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Post by boahistorybuff on Mar 3, 2019 5:05:29 GMT -6
These will be coming soon, after the results section is complete.
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Post by thewho on Mar 6, 2019 9:25:33 GMT -6
Quickie post, several late '00s MarCath videos are floating around on the internet elsewhere. I very highly recommend these years to catch some of Bimm's best works then:
2008 2011 2012
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Post by boahistorybuff on Mar 6, 2019 15:24:31 GMT -6
Quickie post, several late '00s MarCath videos are floating around on the internet elsewhere. I very highly recommend these years to catch some of Bimm's best works then: 2008 2011 2012
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Post by boahistorybuff on Mar 26, 2019 12:12:26 GMT -6
As we go through the seasons, a reminder that to reference the scores, refer to the RESULTS thread. Also, the Buff's History v2.0 thread contains additional background information (best to read prior to these season reviews).
I can't possibly know the history of every band or all of the many interesting events, stories, etc from each season. If you all know of stuff that I left out please, feel free to comment.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Mar 26, 2019 13:37:16 GMT -6
...1976 SEASON REVIEW...
Again, the first MBA national competition was held in early June in Whitewater, WI. Band competitions, parades, festivals have actually been around for many decades. They started to really gain popularity following World War Two as did drum corps competitions. In the 1960s and through the 1970s and beyond, an increasing number of high school bands began to design their shows toward a more drum corps style show as opposed to the half time style or as it is technically known a traditional style marching band (back in the day those of us from the Midwest often referred to these as 'Big Ten Style' for the college half time performance at football games). Larry McCormick founded Marching Bands of America (MBA) to bring together high school bands from across the country into one competition. MBA was organized under a corporate umbrella with Mr. McCormick being the owner of that company. The system of judging for the competition was to be geared toward corps style marching bands, although there were several bands who competed that had a half time style program. Judging for corps style shows back then was very stringent; ie points taken off for mistakes with penalties dished out quite frequently. I assume this was a direct result of the military roots/style of drum corps. As MBA evolved into BOA and as DCI became the governing body of drum corps (rather than the VFW and American Legion), judging became more focused on awarding achievement rather than punishing for mistakes and penalties became less frequent and less severe. During the 70s, summer competitions were very common and popular, which is probably why the first national competition was held in the summer. The Midwest was a hot bed for drum corps activity and competitive high school marching bands. It was also more centrally located, probably with the intent of attracting both east and west coast bands. I imagine it was held in early June and in Wisconsin when the summer heat was likely not to be too big an issue.
I wonder what it was like for bands coming to this first competition. Given this was the first competition and this was long before the days of the internet, I am sure these band members had no idea what to expect or how their band would measure up to other bands across the country.
While I do not know the list of all of the bands who attended this competition (I think there was between 25 and 30), I do know who the finalists were. Note: most of the scores from this first competition have been lost to history. Back in the 70s, the 12 finalist bands consisted of the top 6 Open Class (larger schools) bands from prelims and top 6 Class A (small school bands) from prelims. In finals, these bands would not only compete for class champion, but the highest scoring band would earn the title of Grand National Champion. While there were audio recordings of the early summer MBA competitions, formal video recordings did not begin until 1979. A lot of available 70s videos (which is not much) not just from MBA competitions, are quite grainy with poor sound quality.
The band that ended up winning the Open Class title and had the highest overall score, becoming the very first Grand National Champion, was the Live Oak 'Emerald Regime' from Morgan Hill California (south of San Jose). Per their website, the Live Oak marching band and color guard was started in the summer of 1970 with 36 band members and 10 color guard. Their directors were Michael Rubino and Cricket (Hathaway) Rubino. North-Central California became a region of the country that saw the emergence of a lot of corps style marching bands, likely due to the large amount of drum corps in the region (which included of course SCV and the Blue Devils). By the summer of 1976, the total band grew to 146 members (which was a good sized band in those days) and had emerged as a northern California powerhouse, winning several big name California competitions through the 1978 season (I will detail more about their post 78 years in the 1978 review). They were described as a band that did not just play well, but was strong in every element, certainly a necessity for a national champion. They were also described as having vivid emerald green uniforms; something that some of the poor picture quality on what early video I have seen of them does not do justice.
The band that placed second in Open Class and was the runner up to the Grand National title was the Dundee Scots; from the Dundee area outside of Chicago. They may have been one of the competing bands with the most name recognition at the time. They were a very successful Midwest band and by 1976 had already won several competitions throughout the Midwest and Canada. They were known for their Scottish military attire, which included kilts. They also marched bagpipes. They were said to have had up to 300 members, which for 1976 would have been a huge band. Their founding as a corps style band goes all the way back to 1966. They rose to national prominence under the direction of Doyle Heffron. They were also a founding member of MACBDA, a summer marching band circuit in the Midwest. From their Wikipedia page, they actually released an album in 1971 called The Sound of the Dundee Scots. This was their first of two finals appearances. I will discuss their post 76 history in the 1977 review section.
In third in Open Class was Bridgeport HS, from Bridgeport (Outside of Saginaw) Michigan. In the 1960s and 1970s, there were a few drum corps in the Flint and Saginaw areas of Michigan. This part of the state also was the first to see the rise of corps style marching bands from the mid/late 60s into the early 70s. One of those bands was Bridgeport. By the mid 1970s, together with Flushing, they had risen to be one of the top competitive marching band programs in the state. Their director at the time was Kenneth Snoeck, who would later go on to be the director of the Illinois and BOA champion Lake Park marching band.
The last three bands in Open Class were all from Illinois (Illinois had five total bands in finals in 76). Conant and Crystal Lake, both in the Chicago metro area, would be highly successful in the early MBA years. 6th in Open Class, in their first and only MBA finals performance, was Rock Falls (from northern Illinois). Even though this band was only in finals once, they were a very successful band in the 1970s, especially in the early to mid 70s where they won several Midwest competitions.
The six bands in Class A in 1976 were all from rural small town band programs. Small school bands back in the 70s were actually often larger than those of today, some with over 130 members.
It was the Kosciusko HS marching band from Kosciusko, MS that became the first band to win the Grand National class A title. This was no fluke for this small Mississippi town band either. This would be the first of three finals appearances for them in the 70s nationals. They would also be a finalist a few times in the summer nationals of the 1980s. They became a frequent competitor at MBA/BOA regionals from the late 70s into the 90s and they won multiple MBA/BOA regional class titles. Kosciusko still has a competitive marching band.
Sturgis HS MI (near the Indiana border) tied Kosciusko in score. The rule for a tie break back then was the band with the fewest penalty points, thus giving the Class A title to Kosciusko. I was surprised when I saw Sturgis was a finalist and runner up to the Class A title as they had never competed in Michigan Competing Band Association (MCBA). I actually stumbled across a home video of their performance at this competition on YouTube (I think it was their prelims performance). Their show at this competition was in the half time style and not the corps style. What was also unique was that they did not have a color guard and for their concert piece portion of the show, the band director (and not the drum major) conducted the piece. They obviously played well as they won the award for brass/winds. I found an old forums section where a parent from Sturgis displayed his/her displeasure with this competition, saying the band would have placed higher had they been a corps style band. I wonder if there was some validity to this; I mean how did those visual judges possibly handle trying to judge two completely different marching styles? As far as I know, this was Sturgis's first and last MBA competition. I do know that nowadays they perform corps style. They participate in the Scholastic Band Association (SBA); a marching band circuit in Michigan for bands who are not as competitive as the MCBA. This circuit is more for an educational experience with most of its participants either newer band programs or those that do not have the financial means/desire to be in the more competitive band circuit (MCBA).
Third in class was another small town Michigan band, Chesaning Union. Unlike Sturgis, Chesaning was a corps style band; one of the earliest competitive corps style bands in Michigan. They had much success in the 70s and early 80s. This was their only finals performance in Grand Nationals; although they were a finalist at the 1981 MBA summer nationals. The band briefly ended being a competitive band in the early-mid 80s; I believe due to the loss of a director. They reemerged in the early-mid 90s. From the mid 90s through the mid 2000s, they won a couple MCBA Flight 4 state titles, a couple BOA regional class titles and made appearances in a couple Grand National Semi Finals (making semis on class). After loosing their director; and I believe some funding issues, Chesaning stopped competing in MCBA and BOA. They are now participants in Michigan's Scholastic Band Association.
The fourth place band in finals was Herscher HS from small town Herscher, IL. They were an active and early participant in the summer circuits. Their best MBA glory would actually come in the early 1980s.
The MBA years and early BOA years features some North Carolina power house band programs. It is a little known fact that the first North Carolina band to make Grand National finals was Madison-Mayodan HS, from rural Madison, NC. I do not know much about the history of this band program. This was, however, their only finals appearance. In 1989, Madison-Mayodan HS merged with Stoneville HS. This merger resulted in the opening of McMichael HS in 1991. So Madison-Mayodan is no longer in existence.
Back in the 1950, 60s, and 70s there were a lot of drum corps across the country. Many of these were small corps who only competed in local/regional competitions and parades. Iowa had its fair share of drum corps during these years (yes the Colts or Colt45 was among them). One of, if not the first, high school band to develop a corps style program in Iowa (late 60 ish) was Oskaloosa HS from rural Oskaloosa, IA; the sixth class A band in the first Grand National finals. This would end up being their first of three consecutive appearances. While they never competed in the fall MBA/BOA circuit, they would make Summer national finals (and win a summer national class A title or two) in the 1980s.
Finally, there was a short film (just a few minutes) made of this the first Grand National Championships. Included in this video are some short clips of some of the finalist bands. It is a must see video.
Before you click on the link, two things: First, this is not a Rick Astley video and second, yes people really did look and dress like that in 1976; just ask Old School Trumpet.
First MBA Grand Nationals
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Post by OldSchoolTrumpet on Mar 26, 2019 14:27:39 GMT -6
Before you click on the link, two things: First, this is not a Rick Astley video and second, yes people really did look and dress like that in 1976; just ask Old School Trumpet.
First MBA Grand Nationals
----------------------------------------------------------------- Great write up, as usual. I was a soph in the Fall of 1976, and yeah the fashion sense of the time didn't age well. Thanks for adding that video link. It sure looks like the HS Band that I remember. Not many vids of that era around, as you mentioned. Cool stuff.
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Post by LeanderMomma on Mar 26, 2019 14:28:48 GMT -6
Ha ha...that is VERY MUCH how things looked back in the mid to late 70's! And yes, we marched and dressed like that.
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Post by LeanderMomma on Mar 26, 2019 14:36:42 GMT -6
Here are a few pics from my time in band. I know I have shared these before (on the MFA forums), but I wanted to share them again now that Buff is talking about the time frame that I was in marching band (78 - 82). i.imgur.com/LcZ5QNC.jpgi.imgur.com/RZ02nGt.jpgi.imgur.com/F4TnoWa.jpg (This is a close up color guard picture from my Sophomore year. I am on the back row, 4th from the right).
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Post by lostchoirguy on Mar 26, 2019 15:07:36 GMT -6
I also was surprised to see Sturgis, Michigan on the results from that year. I lived in Sturgis for a few months and know the current band director there personally.
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Post by thewho on Mar 26, 2019 16:28:04 GMT -6
Super excited for your write-ups, Buff!
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 5, 2019 10:17:32 GMT -6
...1977 SEASON REVIEW...
Given the large number of returning bands for the second MBA Grand National Championships in Whitewater WI in June, I imagine that most of the bands from 1976 found the experience to be worth their while to return. Of the 1976 finalist bands, 7 would repeat as finalists (including 5 of the original 6 open class finalist bands). Of what little information I was able to dig up about this season, the one thing that seemed to stand out was a little bit of judging controversy. Now over the years I have read many comments from band members who were in a second or third place band that would say this one judge had it out for them. I really take all that with a bit of grain of salt. While I am sure there are a few exceptions, for the most part, I think the judges try their best to be fair and impartial. The judges are, however, human and are prone to making mistakes. Of the many questionable judging decisions I have seen over the years, I would say that human error on the part of the judge has probably been the main factor when it comes to questionable scores. I do not know when the concept of a chief judge to oversee the total judging came about, but I think that has certainly helped mitigate some judging errors over recent years.
I am sure that Live Oak was entering finals hoping to defend their title. While they did recapture the Open Class title, they fell short by a mere 0.05 for the Grand National title. I do not know what it was for or how much it was, but Live Oak sustained a penalty that cost them the Grand National title; the first band to loose the Grand National title as the result of a penalty. From what I have read, the penalty was only a part of what cost them the title. Apparently they had a section in their show where different sections of the band were marching in different time steps; I imagine that was pretty innovative for 1977. Apparently the field judges took this as the band being out of step with one another and docked them some significant points in the marching and maneuvering caption. This plus the penalty is what cost them the title. While I have never been able to find old videos of the 1976 or 1978 championship performances of Live Oak, their 1977 performance has surfaced on YouTube. The video splices together segments of their finals and prelims performance. While it is really hard to tell from the video quality what time steps the band was marching in, I believe this occurred when they were performing "Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra".
As a result of Live Oak's penalty, Murray HS (The Murray Tiger Band) from Murray, Kentucky was crowned Grand National Champion, the only Kentucky band to be bestowed that honor. Murray also became the first Class A band to win this in their first and only Grand National championship finals performance. This was the only year they attended nationals. This was actually no fluke for Murray. They were one of the best Kentucky bands of the 1970s, along with George Rogers Clark and Lafayette. What was also impressive about Murray is that one third of their high school was in the band. This gave them a band size of around 200 members, larger than many of the open class bands. Their director at the time was Joe Sills, who I believe played an integral part in their success in the mid 1970s. It was not long after this season that Mr. Sills left Murray. I am sure his departure was detrimental to the band program. Like many great small school band programs of the 1970s, subsequent years would see the size of the band decrease. Murray has however maintained a competitive marching band ever since, in the past couple years they have actually won the Kentucky state title in their class. They returned to BOA competition in the 2000s, and have remained an occasional regional finalist/participant. They also won the Class A title at the 2006 St Louis Super regional.
Runner up to the Open Class title for the second year in a row and third overall, but less than a point from the Grand National Champion, was the Dundee Scots. This was their second and last Grand National finals appearance. They would however continue to be a highly successful band in the summer competitive circuits for several more years. They would go on to win the 1980 and 1981 MACBDA championship title. In 1983, there was a big change that affected the Dundee Scots. There was a merger between Dundee High School and Irving Crown High School that formed Dundee-Crown High School, located in Carpentersville, IL. Irving Crown also had a competitive summer marching band called the Crown Imperials. This school merger effectively created a new marching band 'The Imperial Scots'. They retained the Scottish attire and bagpipes that so defined the Dundee Scots. The Imperial Scots attended at least one of the Whitewater Summer Nationals in the 80s; they were the Summer National Open Class Champions in 1986. During the 90s, there was a decline in the number of high school bands doing competitive summer programs. In 1994, after only having around 60 members sign up for the Imperial Scots (a band whose membership was around 300 in the 70s), the Imperial Scots folded. I honestly don't know why Dundee-Crown high school did not transfer their summer marching program into a successful fall marching program like so many other bands had done.
The other returning Open Class finalist bands this season included, Conant, Bridgeport and Crystal Lake. Crystal Lake, I should mention, had just started their summer marching program in 1974. So within two years they became a Grand National finalist. During their 77 show, there was a section where they band used flash lighting to create a neat visual effect (at least in terms of 1977). It got some oohs and ahs from the audience. This was the last year (for a while anyway) that they would be the Crystal Lake tigers as some big changes occurred in 78 which I will detail when I discuss that season. McDowell HS, from Erie, PA, was 5th in Open Class in their first and only Grand National finals appearance. They also earned the distinction of becoming the first band from Pennsylvania to become a Grand National finalist. This band has actually had a long competitive history. Despite this being their only finals appearance, they were a strong competitive band in the MBA years. I do know that they finished 4th at the 1981 Toledo regional, but am unsure of their other regional finals appearances. They did not compete in BOA in the mid 80s. They returned to BOA competition in 1989, and were frequent participants at BOA events up until 2014, although they did not have the success as they did during the MBA years. Like many Erie, PA area bands, McDowell has actually been a frequent competitor at New York State Field band competitions for several decades.
In Class A, runner up to the title (and last years Class A Champion) was Kosciusko HS, MS. In third was Monticello, IL (a small town Illinois band) in their first of three Grand National finals appearances. Oskaloosa HS, IA, who was 6th in Class A and 12th overall in 76 made finals again this year (finishing 5th in Class A). Just ahead of them, 4th in Class A, was another small town Iowa band, Webster City HS, From Webster City. I read that the director that started the corps style program at Oskaloosa, actually left in the early 70s and started the corps style program at Webster City; an interesting connection for these two Iowa bands, the only Iowa bands to be Grand National finalists. The last band in finals was Bishop McNamara HS from Kankakee, IL (five Illinois bands in finals for the second year in a row). Bishop McNamara became the first private school to become a Grand National finalist band. While they get the dubious distinction of having the lowest Grand National finalist score (50.60 points), keep in mind that the point separations were intentionally kept high back then and scores tended to be lower. Their score also created the highest point separation between 1st and last place in finals ever; 35.35 points.
A few interesting videos that shed some light on the 1977 season.
1977 Murray Marching Band - Orange Bowl
1977 Murray Fall Performance at ETSU Contest of Champions
1977 Live Oak Grand National Performance
1977 Crystal Lake 'Tigers' Grand National Performance
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 17, 2019 12:49:29 GMT -6
...1978 SEASON REVIEW...
From what I have read, the competitiveness increased at the third Grand National Championships in 1978. With only 6 bands making finals in the larger open class, I imagine there were a lot of good bands that missed out on finals. I am not sure if it began this season or a prior season, but I noticed in watching old videos that the color guard was now able to set down their equipment during sections of the show and allowed to lay on the ground (that was not allowed earlier in the decade). Over the next few years, this would lead to guards utilizing different equipment during the course of the show, which would add to the visual interest; instead of seeing the same flag designs through the whole show.
Live Oak HS made history at Grand Nationals this year. They became the first band to win two Grand National titles, the first to win three consecutive class titles and the first band to break 90 points. Their score was actually the highest MBA score of the decade. Sadly, this would be their last appearance at Grand Nationals. Following the 78 season, Mike and Cricket Rubino took a leave of absence from Live Oak. Also, the school lost the 9th grade class and additional graduation requirements restricted the number of students taking band. This was a huge detriment to this band. Like so many other great high school band programs of the 70s and early 80s, Live Oak's days as a power house was brief. The Rubino's did however return a few years later and the program make a brief comeback in the mid 1980s. They won several big name California competitions, they were a finalist at I believe one BOA summer national and they were the runners up at the 1986 BOA western regional. From the late 80s into the 2000s, the band became one of the most traveled high school bands in history. They made several trips to Europe and Southeast Asia. They even performed in the Soviet Union and are said to have been the first high school marching band to have performed on the Great Wall of China. In the 2000s, a new high school was added in the Live Oak region and funding cuts hit the music program. So the size of the Live Oak marching band dwindled to under 80 members. In more recent years, they have been participants at the northern California BOA regional.
As you would expect, Indiana has had a long history of producing great high school marching bands, even all the way back into the 60s and 70s. If you were to list the best bands in Indiana in the 1970s, Haworth from Kokomo would certainly be on that list. I believe they even won at least one, maybe two Indiana state titles this decade. Haworth was the runner up to the Open class title and overall Grand National title in their first and only Grand National finals performance this year. They actually became the first Indiana band to be a Grand National finalist. Even though they were a few points behind Live Oak in finals, they actually won prelims. From what I have seen of their 70s performances, they certainly were among the best bands of that era. In 1980, they were a finalist at the MBA summer nationals and were runner up to the MBA Mid-South regional title. The next couple of years they suffered some declining enrollment. Then in 1984, after only being open for 16 years, Haworth HS was closed and the existing students were merged in Kokomo HS, forever ending the hopes of a Haworth comeback.
Conant HS IL was again 3rd in Open Class this year and had become one of, if not the best Illinois band at the time. I believe they failed to make finals at the nationals in 1979 before making a big statement at the 1980 summer nationals.
This was the third and final year that Bridgeport MI (4th in Open Class) was a Grand National finalist. Ken Snoeck left the program shortly after this season for Lake Park HS in IL. His departure was detrimental to their program. Bridgeport did however continue with a competitive program into the mid 1980s. They were even a participant at the 1984 BOA Grand Nationals. They were however suffering declining enrollment (both in the band and the high school). Shortly after the 84 season, budget cuts wiped out the marching band program in Bridgeport. They have not had a competitive program since, although they maintained a competitive winter guard through the end of the 1980s.
5th in Open Class this year was George Rogers Clark KY, years before their most successful BOA years of the late 80s/early 90s. GRC was actually one of the best Kentucky bands in the 1970s. They also won two (I believe) grand champion titles at the coveted Middle Tennessee State University Contest of Champions in the 70s. It would be 10 years before they would be a Grand National finalist again.
The last band in Open Class finals was Crystal Lake. Despite the opening of a second high school in Crystal Lake, the school kept one marching band since they already had an established band program. They changed the name however from the Crystal Lake Tiger Band to the Crystal Lake Heraldry Guard. This band brought together a large staff and became one of the best bands in the summer competitive circuit in the Midwest from the late 70s into the early 80s. They were known for their signature entrance with a trumpet feature. Like the 77 season, they had a section of their show that featured flashes, with the band adding a smoke effect this year (neat effects for the late 70s). Crystal Lake also developed one of the best color guards at the time.
In Class A, Monticello captured their first and only Grand National Class A title in their second finals appearance. Certainly one of the great small school bands of the era. They scored nearly 13 points higher than second place Herscher (and were actually ahead of Crystal Lake). This is the largest point separation between the Class A Champion and Class A Runner-Up at Grand Nationals. (Even larger than 93 Jackson Academy)
Herscher was runner up in Class A in their second appearance. Third and fourth in Class A was Oskaloosa (IA) and Webster City (IA). This would be these two bands last appearance in Grand National finals (although both bands would make finals in the summer nationals of the 1980s) and this marked the last time Iowa had a band in GN finals. 5th in Class A, in their first and only GN finals appearance, was McGuffey HS from small town Claysville, PA. I have seen this band mentioned from time to time at competitions throughout the northeast for several decades. I believe a few years back (2012 maybe) they won their class at the PIMPA state championships.
6th in Class A and 12th overall (they would get the exact same placement in 1979) was Oregon HS, from Oregon, WI. This band has had one of the longest histories in the Midwest summer competitive circuits. They were a founding member of MACBDA in 1972. They remained a consistent competitor in this circuit for over 40 years. They also were a finalist in at least one more BOA summer nationals in the 80s (1987) I believe. With the decline in the summer competitive circuits over the last decade, Oregon stopped fielding a marching band. Instead of going to fall competitions, they actually developed a drum corps; Shadow, who now competes in Open Class in DCI. Shadow is the only drum corps to be sponsored by a high school.
Starting in the fall of 1978, MBA conducted its first two regional championships, won by Falls Church (VA) and JM Tate (FL). The first of the two was held in Virginia and won by Falls Church. This was Falls Church's only regional title. It would take 41 years before another Virginia band would pick up a regional win.
As far as video performances from the 1978 nationals, Crystal Lake is the only one I know of on YouTube. There are however the 78 fall performances of Haworth and George Rogers Clark, both of which are worth watching.
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Post by LeanderMomma on Apr 17, 2019 20:14:43 GMT -6
Been missing these...and you!
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 18, 2019 6:02:03 GMT -6
These will progress a little more slowly this year, but glad you are all still enjoying them.
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Post by josephbandfan on Apr 18, 2019 9:35:54 GMT -6
Do you guys know how people responded to the color guard being able to set down equipment?
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Post by LeanderMomma on Apr 18, 2019 17:27:29 GMT -6
Do you guys know how people responded to the color guard being able to set down equipment? I never thought about there being a time when you couldn’t set down your equipment. I was in color guard 5 years, from the fall of 77 until the fall of 81, and we would occasionally set ours down and do some dance moves of some sort. Nothing like they do today of course but I don’t remember it being a big deal. Interesting to think about though!
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 19, 2019 15:06:38 GMT -6
During the first half of the 70s, anytime a flag or rifle touched the ground it was considered a drop. The exception was during the last minute to minute half of the show when the field judges walked off the field. Then the guard could set their equipment down if they so choose and do say a dance or something. Perhaps not all competitive circuits had this rule; this was a bit before my time. I think it was 73 and/or 74 that the Santa Clara Vanguard guard did their famous dance to Bottle Dance near the end of their show. I think heading into the mid or late 70s that rule got less restrictive. There were some guards who would have a small flag or rifle attached to a belt around their waist to get around this.
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Post by LeanderMomma on Apr 19, 2019 19:56:40 GMT -6
During the first half of the 70s, anytime a flag or rifle touched the ground it was considered a drop. The exception was during the last minute to minute half of the show when the field judges walked off the field. Then the guard could set their equipment down if they so choose and do say a dance or something. Perhaps not all competitive circuits had this rule; this was a bit before my time. I think it was 73 and/or 74 that the Santa Clara Vanguard guard did their famous dance to Bottle Dance near the end of their show. I think heading into the mid or late 70s that rule got less restrictive. There were some guards who would have a small flag or rifle attached to a belt around their waist to get around this. That is so interesting! I had no idea.
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Post by 78haworth on Apr 22, 2019 12:38:36 GMT -6
Haworth did win 2 Indiana State Championships, 1974 and 1975. They were 2nd 1978 to Chesterton. This was the first of several championships for Chesterton.
1978 started out with the blizzard of '78 and the band was scheduled to travel to St. Petersburg, FL for the Festival of States in April. Due to the blizzard, the band traveled to Grissom AFB to begin learning the show in 2 separate hangers. Of course back then both sides were a mirror image of each other. I'm not sure when we began rehersals, but it had to be February or March. We still had large mounds of snow on the practice field (also known as the parking lot) by the time we were ready to leave for Florida. The first time the band was put together on a field was in Florida. Directors did not know what to expect! Fun times. LOL This is the same show that we marched during the summer marching tour circuit and at MBA Summer Nationals as well as the State Championships. Minor changes were made thourghout the year musically as well as drill. Many of the seniors (including myself) marched during the summer tour and then the band was different with the seniors gone and the new incoming freshmen for the fall. Falls Church, VA won the Festival of States field marching championship. Haworth finished a disapointing 5th. We later found out that this was a festival being judged by professional and none professionals. I do have a video of this performance but of course I don't know how to post. It is in digital form if anyone wants to post it.
Reading through these history posts above is a walk down memory lane. Dundee Scots, Bridgeport, Chesning, to name a few were all bands I had the pleasure of competing with during the summer months. It's only been a few years ago that I found a video of Live Oak at grand nationals, in a post from a reunion video that covered them from their beginnings to the '90's I believe. What a thrill that was! They were so good.
Haworth did close and then Kokomo moved into the Haworth building. The band did have some success but was never able to bring the glory days back. We actually had an all year band reunion just last year and what a blast that was. Several of our former directors attened as well. What a great group of people to be associated with. Band truly is a family.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 22, 2019 12:42:55 GMT -6
Haworth did win 2 Indiana State Championships, 1974 and 1975. They were 2nd 1978 to Chesterton. This was the first of several championships for Chesterton. 1978 started out with the blizzard of '78 and the band was scheduled to travel to St. Petersburg, FL for the Festival of States in April. Due to the blizzard, the band traveled to Grissom AFB to begin learning the show in 2 separate hangers. Of course back then both sides were a mirror image of each other. I'm not sure when we began rehersals, but it had to be February or March. We still had large mounds of snow on the practice field (also known as the parking lot) by the time we were ready to leave for Florida. The first time the band was put together on a field was in Florida. Directors did not know what to expect! Fun times. LOL This is the same show that we marched during the summer marching tour circuit and at MBA Summer Nationals as well as the State Championships. Minor changes were made thourghout the year musically as well as drill. Many of the seniors (including myself) marched during the summer tour and then the band was different with the seniors gone and the new incoming freshmen for the fall. Falls Church, VA won the Festival of States field marching championship. Haworth finished a disapointing 5th. We later found out that this was a festival being judged by professional and none professionals. I do have a video of this performance but of course I don't know how to post. It is in digital form if anyone wants to post it. Reading through these history posts above is a walk down memory lane. Dundee Scots, Bridgeport, Chesning, to name a few were all bands I had the pleasure of competing with during the summer months. It's only been a few years ago that I found a video of Live Oak at grand nationals, in a post from a reunion video that covered them from their beginnings to the '90's I believe. What a thrill that was! They were so good. Haworth did close and then Kokomo moved into the Haworth building. The band did have some success but was never able to bring the glory days back. We actually had an all year band reunion just last year and what a blast that was. Several of our former directors attened as well. What a great group of people to be associated with. Band truly is a family. Great Info.
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 24, 2019 7:06:11 GMT -6
...1979 SEASON REVIEW...
This year marked the 4th year of the June Whitewater nationals and the last year that these summer nationals would be considered the Grand Nationals as the next year would see the introduction of fall Grand Nationals. I read that there were 37 bands who participated in the 79 nationals, more than the previous three years. While there were several bands who had been finalists in prior years who did not attend this year, 1979 seemed to draw a whole new group of bands to the MBA circuit. The 1979 Grand National finals actually featured 8 first time finalist bands. Formal video recordings (on VHS tape) of finals began this year (audio only recordings would continue into the early 80s).
The mountain region of western North Carolina, western Virginia and eastern Tennessee has had a long history of great bands. Back in the 70s, there were active competitive circuits for corps style bands in this region. One of those bands who rose to prominence was the Sylva-Webster 'Golden Eagle' Marching Band from Sylva, NC. The director who played a big part in their success was Bob Buckner. This was Sylva-Webster's first trip to the MBA nationals. I read that setting out on this trip, the band members had one goal in mind and that was to make finals. Imagine their surprise when they not only made finals and captured the Class A title, but had the highest score in finals and won the Grand National title. They beat a strong contingent of Open Class bands to do this. So I have to believe that this was a stunning victory. While I have never seen the recap sheets, in comparing their performance to the other bands, I think what really stood out with them was their music performance. It was simply cleaner than the other bands. Very much like Murray two years earlier, Sylva-Webster (a small town Class A band) won the title in the only year they attended Grand Nationals. Shortly after this season, Bob Buckner left Sylva-Webster. He become director of bands of East Tennessee State University and then moved on to Western North Carolina University. He remained active in MBA/BOA, serving on the board of directors for many years. I am sure his departure was detrimental to Sylva-Webster. I have not found any material on the competitive history of Sylva-Webster during the course of the 1980s. Around 1988, nearby Cullowhee HS closed and the students were sent to Sylva-Webster, whereby the name was changed to Smoky Mountain High School. Smoky Mountain did participate in a few BOA southeast regionals during the 90s/2000s and still has a competitive marching band.
During the 1950s, 60s and 70s, there were a ton of small town drum and bugle corps. Many of these were small and only participated in local/regional parades and field competitions. One of those drum corps was named Pretorian and they were based in Flushing Mi. They had a short existence; from 1967 to 1972 I believe. Despite the brief duration of this corps, the corps style took root in the high school marching band. Flushing High School 'Raiders' was one of the earliest band programs in Michigan to develop a competitive corps style program. Under the direction of Winston Blackford, they became the dominate high school marching band in the state by the mid 1970s. From the mid 70s into the 1980 season, they would field the largest bands in Flushing's history (140 to 160 members). Mr. Blackford left the program after the 1977 season. He was replaced by Donald Horton as director and Wallace Ayotte as assistant director. These two directors not only sustained the level of performance of Flushing, but they took them to the national level. The 1979 nationals was their first MBA competition. They ended up winning the Open Class title and were runners up to the Grand National title. Later in the season, that fall, they would go on to become the first band from Michigan to win a regional title.
Following the decline in Live Oak, Independence HS from San Jose, CA stepped it up and become the new California powerhouse. 1979 would be the first of three incredible seasons for the Independence '76 Cavalry'. They had just formed a marching band in 1976, so they had a near meteoric rise to the top. This was their first MBA competition and they finished third overall and just a fraction away from the Open Class title. One thing that Independence had that many bands back during this era had was an auxiliary line; in addition to a flag and rifle line. These were guard members who did mostly dance and often wore shorts or more artistically styled attire. Many bands also had a majorette line (who used batons or pom poms); a carry over from these bands days as a high school half time style band. These continued into the early 80s, but quickly faded out during the mid-late 80s.
In 4th overall and third in Open Class was Falls Church HS, the first band from Virginia to become a Grand National finalist. This band was an east coast power house during the 70s and early 80s. They also have the honor of being the band to win the very first MBA regional competition in 1978. I would assume that they attended and were finalists at the 79 and 80 Virginia regionals as well. They likely lost to another east coast power (Norwin, PA). Otherwise, Falls Church's MBA/BOA participation ended up being very brief.
One of the great small school bands of the 70s and early 80s was Hanover HS, from Hanover, PA. This was their first Grand National finals appearance. They were 2nd in Class A but their score put them 5th place overall. The late 70s and early 80s would end up being their most successful years in MBA competition. They also have the honor of being the first band to win the Class A title at the very first MBA regional competition in 1978.
1979 may have been the most successful year for the Crystal Lake Heraldry Guard. They became the only band to be a finalist at all 4 of the 1970s MBA Nationals. They were 4th in Open Class (6th overall) which was their highest finish at nationals. They also won the MACBDA championships this season. They would also win it in 1982. This band started in 1974 as the Crystal Lake Tiger Band, but became the Heraldry Guard when Crystal Lake South HS opened in 1978. The Heraldry Guard consisted of students from both Crystal Lake Central and Crystal Lake South. After their 1982 MACBDA win, the Heraldry Guard folded. I believe their director left. Today Crystal Lake Central and Crystal Lake South each have their own marching bands.
While I think they attended at least one prior MBA national, this was the first year that the Chesterton 'Trojan Guard' was a Grand National finalist. By the late 70s they had become a dominate Indiana power house. This year was the start of their most successful MBA/BOA years; sadly they would be brief.
The other regional held in 1978 was won by the Tate 'Showband of the South'. This was also their first MBA Grand National finals appearance. Tate has had a long history as a successful marching band going back into the 1940s. While their name is suggestive of a popular parade and half time style band (which I am sure they were), by the late 70s they were very much a competitive corps style band under the direction of Bill Slayton.
Third in Class A and 9th overall was the 1978 Class A champ Monticello HS, IL. This band remained in the summer competitive circuits into the early 80s before becoming a participant at several fall BOA events. Their most successful years however were during the late 1970s.
After skipping nationals in 1978, Kosciusko HS, MS came back for their third finals appearance, finishing 4th in Class A and 10th overall. While they never attended the fall Grand Nationals of the 80s, they continued to have success in the summer nationals. They did compete at several fall MBA/BOA regional competitions and went on to win several regional Class A titles.
5th in Class A and 11th overall was Hilliard HS from Hilliard, OH. They made history by becoming the first band from Ohio to become a Grand National finalist in their only finals appearance. While Hilliard HS was a small school at the time, the city of Hilliard (outside Columbus) has had 4 decades of growth since 1979. There are now three high schools in the Hilliard School District. The original Hilliard HS is now called Hilliard-Davidson.
Finally, for their second Grand National finals appearance, Oregon HS, Wi was 6th in Class A and 12th overall. This marked the last time a Wisconsin band would be a Grand National finalist (although there were a few that were finalists in the summer nationals of the 1980s). For a review of Oregon's rich post 1979 history, reference the 1978 season review.
During the fall of 1979, the number of regionals was expanded from 2 to 4. The four regional champions this season; Norwin (PA), Flushing (MI), South Cobb (GA) and Sky View (UT), were all the first band from their respective states to win a regional title. Although Sky View would not be a Grand National finalist, they were runners up to the 1980 summer national title. They attended the 1984 Grand Nationals. I read that they actually hired some extra design staff to help them make finals. They fell short of making finals but did win the award for best flags. More recently, Sky View has been a frequent participant/finalist at the BOA Utah regionals.
Below I include links to the top three performances from finals this season; Sylva-Webster, Flushing and Independence. At one point all of the 79 finalist bands were on YouTube. Now I think in addition to the top three there are performances of Falls Church, Hanover, Crystal Lake, and I believe Monticello. The 1979 Indiana state championship performance of Chesterton may still be on YouTube.
1979 Sylva-Webster
1979 Flushing
1979 Independence
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 28, 2019 9:32:03 GMT -6
...1980 SEASON REVIEW...
There were some big changes that occurred in 1980 in MBA. Namely, the introduction of the fall nationals occurred this year. This would be held at the end of the fall competitive season, which meant that the performances would be much more polished compared to the other competitions. These fall nationals would be named the Grand Nationals. This did not end the June Whitewater competition however as they would continue through the remainder of the decade as the Summer Nationals. So in a sense, in one season there were actually two bands that could claim being MBA/BOA national champions. During the early part of the decade, the Summer National Champion came with as much prestige as the Grand National Champion. As the decade went on, the fall Grand Nationals became the cherry on top so to speak. MBA expanded the regionals to 8 this season, included two in the western US. Perhaps they over extended themselves as the next season they scaled back the number of regionals to 4. In fact, it would be 15 years before the number of regionals exceeded 8 and 25 years before two regionals would again be held in the western US. Another notable change this year was the addition of a new class for mid sized schools, Class AA. This led to a change in how national finalist bands would be selected. Starting this year, the process for making national finals was the 12 bands with the highest scores from prelims and the top two bands from each class if they were not already among the top 12 highest scores. Finals would then not only determine the Grand National champion but also the Class Champions. In terms of how the shows looked this year, they still had a similar look and feel as the late 70s shows. Some trends that would gain popularity this year and the next couple years would be drill designs becoming more curvilinear (while still being symmetrical) and the poles on the flags began to get shorter.
After making finals at the first three MBA nationals in the 70s, and finishing as high as third in 1978, Conant (James B Conant HS to be exact) from Illinois failed to make finals at the 79 nationals. Conant turned that disappointment around at this season's Summer Nationals and ended up winning the Summer National title. Under the direction of Steve Hoernemann, this was one of Conant's best performances. I have heard that following this season, Conant had some financial cuts to the music program. I heard they did not field a marching band in 1981, although I am not 100 percent certain this is true. Whatever happened, as far as I know this was Conant's last MBA/BOA performance. There are several videos of their Summer National performance on YouTube, both prelims and finals. I will include a link to the finals show.
1980 Conant Summer Nationals
There were several notable firsts that occurred at the regionals this fall. Norwin (PA) made history by becoming the first band to win two regional titles in the same season. By the end of the 1980 season Norwin had won more regionals than any other band. They would continue to rack up more regional titles over the coming years. In fact, since 1980, Norwin has held the distinction of being the band with most regional titles every single year. Chesterton became the first band from Indiana to win a regional title. The first regional was held in Texas this year (there has been at least one regional held in Texas every year since). That regional was not won by a Texas band though. It was won by Union, the first band from Oklahoma to win a regional title. 1980 has a lot of missing recap sheets. Finding out who won the two western regionals took a lot of research. Although not 100 percent positive, I believe they were won by University (WA) and Independence (CA) both bands would have been the first from their respective states to win a regional title. University is actually the only band from Washington state to have won a regional (they won one in 1985 as well). There were also two regionals held in the south. The Tennessee Regional was won by Sprayberry (GA), their first and only regional title. Haworth (IN) was second at this regional, the closest they would come to a regional title. The Pensacola, FL regional was won by JM Tate (FL).
The first fall Grand Nationals was unique in many ways. It was held the last weekend of November, the latest of all Grand Nationals. It was the only one held in Florida (Jacksonville) and the only one held in an outdoor stadium. Also, there were 7 bands who made their first and only appearance in Grand National finals (9 total would be first time finalists). Five of the finalists bands all came from Florida. The first nationals however had some glitches and controversy. First, it was a cold night in Jacksonville. So cold that many spectators would take breaks in their cars to warm up. I am not sure what the temperatures were, but the stories of how cold it was for the bands (especially all of the southern bands) lived on for years after this competition. That obviously sparked the need to house GN indoors. The scores were also much lower than subsequent Grand Nationals. There were a lot of complaints about the scores because the bands had scored much higher at earlier competitions. The scores do not reflect the quality of the performances, simply the way the judging was. That said, being the first fall Grand National and being held so far south and late in the season, this GN was not as competitive as nationals that would follow. In many ways, particularly looking at the bottom half of finalists bands, this competition seemed more like a regional in terms of competitiveness.
The biggest controversy at the 1980 Grand Nationals, and one of the biggest in MBA/BOA history, was what decided the Grand National champion this year. While Flushing (MI) came in second to Chesterton at the early season Toledo regional, they had nearly two months to prep for this competition. They had their eyes set on winning it. They had long and intense practice sessions leading up to this competition. In fact, many of the practices went late. This drew complaints to the school board from parents and in following years Flushing would have to strictly follow their practice schedule (We never went a minute over after this season). By the end of November, Flushing had a strong and clean show. They won prelims by several points above the other bands (they scored just over 89 points). In finals, they gave a fantastic performance. It was the best show Flushing had ever done. The music was challenging for that era and they played the you know what out of it. The visuals were very clean. During their power house years, Flushing was known for having one of the best high school percussion sections in the country. That was showcased nicely in this competition. Flushing was also known for having great piccolos, also on full display in this show. So what happened? At the end of the performance, the drum line played the band off the field, which was common in Michigan. That was not allowed in MBA. Honestly I do not know why Flushing did not know this, or were not warned of it in prelims. After a judge warned an instructor that they would get a penalty, the instructor ignored the warning; bad move. Flushing got hit with a whopping 1.6 point timing penalty (it was controversial that this was such a large penalty) which dropped them from 1st to 2nd. The penalty was only a part of the story. All of the judges had Flushing in first place, except for one music effect judge. This one judge had Flushing 2 whole points behind Tate. So that one judge, plus the penalty, cost Flushing the title. In todays environment, that penalty would not have been as large and the chief judge probably would have addressed the judging error. The Flushing band left the awards ceremony in tears. I know I am biased here, but I heard mention that the 1980 GN performance of Flushing was the best performance not to win a national title during the MBA years (76 to 83).
In many ways, I also feel bad for the 1980 Tate 'Showband of the South'. Nobody wants to win a title this way. What Tate did however is pretty extraordinary and is one of the more surprising wins in BOA history. They actually came in 4th in prelims but gave one incredible finals show. Off all of the Tate videos I have seen, the 1980 finals show was their best by far. Their show had a lot of energy and excitement. They also had some well executed drill maneuvers with diagonal lines; notable in their percussion feature. Also, back in the day Tate had a very good color guard. The rifles (and they had a lot of them) were incredible. You could tell by the emotion of the drum major at the end that the band had given their all to that finals performance. So JM Tate became the first Florida band to win a Grand National title and will always have the honor of being the first fall Grand National Champion.
In third was the Sprayberry band of Gold, from Georgia. Their marching band was started in 1976 and quickly rose to become a Georgia power house; the first of what would be several strong programs from the Marietta area of the Atlanta suburbs. Sprayberry had a strong program through the 90s. Their participation in the early MBA years was brief. They won a regional this season and then attended their first and only Grand Nationals. Of all the early Sprayberry shows I have seen, the 1980 finals performance was probably their best. They did not participate in MBA/BOA following this season until returning in the late 90s/early 2000s where they were a participant and occasional finalist at many Atlanta and Florida regionals.
1980 was the best competitive season in MBA for Hanover (PA). They won the Class A title at two regionals and then won the Grand National Class A title and finish 4th. In all of the fall Grand Nationals, this was the highest placement for a Class A band. This marked the only time at Grand Nationals that the Class A Champion placed higher than the Class AA Champion.
In 5th was another Class A band, the Tell City 'Marksmen' from Indiana. The late 70s and 80s were the most successful for Tell City. They were a finalist in their class at the Indiana state championships throughout this era. They participated in several MBA/BOA events and won a regional Class A title later in the decade. This was a Cinderella moment for this band. Not only did they make finals (the only year they were a finalist), they came in fifth, which I am sure was a surprise for them. I believe 1980 was the largest band that this small school ever fielded; I read somewhere around 160 members. Tell City attended Grand Nationals again in 1981 but they failed to make finals; I think they came in 14th. Subsequent years would see the size of the band drop (which happed to most Class A bands during the course of the decade). Tell City continues to have a competitive marching band and in recent years have again been finalists in their class at the Indiana state championships.
Finishing 6th, was Comeaux HS from Lafayette, LA. This was their first MBA competition and they became the first band from Louisiana to be a Grand National finalist. This was the first of two finals appearances for Comeaux as they made finals again in 1982.
During the course of the 70s and 80s, a lot of good corps style band programs emerged from the St Petersburg area of Florida. In 7th and 8th place was Pinellas Park and Seminole, both from the St Petersburg area. These two bands probably can credit their existence to the success of nearby Largo HS. I don't think Largo ever competed in MBA during the 70s and 80s. During the 1970s, however, they were one of the best marching bands in the country, and developed a corps style program under legendary director Robert Cotter in the late 1960s. Largo made several trips to Europe and have been credited with introducing corps style marching over there; specifically in the Netherlands. This would be Pinellas Park's first and last time as a Grand National finalist. I think they attended nationals in 1981 but failed to make finals. Seminole would not participate in MBA/BOA through the rest of the decade but would return in the early 90s. Seminole would go on to appear in GN finals again 13 years after their 1980 debut. Seminole's 1980s show did however have quite a bit of innovations for the time. This included a dance segment during their New York New York piece and a vocal soloist who stood on a podium.
Together with Sprayberry, South Cobb is the first Georgia bands to make GN finals this year. South Cobb made MBA history in 79 by becoming the first Georgia band to win a regional title. Like Sprayberry, this would be South Cobb's first and last time as a GN finalist. They did however manage to win the Class AA title. A more dubious distinction; 9th would be the lowest for the Class AA champ until 1999. For a mid sized school, South Cobb had one of the larger bands at nationals this year, possibly over 230 members. South Cobb's glory years spanned the late 70s and early 80s. Their program would falter in later years. They did return to BOA competition in the 2000s by attending a few Atlanta regionals. A much smaller band, they fell far short of coming close to finals.
Even today, being the head director of a high school marching band is a male dominated field; that is changing. That was really the case back in the 70s and 80s. While I thought Cheryl Graham of New Philadelphia was the first female director of a GN finalist band, I was wrong. Upon further research, looks like it may have been Martha Starke of Gainesville HS, FL. in 10th place, this was Gainesville's only appearance in GN finals. They have been a consistent competitor in Florida competitions ever since. This was their last MBA/BOA performance until just last year. In 2018 they participated in the Florida regional. Martha Starke passed away in 1995. There is a scholarship for female conductors named for her.
While there has been at least one Maryland band to have been a finalist at the Summer Nationals, Southern Garrett is the only Maryland band to be a finalist at the Grand Nationals. Their 11th place finish this year marked the first and last time Southern Garrett (or any Maryland band) was a GN finalist. Southern Garrett is from Oakland, MD in the highlands of the far western part of the state. They are a small town band and were the third Class A band in finals this year. 1980 was the most successful year in MBA competition for Southern Garrett. They won the Class A title at the Toledo regional in addition to their finals appearance at GN. As far as I know, this was their last MBA/BOA performance.
The 12th place band in finals this year was yet another Florida band, Miami Southridge. This school had just opened around 4 or 5 years earlier. By 1980 they already had a very large band program. Miami Southridge's show was more in the half time football style than the corps style, especially the way they marched. So while they played well, this may have been why they were 12th place. As far as I know, this was the only MBA/BOA performance ever for Miami Southridge. This school is located on the far southern outskirts of Miami. That makes Southridge the southern most school to have ever been a Grand National finalist.
In watching some of the old videos from the early 1980s, I noticed several of them included opening commentary. I think (not positive) that back in the early 80s, Grand National finals may have been broadcast on PBS. For those too young to remember, DCI finals was on PBS for many years. Below I will include the links to the finals performance of Tate (wish the video quality was better) and Flushing. Flushing's includes opening commentary. One of those commenting is Dr Tim Lautzenheiser who is still active in MFA/BOA. Some other videos of 1980 finals performances that may be still on YouTube include Comeaux and Miami Southridge. Sprayberry and Tell City have audio only videos on YouTube.
1980 Tate
1980 Flushing
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Post by LeanderMomma on Apr 28, 2019 17:48:53 GMT -6
Wow, there was an incredible amount of information for 1980! I was a Junior in the fall of 80. I have such incredible band memories. I wish my private school had attended some of these things! We went to a few competitions every year but honestly I had never heard of BOA before 2013.
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Post by LeanderMomma on Apr 28, 2019 17:53:01 GMT -6
Buff wrote...
In watching some of the old videos from the early 1980s, I noticed several of them included opening commentary. I think (not positive) that back in the early 80s, Grand National finals may have been broadcast on PBS. For those too young to remember, DCI finals was on PBS for many years. Below I will include the links to the finals performance of Tate (wish the video quality was better) and Flushing. Flushing's includes opening commentary. One of those commenting is Dr Tim Lautzenheiser who is still active in MFA/BOA. Some other videos of 1980 finals performances that may be still on YouTube include Comeaux and Miami Southridge. Sprayberry and Tell City have audio only videos on YouTube.
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Is that the Dr. Tim who makes the same speech before finals placement awards about everyone being winners in life? I always enjoy that speech.
I wish we could still watch band competitions on television!
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Post by boahistorybuff on Apr 28, 2019 18:11:08 GMT -6
Is that the Dr. Tim who makes the same speech before finals placement awards about everyone being winners in life? I always enjoy that speech. I wish we could still watch band competitions on television!Yes that is the same Dr Tim. Yes, that is the same Dr Tim.
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Post by 78haworth on Apr 30, 2019 11:43:14 GMT -6
I wish we could still watch band competitions on television! YES! We need a Marching Channel cable station. That would be awesome!!
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Post by QuadSquad03 on Apr 30, 2019 19:46:37 GMT -6
I wish we could still watch band competitions on television! YES! We need a Marching Channel cable station. That would be awesome!! DCI has a news show. We just need one for BOA and add some flomarching, then go ask for a channel and we're set!
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Post by boahistorybuff on May 3, 2019 18:14:11 GMT -6
...1981 SEASON REVIEW...
A few of the trends that seemed to emerge this season from watching old videos back in the day was more use of woodwinds in the shows. It seems that during the 70s a lot of the corps style band shows (not all just a lot of them) were heavy on the brass, like they were trying to sound like a drum and bugle corps. This season there were a lot of bands that had some really interesting woodwind features. Perhaps it was being realized that the woodwinds could really add a lot of nuances to music performance and that it was OK for the corps style shows to sound like a marching band and not a drum corps, and that meant showcasing woodwinds more frequently. I also noticed that the musical arrangements were such that they added more difficulty to the music performance. On the color guard front, there were more guards changing flags during the course of the show, and flags were becoming more colorful.
In their second appearance at the June Whitewater nationals, Independence HS (CA) edged out both Herscher (IL) and Chesterton (IN) to win the summer national title. During the early 80s Independence was a California power house and it was showcased nicely in Whitewater. I am not sure if Independence attended future summer nationals (this would be their only win). The program went into a slight decline during the later half of the decade. They have maintained a competitive program ever since; even having a bit of a resurgence in the 2000s. Today the band is much smaller than it was during their late 70s/early 80s glory years.
1981 Independence Summer Nationals
With regionals being cut back to just 4 this season, there were a lot of bands who participated in MBA in 1980 that would not attend this year or in subsequent years. The 4 regionals were however quite competitive for the era. Norwin (PA) of course dominated the Virginia regional. Despite cutting back to 4, MBA still held a regional in Texas (perhaps they could see the potential in Texas even back then). It was not a Texas band that won though, it was Comeaux from Louisiana. This was their only regional title and the only one for a Louisiana band. 1981 was a strong season for Comeaux (I don't believe they attended GN this year). Chesterton (IN) narrowly edged out Norwin and Flushing (MI) at the Toledo regional and Northrop (IN) at the Fort Wayne regional to win two of the 4 regionals this season.
After the cold outdoor GN at Jacksonville FL the previous season, MBA moved Grand Nationals to an indoor stadium on the campus of East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN and held them a little earlier in November. In the context of the nationals that occurred prior to this one, the level of competitiveness stepped up drastically this season as a whole group of top Indiana bands were in attendance as was Norwin and the top two bands from the 1980 GN. In fact, 5 Indiana bands made finals this year.
After winning two regionals this season and coming off their 4th consecutive Indiana Class A state title, Chesterton (IN) established themselves as the ones to beat. While this was their first appearance at fall Grand Nationals, they were a finalist at the previous three June Whitewater nationals. At the time they were under the direction of Al Castronovo and were in the midst of what would be Chesterton's glory years. Their show included Verde Requiem, It Will be Night and Day, If you Believe and Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Not only did they have superb and clean visuals, they had wonderful marching technique (as all great Indiana bands do). They used a smoke effect with interesting visual moves in their opening segments which led into this great push by the band. Just loved their opener Verde Requiem. Chesterton was also one of the early pioneering bands in music effect. They played very well in the soft moments and had a way of really building to the louder segments. They also had a great arrangement in their closure "Somewhere Over the Rainbow'; really sold the end of that show. They ended up winning with a comfortable margin. Although they did not win the Brass/Winds or Percussion awards; those two captions were only a part of the total Music Performance (back then they did not give out a music performance award). If the highest achievement awards were as they are today, Chesterton would have won Music, Visual and GE. Chesterton made history by becoming the first Indiana band to win the Grand National title. Of all the Indiana bands that have won the title since, Chesterton is the only one that is not from the greater Indianapolis metro area. Chesterton also became the first Class AA band to win the title.
After racking up 4 regional titles in three years, this was the first year at Grand Nationals for Norwin (PA) and they did not disappoint. Norwin had actually had an active competitive program going all the way back to the 1960s. Their director LJ Hancock actually graduated from Norwin and became their director sometime in the mid 1970s. He took this band to national prominence. While they had already been a long time competitor in the corps style arena, the uniforms they wore at the time still had the look of college half time style band program, especially with their white busby hats. They also marched an auxiliary line of baton twirlers. Norwin's show echoed what would be their signature style of the early 1980s; featuring some great crowd pleasing moments. Notable was their high brass section, their drum line and a fantastic rifle line. They were a band that usually racked up a lot of caption (highest achievement) awards at regionals. So perhaps it was surprising that they did not win any at nationals this year; they did however finish second and won the Open Class title.
The loss of the Grand National title due to a penalty in 1980 signaled a string of challenges for Flushing (MI) that arose during the 80s. In the early 80s, there were mounting financial problems in the Flushing school district which prompted some cuts. The first round of cuts occurred following the 1980/81 school year with teacher layoffs. Both the director and assistant director were let go. The elementary music program was also cut. Despite these challenges and a slight drop in membership, the band still had a successful season, finishing third at nationals. Paul Minert took over the marching band (and really the whole junior and senior high band programs). The marching band managed to sustain a large and strong set of instructors and put forth a very musically challenging show. This included the Rachmaninoff opener Caprice Bohemian. Their concert piece Sunrise Lady was really great. Their percussion in this piece and the drum feature was difficult and just incredible and is likely what gave them the percussion award over Norwin.
In fourth and in their first Grand National appearance was Northrop, from Fort Wayne, IN. Northrop emerged as an Indiana power by the early 80s and their 4th place finish in 1981 would be their highest ever at nationals. Not just a strong visual package, they had a really good music performance, well balanced between brass, woodwinds and percussion. They were a good example of nicely showcasing some woodwinds, which likely helped them achieve the brass/winds award over the top three bands.
Tate (FL), the 1980 GN champ, returned and finished 5th this season; not quite as clean as their 1980 show. They still had a strong performance and the crowd seemed to like it. Like 1980, they had some interesting visual designs, especially their opening move. Another great color guard performance for Tate. The rifles were so good; at one point they twirled two rifles at the same time. They won the rifle award for the second year.
One of the great small school bands from Kentucky during the late 70s and early 80s was Danville (the marching Admirals), from the small town by the same name. In addition to a great director, I read that they also had a well developed feeder program in the junior high where they started teaching marching technique. They were a small band even for 1981; I think their band was between 70 and 75 members at the time. They played and marched so well. They had some great musical moments, included some brass soloists. They were described as a small band with a big sound. Their visual package was also strong, including a really good color guard (they won best flags). There were some innovative moments in their show. At one point the entire band sang. During their drum feature the band broke into asymmetric drill and held the asymmetry into their concert piece. In 1980, Santa Clara Vanguard shocked the marching community by having a segment of asymmetric drill in their show, which many said is why they got 7th. It would turn out that within just a few short years, asymmetric drill would become highly popular. While many bands had a back corner entry or shifted the drill off to one side of the field, there usually was symmetry in the drill design. The 1981 Danville show may have been one of the first to showcase asymmetry in an MBA competition.
In 7th place was Warren Central, from Indianapolis, IN. Warren Central was an occasional MBA/BOA participant during the 80s, 90s and 2000s. Their biggest success would come in the early 80s. This was their first of two finals appearances and would be their highest finish ever at nationals. One thing that was notable about this band back then was their auxiliary line. They used pom poms at times and had some really good dance segments. A lot of the dancing in the guard back then was a bit cheesy by today's standard. Not so much with Warren Central. This won them the auxiliary award. The auxiliary lines would fade away over the next few years and the auxiliary award kind of became a focus for the overall guard performance. Warren Central also had some great jazz pieces in this show. This show was also innovative in the way they experimented with different sounds; including muted trumpets. They had one section with a synthesizer. While the audio is still on line, it has been 30 years since I saw the video performance of this show. I believe the synthesizer was plugged into an amplifier that was moved around on a cart (still no pit in 1981). The amplifier often was used for electric bass guitars back then. This may have been the first MBA/BOA band to use a synthesizer in their show.
Another Indiana band finished 8th this year, Maconaquah from Bunker Hill. Maconaquah was a small school band who competed frequently in MBA/BOA through the 80s and early 90s. 1981 was actually their first year in MBA competition. They finished around 6th or 7th at the Toledo regional this season. Their trip to the GN in 1981 was probably the ultimate Cinderella moment for this band. Not only did they make finals, they finished 8th and were 2nd to the class A title. The show just happened to be really clean and well played. They certainly deserved 8th. This would be their first and only finals appearance.
1981 also marked the first year of MBA participation for the Ben Davis Marching Giants, another band from Indianapolis. They were certainly one of, if not the largest band in finals this year; a year which featured a lot of smaller band programs. Their opener 'In The Hall of the Mountain King" is one of my favorites, so I enjoyed watching this show. Given their success to this point in Indiana, the 9th place finish may have been a bit of a surprise/disappointment. They may have also been surprised to have been beaten by Warren Central and Maconaquah (although it was close). These were two bands that I think Ben Davis easily beat in Indiana competitions. Over the next few years, Ben Davis would have much stronger performances at nationals.
In 10th was yet another small school band, Hanover (PA). This was Hanover's third Grand National finals performance. By the end of the 1981 season they had also won a total of 5 regional Class A titles and were the reigning GN Class A champ from 1980. Another small school that had a significant percentage of the student body in the band; they marched around 90 members. During their show, their auxiliary line changed into bright purple outfits and their guard changed equipment several times; all rather innovative for the era. The end of their show also featured the guard with very large butterfly flags. This added a ton of color to the visuals. This would unfortunately be Hanover's last GN finals appearance. The program faded by a bit over the coming years. While they remained a consistent competitor with much success in small class at competitions in the east during the rest of the 80s and through the 90s, by the mid 80s they were no longer at a level to remain competitive in the BOA circuit. In the 2000s, the band fell on some hard times and the membership dropped into the 20s.
I am not sure what the rules for a tie break were back in 1981, but we ended up with a tie for 11th. John S Battle from Bristol, VA (just over the Tennessee state line) was one of the 11th place finishers. At the time, John S Battle was a very small school (around 600). So I believe that would have made John S Battle the 4th Class A band in finals this year. In all of the fall Grand Nationals since 1980, no year would feature this many Class A bands in finals. Battle was a finalist at a few of the Virginia regionals; they won the brass/winds award over Norwin at the 1980 regional. This was their first and last year that they would ever attend Grand Nationals; I am not sure why they did not attend in 82 or 83 since they were so close to Johnson City. Their show was also very innovative for the times. They also utilized the amplifier, in this case for a clarinet and soprano sax solo. They closed with "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and had a girl dressed like Dorothy come out and sing. This may have been the first time an amplified vocal soloist was featured at Grand Nationals.
The other band that tied for 11th was Rocky Mount HS, from Rocky Mount, NC. This band was under the direction of legendary director John Sykes. By 1981 they were a well established competitive program. I understand that in the early 80s, they began to get corporate sponsorships. This allowed then to assemble an impressive instructional staff. By the time I watched the 81 finals video, I was already aware of what Rocky Mount would accomplish in subsequent years. Watching their 81 performance, you see there was a little bit more sophistication in their visual designs and musical arrangements. They had some fairly difficult moments in their music selections. They got a big cheer from the crowd when near the end of their show, the guard laid on the ground and the band stepped over them. For 1981 that was cool stuff.
Below I will include the links to Chesterton's finals performance. It is good quality but unfortunately cuts a big chunk of the middle of their show out. The end does however show the last few segments of the awards ceremony. To see the whole Chesterton show, I also include the link to their 81 Indiana state finals performance, the video quality is just not that good. There are also video performances on YouTube of Norwin, Flushing (in 4 parts), Tate, Danville, Maconaquah and Hanover. Audi only videos are available of Northrop, Warren Central, Ben Davis, John S Battle and Rocky Mount.
81 Chesterton - Nationals
81 Chesterton - Indiana State
81 Norwin
81 Flushing (Part 1); (Part 2); (Part 3); (Part 4)
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Post by boahistorybuff on May 10, 2019 10:50:30 GMT -6
...1982 SEASON REVIEW...
Perhaps there was concern for the marcher with respect to the amount of weight of marching a tympani or keyboard had on the long term health of the students (I imagine it was hard on the back). Actually, I am not sure what prompted the idea of a grounded front line percussion ensemble or pit. While the rule change did not occur the same year in every marching circuit, 1982 marked the year that MBA allowed keyboards and tympani to be grounded on the front sidelines, thus beginning the pit. In 1982, not all MBA bands did this, but most of the ones I saw did. In this first year that the pit was allowed, keyboards and tympani were the only instruments in the pit. Over the next two seasons, bands began placing a whole bunch of different percussion instruments (and even electronics) into the pit. This ended up revolutionizing the sound and look of the shows. First off, there was a much more balanced and richer sound to the percussion with the pit. And larger keyboards could be used, giving a lower and deeper sound. Secondly, snares, quads, bass drums and cymbals could be marched around the field more easily than keyboards and tympani. In the early years, the percussion, while they did march, were usually in the center of the field through much of the show. After the inclusion of the pit, the drum line on the field would become integrated into the drill design more effectively and would end up marching all over the field throughout the course of the show. This ended up giving more visual interest to the drill designs.
The start of the 82 season of course started with the June Whitewater Summer Nationals. Herscher HS from Herscher, IL won the Summer National title this year. Herscher was a small town Class A Band. By winning this competition, they beat both Chesterton and Norwin to win this title. During the four nationals of the 70s, Herscher made finals at two of them and failed to make finals at the other two (77 and 79). Director Tim Salzman assembled a large high quality staff by 1980. Herscher ended up winning the Class A title at the summer nationals in 1980 and finished in the top half of finalists, they then were again Class A champ in 1981, this time being runner up to the Summer National title. In the Illinois competitions, Herscher had also been very successful. They won their class at the Illinois state championships in 80,81 and 82. They were the overall state champs in both 81 and 82 (not sure if they were in 80 or not). After their win at the 82 Summer Nationals, they attended what I believe was their first MBA regional that fall, held in Indy. They won that championship, again beating the reigning Grand National Champion Chesterton. So they made MBA/BOA history by becoming the first band from Illinois to win a regional title. They did not attend fall Grand Nationals this year, or any year prior. While I doubt they would have beaten Norwin at the Grand Nationals, I bet they would have been a strong second had they attended. Herscher was actually considered a pioneer during the early 80s. They put forth a music performance that was said to have been more like a symphonic band set to motion. They brilliantly blended brass, woodwinds and percussion into their symphonic style. Their shows had some very soft, quiet moments and they had segments of difficult and amazing woodwind features. They did this all by having a solid and well designed visual package. I am not positive, but I have to imagine that this band proved an inspiration to Marian Catholic who was building their program during this era. That would certainly make Herscher one of the more impactful bands during the early MBA years. After the 1982 season, Herscher lost their director and a good number of their staff (not sure if financial reasons were the cause). This brought an abrupt end to Herscher as a power house band program. Herscher would continue to have a competitive marching band and they have attended frequent BOA regionals and nationals over the years, just not at the level of they did during the 80, 81 and 82 seasons.
Herscher - 1982 Summer Nationals
Aside from Herscher's win at the Indy regional, Danville (KY) won the North Carolina regional, becoming the first Kentucky band to win a regional. Like Herscher, they too were a small town Class A band, meaning two Class A bands won a regional title this season, the only season where this has happened. This year was also the first year that a Texas band won the Texas regional, Lake Highlands HS from Dallas. Lake Highlands had a large and well established performing arts program, something that would be common among future Texas power house programs. I believe it was in 1980 that Texas UIL began the first state championships. Back then there were far fewer Texas power house marching bands compared to today, although they still had their fair share. There were even less who competed in MBA/BOA. One of the early Texas greats that did not compete in the early MBA years was Austin Crockett. While Lake Highlands was the first Texas band to win a regional, their MBA/BOA participation in the 80s was very brief (actually not sure if they competed in any other regionals this decade). Lake Highlands did return to BOA competition in the 2000s. They were an occasional regional participant and finalist. The other two regionals this year were both won by Norwin (PA). Actually, Norwin did not just win these regionals, they annihilated the competition. I think they won the Toledo regional over 2nd place New Philadelphia (OH) by around 8 points.
At the 82 Grand Nationals, still held in Johnson City, TN, only two of the 81 finalist bands did not return (Northrop, IN and Battle, VA). This ended up being the first Grand Nationals where all of the prior year's class champions defended their title.
Heading into Nationals this year, I have to imagine that this was Norwin's competition to loose as they were having such an incredible season. Well, they lived up to expectations and won their first and only Grand National title; the only one for a Pennsylvania band. The 'Knights of Norwin', under the direction of LJ Hancock, are from the North Huntingdon/Irwin area of the Pittsburgh suburbs. Their musical selections included Chime Festival, Spain, Threshold, and Goin The Distance. During their opener, they exhibited some fast paced marching (not that common for the era), their guard even had segments where they were running. They did this all while playing incredibly well. They had some great brass moments during this show, on full display during their concert piece Threshold. Their percussion section was also just amazing. They played with such energy and enthusiasm; you could kind of tell they knew they were going for the GN title. Can't forget mention of their guard, especially their rifles. The rifles had a difficult routine and were really clean. Norwin ended up winning the awards for brass/winds, rifles and general effect. Watching the finals, Norwin was obviously just head and shoulders better than the other bands. They actually won over 2nd place Chesterton by 3.2 points, which is the second highest point spread between 1st and 2nd at Grand Nationals.
After winning just about everything in 1981, the Chesterton 'Trojan Guard' would have to settle for being runner up to just about everything this season. In addition to being runner up the Grand National title (although they did win the Class AA title), they were runner up at the Indy regional and runner up at the Indiana Class A state championships. It was not uncommon back then for bands to recycle portions of their shows from season to season (even Norwin did this). The middle of Chesterton's show this year was almost the same (music and drill) as their 81 show, they just had a different opener and closer this year. Chesterton actually had a violin solo in their opener; very innovative for the time. Still a solid, clean visual performance (they won the marching award for the second year), I think their music performance was just not to the level of 81. The Chesterton guard this year wore white turbans on their head (which they wore again in 83). Perhaps it was meant to soften the look of the guard. Against their military jackets I found it to be a rather odd look.
After what I imagine was a disappointing 9th place finish in 81, the Ben Davis 'Marching Giants' had a really strong season and finished third at GN. They won the Indiana Class A state title this year; their first win since 1977. I do not believe they participated in MBA regionals then (not all Grand National bands did back then). They had a strong show at nationals and finished third. This band, one of the larger bands back in the day, was not only known for the quality of music performance, they had some well designed shows. Their designers did a good job with working the color guard into the design as well. As much as I loved Chesterton, I actually felt Ben Davis should have been higher (like 2nd place).
Flushing held on to the staff from their 81 season and performed another difficult show from a musical standpoint. At the start of the 82/83 school year, mounting financial problems forced a vote for a tax hike to the school district. It failed and that meant huge cuts, including the music program. The school would essentially only be able to provide the salaries of the director(s). Junior and senior high students wishing to be in band would have pay their own way, which was a hefty sum. This and the fact that the elementary band program had just been cut the prior year gave everyone involved in the program a fear that at some point, they would not be able to field a marching band. Despite the uncertainty of the future of the program, the band boosters helped support the marching band through the rest of the 82 season. In fact, they retained the staff, and traveled to two regionals and Grand Nationals. They had a successful season despite the uncertainty, this included remaining undefeated in Michigan competition, I believe our 7th consecutive undefeated season in the state. It turns out that Flushing was very happy with their 4th place finish this year at nationals given the financial strain. Their percussion gave one heck of a performance in finals and was able to beat Norwin for the percussion award. This was Flushing's third consecutive best percussion award at nationals. By the 83 season however, the full brunt of the cuts hit the band hard. Flushing could not sustain the staff that had helped them achieve the level of success through 82. The band was also loosing members in a big way. In 83, Flushing lost to several Michigan bands in state competition. They did raise the money to attend nationals in 83, but failed to make finals (in fact they placed 29th). By 1984, the Flushing marching band had dropped to less than 75 members, half the size they were in 1980. Improving financial conditions in 85/86 would lead to a modest comeback for Flushing during the end of the decade. 1982 however marked the last time they would finish in the top half of finalist bands at nationals.
After their regional win, the Danville 'Marching Admirals' finished 5th and won the Class A title for the second year in a row. For a small band, they again had a big sound. They had a little bit of whimsy during their percussion feature, where the band again broke out in song. The guard also had a fun and entertaining feature during the percussion section. Danville won the best flags award for the second year. Danville, with their uniforms designed to look like sailors, had just had two extraordinary years in MBA competition. After this season, they lost their director; something that usually has a big effect on small school band programs. They still had a few good years following 82. In 83, they won a regional Class A title. However, they failed to make finals in 83. I imagine they were close because I kind of thought they should have made it. The next few years would see a steady decline in their program. They have however maintained a competitive marching band ever since and have had some success in the small school class in Kentucky competitions. Their neighboring school (Boyle County) would emerge as a strong small school program in the late 80s and 90s.
After narrowly making GN finals in 81, Rocky Mount (NC) was on the rise in 82. They were third at the PA regional and runner up to the title at the North Carolina regional. After tying for 11th in 81, they now finished in the middle of the pack (6th place) in finals in 82. Another challenging music performance, they were much cleaner this year.
Speaking of recycling music and drill selections, JM Tate, finishing 7th this year, had an almost identical show as 81. I liked it and yes it was a good show so I guess why not? Tate briefly ended their MBA/BOA participation after this season (not sure why). They would return to BOA competition in 1988.
After a 10th place finish at the Toledo regional in 81, Carroll HS from Dayton, OH proved a band on the rise this year. Not only did they make finals, they finish 8th in their first of two GN finals appearances. Carroll was a small catholic HS and they ended up being runner up to the Class A title this year (only two Class A bands in finals this year). Known as the Patriots, they wore red, white and blue attire.
The 9th place finish by Warren Central (IN) this year was their second and last GN finals appearance. Their auxiliary/dance line again featured prominently in the visual aspect of their show. They won the auxiliary award for the second year. They would attend GN in 83 but would fail to make finals. I am not sure if there were staffing changes or what but the program declined a bit during the rest of the decade.
In 10th place was Lafayette Jefferson, from Lafayette, IN (often known just as Jefferson HS). Their being in finals showcased the depth that Indiana had in quality marching bands. Lafayette Jefferson made Grand National finals before they even made finals at the Indiana state competition. Prior to 83, I believe only the top 5 in each class made finals in Indiana, that rose to top 10 in 83. Lafayette Jefferson would made state finals in 83. Turns out 82 was just the start of the glory years for Lafayette Jefferson.
Western North Carolina produced many great bands back in the 70s and 80s, not just Sylva-Webster. Making finals for the first of their two appearances was Tuscola HS from Waynesville, NC who finished 11th. In addition to Rocky Mount, Tuscola was a North Carolina power house during the early 80s as was Richmond HS, who just missed finals on both their attempts in 82 and 83.
The 12th place band in finals in their 2nd and last GN finals appearance was the 'Spectacular Band From Spartanland' Comeaux HS, LA. This would be the last time a Louisiana band made finals until 2008. Despite this being their last time in GN finals (they failed to make finals in their 83 attempt), Comeaux went on to participate in several BOA regionals over the years and were frequent finalists at BOA regionals in the 1990s.
I should mention that one of the participating bands this year, coming off I believe a win at the Oklahoma State Championships, was Broken Arrow. No they did not make finals this year. This would be their last MBA/BOA appearance until they started attending regionals in the mid 1990s. Maybe they thought at the time that MBA/BOA was just not for them. I am sure noone at the 1982 Grand Nationals would imagine that someday Broken Arrow would be one of the best bands in BOA history.
Below I will include the link to Norwin's Grand Nationals Finals Championship performance (again bare with the poor video quality). I wish the 82 Herscher performance from Summer Nationals was still on line. Other performances from 82 national finals that I believe are still on line include; Chesterton, Flushing, Danville and Tate.
1982 Norwin
Interview with Al Castronovo of Chesterton
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Post by boahistorybuff on May 17, 2019 8:15:08 GMT -6
...1983 SEASON REVIEW...
There were a few trends that seemed to start to occur in the high school marching bands this season that would mark the beginning of significant changes that would take hold over the next couple season. While 1982 saw the introduction of the pit in MBA, this season bands were putting more percussion (and a few even electronics) into the pit; not just keyboards and tympani. Another notable thing among many of the bands this season was the inclusion of asymmetrical drill into segments of the show. I mentioned earlier that in 1980 Santa Clara Vanguard shocked the marching world by having a section of asymmetric drill in their show. By 1983, the Cadets (Garfield Cadets at the time) took asymmetry to a whole new level. In 1983, I noticed several bands in MBA that began to have sections of their show feature asymmetric drill. I am sure this was a big adjustment for the visual effect judges. With symmetric drill, the more perfectly one side of the field matched the other would garner a higher visual effect score. So with asymmetry, I have to imagine the visual judges had to make some adjustments. Over the remainder of the decade, drill designs became such that asymmetry became utilized more frequently than symmetry in the drill designs. Another notable thing this season was that several of the bands had the color guard ditch the military style for more artistically designed attire. In 1981, the Blue Devils color guard debuted a non military, more artistically designed, outfit. Within just a couple short years, that became the norm. In high school marching bands, 1983 seemed to be the year that a lot of band,s color guards started making this switch. It was actually somewhat odd watching the shows from this year as there were some bands with very artistic styled guards while other were still holding onto the more military look of the guard. Within just a couple years, artistically designed (and in many cases more feminine) attire became the norm in MBA/BOA competitions. This not only gave the visual designs a new look, it revolutionized the color guard. The new outfits were designed for more ease of movement, thus allowing dance moves to be more easily mixed into the guard routines. Guard routines also become more fluid and the facial expressions of the guard were softened (in many cases the guards were encouraged to smile during the show).
The 83 season began of course with the June Summer Nationals. University HS from Spokane, WA won the Summer National title this year. This title, in addition to their two regional titles this decade, make University the most decorated band from Washington State to have ever participated in MBA/BOA. I do not believe they ever attended the fall Grand Nationals though. In fact, I do not believe any band from Washington has attended Grand Nationals. What is somewhat remarkable about the success of University is that they are from the less populated eastern potion of Washington. So they had fewer national caliber bands to compete against.
Of the 5 fall regionals held this season, 4 were won by first time regional champions. The only one that was not was the Eastern Regional which was won yet again by Norwin (PA). Rocky Mount (NC) won the North Carolina regional, becoming the first band from North Carolina to win a regional. The Texas regional was won by Pearl (MS) from the town of the same name (just outside of Jackson). Pearl became the first Mississippi band to win a regional. The other two regionals were won by two Indiana bands; Northrop and Lafayette Jefferson. This was the first and only regional title for both of these bands. Northrop actually won the Indiana Class A state title this season. Northrop did not, however, attend Grand Nationals this year. The other 4 regional champs did. Another interesting note about the regionals this season is that there was not one held in Ohio. Since 1979, 83 is the only year a regional has not been held in the state of Ohio.
This year marked the third and last year that Grand Nationals would be held at East Tennessee University in Johnson City, TN. This venue would however go on to host numerous regionals over the coming decades. At this year's nationals, 11 of the 12 finalist bands from the previous season attended (no Tate this year); 4 of whom failed to make finals. Given that Norwin had beaten Rocky Mount at the Eastern Regional, Ben Davis got 2nd at the Indiana State Championships, Northrop was not attending and Chesterton was not having as strong a season as in years past, I am sure that Norwin was heavily favored to defend their title heading into nationals this year. So the results were probably a bit surprising; not surprising however after watching finals (at least they should not have been). Before I get to the bands, one thing I want to point out is that prior to the consolidation of caption awards in 1989, the guard and drum major awards, in addition to the Esprit de Corps, were based on prelims performance and all participating bands were eligible. This year there were a couple bands who took home guard awards that were not in finals; Greenwood (IN) got best rifles over Norwin and Western (IN) took the coordinated auxiliary award. Rocky Mount actually won best flags, although in their finals performance I thought there were a couple off moments from the guard.
So while Norwin was probably favored to win heading into this competition, after finals I have to believe that there was little doubt that Rocky Mount HS, from Rocky Mount NC would walk away with the title. Their show was very on par with the latest trends as they had segments of asymmetric drill and the guard wore artistically styled attire. From a visual standpoint, their show was very clean. It was the music, however, that was simply leaps and bounds ahead of the other bands. I am not sure what their music selections were (all of the videos I have seen of 83 Rocky Mount cut in after the music selections were announced). They played with such control. They had some sections of perfectly clean woodwind runs. During the middle portion of the show in the concert piece (the up tempo portion of the show so common back then), Rocky Mount let loose. They played a jazz piece as many bands did in this portion of the show. The way they played was simply incredible. They placed their soloists on top of the drum major podium to project to the audience; some amazing solos by the way. They also really built up to the ending in a dramatic way. I would say that after their finals performance, at that point in history, Rocky Mount had just given the best music performance ever at an MBA competition. They ended up winning the captions for brass/winds and general effect in addition to claiming the Class AA title and their first Grand National title. This would be the first of three GN titles (and first of five incredible seasons) for Rocky Mount and their legendary director John Sykes.
After watching the finals video, I was pretty impressed with Ben Davis, and a bit surprised they did not win the Indiana state title this year. They must have had some big improvements heading into nationals. They gave a pretty solid music performance (loved the saxophones in their show). Ben Davis was not only known for their music, but their visuals as well (they won the marching award this year). They had some of the best drill designs of the era. While their show was all symmetric in its design, the level of intricacy in their drill and their transitions into the designs were incredible. I would actually say that 83 Ben Davis had one of the best drill designs of the decade. The level of detail in the drill was probably helped by the fact that they were a large band. Doing the level of drill designs that they did in total symmetry would have been easy for mistakes to jump out. Not many bands would have attempted the visual design put forth by Ben Davis and not many could have executed it so well. They ended up 2nd this year and won the Open Class title. This would be their highest finish ever at nationals and they certainly make my list for best bands in the 80s/early 90s not to have won a Grand National title.
Norwin had another energetic show and featured a few sections of fast paced drill transitions. They had some great woodwind features and just an incredible percussion section (as usual). I also found their guard to be pretty solid (again loved the rifles). I think had the guard awards been based on finals, they probably would have picked up flags and rifles awards. Some of the issues I think they had was that there were a few sections in the music where the timing seemed a bit off. I also thought there were a few section were the brass fell out of tune (I think they got a little too excited). So these factors are probably what landed them in third place. I also think Norwin was one of those bands who started out strong early in the season, but perhaps plateaued toward the end, whereas a band like Rocky Mount peaked right at Grand Nationals.
While 83 may not have been as strong as prior seasons for Chesterton (IN), I felt they gave a strong performance in finals. Great visual designs in their opener; and the band broke out in song during the opener as well. This ended up being a pretty solid 4th place finish for Chesterton.
In only their second appearance in Grand National finals, Lafayette Jefferson (IN) had their best season ever in MBA/BOA in 1983. They won a regional title (their first and only one); I believe they beat Chesterton to win this. In finals, they placed fifth which was their highest finish ever at nationals. Another well designed show (the Indiana bands had some fantastic drill designers). There was a small section in the show where the sound of a train whistle could be heard from the pit; something I imagine was innovative for the time. I always found it interested watching them as they had the exact some uniforms (except the hats and pants) as Flushing. There were actually quite a few bands back in the day that had similar uniform designs/colors.
This is what I like to refer to as the forgotten year for Lafayette (KY); or as they were referred to then, Lexington Lafayette. This band always mentions their finals appearances in 95 and 04 but never 1983. This was actually their first appearance in Grand National finals (I think the first year they attended them). Lafayette is the most successful band in Kentucky state competitions. They have been among the best band in the state for around 45 years now. This, their first appearance at nationals, ended up being their highest placement; 6th. Watching their performance, I found myself listening to the percussion most of the time. They had a difficult yet clean drum line. Their percussion feature was just incredible and got a lot of applause. They won the percussion award over Norwin and Rocky Mount who both had strong percussion performances. After a slight decline in the mid/late 80s, Lafayette came roaring back by 1990.
During the 70s, 80s and early 90s, Mississippi had several top notch marching band programs. During the 80s, the most successful was Pearl. During the first 4 years of the decade, they bounced back and forth between Class A and AA; this year they were a Class AA band. While they came off their first regional win this season, they had already won multiple regional class championship titles. This was their first of what would be two Grand National finals appearances. A strong show just put them into 7th place by a small fraction.
I do not think that Carroll (OH) winning the Class A title this year was a given. There was probably some uncertainly as to how Danville would do with the new director. More importantly, New Philadelphia was attending this year. Carroll gave a strong finals performance and finished 8th, like the previous year, and did indeed win the Class A title; their only national class title. This was Carroll's second and last appearance at Grand Nationals. Shortly after this season they moved up to Class AA (then moved back down to A in 1990). They remained a strong program through the rest of the decade and into the early 90s; being a consistent regional finalist and doing rather well at nationals (just not quite making finals). Although not at the level they were in the 80s, Carroll has been a near constant participant in BOA for decades.
Also in their second and last Grand National finals appearance was Tuscola (NC). They finished 9th which would be their highest finish ever at nationals. This band was known for their brass (especially their trombones). They gave extremely energetic performances back in those days. There was one section in their show where they did a scatter drill; perhaps the first in Grand National finals. Although this was their last finals appearance, they had a great show at the 84 nationals, just fell short of making finals. Tuscola has maintained a competitive band program ever since and was occasional BOA participants through the rest of the 80s, 90s and 2000s; they would make several regional finals appearances over the years.
So the story goes that Cheryl Ann Graham was brought on to be director of New Philadelphia (OH) in the early/mid 70s because the school board wanted to have a competitive marching band. She built the program up during the 70s and by the early 80s they were making finals at the summer nationals and several regionals. By 1983, they already had several regional Class A titles under their belt (and they were runner up to the Toledo regional title in 1982). This was their first Grand National appearance. While they were 2nd to the Class A title, their 10th place finish this year would end up being their highest ever at Grand Nationals in their 6 finals appearances. The New Philadelphia 'Quakers' had one of the most distinguishable uniforms. They were dressed like late 18th century military officers or statesman; complete with knickers and white tights. They looked like about 80 Ben Franklins marching around on the field.
Making their debut at Grand Nationals this year was an up and coming band from Ohio named Westerville South, finishing 11th in their first finals appearance. Westerville South was known as just Westerville until around 1975 with the addition of Westerville North HS. Some of the early videos of them still referred to them as simply Westerville HS. Even though this was their first trip to nationals, they had already become a perennial regional finalist. They were a Class AA band through 1984 and racked up numerous regional Class AA titles. While they made their debut this season, I actually think their 82 and 84 seasons were much stronger.
In a complete Cinderella moment this season was Paoli (IN) from the small town of the same name making finals. Paoli has actually had a competitive marching band program for over 40 years. Although they had a few years in Class C at Indiana state competitions, I believe they hold the record for most Class D state titles in Indiana history. They have been winning class titles at Indiana state competitions every decade since the 80s. They are one of the smallest high schools to have been a Grand National finalist. Their band was around 90 members this season; I think they marched some junior high students to produce that large of a band relative to their school size. They had one whimsical moment in their show (perhaps they were channeling the Bridgeman Drum Corps) where the rifle line changed into clown costumes and performed, adding some humor to the show. In addition to New Philadelphia, Paoli also had a female director, perhaps making 83 the first year with two finalist bands having a female director. Paoli has remained a long time participant in BOA. This would be the only year that they even came close to making finals.
Some other notable things about nationals this year was that one of the participating bands was Center Grove HS, IN. They would not participate in nationals again until 1993. Some other bands this season that failed to make finals but who I am sure were close were Danville (KY), Greenwood (IN) and Richmond (NC). At one point all of the 83 finalist bands were on YouTube (I do not think Carroll is on anymore). Unfortunately, the Rocky Mount video (which is in two parts) is a little out of sync with the audio.
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