Ode to Real Drum Corps

[DCIHasBeen]

i've got a serious question and i ask it because i wasn't involved with drum corps at the time to perceive the reactions of the fans in the stands.

when corps began doing asymetric drills was there a big argument over it? same for when guards began using dance and body as part of their guard work?

or is this more of a hindsight is 20/20 type of perception? as in well once we let the cat out of the bag there was no getting it back in again.

I think Vanguard was the first Drum Corps to do an asymetrical drill in 1980 ... They came in 7th that year, and a lot of people thought the drill was kind of neat, but more or less a novelty. It didn't have the velocity and constant motion that Zingali introduced with the Cadets a few years later.

There were a lot of old-timers to dumped on the style of marching that followed from The Cadets' innovations, calling it "follow-the-leader" and arguing that it lacked the precision of squad drills, etc.

[The Oz]

i've got a serious question and i ask it because i wasn't involved with drum corps at the time to perceive the reactions of the fans in the stands.

when corps began doing asymetric drills was there a big argument over it? same for when guards began using dance and body as part of their guard work?

or is this more of a hindsight is 20/20 type of perception? as in well once we let the cat out of the bag there was no getting it back in again.

Liz,

Asymmetric drill –Drills were always asymmetric to a degree; had to be to get from the goal line to the middle of the field. Once at the 50, they did tend to be mirror images across the 50. But many corps had asymmetric elements back in the day. The Yankee Rebels famous Requiem for an Era show, for example. And there was no problem with acceptance.

Some time in the early 70s, “drill designers” started to remove the straight lines from the drill. Some of this was for esthetic reasons, but no small part of it was done to eliminate tics. No dress and cover, no tics. As the straight lines disappeared and judges could no longer hit you for bad intervals, dress, and cover, the old timers started to #####[female canine]. They could stand some degree of curved lines, but the designers were clearly trying to get around the rules. And that’s when the discussion started to get heated.

I should note that some non-linear drill moves became instant classics. The Troopers sunburst is the best example. And you could get inside the circle and check for uniform intervals.

A similar discussion can be made for the guard. The biggest #####[female canine] came when the American flag sections disappeared, along with the color presentation. I was never a fan of the color pre, so I didn’t miss it as part of the show. But I miss the honor guard.

The next biggest outcry probably came when the guard was pulled out of the corps proper. I had not seen a senior show in several years when I went to Scranton a few years ago. It struck me on retreat, looking at Hawthorne, as to how wrong it looked to see guard uniforms that didn’t have any common elements with the rest of the corps. Just wrong.

I was getting on with real life while the transition was made to separate uniforms and dance. So I can’t tell you how the old folks reacted. But given a choice, I’d take the old 2-7 or Bayonne guards over today’s. Any where, any time.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[edited to circumvent over-sensitive smut filter]

Edited May 11, 2007 by The Oz

[JimF-LowBari]

LOL, Oz kicked in an old memory. My first year in corps we had a DI who had been around a while. His way of doing basic drill was have eveyone line up and count off by threes. Next 20 or so minutes was spent marching block to straight line to block while he screamed out the commands. This was new to the HS'ers (half the corps) so not sure how much that really helped or I can't remember if any of our field drill had much block formation.

[Scarlet Knight]

i've got a serious question and i ask it because i wasn't involved with drum corps at the time to perceive the reactions of the fans in the stands.

when corps began doing asymetric drills was there a big argument over it? same for when guards began using dance and body as part of their guard work?

or is this more of a hindsight is 20/20 type of perception? as in well once we let the cat out of the bag there was no getting it back in again.

What killed it for me and my wife was watching a 300 lb Hurc with a beer gut in tights, trying to do pirouettes right in front of us. It took years for us to go back to a DCA contest. By then they were all using props on the field. It was the Alumni Corps that brought me back into Drum Corps. Liz....if you could have seen the old style drills back in the 60's that Sky and the Hurcs, and Yankee Rebels, and Appleknockers, and Cabs did, with music that you knew, you wouldn't be surprised to see almost 15,000 people at the Barnum with both sides of the field filled. Jr. Corps would pull in at least half that crowd and there seemed to be a contest evrey 3 weeks or so in Bridgeport. Drumlines played rudiments...cleanly , with 1-2 judges in your face capturing EVERY little mistake you made. M&M judges could check alignment in 3 directions from standing in one position. When I was in the USMC D&B, we went to a Casper Troopes rehearsal. The practiced a total corps company front with broomsticks through their back belt loops to keep them all in a straigt line. We were shocked when they pulled out their blindfolds and practiced the company fron with the sticks...blinfolded until it was perfect.

Artistic Freedom is like Freeform Jazz...sometimes it's hard to tell the quality from the garbage.

You're right...the cat was let out of the bag and will never go back in, but sometimes the Alumni Cat wanders by and reminds us that there are a lot of us around that won't let go of a golden part of Drum Corps History. We are not reenactors...we are just having a great time.

JIm Ormiston...Park City Pride :mmm: :mmm: :mmm:

[The Oz]

LOL, Oz kicked in an old memory. My first year in corps we had a DI who had been around a while. His way of doing basic drill was have eveyone line up and count off by threes. Next 20 or so minutes was spent marching block to straight line to block while he screamed out the commands. This was new to the HS'ers (half the corps) so not sure how much that really helped or I can't remember if any of our field drill had much block formation.

Yep. We called 'em "ranks". Three guys who pretty much stuck together through the entire show.

Of course, there were constant discussions of who marched in the best, and worst, ranks. The all-time “winner” of the rankest rank was Al Kerrenti, Bruce Young, and Joe Jazinski (I'm really sorry about the spelling). They just didn't look like drum corps types in their street duds. Bad body types. Although Joe was a pretty decent soprano.

[Martybucs]

Yep. We called 'em "ranks". Three guys who pretty much stuck together through the entire show.

Of course, there were constant discussions of who marched in the best, and worst, ranks. The all-time “winner” of the rankest rank was Al Kerrenti, Bruce Young, and Joe Jazinski (I'm really sorry about the spelling). They just didn't look like drum corps types in their street duds. Bad body types. Although Joe was a pretty decent soprano.

I'm seeing Joe tonight. He's still a pretty good soprano, (he has enough vibrato for the whole section, so we can all play straight). He's having a tough time marching these days, but he can still plaster a double high G. I think Bruce is playing 3rd soprano.

Practice tonight for the big show on Saturday.

[Martybucs]

I thought it an amusing poem. When I'm in a, "our way was better and REAL drum corps", frame of mind I would probably unquestionably agree with all of it.

However, it denigrates the efforts and product of today's corps and that's not right. Go to a practice and watch these people working their behinds off and tell me they're not worth as much as we were, "back in the day".

It was a cool activity then and it's cool now. It's different and compared to 30 years ago sometimes hard to take with the props and uniforms and dancing, etc.

When a hornline is facing the stands and giving it everything they got, I still get goosebumps; I breathe faster in time with the music; I can feel my lips wanting to buzz in the mouthpiece and were it possible, I'd be down there pumping out the volume myself.

That, my friends, is timeless and transcends the styles of the day.

Sure, love what you did. Just respect what they're doing. Imagine the pride and delicious fatigue you felt after your performance - that hasn't changed.

Edited May 11, 2007 by Martybucs

[JimF-LowBari]

Well, since Marty and Oz are eastern PA types it was Barney Toomey (RIP) screaming out "Freeze right... harch... Freeze left... harch... about face... harch" (with "harch" being on the (right) foot just before the change in direction). Well at least it sounded like "Harch", when Barney got cranked up it was hard to tell.

Gad 33 years ago and I still remember it like yesterday :sshh:

PS - Just read Martys last post and thank goodness I spent 2/3rds of my life in an Old Car club. There folks don't b-word about which car era is better. They just compare the differences in order to enjoy the cars better. Not sure why the same isn't done more in DC.

Edited May 11, 2007 by JimF-3rdBari

[Fran Haring]

I thought it an amusing poem. When I'm in a, "our way was better and REAL drum corps", frame of mind I would probably unquestionably agree with all of it.

However, it denigrates the efforts and product of today's corps and that's not right. Go to a practice and watch these people working their behinds off and tell me they're not worth as much as we were, "back in the day".

It was a cool activity then and it's cool now. It's different and compared to 30 years ago sometimes hard to take with the props and uniforms and dancing, etc.

When a hornline is facing the stands and giving it everything they got, I still get goosebumps; I breathe faster in time with the music; I can feel my lips wanting to buzz in the mouthpiece and were it possible, I'd be down there pumping out the volume myself.

That, my friends, is timeless and transcends the styles of the day.

Sure, love what you did. Just respect what they're doing. Imagine the pride and delicious fatigue you felt after your performance - that hasn't changed.

I agree.

I enjoyed the "back in the day" stuff.... and still do, when watching alumni corps....... but time marches on.

Do I agree with everything going on in modern-day drum corps? No. But to me, the basic experience....... members busting their butts to perfect their corps' product, corps members forming friendships (some of them life-long) within the activity, and fans coming out to cheer on "their" corps or their favorite marcher(s)..... remains the same as it was 40 years ago, when I first found out about drum corps. The main thing that has changed, for me, is that I'm fatter and have less hair. :P

Fran

[YR-Rudi]

I agree.

I enjoyed the "back in the day" stuff.... and still do, when watching alumni corps....... but time marches on.

Do I agree with everything going on in modern-day drum corps? No. But to me, the basic experience....... members busting their butts to perfect their corps' product, corps members forming friendships (some of them life-long) within the activity, and fans coming out to cheer on "their" corps or their favorite marcher(s)..... remains the same as it was 40 years ago, when I first found out about drum corps. The main thing that has changed, for me, is that I'm fatter and have less hair. :P

Fran

And you wear brighter shirts now...