Sir Terrence the Terrible
12-02-2004, 10:08 AM
Geez, talk about worlds converging!
My ex-girlfriend's roommate in the early-90s was a member of the now defunct Velvet Knights, so we got out to see some of the drumcorps competitions. That group was very talented, but also quite crazy with some of their antics both on the field and behind the scenes.
Now this is insane!! Along with the Bridgemen of the late 70's the Velvet Knights are my one of my favorite corps. The corps I currently march in now is VERY much like them, but more so like the Bridgemen. I wish you could have seen the Velvet Knights in the late 70's and early 80's, one of the most beloved corps on the field. When we were on tour and they were in the same show, I would try and sneak away and watch them practice. They always seem to be having a great time, more fun than we were having for sure.
Agreed that the Blue Devils had some of the most scary great drumlines I've ever seen. I think at that time the Santa Clara Vanguard was the dominant group, and the Blue Devils were usually right on their heels. But, the Velvet Knights were typically the crowd favorites, even if the judges were put off by some of their unorthodox theatrics.
The Blue Devils are known mostly for that sweet sounding, so powerful horn line,. and their colorguard. Santa Clara has always stayed extremely close to the Blue Devils, never finishng more than one or two places behind or above. The crowds have always loved the Velvet Knights because their shows(as opposed to other corps)are designed for the people, and not the judges. That is why they have never done better than 10-12th place every year, if they made finals at all.
One year, the entire corps was dressed in red jumpsuits with backward baseball caps and the drums painted in fluorescent colors. The drum major dressed like an airport runway controller and used those lighted batons to conduct. I think someone else dressed as a shark and "ate" one of the horn players at the end of a song, and some of their theatrics made fun of the other groups. But, the part of their show that stood out was when they did an "opera" complete with supertitles. One of those titles said "It's Not Over" and then out rolls a singing "fat lady" and all mayhem breaks loose to the finale. It was hilarious and always got a standing ovation.
I think that this was their 93 or 94 show. They didn't make finals, but their show was the most entertaining out of everyone.
On PBS last year, I saw the drumcorps finals and it just seems like the level of competition has gotten to an almost insane plateau. The winning group (was it the Cadets?) did some marches that I did not think were humanly possible. They were that good, and the Vanguard and Blue Devils also upped the ante considerably from what I remember of them 10 years ago. Maybe it's just me, but is it getting to a point where the competition has gotten so overwhelming that it now detracts from the fun of just playing in those groups? The thing that I remembered about the Velvet Knights was that they were having a lot of fun (sometimes at their rivals' expense), and they knew that the judges did not like them, so they just played the crowd. At least on TV, it seemed like the kids looked a lot tighter and wound up than I remember.
Last year it was my former corps that won(Go Green machine!!!). While the level of show design has greatly improved since I marched, overall I don't care for most of the shows I see now. DCI is a very different world, lost is the individual character of each corps. Almost all shows are played to the judges, and not to the fans. The competition to get into a top 12 corps is fierce, and touring costs almost $2,000 per indvidual. To make the colorguard you not only have to spin and toss your flag/rifle well, but you have to have quite a few dance classes also. So drum corps is now for VERY talented, upper middle class kids. Gone are the days you could pull a troubled kid off the street, stick a horn in his hand, teach him to play and march, help him get the money for tour(which was about $160 back then) and watch his or her life change for ever. It's kinda a shame.
The corps I belong to now, the San Francisco Renegades have a simular history to the Velvet Knights. Our shows are designed and played for the fans only. We are not well liked by the judging community(we don't follow tradition), our shows have comedy, themes, and last year we did one of the most controversial shows in DCA history. Can you imagine the stares we got when we went onto the field at DCM championships in Chicago with a guard dressed in S & M and bondage clothing???<img src="http://drumcorpsplanet.org/forums//style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif">
At championship this year we got 6 standing ovations, and the last one lasted a full 5 minutes after we left the field. When the announcer read off our score and placement, the fans boo'd, threw toilet paper, cups, ice, old pampers, programs you name it. It took about 15 minutes to restore order in the place, and clean the field. I just purchased the DVD's from all the years I marched about 2 months ago. Been watching them weekly every since!