The DCI Yearlys: 1988

[apoch003]

What are you memories? I have none as it was my age out year and my corps had folded.

[mingusmonk]

OK. We kind of did this once before, but my drum corps fan-engine was at top speed in '88, so I will provide my memories again.

I attended the following shows in '88.

June 20, 1988 - Mishawaka, IN

June 26, 1988 - Goshen, IN

July 16, 1988 - Dekalb, IL - DCM Championships

August 10, 1988 - Bloomington, IN

August 13, 1988 - Marion, OH (US Open)

(Ah, the glory days of Indiana drum corps. So many shows, so little time, so little access to mom and dad's car :) )

So I got my fill during the famous midwest summer drought of '88. Glad I didn't march in that heat. Especially considering that Bluecoats were still lugging around those tanks known as Ludwigs :P.

The Bluecoats had it all out there when the season started. I saw them barely get beat by the Cavaliers on 6/20 (And still remaining close in Goshen on 6/26). Both the content of the show and the level of the performance didn't evolve too much as the season progressed. It was fun as a fan to be able to see a corps performing a show so well when the season started. It is too often that shows aren't even done in the opening weeks. I endied up marching with my share of Bluecoats '88 alumni, and they were all really close group as a result of that summer. It seemed that the tough year made for some tight bonding.

The Cavaliers' Firebird show was a real leap that year. I remember both of my (drum-corps-saavy) band directors being baffled by the show in June. They were thinking that the Cavies staff had lost their mind. Looking back, it appears that they were probably ahead of the curve on some of the show's, um ... artistic ... nature (sorry, not sure how to put it). As this show would probably have fit in better in about 5 more years. I really enjoy this show now. Probably more than most 5th place shows.

I only went to finals of DCM championships in 1988. That was a memorable experience. The Madison Scouts were NOT good. I'm not sure how else to put it. I had a chance to chat with my old drum mentor and instructor in the stands, who had attended prelims, and the comments were not so postive. There was a buzz around the stands and it was not the kind of buzz Madison would have wanted. As far as the Cavaliers came during the '88 season, the Scouts came even further. And obviously in a more accessible fashion. Especially when you consider they spent a good portion of the first tour in Europe. Here were the DCM final scores:

1 Phantom Regiment 84.000

2 Star of Indiana 83.000

3 Cavaliers 81.900

4 Madison Scouts 81.400

5 Bluecoats 78.300

6 Sky Ryders 71.700

So this was my first chance to see Phantom Regiment ... ever. Boy did they come out of the gate strong (as would be their habit in the late 80's). I find this show connects very well. The brass writing is key. I know that their overall percussion arrangements were starting to become a little dated, but that freaking snare line was just sick (um, in a good way). Kind of a midwest drummers dream at that point. Opening with that Ritardando snare double stroke roll. Very ballsy move. I have heard some stories from alumni about trying to learn the drill to the drum solo. Apparently Marty had to explain the rhythmn of each bar, one at a time, for them. Is this a drum corps urban legend?

This was also my first chance to really see Star for the year. Although I had already had some exposure to the program, as there were some connections at my school. There are probably about 4 Star shows that I like more than this, but I really enjoyed it. Again - from a teenage drummer perspective ... Unison mallets doing the Porgy and Bess theme?!? Whoo-hoo! There was not a lot of talk about "great sideline percussion" in those days, but Star ruled the late 80's (along with SCV). Also, the battery was talented and had creative integration of the snare and tenor sections. Didn't the tenors do something different with the spot drum that year?

Cut to August and Star's home show. The last year for the Bloomingtin soccer stadium show! My first Blue Devils experience. And what a way to start. '88 Devils is my 2nd favorite BD show of all time (next to '86). The program just oozed with attitude. From start to finish, it had at all. Wailing, soft jazzy touch, and the closing "west coast jazzers can also scatter, and be a lot cooler doing it." They ended up right in the middle of a very compact Top 4 that year. Cavies had begun to open the gap on the Bluecoats and Star was close behind. Top Scores at Bloomington (which will be more relevant in a moment):

1 Blue Devils 95.200

2 Cavaliers 93.300

3 Star of Indiana 92.400

4 Bluecoats 87.600

A few days later, I take my parents on their first Drum Corps excursion. Or were they taking me? To the 1988 US Open Finals in Marion, OH. I have no recollection as to why we went this show instead of something closer (Indy? Ft Wayne?). We arrived and parked and a kind soul told us that there was a hissing sound coming from our vehicle. We went back and could not confirm it - must be nothing. Prelims results looked like this:

1 Garfield Cadets 93.200

2 Phantom Regiment 92.800

3 Star of Indiana 92.300

4 Dutch Boy 84.600

5 Blue Knights 76.400

6 Colts 75.300

7 Spartans (WA) 63.200

8 Glassmen 62.300

9 Beatrix 59.200

10 Oakland Crusaders 51.400

So I was well familiar with all of these big dog's programs at this point, except Garfield. I had heard of it, but had niether heard nor seen it. As an aspiring music major, and quirky teenager, I was intrigued by this show. Copelands 3rd came across OK. But of course, Cadets had to push the envelope. My mother, the music appreciator of my family, was baffled. Much like my band directors witnessing the Cavaliers months earlier. I was instantly impressed by the split drumlines, but there was not much to latch into from this show.

As the scores began to be announced, it was obvious that things were a little shook up. The lower placing corps were taking extreme shifts. Next thing you know, Star of Indiana was the winner of the US Open. Over Cadets AND PR!! As they had done the week before! Needless to say, our friends in Star were exstatic that they were positioned to be Top 4 or 5 material with the championship show just one week away. US Open Scores below:

... Oh, and when we got back to the van, and it had a flat tire. :P

1 Star of Indiana 94.300

2 Garfield Cadets 93.800

3 Phantom Regiment 93.300

4 Dutch Boy 86.000

5 Blue Knights 80.000

6 Colts 78.500

7 Glassmen 65.600

8 Spartans (WA) 65.200

9 Beatrix 59.600

10 Oakland Crusaders 44.400

Obviously finals week did not go as planned or as expected for everyone. I was not there, and as was shocked to come home from band camp and watch the results:

Cotton McKnight:And the Average Joe's beat the Purple Cobras in a *shocking* upset.

Pepper Brooks: I feel *shocked*

So went 1988. Enter 1989 - my quests to see more shows in one summer than any fan should. and to see SCV do Phantom of the Opera before I die.

[Guardguy89]

Ok I'll play along:

1988-

My first year with the Cavaliers. I remember countless sleepless nights practicing my ### off before the audition camp in April. Even though by '88 I had been marching 9 years of drum corps (and 3 years of winter guard) I was still nervous as ####!!!

Showing up to auditions at Triton College and having Bruno ask "okay, how many of you don't know how to spin a flag". I thought it was a joke, until some people started raising their hand

Not realizing that I was given a rifle spot until we started learning the drill and I kept wondering why I was the only flag connecting with the rifles.

First tour - man were we bad!!!! Everyone and their sister was beating us. But I didn't care, 'cause I was a Cavalier b**bs

Having Jeff Fiedler always refer to us as "gentlemen" - as in "gentlemen, that was really bad".

Having a horrible, horrible, horrible show somewhere in the midwest and Jeff telling us that "if" we won (it was pretty much us and the Colts that night) we would do the entire field show again - and praying and hoping that somehow Colts would beat us that night

Phantom's "Juliet" dresses on the guard. They weren't adjusted yet on first tour and made the girls look pregnant

Mike Duffy (i think that was his name) from the baritone line doing his Phantom guard salute - cracked me up everytime!!!!

Marching with Michael Gaines - he was a great guy back then too.

Goofing around with Glenn - his sense of humour was as weird as mine.

Joe from ####!!!!!

Those aggrivating little "flame" things that we had in our gauntlets and had to pull out - not to mention the "carwash" moment at the end of the show where at least one of us would either get our flag caught or get strangled.

Having a show in Montreal that year (my hometown). Not only did the announcer single me out as we were setting up - my mom introduced me to EVERYONE in the stands after our show!!!!! Thank God I had a good show that night!!!!!!!!!

Practicing, practicing, practicing and practicing some more. I had never in my entire drum corps career practiced that much (and that includes Cavies '89). We really had our work cut out for us that year.

Swearing in French when I got frustrated on the field - noone understood what I was saying anyway (and I'd usually smile while I swore)!!!

Rehearsing next to Troopers in Bloomington - and hearing their guard instructor yell "That was really good girls, but Wanda honey, it spins the other way". We hyped on that for the rest of the year.

DCI - squeezing every single last drop out of practice that we could. The guard spent the entire week on the practice field running the show. Run after run after run. Not the most pleasant DCI week I ever had. But hey, we came in 5th (after first tour many had us in 10th) and the work we put into '88 helped make '89 a much easier ride!!!

Sorry for the length of the post - that really brought back some great memories!!!!

Later,

Mike

[alvinpr89]

Marched Phantom, it went pretty much like this,

run, run, run, play loud, run, run, run

man it's hot, run, run, run

cool drum line, color guard is good, looks pregnant

Cavies are good, Madison is not so good, Blue Coats beat us at the first show, Star is still pink.

Wow, new drum solo drill, Cavies still good, Madison is out of the country, Star is getting good. Man it is still hot.

Boy our buses suck! Wow Blue Devils are LOUD!! Velvet Knights beat us. SCV is good. Garfield is?

Kansas City and it is still hot. Blue Devis are still LOUD!! (man what a horn line) SCV made the whole corps dissaprear, Cavies are good. and where the heck did Madison come from?

[jimdugan]

The Bluecoats had it all out there when the season started. I saw them barely get beat by the Cavaliers on 6/20 (And still remaining close in Goshen on 6/26). Both the content of the show and the level of the performance didn't evolve too much as the season progressed. It was fun as a fan to be able to see a corps performing a show so well when the season started. It is too often that shows aren't even done in the opening weeks. I endied up marching with my share of Bluecoats '88 alumni, and they were all really close group as a result of that summer. It seemed that the tough year made for some tight bonding.

It was kind of a rough year for Bluecoats in 88.

Playing the tune Take Five in four. As was the case back then, the corps was

always close in June and by the time DCM rolled around we were looking up mostly due to program. But we ate very well. lol

1988 was when they did the ala Garfield and had color guard play, I mean hold sopranos at the end of the show.

[jlhiatt]

I don't know that I really have any "memories" since I didn't march back then (I was only 11 in 1988) and wasn't introduced to drum corps until 1991, but I think the most memorable moments (on tape, anyway) were Madison's performance. Steve Rondinaro said that they were a "dark horse" and he was right. Blue Devils had been undefeated all season and the Scouts pulled out all the stops. Certainly had the crowd on their feet. :)

I also remember SCV and "Phantom of the Opera" though I prefer 1988 to 1989.

[gellio]

Love all the memories.

I remember before the season started, there was a lot of talk about Phantom being the corps to beat in the Midwest, and having a shot at the title. They jumped from 10th to 5th (almost 3rd) the year before, and were doing another Tchaikovsky show. We, however, were in rough shape before the season started.

Coming into Whitewater, we had just beaten Cavies the weekend before, and thought it was going to be us or Phantom who walked away with 1st place. I still remember being shocked when Phantom was announced in 5th, Star in 4th, Cavies in 3rd, I thought, "Oh my God, the Bluecoats are going to win". Nope, Bluecoats second. The next night Phantom closed the gap in Rockford, and then everything was upside down in Normal with us and Phantom tieing for first, Star in 3rd, Cavies 4th, and Bluecoats 5th. We played a joint encore with Phantom that night and I thought their show sounded fierce.

Off to Europe we went. We heard all along that we'd be giving up 1-2 places come finals because we were going to be in Europe. What people didn't realize is we practiced just as much over there as we would have over here. Travel distances were shorter and we didn't have things every day. I got sick on the flight over and then really sick on the flight back. The Germans of Bad-Munder were crazy, the Dutch were fun, and those English were great. Everyone loved us because we were at a level never before seen in Europe.

Back to the States we come - first show Rosemont. This would tell us exactly how much being gone hurt us. Answer - not much! We narrowly lost to Phantom and topped Cavies. On to DeKalb, where we were shocked ####-less when we landed in 4th. It just proved the Midwest corps were going to be duking it out to Kansas City.

Drums on Parade (the next show) Star pounded us, but we beat Cavies. First showdown in Iowa with Blue Devils and they top us by nearly 6 points. I thought that night I had witnessed the 1988 Champion. They were amazing. DCI Midwest was on the horizon and we heard VK topped Phantom - shock strikes, where would that leave us. Prelims come and go and we beat Phantom and I am HAPPY. Finals, again 3rd place. A short time later we see Garfield for the first and only time and they beat us by 1 tenth - pretty good! A short time later we see SCV and the show is rained out. We go into their housing and play our shows for each other, then play May You Never Walk Alone together. As a Jr. Scout, I learned to love and admire SCV for the sheer magnificance of what they did on the field. That night, and the rest of the summer, I learned to love and admire SCV for their class and dignity. Since 1988, I have loved this corps as much as the one I marched with.

The week before finals, at our last show, we come within 4 tenths of SCV and are hyped. Everything is starting to fall into place as if there's some cosmic force that wanted us to win Finals. During finals week, the staff tells us that the judges wanted to judge us with the tick system to see how many mistakes they find. We have a great week of finals rehearsals and were set to go.

No Quarters that year, so top 12 starts in Semis. We didn't know what to expect. BD was undefeated, and SCV only lost to BD. Aside from that, everyone was all over the place. Sitting in the stands for the finals order draw, I was thrilled to learn we had made the top 5 and beat both Star and Phantom. Finals night is here and nerves are high. We deliver a good performance, although not as good as Semi's.

On to the field we go for retreat..scores are starting to be announced, and it went something like this in my head:

Announcer: In 7th place, with a score of 92.8, nine-two point eight......Star of Indiana!

My head: YES!

Announcer: In 6th place, with a score of 93.6, nine-three point six....Phantom Regiment!

My head: #### YES!!!!!!!

Announcer: In 5th place, with a score of 95.1, nine-five point one.....the Cavaliers!

My head: Yes, tops in the midwest.

Announcer: In 4th place, with a score of 96.1, nine-six point one.....the Garfield Cadets!

My head: Oh.....my......God!

Announcer: In 3rd place, with a score of 96.3, nine-six point three....the Blue Devils!

My head: NO ####### WAY!!!!

Announcer: In 2nd place, with a score of 96.9, nine-six point nine....the Santa Clara Vanguard!

That's the last thing I remember...the rest of the night is all fuzzy and blank.

It was a great year. In 1989 we fell big time, but it was an honor to be on the field when Santa Clara was crowned.

In recap, I thought us, BD, and SCV gave three of the most exciting performances ever finals night. Cavies, I thought, were the cream of the crop, for the first time, in visual design and visual/musical integration. They haven't looked back since. You could see the giant that was growing in Bloomington, and Phantom had one of the most beautiful shows of the year!

Can't wait for 1989.

Edited June 17, 2005 by gellio

[bd5times]

I remember going out to Mars to watch the 88 Blue Devils rehearse and to just listen to that horn line. Everytime I listened to them, I always wondered "did we ever sound like that when I marched". That horn line was from another planet. So many different soloists, too. I think they had something like 9 different soloists on the field.

I was able to sit in the middle of the horn arc, the middle of the horn circle, be down in front for ensemble rehearsal. It was just an incredible experience. One of their brass staffers would find me in the stands for the victory concert warm-ups and do the F-Tuning sequence right at us.

The show was incredible, the music set new standards, and the corps redefined what Blue Devils were.

There was a lot of concern though about the black uniforms. Those did not go over too well with the alumns at the time. They didn't last long, either.

The other thing I remember from 1988 is chatting with one of my first drum corps instructors (and somebody I still see to this day). Marc (Mac) McEntire. I can clearly see him telling me he's going to Madison to teach for the summer. I remember asking him why (he taught BD and Freelancers up to that point). I remember him telling me..."I'm being hired to help them win DCI.....I'm coming back with a ring".

I laughed, told him "yeah right". Madison? Win? They don't care if they win or not. He told me he was being brought out to make them win and that's what they are going to do (there's that BD attitude).

Sure enough, as I watched finals live that year, my jaw was on the floor when Madison won.

Mac did it!

Edited June 17, 2005 by bd5times

[bd5times]

Announcer: In 3rd place, with a score of 96.3, nine-six point three....the Blue Devils!

My head: NO ####### WAY!!!!

Announcer: In 2nd place, with a score of 96.9, nine-six point nine....the Santa Clara Vanguard!

That's the last thing I remember...the rest of the night is all fuzzy and blank.

It's pretty exciting to be able to experience the thrill of that moment.

Having experienced that, I would hope that all members of drum corps are able to experience something like that, whether it's local, regional, or national. It's something you'll never forget.

[gellio]

It's pretty exciting to be able to experience the thrill of that moment. 

Having experienced that, I would hope that all members of drum corps are able to experience something like that, whether it's local, regional, or national.  It's something you'll never forget.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What was such a thrill about it was to be in the same league as Garfield, Santa Clara and Blue Devils. Although I've always loved Madison and wanted to always March Madison, it was those three that were at the top of the game during my years in the Jr. Scouts. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life, and something I'll never forget. I never in a million years thought it would happen, and when it did, I lost my memory. I do remember SCV playing "Music of the Night" to us and then playing our encore and singing Never Walk to the crowd.

Interesting note: Reportedly, our guard staff was out in the parking lot stripping the flags off the poles when scores were being announced, and when they heard we won, they were in an utter panick trying to get all the flags back on the poles for the encore.

Edited June 19, 2005 by gellio