torn8o Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 (edited) Known for having one of the best hornlines of the bottom 6 of their day, this corps (last a DCI finalist in 1980) from Schaumburg, IL is another corps that is defunct but should never be forgotten. Post your memories of this corps and your favorite shows and productions here. For me, two of my favorite pieces that they ever did was their 1980 opener "Sea Hawk" by Eric Korngold and also their closer from 1980 "Greensleeves". Both of which showcased this corps AMAZING hornline in a way that would give any drum corps fan chills (even if you are only watching or listening to a recording). Edited March 20, 2006 by torn8o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony L. Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Well, I will go ahead and post on this topic since for me, the Guardsmen were one of the biggest discoveries I made while working my way through the Legacy Collection. They predate my histroy with DCi (1987), so I never saw them live. But I thoroughly enjoyed them each year they appear in the Legacy DVDs. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed them so much that they garnered one of my votes for the Classic Countdown. I think that they absolutley should be remembered and if you get a chance, try to check them out on the Legacy DVDs. The quality of the hornline was just first rate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryM Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 The 1979 corps has been a subject of previous posts in this forum. Quite simply, their hornline that year was superb. They also saved its best performance for finals - one of those "zone" moments. Rick South headed up brass prior to his leaving for SCV and it's said he considered that line as one of his most talented. I have a recording of that show (I also saw it live in Birmingham) and it remains a classic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellrks Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 (edited) I have a recollection of witnessing the Guardsmen perform at DCI Midwest in 1979. I heard them from the track (field level on the 50 yd. line) and I don't even remember what they were playing. My memory is that of a very intense and aggressive, powerful hornline that kept coming and coming at you. They played like they were angry about something. I taught Spirit of Atlanta at that time and as the Guardsmen raised the hair on the back of my neck and forearms I couldn't help but think "Dang, we're better than that?" One check of the recaps at 'from the pressbox' shows that we were.....Barely! as was any other hornline who was lucky enough to beat them that year. Maybe that's what they were angry about. That was truly one fabulous hornline. Edited March 20, 2006 by Russellrks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellrks Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 (edited) As a sidenote, I always thought that was a Tim Salzman hornline. I actually know Rick South and for some reason I was not aware, though not surprised, that he was involved with their horn line, if that indeed was the case. Edited March 21, 2006 by Russellrks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scerpella Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 (edited) For me, two of my favorite pieces that they ever did was their 1980 opener "Sea Hawk" by Eric Korngold and also their closer from 1980 "Greensleeves". Greensleeves!!?? Dont agree there! At a show in could have been 80 or 81, Guardsmen were launching into Greensleeves where there was an extended section playing to the back of the field. You could sense the crowds attention slipping away, when all of a sudden someone yells out loudly and longly "BOOOOOORRRRRRIIIINNNNGG! Whole section broke out in laughter. I always viewed Guardsmen as "Phantom Lite" for all the considerable talent they had in their hornline, except for 79, the shows were just not very interesting. We (Scouts) almost stole away their soprano soloist Fred Bell in 78. He finally came over in 79 when of course Guardsmen beat Madison! Irony! Edited March 20, 2006 by dans24103 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scerpella Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 I have a recollection of witnessing the Guardsmen perform at DCI Midwest in 1979. I heard them from the track (field level on the 50 yd. line) and I don't even remember what they were playing. My memory is that of a very intense and aggressive, powerful hornline that kept coming and coming at you. They played like they were angry about something. Thats because they played "Fanfare for the New" in 79 which is a very angry aggressive piece. They watered it down from 73 Argonnes version (to me the definitive version) but they added their own signature onto it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russellrks Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 We (Scouts) almost stole away their soprano soloist Fred Bell in 78. He finally came over in 79 when of course Guardsmen beat Madison! Irony! Speaking of irony, 79' was also the year that Ray Peery left Spirit of Atlanta to go and march with Madison, "A REAL drum corps." B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scerpella Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Speaking of irony, 79' was also the year that Ray Peery left Spirit of Atlanta to go and march with Madison, "A REAL drum corps." B) Up til about July 15th of 79 Fred and Steve probably were confident they had made the right decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle z Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 They had a good guard: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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