Puppet Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Even though I was well out of drum corps by then I liked the '77 show. I forget which year, but there was one that had a lot of movie (Indiana Jones and Batman I think) that I liked, too. But I voted for 81 - I thought I was one of the best books I've ever heard and played outstandingly. And it's astounding to hear a horn instructor who virtually mirrored ours in the theory of loud. Hy Dreitzer used to end his litany of "Control, tone quality, intonation, resonance and projection is what makes the bell of the horn sing and when it's singing you are playing loudly." He was right, too. We always had the smallest horn lines on the field we're always told we sounded like lots more bodies. Love that stuff. Freelancers, too. They were always "right there." And who could not love those cadet style uniforms Puppet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skluyuk Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I the Freelancers! 1982 was my favorite year - the music was pounding and then gorgeous. THAT GUARD! I knew many of them from Avatar and between the cool uni and double rifles and well...it just rocked. Had to laugh at the drill though. Contras staging down time on the front sidelines. My, how times have changed. Of course the Tower of Power year was a close second. And what year (in the 90's sometime) had that hyper DM who BOUNCED like crazy on the podium? A real character who probably could find his calling in DCA. Miss miss miss them. Must agree with the '82 - '84 crowd. Incredible hornlines and batteries! I wasn't too much into watching the colorguard, but the 1982 (or was it '83?) Freelancers caught my attention with the double rifle spin and very cool unis. If I remember correctly, this guard had guys in it too. Other than the all-male corps, were the Freelancers the only corps to have male colorguard members back in the early 80's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonHill Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Oh, btw, the DM who "bounced" was Chad Humple. I had a great picture of him from a local Jackson MS paper from '93; you could clearly see that his feet were a good twelve inches above the podium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommytimp Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 Suncoast also had men in the guard. Through the whole decade, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corps8294 Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 EVERY YEAR! I miss the Freelancers! One of my all time favorite corps! The black pants, red jackets with the white flap, the cross strap and buckle, huge cumberbund, shakos with big ol' plumes! The only thing I ever disliked was when they switched from Pearl to those d*** Remos! Those Remos were aweful! Here was a corps with a great drumline, year-to-year, playing on nasty equipment. Back on the positives, if there was ever a corps that I would like to resurrect before any other, it would be The Sacramento Freelancers. "Live, from Sacramento, THE FREELANCERS!"...Priceless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H. Turner Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 (edited) I can't believe I missed this thread. Being our arch rival, I should say there are NO shows that are good from the Freelancers, and then fold my arms and stomp away. But I'd be lying. 1982--I was absolutely HOOKED on that show, ESPECIALLY the closer, "Even Now". That just was IT for me when I was in high school. There's also this strange cosmic confluence moment that had my path and the path of then-drum major Carl Allison cross in the summer of 1982 when I literally stumbled on to their rehearsal field in Sacramento one night--only to have our life paths cross again LAST year with our involvement in the Kingsmen Alumni Corps. STRANGE SMALL WORLD. Anyway--1982 I think is #1. 1988/89--Both years were phenomenal to me, because I loved the music. Freelancers were never anything exciting to me visually (except for their bad ### uniform--not counting the abomination of 1985), but musically, they really beat me up. I LOVED IT. But 1988 and 1989 was FANTASTIC music--very exciting, and FREAKING LOUD!!! Especially in 1989. Good LORD!!! 1984--I can't say I liked the WHOLE show, but the parts I did like put it into 3rd place. The whole opener, from the "Live, From Sacramento!!!!" announcement to the end of the very hip (and very fast) "What Is Hip" was great. I don't think there's been a song in drum corps history that "cooks" as much as Freelancers' opener. While at the time it was considered envelope pushing (but now apparently commonplace), I for one thought the singing could have been done SO much better, but that no matter it was out of tune, it still provided a GREAT backdrop for "Born Again". More importantly, I would "practice" my G bugle from VK with my headphones on and play right along with the soloist...him...and the guy from the Bridgemen that did the bari solo in the Al Jerrau song whose name is escaping me. Pretty good analysis of the enemy, hanh???? Edited July 18, 2008 by Ryan H. Turner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corps8294 Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 And who could forget the strains of Bells! I remember at DCI, in 1987, the year they returned. They played Bells as thier closer. Not a dry eye around me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMichael1230 Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 And who could forget the strains of Bells! I remember at DCI, in 1987, the year they returned. They played Bells as thier closer. Not a dry eye around me! Loved it, just seeing them back, and soo good. Geoffrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomeOtherJoe Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 I didn't get to see 'em in '77, but I kind'a liked the live corps in '78. Cool uniforms, nice book, Bellavia, kick but sabre line. Probably not the best that they ever put out, but definitely under rated. If not for an absolutely attrocious hatchet job in horn field ex. coupled w/ a gift of a score for the Kilties in the same -- both by Opie -- they would've marched Finals. In fact, if memory serves me right, there was quite a bit of buzz over that... a lot of folks were stunned they didn't make the show. I definitely thought they got jacked. Not that I didn't like the Kilties -- I did. Regardless, I think quite a few thought there was a crime commited that day. Opinions... everyone's got one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dckid80 Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 I remember the '79 jumpsuits being black with a white belt. Guard was working at a very high energy level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.