Skydrummer9

And Putting on the Ritz from Young Frankenstein.

With names like that, we should be gettin a great turn out at open house. What a birthday present!

Maybe the distracting avatar... :P

WHAT MAKES A CHAMPION DRUM CORPS ~The story behind the success of the Garbarina Post~ __________________________________ The boys of Garbarina Post knew they'd be the best corps in the land. But it took 17 years to prove it. ------------------------------------------------ When New York Customes House employee William St. John organized a junior drum and bugle corps in 1932, the boys of his corps averaged nine years of age. They lived in the area around the west end of 125th Street, in New York, where the West Side Subway rumbles overhead. There isn't much room for kids to play there, except when police close off nearby La Salle Street as a play street in the hot summer months. Ten years later, in 1942, when St. John's junior corps was still going strong, the older members disbanded for service around the globe with the armed forces of the United States. Since 1932 they had become one of the four best junior corps in the East and they had every intention of being the best junior or senior corps in the country. They had, in the meantime, been sponsored at different times by three separate Posts of the American Legion and one VFW Post. "When we come back from the war," the corps agreed, "let's form a Legion Post of our own. We will name it after the first of us to be killed in service, and we will stay together and be the best senior drum and bugle corps in the country." The first to be killed was Raymond A. Garbarina, who had been a bugler in St. John's junior corps. He was a truck-driving PFC in the army when his ammo truck recieved a direct hit in the Battle of the Bulge. Six other members of the Corps were lost in War Two, and the man who made the corps, William St. John, a War One veteran who also served briefly in War Two, died when he fell from a Customs launch patrolling New York harbor in November, 1945. The rest cam back. They chartered Raymond A. Garbarina Memorial Post of the American Legion, with HQ at Tiemann Place in their old New York City neighborhood. For the next four years they competed in the Legion's eastern championchip senior drum corps circut. This circut has so far produced ever post-war Legion National Championchip Senior Drum and Bugle Corps, including those of Stratford, Conn., Hackensack, N.J., and Riverside, N.J. Garbarina Post lost only one competition in that company during four years. But the Post was strapped for money, and couldn't send its 60-man corps to the 1946 Legion Convention in San Francisco, where Stratford won the national senior title. In '47, when the Legion Convention moved to New York, Garbarina Post learned that the host town wasn't allowed to compete. The corps sat in the stands, unable to go onto the field and vie with their old rivals from Hackensack, across the river, who won the national title. In 1948 the convention moved to Miami, Garbarina couldn't afford the trip, and their other old rivals, the Jersey Joes from Riverside, N.J., won. Since anybody in new York can afford to go to Philadelphia, Garbarina Post was there last fall for the 1949 National Convention, after four years of nail-biting for a crack at the National Senior title. At Philadelphia, only the pre-war champion corps of Commonwealth Edison Post, of Chicago, was able to grab one of the first five spots away drom the tough eastern circuit. Hackensack's Doremus Post was well up again, in fifth. Edison was fourth. Hamilton Post, of Baltimore, in the eastern circuit, was thrid. The Riverside Jersey Goes were second. On top was Raymond A. Garbarina Memorial. Post 1523, of 55 Tiemann Place, New York City, winners in their first nation senior competition, at the end of a long hard trail going back 17 years. When William St. John first got his nine-year-olds together in 1932 for Moe Wolff Post of the VFW, he infected them with his own passion for perfection. With that as a starter he was able to make the kids swallow a rigid discipline, without which, he taught them, perfection is impossible. St. John, a persuasive talker, procured as musical arranger and bugle instructor the bast man in the East, if not in the country- Hames J. Donnelly. As drum and drill instructor he got G. Edward Pierce, also tops in his specialities. These two men, whose services have been avilable to other corps, are partly responsible for the general high level of eastern performance. When Pierce works out a maneuver for Garbarina Post he does it with toy soldiers and blocks and a slide rule. In corps practices every maneuver must not only look right, but must tally mathematically with Pierce's dummy plans. St. John, who knew little or nothing about drums, bugles and drills, knew that he wanted only the best. And he was the boss, manager, moving spirit, diciplinarian and master psychologist. Today, when Garbarina Corps marches onto a field, it attracts attention, and its proud bearing rattles lesser competitors. "When you go anywhere, hang your heads high," St. John taught his boys. Though St. John has been dead five years, the boys still believe in what he told them so deep down in their bones that they don't know how to be anything but proud and sure of themselves. Before the war, whenever more money was needed than sponsors could provide, St. John footed the bill. He scrounged for practice space- sometimes in an armory, sometimes on a Hudson River pier, in a parking lot if need be, in a rented music studio, in a Legion or VFW Post. By 1940, St. John's boys were well known as the junior corps sponsored by Phoebe Apperson Hearst Post of the Legion. But in competition three other junior corps of the East were better most of the time. These three were the Grand Street Boys of New York, the Holy Name Cadets of Grafield, N.J. (National Junior Legion Champions today), and the Penn Treaty Cadets, of PEnn Treaty, Pa. Time after time one or more of these junior outfits finished ahead of Williams St. John's boys. Grand Street seemed always out in front. "You will beat them. You will beat them," St. John insisted. "And the way to do it is drill, drill, drill." They drilled and drilled and drilled; in parking lots, on piers, in halls, And just before the war Grand Street found its juniors winning less while Phoebe Apperson Hearst Post's were winning more. IN 1940 St John's juniors beat Grand Street for the first time- at the New York Department Legion Convention in Schenectady. In New YOrk City there is always a lot of shifting of boys from one corps to another. And now, what with Donnelly's music, Pierce's attractive maneuvers and the rise of St. John's juniors to the top, there was a noticable drift of the best boys in other corps to St. John's group. Raymond Garbarina himself was a defection from Grand Street to St. John's perfectionists. Then came the war. When it was over and the boys, now men, returned and formed Garbarina Post of the American Legion, they had only their service cloths for uniforms- a conglomeration of army, navy and marine garb. They had to stretch for every penny. One of their old members, Hank Goldstein, was elected to take over St. John's managerial worries, and he went at it with an enthusiasm that almost wore him out. To get uniforms the corps raffled off a car, every member peddling tickets. And a New York furrier, Sam Aaron, who had admired the corps and its spirit, became a devoted follower. He lent them $1500 for instruments ("Pay me back any time."). When came the four years of local competition, waiting for a crack at the national title. And now that Garbarina Post is the champion, the financial headaches are worse than ever. It will cost at least $10,000 to get to Los Angeles and defend the title at the Legion National Convention this October. That's a lot of money to be raised by a bunch of young veterans just starting families of their own. "But we'll get there if we have to crawl on our bellies," they say. It would be an unnatural position for these boys who "hang their heads high." ~ Peter Bolter~ Taken from the Auguest 1950 edition of the American Legion Magazine ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Every time I put the uniform on, just the knowledge of what our founding members of this corps went through to get to the top fills me with pride that is un-measurable. These are the people who paved the way for Skyliners spanding 62 years to build a reputation that is unmatched in the entire world. They worked hard and they bleed together to get to the top. This is just an example of what it means to be a champion. Now is the time to step it up and to make it happen again. We have spent too much time in the trenches, now it is time to take the high ground! LET'S DO IT GARBARINA! ~Jimmy "Triple H" Eldridge~

That is too cool. I love old time sky. Thanks for sharing!

I'm down for a little soul man. B)

Idena Menzel is a great woman. I was fortunate to meet her in Manhattan when some of the Sky drummers performed at the Public Theater in Jan. Sorry for the randomness, but I saw your avater and yea...

I GOT IT!!! The Theme to Salute your shorts, followed by the theme to Rocko's Modern life, drum solo is the theme to Ren and Stimpy, and we wrap it up with the end credit song from get this..... FAMILY GUY!!!

As the corps troops the stands... THE SONG OF ROBOT CHICKEN DURING THE END CREDITS!!!! GO ROBOT CHICKEN!!! :P

Father has been marching for over 30 years. I never really went to drum corps shows. Only to Sounds on the Susquehannah because it's close to home and championchips. Even those shows I never sat and watched the entire thing. I only watched New York. And people often tell me that I was drawn to that corps because my dad was in it but I don't think it was the case. When I was young and went to watch him in Sky back in 94-95, I used to fall asleep in the stands. But I always woke up when Sky started their street beat and didn't fall back to sleep until the left the field. It wasn't until I started marching in 2003 when I got into drum corps and still I won't watch anyone except Sky and Sky Alumni.

Is there anyway to view it again? Or any possible website to view the movie?

2003 was my rookie year. :P I think the best song we played that year was the ballad.

AMEN JOE!!!

1983 (Billy the Kid drum solo!) 1962, and 1978

Dream Theater put out some good song. I also think that Elton John's Funeral for a friend/love lies bleading would be a great choice for the second half of the production. And it is possible to play the ENTIRE SONG!!! Funeral for a friend would provide for a good sounding ballad and then a final punch with love lies bleading.

Never can go wrong with a "time machine" Style show... I'm thinking of Showtime on Broadway (First song off the portrate in brass album), then into Elk's, then into "And I'm telling you I'm not going" (From DREAM GIRLS), then maybe New York New York. Then BACKFIELD TO THE CORNER While playing the intro to Lil' Old New York, Hit the traffic jam, turn that bad ### corps around and blast the rest of Lil' old New York while marching from the corner and BOOM into the signature that fades out at the end into Manhattan Towers.

There is a lot of good movie scores that are really entertaining...

Evil from the beach and evil from the concrete jungle... Woot Woot! ^OO^

Lee, I am looking for a drumline position as player... :P

Is crunchy frog still around? I don't recall seeing them this year...

The New York Skyliners are still going strong. Always progressing. The season is just getting started. Time to step it up a notch. Lets do it to it New York. The hornline although a little smaller in number still packs the punch of a 80 member hornline and then some. The drumline, the strongest it's been in a long time and still growing stronger. And the color guard, Still a force to screw with. We are always out to win, sock it in Garbarina, Garbarina LET'S GO! ~Jimmy~

Roselle Park Conquistadors - yes

Good luck this season. I watched a tape from one of your camp that was posted on Drumlines.org, I thought it was sounding sweet. The hornline was great. Keep up the good work. ~Jimmy~

Really good pictures. See ya in Scranton.

I believe that both sections have their strong fields but in all, I believe that they are equil. The snares have to focus on more of a performance level because they have to keep in mind that the simple mistakes that they might make like if a couple players in that section have a different stick higth, the judges in the box on top of the stands could pick that up very easily. Although the basses have to focus on the more musical field because each of the players have their specific parts within the song that makes the section blend as one. So in the long run, I believe that they are both the same.