This video was so well put together. I LOVE the use of the 2017 closer to showcase our rise to the top, from barely being out of finals in 2016. Everything that was stated was correct. We picked a harder version at spring training when they sat the corps down. The vote was almost unanimous in the room and the energy we all had when we looked at each other knowing this show would be discussed and spread like wildfire in the community was unforgettable. I laughed so hard so many times throughout this video like when you said the show was hard because I was a rookie mellophone on the ends of all the forms, (The Two Triangle rotations that we the members aptly named The Gauntlet) had to be adjusted for me and the other points because I couldn’t achieve a 3 to 5 backwards during 4 count phrases so we changed them to five and added more stabs. I marched Boston Crusaders BAC Mellophone my rookie year in 2014 with Birdlad. I aged out with the Boston Crusaders in 2017.
honestly so glad that i have an alumni of this show confirming things. There’s been a few comments that worried me thinking i might’ve gotten things wrong. THANK YOU for confirming this stuff.
@@CJsMusicTrumpetNo problem man! we know how this community is in terms of information, so there will no doubt be a lot of people putting in their own two cents. but the only way to get this information aside from all the extensive research you do on your videos, is definitely going to be first-hand experience from people and MEMBERS who were there. From someone who is still very in touch with the activity 9 years after my rookie year, you’re doing an incredible job on these videos. Keep it up. You have my sub!
OH in 2017 when the drum and brass staff from the cadets for the past 10 years was hired by boston. what a coincidence that that was the year. they clearly didn't just through money at the problem and it worked.... interesting.
I'm loving this channel so much. I think it's incredibly important to have videos like this to preserve the lore and stories of drum corps. Sure, it's all out there, but largely in the form of forum posts and hearsay from people who may or may not remember the full story. Well-researched and well-spoken content detailing the history of the activity is unbelievably important, and high-quality content is important as well. You're doing good work, your last two videos have been phenomenal, I do genuinely hope you keep it up. These are EXACTLY the types of videos I like. If you make a Patreon, I'll be your first supporter if you keep these videos up
Subbed. Solid recap of the history. That baby powder penalty was annoying af. I firmly believe we would’ve gotten 7th that year if we didn’t get docked at prelims and made to perform before Madison at Semis. The smoke effect was so cool, the show just wasn’t the same without it.
I marched that year too, and I actually ended up getting cancer from being right next to the baby powder and inhaling it. This video is a huge coincidence because just today, as we speak, I have finally been awarded damages in the suit I brought against the corps for subjecting me to johnson's cancerous baby powder into my lungs and being exposed to it so many times. The downside is that I'm going to die soon but the upside is that I probably wouldn't have won the suit if I wasn't dying, so at least my family gets to use these funds to secure their future.
It's one of the hardest shows in DCI history. Not only did they have an extremely challenging drill, but they did it while playing. There is a drill move in which 3 spokes rotate and morph around each other in the show that still amazes me, but they never managed to get it clean. Corps today play it too safe. The top corps attract the most talented performers, but they don't really challenge them. Boston 2014 is up there with Crown 2012 when it comes to the most challenging shows ever attempted. Some people didn't like the fact that Boston was making a statement with this show, but it needed to be said.
Imagine being an Italian guy on his first ever experience in the US marching with Boston in 2014… I’ve never really understood all the story of this show that I marched, thanks for this video! I enjoyed every moment I spent in in America! Thanks BAC!❤ Proud of being the first (and unfortunately the only) Italian guy marching with you ❤
My dad was actually the drill writer for this show. I still use the kind of making a group more equal than others when he writes a drill and I have what I think is a good idea lol
This show was honestly a pain to research for. Most of the articles pertaining to the G7 were wiped from the internet, as for the events of the season talked to a boston alum. Obviously I won't do things perfectly as I wasn't there but I do the best I can. Thanks for the comment!
@@CJsMusicTrumpet it’s all good. I thought the video was well done and was entertaining. I know members tend to put their own theories on stuff. I know we used to do it when I was in high school marching band. But it is still an interesting narrative all the same.
I was rewatching my 2014 Blu Ray (miss those… Flo Marching streams are garbo) and LOVED this show. I had no idea of the controversy that it was covering. I love it even more now. Thanks for delivering such thoughtful and much needed DCI content!
Chris, my first stop at your videos. I am old drum corps (76-84) and I have not seen a show since the finals in 1985. I watched some of the 2023 finals and I feel like...well, it's not my day in the sun. I was from the east coast back then and remember the Muchachos' issue in 1975 and the Bridgemen a few years later. I marched DCI level with North Star and 27th Lancers. DCI was always playing games (we thought) and there were several tells even back then. I won't put them here but I physically saw 3 of them documented days before the prelims in Canada, Miami and Georgia. It was great when Garfield broke out in 1983 and continued for a 3-peat. They were held together with duct tape and bailing wire as were all of us from the east. I loved my time and would never trade anything from then to have what is there now. I am glad Boston is doing well as I had friends there in my day. Keep it up. I miss the power of G-Bugles and as a contrabass player I really miss the sound of what 6 or 8 could do compared to the 10-16 I see out there today. But I am old now.....Thanks for the forum.
A year late, but this was a GREAT video! I was in high school when this show was out and I was in marching band at the time. I absolutely LOVED their show that year. At that time, it felt so raw and the music score was BEAUTIFUL. I tend to only enjoy openers and closers but when a show gets me with an opener, BALLAD and closer, it's a win in my book. Their drill WAS IMMACULATE. Of the 2014 season, Blue Coats, SCV and Boston got me good.
Bravo! I love seeing the history that doesn't fit the public DCI narrative and I really hope you keep releasing this style of content. I marched Magic of Orlando in 04 and we were the reason that residual residue was added to the rule books in 05 because we used baby powder on the concert basses during our show's fight scene. Wouldn't you figure, GH was the driving force in this ban even though it arguably had such an insignificant effect to the marching surface.
I marched this show. I so appreciate the look back at it and I love that people are still talking about it almost ten years later! It was my rook-out, so I kinda didn't know what I didn't know in many ways. I don't remember the staff asking us if we wanted a hard show or an easy show, but I also had to skip one camp for a school commitment so maybe it happened then. I didn't know at the time this was a hard show - I just figured drum corps was hard. I remember repping The Gauntlet what felt like millions of times. Our visual staff was on edge, like, all summer, and now as a more self-aware adult, I get why. That shit was insane to try to get kids to do. I got lucky though - I had an easy dot in the center of the triangles. Not neatly as hard as others had it. I also don't think I had the best grasp on what the show was actually about, especially early on. I remember DCP blowing up after the premiere in Akron about the G7 set. The voiceover is one of the tuba players that year, recorded sometime before finals week although I don't remember where or exactly when. It wasn't in the show until late season. The communist/DCI flags were only in for the Finals night. In hindsight, after I've taught band and drum corps for most of the time since 2014, I think the design staff made some poor choices. The show was hard, but like, unnecessarily hard. Almost nothing was gridded, so we spent time cleaning stuff that should have just been easy intervals. I can't tell you how much time we spent "building the windmill" in the ballad, which from box height was barely noticeable. Would have fit in much better at a WGI show than Lucas Oil. Staging and listening responsibilities were not easy for many portions of the show. I can't help but wonder if the *effect* could have been achieved while making the show more achievable. I consider my time at BAC to be a defining experience in my life. Wish I had been able to march many more years. A former student of mine marched White Whale this year, and it just felt like it all came full circle. So cool to see them have much competitive success.
awesome overview! I remember following the G7 stuff after working w/The Cadets in 2010 and was grinning ear-to-ear every time I got a chance to see Boston's show that year ... what a bold move on their part and it's def worked for them going forward! Also, if I remember correctly a HUGE portion of The Cadets staff, Gino in particular, actually moved to BAC after 2014's season (or maybe later, can't really remember)
I did open class drum corps. My bf was only ever with crown. He actively supports ending all corps but the top 10-ish. It’s kinda sad how much those guys don’t even think about the lower lever corps
Dude, seriously awesome job with this content! So much of drum corps history and history in the marching activity as a whole, has never really been preserved to be retold like this. So many stories behind past seasons have been lost to time or only been told by word of mouth. I love this! There’s so much to cover! I know there’s a lot of ground to cover with just drum corps alone, but WGI history videos like this would be just as great. Just to keep a pin in it for now 😉 keep up the great work!
As a current crusader, I never got to learn the exact details of this show and this makes it so much more awesome!!! Thank you for sharing this! Great video!!
This is why I absolutely loved this show. I had read 'Animal Farm' the year before, and because of this, I was able completely understood the show on the first read. That was a first for me. However, once I got filled in by other nearby audience members of what was going on BTS in DCI, it became real clear that BAC was using this show to speak their minds about what was going on in the circuit at the time. It's in my personal top 5 shows for a reason.
i already loved this show and boston but this made me love them 10x more. i had no idea that this was the true theme of the show but it enhances it so much. so proud of them for their success this past decade!
This was a really amazing story. I had no idea. I have to say, as I listened to the video I started out on the side of the G7 because . . . I go to the local DCI show to see the big corps. The minor corps are . . . warm-up acts. At the same time, I wouldn't pay $60+ for a ticket to see 2 corps. I happily pay it to see all the warm-up acts, THEN the major corps. So the video pulled me to the side of the smaller corps. They are a significant part of my enjoyment in the audience. While that enjoyment may not be equal in magnitude, it is a necessary ingredient. Would you eat a cinnamon roll without cinnamon? One wonders if SCV would have marched 2023 if the G7 had their way.
2024 - 2nd place! Thanks for making this. Super interesting. GH always seemed like a Wormtongue. I only spend a little time around him as a photographer at some DCI events, and I always had to get my degunk my spirit afterwards. I'd love to know how many of the last 20 years of shenanigans he pushed for. No G horns, trombones, lights, amplifiers, violins etc, no hats, dancing hornlines, 289382 people on the field, etc. Not that I hate all of them, but for a while every year there were some "big new allowances". They always felt GHy.
Dude this is fantastic. This is the type of thing RUclips needed! Not to mention your writings incredible. I was there for semi finals that year and I just said, "I liked the show, it was dark." now an entire 9 years later, still gives me chills to this day. Great job on the vid man!
I have no clue where in the architecture you've come from, but I've been waiting a long time for something like this. I know this channel is seriously going to blow up. Wishing only the best for you man, keep putting out excellent content like this :)
BAC alum here, thank you for this video. I unfortunately only got to march in 15 and 16, but all of my friends who convinced me to audition marched this show and I loved it. We always took the idea of pushing the envelope even when it was just our own skill levels, though 16 is a bit of a different story. But I always appreciate some history!!
As a person hoping to march in the coming years, I really enjoy seeing this kind of content and learning this history of this activity. Thank you for putting this stuff out there ❤
just found this channel a day or two ago, but I absolutely love the content you've been putting out! This is EXACTLY the kind of stuff I was looking for when I was first getting into the activity through youtube during/post pandemic... I'm so happy that you're providing this now for an entire new wave of marchers. Please keep up content like this, I am very excited and eager to watch your next video when it comes out!! :)
I just came across your video, this is an education for many Drum Corp fans, myself included. A huge THANK YOU! wouldn't a great follow up program be "Where is he now?" GH saga
very well made video, would love to see more content and history trivia like this. or just any drum corps content, lol. totally agree with you on the lack of quality of drum corps content on youtube as of now. you're helping change that, keep it up man
@@EuphoniumPlayer97 If you check the "about" section of my channel you can see my email. It might take me a couple days to respond but I'll for sure send you that multicam when I get the chance.
Animal Farm literally took the balls to the wall. Bravo BAC for standing your ground and taking on the G7!!! Thank you for this video and hope to see many more like it. !! Go BAC !!!
I still have my ticket for the 2014 live airing semi-finals from a movie theater. I was a sophomore in HS and when I saw them, I absolutely fell in love with them specifically. At the time, I had no idea any of that had been going on. My love for them has never faded, even 10 years later.
I got the opportunity to march at Knights during that year, and the year after. I loved watching Boston’s show and respected the message, also being in a corps outside of the G7. Personally, I was really bothered that we placed ahead of Phantom at Prelims and Semis in 2014, only to place 8th behind them on Finals night….. really felt like that G7 thing was still present, but I guess they had a better finals night performance. It definitely felt great to break through that division and place 6th the next year though. It was the beginning of a new era, and even THAT has long passed by now. Thanks for sharing this important part of Drum Corps history!
Thanks for sharing this. I appreciate the real history and information. Glad I found your video and have subscribed to your channel. Keep up the great work!
Great job. Yours is the first Drum Corp channel I have ever subscribed to. I hope you spend a lot of time breaking down and explaining the shows. I wish you well.
Absolutely agree with the last statement. I’m trying to get into DCI but can’t really find much about the culture, history, and inside jokes of it all. Thanks for this piece of history!
this is awesome! would love to see a video on the history of individual impact in the activity like the people that the DCI caption awards were named after. like for instance, I had no idea that there was a WGI color guard show (I think it was performed by Fantasia) themed after George Zingali’s life. really cool show and really cool story.
Bro you can see that BD's player or alumni is not only talented in marching but they have a really good knowledge about the activity. First funliner production and now Cj's music, keep it up bro!! Love this channel
Oooh, DCI lore! It WOULD be interesting to see videos talk about the past. Given how niche DCI is... it's hard to preserve stories like these. I'll definitely stick around for more!
LOVE the direction of your channel / content and cannot wait to see more! Thank YOU for stepping up and creating the content that all of us Drum Corps fans have been eagerly waiting for.
Let's also not skip over the irony of GH's legal issues and the subsequent collection of high level staff going from Cadets to BAC once GH was ousted. That's a huge epilogue to this tale. It's also worth noting that GH's rule changes for 30 years got us to the instrumentation changes that now in the 10s and 20s seem normal, but are so jarring to this day for many. Also, one other wild note. If I recall my history right, it was Boston that used the first synth in 1985. ruclips.net/video/pHc7IdXUGP8/видео.html
I agree with most of what you said, especially the GH part, except the instrument changes was inevitable and pushed by many up and down the ranks. If it's jarring it's because you've put your fingers in your ears for decades.
@@Surelockohms I think you'll find that there is a subset of fans that believe that drum corps as an art should be limited to the sounds that are created on the day. Acoustic sound and reinforcing that acoustic sound as necessary -- not adding effects and allowing generated sounds or pre-recorded things. Foley was part of the art, and I'm not opposed to amplification. I just think it should be the kids making the music.
@@drumcatnau the kids are making the music, just better more modern music than ever. Just because they use mics and effects doesn't make it worse, it actually makes it MORE difficult on timing, set up, and planning. Unless I missed something kids still have to play each note...
@@Surelockohms It's not the mics. Like I said, the kids should CREATE the sound. Playing a synthesiser is not unmusical. Drum corps is based on its instrumentation, and that it had always been sounds created by kids. It's not the same when you have a mic'd echo signal effect, or a pre-recorded speech. I'm not bothered by a mic amplifying an instrument, like a keyboard or a harmonica. That's still a kid playing a real analog instrument. That's drum corps to me; musicianship by the participants in a direct performance.
While I'd be ok with a sampled piano as an exception (logistics), that should be about it. No generated sine waves. No bitcrushing. No DSPs. No recording studio sessions. If the kid didn't do it on the spot, it doesn't belong on the field, IMO. Kids are far too talented to be triggering synthetic sounds.
I really like this video. Very interesting and informative. Also loved Boston's show that year. And some drum corps are more equal than others, even to this day.
It would be great if you could dig into why DCI and the rules have changed so much! Dig into why electronics were added, trombones, et al. And why shows now have to have so many props. This Boston show had no props and was just marching and it was AWESOME!
Great video!!! I remember very well that harebrained scheme cooked up by GH. In fact I could see it coming way back in the early 2000's when Drum Corps Midwest was basically destroyed by DCI because of the GH mindset.
Been a diehard fan (couldn't march, woodwind) saw E=mc^2 in 2013 and have been hooked ever since. Boston has always been solid. The show in reference also had the best use of their corp's leitmotif during the march with the giant wood stamp (I don't know the proper name) I've always thought the field was TILTed to favor certain orgs, but this is sad...good on Boston for calling it out.
Wow! I am proud of you. Thank you for your diligence and hard work. I have a suggestion for you. Budgets? Are corps being pushed out as the activity has become do expensive for many...
My understanding of the G7 was that it was completely financially motivated. Each show on tour is "hosted" by a certain corps and it is the host corps financial and logistical responsibility to find/fund housing sites for every corps performing at that show. So there was this divide between corps who had a good financial situation who were always hosting the less well off corps. This was draining the top corps pockets so they decided to make the Tour Of Champions where the housing was equally distributed between all the G7 corps.
Where is Part 2 of this video, I want to know how this ended??? Did the G7 dissolve? Are the Boston Crusaders now part of the G7 and want the same? Was there some sort of compromise? I marched in the early 80’s and haven’t follow drum corps very closely since. I find these stories of what has happened since I left fascinating, thank you for putting them together. I have a box of old programs and memorabilia from the late 70’s and early 80’s if it would be any help in your future videos.
G7 Basically doesn’t exist or at least not like it did. Corps do work with and communicate with each other but at this point all corps are fighting for their own survival. As for Hopkins he’s been ousted for “allegedly”(don’t sue me) for doing some unsavory things to female members and has not been involved in the activity as anything other than a viewer.
Also, I have a video idea that's perfect for this series. It's one that I was making myself but lost motivation due to life circumstances and never finished. It's about the 1984 Whitewater Wipeout. The Cadets had an infamous pileup at the end of their 1984 performance in Whitewater Wisconsin. It's a deep story, and a case of DCI lost media. As there's only 3 photos of the pileup, but no video has ever been found. There's also a judges tape who was on the field when it happend. I have those photos and that tape as well as an interview with a man who was there that night. That man is also very active on dci youtube videos. And he's very friendly and loved talking with me about the event. I can provide you with his contact information and all of that stuff and we can talk further if you're interested. If so, I'd love to talk to you about the tone and direction I wanted to go with my video, and see what you think about it. Anyways, I hope this finds you well!
@@theunknowndrummer1209 it's a surprising story all around. I loved learning about it myself. I think if presented in the right way, it would make for a great video.
I was there marching with 27th. We heard the crowd but we were outside. I had some friends from North Star days marching Garfield that year but there was not much talk except that it happened. Schedules and bus loading, changing and such and you just never take much time.
I was a lead sop in Garfield (The Cadets, for you kiddies) during the pileup in 84. Whatever you hear from someone who was not on the field that night is hearsay, speculative, and/or opinion - basically useless.
Yo this is wild that one of the shows I watched, and the season that made me leave drum corps, is being shared with current drum corps fans. This season was an absolute rollercoaster to march. It felt very demoralizing during the season that the members had no control over our success, and instead were largely used as a political tool. We had absolutely brutal drill, incredibly demanding rehearsal days, and way too many injuries throughout that season. I can only hope that members nowadays are treated with more respect, since it was such a formative part of my life and I grew so much throughout the experience. B.A.C 13’, 14’
yep. They are another one that has flourished while some of the traditional "big boys" (Phantom, Madison, Cavies to a lesser degree) have seen placement drops. Even Cadets were in 8th for a time this season....
and in the end wasn’t that the point? they KNEW that if they were to secure easy and consistent funding that there would be no issue continuing to place high. An effort to make an competitive less competitive.
I was only vaguely familiarized with this show, as I've only started following drum corps for a few years and (ironically) mostly watched the top corps. That being said, now that I know the design and history of the show, I fucking love it. The fact that the show is about a somewhat controversial story about soviet corruption, and using that to as groundwork to compare it to how power hungry some people on the board can be is outright genius. The way they hid so many references and jabs at authority is so hilariously smug. Not to mention their utilization of Shostakovich no. 11 goes perfectly, since Shostakovich is known for his sarcastic hidden messages criticizing authority, and his 11th symphony is still related to animal farm for being about bloody Sunday and USSR's rise in authoritarianism. Controversial shows are my favorite shows, because I believe drum corps is an art form, and as an art form is able to convey ideas.
The irony of BAC doing animal farm in 2014 as a “fuck you” to GH and the G7, just for the brass caption head of GH corps to end up at BAC in 2017 (due to GH being a pos) and bringing BAC from 12th to 6th in just ONE season, continuing to rank higher each year after, and essentially becoming a G7 corps that GH didn’t consider them as….. insane!
This video was so well put together.
I LOVE the use of the 2017 closer to showcase our rise to the top, from barely being out of finals in 2016. Everything that was stated was correct. We picked a harder version at spring training when they sat the corps down. The vote was almost unanimous in the room and the energy we all had when we looked at each other knowing this show would be discussed and spread like wildfire in the community was unforgettable. I laughed so hard so many times throughout this video like when you said the show was hard because I was a rookie mellophone on the ends of all the forms, (The Two Triangle rotations that we the members aptly named The Gauntlet) had to be adjusted for me and the other points because I couldn’t achieve a 3 to 5 backwards during 4 count phrases so we changed them to five and added more stabs.
I marched Boston Crusaders
BAC Mellophone my rookie year in 2014 with Birdlad.
I aged out with the Boston Crusaders in 2017.
honestly so glad that i have an alumni of this show confirming things. There’s been a few comments that worried me thinking i might’ve gotten things wrong. THANK YOU for confirming this stuff.
My boi George
@@CJsMusicTrumpetNo problem man! we know how this community is in terms of information, so there will no doubt be a lot of people putting in their own two cents. but the only way to get this information aside from all the extensive research you do on your videos, is definitely going to be first-hand experience from people and MEMBERS who were there.
From someone who is still very in touch with the activity 9 years after my rookie year, you’re doing an incredible job on these videos.
Keep it up. You have my sub!
@@K0S0sKyle! hope you’re doing well brother! 🙏
OH in 2017 when the drum and brass staff from the cadets for the past 10 years was hired by boston. what a coincidence that that was the year. they clearly didn't just through money at the problem and it worked.... interesting.
Imagine they played a G7 chord in their closer
missed opportunity
missed opportunity
Referring to him as "G.H." is on brand for 2023 historians.
Does G H stand for “Getting handsy?”
gross@@jhilbertdrums
I don’t know what either one is
George Hopkins, former director of The Cadets. No?
@@OndrausCissellcorrect
Those 2014 BAC uniforms were beautiful. Modern but still paying tribute to their traditional style.
I'm loving this channel so much. I think it's incredibly important to have videos like this to preserve the lore and stories of drum corps. Sure, it's all out there, but largely in the form of forum posts and hearsay from people who may or may not remember the full story. Well-researched and well-spoken content detailing the history of the activity is unbelievably important, and high-quality content is important as well. You're doing good work, your last two videos have been phenomenal, I do genuinely hope you keep it up. These are EXACTLY the types of videos I like.
If you make a Patreon, I'll be your first supporter if you keep these videos up
Subbed. Solid recap of the history.
That baby powder penalty was annoying af. I firmly believe we would’ve gotten 7th that year if we didn’t get docked at prelims and made to perform before Madison at Semis. The smoke effect was so cool, the show just wasn’t the same without it.
I marched that year too, and I actually ended up getting cancer from being right next to the baby powder and inhaling it. This video is a huge coincidence because just today, as we speak, I have finally been awarded damages in the suit I brought against the corps for subjecting me to johnson's cancerous baby powder into my lungs and being exposed to it so many times. The downside is that I'm going to die soon but the upside is that I probably wouldn't have won the suit if I wasn't dying, so at least my family gets to use these funds to secure their future.
What is a baby powder penalty?
@@suzyinstitches273 5:16
#powdertothepeople
we need more informative dci videos like this!!!
More to come!
It's one of the hardest shows in DCI history. Not only did they have an extremely challenging drill, but they did it while playing. There is a drill move in which 3 spokes rotate and morph around each other in the show that still amazes me, but they never managed to get it clean. Corps today play it too safe. The top corps attract the most talented performers, but they don't really challenge them. Boston 2014 is up there with Crown 2012 when it comes to the most challenging shows ever attempted. Some people didn't like the fact that Boston was making a statement with this show, but it needed to be said.
Do you know where in the show it is? Like which movement?
Imagine being an Italian guy on his first ever experience in the US marching with Boston in 2014…
I’ve never really understood all the story of this show that I marched, thanks for this video!
I enjoyed every moment I spent in in America!
Thanks BAC!❤
Proud of being the first (and unfortunately the only) Italian guy marching with you ❤
ciao Lorenzo! Great times, so glad you marched that summer
STEPHEN! WHERE IS THE WIFI???
@@StrikingSixthWho are you? 😂
@@Folclorenz Kyle!
Wait...there were TWO Italians that year? I knew about the euph in Bloo...did you both come from the same program in Italy?
My dad was actually the drill writer for this show. I still use the kind of making a group more equal than others when he writes a drill and I have what I think is a good idea lol
Just showed him the video. He said wasn’t sure on how true this all was lol
This show was honestly a pain to research for. Most of the articles pertaining to the G7 were wiped from the internet, as for the events of the season talked to a boston alum. Obviously I won't do things perfectly as I wasn't there but I do the best I can. Thanks for the comment!
the wild thing is that all the other directors blindly went along with GH like meek little puppets...@@CJsMusicTrumpet
@@CJsMusicTrumpet it’s all good. I thought the video was well done and was entertaining. I know members tend to put their own theories on stuff. I know we used to do it when I was in high school marching band. But it is still an interesting narrative all the same.
I was rewatching my 2014 Blu Ray (miss those… Flo Marching streams are garbo) and LOVED this show. I had no idea of the controversy that it was covering. I love it even more now. Thanks for delivering such thoughtful and much needed DCI content!
I remember seeing the G7 set for the first time. It took my breath away with its boldness, and I've loved Boston even more ever since.
Chris, my first stop at your videos. I am old drum corps (76-84) and I have not seen a show since the finals in 1985. I watched some of the 2023 finals and I feel like...well, it's not my day in the sun. I was from the east coast back then and remember the Muchachos' issue in 1975 and the Bridgemen a few years later. I marched DCI level with North Star and 27th Lancers. DCI was always playing games (we thought) and there were several tells even back then. I won't put them here but I physically saw 3 of them documented days before the prelims in Canada, Miami and Georgia. It was great when Garfield broke out in 1983 and continued for a 3-peat. They were held together with duct tape and bailing wire as were all of us from the east. I loved my time and would never trade anything from then to have what is there now. I am glad Boston is doing well as I had friends there in my day. Keep it up. I miss the power of G-Bugles and as a contrabass player I really miss the sound of what 6 or 8 could do compared to the 10-16 I see out there today. But I am old now.....Thanks for the forum.
This is all very cool DCI History you are posting keep it up!
Thanks, will do!
A year late, but this was a GREAT video! I was in high school when this show was out and I was in marching band at the time. I absolutely LOVED their show that year. At that time, it felt so raw and the music score was BEAUTIFUL. I tend to only enjoy openers and closers but when a show gets me with an opener, BALLAD and closer, it's a win in my book. Their drill WAS IMMACULATE. Of the 2014 season, Blue Coats, SCV and Boston got me good.
That as a drum Corp, is so badass. To state your claim in your show. That's class
We need more dci history videos. No one would never know this until stumbling upon it.,
Bravo! I love seeing the history that doesn't fit the public DCI narrative and I really hope you keep releasing this style of content.
I marched Magic of Orlando in 04 and we were the reason that residual residue was added to the rule books in 05 because we used baby powder on the concert basses during our show's fight scene. Wouldn't you figure, GH was the driving force in this ban even though it arguably had such an insignificant effect to the marching surface.
I marched this show. I so appreciate the look back at it and I love that people are still talking about it almost ten years later!
It was my rook-out, so I kinda didn't know what I didn't know in many ways. I don't remember the staff asking us if we wanted a hard show or an easy show, but I also had to skip one camp for a school commitment so maybe it happened then.
I didn't know at the time this was a hard show - I just figured drum corps was hard. I remember repping The Gauntlet what felt like millions of times. Our visual staff was on edge, like, all summer, and now as a more self-aware adult, I get why. That shit was insane to try to get kids to do. I got lucky though - I had an easy dot in the center of the triangles. Not neatly as hard as others had it.
I also don't think I had the best grasp on what the show was actually about, especially early on. I remember DCP blowing up after the premiere in Akron about the G7 set. The voiceover is one of the tuba players that year, recorded sometime before finals week although I don't remember where or exactly when. It wasn't in the show until late season. The communist/DCI flags were only in for the Finals night.
In hindsight, after I've taught band and drum corps for most of the time since 2014, I think the design staff made some poor choices. The show was hard, but like, unnecessarily hard. Almost nothing was gridded, so we spent time cleaning stuff that should have just been easy intervals. I can't tell you how much time we spent "building the windmill" in the ballad, which from box height was barely noticeable. Would have fit in much better at a WGI show than Lucas Oil. Staging and listening responsibilities were not easy for many portions of the show. I can't help but wonder if the *effect* could have been achieved while making the show more achievable.
I consider my time at BAC to be a defining experience in my life. Wish I had been able to march many more years. A former student of mine marched White Whale this year, and it just felt like it all came full circle. So cool to see them have much competitive success.
awesome overview! I remember following the G7 stuff after working w/The Cadets in 2010 and was grinning ear-to-ear every time I got a chance to see Boston's show that year ... what a bold move on their part and it's def worked for them going forward! Also, if I remember correctly a HUGE portion of The Cadets staff, Gino in particular, actually moved to BAC after 2014's season (or maybe later, can't really remember)
I think 2016 might have been Gino's last year.
I did open class drum corps. My bf was only ever with crown. He actively supports ending all corps but the top 10-ish. It’s kinda sad how much those guys don’t even think about the lower lever corps
red flag
Dude, seriously awesome job with this content! So much of drum corps history and history in the marching activity as a whole, has never really been preserved to be retold like this. So many stories behind past seasons have been lost to time or only been told by word of mouth. I love this! There’s so much to cover! I know there’s a lot of ground to cover with just drum corps alone, but WGI history videos like this would be just as great. Just to keep a pin in it for now 😉 keep up the great work!
As a current crusader, I never got to learn the exact details of this show and this makes it so much more awesome!!! Thank you for sharing this! Great video!!
Me waking up from a coma after not paying attention to DCI since like... 2010ish: "What the hell happened here?"
This is why I absolutely loved this show. I had read 'Animal Farm' the year before, and because of this, I was able completely understood the show on the first read. That was a first for me. However, once I got filled in by other nearby audience members of what was going on BTS in DCI, it became real clear that BAC was using this show to speak their minds about what was going on in the circuit at the time. It's in my personal top 5 shows for a reason.
I felt the anger in this show! And I knew it was about the corruption! That makes me so happy to confirm it
your channel is gonna grow a WHOLE LOT by the end of the year! Amazing job on these videos!
i already loved this show and boston but this made me love them 10x more. i had no idea that this was the true theme of the show but it enhances it so much. so proud of them for their success this past decade!
The way we’re reading animal farm in my AP English class and I went WAIT WAIT WAIT THIS IS A DCI REFERENCE
This was a really amazing story. I had no idea. I have to say, as I listened to the video I started out on the side of the G7 because . . . I go to the local DCI show to see the big corps. The minor corps are . . . warm-up acts. At the same time, I wouldn't pay $60+ for a ticket to see 2 corps. I happily pay it to see all the warm-up acts, THEN the major corps. So the video pulled me to the side of the smaller corps. They are a significant part of my enjoyment in the audience. While that enjoyment may not be equal in magnitude, it is a necessary ingredient. Would you eat a cinnamon roll without cinnamon?
One wonders if SCV would have marched 2023 if the G7 had their way.
We dont Gava
your channel is the DCI content I've longed for!
Props to Boston. I already loved them but seeing the Easter eggs and being told of the G7 history from you has made me love them more. Thank you
Michael Lentz was the artistic director for this program and he was a freakin genius. I wish he was back in DCI designing programs.
2024 - 2nd place! Thanks for making this. Super interesting. GH always seemed like a Wormtongue. I only spend a little time around him as a photographer at some DCI events, and I always had to get my degunk my spirit afterwards. I'd love to know how many of the last 20 years of shenanigans he pushed for. No G horns, trombones, lights, amplifiers, violins etc, no hats, dancing hornlines, 289382 people on the field, etc. Not that I hate all of them, but for a while every year there were some "big new allowances". They always felt GHy.
Dude this is fantastic. This is the type of thing RUclips needed! Not to mention your writings incredible. I was there for semi finals that year and I just said, "I liked the show, it was dark." now an entire 9 years later, still gives me chills to this day. Great job on the vid man!
I had noticed the G7 set and understood the baby powder reference, but I never knew this show had so much depth to it. Great video
I have no clue where in the architecture you've come from, but I've been waiting a long time for something like this. I know this channel is seriously going to blow up. Wishing only the best for you man, keep putting out excellent content like this :)
BAC alum here, thank you for this video. I unfortunately only got to march in 15 and 16, but all of my friends who convinced me to audition marched this show and I loved it. We always took the idea of pushing the envelope even when it was just our own skill levels, though 16 is a bit of a different story. But I always appreciate some history!!
As a person hoping to march in the coming years, I really enjoy seeing this kind of content and learning this history of this activity. Thank you for putting this stuff out there ❤
just found this channel a day or two ago, but I absolutely love the content you've been putting out! This is EXACTLY the kind of stuff I was looking for when I was first getting into the activity through youtube during/post pandemic... I'm so happy that you're providing this now for an entire new wave of marchers. Please keep up content like this, I am very excited and eager to watch your next video when it comes out!! :)
I just came across your video, this is an education for many Drum Corp fans, myself included. A huge THANK YOU! wouldn't a great follow up program be "Where is he now?" GH saga
Boston was always innovative and rebellious and they are the Bad Ass Crusaders.
This was already one of my favorite shows... this may just have made it MOST favorite show ever lol
very well made video, would love to see more content and history trivia like this. or just any drum corps content, lol. totally agree with you on the lack of quality of drum corps content on youtube as of now. you're helping change that, keep it up man
This show was my first world class drum corp show I saw in person and it has a special place in my mind.
Awesome vid, had no idea how pushy the G7 actually was (also, props to not getting blocked worldwide for using the finals video of Wicked Games lmao)
When you marched that show and still don't have a full video of just the finals multicam. Copyright law is a huge issue for DCI.
@@EuphoniumPlayer97 shoot me an email! I'll get you hooked up.
@CJsMusicTrumpet That's a real nice offer, thank you! Where could I send it off to?
@@EuphoniumPlayer97 If you check the "about" section of my channel you can see my email. It might take me a couple days to respond but I'll for sure send you that multicam when I get the chance.
First time you were suggested in my feed!! Super fun history lesson! I was new to DCI when I saw this in 2014 and had no idea! Thank you!
And I loved every second of being in the color guard for this show 😌
Well done! This story needed to be told. I’m a huge Bluecoats fan but love Boston too. Please keep these videos coming. Truth matters.
Animal Farm literally took the balls to the wall. Bravo BAC for standing your ground and taking on the G7!!! Thank you for this video and hope to see many more like it. !! Go BAC !!!
Corps members: "Wait... you guys are getting paid?"
I still have my ticket for the 2014 live airing semi-finals from a movie theater. I was a sophomore in HS and when I saw them, I absolutely fell in love with them specifically. At the time, I had no idea any of that had been going on. My love for them has never faded, even 10 years later.
I got the opportunity to march at Knights during that year, and the year after. I loved watching Boston’s show and respected the message, also being in a corps outside of the G7. Personally, I was really bothered that we placed ahead of Phantom at Prelims and Semis in 2014, only to place 8th behind them on Finals night….. really felt like that G7 thing was still present, but I guess they had a better finals night performance. It definitely felt great to break through that division and place 6th the next year though. It was the beginning of a new era, and even THAT has long passed by now.
Thanks for sharing this important part of Drum Corps history!
This video is so sick! I love this channel!
Thank you for educating me! Please keep it coming!
Thanks for sharing this. I appreciate the real history and information. Glad I found your video and have subscribed to your channel. Keep up the great work!
Great job. Yours is the first Drum Corp channel I have ever subscribed to. I hope you spend a lot of time breaking down and explaining the shows. I wish you well.
Absolutely agree with the last statement. I’m trying to get into DCI but can’t really find much about the culture, history, and inside jokes of it all. Thanks for this piece of history!
this is awesome! would love to see a video on the history of individual impact in the activity like the people that the DCI caption awards were named after. like for instance, I had no idea that there was a WGI color guard show (I think it was performed by Fantasia) themed after George Zingali’s life. really cool show and really cool story.
Please keep making video essays about the activity, its really cool to see
Please make a full documentary I would watch and donate to see that!
Bro you can see that BD's player or alumni is not only talented in marching but they have a really good knowledge about the activity. First funliner production and now Cj's music, keep it up bro!! Love this channel
It's hard to be a part of the activity in any top 12 corps without being immersed in the history and current state of drum corps
This type of video can easily differentiate you from the other drum corps content creators. Great job!
Oooh, DCI lore! It WOULD be interesting to see videos talk about the past. Given how niche DCI is... it's hard to preserve stories like these. I'll definitely stick around for more!
Great video. There's a lot of behind-the-scenes history in DCI that can be translated into video essay format.
Banger video can't wait to see more!!
He’s so far out of relevance that I had to think about who GH was. What a great vid, subbed!
it’s a friday night and i’m crying over this. i wouldn’t have it any other way
Knowing this now, it's incredible to see Boston's past few seasons as they rise to the top.
LOVE the direction of your channel / content and cannot wait to see more! Thank YOU for stepping up and creating the content that all of us Drum Corps fans have been eagerly waiting for.
I’m loving these DCI History vids
Let's also not skip over the irony of GH's legal issues and the subsequent collection of high level staff going from Cadets to BAC once GH was ousted. That's a huge epilogue to this tale.
It's also worth noting that GH's rule changes for 30 years got us to the instrumentation changes that now in the 10s and 20s seem normal, but are so jarring to this day for many.
Also, one other wild note. If I recall my history right, it was Boston that used the first synth in 1985. ruclips.net/video/pHc7IdXUGP8/видео.html
I agree with most of what you said, especially the GH part, except the instrument changes was inevitable and pushed by many up and down the ranks. If it's jarring it's because you've put your fingers in your ears for decades.
@@Surelockohms I think you'll find that there is a subset of fans that believe that drum corps as an art should be limited to the sounds that are created on the day. Acoustic sound and reinforcing that acoustic sound as necessary -- not adding effects and allowing generated sounds or pre-recorded things. Foley was part of the art, and I'm not opposed to amplification. I just think it should be the kids making the music.
@@drumcatnau the kids are making the music, just better more modern music than ever. Just because they use mics and effects doesn't make it worse, it actually makes it MORE difficult on timing, set up, and planning. Unless I missed something kids still have to play each note...
@@Surelockohms It's not the mics. Like I said, the kids should CREATE the sound. Playing a synthesiser is not unmusical. Drum corps is based on its instrumentation, and that it had always been sounds created by kids. It's not the same when you have a mic'd echo signal effect, or a pre-recorded speech. I'm not bothered by a mic amplifying an instrument, like a keyboard or a harmonica. That's still a kid playing a real analog instrument. That's drum corps to me; musicianship by the participants in a direct performance.
While I'd be ok with a sampled piano as an exception (logistics), that should be about it. No generated sine waves. No bitcrushing. No DSPs. No recording studio sessions. If the kid didn't do it on the spot, it doesn't belong on the field, IMO. Kids are far too talented to be triggering synthetic sounds.
I really like this video. Very interesting and informative. Also loved Boston's show that year. And some drum corps are more equal than others, even to this day.
Animal farm has always been a favorite show of mine, glad to see this getting respect
It would be great if you could dig into why DCI and the rules have changed so much! Dig into why electronics were added, trombones, et al. And why shows now have to have so many props. This Boston show had no props and was just marching and it was AWESOME!
this is a great video. i just found another reason to love boston even more than i do.
Outstanding work. I didn't know this.
I was today years old when I realized that was the meaning of that show. More than ever, for even just this, they ARE the BAC!
Great video!!! I remember very well that harebrained scheme cooked up by GH. In fact I could see it coming way back in the early 2000's when Drum Corps Midwest was basically destroyed by DCI because of the GH mindset.
This is great! This is like a Secret Base video.
Word! Great stuff and very needed!
Been a diehard fan (couldn't march, woodwind) saw E=mc^2 in 2013 and have been hooked ever since. Boston has always been solid. The show in reference also had the best use of their corp's leitmotif during the march with the giant wood stamp (I don't know the proper name) I've always thought the field was TILTed to favor certain orgs, but this is sad...good on Boston for calling it out.
I’ve been waiting for this one 😮💨
Wow! I am proud of you. Thank you for your diligence and hard work. I have a suggestion for you. Budgets? Are corps being pushed out as the activity has become do expensive for many...
This was really great!
My understanding of the G7 was that it was completely financially motivated. Each show on tour is "hosted" by a certain corps and it is the host corps financial and logistical responsibility to find/fund housing sites for every corps performing at that show. So there was this divide between corps who had a good financial situation who were always hosting the less well off corps. This was draining the top corps pockets so they decided to make the Tour Of Champions where the housing was equally distributed between all the G7 corps.
Where is Part 2 of this video, I want to know how this ended??? Did the G7 dissolve? Are the Boston Crusaders now part of the G7 and want the same? Was there some sort of compromise?
I marched in the early 80’s and haven’t follow drum corps very closely since. I find these stories of what has happened since I left fascinating, thank you for putting them together. I have a box of old programs and memorabilia from the late 70’s and early 80’s if it would be any help in your future videos.
G7 Basically doesn’t exist or at least not like it did. Corps do work with and communicate with each other but at this point all corps are fighting for their own survival. As for Hopkins he’s been ousted for “allegedly”(don’t sue me) for doing some unsavory things to female members and has not been involved in the activity as anything other than a viewer.
Thanks for making this video
Great stuff! Thanks for your efforts
It was a GREAT show! VERY memorable!
Also, I have a video idea that's perfect for this series. It's one that I was making myself but lost motivation due to life circumstances and never finished. It's about the 1984 Whitewater Wipeout. The Cadets had an infamous pileup at the end of their 1984 performance in Whitewater Wisconsin. It's a deep story, and a case of DCI lost media. As there's only 3 photos of the pileup, but no video has ever been found. There's also a judges tape who was on the field when it happend. I have those photos and that tape as well as an interview with a man who was there that night.
That man is also very active on dci youtube videos. And he's very friendly and loved talking with me about the event. I can provide you with his contact information and all of that stuff and we can talk further if you're interested.
If so, I'd love to talk to you about the tone and direction I wanted to go with my video, and see what you think about it.
Anyways, I hope this finds you well!
Liking this because I know practically nothing about the 84 pileup, I’ve heard it happened but that’s about it
@@theunknowndrummer1209 it's a surprising story all around. I loved learning about it myself. I think if presented in the right way, it would make for a great video.
No video on said pileup is insane
I was there marching with 27th. We heard the crowd but we were outside. I had some friends from North Star days marching Garfield that year but there was not much talk except that it happened. Schedules and bus loading, changing and such and you just never take much time.
I was a lead sop in Garfield (The Cadets, for you kiddies) during the pileup in 84. Whatever you hear from someone who was not on the field that night is hearsay, speculative, and/or opinion - basically useless.
Yo this is wild that one of the shows I watched, and the season that made me leave drum corps, is being shared with current drum corps fans.
This season was an absolute rollercoaster to march. It felt very demoralizing during the season that the members had no control over our success, and instead were largely used as a political tool. We had absolutely brutal drill, incredibly demanding rehearsal days, and way too many injuries throughout that season.
I can only hope that members nowadays are treated with more respect, since it was such a formative part of my life and I grew so much throughout the experience.
B.A.C 13’, 14’
As someone who started watching DCI in 2014 i thought that that was how difficult DCI drill always was. Nope, that show was really special
I love Drum corps, I subbed
can we talk about how back then they classed mandarins as single A and they placed 6th this year
yep. They are another one that has flourished while some of the traditional "big boys" (Phantom, Madison, Cavies to a lesser degree) have seen placement drops. Even Cadets were in 8th for a time this season....
and in the end wasn’t that the point? they KNEW that if they were to secure easy and consistent funding that there would be no issue continuing to place high. An effort to make an competitive less competitive.
I was only vaguely familiarized with this show, as I've only started following drum corps for a few years and (ironically) mostly watched the top corps.
That being said, now that I know the design and history of the show, I fucking love it. The fact that the show is about a somewhat controversial story about soviet corruption, and using that to as groundwork to compare it to how power hungry some people on the board can be is outright genius. The way they hid so many references and jabs at authority is so hilariously smug. Not to mention their utilization of Shostakovich no. 11 goes perfectly, since Shostakovich is known for his sarcastic hidden messages criticizing authority, and his 11th symphony is still related to animal farm for being about bloody Sunday and USSR's rise in authoritarianism.
Controversial shows are my favorite shows, because I believe drum corps is an art form, and as an art form is able to convey ideas.
Outstanding videos.
The irony of BAC doing animal farm in 2014 as a “fuck you” to GH and the G7, just for the brass caption head of GH corps to end up at BAC in 2017 (due to GH being a pos) and bringing BAC from 12th to 6th in just ONE season, continuing to rank higher each year after, and essentially becoming a G7 corps that GH didn’t consider them as….. insane!
Great Vid love this stuff
Glad you enjoyed!