History of the Bushwackers...The beginning

[JeromeyBush]

Harrison, NJ - In the fall of 1980 drum corps in the east was in a decline. A mere five years before there were a number of junior and senior corps in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. By 1980 there were less and even fewer would be active by 1985. So the idea of starting a brand new senior drum corps, in central Jersey, was not the best idea. Given odds the Bushwackers were an extreme long shot just to get started and survive a few years. Just think back and recall how many corps, big corps, have folded since '80.

The idea behind and the catalyst of the Bushwackers was Mike Olszewski. Mike had the dream and the money and the guts to get the corps started. He wanted the corps to be located in his home town of Keyport, NJ and he secured the Keyport American Legion Post # 23 for rehearsals. An organizational meeting was held in November 8th 1980 at the Keyport American Legion attended by Mike, the first show coordinator Mike Mercadante and future instructors Lee Romano and Russell Morris. Approximately. 12-15 people attended the meeting.

[JeromeyBush]

1981

-Although the corps had hopes of fielding a field corps in 1981 as late as June, we just did not have enough members to begin any drill work, so we went on and did parades. As a parade corps we had anywhere from 15 horns to 10 drums and 10 colorguard. Looking back the corps did the right thing by doing parades. By working as a parade corps we made some money, got more exposure, kept in practice and more importantly formed a nucleus for the following year.

Growing pains are universal in all new drum corps and the Bushwackers certainly had theirs. Recruitment was difficult, equipment was always "being shipped" and rehearsals always thin. But the corps sputtered, clunked and moved along, seemingly by itself at times. But the obvious point was it had become increasingly difficult to get new members, particularly experienced drum corps people, to drive down to Keyport from the hotbed of drum corps, northern Jersey. So plans were made to move the corps from Keyport to Harrison, NJ.

By relocating the corps to Harrison Bush was able to tap into members of the recently disbanded junior corps Royal Brigade. The new horn instructor replacing Lee Romano was Al DiCroce who had previously been the horn instructor of Royal Brigade. Al's influence brought in new members. Without a doubt the Bushwackers could not have survived in the beginning years without Mike and Al.

[JeromeyBush]

1982

-In the winter of 1981-82 the hornline never surpassed 22 horns, the drumline never had more than 15 drummers and the colorguard never more than 15 guard members. But we had a drum corps, a small drum corps, but a drum corps nevertheless. Al DiCroce got Larry Kerchner to arrange two numbers for us, "Clash of the Titans" from a movie of the same name and "Fishlegs" from who knows where. We learned them and they became our OTL and production number for 1982. Both were performed at the debut of the Bushwackers in Upper Darby, PA at the Archer-Epler standstill show on April 17th 1982. While we didn't set the world on fire, we surprised many people by showing up and performing two numbers. Officially we were for real.

Anyone who marched in drum corps in New Jersey in '82 knows that spring it rained almost every weekend. It was uncanny, and while it hurt most every corps it hurt the Bushwackers more. Since this was our first season we had nothing to fall back on from previous years. If some corps had problems they could always bring back a number from the year before, it meant less work. We didn't have that luxury in '82. Needless to say we rehearsed in the rain for hours on end. You can only get so wet and then after that it just doesn't matter. Since then the Bushwackers have always been use to working in the rain and putting in long hours at rehearsals. In fact the night before our first field show we rehearsed from 7pm to 4am. This was something we did the night before our first show of the season the following year in 1983.

Our first show was in Ramsey, NJ at Don Bosco High School on Saturday June 12th. It was an afternoon show sponsored by the New York Skyliners and we went on first. I can remember the excitement before we went on as we lined up behind the home stands. As we approached the field it began to rain lightly for a few minutes, but it stopped as we left the track. We considered this a good omen.

We performed our show to a bewildered, small but considerate crowd. We were not as good as we had been previously in rehearsal. Perhaps first time jitters took effect, but we got through the show without any breakdowns. To us this was a success. The crowd was polite and appreciative. As the scores were announced we came in last with a 52.55 which was very forgiving. All in all, we were very happy and went back to Harrison to celebrate. That night we were the happiest last place corps in North America.

The remainder of the season we took our lumps and paid our dues. Performing at ICA shows and a few DCA shows (we were not a DCA member and therefore could only slip into a DCA show when a member corps pulled out). We traveled to Pittsburgh PA and Alliance OH. Like most corps we improved as the season progressed and by Labor Day weekend we had a shot a making finals.

The top six corps in '82 were all very solid, in fact they may have been the best top six in a long time. They included the Sunrisers, Westshoremen, Skyliners, Caballeros, Hurricanes and Buccaneers. The Matadors were securely in seventh place, but eight through ten were open between Archer-Epler, Steel City, L'Odysee, Erie Thunderbirds, Hanover Lancers and us.

At prelims in '82 non-member corps went on after the associate members and members. By going on after the block of ten, and in fact dead last, Bush had an advantage. We put on our best show of the year and posted a 74.05 and charged into 8th place. By doing so we pushed Archer-Epler into 9th, L'Odysee into 10th and Steel City into 11th and out of finals altogether. With the exception of L'Odysee we didn't make too many friends that weekend.

The euphoria of prelims had a drawback in finals. We arrived late to the stadium, rushed around to warm-up and ran into a few difficulties getting onto the track and onto the field. Our performance in finals was not as good as prelims and we did not have the drive we had in prelims. But we still came in 8th place with a 70.55 and more importantly made a statement that we were to be taken seriously. In our first year of field competition we made DCA finals.

1982 SHOW: Clash of The Titans/Fishlegs/Mickey Mouse/That Cat is High/ Snowbird Fantasy/Chariots of Fire.

PRELIMS: 8th - 74.05

FINALS: 8th - 70.55

by John Gough

[JeromeyBush]

1983

-When you are a new corps and not a threat, other corps pat you on the head and suddenly they are your best friends. But once you improve and beat them, then you are no longer the cute little corps they have come to know and beat with the unusual name. The Bushwackers learned this lesson early on in 1983.

Over the winter the corps pulled in some talented people from Garfield, Bayonne and Royal Brigade. As if by word of mouth the corps grew and made high strides from the '82 corps. This year we were ready and talented. Looking back Bush probably matured 2-3 years in the span of one year.

On the other hand a few of the top corps had a rough winter and a slow start. The Caballeros, Buccaneers and Hurricanes all were in this category. The Cabs made more progress early on, but the Bucs and Hurcs were smaller and less prepared for the '83 season. Reading had members of the U. S. Marine Drum & Bugle Corps join them to increase their numbers and the Hurcs did not come out until mid-July due to a shortage of members. Once the Bushwackers faced them both, it was only a matter of time before Bush beat them.

This did not sit well with most senior drum corps fans. After all, the Buccaneers won DCA in '80 and the Hurricanes won DCA in '81. Who were these upstarts to come in, and in their second season, beat these two established powerhouses?

At first it was hard to try and understand some people. We had been accused of having all Bridgemen alumni, when in fact we had as many Bridgemen alumni as any other DCA corps. Three facts stood out: 1) we had improved immensely, 2) other corps were off to a bad start or a bad year and 3) the Bushwackers have always had a very hard work ethic. The corps was being blamed for being good. As a example, to this day the 1983 hornline is considered one of the best hornlines the Bushwackers have ever produced.

So the year went on with the Hurricanes and the Buccaneers and the Bushwackers slugging it out. Each corps took turns getting the upper hand on their opponents for a week or two and then that corps would be overtaken. It made for good drum corps. By the end of the season all three corps were in the 5-6-7 slots and when Labor Day Weekend rolled around there were less than two points between all three corps.

At prelims, the Bushwackers performed very well and we placed 5th with the Bucs in 6th and the Hurcs in 7th. In fact, we were closer to 4th and the Westshoremen than we had been all season.

Here is a unique sideline never before released. Prior to the championship, serious consideration had been given to out-fitting the entire corps in bald skull caps. It was proposed that at the conclusion of the show the entire corps would remove their black hats and expose our bald heads to the audience. The idea was dropped when we had performed so well in prelims. Had we pulled this off it would have been considered another "link to the Bridgemen" which we were trying to discourage. The corps was trying to build an identity of its own and this would have diminished any credibility we had hoped to create.

At finals Bush went on after the Buccaneers and they did a tremendous job. This was a true test of the corps, to follow the Bucs onto the field after their standing ovation. I truly believe that this moment was a turning point in the history of the corps. As we took the field our fans were beginning to chant for us and we went out and performed a show better than prelims.

When the scores were announced, we had beaten the Hurricanes, whom I was told were extremely good that night, and we were tied by the Buccaneers for 5th place. The Bushwackers had jumped three spots in just one year and were making a name for themselves. As the corps stood at retreat no one could imagine how much further we would advance this same time next year.

1983 SHOW: Cleopatras Asp/Emerald Eyes/Egyptian Danza/Quensabe/ Las Suertas de Los Tontos/Chariots of Fire.

PRELIMS: 5th - 82.75

FINALS: tied 5th - 82.65

by John Gough

[JeromeyBush]

1984

-As the 1984 season approached the Bushwackers found themselves in the unique position of fielding one of the best DCA corps of the year. The Buccaneers bounced back and regained their championship form along with the Caballeros. These two corps would battle it out culminating with the Cabs winning DCA and the Buccaneers coming in second.

Bush found themselves passing the Skyliners, Westshoremen and the '83 champs the Sunrisers. In a nutshell the Skyliners had begun a downward slide that would continue for a few years, the Westshoremen very nearly broke up altogether and the Sunrisers seemed to suffer a tremendous turnover rate of veteran members. It was very unnerving to see such well known powerhouse corps fall upon hard times so quickly and so completely.

Changes that propelled the Bushwackers forward included the addition of George Zingali as Drill Designer, and with that, the turnaround of the marching program and performance scores. Also the emergence of the color guard as a top contender throughout the season and of the drumline as a legitimate force that would pull the corps upward. These three main factors helped the corps progress.

Another factor that was obvious from one quick look at the corps, was a change in uniforms. Both the style and color scheme were changed. The old uniforms were Bridgemen styled long coats in gray with black/red/white/yellow trim with black pants and shoes, and a large black cowboy hat. The new uniforms were two piece; including high bib pants with a short jacket. The style was very unique and still is today. Many other corps, both junior and senior, have similar pants/jacket designs that the Bushwackers had seven years ago. The colors were changed to magenta/powder blue/white/black with a white fedora hat. Michael Cesario designed the uniforms and has gone on to design uniforms for many other drum corps.

But before the new uniforms, there were the golf shirts. As with all uniform changes in drum corps, the uniforms are never ready for the beginning of the season. The Bushwackers new uniforms were not ready until July, so they appeared for a month in black pants and shoes and powder blue pull over golf shirts.

When the season was coming to an end, it appeared to be the Cabs and the Bucs followed by Bush. This was the first time the corps had to perform with any real amount of pressure to be successful. At prelims the corps was very good and placed third as expected. Both the drumline and the colorguard had good shots at winning their captions, which would have meant a first caption win for the corps in finals.

For the first time in the short history of the corps, DCA finals was a major disappointment. The corps did not perform well in finals as compared to prelims. The colorguard was not as sharp and consequently lost their bid to win best colorguard. The hornline had its moments but it was not energetic and the soloists were off. And while the drumline seemed to perform well enough to win field percussion, unknown to many people, the GE score had always been added into the total percussion score and the drumline came in second.

Perhaps this was all meant to be, but the truth of the matter was the corps did not perform to its highest level and we came up short. Third place after just three years was an achievement to be proud of, but winning just one caption would have been sweet.

1984 SHOW: Santos/Quensabe/Las Suertas de Los Tontos/Egyptian Danza/ I'll Be There/Thriller.

PRELIMS: 3rd 88.55

FINALS: 3rd - 89.00

by John Gough

[Sean1]

J i remember the first show. I was in High School and went to school with Brenda and Barbara Hayes. It was good to know people in HS from DC

[JeromeyBush]

1985

-1985 should have been a good year, or in fact, a great year for the Bushwackers. The corps had placed 8th, 5th and 3rd in DCA Finals over the first three years and left 1984 in very strong shape. People expected the Bushwackers to vie for the championship in '85. Instead this would be a rebuilding year.

In the spring, just before June the hornline had just four sopranos, a total of less than 20 horns, a smaller colorguard and a drumline that would eventually have two of their instructors join the snare line to bring the total to five. Plus the corps would have an entirely new show from jazz guitarist Pat Methaney. If this wasn't enough we were constantly behind schedule and in fact the entire show was not completed until two weeks before finals when the re-entry was put in.

What were the reasons for all of this? There were many reasons which led into other problems that troubled the corps. First, our show coordinator/music arranger/administrator/horn instructor Al DiCroce was in the process of doing all of the above for Bush and be head horn instructor for Dutch Boy of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Al had spent enormous amounts of time creating the Bushwackers and his efforts made the corps the success it had become. But his career was also advancing with Dutch Boy and, just as in sports, success leads you to lose talented people.

But doing a senior corps in New Jersey and a junior corps in Canada, with these important responsibilities involved, is too much for most talented individuals. The work began to suffer. The color guard instructor Sandy Burdzy was also in the same position working for both corps. Then George Zingali delegated more of his drill to his associates and as a consequence the drill was not cohesive and fluid. Added to this was the fact that the administration was living on borrowed time. Money was owed and not enough money was coming in. The instructional staff budget was more like a junior corps than a senior corps. Since the instructional and administrative staffs were disorganized, it was no surprise that the members felt the chaos. And the final item was the corps was just plain burnt-out. Perhaps we started out too fast and wouldn't let our members catch up? Was this what happened to the Sunrisers in '84 and the Hurricanes and Buccaneers in '83? In many respects it was harder to field a corps in '85 than it was in '82. More was expected of the Bushwackers now. In '82 we didn't know success and in '85 we didn't know failure.

Therefore it is all the more amazing that we finished in fourth place, 4.35 points ahead of 5th and 4.1 points behind 3rd. 1985 was the undefeated year of the Caballeros. The Buccaneers and the Sunrisers fought and finished second and third respectively. And the year was marked by the Steel City Ambassadors from Pittsburgh, PA who burst onto the scene placing fifth.

For the Bushwackers it was a struggle but there were other corps that had off seasons too. A new wave of members came into the corps and by '85 most of the new faces of '82 were gone. Enough veterans remained, and with some of the new members, created a new nucleus that would see the corps through the season and coming winter.

At prelims the corps put on a good performance and got good crowd response. But finals was another story with little crowd response and a tired performance by the corps. In the end we had less talent, were ill prepared and overwhelmed by the music and the program of the show. Surprisingly the scores improved almost 2 points and the drumline tied for 2nd in percussion. But during rehearsals that Labor Day weekend members just wanted to get the show and season over with. The Pat Metheney show would have worked with any other Bush corps except for the '82 and '85 corps. Unfortunately this was 1985.

1985 SHOW: The Epic/First Circle/Supertonic Suite

Prelims 4th 84.35

Finals 4th 86.55

by John Gough

[JeromeyBush]

1986

-Just as a toll was taken on the corps after the '84 season, a similar drain was placed on the corps at the end of the '85 season. That is why 1986 is such a sweet and euphoric year. The winter was poor, we had internal problems and but we had a small group of regulars who were used to the way things turned out. These people would stay no matter what; the question would be could we have enough of them to field a corps.

There were much better odds of the corps folding rather than winning the championship. In fact, the drum corps rumor mill had us dead. We did not appear at any winter standstills and our first show would not be until July 5th. So there was concern for the well being of the Bushwackers.

There was justification is those rumors. Aside from all the other points mentioned, Al DiCroce and his wife Sandy had left the corps to move up to Canada and devote their energies to Dutch Boy. Al had been made director of Dutch Boy over the winter and his departure left a void in the soul of the corps. Things did not look too good in the opening months of the year.

The corps now needed a show coordinator, head horn instructor and head color guard instructor. We also needed a drill designer, music and a show. Other than that, we were in fine shape thank you.

The administration met and after consulting the instructional staff offered Gary Oberwanowicz the position of show coordinator and head horn instructor. Gary had been a horn instructor with the corps since 1982, after marching with the Bridgemen, and had the respect of the corps members and both staffs. The head colorguard position was filled by Steve Walsh, who aside from working with many colorguards, was a member of the colorguard in 1984. And the position of drill designer went to two people, Roy Chambers and Allen Chesnovitz. Allen marched as soprano soloist with the Saints and the Garfield Cadets, and Roy had been a member of Royal Brigade before joining Bush in 1982. Both Roy and Allen were writing a DCA level drill for the first time.

With these additions, mostly all from within the corps, the Bushwackers began a journey into the next level of the corps.

A decision was made by Gary and his staff to put together a show from past seasons that could be fine tuned and reworked. So Santos, Quensabe/Las Suertas de Los Tontos and Egyptian Danza were brought back from the '83 and '84 shows. The only new musical number added on was a Larry Kerchner arrangement of Ayres Eyes.

An effort was made to try and bring back some members from previous season and this proved fairly successful. But credit deserves to go to corps members who stayed from the winter of '85-'86 because they went through the most trying times.

By June we had a corps that would make the field and do itself justice. We were not world beaters, but we weren't going to disgrace ourselves either. It was a good little corps. By July 4th, the day before our first show, we had a full dress rehearsal at approximately 9 pm. This would serve as our run-through and it would be the first time Bush ever was so organized. As the corps performed I could see the fireworks exploding in the night air framing the Statue of Liberty in the distance. It was a sight and an omen I would soon not forget.

On July 5th in Bridgeport CT the corps performed well enough to come in third place with a 72.90, ahead of the Sunrisers and 3.5 in back of the first place Buccaneers. After that good showing we added about 8 horn players the following week and the corps suddenly began to fill up. The following week found Bush in second place in Torrington, CT and later on down the season in third place at the regionals in Scranton, PA.

The two weeks leading up to the championship the corps rehearsed 12 out of 14 days including an all day rehearsal the Friday before Labor Day. During that time the thought began to emerge that the Bushwackers could win the championship. Up until then no one even discussed the idea. At that point in the season Steel City had lost only one show and that was to the Cabs in Scranton. Bush and the Bucs were in third and fourth respectively and not entirely counted out. Although the corps had never won a single show, people inside and out of the corps began to talk about Bush winning the championship.

At prelims the Bushwackers went on last again, just as we did in '82, and Steel City and Hawthorne had posted a tie with 89.65. We performed the best show of the season, including what would be our finals performance. The corps was certain they won prelims.

But another set back, we scored a 88.70 and were still in third. The corps was noticeably depressed as they went to dinner. Although no one made any speeches or tried to rally the corps, something happened to the corps. It seemed people just kicked themselves up and made the decision to maxout the show in finals. If it won great, if not fine, at least we had one more chance to prove ourselves.

We followed the Buccaneers on the field in finals. From the start we had good crowd support and response, despite interruptions by a near by motorcycle and a helicopter. The Bushwackers performed an emotional show. Technically we were better in prelims, but emotionally we were better in finals. Of the two, prelims was honestly better.

In retrospect it seemed that Steel City and Hawthorne were more concerned with not losing to the other, they both forgot about us. At retreat we took the first major caption award, high horns, which came as a pleasant surprise since we had never won high horns, and we had placed 4th in horns in prelims (tied for 6th in MA). Then we took high percussion which we had taken all year, unknown to many the Bushwacker drumline went undefeated in percussion in '86. Then the best thing that could happen, next to winning the remaining captions occurred when Steel City and the Cabs each took high GE and M&M respectively. The important spread was in drums and that led us to our first DCA championship. The Bushwackers had finally won their first show and they picked the championship to do it at.

Retreat and pass in review went by in a big blur. Steel City showed a lot of class by turning to us before they left the field and performed Somewhere from West Side Story. You have to admire them that night, they won all but two shows in 1986 and finals must have broken their hearts. Not many corps would have done what they did.

In just five years of field competition the corps won a championship with two major captions with a 92.45. All this in a year that almost didn't happen.

1986 Show: Santos/Quensabe/Las Suertas de Los Tontos/ Egyptian Danza/Ayres Eyes.

Prelims: 3rd 88.70

Finals: 1st 92.45

By John Gough

Edited May 28, 2004 by JeromeyBush

[JeromeyBush]

1987

-Looking back to 1986 and 1987 it becomes clear that it's easier to become a champion than it is to stay a champion. Retaining the DCA Championship proved to be another adventure and extremely difficult.

The winter of 1986-87 was good by Bushwacker standards, and by now it has become common knowledge that the Bushwackers very rarely have good winters. The instructional staff stayed basically the same with Gary as show coordinator. By spring the corps was in good shape with a entirely new show with the exception of the '86 exit Ayres Eyes.

Administratively there were internal changes in the corps. Mike Olszewski stayed on as Director but three other individuals emerged. Nick Yaworski, who had been associated with the Sunrisers and as a DCA officer for many years, came on with the corps in 1986. Tim Bell had been involved with colorguards, drum corps and had adjudicated in his career. Warren Pinder had been in the Sunrisers for years before he came over to the Bushwackers in their first year back in 1982.

While Bush was going along at a good pace so were a number of other corps. The Sunrisers, Caballeros, Steel City, Buccaneers and Rochester all were going to have good seasons. In fact, 1987 was the most competitive large group of corps since the 1983 season. And one important thing was for certain, the days of the Bushwackers sneaking up on corps were gone forever. Now we became the hunted and not the hunter.

The Sunrisers took the early lead and everyone was left chasing them. Bush had left Allentown in '86 with their first win and would not win another show for nearly two years. It wasn't that the corps was a "flash in the pan" because they did stay close to the top of the pack. This was a year of adjustment to great expectations. The 87 corps had to learn to live with the success of the '86 corps.

Certain DCA championships take on their own identities. 1987 was the year of the big rain. Never before had a championship been canceled due to the weather until 1987. It seemed that most corps performed in prelims during a deluge of rain and all corps had to march in the mud of the field. It must be remembered that not until recently that prelims and finals were held on separate days. In the past prelims were held on Sunday morning and afternoon, and finals were held Sunday night. So when it rained late Saturday night, Sunday morning and afternoon the field was in terrible condition. DCA decided to move finals to Monday afternoon (Labor Day) hoping that the weather would improve.

Prelims proved to be an exercise in concentration. Any corps that let the rain or the field condition get to them suffered. This year the Bushwackers were on in the second half of the block of ten. They performed well, but they couldn't put the whole thing together. It was good, but not good enough. The corps knew they could do better in finals.

Bush placed third in prelims behind Sun and Cabs respectively, and fourth through sixth held Steel City, Bucs and Rochester. The Sunrisers took the wind out of the corps by posting a 94.84 in prelims to Bush's 92.96. A total of _____pts. separated 3rd through 6th.

There would be no finals. The weather was miserable due to the continuing rain and the field only got worse. J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown is a school district field and the school district decided not to let DCA use the field for finals in fear of permanent damage before the football season.

The word of the cancellation of finals reached the Bushwackers at their rehearsal field Monday morning. The corps was stunned. The scores from prelims would stand as final scores and the only positive thing to come out of this was that the drumline again took high percussion for the second year in a row, and even that didn't sink in until later. Other than that the corps was devastated that they would not have the chance to defend their title in finals. Bush had a good shot at second and they wouldn't catch the Sunrisers, but this left the season in a huge void. The sin of it was Bush in 1987 was a more talented and better corps than the championship corps of 1986, and in time the 1987 corps will only be known as a third place corps. This is unfortunate and unfair.

The corps performed in a standstill exhibition on the track and went home to New Jersey in the rain.

1987 Show: Pellet Suite, Marguerite, Corner Pocket, Aries Eyes

Prelims: 3rd - 92.96

Finals: canceled due to rain see Prelims.

[JeromeyBush]

1988

-If the season of 1988 was a film it could have been called "Bush '86 Part II", or "Son of Bush".

The corps had a small turn out in the winter. Whereas the '85 season burnt out Bush, the '87 season bummed them out. Major administrative changes occurred when Nick Yaworksi and Warren Pinder left the corps and Tim Bell began working with Jay Morlot. Jay had been in drum corps a long time with various junior corps before be came to Bush in 1982. And the instructional staff changed when Gary Oberwanowicz did the writing and arranging, and Roy Chambers and Jim Dugan both became the show coordinators. Jim had been a drummer in the Bridgeman and started instructing with Bush in 1983. He was now head percussion instructor. Also Randy Accardi became head color guard instructor after joining the corps in '86. Randy is very well known for his guard work with the winter guard Conquest and other drum corps.

To make a long story short, the corps kicked and screamed and scratched and clawed through the winter and by the spring of '88 the corps had turned another corner. The most challenging aspect to fielding a drum corps is getting enough bodies to start the show and work with it from there. The greatest show in design is not going to hit the field without enough bodies. In this respect the corps had two things going for them 1) a very talented small group of members and 2) a difficult but organized show. It took awhile before it got going, and it took imagination to visualize the show with 19 horns, written for 44, but once it started to snowball it became an avalanche that roared straight through to finals.

This year would be disappointing in that there would be two corps going down to the wire by the second half of the season. When it came down to it, there would be the Sunrisers and the Bushwackers. Sun had a good start and was coming off the victory in '87. The Skyliners started off extremely well, but everyone caught up to them and they tailed off in the second half. And while the Empire Statesmen and the Rochester Crusaders made tremendous strides, the Caballeros just didn't have a good year.

Bush was following Sun up until the regionals at Scranton. By then everyone knew the only corps that could catch Sun was Bush. Then, out of the blue, an incident occurred that kick started the Bushwackers.

Before Bush entered the field at Scranton an altercation erupted between a quad player from the Bushwackers and a member of another corps. As the quad player was entering the field the other individual followed him and this altercation spilled out onto the field itself. For those of you who are not drummers, it is extremly difficult to defend oneself when you are lugging around four drums. The corps was incensed that another corps member would enter the field, in full uniform, to pick a fight with a member of the corps before they started their warm-up. Eventually the other member left the field and the warm-up was a combination of vented anger and disgust.

This individual did more for the Bushwackers than he will ever know. The corps took their revenge out by smoking their performance and winning the show. It was their first win since the finals at the championship in '86.

After beating Sun for the first time in Scranton the two corps locked horns two weeks later in Bridgeport, CT where Bush edged out Sun by .16 points. (Bush 89.66, Sun 89.50) By the following week in prelims both corps were ready to settle the matter once and for all. This time Sun took prelims in Hershey, PA by .36 points. Finals looked to be a great showdown, but then something totally unexpected happened. . . .it rained.

For the second straight year it rained on finals and DCA moved it to Monday night. Believe me there was much concern with the Bushwackers after losing prelims and the rain on Sunday. But the field in Hershey was in better shape than Allentown, and since it wasn't a school field we could use it without fear of fines.

Sunday late afternoon was chilly and windy. I can remember pit equipment being blown down and the honor guard of the Skyliners fighting the wind. Bush went on and turned the show up a notch in finals. The corps was satisfied they did their best job and now it would be up to Sun and the judges. The corps watched the Sunrisers from the back visitors stands. Since it was late, there was a drum major retreat. The Sunrisers stood at ease on the track.

The captions went as follows: Sun took high horns and M & M. Bush took high drums, high drums execution and best color guard. As an omen of things to come, both Sun and Bush tied for high GE. The fans expected close scores because both corps but on excellent performances in finals. The crowd was very upset when Fran Herring the announcer stated, after Rochester was announced in third, that there was a tie for first place.

If you thought the crowd was upset, you should have seen the Bushwackers and the Sunrisers. Both wanted themselves as clear cut winners but they had to share the title with a joint score of 96.36. Many people had left, due to the outcome and the lateness of the show, so the encore was received by less than 150 fans.

It was extremely interesting to watch Bush get out the the stands and line up facing Sun who had just marched onto the field. Each corps played one number to the other, trying to outdo the other. But this was not with the emotion of the '86 Steel City Ambassadors. This rivalry would go on into the winter and be resumed the following season. It was not as though both corps hated each other, but more that they felt the other was in their way.

Back on the buses the Giants were playing the Redskins and the seasons had officially changed.

1988 Show: Pellet Suite, Inner Crisis, Mira Mira, Out of Africa

Prelims: Second 93.44

Finals: tie First 96.36