Sunrisers Score Solid R.I. Victory

Drum Corps News June 12, 1963

E. PROVIDENCE, R.I., June 1 - Their concert is "Sing, Sing, Sing" and that's just what the Sunrisers of Mineola, L.I., are doing today as a result of their strong first place finish at the first Northeastern Circuit contest of the season, the Cavalcade of Music, here tonight. They totaled a fine score of 83.433, more than 3 points ahead of their nearest competitor, to the applause of over 6,000 spectators.

First Corps off the line and a great favorite of the enthusiastic crowd were the MARKSMEN of Springfield. Vinnie Ratford has given them what many fans felt was the best drill of the night, full of wide-open diagonals and criss-crosses. Wearing their blouses because of the warm weather and early evening light, the Springfield contingent showed good early season form with a powerful horn line that tends, however, to blast at times, and a good clean drum line. We liked especially the off-the-line drill, the mammouth Color Guard (16 flags, by far the largest of the night), and "When I Fall in Love" going onto the finish line.

The Washington Carver Gay Blades came on strong with "Temptation" off the line. We thought their drill somewhat unimaginative, except for the part played by the Color Guard, which was excellent. "What Kind of Fool Am I" has a good sound.

New uniforms of black pants and jacket brightened by sparkly blue sash and a large red "V" heralded the appearance of the Torrington Vagabonds. The Vags were noticeably rough, which may be attributed to the earliness of this contest, but show good potential.

There was little doubt in anyone's mind that the Sunrisers had it from their first step off the line. That horn line, full of members of the disbanded Queensmen, is fabulous, and the four-and-four drum line doesn't hurt a bit. The "Sing, Sing, Sing" concert is one of the best arrangements we've heard -- it's too much! Another outstanding number is "Ballin the Jack" which has a terrific screaming solo. In fact, the solo work throughout their show is one of the Sunrisers' greatest assets -- their marching was somewhat rough, but not enough to keep them from taking home the top prize.

The Whalers (ex-Jolly) of New Bedford, Mass., have new uniforms also -- black pants with red and white diagonally-striped blouses. Although they only fielded 24 horns, their music is very crowd appealing and we feel they too have good potential.

"Another Opening of Another Show" off-the-line heralded the appearance of the black, white, and gold Stateliners of Byram, Conn. Their horn line was noticeably harsh with a lack of dynamics, but they have some good music, including "Little Bit Of Luck" and "This Could Be The Start Of Something Big". A novel bit is their concert which is a medley of T.V. - commercial songs, ending with Dinah Shore's "See The USA In Your Chevrolet". We liked the finish line drill.

The Connecticut Yankees are not as strictly military as they have been in the past, as evidenced by their swinging concert of "Blues In The Night", featuring a very effective horn duet. A novel twist: concert is directed by member of the Color Guard! We like the color presentation with Queen Anne salute, something you don't see too much up New England way. The Yankees will field 27 horns without blanks (they had 2 blanks at this show.)

The contest was fittingly capped by an exhibition of the host Corps, Rhode Island Musketeers. They have an unusual drill which features a lot of squad obliques; it seemed to be quite polished for so early in the season. Their 24 horns do a nice job on "Maria". "The Stripper" and the concert of "Summertime". Concert features an outstanding horn quartet composed of Bill St. Ours, who leads it off with a screaming solo, Tony Cordero, Gilbert Martel, and Bill Silva.

The Cavalcade was the joint effort of the Musketeers and the American Legion of R.I. as a kickoff for their annual convention. From the enthusiastic responce of those in the stands at this first effort, we feel sure that it will become an annual event.

Scores were somewhat of a surprise to many, but the season is still young, and anything can happen:

1. Sunrisers ................ 83.433
2. Gay Blades ............. 80.1516
3. Marksmen .............. 78.55
4. Conn. Yankees ....... 77.316
5. Whalers ................. 74.55
6. Stateliners ............. 70.066
7. Vagabonds ............. 70.033

The score of the Musketeers was not revealed, but we are sure they placed high enough to attain the membership in the Circuit that they sought by their judged exhibition.

The Informer (6-12-63)

By: Les Dahlstedt
DCN 6-12-63

It's good to be back again with all my old friends at DCNews--- hope to make this a permanent stay. I won't waste any time, so let's get on to the news.

The SYRACUSE BRIGADIERS are looking forward to a big '63 season. Reports are showing that this up-state senior corps has made terrific progress, and have their eyes out for a certain N.Y. corps. Anyway, it's good to have the "Boys from Syracuse" back on the scene.

Irwin KINGSMEN have put together what may be a show to end all shows. Just recently, four ex-Queensmen have joined the ranks.

Late congratulations to ST. ROCCO'S CADETS on their acceptance into Penn-Jersey, and to SELDEN on their acceptance into Tri-State.

My thanx to Dave Shaw for the GARFIELD schedule. Seems that the boys from Garfield will again have a busy season. So far 32 contests have been booked. By the way, the Champs have a few surprises in store for you.. watch for them. Just got the late word that Dave Shaw is ending up his hitch with Uncle Sam in our 49th state... welcome back Dave.

The CRITERIONS have recently gone through some pretty bad times, and if things continue as they have, the corps may not be with us this year. At any rate they are being replaced at their request by CARVER at the Wanderers' contest on June 29th in New Rochelle.

Those of you who remember the DONS of Long Beach, Calif., will also remember that this corps, who many say were the predecessor of Hawthorne, has been disbanded for many years. Well, only recently the corps was re-organized. At present they will use only 26 horns. There is much hope for fielding somewhere around 36 - 39 horns shortly tho. Besides this, there is a plan to start two junior corps. More on the Dons in later issues.

Saw the SUNRISERS new uniforms and liked them very much. This corps has an all-new sound, and much can be expected from them in the future.

Tommy Martin has been recently added to the instructor's role of the MIRACULOUS MEDAL corps of Ridgewood, N.Y.

The Smithtown FREELANCERS have just struck into some Long Island luck... two experienced snare drummers have recently joined. Many people have the idea that Smithtown won't be on the field this year. Well, as far as I know, such thoughts never were founded truth, and the corps WILL be competing this year.

The MID-ISLANDERS of Floral Park, N.Y. have started on a 5 minute exhibition drill. We would like to see this corps make it, but according to the corps management, a competing corps and drill will not be permitted to exist. It's a shame when you have a corps that could, with a little work, and perseverance become one of Long Island's future powers.

Now that we've seen the recent break-up of Reilly, this writer feels and hopes that the corps won't be out of action too long. It takes MORE than a loss of sponsorship to break up a corps of Reilly's stature.

At the end of last season, when the Queensmen broke up, their sister corps the MARIANETTES, tried to keep things running by merging what was left of the Queensmen with themselves.... after a while when things didn't work out, ALL drum corps activity was dropped in the church. However, word reached me a few days ago that the Marianettes are back together-- as a parade corps this year. Next year the corps will again compete. These girls deserve a lot of credit for what they have gone through, and I'm sure that when they hit the line next year many people will remember their story.

That's it for now... see ya soon.

The Islander

By Rosemary Feliney
DCN June 12, 1963 issue

I can think of only two words to describe An Evening with the Corps at Carnegie Hall. ---- "Fabulous Show" ..... Hear the PRINCEMEN'S new concert is sooo pretty, wish they had used it at Carnegie. And it looks as if our own Long Island SUNRISERS are back on their way to the big time. Can't wait to see the LORIS LIONS come back, but this time as a Drum & Bugle Corps.

And on to the Preview ----- The Reading BUCS new uniforms are very, very nice... Even though our friends from Canada didn't score as high as our own corps, they presented the most GE-packed show I've ever seen ... The GRENADIERS use exceptionally fancy steps in their drill and their cymbal player doing the Russian Folk dance went over very well. As usual it was nip and tuck with GARFIELD and BLESSED SAC. Will Mighty ST. JOE'S of Batavia be the next New York State Champs? And McConkey has added another uniform to his collection as Drum Major of the Toronto OPTIMISTS. YANKEE REBELS couldn't make the show, but ARCHIE did a good job of filling their shoes. How the DIPLOMATS ever form a carousel out on the field is beyond me. Seems that not only HAWTHORNE is playing "Johnny One Note"-- This season, mighty ST. JOE'S is using it too. Looks like the SKYLINERS have really gotten down to business by presenting a serious show. And before this season is over, it should be paying off for them.

ST. ROCCOS of Brooklyn recently spent a weekend out on the Island working on their drill. SELDEN has been accepted into the Tri-State Circuit and is still going strong with those six-hour Sunday practice sessions.

Congratulations to the newly elected officers of the Metropolitan Color Guard Circuit, namely Frank McCluskey, president; Jim Shedden, vice president; and Harris Green, secretary.

The Pequa REDMEN sponsored by the Massapequa American Legion will be out with seventeen horns, three snares, three tenors, 1 bass and 1 cymbal. Music includes "Just Because", "Magic is the Moonlight", "Jamaica Farewell", a medley of marches, and color presentation to "Grand Old Flag." The corps is instructed by Al Beyer; Drum Major, Laura Armintger; Jr. Drum Major, Loretta Filippone; and business manager, Dick Cassano. New members are welcome, and for anyone interested, practice is held on Tuesday evenings at the Legion Hall.

Circle your calendars for June 29th, 7:30 P.M. for "Music Under the Stars"; sponsored by the WANDERERS of New Rochelle. The lineup of corps so far is AMBOY DUKES, YANKEES, JERSEY DEVILS, CARVER GAY BLADES, VAGABONDS, WHALERS, and the COLONIALS, with an exhibition by the WANDERERS.

The ISLANDERS Jr. Drum & Bugle Corps will be fielding 24 horns, 4 snares, 4 tenors, 2 bass, 1 cymbal and a 12 girl color guard under the direction of Janet Ohlmiller, captain. Their Drum Major, Arlene Rossnagel, is one of the snappiest we've seen in a long time. After a fanfare off the line, music includes "Oh What A Beautiful Morning", "Grand Night For Singing", "Double Eagle March", "Side By Side" and "I Ain't Down Yet". Ralph Parkhill, an ex-Islander, is teaching the drumline, with Bill Gallagher on horns and Bill Rudden on Drill.

And the STATELINERS' concert is the TV commercials theme, consisting of "Mr. Clean", "Doublemint Gum", "See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet", "Dragnet Theme", etc. etc. etc. It's the most novel concert to come along in years!

The MID-ISLANDERS of Floral Park are using "Lawrence of Arabia" and are currently working on "My Romance", under the direction of Ernie Fessler and Tommy Martin.

And don't forget to keep your eyes peeled for the biggest news in competitions to come along in years. Enough said---for now. See you next issue.