Question about George Zingali

[bluesman]

I would love to here about what inspired him to create the Z-pull.  I've heard it popped into his head after throwing a piece of spaghetti against the wall to see if it was done then watching it move down the wall.

[njthundrrd]

21 minutes ago, bluesman said:

I would love to here about what inspired him to create the Z-pull.  I've heard it popped into his head after throwing a piece of spaghetti against the wall to see if it was done then watching it move down the wall.

The staff had a house. Zingali, Sylvester, Jim Prime, and Hopkins. Members would crash the house at anytime, any day of the week. We loved being there. One morning a bunch of us came back from the city late/early and were sitting around in the kitchen. Johnny Sanchez (member, staff, also on staff later with Blue Devils, Bluecoats, and Regiment) was playing with a boy scout belt. Flipping it, then pulling both ends at the same time. over and over again. Zingali came into the kitchen and asked Johnny to do it again, then again, and again, then took the belt from him and ran upstairs to his room. A camp or so later we were learning drill in an Armory in The Bronx and the Z-Pull was born.

 

Here is also a tribute page on my website that I hope to keep there forever so that when people Google "George Zingali" they can find it and learn more about him.

http://www.digitalmarchingfx.com/george-zingali-tribute

[MotoSurfBass]

I heard George got inspiration from tiny things like the pen chain at a bank. Attention to detail in nature can always lead to moments of inspiration!

[Ghost]

Just now, MotoSurfBass said:

I heard George got inspiration from tiny things like the pen chain at a bank. Attention to detail in nature can always lead to moments of inspiration!

He would watch clouds and get ideas from them.

[MotoSurfBass]

10 minutes ago, Ghost said:

He would watch clouds and get ideas from them.

Exactly! Stories of Zingali are what inspire me to eventually be a visual designer in corps and indoor!

[Jurassic Lancer]

I housed with George and May and a couple of guys from NC when I marched 27. One day he was in his yard just spinning a rifle when he said to me, "Do you know why our guard looks to tough? It's because if they are looking at you, they aren't looking at you, they are looking at a spot ten feet behind your head. They look through you." And as he was spinning he was doing that to me. He looked pretty bad @$$. 

Edited June 23, 2017 by Jurassic Lancer

[Chris Halkides]

Are the flag designs for the 1991 show available anywhere?  Here is a story about the 1991 show (it may have been linked previously).  IDS  

Zingali lamented to Mason that he “didn’t have it.” Finally, Zingali returned to the corps, and in sudden inspiration, he turned the tables. He had them separate into groups and choreograph themselves. Mason recalled the subsequent moments as something truly special.

“What I saw that night, it was like a classical musician suddenly learned about improvisation in jazz. And it was a magical moment,” said Mason. “What they created that night was something I had never witnessed. (Zingali) was like a young boy that night.”

The link also said that the two crosses is an allusion to the old and new testaments of the Bible.

Edited June 26, 2017 by Chris Halkides

[Cop]

I was lucky enough to talk so much drum corps smack with George, just him and I. 
He was a hoot.
 

[BRASSO]

 George Bonfiglio, 27th Lancers Corps Director, was so captivated by G. Zingali's persistence to allow the young Zingali to write 27th's Drill, that he gave his x 27th marcher the go ahead and confidence to write the drill. 27th was a top tier DCI World Class Div. Corps at the time too. Zingali was still in his 20's at the time. For perspective, what would be the chances that a DCI  Top 5 Corps of today would give their entire Show's Visual  Design And Guard Programming over to someone still in their 20's ?  Not a chance. But Zingali was way ahead of his time, had the creative imagination and genius, and so in retrospect, it made sense. Credit Bonfiglio here for recognizing the creative talents of someone that came up the ranks of his 27th Corps as a young marcher, and  Bonfiglio having the foresight to make the decision to allow such heavy responsibility to be put on the young Zingali, .. and boy  he did not disappoint when given his chance at such a comparatively young age.

[80sFlagGirl]

On 6/23/2017 at 5:07 PM, njthundrrd said:

The staff had a house. Zingali, Sylvester, Jim Prime, and Hopkins. Members would crash the house at anytime, any day of the week. We loved being there. One morning a bunch of us came back from the city late/early and were sitting around in the kitchen. Johnny Sanchez (member, staff, also on staff later with Blue Devils, Bluecoats, and Regiment) was playing with a boy scout belt. Flipping it, then pulling both ends at the same time. over and over again. Zingali came into the kitchen and asked Johnny to do it again, then again, and again, then took the belt from him and ran upstairs to his room. A camp or so later we were learning drill in an Armory in The Bronx and the Z-Pull was born.

 

Here is also a tribute page on my website that I hope to keep there forever so that when people Google "George Zingali" they can find it and learn more about him.

http://www.digitalmarchingfx.com/george-zingali-tribute

Thanks for putting that together. Sadly, it didn't come up in my Google search, but Google led me to this page and the kind of stories I love. Google is a fickle animal, so I hope you get enough clicks to keep it up top!