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Question about George Zingali


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I think we should remember him with his drill and other contributions he made to the dc activity.

If we remember him for how he lived, we would inevitably remember his lifestyle and what caused him to become ill. For the record, I did not know the man or anything about him - including his health. I do know of some of the incredible drills that he wrote, which I believe may be his greatest legacy.

But can you really boil him down to just his "incredible drills" and "contributions to the dc activity?" After all the stories you've read here about the man and the way he LIVED -- (nothing to do with his lifestyle)?

I'm not sure I want to sell him that short. He was WAY MORE than just a drum corps and creative genius and that's coming through much more clearly (and painfully) now that he's gone.

We lost more than a great DC personality/contributor. We lost a great human being. His "lifestyle" should have no bearing on that.

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It's funny! I was just cleaning out an old desk last night and found a letter from George that I had laminated years ago.

Back in 1990, I was getting heavily involved in writing drill on computer. I went to George and worked out an endorsement deal, where I would put his written show for Star on the computer. He in turn, would write an endorsement that I could then market with his reaction to the product.

I dropped the completed package along with an animated video to George on the day he was leaving to meet Star on tour in Florida. The next night my phone rang. It was George. It went something like this:

GZ: "AARGH!!>>>> You've got to be SH***** Me! This SH** is UN-Freaking-Believable! I can't FU***** believe this, Terry! Where the F*** did you get this? I can't believe what I just F****** saw!!!!

TK: I'm glad you like it, George; but I don't think I can use these quotes as part of an endorsement to the band directors I hope to solicit!

GZ: F****** WOW!

TK: No,... I don't think I can use that one either!

We both laughed! A week later, I caught up with him on the road and he was still beside himself with computer-aided drill. It was the first time he had ever seen it. He sat down at a lunch table, opened his backpack and hand wrote an endorsement on a piece of graph paper right there and then.

Seems like yesterday! I re-read his (2) page jubilant rant again last night! What a trip!

A lot of people wonder where and what George would be doing if here today. After the two-week period I spent with him (16) years ago, my guess is that he would be consulting ALL the computer-drill software companies. He would be pushing the envelope as a beta tester saying; "Can it do this???"

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  • 10 years later...

Was George a religious man?  I am curious because of all of the Christian imagery in the 1991 Star of Indiana show.  I can't think of anything to say about the closing moments of that show--I am too much in awe.

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3 minutes ago, Chris Halkides said:

Was George a religious man?  I am curious because of all of the Christian imagery in the 1991 Star of Indiana show.  I can't think of anything to say about the closing moments of that show--I am too much in awe.

I think Bill Cook wrote that, realizing that he was near the end of his life, Zingali had a religious experience (or became more faithful). 

Edited by kdaddy
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24 minutes ago, kdaddy said:

I think Bill Cook wrote that, realizing that he was near the end of his life, Zingali had a religious experience (or became more faithful). 

Many have said that Star's 1991 show was an expression of George Zingali's religious faith. I know last night I saw the broadcast in Revere, his hometown and his name came up in conversation prior to the broadcast. I could not help but recall he designed "Mass" for Garfield Cadets in 1983 when a clip of the 1983 show was featured and saw a few Zingali trademarks in last night's show. If he were alive today and still designing, he probably would have pushed boundaries as he did with 27th, Cadets, and Star, so the current version of "Mass" with it's over the top qualities may still have been fielded, but the understated yet powerful religious sense of Star in 1991 would probably have been part of "Mass" and it probably would have been a more effective show.

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Somewhat tangential, but some of the flags in that show look like stained glass.  George might have been referencing Respighi's "Church Windows."

Edited by Chris Halkides
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Did you ever know a person where everyone who talked about him had this gleam in their eye, and smiled and shook their head in combination of awe and disbelief when recalling him?  Well that's who crazy George was. Bigger than life. 

Edited by HockeyDad
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Reading through this thread is amazing. First of all the quality of the contributors and content back in 2006

ScribeToo, GMichael, etc... = missed

Second of all just my own memory of THAT rehearsal, watching it as a fan as they were learning the "cross to cross" drill. Impossible and yet achieved.

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