All the wonders of drum corps are in this opener. The entire show is a stunning achievement still stands strong against the entirety of drum corps history.
You and the entire corps were awesome!!!! I was 12 then and seeing this in VHS was so exhilarating! I never forget the old SCV shows from the late 80s. Ur show lives on forever!!!
If a corps performed this exact show today it would get standing O's multiple times. The music alone speaks for itself and doesn't need the added fluff that modern corps try to use. This is what drum corps was, and what REAL drum corps still is.
I saw this live in 1987 and I'm watching it now in 2020. Magnificent! I found myself cheering at the screen and jumping to my feet, now, just as I did then. What a show!
This opener still rules today...I would love to see someone try this show with the passion as it was performed.....still gives chills and excitement...thanks Gayle
I was a 17 year old Jr. Scout in 1987. My heart broke when Vanguard lost finals that year. But man oh man both ‘87 Vanguard and ‘87 Garfield are still in my top 4 shows of all time (with ‘93 Star and 2018 Vanguard). Vanguard was so powerful and exciting and Garfield was so graceful and beautiful. Two of the greats for sure.
I was already a band geek for a few years prior to 87, but this was the show that really got me hooked. Saw this show at finals on PBS. by the time they hit that final push, I literally had goosebumps. Next year was almost the same with Phantom of the Opera. The only real regret from my younger years is that I didn't at least try to march DCI.
This is amazing!!! I mean, a multi-cam early-season drum corps show is enough to go crazy, but as a guy who was forever changed by the 1987 PBS Finals video, this was like getting to eat your first birthday cake, but finding out it had more flavors than you remembered.
Probably should dedicate this to the memory of corp director Gail Royer. He wasn't done with his masterpiece yet. So he did phantom of the opera twice. Probably one of the best shows in all DCI history.
OH MY GOD!!!! This is my very first Drum Corps Show EVER!!! Sitting there in the stands and being Blown AWAY. Fan from here til now. Thanks for the post.
I marched 87-92 Freelancers... Got to see this show almost every night of tour! Also, on another note... Anybody else notice how much "older" kids looked back then? That dude at 1:13 looks like hes about 36 with a wife, two kids, a mortgage and shitty car he can't afford to fix!
Funny, I think the build to the hit from 1:30-1:50 is actually better here than it was done at finals. In fact, there are a lot of parts here that are very clean, drum solo at 5:30 is another example. As a member of a DCI champion corps I can tell you that, despite what judges say, there were several shows we did earlier in the season that were better than our championship performance.
David Gilbertson I dont doubt it...i am diggin this show.... Funny...when i first saw this upload, i was a amazed at this performance level so early on...its darn Riverside, before the beginning of tour...so it makes perfect sense what you said. VK '91,'92
brian head Which just proves how subjective the role of judging a DCI performance is. There is very little actual side by side comparison of skill and execution. It's really just what the judges have decided to give more points for.
+David Gilbertson Well let's not underestimate judging ... A judge is no slouch...these guys are band directors for years...they are very critical... you have to understand sophisticated subtly...i have proof... my band director is ONE OF THE BEST jazz educators on the planet!!! i went to Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights, CA... back in the 60's and 70's we were the BEST... band directors left their university, to teach at our high school...Don Gunderson, after putting Cal State Fullerton on the Jazz Map, permanently, he left the University to teach at Los Altos, in 1982... Since he got there, we won Music every year for 20 years straight !!! Our jazz band was one the best.. And slowly as his jazz drummer, i began to pick up sophisticated nuances, that few kids knew.. He spent, 25 minutes of a 50 minute jazz class, EVERY DAY, tuning the horns !!! i was close to tone deaf, as you can get... but after 3 months, of horn tuning ALL THE TRUMPETS, behind me and the bass player... I developed relative pitch...I WAS ABLE TO TELL WHO HIS 1 or 2 cents flat, or sharp!! I became PERFECT at noticing who's off and on !!! so with my new ears, i started to hear EVERY NUANCE...every balance of the horn line...the chords, the voicing... the articulation i started to hear flaws in Buddy Rich's band...and other famous bands... Articulation AND PITCH are EVERYTHING... and i finally noticed why the JUDGES LOVED OUR BAND... compared to POWAY and MAGNOLIA, and ALL the southern california bands Clovis West , and Independence High School did NOT have good hornlines ,compared to our high school... they just had GREAT marching and VISUAL...and Ensemble, and great drumlines, being close to SCV and Concord... so a judges ear, is much better on average, then ours... GARFIELD CADETS deserved to win, but both shows were EQUALLY impactful.. HISTORY has proven both shows are EQUAL, but judges had to pick Garfield...They were technically better... If you listen to the Finals performance, there is more impact and pop, in the ends of phrases, passages and transitions...A MORE complete product... Remember 1987 SCV is known for their greatest emotional performance... Every DCI performance is emotional, but NOT FOCUSED EMOTION !!! 1988 Madison closer, 1987 SCV, 1988 SCV are all known for their focused emotional execution...
+go to That's all great and everything but it does not change the fact that judging is exceptionally subjective and even the sharpest musicians are prone to give points based on things as personal as "How nice their uniforms looked", "How much I liked the way the horns sounded with the drums", and even "They have a cool name." Unless the activity wants to go to mirror image sets and parallel musical phrases in parts of the show that can be compared on an apples to apples basis, it is doomed to be mostly a game of "Who I (Mr. Judging Community) like better this year." And it will always be tainted with a dose of "Your name has to be on the same list as 'Blue Devils' or 'Cadets' with an occasional sprinkle of Cavaliers, Vanguard or a Midwest corps TBA.Seriously, in 14 of the last 20 Championships, the name of the winning corps ended in "Devils" or "Cadets." No sport or activity with any semblance of integrity, that has the level of skill and diversity of DCI, can justify this. Remember, this is "Marching's Major League." So in what major league sport today has two teams dominated in this way? It's unjustifiable and unconscionable. And the one of the most egregious examples was just this past year when BD was placed above a Crown performance that was probably that best in the history of the activity. It's not even fair to BD because half of their "Wins" are overshadowed by other, better performances that year. It makes all of their 1st place finishes questionable.The fans know this and the whole activity is a joke because of the culture of preferential nepotism it creates.
One quick question which do you prefer the shows of the 80s as you just watched Santa Clara Vanguard or what DCI is currently producing on the field 2018? personally the shows in the past were, lot more exciting, audience, were more involved. audience, cheered louder. people are more excited Standing Ovation after Standing Ovation, and you find very little audience participation, I just mentioned today ? very sad.
An early season show, with bugs still needing to be worked out, like the intonation problems in "Pictures at an Exhibition." Still, the influence of people like Dr. Sanford, in stressing musicality and accuracy over volume is obvious.
Man....you always forget the tempo differences very early season...the opener was definitely slower than at Finals. Sloppy feet at times (yes....I know it's June, not August)...some of which never cleared up. I'll go to my grave thinking this should've won at DCI. ('course, I think that about 84 BD, but I'm a LITTLE biased there)
@ Ashtun Fouts.....actually, Garfield won drums at finals with a perfect score. SCV was damn good at finals....don't judge them based on a VERY early season show...no one's August clean in June.
This is one of the best percussion arrangements for a drum corps show ever.
Facts! IMO
All the wonders of drum corps are in this opener. The entire show is a stunning achievement still stands strong against the entirety of drum corps history.
I was so proud to be a member of the pit that year. What lovely memories!
Hey Gumby!
Saw you at Camp Randall...first time ever at a DCI championship. Well done!
You managed to remain my all time favorite show until 2018 when the 2018 Vanguard took that away.
You and the entire corps were awesome!!!! I was 12 then and seeing this in VHS was so exhilarating! I never forget the old SCV shows from the late 80s. Ur show lives on forever!!!
Ralph is a natural at rhythmic counterpoint. 🥁🔥🎶
SCV were always ahead of their time. This show would kill to this day.
If a corps performed this exact show today it would get standing O's multiple times. The music alone speaks for itself and doesn't need the added fluff that modern corps try to use. This is what drum corps was, and what REAL drum corps still is.
I saw this live in 1987 and I'm watching it now in 2020. Magnificent! I found myself cheering at the screen and jumping to my feet, now, just as I did then. What a show!
Yea me too! I still clap at the end of the first movement, Kik asssss!!!!
That opener, wow, still gives me goosebumps after all these years.
This opener still rules today...I would love to see someone try this show with the passion as it was performed.....still gives chills and excitement...thanks Gayle
🌹🙏✌️💯🥁🏆😇🏆🎺💯✌️🙏🌹
My all time favorite opener. Absolutely electrifying
This is one of those shows I'm thankful to have seen in person. Goosebumps. Still watching this today.
John Smith I was there too, marched VK that year and followed SCV on tour all summer
As an '87 Garfield Cadet member myself...I LOVED THIS SHOW!
+Lee Nicol And that 87 Garfield show is still my favorite.
As an '87 SCV member myself...I LOVED the Cadets show!
Both 87 Garfield and SCV are forever lodged in history as two of the best shows of all time. What a year that was!
I was a 17 year old Jr. Scout in 1987. My heart broke when Vanguard lost finals that year. But man oh man both ‘87 Vanguard and ‘87 Garfield are still in my top 4 shows of all time (with ‘93 Star and 2018 Vanguard). Vanguard was so powerful and exciting and Garfield was so graceful and beautiful. Two of the greats for sure.
First year I ever saw SCV. Got to live the dream four years later.
Miss Saigon was another epic show.
When Drum Corp produced epic sounds without enhancements.
I love how the cymbals are in the center of the drill during long stretches of the opener - even when the rest of the battery are not.
I was already a band geek for a few years prior to 87, but this was the show that really got me hooked. Saw this show at finals on PBS. by the time they hit that final push, I literally had goosebumps. Next year was almost the same with Phantom of the Opera. The only real regret from my younger years is that I didn't at least try to march DCI.
This is amazing!!! I mean, a multi-cam early-season drum corps show is enough to go crazy, but as a guy who was forever changed by the 1987 PBS Finals video, this was like getting to eat your first birthday cake, but finding out it had more flavors than you remembered.
The mighty Santa Clara Vanguard!!! This show and this corps were spectacular!!! Thank you for posting.
Wow! I saw this show live and it's STILL giving me goose bumps! The snares were REALLY ready for this show! Fantastic percussion writing.
THEY SHOULD HAVE WON DCI THAT YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Probably should dedicate this to the memory of corp director Gail Royer. He wasn't done with his masterpiece yet. So he did phantom of the opera twice. Probably one of the best shows in all DCI history.
OH MY GOD!!!! This is my very first Drum Corps Show EVER!!! Sitting there in the stands and being Blown AWAY. Fan from here til now. Thanks for the post.
I still remember watching this on a VHS tape when i was 15
Thank you so much for uploading an early version of this masterpiece!
One of my all time favorite shows. Loved seeing this early season version compared to the version at finals.
Thank you for uploading this!!
They didn’t win high drums that year but they got my vote. Ralph can write!
I marched 87-92 Freelancers... Got to see this show almost every night of tour!
Also, on another note... Anybody else notice how much "older" kids looked back then? That dude at 1:13 looks like hes about 36 with a wife, two kids, a mortgage and shitty car he can't afford to fix!
I love this show! Cadets marched a wee bit faster this year though.
Nice upload! Camera work was a little strange, but nice to see some other angles than from the PBS broadcast.
Incredible.
Fabulous Show!!!
Thanks heaps for the video. :D
The years SCV performed the winter music stuff made me question if it was summer.
My fave to this day is Shostakovich Festive Overture…
I was there.
Frank Zapata-will never forget meeting him at drum major camp.
LOVE!
6:01 to the end of that section was awesome!
Scv 1978 it was probably some nostalgia
Bravo!!!
middlespaces, I was by your side!!!!
2:21 - Contras!
Funny, I think the build to the hit from 1:30-1:50 is actually better here than it was done at finals. In fact, there are a lot of parts here that are very clean, drum solo at 5:30 is another example.
As a member of a DCI champion corps I can tell you that, despite what judges say, there were several shows we did earlier in the season that were better than our championship performance.
David Gilbertson
I dont doubt it...i am diggin this show....
Funny...when i first saw this upload, i was a amazed at this performance level so early on...its darn Riverside, before the beginning of tour...so it makes perfect sense what you said.
VK '91,'92
brian head Which just proves how subjective the role of judging a DCI performance is. There is very little actual side by side comparison of skill and execution. It's really just what the judges have decided to give more points for.
+David Gilbertson
Well let's not underestimate judging ...
A judge is no slouch...these guys are band directors for years...they are very critical...
you have to understand sophisticated subtly...i have proof...
my band director is ONE OF THE BEST jazz educators on the planet!!!
i went to Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights, CA...
back in the 60's and 70's we were the BEST...
band directors left their university, to teach at our high school...Don Gunderson, after putting Cal State Fullerton on the Jazz Map, permanently, he left the University to teach at Los Altos, in 1982...
Since he got there, we won Music every year for 20 years straight !!! Our jazz band was one the best..
And slowly as his jazz drummer, i began to pick up sophisticated nuances, that few kids knew..
He spent, 25 minutes of a 50 minute jazz class, EVERY DAY, tuning the horns !!!
i was close to tone deaf, as you can get...
but after 3 months, of horn tuning ALL THE TRUMPETS, behind me and the bass player...
I developed relative pitch...I WAS ABLE TO TELL WHO HIS 1 or 2 cents flat, or sharp!!
I became PERFECT at noticing who's off and on !!!
so with my new ears, i started to hear EVERY NUANCE...every balance of the horn line...the chords, the voicing...
the articulation
i started to hear flaws in Buddy Rich's band...and other famous bands...
Articulation AND PITCH are EVERYTHING...
and i finally noticed why the JUDGES LOVED OUR BAND...
compared to POWAY and MAGNOLIA, and ALL the southern california bands
Clovis West , and Independence High School did NOT have good hornlines ,compared to our high school...
they just had GREAT marching and VISUAL...and Ensemble, and great drumlines, being close to SCV and Concord...
so a judges ear, is much better on average, then ours...
GARFIELD CADETS deserved to win, but both shows were EQUALLY impactful..
HISTORY has proven both shows are EQUAL, but judges had to pick Garfield...They were technically better...
If you listen to the Finals performance, there is more impact and pop, in the ends of phrases, passages and transitions...A MORE complete product...
Remember 1987 SCV is known for their greatest emotional performance...
Every DCI performance is emotional, but NOT FOCUSED EMOTION !!!
1988 Madison closer, 1987 SCV, 1988 SCV are all known for their focused emotional execution...
+go to That's all great and everything but it does not change the fact that judging is exceptionally subjective and even the sharpest musicians are prone to give points based on things as personal as "How nice their uniforms looked", "How much I liked the way the horns sounded with the drums", and even "They have a cool name." Unless the activity wants to go to mirror image sets and parallel musical phrases in parts of the show that can be compared on an apples to apples basis, it is doomed to be mostly a game of "Who I (Mr. Judging Community) like better this year." And it will always be tainted with a dose of "Your name has to be on the same list as 'Blue Devils' or 'Cadets' with an occasional sprinkle of Cavaliers, Vanguard or a Midwest corps TBA.Seriously, in 14 of the last 20 Championships, the name of the winning corps ended in "Devils" or "Cadets." No sport or activity with any semblance of integrity, that has the level of skill and diversity of DCI, can justify this. Remember, this is "Marching's Major League." So in what major league sport today has two teams dominated in this way? It's unjustifiable and unconscionable. And the one of the most egregious examples was just this past year when BD was placed above a Crown performance that was probably that best in the history of the activity. It's not even fair to BD because half of their "Wins" are overshadowed by other, better performances that year. It makes all of their 1st place finishes questionable.The fans know this and the whole activity is a joke because of the culture of preferential nepotism it creates.
+David Gilbertson "So in what major league sport today has two teams dominated in this way? "
Real Madrid & Barca.
Niiiiiiiiiiice!
One quick question which do you prefer the shows of the 80s as you just watched Santa Clara Vanguard or what DCI is currently producing on the field 2018? personally the shows in the past were, lot more exciting, audience, were more involved. audience, cheered louder. people are more excited Standing Ovation after Standing Ovation, and you find very little audience participation, I just mentioned today ? very sad.
An early season show, with bugs still needing to be worked out, like the intonation problems in "Pictures at an Exhibition."
Still, the influence of people like Dr. Sanford, in stressing musicality and accuracy over volume is obvious.
are u serious?
@@georgedixon9863 Sure. This was a good show, but it was early in the season. And, as with most corps, they are still fine-tuning to get things down.
@@kt6550 volume and intonation issues were insane all season
Man....you always forget the tempo differences very early season...the opener was definitely slower than at Finals.
Sloppy feet at times (yes....I know it's June, not August)...some of which never cleared up.
I'll go to my grave thinking this should've won at DCI.
('course, I think that about 84 BD, but I'm a LITTLE biased there)
Hard to disagree. The best show that didn't win....and should have.
I'll go to my grave wondering why people think this show is so damn great.
and I'll probably go to mine with this one still being my favorite. To each his own.
The horn line is fabulous.
What was their shows theme?
🎅 Clara Vanguard, am i right!?
Drums going off and we're forced to watch two people crash cymbals into each other. I HATE THE DIRECTORS OF THESE SHOWS.
hahaha I was thinking the same thing! Guess if you're said pit members crashing cymbals, then it's cool.
fuccing based
The 'ol Man Winter thing stretched out over 3yrs was really tiresome, worse, was that and the broom stick 'magic.'
I said it before, and I'll say it again! SCV 87 should have WON!!!
+George Hopkins
So, George, why did you fire Tom Aungst, by NOT leaving him an Instructors Badge during Finals ?!!! LOL...
Are you dumb enough to believe that comment is really from the director of the Cadets? Or do you think perhaps, it's an internet troll? Geez...
You can say it all you want, but it’s just your opinion not a fact.....
That tenor player is like 6'8"
Opening that made you jump out of the seat
Now, you jump off the stadium to get away from the crap called band corps
I agree with your comment 100%. Today is May 6th 2022
Literally nobody calls it band corps, troll.
what was the average age in the brassline? 40? lol
Yea they suck dude. NOT... this was one of the first shows of that season.... think
BLAT! SPLAT! SPPPPPPPPPPPPTTZZZZZZ!
HAHA...this drumline is HORRIBLE!!!
(slaps himself in the face)
+go to First year of the prototype falam heads..
And this year they won drums 😂
@ Ashtun Fouts.....actually, Garfield won drums at finals with a perfect score. SCV was damn good at finals....don't judge them based on a VERY early season show...no one's August clean in June.
Micah Lall-Trail 1st year of Kevlar.
Star only used kevlar in 93. They were mylar every other year of their existence. 87 SCV was the first kevlar line, using prototype heads from Remo.