their history, it would have been wonderful if they had won it all.

Blue Devils - they were simply amazing, smooth, controlled, deserving of the win.

Bridgemen - the pinnacle of their history as well, and what an awesome show.  The War Between the States still makes me tear up.

Top 3 - BD, 27, and Bridgemen had a point spread of 0.55, one of the closest in DCI history.

The Guardsmen weren't bad either!!! Tiger of San Pedro...WOW.

Tiger of San Pedro? Although it was a great tune, I loved Fanfare For the New. Until I hear the '73 Argonne Rebels' version, which I heard was a great version, Guardsmen '79 have the definitive drum corps version of Fanfare. The DCI recording in '79 does not do that opener justice. Luckily, I saw the Guardsmen '79 show live at a contest in IL, which they won. Great opener!

[byline]

I remember the oppressive heat, and the bugs, and the humidity, and the never-ending sweat. You couldn't even find relief in the shower, because as soon as you stepped out, the sweat started rolling down your body. Of course, I knew and expected this in '80, having marched in '79, and also having spent a few summers with my grandparents who lived in Homestead, Florida. Still, knowing and expecting it didn't make it any easier to deal with.

I remember 1980 being the most fun of all the years I marched. It was heartbreaking and depressing, too, because it was no secret how much trouble Oakland was in. It turned out to be Oakland's last year competing in Open Class. We placed 32nd that year, and then the corps struggled for several years after that in other divisions. Despite the pain of watching our corps die a slow death, I think most of us decided, either consciously or unconsciously, to have fun, appreciate wherever the experience took us, and enjoy one another's company. And so we did. It was a bittersweet year, and also my age-out year.

I do feel privileged to have marched with Oakland, even if it was in the corps' waning years. I got to know some marvelous people, and the history and heritage associated with Oakland still fill me with pride. I'll never forget the anticipation and excitement (and a fair amount of fear, since I'd never marched corps--or even guard--before) which filled my first season, 1978. Unfortunately, that energy turned to dismay later on in the season, when we could see the handwriting on the wall, in terms of where we were headed competitively. Even though we placed lower in '79 and '80, I think '78 was actually the hardest of the three years, for me. We were filled with so much hope at the beginning of the '78 season. By '79 and '80, I think most of us were resigned to Oakland's fate, so we just decided to make the most of it.

1980 was also the year we had a uniform that was . . . uh, never mind. Kind of sad that the corps must've spent a ton of money on a uniform which we only wore for second tour that year.

We also did something that year which few corps have attempted, much less pulled off: We marched without a drum major. We had a relatively small corps, and so needed as many marching members as possible to fill up the drill. So one of our tymp players actually counted us off, and the drum line held the tempo. And it worked. I can't recall any major train wrecks because we lacked a drum major.

We also had a co-ed guard for the first time in Oakland's history, and that was such a blast! Not that the other guards weren't fun. But having guys in the guard just . . . well, I don't know how to explain it. It just added a different dimension, and also seemed to make everyone relax. It didn't feel so competitive, emotionally. But it did add this element of, "Anything you can do, I can do better!" So we were constantly beefing up the flag book with different ideas. Because we had a different guard staff every year I marched, the guard style was very different each year. My first year, it was a "Santa Clara/Blue Devils" style of guard book. The second year, it was some sort of "Guardsmen/Spirit of Atlanta" hybrid. The third year, we went to more of an Eastern style of flag book, changing to "easy," "normal" and so on, the style of spinning used by Two-Seven and many other East Coast guards. We even toyed with the idea of going all-rifle, since most of the guard members could spin rifle. (I couldn't, and so of course the idea scared me to death. Later on, when I was teaching guard, I finally learned the basics of spinning and tossing a rifle, and wished I could go back and have that experience while marching.) But I think the expense of buying rifles for all 16 or so members of the guard--plus trying to work in a drill segment in which the rifles would be featured effectively (especially after our drill writer/guard instructor left us fairly early on in the season . . . probably because we couldn't afford to pay him)--killed that idea.

My 1981 DCI calendar (which shows the results for 1980) lists 44 Open Class corps competing, and 21 Class A corps competing. I'd like to think that someday we'll see that many corps competing again in DCI . . . but somehow, I doubt it. :(

Edited April 18, 2004 by byline