Someone mentioned the Star of Indiana recently on another thread. What happened?

I remember that they "morphed" into a group which played with the Canadian Brass. Then formed BLAST. Then? Gone?

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

I found this ..

http://www.starofindiana.com/

Our History

The Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps was a competitive Drum Corps International (DCI) corps during the years 1984-1993. The corps won the DCI World Championship in 1991 and placed in the top twelve all of its years in existence. The corps also marched in the Indy 500 parade in each of those years. This very special parade served as the corps' first performance of the year in each of its 9 seasons and also one season post drum corps. 2004 would mark the corps' 11th appearance in the parade.

After the summer of 1993, Star stopped competing in DCI and embarked on a mission to become a professional Tony® and Emmy® Award-Winning musical organization now called Blast! The Alumni corps members are primarily ex-members of the Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle corps, but we comprised of members from all years after 1993 as well.

Wow! Thanks for the info Sheila! The Star of Indiana has continued changing .. now both a professional stage group (Blast) and they have started various local band and other musical groups too.

But, I never liked them as a drum corps.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

You didn't like them, Dave... then I know I would love them!

I didnt care for them either..

Possibly the WORST show in the history of drum corps was Star's last one in 1993. But I LOVED them three years before that. They basically left drum corps because the crowd and judges weren't going for their esoteric shows and letting them win every year. And with the money they were spending, I guess they felt entitled to win every year.

And no, Bill, you would NOT have liked them.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Bob, I'm gonna have to go on dci.org, to the music library, and listen to some of their shows. You guys have me interested now. I've heard that they have one show, in particular, that is a fan favorite, to this day; it's somewhere in the early 90's as I recall.

From a historical perspective I've always put the Star of Indiana's DCI championship as the point at which classical drum corps was gone for ever. It had been coming for a few years, put that was "the day the music died."

Seem to recollect that during that time the PBS broadcast would have a professor from Indiana University as a commentator. The guy was a complete snob. The last year Madison won I recollect him making some sacastic remarks about one of their arrangements. Funny I never remember Indiana University being noted for it's music program. Northwestern had that reputation among Big Ten schools and Michigan and Ohio State had the reputation as leaders in marching band programs.

As noted above, Star of Indiana went away and sort of morphed into the broadway presentation "BLAST!" I don't follow broadway too much anymore but a while back I caught a PBS presentation of the revival of the show "Company." The interesting thing about that revival was that the actors all played musicial instruments and there didn't seem to be an orchestra. When they weren't on stage as featured actors/singers/dancers, they were playing various instruments. One of the women had a contra bass among other brass instruments she played. I wonder if "BLAST!" had some influence on this. It also must be very difficult to find actors who can sing, dance and play an instrument (or several).

What did you do in the Corps? Baritone

What years were you a Corps member? Cadets 1959 to 1961 Imperials 1962 to 1966

At the Naperville show, I sat near a man wearing a STAR OF INDIANA jacket. On it was a patch, stating that they were DCI champs. I started talking with him. He was very proud of having marched with them and of the shows they produced. We had an interesting chat; that's all. Aren't you glad you read this! ha ha ha.

Bill, I am glad to hear that the man from Star of Indiana was proud of his championship. If he was a member, he worked hard for it and he should be happy. But, I agree with John. Their shows were horrid.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

I know, Dave, I know.

The kids can do great, while the program, itself, can be lousy. I totally respect that and I am well aware that all of us do, too.

Gosh, when they came out with their "circus" show with all the HUGE idiotic props, I thought I was going to throw up!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Throw up, you say. ...

Go see the Racine Scouts. Poor kids (there aren't many) are wearing time-worn, rag-tag uniforms and they sound awful. They just aren't field ready; not even close. Their drill could be done by you and me. You could say that at least they're out there. However, it is downright embarrassing; I have never seen the likes of the '08 version of that corps. Pathetic. I guess it's on its last legs; sure seems so. I am glad to watch any corps perform, I've always said. That is no longer true. Last year's Capitol Sound was awful too, but they were terrific, by compaison. They are taking '08 off; coming back in '09, it was announced. I wonder what is happening there. I really feel for the kids. Are they oblivious to it all, do you think? What should be done in such a case, folks?

Could these corps be "adopted" as some big corps' "sister corps"? Or what??

Bill, interesting. see the new thread on "Horrid little corps"

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Actually, I'm going to run against the grain here. I sort of liked Star in spite of their terrible programming. They played the hell out of the instruments that's for sure. We might not have liked what they played, but they played extremely well.

I remember seeing Star at DCI North in Ypsilanti that year (93) about 2 weeks before nationals. I also remember thinking how fantastic they performed that terrible Bartok show. Star had a great performing group of kids, and a terrible creative staff. It's so unfair to judge those kids historically by what they were compelled to perform by a staff that was trying to break new ground at their expense, especially with regard to the Bartok show. If they had played ANYTHING that was different or more acceptable than the Bartok that year, they had the talent to win nationals. They came **** close that year even with getting dumped in GE because of the almost universal dislike of that show. When they lost there was almost a collective sigh of relief from the fans. They didn't want drum corps heading in that direction. Amazing how they just might have been 10-15 years ahead of their time. Hmmm Food for thought?

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

Jerry is right ... the Star kids could PLAY!

What did you do in the Corps? drummer

What years were you a Corps member? 1958-63

Yes, their brass sections were incredible. They were disliked first because of their big budget shows (which of course is the norm today in DCI), then for pushing the envelope so far that the audience couldn't relate.

I loved their "Pines of Rome" year when they won the championship, but the Bartok stuff was way ahead of its time and hard to digest then. But as Jerry stated, they were really good that year and were doing things drum corps never did before.

I think Bill would have like them because he's into modern DCI which has alot based in those Star corps.

Although it appeared that they left drum corp because they didn't win, their director, Jim Mason, swore to me that they left to explore new venues which was Brass Theater with Canadian Brass. Blast still exists in London's West End and many of the Star alumni compete and win frequently in DCA's Minicorps competition (25 or less competitors performing on a stage at the indidvidual and ensemble night at the championships).

I remember seeing Jim Mason at a Bands of America Camp at SIU right after Star split from DCI and went on the road with the Canadian Brass. They were performing at the camp. I talked to Jim for quite a while at one of the directors socials (since I have known Jim all the way back from his time as Colts Brass instructor and Director) and he gave me pretty much the same story. I think he was holding something back though and the decision wasn't entirely his to make. It might have been mandated by Cook, his employer, who in all reality owned Star, and was a major sponsor of DCI until the 93 fiasco. They might have seen it as a great opportunity, but also there is the possibility that Cook wanted out of DCI and wanted to make a point in their leaving. Mason told me and a few others that Cook (I forget his first name) was very upset about 93 Nationals and had lost faith with DCI, but Jim did say in defense of Cook, that it wasn't the placing at 93 nationals that made them move away from DCI and look for other venues to perform.

The thing that I always found interesting was the look on Mason's face when he was telling us that information. It was like he was just following the party line, so to speak. So I wouldn't discount the placings at 93 Nationals as one of the reasons for Star leaving DCI, even though Jim or nobody else would admit that. It may have not been the main reason, but it sure would have made the decision to depart much easier for them to rationalize than if they had won. Do you think had they won, they would have stayed with DCI? Interesting food for thought.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

In retrospect, most people remember Star of Indiana for their last show, The Medea production, which was innovative but too much ahead of it's time to be accepted at that stage of drum corps development. It was a difficult show to watch and listen to, which I think they sort of intended. The show was dissonant and controversial in every aspect.

In all fairness, we need to look at Star in terms of the body of work they did during their 9 or so years. We need to look at the Pines of the Rome show, Walton's Balthazars (sp) Feast show, and their British show. All were exceptional productions. Also look at them in terms of sheer performance capabilities. Their brass section took high brass at nationals 4 years in a row. Only Blue Devils have done better than that.

Did I like the Midea Show, absolutely not! Would I use those particular pieces in any show, no. Did I think it was innovative, without a doubt. Did they perform it well, without a doubt. Should they have won, maybe, but most in the activity were glad they didn't because everyone else would have headed down that road to try and follow them. But you have to respect the performance and the way the kids fought through the fact that they knew nobody liked the show. They performed like professionals.

So to sum up my feelings and opinion of Star of Indiana, I think they were one of those trend setting corps, just like Santa Clara and Anaheim were in the 70s, and Blue Devils and Cadets were in the 80s. The thing that probably will damage their spot in history is the fact that they had the intestinal fortitude to leave the activity on their own terms. Bill Cook was a major sponsor in DCI. He also owned Star. He ran them so well that people were just plain jealous of their success, much like MLB is jealous of the Yankees success. He created them on a solid financial foundation and also helped drum corps by not only sponsoring, but producing the PBS broadcasts of DCI. He was the reason that DCI continued to have success in the mid 80s all the way until 93, because of his financial backing of the telecast. So when he left, a ton of people bad mouthed him and felt like they were left out in the cold. In reality, Star was good for drum corps because he gave many corps a great management model as an example to work with and from. Did his corps always put on the most entertaining shows, No, but they were fun to watch and in retrospect very provocative and innovative. And they sure played the hell out of the instruments. So that is my take on all of this. I know people will try to punch holes in my summary, but it is my opinion based on my knowledge of the corps and the people who ran it. They were a great corps and left to the listeners opinions as to whether they like them or not. When all is said and done, they at least should be respected for the greatness they achieved in so little time in the activity. They were finalists every year of the existence. No other corps can say that. Like them or not, they were **** good.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

I LOVED the "Balthazar's Feast" show, and thought they should have won with THAT one rather than the "Pines" show the following year. I had the pleasure of hosting them at my high school in Georgia over the July 4 weekend that year, and I've never seen a group practice as hard and efficiently as they did.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Yep, that was a great show. The Walton music itself is intriguing, yet the way they produced it was just amazing. Loved the slight uniform changes they had with the helmets and purple sashes, and the drill presented the music a method that today's drum corps should employ. It was not drill for drill's sake, but drill to present the music properly. The drill expanded, contracted and climaxed when the music did. It was obvious that their drill writers payed very close attention to the musical phrasing. It was innovative drill to service and present the music, rather than the other way around like today. Yep I agree with Bob again. That show was fantastic.

And WOW, did their brass section play! If ever there was a brass section that came close to BD in the modern scheme of things historically, it was Star.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

Cheers to that, Jerry. And as a brass player, that Pines of Rome show (and the Balsazar show) was incredible. I saw them at DCM and the mellophones were already playing those thirty-second notes like it was the end of the season. One of the best horn lines ever (in a sea of Blue Devil triumphs). I love drum corps!

I remember "Reliable Rondo" saying how hard that music is to play sitting down, let alone running around the field like they did. Amazing stuff. But by 93, they had lost me completely.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Bob,

They lost all of us in 93. We just have to remember them for what they did before that year. That is their legacy, not 93.

Jim,

I love drum corps too......just not DCI.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

All this conversation about the Walton show just made me want to pull out my video tape of that show. I am watching it now. Some amazing stuff. Watching Curt Gowdy and Rondo is a hoot.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager

If you want to see hosts that are hilarious, watch 76 or 77 with Gene Rayburn ("The Match Game") and his wife - just awful!

What did you do in the Corps? Snare, Drum Major, Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Gene's Wife, "Oh, it's so grand!"

I agree. I didn't watch anything until after the show because the corps I was teaching was in it, BUT, had a real hoot when I taped the broadcast and looked at it. I still have a copy of that fuzzy tape still. Gene Rayburn had to be the worst of them.

What did you do in the Corps? Brass Instructor, Corps Manager