george Tuthill

[apoch003]

Okay, I'm just going to say this one time because I know a lot of you guys love the guy....

Tuthill became the director of the Argonauts in 83.

Skyriders had let him go.

Bridgemen had let him go (and threw their drumsticks at him).

George wanted to change us into a marching band.

We didn't march in 86 to "reform".

87 was a boring show but we managed to stay in the 60's in scores. I later found out that George only marched as a corps in 87 to make money to start his marching band.

88 was my age out year. George marched a BAND. I marched with Marauders.

Personally, I hated the guy.

Your thoughts? (Change my opinion).

[bd5times]

sounds like trolling and I would expect this thread to be closed in about 10 seconds....

[apoch003]

You're wrong. Cmon I don't want to make an enemy out of you.

5...4...3....2...1...

[argonaut]

George H. Tuthill died Oct. 19, 2001. Tuthill was inducted into the

Drum & Bugle Corps Hall of Fame in 2000. He worked as a freelance percussionist, arranger, and educator in New York from 1962-78 and performed with Jamie Abersal, Mike Vax, Bob Brookmeyer, the Four Freshman, Pete Christlieb, Wille Thomas, Don Menza and Urbie Green. He was Edie Adams drummer from 1970-72 and played a variety of Off-Broadway shows. He was a member of the PAS Marching Percussion Committee and International Drum Rudiment Committee. Tuthill Instructed several drum corps including the Hawthorne Caballeros, Garfield Cadets, Cavaliers, Bridgemen, Anchormen (UK), Sky Ryders and the Argonauts. He also worked as Product Development Consultant/Staff Clinician for Slingerland Drum Co. and wrote percussion parts for over 250 published marching band arrangements

[MikeD]

Tuthill Instructed several drum corps including the Hawthorne Caballeros, Garfield Cadets, Cavaliers, Bridgemen, Anchormen (UK), Sky Ryders and the Argonauts.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Graduated from the Manhattan School of Music as well....

Also taught Blessed Sac in 72.

Much of the Garfield drumline quit after 71 when Garfield let him go. We all went to the Cabs where he was teaching at the time, though I went back to Garfield and played baritone in 72.

The first MB he taught was Glen Ridge HS for band director Larry Schillings (Garfield's asst brass guy to DCP's own Ironlips in 71). I was his asst instructor, as I was a freshman percussion major at Montclair State, close by to Glen Ridge. Larry Kerchner did the wind charts. George played in a jazz trio at a restaurant/club a short walk from my school; I used to go down and listen to him every other week or so.

Mike

[ChetPeters]

Not really sure where this is going but....

This sounds strangly familiar.......Tuthill did the same thing to a corps from Edison NJ back in 1977. Corps never recovered and folded soon after he took over.

Okay, I'm just going to say this one time because I know a lot of you guys love the guy....

Tuthill became the director of the Argonauts in 83.

Skyriders had let him go.

Bridgemen had let him go (and threw their drumsticks at  him).

George wanted to change us into a marching band.

We didn't march in 86 to "reform".

87 was a boring show but we managed to stay in the 60's in scores.  I later found out that George only marched as a corps in 87 to make money to start his marching band.

88 was my age out year.  George marched a BAND.  I marched with Marauders.

Personally, I hated the guy.

Your thoughts?  (Change my opinion).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[lp1955]

Tuthill

Bridgemen had let him go (and threw their drumsticks at  him).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not like you make it sound

Every instructor who walked through the Bridgemen's doors intending to teach the drumline, though, had to go through some right of passage. An initiation if you will, a mating dance, whatever. It was a chance for the instructor to decide if he would fit in with the drum line, and a chance for the drum line to decide if the instructor would be allowed to live.

It was no different with Tuthill.

One night George started re-working the book. John Flowers, it seemed to Tuthill, had written an impossibly difficult drum book that included every manner of percussion toy available from wood blocks to flex-a-tones to metal castanets--the list was endless. The line carried more sets of mallets than Vic Firth could manufacture in a year. Even the snares carried around a utility bag full of sticks, mallets and gadgets.

After listening to a few run-throughs, George looked around and said, "How come you guys are using so many different sticks? Do you really need all of them?"

The drum line looked around at each other, and shook their heads no. No they didn't.

In a fatal error of tactical judgement that could come only from a complete lack of understanding about the individuals he was dealing with, Tuthill replied, "Well, okay then get rid of them."

No sooner than he had completed that sentence, a hale storm of mallets, drum sticks and other assorted beaters rained down upon Tuthill from all sections of the drumline. It is a rare sight when you get to see your drum instructor dance. Oh, the humanity.

No permanent damage was done however, the sticks were all still usable, and George was in pretty good shape too. Now at least the ground rules were established.

George soon left the Bridgemen after that.

[bd5times]

That's classic!

[kansasDC]

George H. Tuthill died Oct. 19, 2001. Tuthill was inducted into the

Drum & Bugle Corps Hall of Fame in 2000. He worked as a freelance percussionist, arranger, and educator in New York from 1962-78 and performed with Jamie Abersal, Mike Vax, Bob Brookmeyer, the Four Freshman, Pete Christlieb, Wille Thomas, Don Menza and Urbie Green. He was Edie Adams drummer from 1970-72 and played a variety of Off-Broadway shows. He was a member of the PAS Marching Percussion Committee and International Drum Rudiment Committee. Tuthill Instructed several drum corps including the Hawthorne Caballeros, Garfield Cadets, Cavaliers, Bridgemen, Anchormen (UK), Sky Ryders and the Argonauts. He also worked as Product Development Consultant/Staff Clinician for Slingerland Drum Co. and wrote percussion parts for over 250 published marching band arrangements

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

He also taught L.I. Kingsmen for a few years. Never had any issues. When he went west, Dennis Delucia replaced him as our percussion caption head,

[MikeD]

One night George started re-working the book.  John Flowers, it seemed to Tuthill, had written an impossibly difficult drum book that included every manner of percussion toy available from wood blocks to flex-a-tones to metal castanets--the list was endless. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

One thing about George is that he, at least IMO, focussed on the musicality of the percussion score first and foremost over the sheer quantity of notes played.

I've been listenting to our 71 show a bit lately, and one thing I notice is that George based the percussion score around the timpani line, not the snares, unlike most corps of that era. Very unique and musical, IMO.

Further, his music tended to stress the rhythmic interaction within each element of the line as opposed to the rudimental 'pureness' of the book...older judges tended to kill us in demand...younger ones recognized the difficulty of what he wrote.

A George story....

A HS band duirector in Central NJ had hired him to work the percussion at his band camp (he was living out west at the time. He showed up at the HS, briefcase in hand, and went to the office to ask where the band director was.

The secretary thought George was the band director's attorney, as the guy had just been arrested for messing around with students. Needless to say...no band camp gig.

Mike