1982 Story Time - ADJUSTED

Thanks to George Lea for the Updates

Memories OF ‘82

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George Lea, one of my and one of everyone’s favorite Cadets, wrote to me to offer a correction regarding the 1982 article.

As it turned out, the Prelims was a day show …. at McGill Stadium. As a result, my emotional and perhaps not professional address to the corps, was NOT on Saturday but on Friday .. after prelims but still 24 hours before the finals competition.

The corps was actually heading out to rehearsal Friday night. I kind of remembered a rehearsal but, I did not attend that one rehearsal. I had to go to a directors meeting at Olympic Stadium. I thank George for the reminder. It makes the events appear with more clarity.

My adjustments are below in italics … primarily within the block called PRELIMS

THE ARTICLE WITH ADJUSTMENTS

The 1982 season didn’t come with a championship. It came with something harder to win — proof that we belonged.

When I took over the Cadets in 1979, the corps had been wandering. Proud history, faded results. The activity had moved on and wasn’t waiting for us.

We had a miracle in 1980 that had the corps return to finals, in 1981 we built on the success and improved …. finishing 7th, and by 1982 we had built enough to make a move… to be more .

• an awesome staff,

• a musical niche where we could live,

• a culture that emphasised the challenge of greatness … every day a step at a time

We had progressed to the point where we were not yet champions, but … the quality, the commitment to that excellence, the intensity of the membership, the teachers and the creators — it was all coming together.

Here’s what I remember as the most impactful moments of the 82 season.

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Larry Harris.

I named Larry Harris as one of our drum majors for the 1982 season. He was the right person for the job. He was an outstanding member of the brass section. He was also the first Black drum major in Cadets history.

The letters started coming. Unsigned. Unsigned letters have a particular kind of cowardice to them — whoever wrote them wanted the effect without the accountability. There were many. Some threatened me. Some threatened Larry. It was excessive. And believe me, I would have many letters over the years.

I also had alumni, primarily from “back in the day”, letting me know I had made a mistake. Innuendo, comments … I heard it all.

I never wavered. Not for a day.

The funny thing is … I never even thought about color. The guy was a model Cadet. He was 6 feet tall and built like a wide receiver. He had the respect of the members, and, well… he was the guy for the job. He played mellophone the year prior, and he deserved the position

Larry Harris led the Cadets that summer, and he did it with distinction. That’s the whole story. The letters were noise. The corps was real.

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Michael Cesario and the record bins.

Before the season, Michael and I spent long days in New York City going through record bins at music stores. I would go to Philly and spend hours in Tower Records. He would be in NY and we would meet up for “treasure hunts.”

Not looking for anything specific. Looking for everything. Flipping through album after album, listening, arguing, talking about what the Cadets were supposed to be. We must have spent $200.00 every time we walked into a store. I still have all of those albums in my garage

Michael had a vision that was already clear in his head. Phantom Regiment was going heavy classical as had been the case. Santa Clara was going light classical.

That left a lane — American classical. Copland. Bernstein. Gershwin. Music that was technically demanding, emotionally vast, and distinctly ours.

This was the beginning of not just playing music. But playing OUR music. And it was 100%, the creation of Michael Cesario, the greatest programmer of music for the marching music world … EVER. And I do mean … EVER

We played that repertoire for the next seven years.

And we would return for more.

And to think it all started in a record bin in Manhattan with two guys. One guy had the idea, and the other guy was smart enough to follow his lead.

Huntington, West Virginia. The night we beat the Vanguard.

Somewhere in West Virginia — Huntington— not that it looked any different from anywhere else we played that summer — the Cadets beat the Santa Clara Vanguard for the first time.

We had a good show, and SCV looked awesome as always. It did appear that we had a judges’ panel that was a bit pro-Cadet, based on past performances, BUT … it was Santa Clara, and we have never defeated them EVER …. in the history of the Cadets

Now, there were retreats at most shows back in those days, so the corps were lining up on the field, once the last performance was complete

Michael Cesario was hanging over the very high wall at the front sideline … screaming. I could not hear. I wandered over … Michael proclaimed, “ critique is cancelled. The judges are heading back to the hotel.

I just looked… “Why?” "Someone sick?” …. Michael leaned in more … “ We beat Santa Clara.” “Holy Crap,” I said … Ok, ok …. but wait, why is there no critique? Shirley (Whitcomb) is the chief judge, and she is afraid things could get out of control with Gail” . I did laugh a little … I had seen GR. in action at a few critiques and he could get excited.”

But wait … what about critique? I suddenly was back working :-) I wanted to talk to Jay Kennedy. He was judging percussion analysis. Jumping ahead … on the way out of town, I went over in a van to the hotel, knocked on his room door, and he answered in his underwear. I was being difficult; it was all a little odd, with Jay lying in bed. Finally, he said, “Get out of here … what do you want? “Scores … a 7.5. ( out of 8.0) 3.5 on the top (demand) and 4.0 on the bottom ( musicianship). Well, at champs, Jay judged, and we received a 7.5. :-) I admit … I considered doing all critiques in underwear after that evening.

So, back to the show …

The corps exited in reverse order, and I was a little nervous. I was not sure what the kid would do at dismissal. We had talked through this kind of thing, but ??

A group of young kids being told they just beat one of the best drum corps in the world? In a parking lot somewhere in West Virginia? I didn’t know what they’d do, so I led them a mile away from the stadium. Just to put some distance between the moment and the reaction. And just in case, to put some distance between the Cadets and SCV.

The Drum Major dismissed them. They said nothing. They stood there and waited for my instructions.

How about that? All the talks. All of the conversations about respect for your competitors. They listened …. and I was as proud as could be.

We chatted. The kids headed back to get some food, pack the trucks, and jump into the buses

And then …. there was this ….

Michael Cesario pulled me aside. “ We couldn’t leave,” he said. One of the buses was parked downhill inside the gate — the only way to start it was to push-start it. Michael refused to push-start it while the Vanguard was still watching. I concurred while laughing. The Irony was not lost on me

We sat. We waited. We pushed.

Even the buses had pride.

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Prelims. Fifth place. One speech. ( EDITED)

We finished prelims in 1982, ranked fifth. After beating SCV, we were expecting more, and we may have been a bit too cocky for our own good.

Prelims in the 80s were a daytime event. In fact, in 1982 the show was NOT at Olympic Stadium. The 1982 DCI World Championship prelims were held at Molson Stadium at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The competition was held there for the second consecutive year, with the finals taking place at the nearby Olympic Stadium.

After our disappointing finish, we headed back to our school. We had food prepared, some time to relax, and the plan was to head out to rehearsal. I actually had somehow located an inside field so that we could get some work done. An evening was rehearsal was the only way to go :-)

It was unfortunate that we were 5th, but … it can happen. We had work to do.

After the meal, the kids were relaxing, some taking a nap, and some hanging out on their sleeping bags. It was time to pack up for the evening. The buses were fueled, the truck was ready and it was time to get to out to rehearsal

I was rousing the troops to head to the buses. I was walking about … a little cheerleading and a little “kick in the butt” to get going … time to rehearse.

I got to a young lady …. Kathy. I knew her later, and now as Kathy Santo, but for the life of me, I cannot remember her last name at the time. It’s not important. As it turned out, Kathy was a member of the color guard, and she married Dr. Richard Santo's son, Eric, a member of the soprano line, just a year or so later if I recall. Their kids both marched for the Cadets and C2. Kathy is forever linked to the drum corps.

As I walked by Kathy, I encouraged everyone to get up and get moving for rehearsal. We had work to do !!!!!!

Kathy said something to the effect of “why??? It doesn’t matter what we do. We are 5th.”

Well …. something about that comment got under my skin. And the longer I waited, the more upset I was. Hell … we spent all year teaching students that “competition is what it is”. We do not control the other corps. We do not control the judges. We control our reactions and our performance.

And like I said … I was fuming … and I felt like I needed to do something to shake things up

A Little On Edge

I sat all down. I knew the buses were waiting.

BUT … I took a chance I gave a speech … more like a rant.

I opened up with a quick recap of what I had heard as I walked. My anger was starting to show.

Finally … I screamed … “F*** YOU”. The room stopped. I stared.

And then I launched into my sermon.

How can you give up? Because you are in 5th? What the hell is that? A few years ago, we would have paid a king’s ransom to be 5th. I could not believe a member of the Cadets was giving up. What the hell did we teach you? And I know she is not the only one

I continued …. and as I said, it was not pleasant.

At some point, I turned around, and many of the staff were standing behind me. Hmmm … that was not part of the plan.

I am not sure I had a plan. But the support was notable. (Actually, I think they wanted to get to rehearsal)

I would be damned if we were going to stroll through the last rehearsal of the year. That was my point …. now and forever. Whether there are 100 people watching or 10,000 people watching, we do our best. And at the end of the day … judging is a game of educated opinions. And there is no way … no way … we are going to put the success of our program in the hands of 9, 10, or 11 judges

Friday was a good rehearsal.

Saturday was a good rehearsal …and Sat night, we went out and did a great job on a chilly Canadian August evening.

Funny story ( post show) … Michael Cesario and I were up on the first concourse. Pacing ….

When they announced 5th, we smiled, and when they announced 4th …. We were rolling around on the concrete. We were pretty damn happy, and the little comeback just made it better.

Recap

That 1982 corps was something special. “Concerto in F”; Cuban Overture was an awesome selection. All and all — it was a model for future shows. There was a theme. There was integration. The percussion was inside the musical program. And the guard … was bringing a new look and style to the world of drum corps

We took a great leap … from 7th to 3rd, and if we went back to 1979 … from 16th to 3rd.

Something was happening :-)

George Zingali and Marc Sylvester were on staff, painting drill sets on a Ford assembly plant parking lot in ways I had never seen before. Jimmer and Donnie were working brass magic with the brass line … and Michael had found the musical identity. Oh …. and the percussion was improving while we waited for the arrival of Thom Hannum. And the guard … a combination of movement and excellence, had caught the attention of many, many people.

The culture was hardening in real time — you could feel it. The coming years would turn heads.

I did not not know it at the time — this would be the last show for the Cadets with Dr. Santo as the director. Doc was about to turn over the keys …

His work, his commitment and his faith in my ability …. and the work of so so many staff, volunteers and members was about to result in a level of performance no one really yet imagined.

Dr. Santo and Me

Coming soon ….

Three Championships in a row …

1983, 1984, 1985

and then Future Championships

1987

1990

1993

1998

2000

2005

2011

Ten Championships and lots of great drum corps, and depending on how you look at it, 1982 may have been when dreams started to move to reality. It certainly was a year I will never forget.