bushdm86

On behalf of the Bushwackers organization we send our condolences to the family of Tommy Swan, the Skyliners, Melrose Blackhawks, Saints and the countless number of drum corps members taught and inspired by Mr. Swan. May he rest in peace.

Spandy, thanks for all your work on these standing over the season. It was fun to keep track of everyone. I'm just glad I don't have to do it myself! On behalf of everyone who peeked in, thank you.

It was great to meet Tommy and his lovely wife yesterday at the show. Glad you could attend and enjoy yourself. Thank you for all your support. We look forward to seeing you at shows next year as well! And, thank you Fran for your kind words. It means a lot coming from a man we all respect. The Bushwackers have a fine support staff and, like most drum corps, do a hundred things well. I could not work with a nicer or finer crew. It was a pleasure seeing Excelsior and meeting Heartliner yesterday, as well as the Bracken Cavaliers and Reilly's Raiders. Excelsior and Heartliner put on great performances as we tune up for Annapolis this coming weekend. With all of the young people in drum corps these days, it is important for them to understand the history of drum corps. We just didn't arrive here a few days ago. Drum corps has a long and fascinating history, so seeing the Bracken Cavaliers and Reilly's Raiders at our show was educational and fun. Thank you both! And, lastly, thank you to the fans, especially those who went to our Alumni Village. It was great to hear all those corps names again, even for one afternoon in August. Thanks again for your support!

Unfortunately, Shenandoah Sound confirmed today they cannot make the Pennsauken Invitational. We thank them for trying their best. So, three competing corps: Heartliner, Excelsior and your hosts, the Bushwackers plus three alumni corps: Vagabonds, Bracken Cavaliers and Reilly's Raiders. General admission tickets have been reduced to $10 and reserve section tickets are $20. Children under 6 years of age are free. See you Sunday in Pennsauken!

The last regular season DCA show of 2013 will be held this Sunday August 25th at 2pm at Pennsauken High School, 800 Hylton Road, Pennsauken, NJ 08110. The Pennsauken Invitational will include the Pennsauken HS Band in exhibition, and in competiton, Heartliner, Excelsior, Shenandoah Sound, Carolina Gold, your hosts the Bushwackers and a closing exhibition by Reilly's Raiders. Tickets are $20 reserve section and $15 general admission, children under 6 years of age are free. Tickets can be ordered online through PayPal at www.bushwackers.org or purchased at the ticket booth the day of the show. The ticket booth opens at 12pm. Be sure to stop by the Alumni Village and register the corps you marched in during your drum corps career. Also, the Vagabonds and Bracken Cavaliers will perform at the Alumni Village prior to the show, so get there early and enjoy a full day of drum corps in at Pennsauken HS. The Alumni Village opens at 12pm. See you this Sunday in Pennsauken!

Truman, thank you for covering our show! We had a great turnout, better than we even expected. The Woodbridge band parents are a great group to work with and we were both very happy with how the evening went. Thank you to all the spectators who came to the Bushwacker Invitational last night. It was a great crowd and a great venue. Looking forward to next year already. And thank you to the Sunrisers, White Sabers, Fusion Core, Buccaneers, Cadets2, Caballeros and Saints Brigade for outstanding performances. Also, thank you to the World Famous Gashouse Gang for their pre-show concert. It was a great way to start the evening! Lastly, thank you to all of the Bushwacker alumni and friends who volunteered their time yesterday and to the Woodbridge HS Band and Band Parents for all their hard work. Outstanding! See you again at our next home show in Pennsauken NJ on Sunday August 25th at 2pm at Pennsauken HS.

Two days to go. Advanced ticket sales have been great. Get to Woodbridge early and enjoy the pre-show concert by the World Famous Gashouse Gang. The ticket booth, gate and concert start at 5pm. Don't be late. The first corps, the Sunrisers are on at 7pm. A great lineup of corps and interesting storylines. Be there!

A very strong weekend for the Bushwackers. Congrats to the members and staff. See you all in Woodbridge, NJ. Save journeys to all. GO BUSH!

Thanks Fran. Yeah I was 15 years old when I went to that show, and I thought I knew everything about drum corps! Funny when you think back and realize how uninformed you were! I really didn't "get" Vanguard's show, but I wised up over time. Sorry you can't make the show in Woodbridge, but looking forward to seeing you in Pennsauken on Sunday 8/25. Take care!

40 years ago this month, a junior show was sponsored by the Saints at Woodbridge HS and performing that night, among others, were the Casper Troopers, Hawthorne Muchachos, the Saints, and a corps called the Santa Clara Vanguard. Fantastic show in 1973. Here we are in 2013 and with another great show in Woodbridge HS. Looking forward to seeing some alumni from the Saints, Muchachos and others at the Bushwacker Invitational. Maybe some folks who also attended in 1973.

Now we are less than 2 weeks away from the Bushwacker Invitational. This is shaping up to be a very good show. The Bucs, Cabs, Cadets2 and Fusion battling it out and Bush, Sun and White Sabers fighting it out. Really two great shows in one. Plus a pre-show concert and an exhibition by the Saints Brigade. Make sure you stop by the Alumni Village tent and write down the junior and senior corps you marched with. Our announcer, Tom Wilms, will be reading off all of the classic drum corps names during the course of the evening. Should be a lot of fun and a way of paying tribute to all the great drum corps, active and in active, of our youth. The ticket booth and gate open at 5pm, which is the start of the concert my the World Famous Gashouse Gang. Visit their website if you want to join in on one of there numbers. Tickets are available at the gate beginning at 5pm the day of the show or through the Bushwackers website and PayPal. www.bushwackers.org/tickets. Any ticket orders after 8/3 will be held at the ticket booth for pick up under "will call". Reserve section tickets are $20 (there are no reserved seats) and general admission tickets are $15. Children 6 years of age and under are free.

Condolences to the Glovna family and Hurricane family from the Bushwackers.

We are less than one month away from the Bushwackers Invitational set for Saturday August 10th, at 7pm, at Woodbridge HS, 1 Samuel Lupo Pl., Woodbridge, NJ 07095. The following corps will be in competition: The Defending DCA Champions Reading Buccaneers, Hawthorne Caballeros, Cadets2, Fusion Core, Sunrisers, White Sabers and your hosts, the Bushwackers. In exhibition, the Saints Brigade. Tickets are available at the gate beginning at 5pm the day of the show or through the Bushwackers website and PayPal. www.bushwackers.org/tickets Any ticket orders after 8/3 will be held at the ticket booth for pick up. Reserve section tickets are $20 (there are no reserved seats) and general admission tickets are $15. Children 6 years of age and under are free. A pre-show concert will be performed by The World Famous Gashouse Gang from 5pm to 6:30pm, led by Rich "Red" Wardlow, alumnus of the Saints, Garfield Cadets and Bushwackers, along with Mike Wargo, alumnus of the Saints and current member of the NY Skyliners Alumni Corps. The World Famous Gashouse Gang's music is drum corps meets rock & roll, and they are asking all junior/senior corps brass alumni to join them in one number during their concert. Interested drum corps alumni should contact the band at their website: www.worldfamousgashousegang.com for further details. Plus, all drum corps alumni are encouraged to stop by our Alumni Village tent to register the junior and/or senior corps you marched with in your drum corps journey. All names of the drum corps recorded will be announced during the course of the evening to honor our drum corps heritage. So stop by and mingle with other alumni and register your old corps name and have some fun. Lots of stuff going on August 10th in Woodbridge NJ. See you there!

Everyone in Bushwackerland is very happy with the start of our season. We jumped six points (taking penalties into consideration) from two weeks ago in Wildwood. The drum solo was added into the show, so the show is finished, we are adding members and morale is great. Thank you all for your support! GO BUSH!!

Looks like the weather will cooperate for the Bushwackers and Buccaneers previews tomorrow. Safe journeys to all and enjoy the week before the season begins. See you all in Wildwood this coming Saturday.

The Bushwackers organization is looking forward to a big turnout on Sunday June 9th in Lawrenceville. This a reminder to all our alumni and friends, this BBQ replaces the traditional BBQ we held on Memorial Day Weekend. An event page is set up on Facebook with further information on food donation for the BBQ. See you all on Sunday June 9th!

Hi Fran. Yes, that was a great show back in 1973 at Woodbridge HS. The Saints sponsored the show and I remember going with our band director and a few other students. I saw Santa Clara for the first time and Troopers for just the second time in my then short life. I didn't understand or appreciate Santa Clara's show and I thought the Troopers were much better. Santa Clara won the show and being just shy of 16, and knowing everything in the world about drum corps, I thought the Troopers should have won. My band director advised me just how wrong I was about Santa Clara and they went on to win DCI that year. Years later listening to '73 Santa Clara I realized how wrong I was about them. Hard to realize that was 40 years ago and we are having another show in Woodbridge in August. Hope to see a lot of Saints alumni, and other junior/senior corps alumni at this show.

Thanks Galen! Great photos. The field is right on top of the stands and the corps will be right in the faces of the audience. Imagine seeing the Bucs, Cabs, Hurcs, Cadets 2, Fusion, White Sabers and Bush that close! The center section will be reserve seating at $20 per ticket and the rest of the seating will be general admission at $15 per ticket. It will be a great evening of drum corps.

The Bushwacker show scheduled for Saturday August 10th will be held at Woodbridge High School in Woodbridge NJ. This show is replacing the show we had last year in Flemington NJ. The Bushwacker Invitational is being co-sponsored by the Woodbridge High School Band Parents and the Bushwackers. Competing corps are: Reading Buccaneers, Hawthorne Caballeros, Cadets 2, Connecticut Hurricanes, Fusion Core, White Sabers, and your hosts, the Bushwackers. In exhibition, Saints Brigade. The Bushwacker Invitational will begin at 7 pm and tickets can be purchased at the Bushwacker website www.bushwackers.org. Woodbridge High School is located in Middlesex County and is easily accessible from the NJ Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, Routes 1, 9, 35, 287 and 440. So mark your calendars and see you in Woodbridge High School on Saturday August 10th for the Bushwacker Invitational.

On behalf of the Bushwackers organization, we send our condolences to Bill's family and the Hurricane family. A great loss to drum corps. Rest in peace Bill.

I can confirm Heartliner will be performing at the Pennsauken Invitational on Sunday August 25th. The Bushwackers and Pennsauken HS Band Parent are proud to have them in our show. With hosting the Kidsgrove Scouts last year and Heartliner this year, our show has taken on an international flair.

The deadline for purchasing tickets to the Bushwackers Alumni Reunion and Hall of Fame Dinner is March 23rd. The dinner will be held Saturday, March 30th at the Robbins Reef Yacht Club, 21 Pavonia Court, Bayonne, NJ 07002. Tickets will not be sold at the door. Tickets are $40 per person and include a buffet dinner, beer, wine, soda and water, with a cash bar for liquor. Please make your checks payable and mailed to: Diane Sadowski 711 Cambridge Rd. Lanoka Harbor, NJ 08734 Please include your email address to receive a confirmation receipt. Or, PayPal payments go to the Bushwacker Alumni Website http://www.bushwackersalumni.org/ All Bushwacker Alumni, current members, staff and friends of the corps are welcome! Join us in inducting Ed, Eddie and Sean into the Bushwackers Hall of Fame. See you on March 30th!

The Bushwacker Hall of Fame Committee is proud to announce the Hall of Fame Class of 2012: Eddie Hayes, Sr. Eddie joined the Bushwackers in 1981 after a 17 year hiatus from drum corps to raise his family. Always enthusiastic, he marched all but one year from 1981 to 1997. Eddie played soprano and was a hard working member who rarely missed rehearsals, giving the corps all he had. Into his fifties, he kept up with the demanding musical and visual book of the Bushwackers despite health issues. He marched in 5 DCA Championship years and was admired and loved as a father figure to many members. Eddie Marino Eddie was a pivotal member in the bass line when joining the corps in 1984. With no formal "instructor" Eddie served as the bass line captain, technical cleaner and its primary motivator. He marched and taught in all 6 DCA Championship years (1986, 1988-90, 1992 & 1993) and 6 consectutive DCA Percussion Titles (1986-91). It was his creativeness, friendship and guidance that he provided during his tenure that helped make the Bushwackers champions. His influence on the Bushwacker percussion lines cannot be overstated. Sean McReady Sean has been a mainstay in the Bushwacker cymbal line since the early 2000's. He is the instructional and creative force behind the plates. In past seasons, Sean has served the corps in many facets including marching bass drum, contra bass, teaching drill, administrator, lining fields, anything the corps needed. In recent years he has provided many of his professional services to the administrative team for marketing the corps brand. Sean exemplifies what a true Bushwacker really is. Eddie, Eddie and Sean will be inducted into the Bushwacker Hall of Fame at the Bushwacker Alumni Reunion & Hall of Fame Dinner on Saturday March 30, 2013 at the Robin Reef Yacht Club in Bayonne, NJ. Infomation on the dinner will be forthcoming. Congratulations to our new inductees!

Thank you Nat and Fran. Really looking forward to the Open House tomorrow. Just like baseball in February, right now in drum corps everyone is undefeated for the new season! Take care and be well.

Bump! See you this Sunday at the Open House!