DCI 1980 - The Madison Scouts - 'Ice Castles'

[@Nigelrathbone1]

Best "company front" of 1980

[@terrymitchell8711]

MAN WHEN MADISON COMES TO THAT SIDELINE IN THAT COMPANY FRONT IT IS AWESOME JUST JUST GOOSEBUMP RACING

[@lorichristner3437]

Never gets old. EVER. 💚❤️

[@lorichristner3437]

Right before I walked down the aisle to be married in 1985 I sang Ice Castles. Everyone thought they knew why I had picked this song-sentimental, good movie etc. What no one knew was the real reason I chose this song. It was my nod to my drum corps background and to my Madison Scouts!

[@MrZonk2010]

Pure music and pageantry. No theatrical gimmicks.

[@DebbieErnisse-w3e]

My Dad was with the Rochester Crusaders from 1958 till 1964. My first contest was when I was 10 months old . You can safely say drum corps is in my blood. Please bring back the excitement of old school line to line!!!!!

[@headsupdude1]

I can watch this 1000 times, it never gets old.

[@mickeyscv67]

That's the last DCI show I marched......I cry every time I watch!!! MYNWA

[@gary161]

Dude , the drum major is on a different planet .. awesome

[@brianwalsh9778]

Drum Major Dan! Dude killed it!

[@oldbandguy]

Dan...the GOAT

[@dennislesniewski1321]

MAKES ME WISH WE ALL COULD BE 15 AGAIN AND MARCH AGAIN

[@522Dusty]

I don't know of any other DCI organization that has come up with as many major songs in their repertoire that connected with the fans. Each and every member of the Scouts has a lifetime of memories, brotherhood and values they experienced together. I feel the Alumni will always be one of the greatest. You will Never walk alone.

[@Jamler3]

Having marched in '80. Birmingham consensus was that... Madison was in another zone with this Closer! Absolutely my favorite from that year!

[@thefootchair7071]

I can't get enough of these years of the corps. I still enjoy watching DCI when I see it, but man, I haven't seen much that compares to these years. Just can't get enough.

[@ThePMcDonald]

A glimpse into the POWERHOUSE that would be on the field in 1981 (one of the TWO corps robbed in 1981, BOTH ending up in THIRD PLACE in respective championships [DCI and DCA]) ... NOTHING LIKE A MADISON COMPANY FRONT !!!!!

[@steveguacamole2638]

Even with the old audio quality, the power, clarity, and quality of sound that these corps had gives me goosebumps.

[@monsterman2960]

Fantastic

[@viewfromwilmington]

I saw the Scouts in 1980 or 81 do a demonstration at a small show in the south suburbs of Chicago. They cut themselves no slack that Sunday night, just because they were not in competition and it was a small crowd. The G bugles sounded great, and they looked like they were trying to win finals.

[@brutusln]

What people are talking about is the military bearing. The performer's poise contains the emotion. Poise sets the framework for the dramatic tension to fight against. But today's modern dance expends the emotion, so there's nothing left for the audience to feel.

[@arfshesaid4325]

brutusln, this is probably the best thing ive ever read regarding old vs. new....brilliantly explained...i love the old days and love using my imagination even more.

[@johns3106]

This is a brilliant explanation…I well remember that feeling of retaining a straight,stern face even though I was bursting with excitement! Even watching other groups, I could feel it. With today’s corps, I never get that feeling…and that is a loss.

[@mikeockerman706]

Amen!!!

[@missnics15]

I miss shows like this. I wasn't even BORN when this show was done but this is the Drum Corps I like. All the bandos my age think I'm stupid for this but I like when Corps focus on the MUSIC not the visuals. Thanks for being here fans of old school DCI!

[@ThePMcDonald]

I agree (and I am a visual adjudicator)

[@frankfellatio4879]

No better last note EVER in DCI history

[@roberthoffhines5419]

When the french horns kick in that 9th, it wells me up every time.

[@ThePMcDonald]

except maybe the following year, 1981?!?

[@ThePMcDonald]

I still think the final note the following year (1981) took this song to a WHOLE 'NOTHER LEVEL

[@paulmccarthy9033]

This is one of the Scouts top 10 closers of all-time.

[@ThePMcDonald]

You just GOTTA LOVE old-school high mark-time ... 😉😉😉

[@roberthoffhines5419]

The 2:15 horn line entrance is one of the most amazing things I've ever heard a brass ensemble do...almost like a breath attack (no toungue) but somehow perfectly timed...but across some 50-odd players stretched out over how many yards?!!. The "old" Chicago symphony section (pre-1985) comes to mind. I will always wonder if this effect was intentional.

[@1rickjon]

This was when drum corps was REALLY drum corps. Stunning performance. I saw them do this live in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1980 and it is a real treat to see it again.

[@andrewphifer5751]

Listen to the 8 Contra’s and the amount of sound the put out. Love it. Thank you Madison for the memories.

[@coffeekhan]

What a gas it must have been to lead this group on the field! This DM was a true showman!

[@85Newbs]

That DM was the incredible Dan Veerhuesen (sp?). He was the embodiment and prototype of all the great attributes a drum corps member should be. No one loves the Scouts or lived the life more than Dan. He was assistant DM when I joined. Even though I was not a local, he was one of the first to welcome me to the Scouts, and made me really feel a part of the group immediately.

[@DennisJohnsonDrummer]

I marched Spirit that year and we had a few shows with Madison. I always liked their show and thought it would have been cool for the horn lines to combine and blow the house down. What memories.

[@curtnichols]

+Dennis Johnson - Hey Dennis, Spirit had a well-respected wall of sound! It really would have been something else to collaborate. :) Curt Contrabass, Madison Scouts 1979-1981

[@michaelwenhold8117]

Would have loved to hear that!!

[@DennisJohnsonDrummer]

@@curtnichols We combined with the Crossmen after a show once. Jim Ott led the horns and Float led the drums in a few exercises. Fun times!

[@barbaracabello587]

Man, what I would give to have had the experience of seeing that in person all those many years ago! Surely one for the ages!! RIP JIM OTT and TOM FLOAT! ! !

[@1rickjon]

I saw them in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1980 and this remains one of the most emotional moments in drum corps history. I can't watch it enough.

[@DennisJohnsonDrummer]

We (Spirit) were at the Hamilton show too. Warmed up in a neighborhood in the middle of the street as I remember it. Sure the neighbors loved 35+ drummers making all that racket!

[@raymondfallon7429]

I'm not crying...

[@VaughnDJs]

Ice Castles/Through the Eyes of Love was the last drum corps video I watched with my dad, he cried and said I dont know why I am crying

[@jamesjennings6869]

that drum major was amazing

[@someperson79]

I don't think anyone who has commented has anything bad to say about the hard work and dedication it takes by the participants.That's always a given.

[@Mike-lh4wn]

I played with the Madison 'Junior' Scouts back in 80 or 81 (cadet corps), and we played this song too. My dad said our CCI performance was awesome. I was hoping to find it here. But still nice to see the 'senior' scouts play it. Wish I would have stuck with this so many years ago. I just went to see my first show in over 30 years. I do admit it has gotten a little 'weird' (with all the props, voiceovers, and non-traditional instruments). With that said, I am happy to be reconnected with this.

[@VaughnDJs]

Through the Eyes of Love (Theme From 'Ice Castles') Melissa Manchester Please, don't let this feeling end It's everything I am Everything I want to be I can see what's mine now Finding out what's true since I found you Looking through the eyes of love...

[@imjonesy3805]

STIRRING !!!...One of my All Time favorites.

[@irishcrazy7660]

It was just different and better back in the "Ole Days."

[@tferguson3078]

This is why I got in to Drum Corp. seeing this show.

[@reneebigsur01]

drum major ROCKS!! Thank you! my very fave drum corps performance,,,EVER!

[@cowapocalypse75]

"PLAY THAT BARITONE!!!"

[@reneebigsur01]

thanks for the lesson! I appreciate the intentional simplicity! I am a new drum corps fan, so to see this amazing show by the scouts helps me appreciate where we are today,. personally, since i am a 70's person, i enjoyed this "real" drum corps presentation , and look forward to supporting the madison scouts for years to come!!

[@bc82sop42]

Beautiful solo Ray!

[@karltemple1764]

This is drum corps. If you like this, you like drum corps. If you don’t like this, you don’t like drum corps. If you needed drum corps to change into band and/or winter guard in order to like it, you don’t like drum corps.

[@reneebigsur01]

i may be a newbie to drum corps,and,,my neighbor when i was growing up, betty traves, field nurse for years at whitewater, is my inspiration. it took me decades to find drum corps, and now that i found it, i will be a supporter for life; to honor what was, and to support what is. we can't go back in time, we can only savor and keep and support what is.

[@jasonbsexton]

Nothing beats the sound of a G Hornline

[@Philsy]

This is sooooo much better than today's drum corps.

[@grandpadavid45]

So TRUE!! 💯👍

[@zippedydoo1]

I've never even seen people march with Timpanis or bells before, but they look really cool! Fantastic show too.

[@EWE4YAH]

My sister marched Tymp in BD for a bit until they moved her to the bass drum line. You can see her on the 50 yard line in the '75 show.

[@Boze0415]

Ahhh the 80s. I remember watching this show

[@sdingeswho]

Meat and Potatoes 😎🤩 … love old-school DCI, especially old-school Madison Scouts 😁❤️!

[@michaell.8938]

Goosebumps.

[@DocXtheGreat]

Were they marching timpani? What is this sorcery?

[@sbyrstall]

Drum corps was a real, blue collar, sport back then.

[@CSRookie]

The "pit" as we know it today didn't become a thing until '82 I believe.

[@kmf07302]

if you played it you had to carry it!

[@mrhandy100]

Madison still doesn't need it, they are damn near loud enough to this day.

[@curtnichols]

Nice work Ray, Dan... everybody! My goodness. So awesome being part of that. What a closer. :)

[@raypeery6317]

Thanks Curt. That was a fun show, wasn't it?

[@missioncreekstyle3814]

1980 was a bloody battle all year long. Several corps had peak years of their respective organizations: Bridgemen, 27, and Spirit. The scores were very tight all year and especially at finals. www.scorpsboard.com/scores/historical_scores/1980.html The battle between 27 and BD was legendary and for the ages for the top two spots. Bridgemen were extraordinarily popular (Spoiler alert: The South wins the Civil War) but they also had a clean show & an outstanding drumline. They were difficult to defeat. Spirit, Madison, and SCV all beat each other throughout the season, so those were the battles at mid-pack with Spirit peaking at Finals under the emotion of losing their horn instructor, Jim Ott, a legend of the activity, to an auto accident while on tour. Don't think SCV ever beat Phantom, but came within .6 at Allentown. Phantom got beat by Madison once, but remember that Phantom was in the hunt until very late in the season. They beat 27 and Bridgemen in August and was the goat of the mid-pack. They were a tough, high quality unit that year. I marched SCV in '80 in the hornline. A tough year for the corps, but it was a cool show to perform.

[@pianoclocks]

Beautiful to watch! Talented group.

[@terrymitchell1505]

WOW-THAT SHOW!! THE WALL OF BRASS!!

[@gamertooth17]

I love the mallet and timp writing in this. :)

[@vlcourneyea]

Absdolutely wonderful. Scout House Alumni is reviving this number for their 2013 season and it's a winner.

[@cowapocalypse75]

9 ppl suffered catastrophic auditory nerve damage at Legion Field

[@reneebigsur01]

SPATS!!! lets bring back the spats for the 75th anniversary,,,please!

[@richardk8821]

Pure magic. Thanks for posting!

[@stale56]

*continued* because the judges are part of the audience. Pleasing audience=>pleasing judges. Madison also was the only corps to get SEVERAL legit standing ovations (not just standing at the en of a show), including a standing O from walking on the field.

[@a13ltb]

Guys, can we please keep this pleasant and without the language, there are kids who come on here, or I'll have to start deleting people. Thanks

[@DKreager1]

Not a problem, Mr. Bright. I guess some folks don't know how to hold a civil conversation. I'm done with him, do as you please :) Oh, and thanks for the post! Some of the most exciting shows came from that era of drum and bugle corp. The crowds, the music, the whole experience of corp at its peak was amazing.

[@oil1252]

Fuck you dickhead

[@oil1252]

@Micah Lall-Trail Fuck you too

[@dancurrier4723]

Don't forget the 60s when there were more than 5,000 drum corps in North America. there were many great corps in the 60s including The Cavaliers, Kilties, Royal Airs, Des Plaines Vanguard, Bsonton Crusaders, Blessed Sac, 27th Lancers, Troopers, just to name a few.

[@brianrichards6368]

I marched in this show and remember Whitewater 1980 just finishing Ice Castles looking up in the stands a woman was crying. I will never forget her face. That is drum corps. Today I see corps reach this when they focus on the fans not judges. The issue isn't electronics and such, but the connection with audience . Take Blue Devils focus on judges, I hear they have a check mark list to design shows to get points Ironically BD director and designer marched in 1980 the designer with me in scouts

[@grantoldblueeagle]

I've got the records but I've never seen it good job

[@nobodyhasaclue]

MY CHILL BUMPS HAVE CHILL BUMPS!

[@drumjuster]

Hey, this happened a couple weeks after I was born! Sweet!

[@sluzardo5879]

My High School did this number 1.5 years later....Probably saw this first !

[@tplunkett3]

this is cool. But I gotta say today's kids are REAL drum corps too. Today's Madison Scouts would do this just as proud but they can also move, run, dance while blowing it down. Respect today's groups gentlemen. They honor YOU everyday.

[@stacyjones5480]

somepersons 79 my mother agrees with you. she and my dad marched in the sixties with the mmcc warriors.

[@tomshea8382]

I never realized there was a tribute to Anaheim's Mace Walk in the company front.

[@unbearablepleasures]

One thing that never changes is the hard work, dedication, and endless number of hours spent sweating on field by young men and women who seek to to build a legacy of their own. It it disrespectful and shameful for any adult to deny them that chance through backhanded comments, and slander to the changes that represent drum corp for today's marching members.

[@missnics15]

@someperson79 i'm one of those kids and i couldnt agree with you more. 20 years old and i'd rather watch shows from the '70s and '80s. this is real drum corps. i miss it!

[@jakehardy762]

im super excited for that! im auditioning this year. :)

[@vlcourneyea]

Scout House's new number this year for 2013. Coming along beautifully.

[@vlcourneyea]

Both Madison & Scout House celebrating a 75th next year. How appropriate.

[@Myxolydian2001]

The epitome of "Park and Blow"!

[@sbyrstall]

There's nothing wrong with that either.

[@ManDudeBroseph]

@jim64ful And timpani on the field? AWESOME!!! Modern DCI is where it's at.

[@Windsweptzariel]

I like the tempo they did this song in. One of the bands my high school comforted against did this song at this tempo and I really liked it. But since it's not on KZbin I thought I'd see what other bands have done. They like to speed it up. I like it better slow.

[@ThePMcDonald]

I always liked the way that Madison kicked the tempo up a little bit in 1981 ... this will ALWAYS be my FAVORITE Madison closer

[@hawkDFTBA]

who's being amplified exactly these days? because i've got 15 fellow scouts contras whose honor would be very wounded by your implications. -a 2013 scout contra

[@unbearablepleasures]

Comments from old people who directly place their "glory days" in competition with the future and evolution of the activity, is exactly what makes me fear for the continued participation of youth in drum corps. Rules will change. Corp names will change. Champions will burst on to the scene, and then fade away into history, only to be remembered by KZbin videos and endless chats in late night forums.

[@bewildernesssurgeon6083]

So much symmetry back in the day...

[@YEP321S]

This was a great year with several fine corps with deserving shows. BD won because they had no serious weaknesses as compared to Two-Seven, Bridgemen, Phantom, Spirit, or the Scouts. It was a helluva shootout then.

[@DennisJohnsonDrummer]

We (Spirit) tied for high drums with Bridgemen, took 2nd in horns and 4th in marching. Any of the top four could have won that year. BD-27th-Bridgemen-Spirit

[@spursfanhawaii]

Awesome

[@cjellis1019]

YEAAAA ADD A NINEEEEE!

[@purberri]

Back when the percussion had to be part of the formations. Now they just play on the sideline. D&B was much better before the 1990's. Now it's all this interpretive dance and costumes. Bring back traditional drum and bugle anyday

[@bridgetmartin917]

No amplification required!

[@oldschooldrumcorps]

When Madison still had their Mojo

[@someperson79]

Now kids,this is drum corps.No squatting, no electronics, no epileptic dancing, convulsions or props to hide weaknesses.Straight to it.

[@mikebridges7294]

I think the Scouts always looked better in white trousers and shoes. Either way....I think...personally....the Scouts are the best dressed.

[@molivares5340]

❤️🤩

[@ms-mo8hl]

Does anyone know what year and who decided to start the pit and to stop lugging those huge drums and bells around

[@davidzins2495]

It started in 1981.

[@brianrichards6368]

Maybe I wasn't clear, as an old guy I am not saying amplification is bad nor are the advances. What is the problem tho is the focus on the judges and not the fans. Say BD Through a glass darkly, I think it belongs on an off Broadway stage not a football field. It does seem that corps are moving back to focus on fans, but no one more so than the scouts, judges should add a standing ovation category for points

[@mrlappy6396]

Brian Richards I know in wgi you can get a fan favorite vote, I think that’d be great in dci

[@MrBFMorrison]

Does anyone anywhere have the San Jose Raiders from 80-82 with their marching congas?

[@edwardcarr3625]

RIP, DM Dan Veerhusen. MYNWA

[@carllandsness9416]

Lots of interesting comments on this thread (and moving video). Triggers lots of memories and emotions re the 'way we were' back then (and before)… and where we are now. Sad and sweet.

[@jakehardy762]

you can always just buy a DCI account and watch everything on there.

[@tubamankins]

La Habra High School "United Marching Units" closer 1980.

[@mauricefrontz8570]

DCI WORLD CHAMPIONS 1975

[@jim64ful]

REAL Drum Corps was the 70's and 80's!!!!! NOOOOOO AMPLIFICATION!!!!!

[@Derp_he]

No Amps needed for that...damn..

[@A0MIN]

But still, that ending was killer!

[@timmac9985]

i agree