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Post by boahistorybuff on Sept 7, 2020 4:13:06 GMT -6
I suspect DCI must still be selling the Legacy Collection; a video series of the top 12 DCI finalist going back to 1974. So I am going to refrain from posting any DCI videos. These videos are an awesome way to see the evolution of drum corps starting in the mid 1970s. Yes it is a bit pricey to buy all of them, but certainly well worth it.
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Post by dallasman on Sept 7, 2020 16:12:33 GMT -6
If they really have nothing else better to do than browse forums like these to hunt down content that many other people have in their possession, their organizations will fold sooner rather than later. I would be far more concerned about 2021. Thatโs a shame. Truth be told, they (MFA/DCI folks) are probably keeping a close eye on posts in this forum for just this sort of thing so they can quickly remove those videos. Yea you are probably right. I will have to limit what is posted or just end this thread.
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Post by OldSchoolTrumpet on Sept 7, 2020 16:52:09 GMT -6
I suspect DCI must still be selling the Legacy Collection; a video series of the top 12 DCI finalist going back to 1974. So I am going to refrain from posting any DCI videos. These videos are an awesome way to see the evolution of drum corps starting in the mid 1970s. Yes it is a bit pricey to buy all of them, but certainly well worth it. They have some of them left for sale. Not all. From the 70's they have '75, '76. and '77. Not 78 or 79. The 80's is hit and miss as well. Pretty salty at $35 per season. I own 75 thru 80 which I bought years ago when they were first released. I can't recall how much I paid for them at the time.
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Post by LeanderMomma on Sept 7, 2020 18:47:05 GMT -6
If they really have nothing else better to do than browse forums like these to hunt down content that many other people have in their possession, their organizations will fold sooner rather than later. I would be far more concerned about 2021. Yea you are probably right. I will have to limit what is posted or just end this thread. What else do they have to do right now?
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Post by Subito Fortissimo on Sept 7, 2020 19:30:56 GMT -6
I suspect DCI must still be selling the Legacy Collection; a video series of the top 12 DCI finalist going back to 1974. So I am going to refrain from posting any DCI videos. These videos are an awesome way to see the evolution of drum corps starting in the mid 1970s. Yes it is a bit pricey to buy all of them, but certainly well worth it. They have some of them left for sale. Not all. From the 70's they have '75, '76. and '77. Not 78 or 79. The 80's is hit and miss as well. Pretty salty at $35 per season. I own 75 thru 80 which I bought years ago when they were first released. I can't recall how much I paid for them at the time. I want to say they were $40 each back when they were first released ~15 years ago, so they haven't gotten much cheaper. But to my knowledge they have never been nor will be reprinted, so once they're sold out they're gone forever as many of the years already are. Maybe at some point they will be made available digitally but I have my doubts.
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Post by OldSchoolTrumpet on Sept 8, 2020 4:43:52 GMT -6
They have some of them left for sale. Not all. From the 70's they have '75, '76. and '77. Not 78 or 79. The 80's is hit and miss as well. Pretty salty at $35 per season. I own 75 thru 80 which I bought years ago when they were first released. I can't recall how much I paid for them at the time. I want to say they were $40 each back when they were first released ~15 years ago, so they haven't gotten much cheaper. But to my knowledge they have never been nor will be reprinted, so once they're sold out they're gone forever as many of the years already are. Maybe at some point they will be made available digitally but I have my doubts. Hmmm. If I had a van I sell copies out of the back for twenty bucks. Sadly, no van.
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Post by hewhowaits on Sept 8, 2020 5:37:51 GMT -6
I want to say they were $40 each back when they were first released ~15 years ago, so they haven't gotten much cheaper. But to my knowledge they have never been nor will be reprinted, so once they're sold out they're gone forever as many of the years already are. Maybe at some point they will be made available digitally but I have my doubts. Hmmm. If I had a van I sell copies out of the back for twenty bucks. Sadly, no van. Your Vista Cruiser will do.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Sept 10, 2020 8:57:37 GMT -6
A few vintage videos from my alma mater
1979 Flushing at the June Whitewater Grand Nationals. They won the Open Class Title and placed 2nd overall.
The Michigan Invitational: October 1979; They won the MBA Toledo Regional title this same month.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Sept 11, 2020 9:04:33 GMT -6
Sometimes perseverance pays off
In 1980, the June Whitewater, WI competition was renamed the Summer Nationals as the Grand Nationals would now be held in the fall starting that year. Even though it was now the Summer Nationals, that was still a very prestigious competition, especially in the first half of the 1980s.
The James B Conant "Cougar" Marching Band from Hoffman Estates, IL was a very accomplished competitor in the summer competitive circuits of the 1970s. They were in fact a finalist at the first three June Grand Nationals from 1976 to 1978 and finished as high as 3rd overall in 1978. In 1979, the Open Class field was really competitive at Whitewater. Only the top six Open Class bands were still allowed to advance to finals and Conant failed to make it. They started working on their summer 1980 show in November of 1979. From what I understand, they worked many long hours in the spring of 1980 to put forth a strong showing at the 1980 June Whitewater competition. They ended up not only making finals, they won the entire competition becoming the first band to be crowned MBA Summer National Champion. Following this championship performance, Conant struggled with budget cuts to the program and numerous director changes. This 1980 performance was I believe their last ever in MBA/BOA competition.
This is the 1980 Conant HS Summer National Championship performance. Also included in this video is segments from the award ceremony.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Sept 12, 2020 4:05:19 GMT -6
A rare look at an early Marching Bands of America Regional
Back in the early years, there were no video recordings available of BOA (or MBA) regionals. What have been made available have been personal recordings, which back in the early 1980s was still pretty rare.
I have stumbled across two videos from the Marching Bands of America Southwest Regional held in Houston, TX in the fall of 1981. Although the video quality is poor, you can tell that it was a rainy regional. There were only 4 MBA regionals held in 1981 and Houston was the only one held in the south that year.
The first video is of MacArthur HS from San Antonio, TX. The video is from prelims. While I do not know for sure if they made finals, based on the performance and in the context of how bands performed back in those days, I would bet money that they made finals. After roughly minute 5, the band breaks into some asymmetrical drill formations, which again was very much a new thing in 1981. MacArthur was a band on the rise in 1981. In both 1984 and 1985 they were the Texas UIL Conference 5A (no 6A back then) Champions. The other video is from Comeaux HS from Lafayette, LA. I am not sure if it is from prelims or finals. Comeaux won the regional. They were in the midst of their biggest success in the early 1980s. In 1980, Comeaux placed 6th at the first fall Grand Nationals, they then won MBA Houston in 1981 (they did not attend Grand Nationals), then in 1982 they placed 12th in Grand National finals. Comeaux's win in 1981 remains the only BOA regional title for a Louisiana band.
MacArthur
Comeaux
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Post by boahistorybuff on Sept 13, 2020 5:15:10 GMT -6
The early years of Grand National Finals recordings
In the 1970s and early 1980s, there was no such thing as watching band performances on line or via a streaming service; that was very much science fiction. The early recordings were all audio only on an LP record. The first professional video recording of Grand National finals was done in 1979. I believe they were available on VHS; a cassette tape. Most people at the time did not have a VCR (video cassette recorder) which allowed you to view the cassette tapes on your TV. It was during the course of the 1980s that VCRs became common. So even into the early 80s, LPs were sold alongside video cassette tapes of Grand National finals. Although you could not see the performance, the LPs did tend to have better sound quality. That of course changed during the course of the 1980s as video recording technology advanced. By the mid/late 1980s, LPs were no longer produced; it was all video.
If you were to have purchased Grand National finals on LP back in the day, you would have received three albums; each containing four of the finals performances. Some of these audio only recordings have found their way to YouTube. Below is Sprayberry's 1980 Grand National Finals performance from the LP. Sprayberry HS is from Marietta, GA. They only had a brief participation in MBA back then. In 1980, they won the MBA Mid-South regional title and placed 3rd in Grand National finals; their only trip to Grand Nationals.
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Post by LeanderMomma on Sept 13, 2020 19:22:33 GMT -6
The early years of Grand National Finals recordings
In the 1970s and early 1980s, there was no such thing as watching band performances on line or via a streaming service; that was very much science fiction. The early recordings were all audio only on an LP record. The first professional video recording of Grand National finals was done in 1979. I believe they were available on VHS; a cassette tape. Most people at the time did not have a VCR (video cassette recorder) which allowed you to view the cassette tapes on your TV.ย It was during the course of the 1980s that VCRs became common. So even into the early 80s, LPs were sold alongside video cassette tapes of Grand National finals. Although you could not see the performance, the LPs did tend to have better sound quality. That of course changed during the course of the 1980s as video recording technology advanced. By the mid/late 1980s, LPs were no longer produced; it was all video. If you were to have purchased Grand National finals on LP back in the day, you would have received three albums; each containing four of the finals performances. Some of these audio only recordings have found their way to YouTube. Below is Sprayberry's 1980 Grand National Finals performance from the LP. Sprayberry HS is from Marietta, GA. They only had a brief participation in MBA back then. In 1980, they won the MBA Mid-South regional title and placed 3rd in Grand National finals; their only trip to Grand Nationals. How cool! When I was in school, our concerts were recorded on LPs as well and the sound was fantastic.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Sept 17, 2020 4:22:47 GMT -6
An Early Utah Giant...
Sky View HS from Smithfield, UT was arguably the best Utah band during the late 1970s and early 1980s. In the fall of 1979, MBA held its first regional in the western US in Moscow, ID. That regional was won by Sky View, making them not only the first Utah band to win a BOA (MBA) regional title, but the first western band to do so. At the 1980 Summer Nationals in Whitewater, Sky View placed second overall. In 1984, Sky View became the first Utah band to attend the fall Grand Nationals. Although they fell short of making finals, they did win the award for best flags.
Below is the Sky View performance at the 1980 Summer Nationals.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Sept 18, 2020 4:20:54 GMT -6
Another Band That Has Been Very Good For A Very Long Time - The Renegade Regiment
Union HS from Tulsa, OK has achieved many firsts for an Oklahoma band. They were the first to go to a corps style program in the 1970s. In 1980, they were the first band to win the large school class at the first Oklahoma Band Association state championships. Also in 1980, they won the MBA Southwest Regional, the first regional held in the state of Texas. This also made them the first Oklahoma band to win a regional title. In 1979, they were the first Oklahoma band to attend Grand Nationals. Although they missed out on finals, in 1981, they returned to Whitewater (then renamed the Summer Nationals) and made finals, placing 7th. In 1986, they became the first Oklahoma band to make finals at the fall Grand Nationals. They went on to make a total of 11 appearances in Grand National finals spread out over four decades. In fact, they are one of only three bands to have made finals at least once a decade going back to the 1980s. Their performance at the 2019 Grand National Finals suggests they have many more years of success ahead of them.
Below is a video of Union HS from the 1981 Summer Nationals. One thing of note is that they had a very good guard for the era. Union has historically had a very good color guard. There will be more posts down the road that highlight some of their legendary guard performances.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Sept 18, 2020 16:25:46 GMT -6
Another Long Time Great
Tennessee has produced some amazing bands going all the way back into at least the 1970s. Although it took until 1986 for a Tennessee band to make BOA Grand National finals, Tennessee bands were frequent regional finalists and a few were finalists at the Summer Nationals. Aside from McGavock (the first TN band to be a Grand National finalist) some of the early Tennessee greats included Columbia Central, Halls, John Overton and Franklin (yes the same band that has been a consistent BOA regional finalist and frequent Grand National semi finalist over the past decade). Franklin HS, from Franklin TN, was a very good band going all the way back into the 1970s and 1980s.
Here is a video of the Franklin marching band at the 1980 MTSU Contest of Champions, with a director interview. They placed 2nd overall and were the highest finishing Tennessee band. To my knowledge, Franklin did not compete in the MBA competitions of the 1970s and early 1980s. Based on the quality of their performance in this video, I suspect if they had attended a few Grand Nationals in the early 1980s, they likely would have been a finalist. While this show may not have had the visual difficulty as some of the top level BOA/MBA bands at the time, man it was really clean.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Sept 22, 2020 4:30:55 GMT -6
The 76th Cavalry, another early California Great
Picking up where Live Oak left off was Independence HS from San Jose, CA. They were a highly successful California band during the late 1970s and early 1980s and won several big name competitions in Central California during that time period. Their marching band came together in 1976 and had a meteoric rise to greatness. Their MBA participation was brief but highly successful. In 1979, they attended the June Grand Nationals in Whitewater, WI and placed 2nd in Open Class and 3rd overall. In 1980, the very first MBA regional was held in the state of California. Through extensive research, I am about 95% positive that they won that competition, making them the first California band to win a BOA/MBA regional title. In June of 1981 they returned to the Whitewater competition, now renamed the Summer Nationals, where they placed 1st and were crowned the 1981 MBA Summer National Champion.
Below are the two videos of Independence's MBA Whitewater performances; the 1979 Grand Nationals and the 1981 Summer Nationals
1979
1981
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Post by boahistorybuff on Sept 23, 2020 4:49:19 GMT -6
Non Corps Style Marching Bands in the Early Years
This will take a look at some performances that were more in the traditional (half time) style. It was during the course of the 1970s and 1980s that more and more high school bands adopted the corps style marching technique and show design.
1972 Camden HS, Arkansas marching band at the University of Arkansas band competition.
1973 LD Bell HS 'Blue Raider Band'
1976 Sturgis HS from Sturgis, MI at the first Grand National Championship in 1976 in Whitewater, WI. While most of the bands that competed in the MBA Grand Nationals of the 1970s were corps style, there were a few traditional style bands that competed. Sturgis was one of those and they made finals. They were 2nd in Class A and I believe 5th overall. They actually tied Kosciusko, MS in score. The tie breaker was the band with the fewer penalty points, which was Kosciusko, who thus became the first Grand National Class A Champion. This was the only MBA competition that Sturgis participated.
1980 Miami Southridge HS from Miami, FL at the 1980 MBA Grand Nationals in Jacksonville, FL (the first fall Grand Nationals). To me this show seemed to be a bit of a hybrid of corps style and traditional style. The visual designs seemed to reflect the early to mid 1970s corps style, while the marching technique was that of a traditional style. The way they played also seemed more in line with how traditional style marching bands played back then. Miami Southridge made Grand National Finals with this show. They placed 12th in finals. To my knowledge, this is the only MBA/BOA competition this band ever competed in.
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Post by OldSchoolTrumpet on Sept 23, 2020 5:21:28 GMT -6
Here's Lake Central (IN) from the 1973 Indiana Stat Marching Band Championships, where they finished 2nd. Lake Central was a power in the early/mid 1970's with their old "Big Ten" style shows, but were eclipsed later in the decade by the Corps Style revolution and Chesterton, Ben Davis, Haworth, etc. Lake Central stubbornly marched the old style well into the late 1970's.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Sept 25, 2020 13:24:36 GMT -6
The Wildcats Were On Fire
One of my favorite bands of the 1970s, 80s and 90s was the West Genesee HS 'Wildcat' Marching Band From Camillus, NY
By the early 1970s, West Genesee was already doing a corps style program and was already among the best high school marching bands in New York. This is a video I stumbled across from an NFL half time show at Shea Stadium between the Jets and the Bills, complete with commercials. The West Genesee HS Marching band was the half time entertainment. Like many corps style bands back in that era, West Genesee also used an auxiliary line in addition to flags and rifles. The auxiliary line often used dance and/or batons to add to the show and were derived from the days when the band was mostly for half time football entertainment. In this show, at one point, the auxiliary line is twirling batons that were on fire. Since this was a special half time performance, I don't know if that would have been allowed in competition back in those days. Still interesting to see. Something tells me a high school band would never be able to do something like that today; imagine the lawsuit if a kid got burned.
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Post by LeanderMomma on Sept 26, 2020 21:06:04 GMT -6
The Wildcats Were On FireOne of my favorite bands of the 1970s, 80s and 90s was the West Genesee HS 'Wildcat' Marching Band From Camillus, NY By the early 1970s, West Genesee was already doing a corps style program and was already among the best high school marching bands in New York. This is a video I stumbled across from an NFL half time show show at Shea Stadium between the Jets and the Bills, complete with commercials. The West Genesee HS Marching band was the half time entertainment. Like many corps style bands back in that era, West Genesee also used an auxiliary line in addition to flags and rifles. The auxiliary line often used dance and/or batons to add to the show and were derived from the days when the band was mostly for half time football entertainment. In this show, at one point, the auxiliary line is twirling batons that were on fire. Since this was a special half time performance, I don't know if that would have been allowed in competition back in those days. Still interesting to see. Something tells me a high school band would never be able to do something like that today; imagine the lawsuit if a kid got burned. When I was in band (late 70s & early 80s), our baton twirler would also twirl the fiery batons, sometimes three at once! She was so good. But yeah Iโm sure that would never fly nowadays.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Sept 27, 2020 8:18:39 GMT -6
Two Illinois Powers in the Summer Competitive Circuit
So back in the 1970s, there were active competitions in both the summer and the fall. Some bands had success in both seasons, while some focused more on summer and others more on fall. Two bands that were very successful in the summer Midwest Competitive Circuits were Crystal Lake HS from Crystal Lake, IL and Monticello HS from Monticello, IL. Both of these bands competed at the first four Grand Nationals in the late 1970s that took place in June. Crystal Lake was known as the Tigers in 1976 and 1977. A second high school was opened in the district in 1978. Rather than have two separate marching bands, they kept one marching band for both schools and the Tiger Band was essentially renamed the Heraldry Guard. Crystal Lake HS is the only band to have been a Grand National finalist all four years of the 1976-1979 MBA Summer Grand Nationals. Monticello HS was a strong small school band and was a Grand National finalist in 1977, 1978 and 1979. In 1978 they were crowned Grand National Class A Champion. Below are the performances from these two bands at the 1979 MBA Grand Nationals in Whitewater, WI. Note: The Crystal Lake Heraldry Guard had one of the best color guards of the late 1970s/early 1980s era.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Oct 1, 2020 11:02:53 GMT -6
The 80s Revolution
The 1980s saw some innovations that would quickly change the look and feel of a drum corps and marching band show. It seemed that the seeds were planted this decade that allowed the marching arts to slowly evolve into a more performance based activity rather than a military one. Although there are no videos in this thread, I will mention some performances that stood out in terms of their innovations. These are what I consider the biggest things that were either first used or significantly developed during this decade.
1. Asymmetrical Drill
It started with the 1980 Santa Clara Vanguard show where the corp diverged from having drill sets that were not mirror images along an axis of symmetry. This was done during the middle of their show. Snippets of asymmetry then began to appear in drum corps and marching band performances during the 1981 and 1982 seasons. In 1983, The Cadets (known as the Garfield Cadets then) took asymmetry to a whole new level. Asymmetrical design really took hold from 1983 onward. This provided a significantly larger degree of visual variability among shows. This also paved the way for faster movement and more complex drill transitions and drill passes. Steve Brubaker, a designer for the Cavaliers and numerous high school marching bands was one of the biggest pioneers in the use of asymmetry, in addition to the Garfield Cadets visual designers. Brubaker was a genius in incorporating complex geometric shapes, fast drill transitions and a more cohesive blending of the drum line and color guard into the overall design. Check out some the Cavalier shows of the mid 1980s to early 1990s to see some of his incredible designs.
2. An Artistically Dressed Color Guard
What had appeared in winter guard in the late 1970s and early 1980s was that several independent guards dressed more artistically and less military. In 1981, this took hold in drum corps as the Blue Devils color guard ditched their military style uniforms for stylish sequenced outfits. That started a domino effect as over the next few years, drum corps and marching bands were dressing their guard more artistically and for all female guards that often meant more feminine attire. Even though the first few years of this transition saw the guard still performing with a rather military expression (chins up and stern look), by the mid to late 80s, many guards were softening their look, even smiling at times. The biggest thing that this did was to allow the guard to have more ease of movement. This resulted in a lot more dancing and body movements among the guard, which enhanced the overall visual look of the show. By the late 1980s and into the 1990s, we then started seeing the guard taking on a more direct roll in selling the theme of the show to the audience, which included costuming of the guard.
3. The Formation of the Pit
In 1982, DCI implemented a rule change which allowed tympani and maillot instruments like keyboards to be grounded front and center in front of the sidelines rather than marched on the field. Several high school marching band circuits, including Marching Bands of America, implemented similar rules in 1982. Within a couple years, corps and marching bands were placing more and more percussion instruments in the pit and larger keyboards were able to be used. This all gave a significantly richer and more nuanced musical performance to the programs. Another thing that this did was that it allowed the percussion instruments that were still being marching on the field (instruments that were lighter and easier to march than tympani and keyboards) to be incorporated into the drill design more effectively. This meant that you would start seeing the drum line moving much much faster.
4. The Use of Electronics
While the usage of electronics was not allowed in DCI until the 2000s (or was it the late 90s, I can't remember), that was not the case in high school marching bands. Actually starting the late 1970s, several high school bands marched an electric bass attached to an amplifier. The amplifier was on a cart and also had to be marched. With the development of the pit, electronics were soon moved up front. High school bands quickly began using microphones to enhance woodwind solos and in some instances stringed instruments and vocal solos. Electric keyboards (which were very popular in 80s pop music) were also incorporated into the pit in many high school bands. The use of electronics soon expanded to vocalization by the 1990s. Some of the early bands that were pioneers in the use of electronics in the pit were Warren Central HS and Northrop HS, both from Indiana and Centerville HS, OH.
5. Theme Based Shows
The development of themed shows actually was a gradual process that occurred over many years. The idea of a theme was to allow for more cohesion in the performance. It was typical for corps and bands prior to themed shows to often play several pieces of unrelated musical selections. This often included an overture, a drum feature, a concert piece (an up tempo piece of music where the band/corps mostly stood still) and a slower ballad and/or dramatic piece to close the show. In 1980, Spirit of Atlanta built their show around musical selections relating to Atlanta and Georgia. In 1981 and 1982, Phantom Regiment did a show based on the movie Spartacus. In 1984, Suncoast Sound did a show based on the Vietnam War and included a wall memorial prop at the end. It was a theme that also told a story and was something that was years ahead of its time. In 1986, the Sky Ryders did a Wizard of Oz Show. Broadway musicals became popular in the early days of themed shows. In 1984, the Garfield Cadets did West Side Story. In both 1988 and 1989, Santa Clara Vanguard did the Phantom of the Opera. In 1986, DCI shortened the length of the shows a bit. What this ended up doing is decrease the amount of time a corps stood still. It also seemed to make it easier for shows to develop musical selections based on a centralized theme. Of course during the 1990s, theme based shows became the norm. Corps and high school bands even began naming their shows.
In my opinion, these innovations really changed the look and feel of a drum corps and marching band show from what was common at the start of the decade to what the end result was by the end of the decade. Over time I will showcase videos from the 1980s and you will see the evolution take hold.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Oct 4, 2020 8:04:40 GMT -6
The Chesterton Trojan Guard...A Timeline
The Chesterton HS 'Trojan Guard' Marching band from Chesterton, Indiana rose to prominence in the mid 1970s under the direction of Al Castronovo. During his tenure, the band won 4 Indiana Class A State Titles, was a 3 time Summer National finalist and Class AA Champion, was a 6 time regional Class AA Champion, outright won 4 regional titles, was a 5 time Grand National finalist, a 2 time Grand National Class AA Champion and are the 1981 Grand National Champions. In 1980, Chesterton became the first Indiana band to win a BOA (MBA) regional title. In 1981, they became the first band to win four consecutive state titles and the first Indiana band to win the Grand National title. They remain the only Indiana band from outside of the greater Indianapolis metro region to win a Grand National title. After placing 3rd in Grand National finals in 1984, Mr. Castronovo left Chesterton (he than passed away in a car accident two years later). His departure was in detriment to the band program. 1984 would mark Chesterton's last appearance in Grand National finals as the band went into a downward spiral for the rest of the decade and had a massive drop in membership. Chesterton had a slight rebound in the early 1990s, but they would never again have the success that they had had with Mr. Castronovo. Below are a series of Chesterton videos from their glory years.
1978 Indiana State Championships - their first state title
1979 Indiana State Championships
1980 Indiana State Championships
1981 Indiana State Championships (complete show)
1981 Grand National Finals - 1st place and Class AA Champion (note: this video cuts a small section out of the show but does show a clip from the awards ceremony)
1982 Grand Nationals - 2nd place and Class AA Champion (the violin was probably pretty innovative for 1982)
1983 Grand Nationals - 4th place (the video quality is not the best)
1984 Grand Nationals - 3rd place (the video which is in two parts is their prelims performance; I think the finals was a little better. This by the way is my favorite Chesterton show. The visual design with the props and materials were somewhat innovative for 1984. Also, 1984 is the year that MBA became BOA and the first year Grand Nationals was held in Indianapolis)
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Post by boahistorybuff on Oct 6, 2020 7:51:43 GMT -6
The Cavies Winter Guard; WGI World Champs: 1981, 1982, 1983. They were just plain awesome.
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Post by TWHSPercDad on Oct 6, 2020 12:25:50 GMT -6
The Cavies Winter Guard; WGI World Champs: 1981, 1982, 1983. They were just plain awesome. Just wanted to add, that this is the work of the incomparable Steve Brubaker. I was an oboist and color guard member at Westfield HS from 1981 (opening of the school) -1985. Steve began his association with and writing for Westfield in 1983. We would watch these VHS recordings for hours!
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Post by boahistorybuff on Oct 7, 2020 7:06:13 GMT -6
There will be more posts down the road that feature the designs of the incomparable Steve Brubaker. That includes Westfield.
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Post by TWHSPercDad on Oct 7, 2020 9:08:53 GMT -6
There will be more posts down the road that feature the designs of the incomparable Steve Brubaker. That includes Westfield. I have very much enjoyed reading your postings over the years and over the various forum platforms! I share all I can with my kids (a current music educator and a future music educator). It is great to be reminded how the foundations of what we see and hear today began. Keep this amazing stuff coming and thanks for all you do!
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Post by boahistorybuff on Oct 8, 2020 8:05:21 GMT -6
This is another video from the McCormick series. It focuses on Benton HS, AR. The video is from the 1982 MBA Summer Nationals in Whitewater, WI. The Summer Nationals included not only a competition but also a week long workshop. When the Summer National competition was ended after 1989, this continued as the BOA Summer Symposium. Benton HS was an exhibition band, what I guess they called a lab band. It appears that during the process of copying the video, there is one part that gets duplicated. You also have to wait a little bit for the video to start. This video includes not only their performance but also interviews with the director and several students.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Oct 16, 2020 4:34:37 GMT -6
An Early Texas Giant
Permian HS, from Odessa, TX was one of the best bands in the state during the 1980s. Here is a video of their performance at UIL state championships in 1982, the year they won the UIL 5A Conference. Like most of the Texas bands of this era, there were a lot of traditional elements in their show. While not really on par with the top level bands in MBA (BOA) from a visual standpoint during that era, the Texas bands always had strong music performances (keep in mind the audio in this video is not the best). Texas bands also tended to be significantly larger than other top level bands from other parts of the country during this era.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Oct 17, 2020 4:43:52 GMT -6
Flushing HS 1981 and 1982, Two Great Shows Amid An Uncertain Future
I will detail some of the struggles my Alma Matter went through during the early 1980s. This was before I was in the band but I know the story well. I know that many other bands across the country have faced similar challenges at one point or another. That challenge being enormous financial strain.
During the 1970s, Flushing HS, from Flushing MI rose to become the dominate high school marching band in the state of Michigan. Much of their rise can be attributed to director Winston Blackford, who not only developed a strong marching band but also helped build a strong music program in the Flushing school district, all the way down to the elementary level. The marching band also swelled to a membership between 140 and 160 members, right through the 1980 season, the largest marching bands my school ever fielded. Upon Mr. Blackford's retirement in 1978, Donald Horton and Wallace Ayotte took over direction of the marching band. They brought the band to a national caliber level, leading to them being Grand National runner-up in both 1979 and 1980. As I detailed in an earlier post on this thread, the 1980 Grand Nationals was a heartbreaking moment for the band as they sustained a huge penalty which cost them the Grand National title. This heartbreak actually foreshadowed the start of a series of setbacks for this band.
It turns out that the Flushing School District was operating in the red. At the end of the 1980/1981 school year, the school district had begun to make some cuts in the form of teacher layoffs. Both Mr. Horton and Mr. Ayotte, the director and assistant director of the marching band, were laid off. While he did have experience with the marching band, Paul Minert , the orchestra director, became director of the marching band. For the 1981 season, the marching band was able to retain a large number of high quality staff. This included Mark Petty, one of the percussion instructors, who was named show coordinator, essentially functioning as assistant director. Despite these challenges and a slight drop in membership, the band had a successful 1981 season and finished 3rd in Grand National finals that year. However, the financial problems in the Flushing School District were not going away. In the late summer of 1982, the district went to the voters in a plea for a tax hike to stabilize the districts financial problems. The tax increase proposal failed. The result was massive cuts across the board. These cuts affected all extra curricular activities and of course hit the band program hard. All music education at the elementary level was cut and high school and junior high band students would have to pay to play in the band. There was valid concern that this would eventually prevent Flushing from even fielding a marching band in the years to come. Since these cuts were instituted at the start of the 1982 season, the marching band was already developing their show and had the same set of quality instructors from the 81 season. With the help of the band boosters and supplemental financing from parents and fund raisers, the band had a strong season (well perhaps not quite as strong as in years past). They continued to dominate at the state level and made the trip to Grand Nationals where they placed 4th in finals and won the high percussion award for the third straight year. In somewhat of a bit of irony, at the end of their 82 Grand National finals performance, one of the brass members passed out. It was the last time Flushing would finish in the top half of GN finalist bands.
By the 1983 season, the affects of the budget cuts hit the marching band in full force. They were not able to afford the amount of instructors and visual designers from years past. The size of the band also plummeted (in fact by 1984 the band was half the size it had been in 1980). This was the season that they lost their distinction of being undefeated in Michigan. Despite the strain, the band did raise the money to participate in Grand Nationals. They not only failed to make finals, they finished 29th. The students stayed and watched finals and found it a little unnerving that people kept asking what happened to you guys this year (no forums back in those days so word traveled slowly). It would not be until 1987 that Flushing participated in BOA again. In 1984, Wallace Ayotte was hired back on as director of the marching band. He was now directing a band much smaller and still struggling. In 1985, voters approved a tax increase for the Flushing schools. This provided an end to pay to play and brought music education back to the elementary level. Flushing would then enter a phase of trying to rebuild the program.
Below are the videos of the 1981 (in four parts) and 1982 Flushing Marching Band in Grand National Finals (held in Johnson City, TN both years).
1981
1982 (high cam version)
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