CorpsBuff Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 (edited) Ok, the 70's were my favorite era of drum corps (yes I'm serious). Drum corps was just blossoming into a great organization and entertainment venue, always amazes me that from semi-humble beginnings what drum corps has become today. Not only that but the crowds, even in the 70's were HUGE! Now my question regards the 1977 DCA and DCI seasons. As we all know in 1977 the Bridgemen were DQ'ed for having an overage member. In that same year however, the Hawthorne Caballeros Played a similar show with Pagliacci and Land of Make Believe (both numbers that the Bridgemen played in that year). Around the 4:24 mark in that show the famous Hawthorne soloists (whose names escape me at the moment (wasn't Ponzo one of them?) play the Echano solo with the colorguard kneeling around them in a circle doing random movement with their arms including clapping in circles. This is VERY similar to the Land of Make Believe solo performed by the Amazing Jim Brady that same year in the Bridgemen show. I always wondered if Cabs and Bridgemen shared some info and moves in the same season (Similar staff?). Being only 45 minutes away it would seem very possible. Two VERY awesome drum corps, the 70's were great for drum corps fans like me that like ENTERTAINING shows with lots of sop solos! BTW, my opinion Cabs shoulda won in '77... :-) Edited January 10, 2007 by BucsBuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 (edited) 1977 was one of the "Big Change" years in Senior corps: Sunrisers won their first championships when they knocked off the Cabs. Sun won again in 1978 proving that it wasn't a fluke and they were a force to be reckoned with for many years. One of the original members of DCA the Baltimore Yankee Rebels lost their sponsorship, changed their name to Southwind at DCA and missed DCA membership by a wide mark. The corps competed under the Yankee Rebel name during 1977 so they could be in DCA sponsored shows but it was not the same corps from before. On a lesser note Rochester Phoenix disappeared after an amazing 2 year run. French Canadian corps returned to DCA that year. Name changed every other year or so but there was a "Frenchie" corps at Finals for many years. The 11th and 12th place corps were from the MidWest with MBI and Chicago Connection. First (?) time two non-Northeast or Canadian corps were at DCA. Oh yeah, some corps named Westshoremen made their first Finals appearance in almost ten years. Edited January 10, 2007 by JimF-3rdBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 BTW, my opinion Cabs shoulda won in '77... :-) Ahhh, yes..... young people. They are authorities on a number of subjects. :P J/K of course, Andrew..... and obviously I'm going to disagree with you here on the 1977 DCA outcome! I'll definitely agree with you that 1977 was one heck of a summer for drum corps.... both DCI and DCA. Frank was not with Cabs in 1977...... his rookie year with Sunrisers was 1982, so '77 was before his time. I think the Cabs' main soprano soloists that year were George DelMonte and Gene Marrotta..... two great players. The Bridgemen in 1977... first time I saw 'em that season was at an early-season show somewhere in northern NJ.... and they didn't have a good day at all. Rough performance. I thought, "this could be a long summer for them." Next time I saw 'em that summer was at the Dream contest in Jersey City.... and they blew me away. An incredible improvement from that early-season performance. They had an awesome show that year! Fran Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorpsBuff Posted January 10, 2007 Author Share Posted January 10, 2007 As someone PMed me, Ponzo was definitely not with the corps then... he was 13 years old in 1977... Oops. From the video in 1977 I guess the mustache on the one soloist lead me to false conclusions. Fran, we all know your Sun roots go way back and I will say that 1987 is one of my favorite all time DCA shows! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 As someone PMed me, Ponzo was definitely not with the corps then... he was 13 years old in 1977... Oops. From the video in 1977 I guess the mustache on the one soloist lead me to false conclusions.Fran, we all know your Sun roots go way back and I will say that 1987 is one of my favorite all time DCA shows! Frank Ponzo was born in 1964? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny Drum Corps Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 sounds about right for Frank's age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 #### Kids! :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 #### Kids! :P I know Jim,...............Ponzo is 42?,................then he is younger than me,.......................dam mit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorpsBuff Posted January 10, 2007 Author Share Posted January 10, 2007 #### Kids! :P remember 1994 Crossmen and Cadets 2000 We are the future!!!! Sadly though most of those "Kids" are probably older than me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 As we all know in 1977 the Bridgemen were DQ'ed for having an overage member. In that same year however, the Hawthorne Caballeros Played a similar show with Pagliacci and Land of Make Believe (both numbers that the Bridgemen played in that year). Weren't both corps music arranged by the Kerchner/DeLucia team??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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