Who's Your Godfather?

[elphaba01]

13 hours ago, ajlisko said:

What corps merged to turn the Skokie Vanguard into a powerhouse fro 65 on? I just can't remember ...

Skokie Vanguard:

There was a "merged corps" called the Chicago Spartans that were active in 1964 and went bust at the end of that season.  I believe that the two former corps  that created them were the Viscounts and Morton Grove Cougars.   Also another Chicago area corps the "Custers Brigade"  went under after 1964.  Members from all these corps found their way into the Vanguard and boosted them to national contender in 1965.

Elphaba

[ironlips]

Way to go, Elphaba!

And here I thought your expertise was East Coast centered. Clearly, you are hip to the history of the whole national scene.

[elphaba01]

1 minute ago, ironlips said:

Way to go, Elphaba!

And here I thought your expertise was East Coast centered. Clearly, you are hip to the history of the whole national scene.

"Chicago Spartans":

Merger corps McHenry Viscounts and Morton Grove Cougars,  lasted the 1964 season.  Their horn instrctor was the man that  that taught Chicago Royal Airs prior to Truman Crawford.  

Thanks for the kind words.  Always glad to help out the board.

Elphaba

[greg_orangecounty]

On 1/27/2020 at 11:00 AM, ironlips said:

Present                               Past                                                                Commonalities

Blue Devils                         Anaheim Kingsmen                                   staff, musical style, original uniforms               

You beat me to it, and I'll add Color Guard style.

[ironlips]

14 hours ago, greg_orangecounty said:

You beat me to it, and I'll add Color Guard style.

Agree, of course! You should know.

Here's another one in your wheelhouse, I think:

What prominent Eastern corps was (were) one of Anaheim's prime inspirations? I refer to the post-Scouts version of the Kingsmen, the one with which folks are most familiar.

 

[elphaba01]

"LaFamilia":

Godfather                              God Child

Hawthorne Caballeros:        Caimbridge Caballeros.  Uniform and music style.  Their drill instructor was a  Caballero.

Casper Troopers                   Stockton Commodores. Marching style,  Jim Jones worked with them early 1970's

Blessed Sacrament               St Andrews Bridgemen (Prior to Bananas)

NY Skyliners                            Lady of Loretto Knights.  Uniorms an music style  (Sky Alum Joe Genero music writer)

NY Skyliners                            Skokie Vanguard.  Charts by Hy Drietzer.

Anahiem Scouts                      Amahiem Kingsmen and Velvet Knights both were born there.

Bridgemen                                Hutchinson Sky Ryders.  Uniforms and their music written by Larry Kerchner.

Elphaba

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2020 by elphaba01

[greg_orangecounty]

9 hours ago, ironlips said:

Agree, of course! You should know.

Here's another one in your wheelhouse, I think:

What prominent Eastern corps was (were) one of Anaheim's prime inspirations? I refer to the post-Scouts version of the Kingsmen, the one with which folks are most familiar.

 

How come I don't know this!?  Who?

Another corps the Anaheim Kingsmen inspired, or whatever term you want to use, was the Seneca Optimists.  Their uniforms were exactly like ours only yellow.  In fact, they had a nick-name of "Bananaheim" although not sure how widespread that was.  

[ironlips]

" How come I don't know this!?  Who? "

Blue Rock(s)

Image, deportment, musical style, uniform...etc.

If you ever compared Blue Rock's major, Vicki Drummond, and Kingsmen's guard captain, Linda Rieke, you might think they were the same person. It's uncanny  when you consider things like bearing, posture, stage presence...etc.

Maybe they are the same person. I don't recall ever seeing both at the same time and place.

[ironlips]

" Casper Troopers                   Stockton Commodores. Marching style,  Jim Jones worked with them early 1970's "

This gets really deep. The Troopers were modeled after Garfield in terms of emphasis on execution, repertoire (show themes and marches) and a kind of infrastructure that could provide touring. This is not surprising when you consider that Donald Angelica was a prime arranger (along with Mike Duffy), and an advisor to Jim Jones.

A little later, that gospel got spread to Gail Royer and SCV. Some of those apostles were the aforementioned Donald A, and Trooper alums Pete Emmons and Fred Sanford. This is "how the west was won", so to speak.

The Troopers really did spark a new era. No one who saw them in Bridgeport at '64 World Open prelims could ever forget the pandemonium their performance caused. They finished 11th, missing finals. As the story goes, Donald A convinced the show sponsors to permit them an exhibition at the night show, partly because they had "traveled so far", but mainly because the audience was ready to burn down the town.

After their evening performance it was clear to most that their prelims score was suspect...highly suspect. Regardless, they made their mark that day and established a rabid fan base a couple of thousand miles from home.

 

Edited February 1, 2020 by ironlips
additional details

[old vanguard]

Custers Brigade, and Spartans.

Edited February 6, 2020 by old vanguard