The Quintessential Eight

Now that fall is over, we can start planning our summer. That's right, the 2010 tour schedule is out! Something to be thankful for!

Since it is Thanksgiving, in addition to food, family, a job, a home, I am thankful for this country, for its music, and marching music in particular - America's unique contribution to music, right up there with jazz. (Well, and a host of composers, too.)

Now that we can start making some summer plans, how do you introduce the wonderful world of marching music to a "newbie"? I like to take them to a drum corps show. And with the schedule now out, you can plan your trips this summer, too!

But what if you can't drag them to a show? What if you had 2 hours to show them what marching music is, and has become since they probably last tuned in. (You know, it's like trying to describe the marvels of HDTV to somehow who last watched on a 13" black and white.)

Accepting the premise (and I don't do that) that drum corps is the way to go, since there are literally thousands of high school marching band shows to choose from a year, and video is relatively accessible, what do you choose?

Here are my Quintessential Eight ... the two hours of drum corps I would use, for better or worse. And I tried to choose a corps only once, knowing that there are probably better shows they have done since the show I selected. That's the beauty of opinion.

So, in date order ...

8. 1983 Cadets - because from then on, the genre changed.

7. 1988 Madison Scouts - from start to finish, the power of the music and the drill, sans props and storylines. It is the building block for not forgetting that "the basics" matter and can carry the day if done right. And, from what I read, it seems that the Scouts are going back to basics now nearly 20 years later.

6. 1992 Velvet Knights - because performance should be fun! (Okay, okay, substitute the 1980 Bridgemen, if you must.)

5. 1993 Star of Indiana - because the genre changed again.

4. 1999 Santa Clara Vanguard - The copycat 90's ended with this championship performance. The musical variety: Philip Glass's minimalist "The Canyon"? Samuel Barber's "2nd" and "1st"? Frank Ticheli's jazzy "Blue Shades"? Oh yeaahhh. This show was just sheer performance - guard, brass AND percussion. The kalidoscopic drill AND body movement. "Vanguard!" Truthfully, SCV isn't my "favorite" corps, but I probably have collectively more favorite performances from them than about any other.

3. 2002 Cavaliers - 99.15. How much closer to perfection can you get?

2. 2007 (or 2009) Carolina Crown - Fans loved these shows. From a storyline perspective, the 2007 storyline was more captivating from the outset. (Typical response from viewers: "That was just 6th place?!") So, select what you will.

1. 2008 Phantom Regiment - Because a champion can come from behind to capture the points as well as the crowd, and because from the moment they stepped out of the tunnel, the performance was on and complete.

What?! I left off the Blue Devils*? Yup. And others. So, your turn.

* (Top 10? Okay - add 2000 Boston Crusaders and Blue Devils ... 1983 ... or 1992 ... or 1994 ... or the risky 1998. Or, what if we have to cut the list to the Top 4 from the 2000s because "I'm only giving you an hour" - oh, never mind.)