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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 10, 2021 3:37:53 GMT -6
A West Coast Power Emerges - Clovis West
In an earlier post I talked a little bit about Clovis HS, CA. In the late 1980s it was neighboring Clovis West HS from Fresno, CA that rose to be one of the best bands in California. I am not as well versed in the history of California bands, but I believe they were dominate in California in the late 1980s and well into the 1990s and won several WSMBC (Western States Marching Band Championships) titles. Clovis West has of course been a consistent participant in BOA regionals across the western US for over a couple decades. There was actually a BOA regional held in the western US in 1988. Between 1987 and 1992, this was the only BOA regional held west of the Rockies. MFA has obviously lost the recap sheets because they do not have this regional listed. However, one was held and it was won by Clovis West. This was the first of three BOA regional titles for Clovis West. Their second regional title came 22 years after their first. That made the record books for longest gap between regional titles (in 2019 Lafayette KY tied that record).
I have found a video of 1988 Clovis West. It is not the BOA regional performance. The video quality is not the best, but with these old videos posted from old VHS tapes, we take what we can get. They played a collection of songs, but did open with Phantom of the Opera. Thanks to Santa Clara Vanguard (who had two amazing shows based on this musical in 1988 and 1989), there were several bands who either played a song selection from Phantom of the Opera or did the whole show in 1988. Note: in a later post I will feature a high school band who I think had the best Phantom show I had ever seen.
I noticed in this video that several traits that have been common among many California bands in recent years were present in this performance way back then; a strong color guard, a strong drum line with a lot of percussion features, a very good pit, and a style that seems to be much more closely aligned to drum corps. Clovis West did use an electric keyboard in this show which was something not allowed in DCI at the time.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 11, 2021 4:24:58 GMT -6
GRC Channels SCV
During the 1970s, George Rogers Clark (GRC) HS from Winchester, KY was not only one of the best bands in Kentucky, they were arguably one of the best bands in the country. They won three of the coveted MTSU Contest of Champions Titles and were runner-up at several more in the 1970s. They attended the MBA Grand National Championships in Whitewater, WI in the summer of 1978. They made finals and placed 5th overall. We are fortunate in that GRC has a complete on line collection of their shows from the late 1960s into the mid 1990s. In an earlier post I showcased several of the early GRC videos as they gave us a great example of how a band transformed from traditional style to corps style back in the day. During the early 1980s, while still very good, GRC did not have as much success compared to the 1970s. I believe they attended Grand Nationals in both 1982 and 1983. In both years they came close but fell short of making finals. In the mid 1980s, Jeffrey Hood became director of the marching band. 1986 was the first year of the official Kentucky State Championships (given how good Kentucky bands had been for many years I am surprised it took them this long). In what I am sure is a big upset, GRC won the first Kentucky State Title over North Hardin. I say this because North Hardin was extremely good in the 1980s. GRC attended Grand Nationals again. Despite their success at the state championships, they again failed to make finals. They ended up in 16th place in prelims. Having seen the video, I just think that the visual design and music just were not finals caliber.
GRC then hired additional staff and some additional assistant directors in 1987. This took them on a path to a new and improved GRC. There was a little bit of irony though. The last three years of the 1980s, GRC was unable to beat North Hardin for the state title, In fact in both 1988 and 1989 they finished third in the state behind both North Hardin and Lafayette. This really showcased the strength of Kentucky bands in those days. Another interesting point about this period is that the size of the band got much smaller. Usually when this happens there are underlying problems and the bands performances suffer as a result. This is a rare instance where a drop in membership led to a much improved band. Perhaps Mr. Hood lengthened the practice sessions or there were additional costs? In 1987 GRC did not attend Grand Nationals, but they did finish 4th at the BOA Midwest (Terre Haute) regional. Then came 1988.
Before I talk about 1988 GRC, it is important to first discuss 1988 and 1989 Santa Clara Vanguard. SCV did Phantom of the Opera both of those years; were runner-up to the World Title in 88 and won the Title in 89. SCV did more than just play the music of the Phantom of the Opera, they told the story of this musical on the field; just packed full of emotion. Turns out Music of the Night is an awesome way to close a show. Those two shows are among my favorite DCI shows of all time. In the fall of 1988, there were a lot of high school bands who took on Phantom of the Opera. One of those bands was George Rogers Clark. GRC's 1988 show was actually called The Music of Broadway. They opened with Overture to Candide. The rest of the show was Phantom of the Opera. Even back then, I thought they should have just done Phantom as the whole show; not that Candide was bad it was just that it would have given the show more cohesion if they had just done phantom. Anyway, the Phantom portion of the show was just awesome. Obviously not like SCV, but of all the high bands that I saw back then do Phantom, this was the best. They attended the BOA Eastern (Morgantown WV) regional this year and finished 2nd. They then made the trip up to Michigan for yet another attempt to make Grand National Finals. This time (ten years after they first appeared in GN finals in Whitewater) they made Grand National Finals. Turns out this would be their first of five consecutive GN Finals appearances. They ended up finishing 7th in finals in 88. Watching them in finals this year was the first time I had seen GRC. They still wore their 1970s era uniforms, complete with the tall white busby hats which gave them a unique look. I was also impressed with the suburb quality of their marching, specifically their roll step (they won marching and maneuvering in finals). Their drum major also had some awesome conducting skills and did the vanishing trick at the end like SCV. They ended up with the biggest applause of any finalist band this year. So here is 1988 GRC in BOA Grand National Finals. I will show other GRC shows but I wanted this one to stand alone.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 12, 2021 3:47:22 GMT -6
Norwin Reinvents Itself With DisneyCertainly one of the best bands of the 1980s (in an earlier post I showcase their early 1980s performances), Norwin HS from North Huntingdon PA (outside Pittsburgh) suffered a major disappointment in 1988 when they failed to make Grand National Finals. They were 15th in Prelims but only a few tenths away from 12th. It was still a surprise not to see them in finals. Despite having brand new more modern and stylish uniforms a couple years earlier I think their style of show may have become a bit dated. So enter Disney. After the 88 disappointment, 1989 saw Norwin do a completely different style show. They chose the theme of Disney, complete with props and characters on the field. The show proved to be a huge fan favorite and somewhat innovative for the time. While not many bands were using props back then, those that did typically had props with a somewhat homemade look to them. Compared to today, the props back then looked pretty generic. That was not the case with Norwin. They had pretty fancy looking props. It was rumored that they received a corporate sponsorship from the Disney Corporation for this show. The 1989 season turned out to be a huge success for them. They were a finalist at the BOA Eastern Regional (and I heard a bit upset that Kiski beat them and won the regional). They got their revenge later in the season at the BOA Mideast Regional. This time they beat Kiski (by a mere 0.05 points) and Lake Park to win the regional title; their first regional win since 1986. They then went to Grand Nationals. They not only made finals, they finished 3rd in finals with a score of 91.45. That score was their highest score ever in BOA (OK 2nd highest after their 81 prelims score), even higher than their 82 Grand National winning score (granted the scoring was a little more generous by the end of the decade). There were however aspects of their show that in my opinion were better than their 82 show. Norwin was back! was the big talk at nationals this year. They did a few more Disney themed shows in the early 1990s, most notably their 8th place performance at the 1990 Grand Nationals, but unfortunately they fell on some rough times in the early 90s and dropped out of finals again. After much searching, I found a video of 1989 Norwin at Grand Nationals. The video quality is not the best and it is their prelims performance (they did a bit better in finals). I have no association with this facebook page. A google search took me here. Since the video quality is quite poor, let me clarify a few things. Near the opening of the show, the prop in the back of the field that rises is the Magic Kingdom. Later on in the show the prop in the back that emerges is Epcot Center (in finals that prop collapsed back down). The saxophone soloist (who was awesome) is standing on a platform on the Magic Kingdom. The soloist briefly stops, the band gets ready to play, then the soloist starts back up; the band then turned to the back of the field to look at the soloist, so he/she stops and the band starts playing. That part got a good response from the audience. A little bit of comedy that was well understood. During the chimney song from Mary Poppins (a few of the songs were from that Disney musical), there are two guard members dressed as chimney sweeps. They go around sweeping members of the band before doing a choreographed dance. During the closing finale, several Disney characters emerge from the Magic Kingdom and come onto the field. So again, I wish this video was better quality and I wish it were their finals performance, but here you go. m.facebook.com/watch/?v=3784679101748&_rdr
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Post by trumpet300 on Apr 12, 2021 7:31:56 GMT -6
Norwin Reinvents Itself With DisneyCertainly one of the best bands of the 1980s (in an earlier post I showcase their early 1980s performances), Norwin HS from North Huntingdon PA (outside Pittsburgh) suffered a major disappointment in 1988 when they failed to make Grand National Finals. They were 15th in Prelims but only a few tenths away from 12th. It was still a surprise not to see them in finals. Despite having brand new more modern and stylish uniforms a couple years earlier I think their style of show may have become a bit dated. So enter Disney. After the 88 disappointment, 1989 saw Norwin do a completely different style show. They chose the theme of Disney, complete with props and characters on the field. The show proved to be a huge fan favorite and somewhat innovative for the time. While not many bands were using props back then, those that did typically had props with a somewhat homemade look to them. Compared to today, the props back then looked pretty generic. That was not the case with Norwin. They had pretty fancy looking props. It was rumored that they received a corporate sponsorship from the Disney Corporation for this show. The 1989 season turned out to be a huge success for them. They were a finalist at the BOA Eastern Regional (and I heard a bit upset that Kiski beat them and won the regional). They got their revenge later in the season at the BOA Mideast Regional. This time they beat Kiski (by a mere 0.05 points) and Lake Park to win the regional title; their first regional win since 1986. They then went to Grand Nationals. They not only made finals, they finished 3rd in finals with a score of 91.45. That score was their highest score ever in BOA, even higher than their 82 Grand National winning score (granted the scoring was a little more generous by the end of the decade). There were however aspects of their show that in my opinion were better than their 82 show. Norwin was back! was the big talk at nationals this year. They did a few more Disney themed shows in the early 1990s, most notably their 8th place performance at the 1990 Grand Nationals, but unfortunately they fell on some rough times in the early 90s and dropped out of finals again. After much searching, I found a video of 1989 Norwin at Grand Nationals. The video quality is not the best and it is their prelims performance (they did a bit better in finals). I have no association with this facebook page. A google search took me here. Since the video quality is quite poor, let me clarify a few things. Near the opening of the show, the prop in the back of the field that rises is the Magic Kingdom. Later on in the show the prop in the back that emerges is Epcot Center (in finals that prop collapsed back down). The saxophone soloist (who was awesome) is standing on a platform on the Magic Kingdom. The soloist briefly stops, the band gets ready to play, then the soloist starts back up; the band then turned to the back of the field to look at the soloist, so he/she stops and the band starts playing. That part got a good response from the audience. A little bit of comedy that was well understood. During the chimney song from Mary Poppins (a few of the songs were from that Disney musical), there are two guard members dressed as chimney sweeps. They go around sweeping members of the band before doing a choreographed dance. During the closing finale, several Disney characters emerge from the Magic Kingdom and come onto the field. So again, I wish this video was better quality and I wish it were their finals performance, but here you go. m.facebook.com/watch/?v=3784679101748&_rdr I believe their highest score was actually in the 1981 season at Grand nationals. In prelims, they scored a 91.50.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 12, 2021 14:48:46 GMT -6
Norwin Reinvents Itself With DisneyCertainly one of the best bands of the 1980s (in an earlier post I showcase their early 1980s performances), Norwin HS from North Huntingdon PA (outside Pittsburgh) suffered a major disappointment in 1988 when they failed to make Grand National Finals. They were 15th in Prelims but only a few tenths away from 12th. It was still a surprise not to see them in finals. Despite having brand new more modern and stylish uniforms a couple years earlier I think their style of show may have become a bit dated. So enter Disney. After the 88 disappointment, 1989 saw Norwin do a completely different style show. They chose the theme of Disney, complete with props and characters on the field. The show proved to be a huge fan favorite and somewhat innovative for the time. While not many bands were using props back then, those that did typically had props with a somewhat homemade look to them. Compared to today, the props back then looked pretty generic. That was not the case with Norwin. They had pretty fancy looking props. It was rumored that they received a corporate sponsorship from the Disney Corporation for this show. The 1989 season turned out to be a huge success for them. They were a finalist at the BOA Eastern Regional (and I heard a bit upset that Kiski beat them and won the regional). They got their revenge later in the season at the BOA Mideast Regional. This time they beat Kiski (by a mere 0.05 points) and Lake Park to win the regional title; their first regional win since 1986. They then went to Grand Nationals. They not only made finals, they finished 3rd in finals with a score of 91.45. That score was their highest score ever in BOA, even higher than their 82 Grand National winning score (granted the scoring was a little more generous by the end of the decade). There were however aspects of their show that in my opinion were better than their 82 show. Norwin was back! was the big talk at nationals this year. They did a few more Disney themed shows in the early 1990s, most notably their 8th place performance at the 1990 Grand Nationals, but unfortunately they fell on some rough times in the early 90s and dropped out of finals again. After much searching, I found a video of 1989 Norwin at Grand Nationals. The video quality is not the best and it is their prelims performance (they did a bit better in finals). I have no association with this facebook page. A google search took me here. Since the video quality is quite poor, let me clarify a few things. Near the opening of the show, the prop in the back of the field that rises is the Magic Kingdom. Later on in the show the prop in the back that emerges is Epcot Center (in finals that prop collapsed back down). The saxophone soloist (who was awesome) is standing on a platform on the Magic Kingdom. The soloist briefly stops, the band gets ready to play, then the soloist starts back up; the band then turned to the back of the field to look at the soloist, so he/she stops and the band starts playing. That part got a good response from the audience. A little bit of comedy that was well understood. During the chimney song from Mary Poppins (a few of the songs were from that Disney musical), there are two guard members dressed as chimney sweeps. They go around sweeping members of the band before doing a choreographed dance. During the closing finale, several Disney characters emerge from the Magic Kingdom and come onto the field. So again, I wish this video was better quality and I wish it were their finals performance, but here you go. m.facebook.com/watch/?v=3784679101748&_rdr I believe their highest score was actually in the 1981 season at Grand nationals. In prelims, they scored a 91.50. Thanks. I never saw the 81 prelims scores. Still learning new tidbits after all these years.
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Post by trumpet300 on Apr 12, 2021 14:59:21 GMT -6
I believe their highest score was actually in the 1981 season at Grand nationals. In prelims, they scored a 91.50. Thanks. I never saw the 81 prelims scores. Still learning new tidbits after all these years. It's a lot to remember and a lot of scores are hard to find.
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Post by kvgdc on Apr 12, 2021 17:46:20 GMT -6
Have we done Danville (KY)? They were a 'small band' that I remember being super good in the early 80s.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 13, 2021 2:55:54 GMT -6
Have we done Danville (KY)? They were a 'small band' that I remember being super good in the early 80s. First post on page 4. I posted their two Grand National Finals performances from 1981 and 1982. Last I checked their prelims performances from 83 and 84 were on line too. I think there is also a video or two from the late 1970s.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 13, 2021 3:18:57 GMT -6
North Hardin Takes Us to the Movies and its a Hit
Given that this band has been a consistent BOA regional finalist and frequent Grand National Semi Finalist for the past 25 years, I think most of us are quite familiar with them. North Hardin HS from Radcliff, KY rose to prominence in the 1980s. They were frequent participants in the MTSU Contest of Champions and won it twice in the 80s. They also won the Kentucky State Title in 1987, 1988 and 1989. Their focus through the decade seemed to mainly be on the big competitions in Kentucky and Tennessee as their BOA participation was very limited. They made their first trip to Grand Nationals in 1985. A huge penalty almost cost them a spot in finals; they were 12th in prelims. In finals, they ended up finishing 5th. North Hardin did not participate in BOA again until 1989. They attended the BOA Midwest Regional and in finals finished 2nd behind Marian Catholic. They then went to Grand Nationals and finished 4th. A small penalty in finals tied them in score with Kiski. The tie break, highest pre penalty score, allowed North Hardin to be awarded 4th place. After 1977 Grand National Champ Murray, this is the next highest placement for a Kentucky band at Grand Nationals. Turns out this was North Hardin's 2nd and last appearance in Grand National finals. They were planning on attending BOA in 1990 but after their director left and they had some staffing changes they opted not to participate. The changes affected their program a bit in the early 1990s, but they made a comeback in the mid to late 1990s and became regular BOA participants.
The 1989 show, under the direction of Craig Cornish, featured the music of John Williams. It provides an example of the early years of themed shows where a band picked song selections all from the same composer. Given the popularity of John Williams songs, this show had a very broad audience appeal. Their music scores were quite high (which is what allowed them to place so high). Their marching technique was clean and quite solid (sorry only the high cam version is on line). Their visual scores were however a bit lower because they did not have the level of visual difficulty as the other top placing bands in finals. By the late 80s, judges were already awarding difficulty done well and visual difficulty was being factored into the scores. So here is the finals performance of 1989 North Hardin. The video quality is not that great, but again we take what we can get.
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Post by kvgdc on Apr 13, 2021 14:57:50 GMT -6
Have we done Danville (KY)? They were a 'small band' that I remember being super good in the early 80s. First post on page 4. I posted their two Grand National Finals performances from 1981 and 1982. Last I checked their prelims performances from 83 and 84 were on line too. I think there is also a video or two from the late 1970s. Oh, we did didn't we! I am officially old and forget recent things while remembering vividly things from years ago apparently.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 14, 2021 3:51:53 GMT -6
Michigan's Most Successful Small Town Band
Being from Michigan, I would feel guilty if I did not post at least one video from this band, even though they were one of my band's big competitors. That band is the Durand Area HS 'Railroaders' from Durand, MI. While there have been many successful bands from small rural towns in my state (Chesaning Union had a couple periods of success), none can match the legacy of Durand. Durand is a small town located between Flint and Lansing, crisscrossed by several major rail lines. During the 1970s, Charles Birch (who was joined by Ed Turner in the mid/late 1980s) developed this band into one of the best in the state. Despite their small school size, between the late 1970s and early 1990s, Durand fielded a band between 130 and 150 members strong. They competed in Flight I since the flights were based on band size at the time. At the first Michigan State Championships in 1980, Durand won the Flight I State Title and were 4th overall (there was an open flight back then). In 1981, they again won the Flight I State Title and were 2nd overall in the state. 1982 saw them win their third Flight I State Title and finish 3rd overall in the state. In 1983, they won the Flight I State Title for the fourth consecutive year and this time were the overall state of Michigan Grand Champions. Between 1984 and 1989 they finished 2nd in Flight I each year (and second overall in the state). I think that 1988 and 1989 were their strongest shows ever. Plymouth had just become a national caliber power those years so none of us Michigan bands were able to touch them. During the 1990s, Durand found it more and more difficult to compete with schools that were larger and had more financial resources. The Flights had also become based on school size rather than band size. So during the 1990s, the size of Durand's band slowly got smaller and they gradually dropped down in flights before settling in Flight IV by the end of the decade (the flight for the smallest schools). They did however became a Flight IV state power as they won 9 Flight IV state titles between 1995 and 2006. Since the late 2000s, Durand has had some financial setbacks and cuts to the music department which has affected their program. They still however maintain a competitive marching band in MCBA, making them one of the longest participating bands in the circuit.
In 1979, Durand was a finalist and Class A Champion at the MBA Toledo Regional Championships. I am not sure if they participated in this regional in other years prior to 1985 (I suspect they did). In 1987 they returned to the BOA Toledo Regional and were a finalist. The only years that Durand ever competed at Grand Nationals was 1987 and 1988. Since Grand Nationals was held in Michigan those years it was a very inexpensive trip for this small town band with limited financial resources. In both 1987 and 1988, Durand competed in Class AA in BOA rather than Class A. This has always surprised me because Durand is such a small school. Perhaps they were a little bigger those years which put them over the Class A threshold. All other years in BOA, they have been Class A. At the 1987 Grand Nationals they placed 25th. At the 1988 Grand Nationals, they finished 19th in what may have been the bands best ever performance. Interesting point; since the BOA rules in the 80s were that finals had to consist of at least two bands from each class, had Durand been in Class A this year, they would have advanced to Grand National Finals over New Philadelphia. In the 1990s, Durand became a frequent participant at the BOA Toledo regional, with their biggest success occurring in 1992 with a 4th place finish and Class A Title. From 1999 into the mid 2000s, Durand was a regular at the NW Ohio/SE Michigan BOA regionals, making finals on a few occasions and winning several Class A Titles.
Unfortunately there are not many videos of Durand from their 1980s glory years. I did find a video of their performance at the state championships in 1989. Many said that this 2nd place finish was their best performance at the state championships.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 15, 2021 3:28:58 GMT -6
After a Season of Setbacks, A BOA Power Emerges
I guess this can be seen as a part two of the earlier post that detailed the rise of PCEP (Plymouth Centennial (Canton) Educational Park). I mentioned how Plymouth was slowly improving season by season during the early/mid 1980s, winning the state title in 84, 85 and 86, then coming close to making Grand National Finals in 86. While I am sure they expected a continuation of this improving trend in 1987, it did not happen. They attended the BOA Midwest Regional in Terre Haute IN and just missed finals. At the Michigan State Championships, they were unable to handle a rain soaked and muddy field (with the yard lines completely washed away) and sort of fell apart visually. They finished 3rd behind Flushing and Durand, two bands from much smaller schools. That did not sit well with them. Then at the 1987 Grand Nationals, although they came close, they again failed to make finals. It was after these disappointments, that Plymouth took a new direction.
1988 was going to be founding director James Griffith's last season as director before he retired from the marching band. While I am only speculating, I get the feeling that since assistant director Glenn Adsit was going to be taking over for Mr. Griffith the next year, he may have been given a little more control over the direction of the band, especially with respect to how they approached their visual design. What happened in 1988 was the hiring of some additional staff. This included Ralph Johnson (no not the same person who was in Earth, Wind and Fire) as the music arranger, Steve Brubaker as drill writer and a man by the name of Jeff Fieldler (very familiar name to DCI aficionados) as a visual instructor. There were of course other talented staff brought on. This team would largely hold together through their early 90s glory years. The result was a much more sophisticated music and visual package compared to years prior. So in 1988 Plymouth went undefeated in Michigan competition and regained their state title. They did not attend a BOA regional but did attend Grand Nationals. They not only made finals, they finished in 5th place. Their 1988 show is not online (again what is posted online as 1988 is actually 1987). In 1988, Plymouth did a theme based show for the first time with music from the Broadway Musical 'The Music Man'. Plymouth would end up doing Broadway themed shows for several years. Unlike their shows of the 90s, they did not have any singing our amplified vocals or props, it was just a superbly arranged and performed show featuring the music from this musical. A highlight in the show came near the end with their rendition of 76 Trombones.
In 1989, the musical of choice for Plymouth was 'Sweet Charity'. They proved this season that their success in 88 was no fluke. They again went undefeated in Michigan Competition. A couple weeks before Grand Nationals, they attended the BOA Mideast Regional in Cincinnati. They finished 5th in finals. I think they may have been a bit disappointed because three of the bands they had beaten at the 88 Grand Nationals had beaten them at this regional. So they seemed to have come to Grand Nationals with a bit of extra determination. One point I want to make about the competition at nationals before the days of semi finals and before the days where class champions were determined in prelims is that the main point of prelims back then was to make finals. Some bands who knew they would be in finals sometimes (not always) held back a little in prelims to save it for finals. On the other hand, some bands who knew they had to put forth a good show to make finals really put a lot of effort into prelims. Even though my band did not participate in nationals this year, I was there. I got the sense that Plymouth was a little worried they may miss finals, so they set out to lay it all on the field in prelims. Boy did they deliver. I was sitting there watching them and finally realized that they were so far beyond the level of any other Michigan band. Our director even said he had never heard Plymouth play like that. Of course they made finals. In fact, they outright won prelims. Their prelims performance was certainly a taste of what was to come from this band in future years. In finals they ended up finishing 7th (and won the coordinated auxiliary award). Now their finals performance was still very good, just not quite as good as prelims. I think some of the other top level finalist bands brought their A game to finals. In finals, Plymouth also had to perform right after Marian Catholic delivered an awesome show.
The 1989 Plymouth show is online. Here is their prelims performance from 1989 Grand Nationals.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 16, 2021 3:27:18 GMT -6
Tate Returns to BOA and the Impeccable ChaparralsYears before Tarpon Springs reigned supreme in the state of Florida, there was JM Tate HS from Gonzales. In a much earlier post I showcased their 1980 Grand National winning performance. Much like Tarpon, in addition to being a state power Tate also had a very strong winter guard. Tate was just not as active in BOA. After two regional titles and 4 appearances in Grand National Finals from the late 1970s into the early 1980s, Tate stopped competing in BOA for a few years. They were still a very good band and had much success in competitions across the southeastern US. Tate returned to BOA competition in 1988 by attending the BOA Southeast Regional. They won this regional, edging out first time BOA participant Lassiter GA. In 1989 they won the BOA Southeast Regional Title again. This year they made the trek up to Grand Nationals (their first appearance in Grand Nationals since 1982). They of course made finals and finished 9th, their 5th an final Grand National Finals appearance. As good as the band was, most us could not keep our eyes of their amazing color guard. They had a huge rifle and saber line that was amazing. Had BOA not done away with the caption award for best rifles/twirling equipment this year, Tate would have certainly won it. Tate's amazing guard was not limited to their marching band. Their winter guard 'The Chaparrals' were among the best in the country. After being runner-up to Union for the WGI World Title a few times in the late 80s, they outright won the title in 1989. I have searched for Tate's 1989 Grand National performance but have not found it. The best I can offer is a 1988 performance at a football game. You do get a sense of how strong their guard (particularly the rifles) were. So here it is. And here is the 1989 WGI World Champion Tate Chaparrals (and yes that is how girls wore their hair back then ).
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 17, 2021 4:18:46 GMT -6
Vintage LeanderThis one's for you LeanderMomma Leander has quite a few of their old performances online. So there will be some other Leander posts. Leander is the original high school in the Leander ISD. So it has had a competitive marching band for the past several decades. In their online collection of videos, you can see this band steadily improve from the mid 1980s into the mid/late 1990s. I will showcase their performances the last three years of the 80s in this post. Like so many corps style Texas bands in the 1980s, Leander also retained several traditional elements. Leander would not compete in BOA until 1992 when they attended the Denton TX regional. They finished 4th and won the Class AA title (yes they were a smaller school back then). Not a bad BOA debut. In 1996, they became the first Austin area band to win a BOA regional title. They made their first trip to Grand Nationals in 1999 and became the first Austin area band to be a Grand National Finalist. Here are Leander performances at Texas UIL competitions from 1987, 1988 and 1989.
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Post by LeanderMomma on Apr 17, 2021 20:24:37 GMT -6
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 20, 2021 4:39:04 GMT -6
1988 Westerville South - A Sign of Things to Come
During the 1980s, Westerville South HS from Westerville, OH was a consistent BOA regional finalist and won several regional class titles early in the decade when they were in Class AA. They were a Grand National Finalist in 1983 and 1984. They fell short of finals in 85, 86 and 87. Then came 1988 and director Dustin Werner (he may have actually been director a year or two earlier). They finished 5th at the BOA Akron regional; a good finish but not something that screamed sure bet finalist at nationals. They did come up to metro Detroit for a competition later in October of 88 and finished 2nd just behind Plymouth. They had a rather difficult show for the era and obviously improved quite a bit by nationals. They made Grand National Finals and I think to their surprise, finished 6th. Although they did not have as much success in 1989 and missed Grand National Finals (they were unlucky number 13 in prelims), they came roaring back in 1990. The early to mid 1990s would end up being their glory years. The 1988 show kind of gave us a glimpse of what was to come.
Notable in the middle of this show was the use of an electronic keyboard. Electronics were still a hot button issue then (many did not like electronics in marching band). I was in the no electronics camp. I did have to admit though, the electric keyboard in this show was pretty awesome. Over 30 years later and I still have no idea what the masks in the middle of this show were supposed to represent. Another thing about this show and many Westerville South shows to follow is that they seemed to have an overall certain level of intensity and darkness; which I kind of loved.
So here is 1988 Westerville South in Grand National Finals
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 22, 2021 4:43:16 GMT -6
The 88 Warriors
In the mid to late 1980s, New York State had three very powerful marching bands, all from the Syracuse area. I have earlier posts from two of them; West Genesee and Cicero North Syracuse. This post will be about the Liverpool HS 'Warriors' from Liverpool, NY. Unfortunately, Liverpool has limited videos online of their glory years. Fortunately they have 1988.
Liverpool has had a competitive marching band going all the way back into the 1970s (possibly earlier). They got very good in the early 1980s to become one of the New York 'big three' by the mid 1980s. They won the coveted New York State Marching Band Championship two of those years; 1985 and 1988. They are a 4 time BOA Grand National Finalist. In 1984 they were 10th and became the first band from New York to be a GN Finalist. They returned to Grand Nationals in 1987 and finished 5th. This was followed by a 4th place finish in 1988 (their highest finish at Grand Nationals). Although they were beat by rival Cicero North Syracuse in 88 GN Finals, Liverpool was the first band to perform in finals, always a disadvantage. In 1989 they lost their director Barry Peters. They came to Grand Nationals a notably smaller band and not quite to the level of 87 and 88. They did manage to make finals in 89 and finished 12th. The early 90s would see their placement slip a bit at New York competitions. From the mid 1990s into the 2000s, they did however become a frequent BOA regional finalist at several of the northeast regionals.
Here is the clip from their winning performance at the 1988 New York State Championships. I wish their 88 GN Finals performance was on line simply because the camera shots were better. While they did not have a show built around a centralized theme, they played American Overture, Give It One and Variations on a Korean Folk Song; three very popular song selections in the 1980s. In the commentary at the end, they talk about big bands having more general effect. Perhaps that was true from a general audience perspective. Bands were certainly not judged that way. West Genesee (who won the most New York State Titles in the 80s) averaged between 130 and 140 members. In 1988 GN Finals, Lake Park beat Liverpool in overall score and had a higher general effect despite having around 110 members.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 25, 2021 4:52:00 GMT -6
A New Pennsylvania Power Emerges - KiskiWhile there were certainly many strong Pennsylvania bands during the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably Hanover HS, none could match the strength and success of Norwin. During the late 1980s, that changed. Under the direction of Scott Koter, the Kiski Area 'Cavaliers' from Vandegrift, PA (outside Pittsburgh) became a very good band in a very short time period. In the mid 1980s, Kiski was a band that did well on the state/local circuit. By the late 1980s, Kiski was a national powerhouse program. During its early years, Mr. Koter developed the Kiski sound into what would be its legacy during its glory years; kind of a mix of big band/jazz/Broadway. Kiski has a website which has all of its end of season shows going all they back to 1985. The videos used to link to the youtube page. Now, they only play embedded in the website. So I will post a link of the website but will only focus on the shows during the 1985 to 1989 time frame for this post. Yes, other posts will be done of Kiski. www.kiskiareabands.org/marching-band-videos.htmlIn 1985, you can see that while good, Kiski was no where near ready for prime time on the BOA stage. The 1986 show is from Grand Nationals. The very first BOA competition for Kiski was the 1986 Grand Nationals where they placed 33rd. Then came 1987, which was the year Kiski really entered the spotlight as they made a significant improvement over 86. In 1987, they did not attend Grand Nationals but they did attend their first BOA regional in Morgantown, WV. They finished 2nd overall (runner-up to Rocky Mount) and won the Class AA title. They also beat their in-state rival, Norwin. The performance on the website is not the BOA regional but some other late season competition. In 1988, Kiski outright won the Morgantown, WV BOA regional, their first of what would be many regional titles over the coming decades. They attended Grand Nationals in 88 and this time made finals, finishing 9th. In 1989, Kiski won the BOA Morgantown regional again. They also attended the BOA Cincinnati regional this year. They ended up 2nd, just 0.05 points behind their rival Norwin. 1989 was the only time Kiski attended Grand Nationals back to back (a band we all would have loved to see them every year). 1989 also marked the only time that both Kiski and Norwin (one of the longest in-state rivals to also play out in BOA) were in Grand National Finals together. Kiski ended up in 5th. Even though they opened with "In the Hall of the Mountain King", a little different song selection from what they usually played, they still had that distinctive Kiski sound.
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Post by dallasman on Apr 25, 2021 23:34:25 GMT -6
Kiski, in their heyday, was one of the top 3 bands in the country (in my opinion) in marching technique/fundamentals, along w/ Lake Park & a mix of other bands depending on the year (Marian Catholic - late 80s, Spring - early 90s, Center Grove - mid-90s, PCEP-late 90s, Lawrence Central (my least favorite successful band of all-time) - early 2000s. A New Pennsylvania Power Emerges - KiskiWhile there were certainly many strong Pennsylvania bands during the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably Hanover HS, none could match the strength and success of Norwin. During the late 1980s, that changed. Under the direction of Scott Koter, the Kiski Area 'Cavaliers' from Vandegrift, PA (outside Pittsburgh) became a very good band in a very short time period. In the mid 1980s, Kiski was a band that did well on the state/local circuit. By the late 1980s, Kiski was a national powerhouse program. During its early years, Mr. Koter developed the Kiski sound into what would be its legacy during its glory years; kind of a mix of big band/jazz/Broadway. Kiski has a website which has all of its end of season shows going all they back to 1985. The videos used to link to the youtube page. Now, they only play embedded in the website. So I will post a link of the website but will only focus on the shows during the 1985 to 1989 time frame for this post. Yes, other posts will be done of Kiski. www.kiskiareabands.org/marching-band-videos.htmlIn 1985, you can see that while good, Kiski was no where near ready for prime time on the BOA stage. The 1986 show is from Grand Nationals. The very first BOA competition for Kiski was the 1986 Grand Nationals where they placed 33rd. Then came 1987, which was the year Kiski really entered the spotlight as they made a significant improvement over 86. In 1987, they did not attend Grand Nationals but they did attend their first BOA regional in Morgantown, WV. They finished 2nd overall (runner-up to Rocky Mount) and won the Class AA title. They also beat their in-state rival, Norwin. The performance on the website is not the BOA regional but some other late season competition. In 1988, Kiski outright won the Morgantown, WV BOA regional, their first of what would be many regional titles over the coming decades. They attended Grand Nationals in 88 and this time made finals, finishing 9th. In 1989, Kiski won the BOA Morgantown regional again. They also attended the BOA Cincinnati regional this year. They ended up 2nd, just 0.05 points behind their rival Norwin. 1989 was the only time Kiski attended Grand Nationals back to back (a band we all would have loved to see them every year). 1989 also marked the only time that both Kiski and Norwin (one of the longest in-state rivals to also play out in BOA) were in Grand National Finals together. Kiski ended up in 5th. Even though they opened with "In the Hall of the Mountain King", a little different song selection from what they usually played, they still had that distinctive Kiski sound.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 28, 2021 9:24:21 GMT -6
Revisiting the Panthers
In an earlier post I showed a video of the 1984 Western HS 'Panthers' from Russiaville, IN (just west of Kokomo) and under the direction of Larry Neuhauser in their Indiana Class C State Championship performance. That year they went on to not only make Grand Nationals Finals and win the GN Class A title, they placed 5th in finals (the last time a Class A band has finished in the top 5 in GN finals). 1984 marked their first of seven consecutive appearances in Grand National finals. While they advanced into finals on class (requirement for top two in each class to be in finals back in those days), in three of those Grand Nationals, they finished in the top 12 in prelims. They did it 1984, 1985 and then again in 1988. A couple years prior to 1988, Western jumped from Class C to Class B in Indiana State Competition. At the 1988 state championships they won the Indiana Class B State Title. Then at Grand Nationals, they finished 11th in prelims despite it being a very competitive group of bands trying to make finals. Once in finals, they finished 12th and won the GN Class A Title, their third at the time (they won it in 1985 as well as 1984). In 1990, they won the GN Class A title for the fourth time (they would have to wait 22 years before they would claim their fifth and so far last GN Class A title). Going back to 1988, what put them over the edge and into placing 11th in prelims was their exceptionally high visual scores. While I would post their Grand National performance from 1988, I can not find it online. Their 1988 Indiana State Championship performance is online. So here it is:
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 28, 2021 9:47:42 GMT -6
Indoor Percussion
I don't normally put out two posts in the same day, but since the last one was short, here goes another one.
In WGI, indoor percussion officially began in 1993 (won by Clovis West HS CA). During the 1990s and into the 2000s, indoor percussion (consisting of both the battery and front line ensemble) became extremely popular. While I am not a percussionist, I can tell that the skill set involved in both the battery and front line ensemble in both marching bands and drum corp require a much broader skill set than concert/symphonic band. I also know since many high school marching bands had a much larger group of percussionist in their marching band compared to their concert band that it has not been unheard of for students to play percussion in marching band while playing a wind instrument in concert band. So during the off season, I am sure it proved beneficial to have an indoor percussion unit to keep those skills sharp before the marching season began. The idea of an indoor percussion competition did however come about long before it became incorporated into WGI. I don't know to what extent if any it existed in the 1970s, but I do know that in the 1980s it was gaining popularity. In 1989, Bands of America consolidated the caption/highest achievement awards. Prior to 1989, they gave out an award for best brass/winds and one for best percussion. In 1989, all of those elements were combined into the music performance highest achievement award. So perhaps because they were not giving out a separate award for percussion, at the 1989 Grand Nationals, BOA held an indoor percussion competition (yes like what we see in WGI) in the convention center next to the old Hoosier Dome. The competition was comprised of two groups, one for high schools and one for colleges. The BOA Indoor percussion competition continued well into the 1990s. I can not remember when the last year they held the competition. I think it may have been 1995, the year before the semi finals format was introduced, but I could be wrong.
So at the first BOA Grand National indoor percussion competition in 1989, the band that won the high school division was Union HS (yes that Union; the Renegade Regiment) from Tulsa, OK. Here is that performance.
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Post by hewhowaits on Apr 28, 2021 12:23:48 GMT -6
Indoor PercussionSo at the first BOA Grand National indoor persuasion competition in 1989, the band that won the high school division was Union HS (yes that Union; the Renegade Regiment) from Tulsa, OK. So the Renegade Regiment "persuaded" the judges to award them first place. (Note: as a moderator I will be going in and changing the wording to what boahistorybuff surely intended but I couldn't resist this one)
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Post by kvgdc on Apr 28, 2021 12:30:30 GMT -6
Western was indeed a very good band. There was a lot of talk in this time in the ISSMA circuit about what might come to pass if we had a 'no class' competition across all the bands like the state basketball tourney was (in that time...they've since gone to class ball for BB).
The top of the A bands would probably still dominate by far, but there were usually two or three bands that would be in the A finals that would probably get beaten by the top of the class B bands (which would emerge as A powers in a few years as enrollment shifted at schools). Then there was Western in class C which would always be in the mix of that sort of discussion for those who came for C finals. And the rivalry between Forest Park and Lewis Cass in Class D.
They might not have been as loud or 'full field coverage' or 'mylar banners and cloth (props weren't really a thing yet in ISSMA)' but they could march clean and their sound was amazing.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 28, 2021 14:04:09 GMT -6
Indoor PercussionSo at the first BOA Grand National indoor persuasion competition in 1989, the band that won the high school division was Union HS (yes that Union; the Renegade Regiment) from Tulsa, OK. So the Renegade Regiment "persuaded" the judges to award them first place. (Note: as a moderator I will be going in and changing the wording to what boahistorybuff surely intended but I couldn't resist this one) I caught that like 5 minutes after I posted. Oops
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 28, 2021 14:05:58 GMT -6
Western was indeed a very good band. There was a lot of talk in this time in the ISSMA circuit about what might come to pass if we had a 'no class' competition across all the bands like the state basketball tourney was (in that time...they've since gone to class ball for BB). The top of the A bands would probably still dominate by far, but there were usually two or three bands that would be in the A finals that would probably get beaten by the top of the class B bands (which would emerge as A powers in a few years as enrollment shifted at schools). Then there was Western in class C which would always be in the mix of that sort of discussion for those who came for C finals. And the rivalry between Forest Park and Lewis Cass in Class D. They might not have been as loud or 'full field coverage' or 'mylar banners and cloth (props weren't really a thing yet in ISSMA)' but they could march clean and their sound was amazing. Yes I agree, always enjoyed Western.
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Post by LeanderMomma on Apr 28, 2021 15:35:50 GMT -6
Western was indeed a very good band. There was a lot of talk in this time in the ISSMA circuit about what might come to pass if we had a 'no class' competition across all the bands like the state basketball tourney was (in that time...they've since gone to class ball for BB). The top of the A bands would probably still dominate by far, but there were usually two or three bands that would be in the A finals that would probably get beaten by the top of the class B bands (which would emerge as A powers in a few years as enrollment shifted at schools). Then there was Western in class C which would always be in the mix of that sort of discussion for those who came for C finals. And the rivalry between Forest Park and Lewis Cass in Class D. They might not have been as loud or 'full field coverage' or 'mylar banners and cloth (props weren't really a thing yet in ISSMA)' but they could march clean and their sound was amazing. Weirdly, I watched a BOA Indy band vlog on YouTube just this morning from a band kid at Western. And I had not even heard of them before today!
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 28, 2021 16:55:51 GMT -6
Western has most of their videos from the state championships online from the early 1980s into the early 1990s. Always a good band in the Indiana circuit, they stopped participating in BOA from 1992 into the late 2000s, returning to Grand Nationals in 2010, then picking up their 5th Grand National Class A title in 2012. I was so happy to see them win that 2012 class title. If I had to narrow all of the numerous small school class A bands that have competed in BOA over the decades to a top ten, Western would be in that group.
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Post by 78haworth on Apr 29, 2021 11:54:25 GMT -6
Western has most of their videos from the state championships online from the early 1980s into the early 1990s. Always a good band in the Indiana circuit, they stopped participating in BOA from 1992 into the late 2000s, returning to Grand Nationals in 2010, then picking up their 5th Grand National Class A title in 2012. I was so happy to see them win that 2012 class title. If I had to narrow all of the numerous small school class A bands that have competed in BOA over the decades to a top ten, Western would be in that group. I remember watching Western at State many moons ago. My favorite show was the one where the guard wore black capes and teased us with little flips of the cape and then fully exposed the underside at the first big hit. WOW!! Big florescent pink and orange strips blew everyone away. I would love to see that show again but it was when they held the contest at Indiana State University, don't think they have many show online from that era.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 29, 2021 17:07:28 GMT -6
Western has most of their videos from the state championships online from the early 1980s into the early 1990s. Always a good band in the Indiana circuit, they stopped participating in BOA from 1992 into the late 2000s, returning to Grand Nationals in 2010, then picking up their 5th Grand National Class A title in 2012. I was so happy to see them win that 2012 class title. If I had to narrow all of the numerous small school class A bands that have competed in BOA over the decades to a top ten, Western would be in that group. I remember watching Western at State many moons ago. My favorite show was the one where the guard wore black capes and teased us with little flips of the cape and then fully exposed the underside at the first big hit. WOW!! Big florescent pink and orange strips blew everyone away. I would love to see that show again but it was when they held the contest at Indiana State University, don't think they have many show online from that era. Videos of Western go back to at least 1980, when the state championships were at Indiana State Univ. I really think the show with the capes that you describe was 1984 (perhaps they also did it in an earlier year), which was in the brand new Hoosier Dome. I posted that video in an earlier post. I will post it again here. They won the Indiana Class C state title with that show. It was considered the best performance in Class C of the decade (according to the Hoosiers of the day). Western took that show to Grand Nationals and ended up placing 5th and winning their first Grand National Class A title. In my opinion, that was the best show Western ever put on the field. The quality of the video is not the best, so the effect with the capes does not have as much impact as what I am sure it did watching it in person.
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Post by kvgdc on Apr 29, 2021 20:05:28 GMT -6
Oh god I remember this performance. This was my sister's senior year with Northrop so I was with the folks in the Fan Block. We'd intentionally chosen the lower block for the blast zone because all the talk was how bad the sound was at the Hoosier Dome above the judges box where you were in the 'soundbounce reverb' zone, or "the pocket of silence" zone.
This was a tremendous show and I remember everyone saying "this would take Class B and likely a few A bands out too."
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