Heaviest instruments CARRIED? Drums AND brass

[Paul Milano]

In 1977, the new Spirit of Atlanta marched two percussion instruments that were exceedingly heavy. One was a set of septoms (six sets, seven drums per set!), and the other was a Xylovibe. It was a marching xylophone that the player could also "flip over," using a lever of some kind, which then revealed a vibraphone. Envision a sandwich with the two slices of bread each being one of the playing surfaces (xylo and vibe). There are pictures of both of these instruments available somewhere!

I asked the corps then equipment manager for his recollection of these two instruments. Here are Jim Clark's memories:

The number that sticks out in my mind is that the Xylovibes weighed in at around 70-75 pounds... depends on whether or not you had the 4 inch diameter PVC pipes that served as mallet holders mounted.

The Septoms extended further away from the body, even though they were lighter and the tenor players probably did more elevator drill (up and down the 50) than the keyboards.

It's hard to say which put the most pressure on the lower back during a performance.

It does show why we had a staff Chiropractor in 1977 (Thanks Ralph Morris).

[JimF-LowBari]

Okay...I found the Hurricanes cymbal player in a picture.

http://www.corpsreps.com/showpicture.cfm?c...amp;picnum=1745

That's absolutely nuts. I cannot even imagine.

Trying to find one of John Zona, cymbal player for Rochester Crusaders and Erie Thunderbirds in the 70s/80s. Hard to judge size but Johns cymbals looked at least as big as the ones in the pic. John would throw his head back to get it out of the way when he whammed those plates together. And being the 70s he carried those suckers ALL DURING THE SHOW.....

[Russellrks]

Speaking of big cymbals...

Picture taken from 1977 DCI yearbook.

Edited September 29, 2006 by Russellrks

[triplefunk]

[uncle z]

In 1977, the new Spirit of Atlanta marched two percussion instruments that were exceedingly heavy. One was a set of septoms (six sets, seven drums per set!), and the other was a Xylovibe. It was a marching xylophone that the player could also "flip over," using a lever of some kind, which then revealed a vibraphone. Envision a sandwich with the two slices of bread each being one of the playing surfaces (xylo and vibe). There are pictures of both of these instruments available somewhere!

Ask and you shall receive, Paolo:

[uncle z]

BTW, I haven't heard Mike Braga whine about his poor back yet........

[Paul Milano]

Ask and you shall receive, Paolo:

You da' man!

Thanks.

[uncle z]

You da' man!

Thanks.

Anything for a brother! B)

[Straemer]

For anyone who says that all the weight of a baritone or euphonium should be held with the left hand, I expect they either were in high brass or did a #### of a lot more work than they needed to. Except for playing runs, or other segments which required a lot of finger dexterity, I always had the weight about 3/5 left hand, 2/5 right hand. When it got to the faster parts, I would move the weight to my left hand, but for anything else, the weight was distributed. Every tech or caption head I've ever talked to says that holding all the weight with just the left hand is simply impractical.

In short, all low brass sucks to hold.

I've never marched percussion, so I can't speak for that, but cymbals and tenors seem like they would have a difficult time.

well ive done baritone 2 years, first year id say i did about 75% left hand, 25% right hand, but last year, our visual tech told us not to use our pinky rings anymore, so that was like 95% left there, and man did it suck learning how to snap it without using a pinky ring...

[xxxdcifanxxx]

Single most ridiculous post ever.

Have you ever held a pair of 20 inch Zildjian Stadiums?

Yeah...so what?! Have you seen how thick the Colts cymbals are? they have to be at least 2x as thick! being a visual tech for the local high school, i watch the cymbals sometimes. the 14 year old high school kids march with 20 inch stadiums. i even double checked last night!