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1980 SCV


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I just ordered a bunch of DVD's and am finally getting a chance to view them after all the drama with Charley and Frances.I got the 1980 DVD and Anyway, I noticed Santa Clara came in 7th in 1980. I LOVE this show. I think the drill is way ahead of its time.

Did we see History in the making with this show? I noticed on the look back the interview with Cesario he said that the drill didn't go over like they wanted it too.

Can anyone elaborate? I see so much of this drill in todays drum corps, don't you think?

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How funny you should bring this up...I was JUST watching the 1996 DCI Video last night, and Michael "That sure swashed my buckle!" Cesario took us "back in the time machine" and showed a quick excerpt from the 1980 SCV show. WOW!! He stated that "that Pete Emmons drill....WoooooooW!!!" Made some mention that everyone jumped on the bandwagon after that year--so yes, Pete Emmons and the 1980 SCV to be the grandfather of the assymetric drill design.

Edited by Ryan H. Turner
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SCV's score was punishment for innovation.

I'm not convinced this is true. I, too, loved this show, but as I recall, they were having problems in execution. Not too surprising, given the complexity of that program and the fact that they were covering new ground. I also think there's something to be said for judges having a hard time judging something because it is new. That's not "punishment" (or, at least, not a deliberate attempt to punish), but just an adjustment the judges have to make to something they've never seen before, and for which the sheets are not structured. Because judging is a reactive function, it takes at least a year for the judging community to "catch up" to many innovations which occur during a given season, and the sheets have to be rewritten to accommodate these trends.

If you look at the 1980 finals recaps, Santa Clara actually scored rather well in M&M; they placed fourth overall. They didn't do so well in the other captions . . . though frankly, I think they should've scored higher in GE. And yes, "Stone Ground Seven" was an amazing drum solo, both musically and visually. I'll never figure out how the corps managed to stay in step with the changing meters, and how the drum line managed to march such a complex drill and play that piece. But I think their overall music execution suffered somewhat because of the sheer demand of their marching program. (We also have to remember that they changed part of their show halfway through the season. They played "Caravan" as their concert piece during first tour--that's what's on the "State of the Art" recording"--but replaced it with selections from "Evita" for second tour.) I say "suffered" . . . but that's pretty relative. It was a wonderful show, and obviously it has stood the test of time, since we're still talking about it now. I would've preferred that they place higher, but I also think their caption scores were an accurate reflection of judges' expectations at that time.

Edited by byline
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Wow! The only thing I could tell that wasn't that executed well was the horn line. Some were still cracking notes but the overall sound was incredible.

Yes I was in awe of Stone Ground Seven. They even bring this show up in Brass Roots.

Thanks for all the responses! I was wondering what the heck was up with them in 7th place...

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I hate to use the word politics, but that’s exactly what happened in 1980. For ten plus years Pete and Fred under Gail’s direction had created some of the most innovative shows in the history of the activity. In 1980 Pete and Fred decided to “push the old man out”. I remember a number of us alums put together a dinner to show our appreciation and to honor Gail. Word was that all during the season Gail used his influence within the judging community to slam the corps. In the end the corps dropped to 7th and Pete and Fred were gone. The next year GR was once again in charge and the corps won it all! Go figure!

Paul

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Paul,

I don't have any problem with you using the word politics in reference to this. I see it. And although some don't believe that there is politics in drum corps :music: , this would be a classic example of that!

I know in 1986 they (somebody in dci) wanted us (27) to change our uniforms and our style. We did, and we did Broadway and we did it very well, we still got ripped off because of what I consider to be politics. 5/10ths of a point or whatever the final result was when our show should've been in the top 10 at the least. WE tried to go with the changes like they wanted and still there was politics.

I don't care what anyone else thinks I know it was....I was there!

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Case in point... Madison 1983.

Yes, the execution was fairly shabby most of the time BUT judges (and some fans too) were none too pleased with opening with a classical piece versus some ballzondo explosion of Latin/Jazz/B-Way and...

gone were the Boy Scout uniforms replaced instead with white Eisenhower jackets, WHITE shoes (YUCK!!), mint green shirts and ummm, ermmm, ####------

NO SPATS!!

All of it in an ill-advised attempt to kiss the collective arse of the judging community-especially after the disappointing '82 season.

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I don't deny that politics is a reality in any sort of subjective judging. But another reality is that it's nearly impossible to prove. There's no end to the boundary of speculation. So nearly every judging result could be called into question as a result of "politics" . . . if we chose to do so. And God knows, I have a fair bit of experience with folks making this very accusation. What's the point? It doesn't change the outcome, and may not be an accurate reflection of what actually happened. It's just speculation about what may, or may not, have occurred.

Edited by byline
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Lancerlady also on the 1980 DVD you'll find Crossmen also doing a bit of assymetrical drill. It was during the "Planets"(Songs from Superman the Movie) part of our show. Because so many members were on one side of the field, the judges didn't know how to judge it. That was the same problem SCV ran into.

You can see the form here....this was taken in Whitewater;

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v111/Mal...1980Planets.jpg

Edited by Malibu
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