DEATH OF THE STREET BEAT

[melligene]

Ok so lets take Empire for an example...

They still have the vocals and SOME of the old cadence from when I marched there. They have added to it, of course, but the identity of the beat still is there. To me, that is acceptable by any means. Hurcs have done the same, as Sean said Sky has kept their tradition alive, and so have the Cabs. At least for the "march" on to the field. I would hate to see the day the Cabs dont come out swinging the arms to that cadence in some form. If they want to feed the percussion staff's egos by playing something different and possibly more "challenging" than that, do it on the way off the field while trooping the stands....(ducks)....but dont sacrifice the tradition of the corps identity.

As many people know about me...I resent people taking away from any corps history or tradition...and I get bothered by comments that "this year will be better than any other year" comments made by people that are relatively new to any organization. Although I go back a few 24's in this activity, I STILL REMEMBER the days of Aquinas Stadium, when every corps came out of that tunnel with blood in their eyes trying to be the DCA champ that year. Cabs, Sky, and the Hurricanes of that era were particularly "scary"...and the Bucs, Sunrisers, Crusaders, and even the Yankee Rebels were all very good, and capable on any given year to come out on top.

And I knew what corps was coming next by their "cadence"...and war cry from the tunnel !!!! I still think that is an important difference that seperates DCA from DCI...TRADITION.

Donny

DONNY................ I just deleted a reply I posted about TRADITION in response to your post. It was quite lenghty. I was fearful that many, even the OldPharts, may have taken offense so I deleted it. Some things better left unsaid than create unneccesary (can't spell for ###T) controversy. I am In Your Head Brother....as I am sure are many others who CANNOT or choose not to express themselves. Having said that.....thank you for your post and know that......You are not alone in your perception.

[Sars Lindstrom]

I'd say Craven Morehead by Richard Fitzwell or The Return of Richard Fitzwell didn't sound anything like G11.

http://home.cogeco.ca/~amcorreia/TheReturn...ardFitzwell.mp3

Be careful Adam, your opinions are being ...what can I say....watched and documented.....monitored? you would not want to be censured would you!!! hah hah ha ...your facts about these things are usually accurate...so have a nice drum corps day and ..hey if you want your post to be posted ...then be a good boy...or else!!! ^0^

[John Mayer]

We here in St.Peter have been using 2 streetbeats for 10 years. The main one gets rewritten every year, it's the same idea, with different licks. The other one is "FLAMMABLES" which every corps in the world should learn and play. This idea has been my personal crusade for a long time, DCM used it for their retreats, and I believe DCA-C (key word here "believe") will use it for their retreats as well. Its lots of fun watching 50, 60, 70 drummers all playing the same thing, and you can march to it as well.

I don't know who wrote it, I stole it from the Scouts, but its always something to fall back on if you need a quick beat, and it realy wokrs the chops, hence the name.

If anyone wants a copy let me know and I'll give you directions to Patrick's :P

...or I can fax it also, but if you come pick it up, I'll buy and show you how it goes. :mmm:

John

[buzzgok]

Going back to the mid to late 80's, I think Bush had the best cadence for coming off the field with the pattern that was played. As far as coming on the field, I always enjoy hearing the familiar cadences that the different corps play and just tweek a little here and there.

[drumnman2004]

I agree and i believe Tyrell (our caption head) has written a street beat this year that he'd like to become ours for many years to come. Havnt seen it yet though...

Ya know Joe...not for nothing, but when the Crusaders were kicking EVERYONE's butt in drums in 1988 we had a street beat called the "Rochester Rumble". The crowds loved it and everyone knew who was coming on the field when they heard it. Far be it for ANYONE to be in Rick Rogers shadow...so every year after that...there was a new street beat ! Oh yeah, everyones got a better walk beat...and then again, NOONE there had any sense of tradition ! Just an 'Upstate' thing...I guess !

It wasn't until 2003 when Tim Stodd was teaching the Crusaders that he brought back the 'Rumble". Quite honestly...made me feel warm all over. It went through some changes, but the basic framework was still there ! It wasn't difficult, but it was something people could identify the corps with !

Thanks Tim for knowing the importance of TRADITION.

Hey Cru...not for nothin'...but, if you would like to use "Rochester Rumble", be my guest ! I can at least send you the original framework and you can beef-it-up as you see fit !

[TopBass]

If anyone wants a copy let me know and I'll give you directions to Patrick's :P

...or I can fax it also, but if you come pick it up, I'll buy and show you how it goes. :mmm:

John

John, if you're buying you can show me how to play it, even though I've been playing it for 12 years... ha ha

[jimdugan]

I'll put my 2 cents in which with inflation might be worth a penny.

But in response to Death of the Street Beats, well that happened aound 30 years ago.

In the sixties (yes I'm old) street beats were about 16-32 counts long, rudimental in nature and usually started with 5, 6 or a seven stroke roll.

In the seventies they became longer and even were melodic because the key players and tymps carried them and marched parades (wow that almosts borders slavery). We had great one in Bayonne called Carnavolita. (uh oh I shouldn't have mention them since they were DCI)

Then when we became a smarter society and grounded the pit and let them stay back and practice, the street beat which became a walk beat or cadence changed again with assorted varieties of check patterns.

The other thing mention about tradition is great especially for the older corps. At Bush last year we brought back our old beat which is called Bush Beat that used to be played in the early nineties. I believe the Hurcs and Cabs play a different beat for parades and use their traditional ones for field entry. Alot of corps do that. Bush plays space invaders coming the field which they've done for 23 years.

Anyway, it's changed, it still serves it's purpose.....It gives those #### hornplayers a break during the parades. I suggest a change and call for brass street beats.

[EnsErmac]

No offense to the previous opinions, but I enjoy learning a new streat beat yearly. The corps changes from year to year, as does the skill set of those members. Why should a street beat be written for a corps 10 years prior? Tradition is a great thing, but playing the EXACT same thing yearly is boring. To keep the roots, I'd much rather see a corps include the same riff every year, hence how Hurcs always do part of Mag 7 or Hawthorne always does the Rumps. It gets the point across respecting tradition, but not to the point of making it bland for the members who play it.

[Jeff Ream]

Another case of evolution of the idiom. But I do agree that the street beat should be a "signature" and not subject to yearly change.

Westshore has had the same beat since 1990, but every year new tweaks go in to it to keep it fresh. Empire has done that too.

[PTBOmike]

Well, what I heard while walking to the Kodak building for the St. Joe's Classic in '03 sounded suspiciously like Glassmen's cadence from '97 to '00. They even had J.J. Pipitone on staff as an extra Glassmen-Rochester Crusaders connection.

Kevin,

That WAS Rochester playing the 311 beat not Grenadiers.