[Jenn]

In article
,
MiNe 109 wrote:

In article

et,
Jenn wrote:

In article
,
MiNe 109 wrote:

In article

et,
Jenn wrote:

In article
,
MiNe 109 wrote:

I would see the SoCal bands at the All-Western Band Review in Long
Beach. The level of performance and the competitive intensity of the
top
bands was really something.

Ah yes! The great All-Western! I was a judge in '84 and '86, and as a
kid I won the drum major competition. The band won its class two of my
high school years. The award ceremony was in the Long Beach arena.
Come to think of it, the first year our band appeared (my sophomore
year), it rained and the whole thing took place in the Arena. Great
memories.

Congrats on that drum major thing. IIRC, Vista would have favored what
some called the "sissy stick".

Oh heck no! We were Mace all the way. The band's uniforms were copies
of the British Guard Bands... Coldstream, Scots, Irish, Grenedier, etc.
We even had bagpipes out front.

Cool! The ancient memories stir...I think I remember. This prompted a
conversation this morning about how cool the mace is in comparison. You
don't see them thrown outside of a band review or a tattoo and I mean
thrown: fifteen feet up is plenty for a potential lethal weapon.

My band had a similar style with guard uniforms (Welsh Guard) and pipes;
we even had the regimental marches in arrangements 'borrowed' from a
regimental director.

What school?


A classmate trophied in the mace
category, a big deal for a small school whose band had little chance of
placing, although we did outscore most of the NoCal competition. It took
us a couple of years just to get into the Review.

Very cool. It was a great event.

Indeed.

An indoor competition must have been something, what with maneuvering
and all.

The other highlight was the very disreputable boardwalk/pier district. I
guess it's been redeveloped in the last thirty years.

Ah yes; THE PIKE! And yes, it's much nicer now.

Back then tattoo parlors weren't hip.

Stephen