TennTux Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 The Sunrisers got their name from the Sunrise Highway on Long Island, where the corps was founded. If someone else fromn Sun would like to step in with more info, go right ahead! :) From www.sunrisers.com And for the "Rest of the Story", please check this link... A History Of The Sunrisers http://www.sunrisers.com/fra/sunrisers_history_dcw.shtml Their fascinating early history is related by John Hodge, a member of the Sunriser Hall of Fame: “ It began in 1950 at a Marine Corps League meeting in Lakeview, West Hempstead, Long Island. Being gung-ho with still the Marine Corps blood in my veins from World War II and anxious to promote youthful projects for my organization, I made a motion on the floor at meeting to organize the Marines Memorial Drum Corps of Nassau County. Ed McAvoy, a drummer, and Ed Ryan, bugle man, offered to assist me. “ One evening in 1954, while sitting home studying my baritone parts, I jumped up from my chair to turn the radio up loud. What I heard was Les Paul and Mary Ford playing The World is Waiting for the Sunrise. I grabbed my phone and called Ray Nichols. 'Ray!' I said, 'I have a terrific idea! How about a new name for the corps?' “ Friday night (rehearsal) came. Out came the announcement. A great ovation came from the members! The new theme came out of Ray's briefcase. There was electricity radiating through the entire corps when they started reading their parts. This is our song. Wherever we played it, people knew that there was only one Sunrisers and that made us feel proud! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeromeyBush Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 If the legend is indeed true, you really wouldn't believe where the name "Bushwacker" comes from!! Not that bar in Keyport,NJ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoothy Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 Funny story on the naming of the Govenaires: It began as the St Peter Legion D&B Corps, later to be changed in the late 40s/early 50s to just the St Peter Drum & Bugle Corps when the corps started competing in the VFW circuit as well. In 1961, the corps decided to get what was thought to be a modern name and chose "The Vikings" as their new name. By coincidence, the new NFL team in 1961 was to be the vkings as well, so the people running the corps at that time chose a new name so the corps wouldn't be associated with the football team. The new name was the Govenaires (after the bunch of governors that lived in St Peter) and till this day we have no clue why it's spelled without that "r" before the "n". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaLisaMoMeesa Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 You're close! The name was going to be Dream Machine. We dropped the Machine and added SoCal.The name was going to be used for a junior corps we were dreaming about around 1977 or so. We had a logo and everything. "We" is me and Dan Zeilinger, co-founder of Impulse and director of the new VK. We even took a trip one day over to Yamaha's musical instruments division in Buena Park, CA, to see if they'd be interested in making marching drums. Seems they weren't interested at the time, but we must have lit a fire. But the name Dream Machine wasn't our creation. There used to be a restaurant in Orange, CA, that went by that name. They prided themselves on changing the menu nightly, each night with a different theme. They would also concoct any dish on request, providing they had the ingredients on-site. Must have been a heck of a pantry! Garry in Vegas Wasn't there a Youth Band called Dream Machine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle z Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Wasn't there a Youth Band called Dream Machine? Are you thinking of Sound Machine?? http://www.soundmachine.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaLisaMoMeesa Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 Are you thinking of Sound Machine??http://www.soundmachine.org/ Ahhh.....dangit ("dangit"???? where the #### did that come from?) as I was clicking "Add reply" I was thinking..."No that's not right...." Yeah.....Sound Machine. Little butt holes used to kick our ##### all the time. (I taught Spirit of Sunnyvale (youth band)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geneva Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 A while back, on RAMD, someone posted the background to the name Appleknockers. It was a good one... wish they would chime in here and share it again. If they don't, I'll see if I can search it out on the net. OK, I am chiming.... 1) Origin of the name- late 40's to early 50's from a slang term denoting a shiftless country bumpkin. Allegedly coined to Winnek Post #396 of Geneva, New York by Garbarina (NY Skyliners) with whom the corps "butted heads" in state and national American Legion competition. The corps thought the name was an apt descriptor since Geneva was located in apple orchard country. "So we're Appleknockers! What about it? Back at you, Skyliners." There was also a WWI army division from upstate NY dubbed "The Appleknockers". Highest finish in national competition was second in A.L. Nationals prelims at Chicago in 1958 (this is a hard score to find). 2) Junior corps also known as the Appleknockers was formed in the fall of 1962 as a feeder unit for the senior corps. The corps competed 1963 and 1964 as a parade corps and 1965-1974 as a field corps (DCI prelims at Ithaca, NY in 1974 was one of the corps' last performances). We were modestly successful. We were consistently one of the top junior corps in the state most of those years (second in 1970 behind Mighty St. Joe's) and had a couple strong finishes in national competition (15th out of 65 at the A.L. Nationals in Boston in 1967 and 11th place finalist at the U.S. Open in 1971). The corps never really fulfilled its original purpose as a feeder corps to the senior corps since the senior corps folded after the 1964 season and the junior corps entered competition in 1965 as a coed corps (initially formed as male only since senior corps at the time were all male). 3) Most famous member of the senior corps- yes, indeed, was Ken Petersen who I am proud to call a friend. He was a gifted soprano soloist with the corps. Listen to his 1964 solo work on the Fleetwood recording at Carnegie Hall and you will realize why this man is in the Buglers' Hall of Fame. Lesser known, however, was soprano soloist Frankie Farr who preceded Ken and was reputed to have played some of the first jazz improvisational solos on a drum corps field. For more information, see my article on the Appleknockers in volume II of "A History of Drum and Bugle Corps". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockportDrumCorps Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Don't know yet.. haven't picked one... but you can vote on our webpage and help us out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumno5 Posted May 3, 2007 Share Posted May 3, 2007 << I'm especially intersted in where the Bushwhackers' name came from! heh>> I'm pretty certain that Mike Olszewski (founder/director of the corps - the old-timers will understand when I say that he was a unique individual, to say the least!) came up with the name. He was enamored with the idea of putting together a corps that would sneak up and take the senior corps world by surprise. Which is kind of what happened - 7th place in our first year on the field, and its been a pretty good run ever since. Go Bush! Fred O. Bush '82 - '85, staff '89, '92 -'94 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDempsey Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Now tell me about the Steel City Sideburns and the Winnipeg Lugnuts (take it....Donny Allen LOL) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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