October 21, 2025 • 49 mins
Harold Barber- Archive Historian/Carter Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps Brooklyn New York. Edward Dalton - Alumni VIP Drum & Bugle Corps Washington D.C. Richard Dawson - Atty at Law/Alumni Wynn Center Toppers Brooklyn N.Y./Board Member Metropolis Drum & Bugle Corps Brooklyn N.Y.
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Movie Reviews and More is broadcast live Tuesdays at 5PM PT on K4HD Radio - Hollywood Talk Radio (www.k4hd.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Movie Reviews and More TV Show is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).
Movie Reviews and More Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Media (www.talk4media.com), Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
This program is designed to provide general information with regards
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are engaged in rendering any specific and personal medical, financial, legal, counseling,
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Speaker 2 (00:22):
You should seek the services.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Of competent professionals before applying or trying any suggested ideas.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Hey, there's Brian Sebastian movie reviews and more.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
And I'm smiling because if you knew what I did today,
you would be smiling too. And it was one of
those things where it's one hundred and seventy four live
shows in a row. We do what we can to
make it work, to keep our live streak going. Not Carol,
only Carol knows what I'm talking about, but you know,
these guys will know what I'm talking about, because when
you're watching the world a drum and Bigle Corps, any
(01:30):
obstacle that's down in a way, we know that we
have to get through it. We got to get it done.
Doesn't matter if it's on the field, doesn't matter if
it's after life. All of this stuff, we do it.
And I'm reminded by that I'm like, oh, I can
do this stuff. I'm marching a drum corp.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
This is easy.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
That's the hardest thing I've ever done. Literally, so obviously
streaming and live on over one hundred outlets right now
around the world. That's see K four HD radio talk
for media, talk for talk for podcasting. I'm remembering all
these things streaming live on IT two four seven out
of Franklin, Tennessee and around the world.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
TV huh Easy Way TV.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Oh yeah, not too And I forgot so I'm going
to let Carol introduce us out because all the other
co hosts I got rid of tonight. So since Carol
is on part one, he had to come back for
part two. Carol, tell him who you are and what's
going on.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Hi, It's so great to be here. It is Giving
Back Tuesday, by the way, and I highly recommend you
support the arts through dream Weaver Arts support preventing blindness
for children with better vision for children, and tonight we're
going to lean into supporting bugle and drum Corps, which
(02:44):
super exciting. Right. I'm so glad to be back with
you guys. I'm Carol Register, I support women and moving
from six to seven figures. I also work with those
who have wealth and are miserable because it doesn't have
to be that way. We can have our cake and
eat it too. And I'm super glad to be here
with you guys.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Hey, So, Harold Barber, let's start with you telling them
who you marsh, what you're doing, and that what kind
of percussion.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
As you were?
Speaker 6 (03:12):
Okay?
Speaker 7 (03:13):
Well, I started out with a couple of parade corps,
the Beulau Gospel Tabernacle, Jonen Bell Corps, and then my
junior high school teacher, mister Johnson, he started parade called
card Icatic Cadets where I played snare there and then
I was able to get into the Karda Cadets in
their final season in nineteen sixty nine, and then from
(03:37):
there I went over to Saint Peter's Brassman until they
disbanded in nineteen seventy four, and I stayed at a
drum corps for about a good five years, and then
I went to the Dream Contest in nineteen eighty and
Skylands were performing. I said to myself, you know, I
think I would like to try to do that again.
(03:58):
At that juncture, my skis were very raggedy, they say
the least. So when I saw them practicing on Randall's
down and I said to myself, I don't think, okay,
I want to do this, but uh, come instructor West myriers.
He said, you know you got a foundation, you know,
go home, work on your basics, and uh we see
(04:19):
what happens. And I did. I burned every night. It's
practicing to get my chops back up. Because by that
time they were like a championship drum line.
Speaker 6 (04:29):
They had just won the trophies, so they were walking
around they rehearsal with.
Speaker 7 (04:32):
Their chest out like, you know, looking at me like
you said, you're going to crack this line, which I
did with perseverance and a lot of hard work. So
I stayed with them for a long time. How many years,
Oh my god, I would say about a good fifteen.
I believe I just couldn't get it out my system
because my junior core years were cut shorts.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
I made it up in the senior courts and for
the audience. I may not know when you're marching. You know,
back in the day, you could start at age six.
You could be the cute little kid watching down the street.
If you remember parades, Carol.
Speaker 8 (05:07):
Yeah, the little kids.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
In there in a parade and oh aren't they looking cute?
And then I was in there for years. So that's
how we all started. Hey, Richard Dawson, come on to
this conversation. Let's talk about how you started.
Speaker 9 (05:18):
I started with Wind Center, which is a Bepistuveson based
drummer buber Corps junior corps from nineteen sixty six to
nineteen seventy two, when I aged out because I just
turned twenty one. And from there I went and joined
New York Skyliners and I marched with them in seventy two, which.
Speaker 8 (05:41):
I might add, in my humble opinion.
Speaker 9 (05:43):
Was probably one of the greatest senior drummer bub corps
I've ever seen, and I was in nineteen seventy three.
But to be honest with you, I did not get
drum Corps out of my system after the seventy two season.
I got the cheating out of my system and I
(06:03):
had had enough. Yeah, but now I'm working with New
York Metropolis and we're trying to bring a junior drummer
buport back to the city of New York.
Speaker 5 (06:14):
You were so young. Talk about the cheating at that age.
What was that like?
Speaker 9 (06:18):
Uh yeah, Well, to give you example, and Harold could
back me up on this, I think the senior season.
We probably had about sixteen contests that year and the
Skyliners won everyone convincingly except for the preliminaries and the
championship and the championship, and there was no way that
(06:40):
we lost it. So it was the bottom line that
pissed me off.
Speaker 7 (06:45):
Yes, they had given them some obscure penalty.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Yes, final.
Speaker 7 (06:52):
They didn't have a piloty all season long, and here
you get finals and some judge decided, oh, I think
it was overtime.
Speaker 9 (07:00):
They said it was no actually undertime, undertime, and this
is a this is a drill that we had perfected
the used off season, never over and never under right.
Speaker 8 (07:12):
On the point, we were winning.
Speaker 9 (07:15):
Contests by points, Harold mentioned the Dream Contest. The Dream Contest,
I was in a drum line. The drum line was exceptional.
That was it was so clean. When we were warming
up that day for the contest. West was our instructors,
same as with Harold. When we were warming up, we
(07:37):
played about two minutes and West said, uh, go sit
down because of the line.
Speaker 8 (07:43):
Was that clean? So what was really unbelievable.
Speaker 9 (07:46):
Actually, there was talk of having a contest between skyliners
and a top and the top Junior course.
Speaker 8 (07:55):
That's how good the see and call was.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
For this is Carol about judges.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Everybody can always complain about judging, especially in gymnastics. If
you go a back ye going each and everything like that,
there's always a problem. We've always got a problem with
the judges, excepting that, well, the drum corps. The judge
got in your way. We were actually going for them
to hit them, but we were like, if they were
in our way, we were supposed to just go straight
(08:21):
through them, so you know, and then they turn aro
out and say, you know, I was I was in
the way. Un must they were a bad judge, and
to go, you know what, I'm going to take you
from the rest of the thing. Talk about the ticking
system and what it was like for us kids to
be in that age. Because I didn't march in the
senior corps, but I loved the senior course. Senior corps
were always twenty one or twenty two and above right
(08:42):
up until your eighties. You can march still to this day.
Speaker 5 (08:44):
Wow, that's amazing. I didn't even realize that. So I'm
so glad you're bringing that out, Brian, Like I think
the fact that you can still keep going. You mentioned
gymnastics such a short life there, and there definitely was
politics that came in and influenced scores. I saw it
happen in playing Daylight, right, if only we weren't human.
(09:09):
That definitely brings an element. We see that in every sport,
whether it's umpiring or whatever it may be refereeing. So yeah,
I would love to hear about that the senior course
and what that what that's like? I can have you
participated in that?
Speaker 9 (09:25):
You mean the scoring techniques or the actual issues with can.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
You can you play or is it only judging after
a certain point?
Speaker 8 (09:38):
No? No, you in a senior core you could play.
Do you drop?
Speaker 5 (09:44):
That's what I wanted to know.
Speaker 9 (09:45):
Yeah, yeah, there's no up or age you can you
can anticipate and play the limitation on ages in the
junior course and it's completely changed now. And Harold could
bring you up to date on that, because I know
he's really you know, he's got his finger on the
pulse with that.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
Remember I remember Harold that you are the historian, like
you are the record keeper. So yeah, i'd love to
hear you know, are you still involved in that? Are
you doing that now keeping your pulse, your finger on
the pulse?
Speaker 7 (10:19):
Uh, not so much of with what's going on today,
basically just getting out information about cores who never got
their due back in the day, especially the African American
joined you.
Speaker 5 (10:34):
That's right. And it's interesting though, you know, to look
from a historical perspective. And I remember we talked about
this in part one, that you can still be involved
in the sport. I think it's so powerful to be
able to stay involved and see the evolution of the sport.
Speaker 7 (10:56):
Well, the thing for me is that once there was
no what I call a hometown team to cheer for. Uh,
that's when I really started to loose interest because I
started like, why am I cheering for these these groups
who are not from my my region?
Speaker 6 (11:17):
You know, and they're not from New York.
Speaker 7 (11:20):
Matter of fact, there's no more Jersey, Connecticut or even Boston,
uh Massachusetts Corps that I that I could get behind.
Speaker 6 (11:29):
That the that region is basically gone.
Speaker 8 (11:33):
You know, the whole concept of I have.
Speaker 7 (11:36):
My my Giants, my Knicks, Jets, Rangers, drum Corps, I
don't have anything.
Speaker 9 (11:43):
Yeah, the whole concept has changed because you have a
lot of international involvement, you have national involvement.
Speaker 10 (11:53):
Uh.
Speaker 9 (11:53):
These kids are paying a lot of money to marching corps.
Speaker 5 (11:58):
Uh.
Speaker 8 (11:58):
When Harold and I marched in junior.
Speaker 9 (12:00):
Corps, you didn't pay you you you know. And and
it has a different meaning for us, especially coming from
our base in an African American Junior drumm and viewer court,
because it not only taught us about playing and camaraderie
and the meaning of friendship, it really gave us the
(12:23):
basics for life and how to cope with different things
that you were facing on.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Brian talks about that all the time, and in fact,
he applies a lot of the Bugle and Drum Corps
principles that he learned to two little youngsters. He's involved
in their lives and man he visits as a godfather
and uncle if you will, and keeps set some straight
(12:51):
the rooms.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
We all remember when we were kids and they had
to get us in line and they would say wait
till you go on tour or you know, you know
when you going to the winter rehearsals, you know, standing
and staying in attention because a lot of these kids
have ADHD and ady D, and I'm like, did we.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Have kids that had that? I don't think so.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
There's no way they would have made it if they
did those things, because you had you know, you were
taken off the streets and you put in you were
taught how to do things.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
But you know, I was asking people about it.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
I don't know.
Speaker 7 (13:21):
Probably my my drunk court teachings into my teaching career.
They would sitting over the bad kids to to my
my classroom sometimes for me to get them in line
because I ran a very tight ship, uh with my student.
Not to say that, you know, they didn't have funny
(13:42):
or anything, but those principles of that things have to
be uh correct. And there was no excuses uh for
for anything, you know, but your dog ate your homework,
you know, behind and the desk.
Speaker 6 (13:56):
I didn't want to hear it.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
Now we didn't you have practice and talking about excuses,
I think Edward Dawton's trying to get out, almost trying
to get on.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
And we sent them the link again.
Speaker 11 (14:07):
Yeah, hi Elmo, I see you in the back, but
I need a camera or and audio. I do Elmum's backstair,
but ID mic, probably at least both, but at least
the microphone. If anything, I can't authorize the mic.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Come on, Elmo, you're in radio. Get this going on?
You watch.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Hey?
Speaker 5 (14:28):
It It opened up the way for us to hear
from our amazing sound engineer, Rebel. Behind the scenes. We
don't get to see her, but she pops in and
makes everything work right, and.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
That was good, absolutely, you know.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
And so for the honest that doesn't know, you know,
we're talking about the early ages of marching in a
drump corp, but also you know, talking in that, you know,
a black drumming before which I did not march in.
We just happened to be. But for for us, you know,
and mostly course you were a minority. If you had
someone of color in there, you didn't see that in
a lot of.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Them, you know.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
I'm thinking of you know, our friend, our friend who
passed away, who Marsian Santa Clara, you know, in that
great drum line that they had in seventy three, seventy four.
I've got his verice name, Tom Brown, Tom Brown, you know,
doing all that stuff, you know, marching in Blessed Saclement,
which was from Blessed Sack, you know, the New Jersey
(15:25):
and so.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Howard you and how old you were?
Speaker 4 (15:27):
Right when it comes to about that, there was so
many courts in Connecticut. There were so many courts in
New Jersey. There must have been fifty sixty when you
think about it. Because every weekend we were going to
a different someone else's show area. Yeah, and that's how
we said, and that's how I started traveling.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
I was never home.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
We'd go to you know, Mystic, we'd go to Stanford,
we'd go to maybe in New York and.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Drive back that same night.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
And I just remember this because sometimes when I'm talking
to Carol, she will have memories of mine come up
that come up like I never thought about that. Thank you,
Carol for reminding me of these things. Pack a bad
lunch because a lot of kids did not have money
and you didn't think about it at the point, or
if you were lucky. We did thirty eight stops in
one year in McDonald's, which we know we set the
(16:15):
record till this day. And we know that because I
kept out after a while. I'm like, we're going to
another McDonald's, and we want to McDonald's out. We were like,
we were happy to go to McDonald's, you know, instead
of eating our bag lunch.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
But it was one of those things where you learned
a lot.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
By just being young kids being on the road that
they didn't teach you in elementary or high school till
this day they don't true And.
Speaker 8 (16:40):
Like how it carries over, it carries through to your careers.
Speaker 9 (16:44):
I mean I for years I was a trial attorney
and I've used the same skills that I learned in
drum Orps. What I'm trying the case because you have
to be focused, you have to be disciplined, you have
to know how to present. So it carries through a
really bottom line it served us.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
Well, that's amazing Richard, with the way you've seen things
evolve with it being such a pricey support enterprise right now,
do you feel like it's more important for teams and
clubs to come together in unity to help prevent rising
(17:24):
costs or do you feel like it's more powerful to
stay separate to helping those causes. I don't even know
are those causes going on to help lower the price
for kids and to get more kids involved.
Speaker 9 (17:40):
Well, I think the current design of drum Corps, the
expenses there because it's extremely expensive it's almost like a
Broadway presentation. When Harold and I were out in the field,
it was completely different. And I don't think it's current
configuration allows for the grooming that we got, you know,
(18:04):
like Brian and Howell and myself and Elmo if he
gets his camera working, and I don't think it lends
to that.
Speaker 8 (18:14):
So I think it's more.
Speaker 9 (18:15):
Important to sort of take a backstep. Drum Corps as
it is right now is going to be what it is.
I think grass roots people who appreciate no drum Corps,
we need to start local things. You know, Harold was saying,
I think Brian you had said that there were cores
all over the place, different states. Just in Bedford Stuyvesant,
(18:39):
there was wind Center, there was Carter Cadets.
Speaker 8 (18:42):
Two of the compete. Well, no, I got to keep.
Speaker 9 (18:44):
Going Riversiders, right, those were competitive cause. But in addition
to the competitive cause, there were cares that were just
parade cards and that involved all of the kids throughout
the area, throughout the sky and going into Bronx and Manhattan,
and that has been lost and the things.
Speaker 8 (19:06):
That we were taught that helped us.
Speaker 9 (19:09):
You're not going to get in the big cause now
because these kids can't afford that. Number One, they can't
afford to fly to California to go to practice, and
that's what some of these kids are doing, or to
the different states that have courts. So I think in
order to to really get the meaning and the value
that drum Cord had previously brought, we have to back
(19:32):
up and we have to go local.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
And oh, Carol, I think the complaison if you were
to put it into colleges or you know, go to gymnastics,
when you want to go and work with that that
that best coach to train you, you know, you might
be I'm thinking.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Of wrestling Dan Gable. It was a wioler.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
I guess he was in So if you wanted to
go to that school, he's the best college coach for wrestling,
you want to go there for you know.
Speaker 5 (20:00):
Same in gymnastics or any sport really, right, you want
to go to the top. So yeah, so that makes sense.
And I'm kind of thinking back to our first episode.
Did we talk about scholarships that might be available, because
I remember there are some organizations that were out there,
(20:22):
but it's it's a little bit of a teaser in
my mind. If you guys know of that.
Speaker 8 (20:27):
I'm sure, I'm sure that there are scholarships available, but
I'll call it quote unquote sport, right, the.
Speaker 9 (20:38):
Athletes, right, yeah, so the sport or the activity activity
of drum corps. Each core is limited in size, so
you may have a lot of kids that may want
to participate, but they may not be able to get in.
They may not have the background to get in. They
may not read music. You know, when Harold and I started,
(20:59):
I didn't read it, right.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
I didn't read music either. I still didn't read music.
I couldn predemd that I could read music. All The
course played what I knew. I mean, I knew them all.
There wasn't anything that I could not play off the
top because you got good at improvising, right, like this
improvising right.
Speaker 8 (21:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (21:19):
But the change now is you will know what these
courses are playing now because they're basically now correct me
if I'm wrong, But they're all original arrangements, so it's
completely different. These kids are probably all reading. They also
are coming from schools, you know, from junior high schools
(21:43):
or high or high schools where they have those programs
in them. There are a lot of schools that don't
have music programs, you know, so they added added disadvantage.
Speaker 8 (21:54):
So that's why my opinion the grassroots.
Speaker 9 (21:58):
You know what, I don't necessarily agree read what the
drum cord is today, but I do agree with what
it could provide if we could get back to grassroom.
Speaker 7 (22:08):
Carol, there was a very good DCI episode, I mean
not episode telecast. I believe it might have been seventy
four or seventy five on PBS. And when I saw
the first time, I say, no, this is a great
time to market drum Corps to regular kids.
Speaker 6 (22:28):
But they didn't. And there was a golden opportunity.
Speaker 7 (22:32):
So boys and girls, you know, run a little I think,
you know, if you want to want to do a
Google core is where the gold da da DA.
Speaker 6 (22:39):
And they never took that step, and they had a
opportunity to do it, and they didn't do it.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Where would you send kids now that you know parents
are listening to this, where would you send them in
New York?
Speaker 9 (22:51):
Send them to New York Metropolis, Go online to New
York Metropolis dot org.
Speaker 4 (22:56):
Okay, and kids, kids know now because they have the internet,
but you know, we didn't have internet. Obviously, we saw
things in person and go, oh, I love this corps.
Speaker 8 (23:05):
I want to march with it.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Till this day. There's not a day that doesn't go
by where I thank the universe. I thank god that
I didn't go live in Massachusetts in March with twenty
seventh Planters and well, I didn't go to Madison, Wisconsin
and the snow that end up with the Scouts because
I didn't want to go to Wisconsin winters back then.
Now it's nothing because I would have stayed there, and
I know that I would have stayed there, Thank goodness.
(23:28):
I love Santa Clair Vanguard and said I'm going to
California to be close to them, and that's how why
I went there. But it was also the number two
market in Los Angeles to be down in southern California
for that.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
Oh great.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
We got a week from Edward on First Man, Where
are you then? What's going on?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Hello? Everybody? Life was going on?
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Technology?
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yeah that dude, Brian.
Speaker 10 (24:02):
I hope you got the pictures and everything that.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
I sent you.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Yeah, we got some photos.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Okay, good good, good good good.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
We were just waiting for people.
Speaker 11 (24:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
I think there's a I think there's a problem.
Speaker 10 (24:16):
I found this, uh, this link here, you know, but uh,
how I had I emailed you, I picked you, I
did it all.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Uh Elmo? Have you heard from Elmo?
Speaker 3 (24:31):
He's trying to get still.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Yeah, see he's having the same problem I was having.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
But you know what, these photos are great.
Speaker 4 (24:37):
So that photo right there that reminds you on the
New London service, those were our colors.
Speaker 8 (24:42):
So when you saw.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Is that who was that tarter?
Speaker 6 (24:48):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (24:50):
Okay, good so terrob American flag was always prominent. Everybody
almost everybody went to.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
What did they call it?
Speaker 4 (25:01):
We have to make sure our shoes were shined and everything, inspections,
all of those like that.
Speaker 5 (25:07):
There's quite a few young ladies that are featured in
these pictures.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Yeah. Have you talked about the color guard yet? Now? Now,
oh man, that's a very rich subject.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Yeah, legs. Look at those leglists right there.
Speaker 4 (25:22):
Yes, deal to me, those are that's great. And you know,
even back then and even today, it is about the
athleticism of that. You could put us about against any athlete.
We will beat any athlete just by endurance, just by
hard work. Because they may only train two or three hours.
We were out there for eight, twelve, sometimes fourteen hours.
Speaker 5 (25:44):
That's amazing and people don't even realize. You know that
musicians and dancers, for example, are absolutely athletes. They're strong,
they're trained, they're disciplined. I love what you said earlier,
Harold about expectations being that tough in the classroom, because
(26:04):
we rise to the level of the expectations around us.
And I know that's what you guys experienced with inspections,
with the discipline, the habits that were built, the travel,
all this experience was setting an expectation of excellence that
you guys got to experience.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Yeah, well let me mention that.
Speaker 10 (26:27):
You know it's and her and I know you've probably
touched this already, but you know this was, uh, it
all started from the military.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
Yes, it was, you know VFW.
Speaker 10 (26:40):
Engine all those guys coming back right coming back in
the wall, noticed all these gangs and said, hey, let's
let's uh, let's put uniforms on them.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
And uh take the.
Speaker 10 (26:54):
Rocks and the bottles out of their hands and put
horns and drums in them. And that that's what all
of this enaghbor hood stuff started from. Now with with
with that in mind, there was a thick play of
the military in this. You had a start pile from
the gun. You had a middle with a concert and
(27:15):
a present a flag present wow.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Always and always that was always that's.
Speaker 10 (27:23):
Part you couldn't you couldn't be a drum called back
then if you didn't do that part right there, the
presentation of color edward.
Speaker 5 (27:33):
Was there an underlying expectation that that was there an
underlying training going on to enter the military where kids
funneled that way through.
Speaker 10 (27:46):
Well you got to remember now I see you shaking
your head over there.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
You got to remember, now, this is Vietnam War.
Speaker 10 (27:55):
Most of us were high school watching the newspaper and
for our.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Birthday, and it just happened. You know. The year I
graduated was in nineteen sixty nine.
Speaker 10 (28:10):
It was the year that uh, you know, my my
mother was he was living about this whole thing, you know,
so finding other ways of of channeling our energies, you know,
from high school on.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Uh, it was a difficult thing.
Speaker 10 (28:31):
I mean, you know, we were we were navigating all
kinds of line uh bomb traps out here. But you know,
uh it the underlying thing here, I guess uh was
that you know, the there was this this offering, this program,
(28:53):
this neighborhood thing that that Uh, those of us who
were tired of looking at the other stuff. Yeah, uh
found this and it literally changed my life.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
You know.
Speaker 10 (29:07):
And I've talked with Carl, I've talked with others, I've talked.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
With Uh, you know, we're all sound alike.
Speaker 10 (29:14):
You know. It was it was it was something that
we found that was different, that appealed to something different
in us.
Speaker 5 (29:25):
Yeah, Brian, you've talked about how you feel like it
saved your life.
Speaker 11 (29:29):
Oh.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
Absolutely, because one of the reasons why I never played
football or you know, team sports, because it couldn't have
gotten better than drum corps.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
You know, drum corps is really eleven months out.
Speaker 8 (29:41):
Of the year.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
You might have three weeks were you off, and then
you go back into you know winter camp that they
call it now, but you know, we would call it
just winter rehearsals. Waiting to go and we'd be excited, Oh,
who are we going to go march up against?
Speaker 3 (29:55):
What states?
Speaker 4 (29:55):
Are we're going to go through? Are we going to
go to a country? You know, things like that, because
and wasn't doing bands back then. Didn't like drumming bugle corpse.
They adamantly they didn't like a lot of the directors.
They hated when of their kids marched and drum corps
because they felt like their.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Members were being taken away, which.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Was not the case.
Speaker 9 (30:14):
Well, the other thing, Brian, is that back in the
day bands could not hold a candle to drumming bugle course.
Speaker 8 (30:22):
Drumming buble course was.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Not in my neighborhood.
Speaker 9 (30:25):
Were very polished, sharp military. You knew what they were playing.
Nowadays you probably looked for a band in a parade
as opposed to a drum court because the drum course
of today they it's a to me, it's a waste.
Speaker 8 (30:42):
They don't really play interesting.
Speaker 7 (30:45):
The thing that caught my attention, they really got me
something was how a drumm bugle corus sounded.
Speaker 6 (30:52):
The sound of those bugles or something I had never
hearst from a marching band was just like, oh my god,
what is that sound?
Speaker 3 (31:03):
I don't know trumpets.
Speaker 4 (31:04):
Trumpets are not louder than the bugles. What people don't
understand g bugles. It's what people you know, were, you know.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Think of.
Speaker 10 (31:19):
They had to be loud because they were signals, you know,
they they were were re three dinner charge, you know what.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Those bugles had to be loud. They were announcements of royalty.
Speaker 10 (31:35):
And I would like to mention this since we I
don't know if we talked about the girls or not,
but let me talk about the girls for a minute.
Speaker 5 (31:46):
I'd love to hear that, especially the.
Speaker 10 (31:48):
Ones uh in the VIPs Fellas. I'm sorry for a minute,
but let me go with the VP.
Speaker 6 (31:54):
That's why I sent in the pictures, don't.
Speaker 10 (32:00):
I know, I got you, Herold, but you know, I
don't want to offend anybody else. But let me let
me tell you this. When we started in the Drum Corps,
when I started with the VIP okay because I had
two years under my belt with the Boys Club. But
I came upon, got my nerves, came up on the hill,
got with the VIPs, loved their program, love what they
(32:23):
were doing, practice my butt off. But what got us
to the level of competition.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
That we were at were the women. Oh my god.
Speaker 10 (32:36):
We they went into John Brosli took them all into
hiding and when we were allowed to see them, we
we we thought it was a circus act, a good
circus act, a magic circus act. Because these these women,
if you can imagine, if you've seen the the Marine
(32:59):
Corps silent drillty. Yeah, that was those women that you've
seen with the Jack dut knees, those words them, they
were they silently did everything. Uh you heard one voice,
one voice, and that was the commander's voice.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
And everything else you heard were thousands of.
Speaker 10 (33:21):
Rifles, sabers and flags and he hitting the floor.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Wow.
Speaker 10 (33:30):
It was the most beautiful thing that I'd ever seen.
That The guys, we we we said to ourselves at
that point, we've got to step it up, guys, look
at this.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
This is amazing what they were doing.
Speaker 10 (33:43):
John Brozali, That's why John Brazali went to the Drum
Call Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
That's why he has a special.
Speaker 10 (33:50):
Award in his name, you know, with d c I,
because he was that marvelous. He spent eight years with
them women that you saw with the Jack up. He's
been eight years with them women and had them within
within within two.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Years, within a year and a half. It was less
than two years.
Speaker 10 (34:11):
They turned nineteen sixty eight into a championship year, followed
by nineteen sixty nine, followed by nineteen seventy Wow, okay,
and nineteen sixty nine. That picture you saw of them
was in nineteen sixty nine. They won twelve out of
fourteen shows, and the two shows they lost were championship.
Speaker 5 (34:38):
It sounds like an amazing synergy, like an amazing you
know that you guys were mutually inspiring one another, you
were mutually wanting to raise each other up in the
level that you were at. And going back to what
you said about the band directors, it seems to me
like there was a little bit of an intelligence leak there,
(35:00):
if you know me saying that, because if I was
a band director, I'd be wanting somebody trained with the
bugle core skills that all drumming.
Speaker 4 (35:12):
And my fan director from eastlam High School when I
went to the All White High School, he was he
was drum corps friendly. He let me come in and
let me just change everything around. I'm thankful to guy.
I'm thankful for Don mc tavis.
Speaker 8 (35:27):
Bryan.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
We're gonna we want, we want to march like a
drum corps.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
And he came.
Speaker 4 (35:31):
You came with no recommendation from Waterford High School. We
didn't know you were coming. And and I just like
showed up and I tilted the drums were tilted. I
straightened them up. I said, we're gonna march like this.
We're gonna march in a straight line. We're gonna play
Santa Clara clocks, We're gonna play some stuff.
Speaker 3 (35:47):
We're gonna do this stuff. We we looked like Garfield
Cadets was our colors, maroon and gold.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
We had all of this stuff and then we brought
we started bringing people former New London Surfers staff to
teach o and then we ended up winning. But the
old band director from one of the high school he
looked at it like a threat. They're coming to take
my kids away, like we were going to go eat
them or something like that. We're never going to see
them during the summer. They're not a band camp because
(36:13):
we were still on tour.
Speaker 10 (36:14):
Brian, I was specifically told by my band teacher, this
is junior high school.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
I was an accomplished, accomplished.
Speaker 10 (36:27):
I was good at at the baritone and the tuba okay,
and in fact made my mom, made my mom a
proud she was first role. You know, when we did
the graduation for that year for our junior high school,
I had finally got played for tuba. And to show
(36:49):
you how this guy was now, he told me I
talked about boys club joining the Boys Club, which was
right down the street from us, making all the noise
that Harold was talking about, all that pretty music and
all that drumming and fancy uniforms. My god had to
be a part of that. With with with all that
fancy stuff going on.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Uh, you know, boy, I lose my train of thought.
So dang easy.
Speaker 10 (37:17):
We it was We're talking about the band instructors and
what they were telling us, and I was told to
stay away from that drum card down the street because
it's it's they They were talking about how even the
kids evil, Yes, how bad the kids were, and you know,
blah blah blah. Once I joined it, it was a
(37:40):
completely different then there. I I I when when I
left junior high school, I graduated that year and went
to uh An.
Speaker 2 (37:49):
I was supposed to go to Anacostia and Southeast.
Speaker 10 (37:51):
Well, uh I walked into Anacostia and I had just
break big cakes with my contrabas, and uh, you know, I'm.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
Excited about joining the band.
Speaker 10 (38:02):
You know, I know how to read music and I'm
sitting down to it and this guy said the band
instructors said to me, what the hell is that? I said,
it's a tubook. He said, get it the hell out
of here. He never went back to band.
Speaker 5 (38:18):
Well, Mario see your comment. You marched with the the
what you say, the wind Center Toppers.
Speaker 8 (38:26):
That's so cool, Mario march with me.
Speaker 5 (38:29):
Oh that's awesome.
Speaker 8 (38:30):
Yeah, but I tell you that.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
Edward, Oh go ahead, what did you get?
Speaker 8 (38:35):
Oh?
Speaker 9 (38:35):
The climate in Brooklyn was a little bit different from
what Edward experienced because I went to Boys High School
in Brooklyn. So I graduated the same year as you,
Bryan sixty nine.
Speaker 8 (38:45):
Or was that Edward?
Speaker 9 (38:46):
Sorry you got heavy graduating in sixty nine. The band
in Boys High School wasn't made up of people from
the drum carse and and a boy who had an
excellent band. So there were people from UH, from Wincentive,
from Carters, from Warriors.
Speaker 8 (39:04):
All in that band. And it was an excellent band.
Speaker 3 (39:08):
Yeah, that made the band better.
Speaker 4 (39:10):
And so for these directors that knew that, those individuals
stood out. Now, remember I didn't know how to read music.
They I came off off the streets. But boy, we
knew what to do when you you put us in
that in that in that if for that band.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
So again I'm always thankful for that. But these band directors.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
This day, you might find one that says, oh, they
can march after they get out of.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
Band, now that the march ahead of time. I heard
this like four years ago.
Speaker 4 (39:35):
It's interesting, but all these these kids now they have
access to the internet that they can see this. Oh
it's gonna cost me this much to goo march with
this corps. I'm gonna go try out. I don't know
what to signing the contracts things, man, I don't know
where that came in. That makes absolutely no sense to me.
What is that a sign of commitment or you're signing
your life away? I don't get it.
Speaker 8 (39:55):
Probably both.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
Yeah, were the blood and your first your first born?
Speaker 8 (40:02):
And then tell anybody, Sorry Richard, Sorry, No, I was
gonna say.
Speaker 9 (40:08):
Everyone was talking about color guards and I would not
be doing a service to win Center if I didn't
talk about the top of arrets. We had an excellent
color guard, h same thing. They competed separately. We can
as a call. We completed competed during the summer. Toparettes
also competed in the winter and the winter guard and
(40:28):
it's the same thing. I'm sure how we would have
the same stories with with carters. A lot of the
guys that joined the Corps joined the Corps because of
the young ladies in the top of arrets or and
warriors and I'm shore in the VIPs.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
Yeah, hey, you saw ladies.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
I actually fell in love with the girl from the
fire Rats.
Speaker 8 (40:53):
I remember them.
Speaker 4 (40:54):
Her name is Mary, who ended up being the first
center I mean, the first uh snare female snare. I'm
in the twenty seventh Lanterns. She's part of the Chicks
with Sticks, those women that marched in the finals nineteen eighty.
But I looked at it look like and I'm like,
that woman just looks pretty, and I fell in.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
Love with her.
Speaker 4 (41:14):
I never found out who this other girl was, but
that made me want to come back. It was the
women that made you want to. Yeah, well, to be honest,
but I bought that was marching up and down when
they marched on Cement Carol, it was like boom boom
in Unison. I'm like, wow, that sounds really cool. And
(41:34):
they were looking straight. You could say something to them,
they wouldn't turn their heads. It was just you were
just disciplined and like want to do that as a
little kid.
Speaker 6 (41:43):
Yes, the top rests always had this swag to them.
Speaker 7 (41:48):
When they marched, you know, there's a little rock that
they had to and when they stopped at all, they
had a nice little move.
Speaker 6 (41:55):
You know when they came to a hall, that's like
get the crowd all hyped up.
Speaker 8 (42:00):
Yeah, well, most of the course when you came to stop,
the call would just stop. Coparets had a move. And
to be honest with you, I don't know how.
Speaker 2 (42:10):
To do it.
Speaker 8 (42:11):
And I've stowed all those years. You know, it's really impressive.
Speaker 5 (42:17):
It's amazing.
Speaker 4 (42:18):
But here's another thing. Also, shooping the stands was very important.
When you come in front of that crowd, the whole
crowd would just go off. They'd get up and just
you know, that's that's that was the relief that you
got of why you did all those summer rehearsals and
practices kind of thing like that, doing that thing, and
everybody loved it.
Speaker 5 (42:39):
Brian, you just see that comment. Somebody popped in here
and said that their mother and their father marched with
the Winds Center. Brooklyn read it looks like b k
l y n reach. My mother and father marched with
wind Center. I was raised on it, went to a
few contests as a child and loved it didn't corps,
(43:00):
but a huge fan. That's kind of cool. You know
you see another generation come along.
Speaker 8 (43:08):
Especially since I probably marched with his mother and father.
Speaker 4 (43:13):
Well, let me ask you, this was it the greatest
time in our lives that we marched, because yes, all right,
you know it's interesting that the taro this is black
men saying this. You don't get a chance to see
this because they know what does shows like this on this? Yeah,
just majority of that were the course were white, Caspa Troopers,
(43:37):
Casmo Wyoming all white.
Speaker 6 (43:39):
Great course.
Speaker 4 (43:40):
You know they played you know, Battle Him in the Republic.
You know, they would have a sunburst that come out
like this. He looked at these things like that Santa
Clair play, you know, the young Man's Guide of Orchestra.
Phantom Regiment was playing all classic music. Boston Crusaders. They
were all white, but they had a secret alignment with
the black you know cmcc war is that there was
not going to be any fighting.
Speaker 3 (44:00):
That we got their asses, kid, But you know that's.
Speaker 4 (44:05):
But you had those things like that where you could
see these other cores and then years later if you
wore those cores jackets or those course jackets that everybody
was proud of you.
Speaker 3 (44:15):
You had fun wearing those because that was like a
sign of honor. It was like a letterman in high school.
Speaker 9 (44:19):
Yeah, but it's also a different I don't know if Edward,
if you experienced the same thing. And when centered when
we came home from a contest, sometimes would be ten
o'clock at night, eleven o'clock at night, were coming in
from different places in the community, Bethist Stebson community, they
waited for us. Yes, we would get off of the
(44:40):
buses about four or five blocks away from our center
and we would march from the center and the neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
Now that's cool.
Speaker 8 (44:49):
Look for that.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
That's cool.
Speaker 8 (44:51):
Yeah, it was a big thing.
Speaker 9 (44:53):
We even I mean it was it was just a
whole community involvement, you know, and it was really it
was really great. We've been On Halloween, we would have
a Halloween parade for the community so the kids could
go trick or treating. The corps would dress up in
costumes and all of the kids within in the neighborhood
will follow the core and they will go trick or treating.
Speaker 2 (45:16):
Wow, wow, man.
Speaker 9 (45:18):
That is cool, right, that's part of the the neighborhood
thing and the development thing that I think drum Corps
today doesn't have.
Speaker 8 (45:30):
I don't know it. I don't think yeahs we.
Speaker 4 (45:33):
Only got three minutes left, actually two minutes left, Edward,
give you social media links for everybody and how people
can reach out and follow in Metropolis.
Speaker 10 (45:41):
Oh do I type it out the VIP group, Wow,
the VIP Group Inc. Dot or yeah, I'll find it.
Speaker 3 (45:56):
And I'll make sure I'll put it in tomorrow for stuff.
Speaker 9 (45:59):
Yeah, okay, all right, yeah, Richard, I am currently with
New York Metropolis dot org starting junior drummer peu Core
in Brooklyn at the stops in Brooklyn.
Speaker 3 (46:10):
Really yes, Hey, Carol.
Speaker 2 (46:14):
Richard, your your email, man, I will okay.
Speaker 5 (46:20):
I'm at neuro Coach Carol short for Neuroscience in the
e U r O Coach Carol on IG. You can
also find me under Carrol Register on ig, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Speaker 3 (46:34):
Carol once again.
Speaker 7 (46:35):
You can find me on HB Drummer at hotmail dot com.
But you can find me on Facebook as Harold Barber.
Speaker 2 (46:43):
You know.
Speaker 4 (46:43):
And the funny thing about this, I was looking at
your wanting to find a photo you. That's why I
use your cartoon version, your avatar A you. I love
seeing those pictures of Saint Rita's Brassman because I never
got a chance to see them because we didn't compete
with them, but.
Speaker 3 (46:56):
I knew that they were just great.
Speaker 4 (46:58):
And just looking at that tempany line and just looking
at those snares, I was just wow, I would love.
Speaker 3 (47:03):
To be in them.
Speaker 6 (47:05):
Seventy two I had to read music.
Speaker 2 (47:07):
Oh wow.
Speaker 5 (47:08):
So so with Scribner Media, like Scribner, is he still
continuing to produce a film around this the.
Speaker 6 (47:20):
Last Yes, he's got a whole list of format what
he's trying to do.
Speaker 2 (47:27):
Okay, yeah, Carol, it's just the money.
Speaker 10 (47:31):
Okay, Yeah, you know we're kind of waiting on him
to get all that straightened out. And uh you know
that's kind of also the feat of Elmo and our frustration.
Speaker 2 (47:45):
Yeah, taking so long.
Speaker 3 (47:47):
Yeah, and we will find Elmo saw that.
Speaker 2 (47:55):
Self known. You know, you know where's elbow?
Speaker 10 (47:57):
Yeah that means we might have to do a part three. Yeah,
you know, good bye bye then Brian. By then we
may have something in production.
Speaker 3 (48:12):
Okay, Hey, I want to thank everybody from coming on.
We're out of time. So here's the thing about this.
Speaker 4 (48:17):
I always say this, have a good night, tonight, A
better day tomorrow, you see someone without a smile, but
he's give them one of yours because the world needs it.
And we're gonna put out a search party finding Elmo.
Speaker 3 (48:28):
Maybe that will be the theme on it. We will
see you next week and uh, everybody, have a good night, sir.
This program is designed to provide general information with regards
to the subject matters covered. This information is given with
the understanding that neither the hosts, guests, sponsors, or station
are engaged in rendering any specific and personal medical, financial, legal, counseling,
professional service, or any advice.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
You should seek the services.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Of competent professionals before applying or trying any suggested ideas.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Hey, there's Brian Sebastian movie reviews and more.
Speaker 4 (01:09):
And I'm smiling because if you knew what I did today,
you would be smiling too. And it was one of
those things where it's one hundred and seventy four live
shows in a row. We do what we can to
make it work, to keep our live streak going. Not Carol,
only Carol knows what I'm talking about, but you know,
these guys will know what I'm talking about, because when
you're watching the world a drum and Bigle Corps, any
(01:30):
obstacle that's down in a way, we know that we
have to get through it. We got to get it done.
Doesn't matter if it's on the field, doesn't matter if
it's after life. All of this stuff, we do it.
And I'm reminded by that I'm like, oh, I can
do this stuff. I'm marching a drum corp.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
This is easy.
Speaker 4 (01:43):
That's the hardest thing I've ever done. Literally, so obviously
streaming and live on over one hundred outlets right now
around the world. That's see K four HD radio talk
for media, talk for talk for podcasting. I'm remembering all
these things streaming live on IT two four seven out
of Franklin, Tennessee and around the world.
Speaker 5 (02:04):
TV huh Easy Way TV.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Oh yeah, not too And I forgot so I'm going
to let Carol introduce us out because all the other
co hosts I got rid of tonight. So since Carol
is on part one, he had to come back for
part two. Carol, tell him who you are and what's
going on.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Hi, It's so great to be here. It is Giving
Back Tuesday, by the way, and I highly recommend you
support the arts through dream Weaver Arts support preventing blindness
for children with better vision for children, and tonight we're
going to lean into supporting bugle and drum Corps, which
(02:44):
super exciting. Right. I'm so glad to be back with
you guys. I'm Carol Register, I support women and moving
from six to seven figures. I also work with those
who have wealth and are miserable because it doesn't have
to be that way. We can have our cake and
eat it too. And I'm super glad to be here
with you guys.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Hey, So, Harold Barber, let's start with you telling them
who you marsh, what you're doing, and that what kind
of percussion.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
As you were?
Speaker 6 (03:12):
Okay?
Speaker 7 (03:13):
Well, I started out with a couple of parade corps,
the Beulau Gospel Tabernacle, Jonen Bell Corps, and then my
junior high school teacher, mister Johnson, he started parade called
card Icatic Cadets where I played snare there and then
I was able to get into the Karda Cadets in
their final season in nineteen sixty nine, and then from
(03:37):
there I went over to Saint Peter's Brassman until they
disbanded in nineteen seventy four, and I stayed at a
drum corps for about a good five years, and then
I went to the Dream Contest in nineteen eighty and
Skylands were performing. I said to myself, you know, I
think I would like to try to do that again.
(03:58):
At that juncture, my skis were very raggedy, they say
the least. So when I saw them practicing on Randall's
down and I said to myself, I don't think, okay,
I want to do this, but uh, come instructor West myriers.
He said, you know you got a foundation, you know,
go home, work on your basics, and uh we see
(04:19):
what happens. And I did. I burned every night. It's
practicing to get my chops back up. Because by that
time they were like a championship drum line.
Speaker 6 (04:29):
They had just won the trophies, so they were walking
around they rehearsal with.
Speaker 7 (04:32):
Their chest out like, you know, looking at me like
you said, you're going to crack this line, which I
did with perseverance and a lot of hard work. So
I stayed with them for a long time. How many years,
Oh my god, I would say about a good fifteen.
I believe I just couldn't get it out my system
because my junior core years were cut shorts.
Speaker 4 (04:55):
I made it up in the senior courts and for
the audience. I may not know when you're marching. You know,
back in the day, you could start at age six.
You could be the cute little kid watching down the street.
If you remember parades, Carol.
Speaker 8 (05:07):
Yeah, the little kids.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
In there in a parade and oh aren't they looking cute?
And then I was in there for years. So that's
how we all started. Hey, Richard Dawson, come on to
this conversation. Let's talk about how you started.
Speaker 9 (05:18):
I started with Wind Center, which is a Bepistuveson based
drummer buber Corps junior corps from nineteen sixty six to
nineteen seventy two, when I aged out because I just
turned twenty one. And from there I went and joined
New York Skyliners and I marched with them in seventy two, which.
Speaker 8 (05:41):
I might add, in my humble opinion.
Speaker 9 (05:43):
Was probably one of the greatest senior drummer bub corps
I've ever seen, and I was in nineteen seventy three.
But to be honest with you, I did not get
drum Corps out of my system after the seventy two season.
I got the cheating out of my system and I
(06:03):
had had enough. Yeah, but now I'm working with New
York Metropolis and we're trying to bring a junior drummer
buport back to the city of New York.
Speaker 5 (06:14):
You were so young. Talk about the cheating at that age.
What was that like?
Speaker 9 (06:18):
Uh yeah, Well, to give you example, and Harold could
back me up on this, I think the senior season.
We probably had about sixteen contests that year and the
Skyliners won everyone convincingly except for the preliminaries and the
championship and the championship, and there was no way that
(06:40):
we lost it. So it was the bottom line that
pissed me off.
Speaker 7 (06:45):
Yes, they had given them some obscure penalty.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
Yes, final.
Speaker 7 (06:52):
They didn't have a piloty all season long, and here
you get finals and some judge decided, oh, I think
it was overtime.
Speaker 9 (07:00):
They said it was no actually undertime, undertime, and this
is a this is a drill that we had perfected
the used off season, never over and never under right.
Speaker 8 (07:12):
On the point, we were winning.
Speaker 9 (07:15):
Contests by points, Harold mentioned the Dream Contest. The Dream Contest,
I was in a drum line. The drum line was exceptional.
That was it was so clean. When we were warming
up that day for the contest. West was our instructors,
same as with Harold. When we were warming up, we
(07:37):
played about two minutes and West said, uh, go sit
down because of the line.
Speaker 8 (07:43):
Was that clean? So what was really unbelievable.
Speaker 9 (07:46):
Actually, there was talk of having a contest between skyliners
and a top and the top Junior course.
Speaker 8 (07:55):
That's how good the see and call was.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
For this is Carol about judges.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
Everybody can always complain about judging, especially in gymnastics. If
you go a back ye going each and everything like that,
there's always a problem. We've always got a problem with
the judges, excepting that, well, the drum corps. The judge
got in your way. We were actually going for them
to hit them, but we were like, if they were
in our way, we were supposed to just go straight
(08:21):
through them, so you know, and then they turn aro
out and say, you know, I was I was in
the way. Un must they were a bad judge, and
to go, you know what, I'm going to take you
from the rest of the thing. Talk about the ticking
system and what it was like for us kids to
be in that age. Because I didn't march in the
senior corps, but I loved the senior course. Senior corps
were always twenty one or twenty two and above right
(08:42):
up until your eighties. You can march still to this day.
Speaker 5 (08:44):
Wow, that's amazing. I didn't even realize that. So I'm
so glad you're bringing that out, Brian, Like I think
the fact that you can still keep going. You mentioned
gymnastics such a short life there, and there definitely was
politics that came in and influenced scores. I saw it
happen in playing Daylight, right, if only we weren't human.
(09:09):
That definitely brings an element. We see that in every sport,
whether it's umpiring or whatever it may be refereeing. So yeah,
I would love to hear about that the senior course
and what that what that's like? I can have you
participated in that?
Speaker 9 (09:25):
You mean the scoring techniques or the actual issues with can.
Speaker 5 (09:31):
You can you play or is it only judging after
a certain point?
Speaker 8 (09:38):
No? No, you in a senior core you could play.
Do you drop?
Speaker 5 (09:44):
That's what I wanted to know.
Speaker 9 (09:45):
Yeah, yeah, there's no up or age you can you
can anticipate and play the limitation on ages in the
junior course and it's completely changed now. And Harold could
bring you up to date on that, because I know
he's really you know, he's got his finger on the
pulse with that.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
Remember I remember Harold that you are the historian, like
you are the record keeper. So yeah, i'd love to
hear you know, are you still involved in that? Are
you doing that now keeping your pulse, your finger on
the pulse?
Speaker 7 (10:19):
Uh, not so much of with what's going on today,
basically just getting out information about cores who never got
their due back in the day, especially the African American
joined you.
Speaker 5 (10:34):
That's right. And it's interesting though, you know, to look
from a historical perspective. And I remember we talked about
this in part one, that you can still be involved
in the sport. I think it's so powerful to be
able to stay involved and see the evolution of the sport.
Speaker 7 (10:56):
Well, the thing for me is that once there was
no what I call a hometown team to cheer for. Uh,
that's when I really started to loose interest because I
started like, why am I cheering for these these groups
who are not from my my region?
Speaker 6 (11:17):
You know, and they're not from New York.
Speaker 7 (11:20):
Matter of fact, there's no more Jersey, Connecticut or even Boston,
uh Massachusetts Corps that I that I could get behind.
Speaker 6 (11:29):
That the that region is basically gone.
Speaker 8 (11:33):
You know, the whole concept of I have.
Speaker 7 (11:36):
My my Giants, my Knicks, Jets, Rangers, drum Corps, I
don't have anything.
Speaker 9 (11:43):
Yeah, the whole concept has changed because you have a
lot of international involvement, you have national involvement.
Speaker 10 (11:53):
Uh.
Speaker 9 (11:53):
These kids are paying a lot of money to marching corps.
Speaker 5 (11:58):
Uh.
Speaker 8 (11:58):
When Harold and I marched in junior.
Speaker 9 (12:00):
Corps, you didn't pay you you you know. And and
it has a different meaning for us, especially coming from
our base in an African American Junior drumm and viewer court,
because it not only taught us about playing and camaraderie
and the meaning of friendship, it really gave us the
(12:23):
basics for life and how to cope with different things
that you were facing on.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Brian talks about that all the time, and in fact,
he applies a lot of the Bugle and Drum Corps
principles that he learned to two little youngsters. He's involved
in their lives and man he visits as a godfather
and uncle if you will, and keeps set some straight
(12:51):
the rooms.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
We all remember when we were kids and they had
to get us in line and they would say wait
till you go on tour or you know, you know
when you going to the winter rehearsals, you know, standing
and staying in attention because a lot of these kids
have ADHD and ady D, and I'm like, did we.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Have kids that had that? I don't think so.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
There's no way they would have made it if they
did those things, because you had you know, you were
taken off the streets and you put in you were
taught how to do things.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
But you know, I was asking people about it.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
I don't know.
Speaker 7 (13:21):
Probably my my drunk court teachings into my teaching career.
They would sitting over the bad kids to to my
my classroom sometimes for me to get them in line
because I ran a very tight ship, uh with my student.
Not to say that, you know, they didn't have funny
(13:42):
or anything, but those principles of that things have to
be uh correct. And there was no excuses uh for
for anything, you know, but your dog ate your homework,
you know, behind and the desk.
Speaker 6 (13:56):
I didn't want to hear it.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
Now we didn't you have practice and talking about excuses,
I think Edward Dawton's trying to get out, almost trying
to get on.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
And we sent them the link again.
Speaker 11 (14:07):
Yeah, hi Elmo, I see you in the back, but
I need a camera or and audio. I do Elmum's backstair,
but ID mic, probably at least both, but at least
the microphone. If anything, I can't authorize the mic.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Come on, Elmo, you're in radio. Get this going on?
You watch.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Hey?
Speaker 5 (14:28):
It It opened up the way for us to hear
from our amazing sound engineer, Rebel. Behind the scenes. We
don't get to see her, but she pops in and
makes everything work right, and.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
That was good, absolutely, you know.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
And so for the honest that doesn't know, you know,
we're talking about the early ages of marching in a
drump corp, but also you know, talking in that, you know,
a black drumming before which I did not march in.
We just happened to be. But for for us, you know,
and mostly course you were a minority. If you had
someone of color in there, you didn't see that in
a lot of.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Them, you know.
Speaker 4 (15:03):
I'm thinking of you know, our friend, our friend who
passed away, who Marsian Santa Clara, you know, in that
great drum line that they had in seventy three, seventy four.
I've got his verice name, Tom Brown, Tom Brown, you know,
doing all that stuff, you know, marching in Blessed Saclement,
which was from Blessed Sack, you know, the New Jersey
(15:25):
and so.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Howard you and how old you were?
Speaker 4 (15:27):
Right when it comes to about that, there was so
many courts in Connecticut. There were so many courts in
New Jersey. There must have been fifty sixty when you
think about it. Because every weekend we were going to
a different someone else's show area. Yeah, and that's how
we said, and that's how I started traveling.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
I was never home.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
We'd go to you know, Mystic, we'd go to Stanford,
we'd go to maybe in New York and.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Drive back that same night.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
And I just remember this because sometimes when I'm talking
to Carol, she will have memories of mine come up
that come up like I never thought about that. Thank you,
Carol for reminding me of these things. Pack a bad
lunch because a lot of kids did not have money
and you didn't think about it at the point, or
if you were lucky. We did thirty eight stops in
one year in McDonald's, which we know we set the
(16:15):
record till this day. And we know that because I
kept out after a while. I'm like, we're going to
another McDonald's, and we want to McDonald's out. We were like,
we were happy to go to McDonald's, you know, instead
of eating our bag lunch.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
But it was one of those things where you learned
a lot.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
By just being young kids being on the road that
they didn't teach you in elementary or high school till
this day they don't true And.
Speaker 8 (16:40):
Like how it carries over, it carries through to your careers.
Speaker 9 (16:44):
I mean I for years I was a trial attorney
and I've used the same skills that I learned in
drum Orps. What I'm trying the case because you have
to be focused, you have to be disciplined, you have
to know how to present. So it carries through a
really bottom line it served us.
Speaker 5 (17:03):
Well, that's amazing Richard, with the way you've seen things
evolve with it being such a pricey support enterprise right now,
do you feel like it's more important for teams and
clubs to come together in unity to help prevent rising
(17:24):
costs or do you feel like it's more powerful to
stay separate to helping those causes. I don't even know
are those causes going on to help lower the price
for kids and to get more kids involved.
Speaker 9 (17:40):
Well, I think the current design of drum Corps, the
expenses there because it's extremely expensive it's almost like a
Broadway presentation. When Harold and I were out in the field,
it was completely different. And I don't think it's current
configuration allows for the grooming that we got, you know,
(18:04):
like Brian and Howell and myself and Elmo if he
gets his camera working, and I don't think it lends
to that.
Speaker 8 (18:14):
So I think it's more.
Speaker 9 (18:15):
Important to sort of take a backstep. Drum Corps as
it is right now is going to be what it is.
I think grass roots people who appreciate no drum Corps,
we need to start local things. You know, Harold was saying,
I think Brian you had said that there were cores
all over the place, different states. Just in Bedford Stuyvesant,
(18:39):
there was wind Center, there was Carter Cadets.
Speaker 8 (18:42):
Two of the compete. Well, no, I got to keep.
Speaker 9 (18:44):
Going Riversiders, right, those were competitive cause. But in addition
to the competitive cause, there were cares that were just
parade cards and that involved all of the kids throughout
the area, throughout the sky and going into Bronx and Manhattan,
and that has been lost and the things.
Speaker 8 (19:06):
That we were taught that helped us.
Speaker 9 (19:09):
You're not going to get in the big cause now
because these kids can't afford that. Number One, they can't
afford to fly to California to go to practice, and
that's what some of these kids are doing, or to
the different states that have courts. So I think in
order to to really get the meaning and the value
that drum Cord had previously brought, we have to back
(19:32):
up and we have to go local.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
And oh, Carol, I think the complaison if you were
to put it into colleges or you know, go to gymnastics,
when you want to go and work with that that
that best coach to train you, you know, you might
be I'm thinking.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Of wrestling Dan Gable. It was a wioler.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
I guess he was in So if you wanted to
go to that school, he's the best college coach for wrestling,
you want to go there for you know.
Speaker 5 (20:00):
Same in gymnastics or any sport really, right, you want
to go to the top. So yeah, so that makes sense.
And I'm kind of thinking back to our first episode.
Did we talk about scholarships that might be available, because
I remember there are some organizations that were out there,
(20:22):
but it's it's a little bit of a teaser in
my mind. If you guys know of that.
Speaker 8 (20:27):
I'm sure, I'm sure that there are scholarships available, but
I'll call it quote unquote sport, right, the.
Speaker 9 (20:38):
Athletes, right, yeah, so the sport or the activity activity
of drum corps. Each core is limited in size, so
you may have a lot of kids that may want
to participate, but they may not be able to get in.
They may not have the background to get in. They
may not read music. You know, when Harold and I started,
(20:59):
I didn't read it, right.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
I didn't read music either. I still didn't read music.
I couldn predemd that I could read music. All The
course played what I knew. I mean, I knew them all.
There wasn't anything that I could not play off the
top because you got good at improvising, right, like this
improvising right.
Speaker 8 (21:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (21:19):
But the change now is you will know what these
courses are playing now because they're basically now correct me
if I'm wrong, But they're all original arrangements, so it's
completely different. These kids are probably all reading. They also
are coming from schools, you know, from junior high schools
(21:43):
or high or high schools where they have those programs
in them. There are a lot of schools that don't
have music programs, you know, so they added added disadvantage.
Speaker 8 (21:54):
So that's why my opinion the grassroots.
Speaker 9 (21:58):
You know what, I don't necessarily agree read what the
drum cord is today, but I do agree with what
it could provide if we could get back to grassroom.
Speaker 7 (22:08):
Carol, there was a very good DCI episode, I mean
not episode telecast. I believe it might have been seventy
four or seventy five on PBS. And when I saw
the first time, I say, no, this is a great
time to market drum Corps to regular kids.
Speaker 6 (22:28):
But they didn't. And there was a golden opportunity.
Speaker 7 (22:32):
So boys and girls, you know, run a little I think,
you know, if you want to want to do a
Google core is where the gold da da DA.
Speaker 6 (22:39):
And they never took that step, and they had a
opportunity to do it, and they didn't do it.
Speaker 5 (22:45):
Where would you send kids now that you know parents
are listening to this, where would you send them in
New York?
Speaker 9 (22:51):
Send them to New York Metropolis, Go online to New
York Metropolis dot org.
Speaker 4 (22:56):
Okay, and kids, kids know now because they have the internet,
but you know, we didn't have internet. Obviously, we saw
things in person and go, oh, I love this corps.
Speaker 8 (23:05):
I want to march with it.
Speaker 4 (23:06):
Till this day. There's not a day that doesn't go
by where I thank the universe. I thank god that
I didn't go live in Massachusetts in March with twenty
seventh Planters and well, I didn't go to Madison, Wisconsin
and the snow that end up with the Scouts because
I didn't want to go to Wisconsin winters back then.
Now it's nothing because I would have stayed there, and
I know that I would have stayed there, Thank goodness.
(23:28):
I love Santa Clair Vanguard and said I'm going to
California to be close to them, and that's how why
I went there. But it was also the number two
market in Los Angeles to be down in southern California
for that.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
Oh great.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
We got a week from Edward on First Man, Where
are you then? What's going on?
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Hello? Everybody? Life was going on?
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Technology?
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yeah that dude, Brian.
Speaker 10 (24:02):
I hope you got the pictures and everything that.
Speaker 2 (24:06):
I sent you.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Yeah, we got some photos.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Okay, good good, good good good.
Speaker 3 (24:10):
We were just waiting for people.
Speaker 11 (24:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
I think there's a I think there's a problem.
Speaker 10 (24:16):
I found this, uh, this link here, you know, but uh,
how I had I emailed you, I picked you, I
did it all.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Uh Elmo? Have you heard from Elmo?
Speaker 3 (24:31):
He's trying to get still.
Speaker 2 (24:32):
Yeah, see he's having the same problem I was having.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
But you know what, these photos are great.
Speaker 4 (24:37):
So that photo right there that reminds you on the
New London service, those were our colors.
Speaker 8 (24:42):
So when you saw.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Is that who was that tarter?
Speaker 6 (24:48):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (24:50):
Okay, good so terrob American flag was always prominent. Everybody
almost everybody went to.
Speaker 3 (24:59):
What did they call it?
Speaker 4 (25:01):
We have to make sure our shoes were shined and everything, inspections,
all of those like that.
Speaker 5 (25:07):
There's quite a few young ladies that are featured in
these pictures.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Yeah. Have you talked about the color guard yet? Now? Now,
oh man, that's a very rich subject.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
Yeah, legs. Look at those leglists right there.
Speaker 4 (25:22):
Yes, deal to me, those are that's great. And you know,
even back then and even today, it is about the
athleticism of that. You could put us about against any athlete.
We will beat any athlete just by endurance, just by
hard work. Because they may only train two or three hours.
We were out there for eight, twelve, sometimes fourteen hours.
Speaker 5 (25:44):
That's amazing and people don't even realize. You know that
musicians and dancers, for example, are absolutely athletes. They're strong,
they're trained, they're disciplined. I love what you said earlier,
Harold about expectations being that tough in the classroom, because
(26:04):
we rise to the level of the expectations around us.
And I know that's what you guys experienced with inspections,
with the discipline, the habits that were built, the travel,
all this experience was setting an expectation of excellence that
you guys got to experience.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Yeah, well let me mention that.
Speaker 10 (26:27):
You know it's and her and I know you've probably
touched this already, but you know this was, uh, it
all started from the military.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
Yes, it was, you know VFW.
Speaker 10 (26:40):
Engine all those guys coming back right coming back in
the wall, noticed all these gangs and said, hey, let's
let's uh, let's put uniforms on them.
Speaker 2 (26:52):
And uh take the.
Speaker 10 (26:54):
Rocks and the bottles out of their hands and put
horns and drums in them. And that that's what all
of this enaghbor hood stuff started from. Now with with
with that in mind, there was a thick play of
the military in this. You had a start pile from
the gun. You had a middle with a concert and
(27:15):
a present a flag present wow.
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Always and always that was always that's.
Speaker 10 (27:23):
Part you couldn't you couldn't be a drum called back
then if you didn't do that part right there, the
presentation of color edward.
Speaker 5 (27:33):
Was there an underlying expectation that that was there an
underlying training going on to enter the military where kids
funneled that way through.
Speaker 10 (27:46):
Well you got to remember now I see you shaking
your head over there.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
You got to remember, now, this is Vietnam War.
Speaker 10 (27:55):
Most of us were high school watching the newspaper and
for our.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Birthday, and it just happened. You know. The year I
graduated was in nineteen sixty nine.
Speaker 10 (28:10):
It was the year that uh, you know, my my
mother was he was living about this whole thing, you know,
so finding other ways of of channeling our energies, you know,
from high school on.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Uh, it was a difficult thing.
Speaker 10 (28:31):
I mean, you know, we were we were navigating all
kinds of line uh bomb traps out here. But you know,
uh it the underlying thing here, I guess uh was
that you know, the there was this this offering, this program,
(28:53):
this neighborhood thing that that Uh, those of us who
were tired of looking at the other stuff. Yeah, uh
found this and it literally changed my life.
Speaker 2 (29:06):
You know.
Speaker 10 (29:07):
And I've talked with Carl, I've talked with others, I've talked.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
With Uh, you know, we're all sound alike.
Speaker 10 (29:14):
You know. It was it was it was something that
we found that was different, that appealed to something different
in us.
Speaker 5 (29:25):
Yeah, Brian, you've talked about how you feel like it
saved your life.
Speaker 11 (29:29):
Oh.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
Absolutely, because one of the reasons why I never played
football or you know, team sports, because it couldn't have
gotten better than drum corps.
Speaker 3 (29:38):
You know, drum corps is really eleven months out.
Speaker 8 (29:41):
Of the year.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
You might have three weeks were you off, and then
you go back into you know winter camp that they
call it now, but you know, we would call it
just winter rehearsals. Waiting to go and we'd be excited, Oh,
who are we going to go march up against?
Speaker 3 (29:55):
What states?
Speaker 4 (29:55):
Are we're going to go through? Are we going to
go to a country? You know, things like that, because
and wasn't doing bands back then. Didn't like drumming bugle corpse.
They adamantly they didn't like a lot of the directors.
They hated when of their kids marched and drum corps
because they felt like their.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Members were being taken away, which.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
Was not the case.
Speaker 9 (30:14):
Well, the other thing, Brian, is that back in the
day bands could not hold a candle to drumming bugle course.
Speaker 8 (30:22):
Drumming buble course was.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Not in my neighborhood.
Speaker 9 (30:25):
Were very polished, sharp military. You knew what they were playing.
Nowadays you probably looked for a band in a parade
as opposed to a drum court because the drum course
of today they it's a to me, it's a waste.
Speaker 8 (30:42):
They don't really play interesting.
Speaker 7 (30:45):
The thing that caught my attention, they really got me
something was how a drumm bugle corus sounded.
Speaker 6 (30:52):
The sound of those bugles or something I had never
hearst from a marching band was just like, oh my god,
what is that sound?
Speaker 3 (31:03):
I don't know trumpets.
Speaker 4 (31:04):
Trumpets are not louder than the bugles. What people don't
understand g bugles. It's what people you know, were, you know.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Think of.
Speaker 10 (31:19):
They had to be loud because they were signals, you know,
they they were were re three dinner charge, you know what.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
Those bugles had to be loud. They were announcements of royalty.
Speaker 10 (31:35):
And I would like to mention this since we I
don't know if we talked about the girls or not,
but let me talk about the girls for a minute.
Speaker 5 (31:46):
I'd love to hear that, especially the.
Speaker 10 (31:48):
Ones uh in the VIPs Fellas. I'm sorry for a minute,
but let me go with the VP.
Speaker 6 (31:54):
That's why I sent in the pictures, don't.
Speaker 10 (32:00):
I know, I got you, Herold, but you know, I
don't want to offend anybody else. But let me let
me tell you this. When we started in the Drum Corps,
when I started with the VIP okay because I had
two years under my belt with the Boys Club. But
I came upon, got my nerves, came up on the hill,
got with the VIPs, loved their program, love what they
(32:23):
were doing, practice my butt off. But what got us
to the level of competition.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
That we were at were the women. Oh my god.
Speaker 10 (32:36):
We they went into John Brosli took them all into
hiding and when we were allowed to see them, we
we we thought it was a circus act, a good
circus act, a magic circus act. Because these these women,
if you can imagine, if you've seen the the Marine
(32:59):
Corps silent drillty. Yeah, that was those women that you've
seen with the Jack dut knees, those words them, they
were they silently did everything. Uh you heard one voice,
one voice, and that was the commander's voice.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
And everything else you heard were thousands of.
Speaker 10 (33:21):
Rifles, sabers and flags and he hitting the floor.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Wow.
Speaker 10 (33:30):
It was the most beautiful thing that I'd ever seen.
That The guys, we we we said to ourselves at
that point, we've got to step it up, guys, look
at this.
Speaker 2 (33:41):
This is amazing what they were doing.
Speaker 10 (33:43):
John Brozali, That's why John Brazali went to the Drum
Call Hall of Fame.
Speaker 2 (33:48):
That's why he has a special.
Speaker 10 (33:50):
Award in his name, you know, with d c I,
because he was that marvelous. He spent eight years with
them women that you saw with the Jack up. He's
been eight years with them women and had them within
within within two.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
Years, within a year and a half. It was less
than two years.
Speaker 10 (34:11):
They turned nineteen sixty eight into a championship year, followed
by nineteen sixty nine, followed by nineteen seventy Wow, okay,
and nineteen sixty nine. That picture you saw of them
was in nineteen sixty nine. They won twelve out of
fourteen shows, and the two shows they lost were championship.
Speaker 5 (34:38):
It sounds like an amazing synergy, like an amazing you
know that you guys were mutually inspiring one another, you
were mutually wanting to raise each other up in the
level that you were at. And going back to what
you said about the band directors, it seems to me
like there was a little bit of an intelligence leak there,
(35:00):
if you know me saying that, because if I was
a band director, I'd be wanting somebody trained with the
bugle core skills that all drumming.
Speaker 4 (35:12):
And my fan director from eastlam High School when I
went to the All White High School, he was he
was drum corps friendly. He let me come in and
let me just change everything around. I'm thankful to guy.
I'm thankful for Don mc tavis.
Speaker 8 (35:27):
Bryan.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
We're gonna we want, we want to march like a
drum corps.
Speaker 2 (35:30):
And he came.
Speaker 4 (35:31):
You came with no recommendation from Waterford High School. We
didn't know you were coming. And and I just like
showed up and I tilted the drums were tilted. I
straightened them up. I said, we're gonna march like this.
We're gonna march in a straight line. We're gonna play
Santa Clara clocks, We're gonna play some stuff.
Speaker 3 (35:47):
We're gonna do this stuff. We we looked like Garfield
Cadets was our colors, maroon and gold.
Speaker 4 (35:52):
We had all of this stuff and then we brought
we started bringing people former New London Surfers staff to
teach o and then we ended up winning. But the
old band director from one of the high school he
looked at it like a threat. They're coming to take
my kids away, like we were going to go eat
them or something like that. We're never going to see
them during the summer. They're not a band camp because
(36:13):
we were still on tour.
Speaker 10 (36:14):
Brian, I was specifically told by my band teacher, this
is junior high school.
Speaker 2 (36:21):
I was an accomplished, accomplished.
Speaker 10 (36:27):
I was good at at the baritone and the tuba okay,
and in fact made my mom, made my mom a
proud she was first role. You know, when we did
the graduation for that year for our junior high school,
I had finally got played for tuba. And to show
(36:49):
you how this guy was now, he told me I
talked about boys club joining the Boys Club, which was
right down the street from us, making all the noise
that Harold was talking about, all that pretty music and
all that drumming and fancy uniforms. My god had to
be a part of that. With with with all that
fancy stuff going on.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Uh, you know, boy, I lose my train of thought.
So dang easy.
Speaker 10 (37:17):
We it was We're talking about the band instructors and
what they were telling us, and I was told to
stay away from that drum card down the street because
it's it's they They were talking about how even the
kids evil, Yes, how bad the kids were, and you know,
blah blah blah. Once I joined it, it was a
(37:40):
completely different then there. I I I when when I
left junior high school, I graduated that year and went
to uh An.
Speaker 2 (37:49):
I was supposed to go to Anacostia and Southeast.
Speaker 10 (37:51):
Well, uh I walked into Anacostia and I had just
break big cakes with my contrabas, and uh, you know, I'm.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
Excited about joining the band.
Speaker 10 (38:02):
You know, I know how to read music and I'm
sitting down to it and this guy said the band
instructors said to me, what the hell is that? I said,
it's a tubook. He said, get it the hell out
of here. He never went back to band.
Speaker 5 (38:18):
Well, Mario see your comment. You marched with the the
what you say, the wind Center Toppers.
Speaker 8 (38:26):
That's so cool, Mario march with me.
Speaker 5 (38:29):
Oh that's awesome.
Speaker 8 (38:30):
Yeah, but I tell you that.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
Edward, Oh go ahead, what did you get?
Speaker 8 (38:35):
Oh?
Speaker 9 (38:35):
The climate in Brooklyn was a little bit different from
what Edward experienced because I went to Boys High School
in Brooklyn. So I graduated the same year as you,
Bryan sixty nine.
Speaker 8 (38:45):
Or was that Edward?
Speaker 9 (38:46):
Sorry you got heavy graduating in sixty nine. The band
in Boys High School wasn't made up of people from
the drum carse and and a boy who had an
excellent band. So there were people from UH, from Wincentive,
from Carters, from Warriors.
Speaker 8 (39:04):
All in that band. And it was an excellent band.
Speaker 3 (39:08):
Yeah, that made the band better.
Speaker 4 (39:10):
And so for these directors that knew that, those individuals
stood out. Now, remember I didn't know how to read music.
They I came off off the streets. But boy, we
knew what to do when you you put us in
that in that in that if for that band.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
So again I'm always thankful for that. But these band directors.
Speaker 4 (39:28):
This day, you might find one that says, oh, they
can march after they get out of.
Speaker 3 (39:32):
Band, now that the march ahead of time. I heard
this like four years ago.
Speaker 4 (39:35):
It's interesting, but all these these kids now they have
access to the internet that they can see this. Oh
it's gonna cost me this much to goo march with
this corps. I'm gonna go try out. I don't know
what to signing the contracts things, man, I don't know
where that came in. That makes absolutely no sense to me.
What is that a sign of commitment or you're signing
your life away? I don't get it.
Speaker 8 (39:55):
Probably both.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
Yeah, were the blood and your first your first born?
Speaker 8 (40:02):
And then tell anybody, Sorry Richard, Sorry, No, I was
gonna say.
Speaker 9 (40:08):
Everyone was talking about color guards and I would not
be doing a service to win Center if I didn't
talk about the top of arrets. We had an excellent
color guard, h same thing. They competed separately. We can
as a call. We completed competed during the summer. Toparettes
also competed in the winter and the winter guard and
(40:28):
it's the same thing. I'm sure how we would have
the same stories with with carters. A lot of the
guys that joined the Corps joined the Corps because of
the young ladies in the top of arrets or and
warriors and I'm shore in the VIPs.
Speaker 2 (40:44):
Yeah, hey, you saw ladies.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
I actually fell in love with the girl from the
fire Rats.
Speaker 8 (40:53):
I remember them.
Speaker 4 (40:54):
Her name is Mary, who ended up being the first
center I mean, the first uh snare female snare. I'm
in the twenty seventh Lanterns. She's part of the Chicks
with Sticks, those women that marched in the finals nineteen eighty.
But I looked at it look like and I'm like,
that woman just looks pretty, and I fell in.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
Love with her.
Speaker 4 (41:14):
I never found out who this other girl was, but
that made me want to come back. It was the
women that made you want to. Yeah, well, to be honest,
but I bought that was marching up and down when
they marched on Cement Carol, it was like boom boom
in Unison. I'm like, wow, that sounds really cool. And
(41:34):
they were looking straight. You could say something to them,
they wouldn't turn their heads. It was just you were
just disciplined and like want to do that as a
little kid.
Speaker 6 (41:43):
Yes, the top rests always had this swag to them.
Speaker 7 (41:48):
When they marched, you know, there's a little rock that
they had to and when they stopped at all, they
had a nice little move.
Speaker 6 (41:55):
You know when they came to a hall, that's like
get the crowd all hyped up.
Speaker 8 (42:00):
Yeah, well, most of the course when you came to stop,
the call would just stop. Coparets had a move. And
to be honest with you, I don't know how.
Speaker 2 (42:10):
To do it.
Speaker 8 (42:11):
And I've stowed all those years. You know, it's really impressive.
Speaker 5 (42:17):
It's amazing.
Speaker 4 (42:18):
But here's another thing. Also, shooping the stands was very important.
When you come in front of that crowd, the whole
crowd would just go off. They'd get up and just
you know, that's that's that was the relief that you
got of why you did all those summer rehearsals and
practices kind of thing like that, doing that thing, and
everybody loved it.
Speaker 5 (42:39):
Brian, you just see that comment. Somebody popped in here
and said that their mother and their father marched with
the Winds Center. Brooklyn read it looks like b k
l y n reach. My mother and father marched with
wind Center. I was raised on it, went to a
few contests as a child and loved it didn't corps,
(43:00):
but a huge fan. That's kind of cool. You know
you see another generation come along.
Speaker 8 (43:08):
Especially since I probably marched with his mother and father.
Speaker 4 (43:13):
Well, let me ask you, this was it the greatest
time in our lives that we marched, because yes, all right,
you know it's interesting that the taro this is black
men saying this. You don't get a chance to see
this because they know what does shows like this on this? Yeah,
just majority of that were the course were white, Caspa Troopers,
(43:37):
Casmo Wyoming all white.
Speaker 6 (43:39):
Great course.
Speaker 4 (43:40):
You know they played you know, Battle Him in the Republic.
You know, they would have a sunburst that come out
like this. He looked at these things like that Santa
Clair play, you know, the young Man's Guide of Orchestra.
Phantom Regiment was playing all classic music. Boston Crusaders. They
were all white, but they had a secret alignment with
the black you know cmcc war is that there was
not going to be any fighting.
Speaker 3 (44:00):
That we got their asses, kid, But you know that's.
Speaker 4 (44:05):
But you had those things like that where you could
see these other cores and then years later if you
wore those cores jackets or those course jackets that everybody
was proud of you.
Speaker 3 (44:15):
You had fun wearing those because that was like a
sign of honor. It was like a letterman in high school.
Speaker 9 (44:19):
Yeah, but it's also a different I don't know if Edward,
if you experienced the same thing. And when centered when
we came home from a contest, sometimes would be ten
o'clock at night, eleven o'clock at night, were coming in
from different places in the community, Bethist Stebson community, they
waited for us. Yes, we would get off of the
(44:40):
buses about four or five blocks away from our center
and we would march from the center and the neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (44:48):
Now that's cool.
Speaker 8 (44:49):
Look for that.
Speaker 2 (44:50):
That's cool.
Speaker 8 (44:51):
Yeah, it was a big thing.
Speaker 9 (44:53):
We even I mean it was it was just a
whole community involvement, you know, and it was really it
was really great. We've been On Halloween, we would have
a Halloween parade for the community so the kids could
go trick or treating. The corps would dress up in
costumes and all of the kids within in the neighborhood
will follow the core and they will go trick or treating.
Speaker 2 (45:16):
Wow, wow, man.
Speaker 9 (45:18):
That is cool, right, that's part of the the neighborhood
thing and the development thing that I think drum Corps
today doesn't have.
Speaker 8 (45:30):
I don't know it. I don't think yeahs we.
Speaker 4 (45:33):
Only got three minutes left, actually two minutes left, Edward,
give you social media links for everybody and how people
can reach out and follow in Metropolis.
Speaker 10 (45:41):
Oh do I type it out the VIP group, Wow,
the VIP Group Inc. Dot or yeah, I'll find it.
Speaker 3 (45:56):
And I'll make sure I'll put it in tomorrow for stuff.
Speaker 9 (45:59):
Yeah, okay, all right, yeah, Richard, I am currently with
New York Metropolis dot org starting junior drummer peu Core
in Brooklyn at the stops in Brooklyn.
Speaker 3 (46:10):
Really yes, Hey, Carol.
Speaker 2 (46:14):
Richard, your your email, man, I will okay.
Speaker 5 (46:20):
I'm at neuro Coach Carol short for Neuroscience in the
e U r O Coach Carol on IG. You can
also find me under Carrol Register on ig, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Speaker 3 (46:34):
Carol once again.
Speaker 7 (46:35):
You can find me on HB Drummer at hotmail dot com.
But you can find me on Facebook as Harold Barber.
Speaker 2 (46:43):
You know.
Speaker 4 (46:43):
And the funny thing about this, I was looking at
your wanting to find a photo you. That's why I
use your cartoon version, your avatar A you. I love
seeing those pictures of Saint Rita's Brassman because I never
got a chance to see them because we didn't compete
with them, but.
Speaker 3 (46:56):
I knew that they were just great.
Speaker 4 (46:58):
And just looking at that tempany line and just looking
at those snares, I was just wow, I would love.
Speaker 3 (47:03):
To be in them.
Speaker 6 (47:05):
Seventy two I had to read music.
Speaker 2 (47:07):
Oh wow.
Speaker 5 (47:08):
So so with Scribner Media, like Scribner, is he still
continuing to produce a film around this the.
Speaker 6 (47:20):
Last Yes, he's got a whole list of format what
he's trying to do.
Speaker 2 (47:27):
Okay, yeah, Carol, it's just the money.
Speaker 10 (47:31):
Okay, Yeah, you know we're kind of waiting on him
to get all that straightened out. And uh you know
that's kind of also the feat of Elmo and our frustration.
Speaker 2 (47:45):
Yeah, taking so long.
Speaker 3 (47:47):
Yeah, and we will find Elmo saw that.
Speaker 2 (47:55):
Self known. You know, you know where's elbow?
Speaker 10 (47:57):
Yeah that means we might have to do a part three. Yeah,
you know, good bye bye then Brian. By then we
may have something in production.
Speaker 3 (48:12):
Okay, Hey, I want to thank everybody from coming on.
We're out of time. So here's the thing about this.
Speaker 4 (48:17):
I always say this, have a good night, tonight, A
better day tomorrow, you see someone without a smile, but
he's give them one of yours because the world needs it.
And we're gonna put out a search party finding Elmo.
Speaker 3 (48:28):
Maybe that will be the theme on it. We will
see you next week and uh, everybody, have a good night, sir.
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