From: ck10322@china.medtronic.com (Cameron Kaszas)
Subject: Madison 93 show
Organization: Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 15:46:18 GMT

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I believe that the Louie Bellson album containing "Numero Uno"
is titled "Explosion".  The title song was used by the Crossmen
in '81.  During this piece, the sopranos had a front and center 
feature that was quite memorable (to me anyway).  It was a 16th
note lick, several bars long, but what was neat was that each
person fingered the guy's horn next to him!  Has any other corps
tried this?  It always got a great response!

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MH > Yes, there is something to be said for history and the repetition and slight
MH > variation on it.....the trouble is that it's damn near the ONLY thing that
MH > Madison is capable of these days.  Just look at the past few years:
MH >  
MH >       1986 - Gershwin music from the 1970s regurgutated
MH >       1987 - (I forgot this one...sorry)
MH >       1988 - Maleguena regurgitated for the umpteenth time
MH >       1989 - Slaughter on 10th Avenue regurgitated for the umpteenth+1 time
MH >       1990 - an original show that I actually liked (but noone else did)
MH >       1991 - City of Angels...an excellent production
MH >       1992 - City of Angels...an excellent production (yawn)
MH >       1993 - excerpts from the 1981, 1983 and 1990 shows
MH >  
MH > C'mon!!!!!!!!!!  How can you defend this lack of musical creativity?
MH > Would you defend the corps if they did the same drill moves year after year?
MH > Used the same guard uniforms and equipment?  Etc, etc, etc....
MH >  
MH > Mike Hughes

I'll defend it!

Gershwin music was Rhapsody In Blue.  Now this is quite a long piece in
its original.  In 1986 they took TOTALLY different segments (OK a couple
of "remembrance" chords were thrown in occassionally).  However,  other
than the title, this was a new peice for them.  Same with Slaughter.  
Again, they kept the company front push at the end, but this piece
had a totally different,  much lighter feel.  Now, Malaguena had a 
lot more repetition to the '80-81 versions (although these were both 
severe departures from the '78 version). 

Furthermore, productions done in the '80/90s look totally different than 
anything fielded in the '70s.  The integration between the drill and music
just wasn't there back then like it is today.  Not only does this mandate
an entirely new visual production, but new arrangements that are more
easily enterpreted in the new "style" of drum corps (the guard has to be
able to dance to it, act to it, etc.)
 
I would submit that Madison changes "style" from year to year more than
most corps, even though they may bring back "melodies" more often.
Boy, those Blue Devils have sure been innovators haven't they?!
Same style year after year.  I love it, don't get me wrong, but it seems
to me that their staff has a formula that works and they are comfortable
with, and even though they do different songs, they can sound remarkably 
similar year after year after year after year after .....
I don't want to start a flame war here, just trying to make the  point that
taking a title from the past can be less repetitive than staying within
one idiom.  (Again, I don't mind either approach - there is certainly
enough variety and creativity within drum corps as a whole, so that at any
given show, we can all be happy :)

Now having played a "blast from the past" as well as having a song that
I was a part of played to me years later, I'll say that I LOVE IT.  A special
part of drum corps is memories.  I am very sentimental about the period 
a few years before (I went to shows but was too young to march) and during
the time that I marched.  My most memorable moment in corps was in 1979, when
we brought back the ending to "The Way We Were/Ballet In Brass" (from the 
'75-'76 shows) to end our show with, and the first show that we brought 
it out, how the fans went wild, and I marched past my brother (my biological 
brother :) who like me had loved this song as fans a few years before, 
and here we were part of it!!

Anyone have a Kleenex? :^)
 
Cam Kaszas
 


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