Steve and Dennis!!!! - I Found It!!!!!

[Cameron Gates]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJi0yM0GsAU" target="_blank" target="_blank

22 years ago this was the loudest thing on earth.

Have you guys kept in contact with any of the folks in that band?

THAT was a fun 3 weeks.

[timdicarlo]

That... was... AWESOME.

We did that last song, from West Side Story, my freshman year of high school. The extra 350 people definitely make it sound better.

[Tubaing]

[dwaskew]

thanks, Cameron--

that was a great 3 weeks, wasn't it?

Remember when they shut down the evening rehearsals, because we were disturbing the hospital down the road?

I used to be in contact with a couple of guys, but nothing lately, except the other 3 from my college who were in. (non-tuba types)

Somewhere I have a video tape with all the stuff from that night plus the 4th of July thing on the island--haven't watched it in years.......

dwa

[Cameron Gates]

good god! is there anything like this now?

I don't think there will be another one of these things again. There was a monster band in 1984 for the Olympics in California and this one for the re-dedication of the statue.

The cost involved (flying people from all 50 states, housing, feeding, ground transportaion, UNIFORMS, etc....) had to be out of this world.

What a sound that was. Well worth the $2,745,853,932.51 that it cost. Imagine what today's price would be.

Another nice thing about that band: very few woodwinds. It was all about bang for the buck even back then.

[THE TUBA]

There are a couple of things for high school kids, but nothing that meets the grandeaur of that ensemble.

BOA Parade Honor Band
Army All-American Marching Band

[dwaskew]

That '84 Olympic Band was good, but the Liberty Band was pretty much over the top. I can't imagine those costs. geez! The 48 tubas, and, from what I remember 76 trombones (yes, really) and what, 16 snares & a full diatonic octave of bass drums?
Loud, folks, really loud.

The Army/MENC Band is cool, too, but couldn't be as much fun as the old McDonald's All American Band was. I wonder how many on this list might've ever served in that group before it was disbanded in about 1989 or so. (I was in in '81).

[J.c. Sherman]

How many folks - including flags - was that? I hated marching Band... but that was incredible.

J.c.S.

[kingrob76]

Cameron, you dope, I have this tape.

Actually, I have the original broadcast (VHS) AND the documentary from William Patterson College. I didn't realize they were that hard to come by....

Come to think of it, I pretty much have all of Liberty Weekend on VHS, thanks to my parents.


Rob, part of the "Shufflin' Crew" - Shufflin' on down, doin' it for you

[kingrob76]

So, where is the Statue of Liberty College?

Very impressive and must have been decibel strong!

It's located in the exact place as William Patterson College, in beautiful, scenic Wayne, N.J. (where we lived and rehearsed for 3 weeks). And yeah, it was loud, but it was very musical and I think we were all really proud of that fact. Thing is though, most people thought the dress rehearsal - a full run through the night before - was a better performance.