This performance changed the whole dynamic of drum corps, it became the gold standard of DCI and remains so to this day. It has not been replicated and cannot be. It made Leonard Bernstein and all of us so proud!
@@johnolson5538 probably not unfortunately. Drum corps is not well known outside the music world as much as we want it to be. At the height of its popularity it was acknowledged by a U.S. president (JFK) when he donated money and uniforms to the Boston Crusaders in the early 60’s. Chuck Mangione and Maynard Ferguson were notable others that helped grow the activity but really that’s about it. I doubt Bernstein ever knew there was anything outside of marching band in general.
Garfield Cadets in 1983 may have put all the pieces together to win the DCI Championship (through innovative drill and beautiful composition), but in 1984 they perfected their new style and pushed the activity forward by leaps and bounds. Many consider this show THE GOLD STANDARD! There are certainly others worthy of such lofty praise, but the effect this show had on the entire marching activity -- drum corps, H.S. band, college band, European drum corps, Japanese bands, and so on. -- is the stuff of legends. Not until Star of Indiana 1993 do we see this kind of influence. Maybe to some degree we see it in Santa Clara's emotionally-charged Phantom of the Opera in 1988. The brass book in Garfield's WSS is insane and performed so well, so beautifully, so emotional, and powerful when needed. The nuance in dynamics and blends, the adaption to so many rhythms and styles, all while marching a George Zingali masterpiece is nothing short of electrifying! I still get goosebumps watching this on video, and this is such a nice conversion of this video to better quality. Some shows stand the test of time. Garfield Cadets 1984 is one of those shows. East East East!!!!!!!
I marched in the Blue Devils that year. I sat next to Hopkins during Garfields prelims performance and they were amazing. I saw 84 Garfield Cadets a few times that summer. Excellent, excellent drum corps. I marched 5 years in the Blue Devils (81-85). 84 was by far my favorite year. By far. Great competition, epic shows.
We did not make finals that day, so I was in the stands watching this live. Barb Maroney, I will always love you, HAHAHA! "New" drum corps had been on the way for three years prior to this with Phantom's 1981 and 1982 "Spartacus" unified theme shows that had a title and all that, and the 1982 and 1983 Garfield drill and music books. It all came together on this night in 1984 with this tremendous performance. I watched this show every day or evening of Second Tour when we hooked up with Garfield. It was intimidating and exciting at the same time. I was in the endzone seats at DCI Whitewater when the soprano player near the end of the line on Side 2 slipped on the slick, dead grass during the Z Pull at the end, causing a huge crash involving like eight or ten players as well as the breaking of this kid's leg, his miraculous finishing of the show, and marching off the field with that broken leg, where he collapsed at the gate on the track. And I was there at the show where the Z Pull was rerouted so that it was no longer blind on Side 2 so that such a huge pileup of bodies was much less likely if someone slipped again. This video of the winning performance of the show was still not the best one, however. They truly maxed it out after the TV cameras were off and many were already leaving the stadium. The GT stadium crew were not informed that the winning corps would need the field lit AFTER everything appeared to be finished so that they could do their victory performance. After Retreat they started shutting off the stadium lights, which take like a half hour to recharge before you can turn them back on. So the 1984 Garfield Cadets performed one last time with all the lights on the right side turned off, everyone having a long, 20-foot shadow from the low lights on the left, with Side 2 being in a sort of twilight. It was fantastic. It is my single, best memory of my time in DCI, standing in a 60% empty Home Side of the GT stadium, in the half-light, seeing this corps run its program one, last time. I will never forget it. It was the night that "Old Corps" lost out by a tenth. Everything changed. Thank you so much for cleaning up this video. It almost feels like being 19 years old, again. Seriously, thanks, from a Hutchinson Sky Ryders FMM…
No show revolutionized visual design or successfully broke with convention more than this one. One of the all-time greats and should serve as a reminder of how much effect can be generated without props or amplification.
Exactly...non-linear, asymmetrical drill design, as well as the roll step, became the standard in drill design after this show as well as a more dynamic, rhythmical relationship among the various percussion as well as between percussion and brass. I think the poor on field judges had a hard time not getting trapped in the drill while they were judging😳
This is my all-time favorite DCI (or DCA,, or BOA, etc.) show. Absolute beauty. When the sopranos (feels weird to say that now) enter at 9:58 it's so emotionally charged. Our activity has had many great brass teams, but it's hard to imagine a better one than Prime & Van Doren (which they proved again with Star a decade later). Jim Prime Jr (His dad, Jim Prime Sr a legend in the activity himself) did more to decant the essence of the source music than any other arranger in the activity (yes, of course that's my opinion, but I've been doing research on that opinion since about 1960). And for me, this was his finest production. Watching this made me feel as if I were sitting up there in the stands in Georgia once again. What a night - what a show - what a corps.
I agree, this show that The Cadets of Garfield performed is a masterpiece. And in all facets, absolutely progressive and an avant garde interpretation of the West Side Story book of Leonard Bernstein. The integration of brass and percussion is brilliant, and the vocals, and corps movement on the field by the color guard and the corps proper is a thing of beauty. Monumental performance by a legendary drum corps, The Cadets of Garfield NJ.
That was the hardest entrance for a soprano section that I ever had to deal with in my life. Back hash at mezzo piano on those tin cans. I still have nightmares! Good times!
@@CSRookie I hear she's a band director. (probably close to retirement) But she was inducted into the Cadets HOF I think in like 2017. Crazy to think though, I was a Cadet Mellophone and her legacy lives in all of us. (Section leader in Cadets2 2012)
@@EvanYoungMusic thanks..... it's so crazy to think that all these corps members from that time period are approaching 60 now....... it goes by too quickly
Now its hard to believe this was nearly 40 years ago (in 2024) the age outs will be turning 60 years old. I still believe this is one of the top 10 shows (my opinion) it was the resurgence of Garfield Cadets to a national power.
i have watched these videos for years now. Just not all that convinced, getting rid of the 2 piston was necessary. . . . . this horn line was a prime example of good brass players know how to make such an instrument sound good.
At 0:50 the mellophones enter thrillingly. There are fine dynamic shadings throughout. You can watch this show with the sound off, or you can listen to it with your eyes closed, and either one is great. And yet the whole still manages to be greater than the sum of its parts.
Thanks for sharing. It's one of the most revolutionary shows in DCI history. Unfortunately in '83 and '84 DCI a different company was used for the broadcast, which is why there's so many closeups that caused the viewer to miss some incredible George Zingali drill moments.
I was wondering why the footage is terrible. ‘83 Cadets is regarded as a milestone and the show that really started to change drill. And here’s an extended closeup of the inside of a horn. In regards to this video, I’m like thanks. I know what a break drum is. Can I see the drill please?
Kind of a late reply but remember that Garfield took 7th in field percussion that year...and still won. That shows you how good their GE was, not to mention the brass. If Garfield had a top 3 or top 2 percussion line they would have won by more.
Can't believe I found this. I was in high school marching band at the time. Several of our staff were former Drum Corps members. Our fall 1985 show was inspired by this very show by Garfield (my senior year)....we did an entire West Side Story show. Every time I hear anything from "West Side Story", marching band still comes to mind....
I realized that when I listened (watched) to this last night, all I thought about was the brass, which I guess is understandable, being a brass guy, but that was such a small part of the transformation of Garfield in the early 80s. I don't think it's too wild a claim to say that George Zingali was the MVP of that new vision of a more integrated DCI show. His visual concepts were completely fresh and new. I talked about the sopranos at 9:58 last night, but look at it as well. You've been focused up front around Ms Maroney for a good part of this production (I Had a Love) and all of a sudden from the back part of the #2 side of the field comes this gorgeous, somewhat understated entrance, that just keeps the piece unfolding. Just a great staff, with Thom Hannum, the afore-mentioned George Z, April Gilligan on guard... and a host of talented instructors (who soon after came to be known as "techs" but they were/are so much more). They were able to take these young people and make them more than a skilled ensemble - they became artists.
@Micah the Nerd Saxophonist Oh, they still miss shots, just not as frequently. I don't know HOW IN THE WORLD Flomarching almost missed BAC's stick-on-stick snare part in the 2018 show...they'd only been shooting and showing clips of it all season and knew when it was coming up.
I still get thrills listening to this show while driving. So many others agree with me that this is a masterpiece of drum corps. Concept, design, charts, arrangements, performance - all of it came together to create this unforgettable drum corps show. I stand and salute EVERYONE who had a hand in this spectacular show. My favorite moment is at 12:24 when the music and drill build to the thrilling company front ( missed by the camera, the director was definitely NOT drum corp savvy) I remember it like it was just yesterday. Bravo!
best show i ever saw. being from Jersey they were my favourite corp. taught in WI; used to show this to my band every year before we started marching practice and would ask is they noticed anything about Barb [Maroney]. they didn't, until i pointed out how she was holding her horn with a prosthetic. she was the best! and a few years later was sitting at Finals in Madison and was talking about this show and her [didn't know her name] with a neighbour. person in front of me turned and said who it was and that she was a relative!
Love this show. HOWEVER...viewing this reminds me of how angry I used to get when they would continually show soloists and closeups of people marching, instead of the ever changing formations. They even came close to missing the famous "zig-zag"! I think the people choosing the camera shots were going for "artistic" instead of letting us see the best parts of the show. A few closeups here and there are okay, but not when you miss the amazing formations. The closeups of the siren, the tire rim, and the tympani player not playing.....SHOW ME THE FORMATIONS! I remember sending DCI yearly letters begging them to get people who knew drum corps and the shows to make the decisions on the camera shots . During the last 20 or so years the camera shot selection has improved immensely and you don't feel like you're missing important parts of the show.
This must be from the George Zingalli era with the Cadets. He was an innovator, and a creator. When he exited drum corps, it was corps' loss. A marvelous corps director.
Just been to see the Spielberg movie, which is incidentally amazing, and had to check into this afterwards, next the Bernstein, Carreras and Kitawana in NYC film…
Amen to liking both. I am an alumni of Bluecoats, and yes we have been robbed a couple times these past years by Devil's but I love the Devil's as well. I marched Carolina Crown when they were a Div II corps and I will always support them as well. I love DCI and yes I am partial to BLOOO because I aged out there as a top 12 member and they will always be my brothers and sisters.
This was one of the worst broadcasts of all time. By having the camera focusing on the gong player, a long TV shot of the drum major's crotch, the siren and the car brake drum many fantastic drill moves were missed. I was there. I remember.
you have to be very forgiving of those who produced the DCI broadcasts of the time. Primarily, it was likely produced by a crew that was more adept at producing live sports broadcasts than live marching music shows. plus, technology has changed significantly since then. yes, things could have been better, but be glad that DCI finals was live versus today where it is not, unless one subscribes to that awful flo marching garbage
@@settinitstraight8332 No doubt the FloMarching productions have had their problems, I'm a former subscriber. I also remember the PBS broadcasts. However the Finals broadcasts and blurays produced by Tom Blair today are tremendous!
@@trap4dafu2k0fit Oh...I've got a worse one....1986 DCUK finals (United Kingdom). In 85 they had multi-camera and some good production....then came this. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hqYfRX-OqBE.html THIS WAS OUR FINALS RUN!! Looks like it was shot through a potato by a drunk parent! I mean, I was half the cymbal line that year (wearing a BD-style uni and playing West Side Story....the irony was all over the place), so i can find myself, but JESUS, this was bad. I had to convince DCUK to sell me the tape.
The trade off going to Bb/F was never worth it. So, it's more in tune - at the expense of the identifying sound of drum corps. It's like doing plastic surgery on Marisa Tomei...."there, she's more perfect, balanced, facial harmony is correct - but she looks like a lizard and nothing like Marisa Tomei". I'm waiting for drum corps to do an Apple and realize, yeah, we made a mistake and fix it. We hear Bb/F in every instrumental genre and it's like eating the exact same thing every day. No matter how technical and exacting "it" sounds, it can never replicate, deliver or come even remotely close to the experience that G bugles deliver. Fortunately, I toured with this group throughout 1984 and heard them nearly every day and night and I can relive it as I heard it. RU-vid is a distant second.
What you said X1000! I sometimes enjoy watching contemporary drum corps, but I miss drum and BUGLE corps so very much. It is such a shame that most will never experience what we did in '84 (I was in Florida Wave).
Topaz Labz Video Enhancer AI. It was surprisingly easy and you can upscale any video to 8K if your computer is powerful enough. The quality of the upscale varies from video to video sometimes.
This is incredible! I've only seen a very fuzzy thrice-copied VHS of this show. How hard is this to do? Any special equipment? Is the AI algorithm your very own? I have some old conducting footage of mine that I would love to upscale to HD.
Video Enhancer AI from Topaz Labs. The results of the upscale vary from video to video so just know that HD won’t always look the best. A good PC will help the process work efficiently.
@Micah the Nerd Saxophonist upscaled the 1984 dvd version. They need to re-release all of their catalog! A world where I can't buy a blu-ray version of the entire 2008 finals is frustrating.
We're going to do West Side Story. Really? That's great! But we have to do it in 12 minutes. Don't.anyone.tell.Lennie. We're marching three octaves of Xylophone. Well, ok. OMG
I was there when that happened. It was shocking. We were sitting in the Side 1 endzone all the way across, and it was still easy to see and the most amazing recovery, especially when you know that he broke his leg, and all eight of the fallen got up and back into the form, and then marched off all the way to the gate before the broke-leg soprano player collapsed. I have never seen anything like that before or since. The rerouted Z Pull at the next show was just as attractive and exciting, but much safer for the Side 2 line that had been rushing backwards, blindly up to the accident.
