1988 .. an incredible year of change

[supersop]

Actually, the placements at Whitewater were:

1) Scouts

2) Bluecoats

3) Cavies

4) Star

5) Phantom

Two days later in Normal:

1) Scouts

1) Phantom

3) Star

4) Cavies

5) Bluecoats

Don't remember the exact scores, but they can be verified at corpsreps.com or scorpsboard.com. Bluecoats never beat us in '88 and Whitewater was the only show they beat Phantom and Star.

NVM .. I lost my brain for a second there

Edited February 6, 2007 by supersop

[From The Pressbox]

6/17

Whitewater, WI

1 Madison Scouts-------69.4

2 Bluecoats-------------65.5

3 Cavaliers-------------64.8

4 Star of Indiana-------64.2

5 Phantom Regiment---63.6

6/19

Normal, IL

1 Madison Scouts-------66.9

1 Phantom Regiment---66.9

3 Star of Indiana--------66.4

4 Cavaliers--------------65.7

5 Bluecoats--------------63.8

6/23

Toledo, OH

1 Cavaliers----67.8

1 Bluecoats---67.8

6/27

Youngstown, OH

1 Cavaliers 75.0

2 Bluecoats 72.0

6/28

Canton, OH

1 Bluecoats 75.0

2 Cavaliers 74.9

I skipped a few shows that the Cavies/Bluecoats were at, but you get the picture. 1st season was very tight between these two.

Go Devils,

Gregg

w/Stp:

Edited February 7, 2007 by From The Pressbox

[sday88]

6/17

Whitewater, WI

1 Madison Scouts-------69.4

2 Bluecoats-------------65.5

3 Cavaliers-------------64.8

4 Star of Indiana-------64.2

5 Phantom Regiment---63.6

6/19

Normal, IL

1 Madison Scouts-------66.9

1 Phantom Regiment---66.9

3 Star of Indiana--------66.4

4 Cavaliers--------------65.7

5 Bluecoats--------------63.8

6/23

Toledo, OH

1 Cavaliers----67.8

1 Bluecoats---67.8

6/27

Youngstown, OH

1 Cavaliers 75.0

2 Bluecoats 72.0

6/28

Canton, OH

1 Bluecoats 75.0

2 Cavaliers 74.9

I skipped a few shows that the Cavies/Bluecoats were at, but you get the picture. 1st season was very tight between these two.

Go Devils,

Gregg

w/Stp:

We were pretty pumped during the beginning of the season, then it kinda went down hill pretty quickly. I guess we just didn't have the show to keep up with the big boys.

[Guardguy89]

I just remember non-stop practicing that year!

We started the show with the hornline divided on each side of the endzones with the guard in the middle (kinda like Vanguard 2003). Needless to say tempos were a major problem on first tour.

The Firebird show took us most of the season to master (not to mention those insane Brubaker drills).

First tour was definately a wake up call

later,

Mike

Cavaliers '88-'89

[PR_ducky]

I just remember non-stop practicing that year!

We started the show with the hornline divided on each side of the endzones with the guard in the middle (kinda like Vanguard 2003). Needless to say tempos were a major problem on first tour.

The Firebird show took us most of the season to master (not to mention those insane Brubaker drills).

First tour was definately a wake up call

later,

Mike

Cavaliers '88-'89

Well over in Rockford things were not much different LOL

Well, Brazale instead of Brubaker, but we had challenging music that year as well.

The drill rewrites is what drove us insane.

That and the heat LOL

Hottest summer I have ever experienced.

[mingusmonk]

There must be something special about 88, because similar threads like this re-occur at least once a year. And I think I always end up repeating myself, so here I go again. I was in the middle of a teenage drum corps addiction at the time, so excuse me if this comes of as "fanboy." This is an Indiana kid's Midwest perspective on one of the final years of true parity in DCI.

First show I went to was:

June 20, 1988 / Mishawaka IN / DCM

1 Cavaliers 67.300

2 Bluecoats 66.600

3 Colts 45.700

4 Glassmen 36.600

5 Northern Aurora 36.000

6 Northmen 30.200

7 Guardsmen 29.600

... where my corps-savvy band directors were shocked that the 'coats didn't win. And were also baffled by the Firebird show. If you are a relative newbie and you watch the DVD's and 88 Cavies seems a little out of place, just imagine seeing it nearly 2 months before finals. That show came a long way. Considering the OP was posting about change, the Cavaliers where definitely changing the activity here. This program was just a couple of years ahead of it’s time. Conversely, from a competitive perspective, the Bluecoats show was the opposite end of the spectrum and didn't have the meat to fill the plate at the end of the season. But it was a blast to see in June. This was also the first of about the 1 million viewings of the Glassmen over the next couple of years. By the time I was marching in '90, I was pretty much gigolo'd out.

Then it was a Wash, Rinse and Repeat show, with some changes at the DII/III level:

June 26, 1988 / Goshen IN / DCM

1 Cavaliers 72.600

2 Bluecoats 71.700

3 Troopers 56.700

4 Glassmen 39.400

5 Bandettes 26.500

6 Guardsmen 24.500

7 Coachmen 24.200

At this point, the Bluecoats had won me over. They had that attitude and a mellow kind of confidence. Not necessarily about winning and scores, but a swinging swagger. I should mention (and have done so before) that I marched Bluecoats a couple of years later, with many '88 alumni. They were a very tight bunch. I know they went through a lot that year, as did many with the drought at what not. For the next few years, the survivors of '88 were at the core of the 'coats. (odd side note: they all had a singularly focused, unified anger at Suncoast Sound which was beyond me. Now that those days are gone, any 'coats or Suncoasters care to share what transpired in 1988? Or maybe that was rooted in '89?)

=====

So after a couple of weeks off, probably while taking Drivers Ed or something, a friend and I go with his parents to Dekalb, IL. We are surprised to see that we are sitting behind our mentor, Rusty Bottomley, who was there for prelims. He proceeds to tell us how shaky Madison was after their return from Europe, from where they had recently returned. I'd love to be able to say I was one of the few that predicted the 1988 champions, but after seeing them at DCM finals, I didn't even consider them in the mix. This was my first viewing of both Phantom and Star for the year (although I had seen some Star rehearsals). Phantom was rock-solid. A certain member of Star's pit once told me, when they first saw PR that year, and they opened with that crystal clean decelerating snare roll, he thought it was all over. That snare line was incredible. Ducky, maybe you can confirm, but I think I remember Dwight telling a story about having to march through the snare solo in the drum feature. And that Marty had to get on the PA and explain the meter and each beat so everyone could march in synch through that polyrhythmic conglomeration.

The OP mentioned Star's pit. Much like PR's opening statement, how ballsy to do the Porgy and Bess keyboard parts worked up into a unison pit arrangement. Wow. Also to the OP's subject of change, that's all Star ever did. Star was a chameleon corps that did something completely different every year. 90 and 91 is the only time that Star hit the field and I felt like there was some kind of continuity. And after re-reading what I just typed, it sounds negative. But it's not. That was just their approach.

July 16, 1988 / DeKalb IL / DCM Championship finals

1 Phantom Regiment 84.000

2 Star of Indiana 83.000

3 Cavaliers 81.900

4 Madison Scouts 81.400

5 Bluecoats 78.300

6 Sky Ryders 71.700

After another short break, we take a trip to the final Bloomington soccer field show. BD had been tearing it up all season long, so for us Hoosiers, this was a long awaited event. And boy was it worth it. I LOVE the 88 BD show to this day. I'm not sure everyone understands how hard it is to get 128 kids to swing and not sound like a wet rag hitting a wicker basket (the reason, I feel, why rarely anybody tries to swing at the top anymore). It's incredible how natural the jazz feel is. They were so tight, and yet swung so hard.

August 10, 1988 / Bloomington IN / DCI

1 Blue Devils 95.200

2 Cavaliers 93.300

3 Star of Indiana 92.400

4 Bluecoats 87.600

5 Troopers 75.900

6 Quad City Knights 62.500

7 Beatrix 51.000

My final show of the year was forcing my parents to drive my pathetic corps-geek butt across Ohio to see the US Open finals. This ended up being a perfect microcosm of the close competitive nature of 1988. Prelims ended up:

1 Garfield Cadets 93.200

2 Phantom Regiment 92.800

3 Star of Indiana 92.300

Well finals were a complete shuffle.

August 13, 1988 / Marion OH / U.S. Open Finals

1 Star of Indiana 94.300

2 Garfield Cadets 93.800

3 Phantom Regiment 93.300

4 Dutch Boy 86.000

5 Blue Knights 80.000

6 Colts 78.500

7 Glassmen 65.600

8 Spartans (WA) 65.200

9 Beatrix 59.600

10 Oakland Crusaders 44.400

Star really threw out an incredible encore. They were ecstatic back at the busses. We made some phone calls back home to some member's parents from a payphone (where were cell phones??) to exclaim, "They won the US Open! Their last show before Kansas City, and they are on top of PR and Garfield!"

Fast forward to the craziest Semis / Finals in the history of DCI, and they had to be a little disappointed with 7th. But ultimately, it was really yet another step forward for Cook's crew from Bloomington.

[sday88]

For the next few years, the survivors of '88 were at the core of the 'coats. (odd side note: they all had a singularly focused, unified anger at Suncoast Sound which was beyond me. Now that those days are gone, any 'coats or Suncoasters care to share what transpired in 1988? Or maybe that was rooted in '89?)

All I can think of is that Suncoast may have been a little upset that we were so competitive with them in '87 and '88. Who were these Bluecoats anyway? How dare they! I do remember at retreat at a show just before finals week our snare section leader almost got into a fight with someone from Suncoast's drum line. I also remember a mooning incident one night at a truck stop (not sure who mooned who). Phil can you add anything?

[PR_ducky]

Phantom was rock-solid. A certain member of Star's pit once told me, when they first saw PR that year, and they opened with that crystal clean decelerating snare roll, he thought it was all over. That snare line was incredible. Ducky, maybe you can confirm, but I think I remember Dwight telling a story about having to march through the snare solo in the drum feature. And that Marty had to get on the PA and explain the meter and each beat so everyone could march in synch through that polyrhythmic conglomeration.

I honestly don't remember that, but the tempos and rythms in the drum solo were all over the place.

If Dwight says that happened I would take his word for it.

Personally my favorite part of that show was the small brass ensemble in the closer.

Star and us fouhgt it out all summer.

They actually won prelims at DCM, and prelim and finals scores were averaged to determine the winner.

Luckily we stomped them at Finals.

I agree about Madison, they were completely off the radar at that point

[gellio]

I agree about Madison, they were completely off the radar at that point

Well, we were stunned with the 4th place finish, and the distance between us and PR. This is what happened before and after DCM:

July 9th (right after our return)

1 Phantom Regiment 82.600

2 Madison Scouts 82.200

3 Cavaliers 80.500

DCM was July 16th (scores posted in post above). So we were stunned. We were almost 2 ahead of Cavies the week before, and even (essentially) with Phantom. We were pretty miffed (to put it mildly) at DCM! We really thought it was going to be a duel between us an Phantom for the title. Quite frankly, we thought we got screwed. Still, Phantom won and that's what the record books say. It's always easy to think you were screwed, even when you didn't see anyone else's show (including yours), and obviously it was a good year across the board for the midwest. Still, it was very interesting weekend, and I remember being so distraut after finals. Needless to say, DCI Finals was great redemption for what happened at DeKalb.

The next weekend was our home show - we were beat again by Star but were back up on top of Cavies. That felt good.

July 30th - DCI Midwest Finals

1 Blue Devils 91.900

2 Santa Clara Vanguard 90.200

3 Madison Scouts 87.300

4 Phantom Regiment 86.600

This was the first time after DeKalb we saw Phantom. Coming into this show was a little nervewracking, because I believe VK beat them by over 2 points right before this show, so at that point, we thought we could be as low as 8th (and that didn't include Suncoast or Spirit - so 10th wasn't out of the rhelm of possibility). We were thrilled when we beat Phantom at prelims that afternoon and again when we held on to beat them in finals. Us and Phantom continued to flip-flop victories during our next few shows before we parted for good until DCI Finals.

It's funny now when I look at the spread at this show between BD/SCV and us. I didn't even concern myself one bit with how close we were to BD - all I cared about was that we beat Phantom. Too funny. 4.6 - that's a big deficit.

Coming into finals was interesting. BD was firmly in control, we had lost a couple weeks earlier to Garfield by 0.1 but were only 0.4 down from Vanguard (who hadn't lost to anyone but BD) the Monday before finals, and Star seemed to be in front of Phantom, Garfield and Cavies for good. But, we all knew it would be very very foolish to ever count out Garfield.

It was a fun year, but the rivalry was deep. After cheering for Phantom in '87, I hated them in '88. Cavies too. I didn't mind losing to Star, which seems weird to think back on. But losing to Phantom - there was NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING worse. But it was all in good fun. Phantom has gone on to become one of my most favorite corps.

I did love both Phantom and Cavies shows in '88. I remember the joint victory concert with Phantom in Normal. They had these INSANE sop runs in the opener, insane. Naturally, as all corps did, they were watered down. It was a shame IMO. I loved the show much more in June than I did in August, because the music was so demanding in June. Too demanding. We watered too. It was normal practice. Cavies had a visual and musical integration package that was unseen at that time. Give the season 2 more weeks, and it would have been the Cavies I would have been worried about.

That was the hottest summer ever, but at least you (Phantom and Cavies) were spared going to Texas, where it was blazing hot and those darn red army ants were everywhere. Never forget being bitten repeatedly in sectionals. Plus you guys had a harder tour competitively with it being you two, Star, BD and Garfield. It was just us and SCV (of the top corps) alone down in Texas. I have such fond memories of Vanguard from that tour.

LASTLY-Why does stuff like this NEVER happen anymore. DCI has become so predictible in judging that it's just not fun anymore. This is how it should be - corps judged based on their performance that night, not based on where they should be competitively. I was so convinced there were judging conspiracies back then. Now, I believe there weren't - but there are today. I don't want to get off topic here, but '88 was such a fun year. I mean Bluecoats beating Phantom, Cavies and Star. VK beating Phantom. Us coming from behind to win it all. Star beating everyone but SCV and BD. I mean this stuff never happens anymore.

Edited February 7, 2007 by gellio

[PR_ducky]

hey Gellio,

What section were you in in 89?

I recall our Batman duel with your contra section that year. Spaz somehow got a dead bat in a ziploc bag onto the field for retreat and that ended it LOL