The history of the Westshoremen

[Jaminbenb]

Thanks and makes sense since Nate Ward was at EP and WSM horn instructor/DM 74-78...

He must have been there 79-81 then...I know he was the band director there when I was in high school...in fact my band director (Degler, not Martin) gave me royal H-E-L-L one time because when I walked by and saw him at a Middletown/East Penn football game I called him "Dave" not "Mr. Rohrer"! (I could have said "D-RO" ) I got chewed out like CRAZY! I didn't dare tell him that we were drinking beers together the weeks prior to that during the season

[JimF-LowBari]

He must have been there 79-81 then...I know he was the band director there when I was in high school...in fact my band director (Degler, not Martin) gave me royal H-E-L-L one time because when I walked by and saw him at a Middletown/East Penn football game I called him "Dave" not "Mr. Rohrer"! (I could have said "D-RO" ) I got chewed out like CRAZY! I didn't dare tell him that we were drinking beers together the weeks prior to that during the season

Probably around 75 or so Geiger was laughing like Hades about one of the new HS drummers. Guy just couldn't get over that he could call one of the instructors by their first name and not by Mister. Laugh for us as CDs band director woudl ignore you if you called him Mr Gingrich. It had to be his first name (Wit - Whitman) or nutin....

Of course Wit was a crusty WWII vet close to retirement.. First clue was him saying in a Mr Rodgers voice at first practice "Mr Gingrich never smokes in the bandroom". Then lighting one up.... Hell, principal walked in during practice and then had to wait until the song was over. Wit greeted him with "WHAT?". When told he had a meeting later it was "Oh that #### thing, thanks for the reminder".

Edited May 16, 2012 by JimF-LowBari

[hairbear]

Where are we? 82 or 83? LOL! still waiting for the skinny on the seasons I was not a member.

[Jeff Ream]

Probably around 75 or so Geiger was laughing like Hades about one of the new HS drummers. Guy just couldn't get over that he could call one of the instructors by their first name and not by Mister. Laugh for us as CDs band director woudl ignore you if you called him Mr Gingrich. It had to be his first name (Wit - Whitman) or nutin....

Of course Wit was a crusty WWII vet close to retirement.. First clue was him saying in a Mr Rodgers voice at first practice "Mr Gingrich never smokes in the bandroom". Then lighting one up.... Hell, principal walked in during practice and then had to wait until the song was over. Wit greeted him with "WHAT?". When told he had a meeting later it was "Oh that #### thing, thanks for the reminder".

oh I got in trouble all the time in HS when we'd see other bands where I knew people...I'd call them by their first name. Dave, Nate, so many others. I remember my senior year, we did one whole competitive show that year at CV. We got off the busses, and boom, I see people all over and start saying hi. My director lit into me until Mom heard him and said "these people he's saying hi to have done more for his musical education than you have."

Needless to say, my director got quiet.

Then that spring, we did the Mystic CT band trip festival thing...coming down the street for the parade, and there's Bill Toomey. We spoke

They took us out to the field show competition, and since we didn't perform,I sat up by the judges box with Bill's ex Deb, and we had a grand old time. Said hi to many of the judges. A band parent asked why I was being so chummy with these folks and Dbbie answered "cause he teaches with half of us at LD and drinks with the rest at the Warwick".

[Jeff Ream]

Where are we? 82 or 83? LOL! still waiting for the skinny on the seasons I was not a member.

I know we're in the Reagan administration

[JimF-LowBari]

They took us out to the field show competition, and since we didn't perform,I sat up by the judges box with Bill's ex Deb, and we had a grand old time. Said hi to many of the judges. A band parent asked why I was being so chummy with these folks and Dbbie answered "cause he teaches with half of us at LD and drinks with the rest at the Warwick".

And guess who graduated HS with Deb...... or is that

I caught Hell at sis' last band show at Westminster, MD regionals. I yelled from the stands for WSM folks helping out CV. Band mom whips around "You should cheer for YOUR band". Said I cheer for my friends and don't worry cuz I know what CD looks like.

Later Wally is coming up the stands looking for a place to watch his bands show. Had an empty seat next to me so I motioned and he sat. Should have seen the freaky ###ed look I got for THAT one.... Only regret is I drove down and didn't ride back with the band parents.

Edit: Can't remember if that was the year Carlisle played CD at CD and Larry was on the pressbox roof doing the GE judge bit. Most have been late in the season as Larry was getting really wound. Sure as Hell I'm sitting with my folks in the Band Parents section and I decide watching Larry was more entertaining. Everyone else is watching the band and I'm giving running commentary of Larrys antics "Yep, he LIKED that.... nope, they're gonna rerun that a bunch of times this week... foot stomping, "Oh come ON!". Most of the band parents didn't have a clue what was going on with the pretend judge bit. Then my mom sez "Oh, my sons known that guy for years" and it was-->

Edited May 16, 2012 by JimF-LowBari

[Jaminbenb]

I always got the hairy eyeball from the band director when the odd judge here or there would refer to me by name! (and usually in a positive fashion....Bill Szydlo once remarked that the only person that had proper military bearing was "Ben, your triple player" Oh...that went over like a fart in church!

[Jaminbenb]

Where are we? 82 or 83? LOL! still waiting for the skinny on the seasons I was not a member.

Still in the midst of 1982....Oh...W....

[Jeff Ream]

I always got the hairy eyeball from the band director when the odd judge here or there would refer to me by name! (and usually in a positive fashion....Bill Szydlo once remarked that the only person that had proper military bearing was "Ben, your triple player" Oh...that went over like a fart in church!

I've tried really hard to not go there when I judge...but then I remember classic tapes I got as an instructor over the years, and to be sure I inject some personality.

I still say my favorite was at a KIDA show...oh wow like 5 years ago....judging Carlisle and the pit just spewed something all over the keyboards....and ok, I know their staff so I said "oh come Pit, I know Gut didn't..well, ok pit, I know Jami didn't teach you to do that"

I've had some tapes sent to me from staffs that apparentlyhave some great quotes. I know Williamstown 3 years ago at ACC's was "bass drums, thank you for coming, drive home safely, tee shirts for sale in the lobby"

Lake Lehman 5 years ago "bass drums...those 4s up at the edge...My god you're killing me softly"

and my personal favorite, again Williamstown, same show "Kids....We are not supposed to swear as we make these tapes. The words I want to use are highly complimentary, and being percussionists you'd understand that. So just know under my breath I'm saying all kinds of cool but improper things because you're playing that #### well"

[BigW]

Yeah, RL hits, double shifts and taking care of the Reading Review kind of slowed things down. Remind me of some Dave stuff when I get to the Grand Prix in 1982.

Quick recap:

Next show after we froze hell over in Clifton, we find out that the prizes are beer.....

Needless to say, it injected a whole new insanity into the rehearsal. We knew from the description of said beerballs, which were a new fangled thing in 1982, that we'd have to win as many as possible to get enough beer to make it work.

In the opener when we all bent forward as the solost played, instead of yelling like we normally did, we were all yealling for BEER.....

The color guard got worried as well as percussion about sharing of said beer, Larry had to be diplomatic about the sharing of the booty. We find out everyone got an equal share of the beer regardless of caption wins, which was fine for us. We figured we could still get enough beer if we busted hard enough. I think at that point the horn line got a bit cocky, figuring that if necessary we'd win the beer for everyone. Not an entirely bad idea, really when you come to think of it. Ream is reading this and prolly thinking, "Man, in my day WE'D be trying to win the @&*%^ Beer for everyone else, man..."

Nothing wrong with that. It was a state of mind, and when a section believes, it believes. The trick is EVERY section has to believe.

Conversations at meals and breaks were amusing.

"C'mon, yeah Scott, Sun's drums are hot, yeah, but who says you can't win that one? Ya gotta at least try!? It's MORE BEER!!!!"

"How many caption awards are there!? Umm.... hmmm... *counts on fingers*...."

"If we win how many beerballs and they each hold x gallons of beer, and we have how many of us.... how much beer is that per person.... Not enough, dude, not enough.... Even if they were FULL KEGS it wouldn't be enough!... true, true...."

Mind you, I'm 19 and a half. Boom is like 17.... Ben is 18ish, Magel is like 17ish, and this is the main topic of conversation. Things were just different then....

So we wind though the rehearsals and into the night contest. We were really too ramped up as a corps because of the beer. That being said, I would argue that ANY DCA corps worth their salt in 1982 would put forth an over the top lunatic effort to try and win beer.

I need to sit back since I'm on break from work now. I'll talk about the show itself and what happened afterward later- I'll talk about somehting I've never discussed about that run through....