DCI 1999 || Blue Devils

The Blue Devils warming up in the lot in Stockton, CA on July 9th, 1999.
#BlueDevils #DrumCorpsInternational #VintageLotCollection #DrumlineHeritageProject

[@Jomacx-24]

Peak Blue Devils with the sunglasses at night!

[@garylagstrom3864]

Definitely one of BD’s best Tenor lines ever! 😎😎😎🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🔥🔥🔥

[@DennisJohnsonDrummer]

Love the crispy sound of Yamahas!

[@drumcorps0junkie]

👂😎👌🥁💯🔥🏆🔥💯🥁👌😎👂

[@Paiste2002Fan]

This bass drum tuning is amazing!

[@leonardwoodsii4348]

Forget about the tuning. The lick is serious shit!!!

[@Paiste2002Fan]

@@leonardwoodsii4348 why not both?

[@lukascalvert6484]

Those shots on the drum feature can be heard from space…

[@RickDawg527]

Crazy to say i was there at that show! Was a junior in high school. Best BD years in my opinion....

[@a.m.creativ]

I feel like I heard the audio from this on Napster many years ago. Like this exact audio was available as an MP3. I'm ageing myself here.

[@TonyPerez816]

Me too! I still have those in my music library! lol. Napster feels like such an eternity ago.

[@rifle2563]

@@TonyPerez816 wanna dropbox em?

[@jeffe_77]

Up to that time, BDs best bass line. And Roger Carter patrolling the snare line along Sean Vega with the tenor line.

[@smdftb8495]

I think that bass line was the best one until 2019.

[@jeffe_77]

@@smdftb8495 I was going to say that, but man, the bass drumming game has come so far in the last 10 years, it’s hard to say. Hand to hand splits, split flams, etc

[@smdftb8495]

@@jeffe_77 yeah they play some crazy stuff these days. As a former quad drummer/bass drummer, I've always said the split stuff is cool but thumping unisons are what impress me. I also don't think the 2001 quad line has been surpassed either- maybe one of the Tim Jackson lines or 2011. There was just so much talent on the 01 quad line.

[@jeffe_77]

@@smdftb8495 yep, the fast unisons, especially in the closer was ridiculous by BD 99. And yeah, the 2011 tenor line aka La Quinta H.S. + Chris Drummer is up there.

[@oatsoda1855]

I remember seeing this line at Nighbeat. It was almost completely dark and they’re basically in all black. They looked and felt 10 feet tall. One of my all time favorite lot memories. Love this line!

[@tnorri25]

I remember going to this show as a 10yr old with my family and being blown away by the velocity and power they played with. I ended up joining the C corps the next year because I knew I had to be a part of the organization. Appreciate the upload!!

[@drumcorps0junkie]

It's Will Spikes, I remember going to this show with Eric, Joey, Chris Thomas and 💩 🧱 s after exposure to such 🔥 RAW 🥁ing.

[@tnorri25]

@@drumcorps0junkie WILL! Hope you’re well, bro!

[@billiswillis4087]

@@tnorri25 I'm good and trying to start a community drumline future drum and bugle corps from Tracy California.

[@leonardwoodsii4348]

Oh Shit!! 13 Hour is THE absolute hardest lick EVER. Period. I dare challenge anyone who disagrees

[@ChrisBakerDrummer]

These dudes were my heroes when I marched in college

[@popeyesailor9571]

I missed going to the DVC lights out show. They didn't miss a beat and kept playing. 99 was an awesome year!

[@MicahRunning]

99 and 00 spree are so so sweet

[@DieNaSty4me]

13th Hour🤘🏽

[@Jomacx-24]

6:55 to 8:45 is the part of the show when the drums are not featured, in the back, meanwhile the whole time being drowned out by the G bugles. At the same time the tenors are playing crazy splits and the snares are playing pretty fast rolls. A different time indeed.

[@sohmdaddy]

Starting at 9:27, it's like a cannon going off. That must have been so loud.

[@jambey9792]

Dammmm please please bring back this style of writing? Clearly we need to go back to the days of old….

[@prim7112]

Well if we just kept this style up to today it wouldn’t be so special. Things change so we can look back at the old times and appreciate them more.

[@jambey9792]

@@prim7112 agreed but today the music is boring!! I respect your wisdom but the drumming isn’t that good.. I know this time was special but I wish the love and energy was the same…BD is what made me love drums and marching

[@prim7112]

World class drumming standards haven’t changed, the only thing that’s changed is musical interpretation. Today involves a lot more body movements and more musical expression which is a good thing. There’s still the same amount of chops needed for the books. Back in the 90s it was all just hands and no real musical expression, but I will admit BD 99 is my favorite show of all time, but the note on drumming being “ not as good “ is completely opinionated and ignorant.

[@jambey9792]

With all do respect please stop I’m not ignorant I’m simply giving my opinion like you just did.. That’s like me calling you a sick head while agreeing on what your saying!!

[@jambey9792]

Before you cast a stone be sure to think because you might catch a brick in your direction ✊🏾

[@jeromieb038]

Those shots as a line freaking amazing stuff right here

[@daintersc4]

The tuning is so exposed but when things truly lock in, it’s such a clean sound

[@isiahrowser]

Drum lines don’t tune like that anymore. They trying to hide dirt. Ijs

[@Prof.CheeseDog]

Tenors sound totally dead. Maybe that's just yamaha though

[@daintersc4]

@@Prof.CheeseDog if you listen to Cavaliers quad tuning from the early 2000s, the shallow cut Yamaha drums have the same sound. Blue Devils also has some wack tuning on their tenors where they crank the absolute hell out of their heads, even up until around 2014

[@isiahrowser]

@@daintersc4 I agree with what you said about Yamaha shallow cut drums. To say BD’s tenor tuning is wack that’s a stretch. Tuning drums is a personal preference first off. Also, back in the 90’s the horn lines were using different bugles back then. I don’t know if they are using B bugles or G bugles, but I’m sure BD tuned that way to have the drums cut though the horn sound on the field. If not, the drum sound would get covered up. Ijs. Me personally I like the high tuning. If you have the talent that plays clean with that tuning you can’t argue. Clean is clean.

[@sanford198]

@@Prof.CheeseDog It's 90's camcorder quality. They sounded much better in person.

[@ARZiehm]

Such a great show and line. Thanks for the upload!!

[@trentbildstein5610]

Crazy how clean the snares are during the spree. Tenors and basses...struggling a little. These guys ended up smokin'.

[@jambey9792]

Fck that if it wasn’t for the Blue Devils drum corps wouldn’t be what it is today!! 13hour for all those hatters

[@Jackson352]

99 spree is my favorite one.

[@TheRealDTLew]

13th Hour. Damn.

[@sullimd]

So much more interesting playing then vs. today. I get bored with BDs books the last several years.

[@dudgeon6]

Graduated high school in 1999 and saw them play, then remembered I haven't seen a cleaner line since. Sure, Brandon helped the line by being a young U tube creeper, but he never experienced this kind of speed with dynamics. For the way they play now, it's all about notes, not notes and dynamics. What makes a good line is gone from all corps

[@cartoonpower0]

Damn, besides the camera quality this seems very modern

[@bdguy99]

Mid-season beats.

[@sahaksandragorsian9311]

That section from 7:30-8:05 ending in the accelerating lick is brilliant, like the rest of the book. No getting better than this, wow.

[@lifeemusicelife112]

Talk about brilliant!

[@AjGolfhatyai]

🎉

[@jeromieb038]

So heavy!

[@richardespanto8459]

Damn this show made me want to be a blue devil as a 12 year old.

[@drumcorps0junkie]

1:27👂💯😎🥁

[@mcgrud]

For the algorithm. ✊

[@stubbyt34]

Congratulations on the video/audio quality! I only wish the audio in the DCI productions from the late 90’s would’ve been half as good.

[@drksdofthmoon]

WHY DID THEY STRAY AWAY FROM THESE DRUMS AND TUNING!!!????

[@jeromieb038]

A lot of reasons honestly hiding dirt at lowering tuning you save money on heads because when you crank them that high and Don't let them sit they will tear much faster. Lower tuning is better on your hands and it has a full sound.

[@theTenorDrummer]

Full extension then all the way down to 1"!

[@Snaregod68]

One of the last years they played a "meaty" book. Not a big fan of the dancing and playing nowadays. I miss the in your face tight tuning raw sound.

[@unclemonster48]

I agree I know the youngins nowadays call us old guys boomers and such. But boomers are the former members and fans now. I can’t get on the level with the “performance art”. I guess as long as they are drawing crowds to make money nothing will change. I haven’t seen a live show since 2004

[@urbandecayed79]

The dancing. You got that right about the dancing/choreography being done these days. Because of it I don't really call the activity 'drum corps' anymore. The abundance of choreography just makes it look like so many corps are just one giant color guard section with some of them carrying horns or drums instead of rifles/sabers and flags.

[@erichead4134]

I just don’t enjoy DCI these days because of the dancing and squats, etc.

[@MicahtheDrumCorpsPseudoboomer]

My biggest bone to pick on with the current activity is not the dancing, but the abuse of amplification and synthesizers.

[@isiahrowser]

Do you have some vids of SCV 1999 drumline?

[@DrumlineArchives]

Not that I am aware of, but there may be something hidden on one of these VHS tapes that I have! If anything comes up I'll let you know.

[@AlexMartin011]

@@DrumlineArchives Quick question. What is your process of conversion from vhs to the interwebs?

[@DrumlineArchives]

@@AlexMartin011 I use an RCA to HDMI upscaler, then an HDMI to USB converter to digitize the signal. Hoping to make a tutorial video explaining it if I have the time!

[@AlexMartin011]

@@DrumlineArchives okay! Thanks dude!

[@901.design6]

@2:14 kinda gives me some SCV Martian Mambo vibes

[@nathanvessels8262]

Want the sheet music from 9:30 on

[@ethanestrella5296]

9:32

[@thomasstoeckig4767]

Geez the snare's arms aren't moving at all! I've heard people talk about how little arm used to be used but this is insane!

[@DennisJohnsonDrummer]

We played with this style at Spirit of Atlanta.(1980) Tom Float actually brought this style to DCI from Oakland Crusaders and then to Atlanta and then on to Concord. It takes a while to learn to play this way and it is not natural. Float changed some after a few years if my memory serves me correctly. It is cool thing to see a line playing seemingly effortless. It is NOT effortless. Just looks that way.

[@DrumlineArchives]

One of the snares in this line was the head battery tech at Mandarins my rookie year, he talked about having a lot of issues with his hands and wrists in the years after he stopped marching. Other people I have talked to from this era have said the same thing, in addition to lots of shoulder pain from how much they boxed their elbows out.

[@Jomacx-24]

I feel that current SCV with Rennick has maintained this approach. He’s also kept sticks in and stock exercises. Looks like it still works!

[@cartermize6651]

Those tenor players scare me

[@BlueBass2]

god have we gotten soft over the years

[@Jazzvibe3071]

#quadpimps

[@TheSlayerXnight]

Weird seeing Blue Devils using Yamaha

[@a.m.creativ]

Depends what era you're from. I marched Div III '93 to '95, then DCA all-age from 97-05. I grew up watching BD play Yamaha basically. This is more familiar to me than seeing them with Pearl or the Natal drums they use now.

[@first-namelast-name4198]

@@a.m.creativ weren’t they big into Dynasty for awhile?

[@a.m.creativ]

@@first-namelast-name4198 Yes starting in 2000, but I’m not sure when they dropped Dynasty and went to Pearl.

[@unclemonster48]

Are they going back to Ludwigs? Or is that rumors

[@Paiste2002Fan]

@@a.m.creativ yeah, I feel old reading some of these comments. Even to this day, seeing the Blue Devils not using Yamaha feels weird to me.

[@daskrete]

9:27