What's The Big Deal

[MUMarchingthunder04]

And yes the bikini girls in the old VK shows are very nice.

Not when they lie about their age, are 26 years old, and married....

yikes....learn something new everyday

and yes I'd love to see Vk and the Bridgemen come back....but who thinks the judges would really give them the respect they deserve??

Edited April 21, 2004 by MUMarchingthunder04

[sburstall]

I know that when I started in the juniors I knew nothing about drum corps but loved hearing the stories about the older corps...almost wishing I had gotten in earlier (or born earlier). I never berated the previous generation of drum corps, infact I relished in thier rich history.

[JimF-LowBari]

As you can tell by the signature I marched in the 70s so I can be considered "old school". But I also had the good fortune of riding with people who were with DC back in the 50s so I got to hear a LOT of Sr history. Gives you a lot of perspectice on change thru the years and where DC is today.

As I posted on RAMD a while back, there are people in 2004 who bash the "old timers" for not liking the changes in DC today. I would love to hear their opinion of DC in 2024. Bet they're going to sound a lot like the people they are bashing today.

[goalieguy]

Hey Thunder 04:

As an 'old school' guy, I always felt that the Bridgemen and VK NEVER got the respect they deserved. Crowd entertainment always took a back seat to the serious corps.

I only saw VK twice, the first time at DCI Midwest in '84. The contest people always stuck 1 hot corps in the early AM prelims, and usually it was one of those 'up and coming' corps that was put out there to set the 'tolerance' for the judges. VK was that corps in '84. After coming out onto the field( they were on 3rd) and setting up there warmup formation, the entire corps turned to the crowd and and in unison yelled,"GOOD MORNING"! Needless to say, that's all it took. After the 'Jaws' warmup, they went into the opener, NBC Chimes Festival, by Tommy Newsom. They made the final show that night, but I can never imagine an 8:30 am crowd as loud as it was that morning in Whitewater.

IS THERE ANYONE WHO WILL BE ABLE TO PLAY 'OLD SCHOOL' an get away with it?

JD 83- Excellent post- It will always be the place of the newbies to disregard anything the geezers say, only because of the lack of emphasis placed on historical significance. Gee! Doesn't that say something similar to the way our society treats its older people, passing them over unless they can contribute, and if they aren't directly involved, they might not be worth the time of day.

Sorry for the rant!

Pat

:ramd:

[MUMarchingthunder04]

yeah i still am trying to figure out how the Bridgemen didn't make finals in 84. I have the recording and i think it is great. Of course judges are hard to understand. <_<

[kosovobill]

I think one thing that needs to be brought up is this: drum corps is Popular art, not fine art. Band-oriented people have tried to convert drum corps to their liking, which unfortunately dismays a lot of fans, as most are not familiar with contemporary band music. I think band music should be played by bands, not drum corps. Drum corps has been about parents, kids, music, and good times; and has been invaded by band types because their activity does not permit the superior performance level that drum corps by nature provides...that is the nature of the beast, folks...more over, drum corps (DCI, anyway) is controlled by band types like George Hopkins who want to march saxaphones and anything else that suits their fancy...unfortunately, when the Legion and the VFW lost control of Drum Corps, it left the door open for change, good and bad.

Bill

[PJS53]

Lots of interesting thoughts on this topic. Here's my take. When you give respect you get it. I have not always been in favor of some of the changes that have taken place over the years but in expressing my views I try to be careful not to bash people in the head with them. I also try to explain my reasons for disliking a certain aspect in a nonconfrontational manner. I may have not always succeeded at that but I try. I can't think of an instance when somebody in the current generation of marchers was anything but gratious in talking about the evolution of the activity and in most cases were very interested and thoughtful about hearing what I had to say.

In the context of face to face interaction with corps members all I can say is the guys that I see at Cavalier events are exceptionally respectful to the point of embarassment. Those guys have made me feel like a rock star on more than one occassion. I talked to one kid who probably knew more history about the years I marched than I cared to remember. As someone stated earlier I think corps with a tradition of remembering their history tend to honor the people who came before them and realize that they will be in the stands one day too.

[CrossmenAlumni]

Agreed, Pete. At the Crossmen, we are very fortunate to have over a dozen former members of the corps serving on the instructional or administrative staff. That connection to the members, knowing that there are those who are teaching them everyday who once stood where they are standing, who wore the same uniform, is very special indeed.

I can also recall countless situations (too many to mention) similar to what you describe, in which face to face encounters between current and former members are nothing but AMAZING. The kids today have a tremendous amount of respect for those who came before them, and display an enthusiastic zeal to learn all that they can about their corps' history. They love listening to the old shows, checking out the old videos, and hearing the old "war stories."

Each year, for the past six or seven years, the Crossmen Alumni Association has sponsored something we call "History Night." We gather at the spring training facility for the corps, assemble in a large classroom or auditorium, and basically take the kids on a trip down memory lane. Originally, it was a basic slide show with special guest speakers to talk about each era. Last year, we changed it into a VERY entertaining and informative PowerPoint display, complete with a soundtrack of corps music playing in the background. The old pictures, the old uniforms, the old hair-do's, seeing some pics of staff members from when they marched. It's an absolute blast. The highlight of last year's event came when alum Robbie Robinson, who won the DCI snare I&E three years in a row (1979-1981, IIRC), showed up and played a snare solo for the kids. He brought down the house! They ate it up!

I totally agree with you that respect is earned. Give and you shall receive. There will always be vocal critics of both the new school and the old school. You just can't please everyone. I've discovered that it's best not to waste time with them and instead strengthen the ties you have to those who are more respectful and appreciative of drum corps from ALL eras.

[bawker]

To go off topic for a sec, you marched some great years at Crossmen, Gary. The 1990-1992 shows are among my favorites.

I was kicking "Puma" in the car on the way to work. :)

Edited April 23, 2004 by bawker2000

[Walter]

I'm glad to see the Dutch Boy is no different than everyone else when it comes to

respect of former members. Let me tell you what happened to me last February.

I hadn't seen or heard much of my former and cherished drum corps in a while

so I found out where they were rehearsing and went over. Well I walked in and I

was hugged by one of the women who I knew from my bowling league, she has two kids in the corps. One of the kids saw this and asked her who I was. She said that I was an original Dutch Boy Cadets from the late 60's. The guy just stood there and said "They had drum corps back then?"

My legs buckled and you could have knocked me over with a feather. I looked at him and said "It wasn't that long ago." Then he had to go back inside with the

rest. I hung around and talked with the corps director and introduced myself

and asked him if he would mind if I hung around. He said "No stay as long as you want." That was it. I knew that I had been excepted and welcomed HOME. I've gone back to several practices and corps camps and the kids who are a lot like I was when I started can't get enough of the stories of the early years. I show them pictures and they laugh at the clothes and the hair styles.

It really makes me feel like I'm looking at myself all over again only from a different perspective, through the eyes of those kids. I know what their going through. Their getting eager to learn the drill and compete.

Although I find it kind of like a dejavu, the corps director was one of these kids

when I was aging out. I think back to a U. S. Open in '77. It had been raining and we were delayed. We came out to warm up and there was our feeder corps on the back stands yelling and screaming at the top of their lungs cheering us on.

If that doesn't get your juices flowing nothing will.

So I guess I've come full circle. Only this time I'm cheering them on.

GO GETTEM DUTCH BOY. From Old Dutch Boy :D ^OO^