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hmmm i gotta dig on that one.

tho we do have a history of crazy bass drummers......2 of them named Ream :P

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Alliance show - was that a Sunday afternoon show? I seem to recall Steel city having a Saturday night DCA show in mid - PA (where we were introduced to the Westshoremen Underwear Parade and the crazy bass drummer with the knife spinning 'talent' , then driving all night to get to Alliance.

Sounds like was Jeff Raudabaugh doing his tribute to the Bridgemen.

Short skinny guy about HS/college age.

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Radabaugh was out by then i believe

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especially in Westshore :P

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Although I never marched in ICA or RCA, there's an important lesson to be learned from the discussions about these and other so-called small circuits. It's simply this....the quality of experience you have in a drum corps seems to have little to do with the size of the corps you marched in, or the size of the circuit you competed in. It's camraderie, the bus fumes, the bus trips, the card games, the beer (yes, the beer), the pit stops on the way home. All these things make for memories people cherish, and that's something that hopefully, the activity will never, ever lose.

Amplification, B flat instruments, singing on the field....these things are trivial compared to that feeling I used to get at the end of seasons when I was a kid. The feeling was,

Why does it ever have to end?

So much for sniveling sentimentality.

Mark Riley

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ICA Show

July 9, 1983

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1 Steel City Ambassadors 74.15

2 Guelph Royalaires 66.35

3 Ohio Brass Factory 59.60

4 Rochester Crusaders 52.40

5 Troy Defenders 41.75

That was the first drum corps show I ever attended, and the Troy Defenders were the first drum corps I ever saw. (note: Bill Hoyt was on the field with them!) In fact, I eventually marched with someone from every corps in that group.

Sometimes it feels like that show was just yesterday.

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the quality of experience you have in a drum corps seems to have little to do with the size of the corps you marched in, or the size of the circuit you competed in. It's camraderie, the bus fumes, the bus trips, the card games, the beer (yes, the beer), the pit stops on the way home. All these things make for memories people cherish, and that's something that hopefully, the activity will never, ever lose.

I'd have to agree with Mark on this. (Even though my debut in drum corps was with the DCA runner-up from the prior year, beating every corps at least once - except Cabs - on my way to 4th place.)

I know some people who shared my rookie experience will say that they had even more fun when we were in a little start-up DCA corps some years later. The bus rides (on a school bus no less) provided lots more entertainment than the shows themselves usually. And one trip in particular will never be forgotten by those of us who experienced it.

Those things are inherent in the way human beings interact with one another. Any time a group of people bonded around a shared activity travel together, hilarity and camaraderie will ensue. Memories will be made, stories will be told, myths will be created, legends will spread. It's inevitable. Cherish them when it happens. That's the stuff drum corps dreams are made of.

It's why were here discussing a long-dead drum corps circuit, mentioning corps that (for the most part) are dead and buried. But the memories are not. And that's a good thing. Enjoy!

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Hey Guys,

An ICA story for all to enjoy:

I lost (7) times to Bill Hoyt/Troy Defenders in 1983 and it cost me big time beer pitchers...Every show we competed against each other we bet beer on who would win M & M execution....If memory serves me correctly, Troy had a total of apx. 20 people and Steel City had close to 100 members....We would wait until after the show and check the recaps to see who got the higher score for execution....I knew I was going to buy Bill Hoyt/Troy beer every week but just the togetherness and fellowship developed by those two drumcorps was great and the beer didn't matter....Just to see Bill every week and develope a friendship that is still thriving today is what it was all about....It's also great to hear from fellow SCA members Dale Fine and John Zaragoza on this thread....The stories and the memories are vivid in my mind as I write within this topic....I also got a big hug from a former member I had not seen for 20 years until this spring @ St Joe Classic... (Thanks CJ I needed the hug)

Adios....Bye....Aye....(I think I played Adios in 1968/69 but I can't remember for sure, brain damage from bus fumes)

Pgh Guy Bari 2

Extraordinaire

Friend of SlyCooley1

PADCHOF

John G

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Always thought doing the RCA shows gave me a real appreciation for the effort given by corps. When you see a top corps you know #### well they busted their butts practicing. But even a last place corps (raising my hand here) has to put in boat loads of effort to put on a whole show. And they know full well they will get less respect and audience response. :blink:

Also think it's easier to have a good sounding show with a full corps. It's when a corps has a total unbalance in the horn line or between drums and horns that they have to get inventive or be careful in what they do. Saw a lot of unbalanced and/or rookie filled corps in RCA and they were interesting to watch to see how they handled their shortcomings.

Just another reason why I buy the Prelims CDs instead of Finals.

Edited by JimF-xWSMBari
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