Thousands of fans showed up to theaters across the United States on Thursday, April 26 to be a part of the 2007 Classic Countdown, Drum Corps International's annual spring cinema event. Here are a few excerpts from those who attended:
"... The Classic Countdown last night was a great prelude to the upcoming season, The crowd in Irvine, Calif. reminded of being at a summer show with people cheering and clapping to their favorite corps performances. I can already tell California will love to have World Championshps in their backyard this year ..." Danica Stott; Smithfield, Utah
"... The DCI Classic Countdown was pretty freakin' sweet. My family sat by a Phantom Regiment contra horn player, and got to hear some cool stories. There was a band with their whole drum line there, and I got to see some seniors, a sophomore, and junior from my band. It was all fun! ..." Patricia Kurowski; Stratford, Conn.
"... I enjoyed the show tremendously as did the friends that I was with. Our main comment was that "classic" should mean a show that older than last year. We all agreed that both the Cavaliers and Phantom Regiment had wonderful shows, but classic should be able to pass the test of time. Nine months was simply not enough time to become a classic ..." Bob Lease; York, Pa.
"... This was a memorable Classic. I particularly enjoyed the "Bananas" (Bridgemen). It was like going back in time to when I was there. The top three shows were awesome! I do hope that my local Regal will carry the August live theater broadcast. Thanks for the memories ..." Andy Cornell; Redmond, Wash.
"... Sound system was not the best, and of course the clarity of the older corps was lacking. I was disappointed to see a repeat from last's Classic Countdown (1980 Bridgemen), when there are so many other good years. Since many people have never seen the shows, I would like to see the bad boys of drum corps such as the 1975 Muchachos or 1978 Bridgemen when they were disqualified from Finals ..." Roy Cazares; Edinburg, Texas
"... Freakin' awesome! ..."
Tom Schnare
"... I am a longtime drum corps person, having marched and taught from the 1960s through the 1980s. Host Michael Cesario, who I haven't been crazy about in the past, did a great job. He balanced keen insights with silly but very effective humor and really enhanced the show. It was so interesting watching the differences in eras and seeing what things pass the test of time and what things seem dated. Hats off to the 1989 Santa Clara Vanguard for acing the test of time ..." Sam Yates; Paducah, Ky.
"... This was my first DCI Classic Countdown experience and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was great getting to see some new shows that I've somehow managed to never see such as the Bridgemen ..." Chester Garrison; Gulfport, Miss.
"...Unfortunately, I felt that the outcome of the fan voting was based off of the ability of the recent generations computer skills ... Comparing the current visual oriented shows to the early music/entertainment oriented shows is useless. Please offer the younger students more insight into the difficulty of playing the same hard horn licks of today with a thumb and finger combination bugle of yore ..." Brice Acosta; New Orleans, La.
"... Being so far removed from most activity, I'm quite thankful that DCI has utilized technology in a way that allows us remote locations to view drum corps happenings ..."
"... The Classic Countdown last night was a great prelude to the upcoming season, The crowd in Irvine, Calif. reminded of being at a summer show with people cheering and clapping to their favorite corps performances. I can already tell California will love to have World Championshps in their backyard this year ..." Danica Stott; Smithfield, Utah
"... The DCI Classic Countdown was pretty freakin' sweet. My family sat by a Phantom Regiment contra horn player, and got to hear some cool stories. There was a band with their whole drum line there, and I got to see some seniors, a sophomore, and junior from my band. It was all fun! ..." Patricia Kurowski; Stratford, Conn.
"... I enjoyed the show tremendously as did the friends that I was with. Our main comment was that "classic" should mean a show that older than last year. We all agreed that both the Cavaliers and Phantom Regiment had wonderful shows, but classic should be able to pass the test of time. Nine months was simply not enough time to become a classic ..." Bob Lease; York, Pa.
"... This was a memorable Classic. I particularly enjoyed the "Bananas" (Bridgemen). It was like going back in time to when I was there. The top three shows were awesome! I do hope that my local Regal will carry the August live theater broadcast. Thanks for the memories ..." Andy Cornell; Redmond, Wash.
"... Sound system was not the best, and of course the clarity of the older corps was lacking. I was disappointed to see a repeat from last's Classic Countdown (1980 Bridgemen), when there are so many other good years. Since many people have never seen the shows, I would like to see the bad boys of drum corps such as the 1975 Muchachos or 1978 Bridgemen when they were disqualified from Finals ..." Roy Cazares; Edinburg, Texas
"... Freakin' awesome! ..."
Tom Schnare
"... I am a longtime drum corps person, having marched and taught from the 1960s through the 1980s. Host Michael Cesario, who I haven't been crazy about in the past, did a great job. He balanced keen insights with silly but very effective humor and really enhanced the show. It was so interesting watching the differences in eras and seeing what things pass the test of time and what things seem dated. Hats off to the 1989 Santa Clara Vanguard for acing the test of time ..." Sam Yates; Paducah, Ky.
"... This was my first DCI Classic Countdown experience and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was great getting to see some new shows that I've somehow managed to never see such as the Bridgemen ..." Chester Garrison; Gulfport, Miss.
"...Unfortunately, I felt that the outcome of the fan voting was based off of the ability of the recent generations computer skills ... Comparing the current visual oriented shows to the early music/entertainment oriented shows is useless. Please offer the younger students more insight into the difficulty of playing the same hard horn licks of today with a thumb and finger combination bugle of yore ..." Brice Acosta; New Orleans, La.
"... Being so far removed from most activity, I'm quite thankful that DCI has utilized technology in a way that allows us remote locations to view drum corps happenings ..."