US Open Memories

[mobrien]

Only marched it one year ('81), and prelims were in the old stadium (the four row special), with finals in a baseball field in Columbus. For the trivially minded, that was the first show where Pearl marching percussion showed up with a DCI corps (Cavaliers having gotten new gear that week). Garfield was 6 points behind us that night; they were 7 points ahead of us three weeks later. Hmm, guess we must've stopped cleaning in those last three weeks of the season.... B)

[1990_RookOut]

My 1990 memories:

It was wet. Really wet.

We got to sit in the stands and watch Star after we went on. We didn't get to do that much later in the season, so that was a treat. Star's hornline was really on that night. We were in awe. Probably the best live hornline performance I've ever seen.

[Northern Thunder]

Here are a some wonderful memories I have from my years at U.S. Open:

1971 Appleknockers and Tri-Town Cadets. I competed four times in two days. Tired but happy!

You can clearly hear the crowd yell, "Go Go Tri-Knockers!" on the record, just as Geneva enters the field at finals. So you were one of the "Tri-Knockers"? (Some members marched in both corps for a time that year.)

I loved Tri Town in '71. For those who don't know....they wore farm overalls as uniforms (they were from an agricultural area in NY state) and had flags with images of farm animals on them.

The Appleknockers were great in '71. That was a very ingenious way to start a show, Three Dog Night's "It's For You" right into "Ritual Fire Dance". I loved Chicago's "Someday" in concert, too.

Edited June 22, 2007 by Northern Thunder

[KeithHall]

Can you explain how you march in two junior corps at the same time? Also, I remember one of our new soprano players kept saying he was going to get him an Olds soprano (we played brass Getzen's) and he took a Tri Town horn. He may have "given" it back but I can't recall.

I enjoyed Tri-Town's "uniforms" of overalls, black shoes, straw hats and yes I remember the animals on the flags.

In 1971 we did a Chicago tune for concert that was written by an amazing arranger who left to join a commune and was never heard from again.

You can clearly hear the crowd yell, "Go Go Tri-Knockers!" on the record, just as Geneva enters the field at finals. So you were one of the "Tri-Knockers"? (Some members marched in both corps for a time that year.)

I loved Tri Town in '71. For those who don't know....they wore farm overalls as uniforms (they were from an agricultural area in NY state) and had flags with images of farm animals on them.

The Appleknockers were great in '71. That was a very ingenious way to start a show, Three Dog Night's "It's For You" right into "Ritual Fire Dance". I loved Chicago's "Someday" in concert, too.

[Northern Thunder]

I was always intrigued by that dual Appleknockers/Tri-Town Cadets "arrangement".

I'm sure Geneva can explain how it worked out.

[KeithHall]

(waits patiently) (farm animal noises in the background and apples falling from the tree can be heard)

[Geneva]

Hi Brian and Keith,

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, I was one of the "Tri-Knockers". Ten of us went in the Geneva to Castile, New York direction to increase Tri-Town's bugle line from 27 to 37 horns and seven Cadets went in the Castile to Geneva direction to increase our horn line from 37 to 44. There was no exchange of percussion or guard. One of our lead sopranos was Tri-Town's horn instructor and, after very mediocre early season results for both corps, he came up with the mutual assist idea with spectacular results for both corps (second place for Tri-Town in Class A and eleventh place finalist for Geneva in the Open Class).

Logistically, it was not hard to pull this off since the two corps were sixty miles apart and practiced on different days of the week, their horn instructor was one of our players, and the competition schedules between Open Class and Class A did not conflict. Physically and mentally, it was difficult since we had to learn each other's drill and music over about three weeks in late July and early August, then almost continuously rehearse and perform at U.S. Open weekend-our "tour".

Brian, as you noted, this irked our upstate NY rivals who thought we were "cheaters", but at Geneva we were very hungry for success. We had always believed we had a nucleus of veterans there capable of achieving higher levels of success, but we were stymied by not having enough horses. Drum corps was a lot simpler back then and that magical 40 member horn line barrier meant a lot psychologically. It is hard to describe just how gratifying the results were to us. Personally, I had been dreaming of being a finalist for six seasons at that point. I think drum corps success was easier to translate from an individual's dreams to a unit's potential back then for many reasons. It just couldn't happen like that now. I am glad that I had the opportunity to participate in drum corps the way it was back then.

[Jimbalaya]

NO......wait......do I hear 'Apple Blossom Time'???????????

(waits patiently) (farm animal noises in the background and apples falling from the tree can be heard)

[KeithHall]

Wow! That was alot of work and a lot of time. Although, I remember back then, to march with another corps you had to have a release form. So was American Patrol a merger between Geneva and Tri Town? Because a merger between the two corps would have been a good idea later since both corps disappeared before the end of the 70's.

Hi Brian and Keith,

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, I was one of the "Tri-Knockers". Ten of us went in the Geneva to Castile, New York direction to increase Tri-Town's bugle line from 27 to 37 horns and seven Cadets went in the Castile to Geneva direction to increase our horn line from 37 to 44. There was no exchange of percussion or guard. One of our lead sopranos was Tri-Town's horn instructor and, after very mediocre early season results for both corps, he came up with the mutual assist idea with spectacular results for both corps (second place for Tri-Town in Class A and eleventh place finalist for Geneva in the Open Class).

Logistically, it was not hard to pull this off since the two corps were sixty miles apart and practiced on different days of the week, their horn instructor was one of our players, and the competition schedules between Open Class and Class A did not conflict. Physically and mentally, it was difficult since we had to learn each other's drill and music over about three weeks in late July and early August, then almost continuously rehearse and perform at U.S. Open weekend-our "tour".

Brian, as you noted, this irked our upstate NY rivals who thought we were "cheaters", but at Geneva we were very hungry for success. We had always believed we had a nucleus of veterans there capable of achieving higher levels of success, but we were stymied by not having enough horses. Drum corps was a lot simpler back then and that magical 40 member horn line barrier meant a lot psychologically. It is hard to describe just how gratifying the results were to us. Personally, I had been dreaming of being a finalist for six seasons at that point. I think drum corps success was easier to translate from an individual's dreams to a unit's potential back then for many reasons. It just couldn't happen like that now. I am glad that I had the opportunity to participate in drum corps the way it was back then.

[Northern Thunder]

Actually Keith, American Patrol, from Batavia was first on the field in '73 and '74, while both Tri-Town and the Appleknockers were still around. American Patrol did merge with Tr-Town in 1975.