neddy Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 I'm not a drummer but I'll take a crack at it. It's probably a combination of things. 1) the arrangements 2) the equipment 3) player developmentI think the arrangement goes without saying. Some arrangers or caption heads have a goal of challenging the players regardless of the outcome because it's a learning experience. Hence, nothing gets hosed. It's also an issue of how the line is staged, how spread they are and how well the parts line up with the horn book. Equipment was an issue for a lot of corps prior to the 90's. Some lines just FLAT OUT couldn't hear anything they were playing. Alot of resonance and echoing coming back at them. I've heard of some old tricks like putting mole skin on the bottom of the heads to deaden the ring and make the articulation of the attack more pronounced. Just a wild guess though. I have to say, some of the best individual players I've ever seen have moved up from the Div 2/3 / lower tier div 1 corps. They may have had mad chops by themselves but couldn't play with anyone else .... then during the offseason something just clicks for them. THere's also the issue of muscle development and coordination. Most of these young players are going through a growth spurt at 16-18 years of age. They just eventually grow into their chops and become more consistent. Just me 2 cents. thanks! Much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Ackerman Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 (edited) 1990 was a interesting year. Star came out of the gate with an astounding show, Cadets were shaky at the start but came on strong. I loved that they brought back Candide. I pretty much liked the whole top seven or eight corps and then really was dissapointed with Madisons' show. It was musically boring and the drill was hideous. Then 10th place, the Velvet Knights was awesome. Never thought I would like Alice Cooper on the drum corp field but they did it up nice. Spirit was nice in getting back to the southern flavor and Dutch boy's guard was on fire and super hot! - as usual. Edited March 18, 2007 by Marty Ackerman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acn Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 1990 - lets see what I remember. -Watching BD all day in Whitewater. Not being to thrilled by Tommy, but in shock over the line. -finals - could not believe how loud Star was, or Spirit for that matter -loved Crossmen -BD's show grew on me by finals, but not on of my favorites. -a tad let down by Scouts, but only because my expectations are always so high Overall a great year, but quality of top 12 was better in '88, and '89. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cat-like stealth Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 (edited) Yep...90 was both Ralph and Tom F's last year. SCV played some WICKED beats that year!!!! The snare break still makes me laugh when I hear it...(the flam drag/flam 5/inverted cheese/single lick...YOWZA!) I miss those Ralph beats. He was one of the main reasons I wanted to march SCV, but being I was on the east coast....I wish I could have been in the snarelines of SCV in 85, 86, and 87...what an honor that would have been! What I remember from that year was the extended roll sequence in the closer. If I remember correctly, there were a whole bunch of 6's, then a 5 going into a 9, a couple 2's, two 6's, a couple more 5's, then decrescendo 6's. What made it even cooler was that we went into a scatter drill right after that first 5. Of course, on the broadcast, right when the scatter starts, they cut away to another shot. Another memory: in the middle of tour, in I think Dallas, we received a shipment of the first-ever Pearl freefloater snares in the sweet copper color. Edited March 19, 2007 by cat-like stealth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJN Posted March 18, 2007 Share Posted March 18, 2007 What I remember from that year was the extended roll sequence in the closer. If I remember correctly, there were a whole bunch of 6's, then a 5 going into a 9, a couple 2's, two 6's, a couple more 5's, then decrescendo 6's. What made it even cooler was that we went into a scatter drill right after that first 5. Of course, on the broadcast, right when the scatter starts, they cut away to another shot.Another memory: in the middle of tour, in I think Dallas, we received a shipment of the first Pearl freefloater snares in the sweet copper color. A great show and great writing. Awesome tenor tuning. Many other years 1990 SCV could have won. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muskie26 Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Another thing to keep in mind about 90 Cadets was that we had Sangtus on the field in spring training. It was probably a minute and a half or so. The staff decided it didn't have enough GE and cut most of it out. We kept about 30 seconds of it as a transition in to Agnus Dei. At the end of spring training was when we started to learn the music for the Gallop. That was a big cause for our slow start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 We saw Star of Indiana and the Cadets at the show in Hershey, PA, early that summer..... Star won handily, beating the Cadets by something like two points or so. But there was something about the Cadets that night........ ya just had a feeling that if they got their act together, they could win the DCI title that year. And they did! Fran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCIHasBeen Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 We saw Star of Indiana and the Cadets at the show in Hershey, PA, early that summer..... Star won handily, beating the Cadets by something like two points or so. But there was something about the Cadets that night........ ya just had a feeling that if they got their act together, they could win the DCI title that year. And they did! Fran What the Cadets had that night, I believe, was an overtime penalty. They had been having problems getting the "Overture to Candide" up to speed, and parts of there show still weren't workingo out timing wise ... But they were brilliant. Star had an amazing performance that night ... It was actually the last time I enjoyed their show before they started making changes to appease the judges. Cadets were magnificent that year ... "Undiscovered Bernstein" and the reverse z-pull. Great stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legolaus Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 One of my greatest memories from 1990 was hearing the hornline from Academie Musicale from Quebec. They were amazing. Very small but what a sound! Very clean, great technique and you could tell that each and every player in the line was contributing to the wonderful sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
727driver Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 (edited) It's funny how differently I feel about 90 than many others. It's one of my all time favorite years. BD's Tommy has to be one of the coolest horn books on the planet, and I was just awed by their sound. And Madison's show is a huge guilty pleasure of mine. Just about wore my recording of it out listening to the closer over and over again. Different strokes I guess, but man I love that year! Edited November 8, 2007 by 727driver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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