Bridgemen Spanish Dreams 78

[newmanem]

soloist blows my mind



[danacread]

Jim Brady is alive and well and living in the Houston area. He still plays his brass off with a couple of bands locally. Clips for "Commercial Art" can be found here on You Tube.

[pyrvinny]

one of the best, and probably most under-rate, soprano solo's in DCI history . . .how is that guy? and where is he now?

[TenorMachine]

I wish drum choirs still played music like this. They've got the talent, but none of the songs I'm hearing from dci today make me want to bob my head and what not like this stuff

[JessEkah47]

Were playing this as our opener this year in our marching show. I play the mello and this song is amazing to play (:

[truc728]

Still get chills 33 years later...

[ctdjazz]

Legendary

[knightflyte]

That solo just drips with awesome sauce. DAMN!

I don't think I could ever count how many times I listened to Spanish Dreams while driving in my car. LOUD LOUD LOUD!

[duke55925]

Even though I was in Blue Stars that year I JUST LOVED THE BRIDGEMEN!!!

[TheChuck624]

They didn't put on the cleanest show but were far more entertaining than most corps back in the 70's.

[amtabor]

there's one reason above all that i love this video: i can see my dad at 1:55 (with the glasses)! i love the bridgemen! :D

[01floydy]

whats jim brady doing now

[88Drumline]

Groove it!

[Scootertunes]

A drum corps that can groove - who knew? Gold Lacqer horns to match the coats, Jim "Doc" Brady soloist and Oh yeah, Denver '78 ... I was there :)

[MegaTubaman1]

we used to call the sop soloist Joe Balls back in the day...that dude can wail!

[BabylonAGoGo]

OMG!!! I have not heard this for 30 years. Tears!

[nflo22]

This corps was way ahead of its time. What they lacked for in drill they made up for with Visuals that just were not done at that time. As a matter of fact, the innovation of body movement (corps members dancing, visuals etc) , which is so prevalent in todays DCi, began with this corps (as far as I know). If anyone knows otherwise, please inform me.

[bob4116]

@nflo22 This is especially true of the guard! They were so much fun to watch back then! And, well, it helped that they were HOT!

[bob4116]

@nflo22 This is especially true of the guard! They were so much fun to watch back then! And, well, it helped that they were HOT! No other guard "strutted" as well as this one!!!

[sschat]

me like!

[1911401]

Jim Brady.......Fabulous,just fabulous,should be in the Buglers Hall of fame

[jerseyrattler]

BD couldn't have done this better for 1 simple reason:

BD never had a Soloist this good.

[mathproof]

BD did this song better in the 1987 show.

[lothy59]

saw them win, wildwood Nj  i believe 78 they were great

[mellosrock]

Man do WISH they would bring back at the VERY least G sopranos. What a great sound lost in today's DCI Bb lines.

[galenct]

@mellosrock I feel the same way about the loss of those ripped mello lines of yesteryear. Star and Cadets in the 90s are a good example

[DanS24106]

What held this corps back was their drill design. Back when visual was nowhere near as important as it is now, 1978 Bridgemen hardly moved even for those days. Too bad because in every other way this corps was fantastic. The design staff blew it.

[knightflyte]

Where's the pit?

This is when Corps was HARD CORPS!

[kingcyberklutz]

@knightflyte  Jimmy Kukuka on Multi Grounded Tympani Drums, WAS THE PIT!!

[Crazy71095]

sick trumpet solo

that freakin blew my mind

[cainanuk]

That's no trumpet my friend... THAT is a soprano BUGLE!!

[stickmanII]

Bridgemen Alumni Corps played this this year (2009) and it is amazing how Larry Kershner's arrangement still holds up 31 years later. Too bad Jim Brady is living down in FL and can't be a part of the Alumni Corps. I heard Jim play the solo from "Pagliacci" in 1989 cold and he nailed it!

I have the audio recording from 1977 DCI Finals. It's on a rare Bridgemen CD produced in 1999. The video was included in the 1977 DCI videos. The D.Q. in 1977 was rescinded by DCI years later.

[Jazztrumpet2012]

1:40 he owned that shit.

[bbcowboy100]

The soloist here Jim Brady made a great horn line sound phenomenal. I heard Brady play live and never forgot him. Incredible tone, remarkable ability to bend & toy with the notes and he never missed.  There was no greater soloist then or now.

[LoopyBass]

If you think about the quality of the horns themselves back then, he's all the more amazing.

[Herita7]

lol nice

marching roto toms

[7291451]

What a rush!! I marched Bridgemen in later years. Thanks for posting!

[stickmanII]

Me too! 1987-88 and the Alumni Corps 2005, 2008-Present.

[Beyak117]

That was a well-spent two and a half minutes.

[OmgItsCHEEZ]

I'm going as a Bridgeman for Halloween this year :D

[stickmanII]

I did that for a few years after the junior corps folded. It helped that I still had my uniform in my possession when the corps folded.

[fireboid]

This was my favorite part of the '78 show! I love the way it swings! Thanks for posting it. And I've always loved the corps' rich sound with its all yellow brass horns. Awesome!

[Burgerbob22]

Because of course, the lacquer or silver plating affects the sound.

[MarineBugler]

Bring back the G! .... De-band DCI!!! Uhhhggg!!!

[sdingeswho]

Amen, MarineBugler --- by the way, I recently remedied a serious defect in my drum-corps playlist: I've got a couple of clips of The Commmandant's Own in there, now! :-D Ooooh-RAH! :-D

[OmgItsCHEEZ]

They've always had an amazing trumpet line.

but they all rule. Bridgemen Forever

[commakozzi]

They actually NEVER had a trumpet line. Ever.

[jerseyrattler]

lmao

[sluggger222]

I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed these guys. Thanks for posting. I wish someone would post the rest of the show. Or in anyone has a copy of the 1977 "Disqualified" show? Id love to see that one.

[fireboid]

Sadly, dci doesn't "recognize" the 1977 performance as having existed. Too band, too, because it was spectacular! But their recording engineer DID record the performance. It wasn't on the records, but it was released for sale on tape for a brief period of time. So if someone posted the video, or maybe just an audio recording of the performance, and if someone from dci saw it, do you think they'd get youtube to take it down?

[stickmanII]

I have the audio recording from the 1977 DCI Finals. It is only on a rare Bridgemen CD produced in 1999. The video of the corps' 1977 Finals performance was included in the VHS videos produced by 1-800 Video Express in the 1980's. The 1977 D.Q. was rescinded by DCI years later so I don't think there would be a problem.

[craiger59]

@stickmanII I have a cassette of '77 too. A friend knew Ken Kobold who made him a copy. Man what a show!

[tmtv633]

@fireboid Why rthe dq?

[JaneenieWeenie]

I was the soloist for the Hammonton Blue Devils NJ We did this back in 1980 BOB Hoffman did the field show we used these same formations but Bob was from the Bridgemen

[FrolienAudrey]

look at the colorguard!! hahaha

[knightflyte]

I forgot how olde school old school really was. NO PIT!!!!! They MARCHED with bells. I forgot that. Wow! Damn could the Bridgemen entertain!!!!!

[MommyAna]

I absolutely LOVE this one!!!! I used to have it on my MP3 player and would have to remember what it looked like. It's always better to be able to see it whenever you want. Thanks for posting it. =)

[slappy1234567]

Great!

[rwrice1]

Does anyone know if Jim Brady is currently playing professionally anywhere?

[HoboBob1]

They also played on G bugles which sound a partial higher than today's Bb trumpets

[naum2113]

We played this song when I was in high school and it was always my favorite, it got my blood rushing, it was wonderful!!

[DrumlineGuru]

Ah, marching roto-toms!

[Italianrob]

Wow, what a trip to the past. they were such an exciting corps, cutting egde of entertainment for their time. Thanks for posting.

[rchgrca]

I listened to this version of 'Spanish Dreams' on a bad audio tape in 1980 and fell in love with drum corps. I swear todays soloists aren't anywhere near as good as Jim Brady. This one song started my drum corps career that included the Sky Ryders, Blue Devils, and winning one DCI Championship Ring.

[gamefellah]

Jim Brady

[Gmannn]

Jim Brady is the soloist. Great drummer too as I hear it.