KeithHall Posted July 1, 2006 Author Share Posted July 1, 2006 Were the Apalachin Grenadiers and the Southern Tier Grenadiers one in the same? If so when did the name change and why? Was there a merger that caused the name change? One in the same. Also known as Vestal Grenadiers. No merger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shimes Posted July 24, 2007 Share Posted July 24, 2007 THe Empire State Express merged in the fall of 1977. The Mark Twain Cadets and THe Grenadiers. (Apalachin) At first there were 2 directors. One of which I consider a great person. Mr. Godoy. We practiced in TIoga Center, NY.. Ken Turner (now with Johnson City, NY HS) taught and arranged Brass, and Bill Calhouhn (now with Norwich)percussion. 1978 was a whirlwind year for us. Great brass, great percussion, sucky marching. We did ok at US open, AIO, and Lynn. But.. DCI East left us in 14th place at prelims. As the year wound down peolple didn't have the faith in the corps nor the cash to send us to Denver. soooooo... As soon as the year ended everyone pretty much went to Squires or some other DCI corps. I know of a few who did very well. One contra has a DCI Championship ring from BD!! After a few stuggling years in class a.. it was decided to give it a go with the Mello-dears.. then a couple years lter every Southern Tier corps decided to give it a go as one unit. It still didn't pan out. I aged out not even marching... I still see some of the People at the Sounds on the Susquehanna show.. which by the way is August 4th at Alumni Stadium in Binghamton. I serve as the announcer. IF anyone has a video, or audio recording of 1978 Express, or any drum sheet music please let me know I would really like to be able to remember that year as my best year in drum corps. The warm up was a classic Ken Turner piece.. Close Encounters.. it was simply awesome.. Thanks Bill and Ken for such great music that year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHall Posted July 24, 2007 Author Share Posted July 24, 2007 THe Empire State Express merged in the fall of 1977. The Mark Twain Cadets and THe Grenadiers. (Apalachin) At first there were 2 directors. One of which I consider a great person. Mr. Godoy. We practiced in TIoga Center, NY..Ken Turner (now with Johnson City, NY HS) taught and arranged Brass, and Bill Calhouhn (now with Norwich)percussion. 1978 was a whirlwind year for us. Great brass, great percussion, sucky marching. We did ok at US open, AIO, and Lynn. But.. DCI East left us in 14th place at prelims. As the year wound down peolple didn't have the faith in the corps nor the cash to send us to Denver. soooooo... As soon as the year ended everyone pretty much went to Squires or some other DCI corps. I know of a few who did very well. One contra has a DCI Championship ring from BD!! After a few stuggling years in class a.. it was decided to give it a go with the Mello-dears.. then a couple years lter every Southern Tier corps decided to give it a go as one unit. It still didn't pan out. I aged out not even marching... I still see some of the People at the Sounds on the Susquehanna show.. which by the way is August 4th at Alumni Stadium in Binghamton. I serve as the announcer. IF anyone has a video, or audio recording of 1978 Express, or any drum sheet music please let me know I would really like to be able to remember that year as my best year in drum corps. The warm up was a classic Ken Turner piece.. Close Encounters.. it was simply awesome.. Thanks Bill and Ken for such great music that year... After my experience and seeing others, mergers are not the answer. If they worked there would still be junior corps in NY. So the moral of the story is...mergers don't work. I only know of the Crossmen, a merger that worked. The Frontiersmen, Fusion, Northmen, Empire State Express, Renegades, Cadets of CNY, etc are all gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shimes Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 ahhh keith.... ahhhhhh..... almost all corps are gone... kidding of course but relatively speaking.... It was a way to try to resurrect the dead in our case.... I tell ya... I sure hell had a blast.. booth with Mark Twain and with the Express. ANd even more fun now with the BRidgemen!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripper Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Hey Keith didn t Frontiersmen fold up 82/83 and then come out as Vengence from North Tonowonda?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHall Posted July 26, 2007 Author Share Posted July 26, 2007 Hey Keith didn t Frontiersmen fold up 82/83 and then come out as Vengence from North Tonowonda?? Yea! I was asked to work with their horn line at the same time I was with Patriots. I met my first wife with Vengeance and then she marched two years with Patriots. There wasn't much in management and was just doing parades in 1984. Sad ending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medeabrass Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 That is just amazing to me that there were once SO many places to march in every state, except Texas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tindmac Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Shimes, DO I take it that you marched with Grenadiers and Mark Twain? What years did you march? I might know you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shimes Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I marched 76-77 with mark twain.. then onto express in 78 played 3rd bass ... then 79-83 played snare on and off as we tried to survive through the class a stuff. I am from elmira heights... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geneva Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 The Apalachin Grenadiers are one of the GREAT stories in drum corps history!!I bet 90% of people around drum corps today have never even heard of them. This was brass guru (and later DCI horn judge) Ken Turner's small division corps that did AMAZING things with their brass in the 1970's. At the 1972 U.S. Open the Grenadiers were in Class 'B' (division II today), and they actually beat the world champion Anaheim Kingsmen on the brass sheets, despite the fact they had a hornline of fewer than 35 members. The sheets were identical for all divisions there that year. The Grenadiers were not an open class (division I) corps, but more than held their own with anybody in the horn department. At the 1974 DCI Championships the Grenadiers finished only 38th placce, but their brass was 14th overall. In '75 the Grenadiers were 32nd at DCI, but their brass took 12th in the musical analysis caption. The Mello-Dears all-girls corps was also a very successful corps. I can still see those plumed hats! Yep, I saw the Grenadiers and agree. The horn line was excellent. A real group of players. I recall an amazingly full and rich sound for a small horn line and charts packed with articulations which they handled masterfully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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