by Guest Contributors | Sep, 2004
by Tom Lizotte
Where would drum corps be if Don Angelica were still alive?
I think Don would applaud the progress we have made in improving performance levels (he NEVER accepted substandard performance), but would be disappointed in the direction the activity has taken creatively and in terms of the state of judging.
He stood for great music. In the early ’80s the Cadets were doing things such as “Rocky Point Holiday” and Bernstein’s “Mass.” He supported that tack, and George Zingali’s work, because although in the formative stages, this approach was a major improvement and the activity’s future direction. If the visuals were a bit messy, the activity could not afford to lose the genius.
(more…)
by Aunt Mildred | Sep, 1997
Dear Aunt Mildred:
Here I am, waiting for my plane at Orlando International Airport. I’ve just finished watching three days of the Drum Corps International Championships. Editor Rick, you may know, asked me to do coverage of DCI for Masters of the Marching Arts. Wow!! What a responsibility!! I immediately accepted the assignment. However, now I’m thinking, can I do this? Do I have the observational skills? Do I have the critical acumen? Did I pay attention enough to inform the thousands of readers who weren’t there what really went down in Florida? And, now I have to say that I’m just not sure. You see, Aunt Mildred, I want to write a classic piece on Orlando – something really memorable, but so far I’m staring at a blank sheet of paper.
(more…)
by Guest Contributors | Sep, 1997
by James Hager, Jr.
I have been through my share of misfortune the past several years. Family members passing away, including my Dad this past March, close friends losing their loved ones, and life in general not being that rosy picture I had foreseen when I hit my 40s. Periods of anxiety and frustration that I never dreamed of, a lack of enthusiasm or passion that I had always found deep within, were trading forces around me. My friends were all experiencing similar doldrums.
(more…)
by Jim Macri | Sep, 1997
I, Hyman Roth, an erstwhile flugel player approaching the middle of life’s journey, one day found myself in a parking lot in Revere. In the wall of an edifice bordering the lot was a portal, above which were inscribed these words:
WELCOME TO DRUM CORPS HELL.
DON’T ASK AND WE WON’T TELL.
(more…)
by Larry Kerchner | Sep, 1997
The Question: Of all the arrangements you’ve done for drum corps, what are your favorites?
The Answer: First of all, there is no way I can remember all of the arrangements I’ve written, let alone prioritize them. In fact, if anyone out there remembers something I’ve written, please let me know via the magazine. It would be fun to reminisce. (Probably embarrassing, too!)
(more…)
by Legacy Contributors | Jun, 1997
by H. Worth Ake
The Senior World Championship circuit, Drum Corps Associates, has had an illustrious history of 32 consecutive years of international competitions, although no title show has yet been held outside the continental USA.
DCA was organized in 1962 at Scranton, Pennsylvania under the guidance of the late, great, Henry A. Mayer, and motivated continuously down through the years by many-time DCA president, Vince Bruni. Current circuit president Michael Petrone has inspired the continuing success of the circuit.
(more…)
by Legacy Contributors | Mar, 1997
Ed Denon’s eulogy as delivered by George Oliviero, St. Paul’s Church of Hingham,
Monday, July 24, 1995
“Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and the muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.” *
It is a devastating and very sad time for us. Our long time and dear friend, Ed Denon, passed away, peacefully, Thursday, July 20. When he retired a year ago, he took even more pride in his lawn and garden area. That day, after some time doing the cutting and trimming, he came into his home, sat down and his very warm, big heart stopped.
(more…)
by Legacy Contributors | Mar, 1997
by John Fitzgerald
Recently a contributor to the Netscape Drum Corps Newsgroup on the World Wide Web raised an interesting issue. She inquired as to what people thought was fundamentally more important in the activity, the music or the marching? This is a question I have been pondering since the end of the season, and it is, I believe, a question that merits some serious scrutiny.
As I formulate it, the question is: what is primary, the sound or the sight, music or marching? My response, as a thirty year observer of the activity, is that sound, in particular brass, is primary today. Now, before all you M & M freaks hit the ceiling, let me defend my position. To do so, it is necessary to examine a bit of drum corps history.
(more…)
by Aunt Mildred | Mar, 1997
Hi Aunt Millie,
I love reading your different letters in this fine magazine. I do have one complaint though.
Your editor, Rick Connor, sent this message to me with his latest issue, “Send your check or I’ll kill you.”
Could you please tell Rick his tactics are a little harsh? I hope other subscribers were not forced to subscribe as I was.
Love you,
Stein
(more…)
by Jim Macri | Mar, 1997
DUBUQUE, IA – Pork magnate Harry Hamm, Director of the Moon of lowa Drum and Bugle Corps, has announced that his unit will suspend competition for 1997 and will instead take part in a series of unconventional artistic ventures. Hamm, whose corps won the National Championship at last year’s Daughters of the American Revolution convention, believes that the Moon has reached the pinnacle of drum corps excellence and is ready to enter the world of avant-garde entertainment.
(more…)
