|
Visitor Counter
Sunrisers Alumni 
|
Welcome to the Sunrisers Drum and Bugle Corps Alumni website!Hit CTRL+D to bookmark this site! This website last updated:
Please note ... This web site looks best in a modern, standards-compliant browser, e.g. the latest versions of Mozilla/Firefox, Opera or Safari (Mac). I have made some minor adjustments for Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 6 or later), but its inadequate support for standards imply certain limitations, and I feel no need to learn every possible "hack" to make it work the way it should. Please consider switching your browser to one of those known to be "compliant." Your online experience will be much more enjoyable. Not just here, but everywhere. Mission statementObviously, the primary mission of this site is to serve as a repository with which to exchange information, music, pictures, stories, etc. Any information alumni may wish to be transmitted to other alumni may be submitted (via the forms provided in the menu) for posting, be it personal updates or whatever. Additional stories of your time in Sun are always welcome to be added to the Our Sun Stories pages. Though some Sun alumni have moved on to other corps during the times Sun was inactive - I would hope you would feel welcome here. Your stories of your time with the Sunrisers are always welcome, as is anything else you'd care to contribute! Thanks for visiting - hope you enjoy your time here. Please note that this site is not in any way connected to the competing corps of the Sunrisers Drum & Bugle Corps, or any of its principals, agents, or sponsors. The views and opinions expressed here are strictly mine alone, and you should not infer any official policy of the Sunrisers in anything written here. Anyone is free to visit the corps official website for alternate views. Latest Updates!
I was just informed by alumnus Nat Mazyck that Freddie "Rabbit" Gibbs - who came to Sun from the Carver Gay Blades along with Uncle Nicky, Gene Bennett, Bob "Soupy" Cephus and others has passed away.
Details:
So does anyone know? Because I haven't heard anything, and don't know anyone who has. Is Sun putting a corps on the field this year or not? I keep hearing from people that there are only 14-16 horns, no pit, practically no perc section at rehearsals - which of course does not bode well for the future of Sun. Now I hear an important lead sop has left as well due to those reasons I mentioned - no members, and apparently no future. This would indeed be a sad thing for our dear Sunrisers. There has not been a single instance of any corps surviving after 2 years off the field of competition in any meaningful way. The PR person has been strangely silent on Drum Corps Planet - which I visit infrequently but make sure to look for anything about Sun. There is a thread saying Sun is coming back but nothing verifying that from corps management. There was just a thread about parades on the upcoming July 4th weekend kicking off the season in which the Sun PR person - who should know - said he "thinks" Sun has some parades in the baltimore area that weekend. Thinks? So the question is ... is Sun going the way of the Skyliners, Reilly Raiders, and so many other greats of the DC world? UPDATE...
The interview with Ray for the "Alumni Today" feature is now up! I found Ray's story really interesting and hope you will as well. In a sense it is similar to many of us. In other respects it is profoundly different. Check it out Update 6/23/09 I just noticed on Rays page that things looked rather ... strange ... as far as the text went. Well, that's what I get for using the "find and replace" feature in my text editor! Sorry about that - it's fixed now.
Going through some old CD's today to dispose of outdated stuff, I found a disk sent by Charles Johnson containing 211 pictures from DCA chamionships from 1979-1988 (except 87). I have to go through these and see if they are duplicated anywhere and then I will process them to get them online asap.
In the works is a new entry for the "Alumni Today" page - an interview with one of the newest Sunrisers to be inducted into the Buglers Hall of Fame. That would be Ray Fallon. Stay tuned. A few more surprises on the horizon.
For good, this time, because the games continue unabated. Oh gee - I must be having another "psychotic rant"! No, not at all - sorry to disabuse anyone. I am still getting posts from the contact form like the previous ones I mentioned a few posts down from here. Bogus names and typical childish, petulant comments. That's okay. A few morons are not going to shut down the website like they did the forum. It's just now people will have to use email, from which your IP and identification is right there for me to see instead of "hidden." Keep it up, kiddies.
These are the recently Re-discovered pictures submitted (and lost) from the 2007 Annual Banquet as submitted by Jason Chin, and Tony White. They are on page 4. There are an additional 160 pics on the "Miscellaneaous pics" page that I have been informed were sumitted by Tony and Alex White, from the 2007 Open House at Nyack. Thanks to Tony for letting me know.
Finally got the first group of discovered pics posted. They are on page 3, also submitted by Tony White. For reasons mentioned below - the Sound files are OFF LINE, at least temporarily, until the games end.
Yeah - certain morons (I hestitate to use the term "Jokers" as a pejorative) who are playing games with the contact forms and such. Like "Professor Eli Funt" - who can't spell at a sixth grade level or construct a sentence at any level. Are you having a bunch of giggles over spamming the forms, dipshit? Or how about a certain person who was downloading the same 6 or 7 mp3 files, every other day, to screw with my bandwidth? Did you know that IP addresses are recorded by my ISP? The result of this nonsense will no doubt be, of course, that these files I provide for members enjoyment will be put OFFline, since I refuse to pay extra bandwidth charges because of a few morons. So everyone else loses out because of one clown. Great way to treat your fellow alumni, I think. It is mindless, childish, nonsense like this crap that led me to shut down my ProBoards alumni forum 2 months ago. It's tiring and stupid. Got a problem with what I write here? Be a man and write me an email, or STFU and let the others enjoy the site. And stick your "psychotic rants" where the sun doesn't shine.
Remembering those who made the supreme sacrifice
For those alumni who might not be aware of it, our distinguished alumnus Frank Dorritie has been writing a regular column on Drum Corps Planet for a while now. As is usual with Frank, his pieces are always extraordinarily well written and informative. He lately has taken to collaborating with Fleetwood Records (remember them, old timers?) in producing an AUDIO Podcast version of his articles entitled "Off The Record, with Frank Dorritie", featuring music from old Fleetwood albums to illustrate various themes. These great albums are available now because of the work of alumnus Glenn Kubacki - the man responsible for remastering the Fleetwood catalog of vinyls to digital format that helped make this possible. Fleetwoods ENTIRE discography is now available. Well ... Frank has just posted his latest on DCP - "Legends of the 1 Valve Bugle, part 2, and it's an amazing tribute to the soloists from our youth playing the old 1 valve, G/D and later 1 valve/rotary horns of the day. Just amazing. I remember listening to so many of those guys as a beginner in 1960. You simply MUST go over to DCP (no account is required except to post) and catch Frank doing what he does "second best" - the first best being playing a horn. FRANKS DCP LINK
Jebus! Found another large bunch of pictures from the banquet sent by Tony White that somehow never got online. Those will be added asap too. AND ... found a group of pictures from the Lucky Sevens racket that were overlooked. Not sure where these came from. When they are up let me know if it's you so they can be credited.. Lots of work to do!
22 new pics submitted by Tim Campbell are now on pics page 5. I believe these are from 1998? Someone correct me if that's wrong, please. Thanks to Tim for the pics! In addition, while going through some files that were moved around during a hard drive upgrade - I found an additional 170 pictures from the 2007 banquet. Some are identified as "chin" - who I assume is Jason Chin, and the rest as "oh". I have no idea who that may be. If you know - please email me so I can credit the pics properly. I will get these on asap.
Some new pics on page 5 of the pics menu, courtesy of Linda Shoemaker and Scott Yaniga. Thanks to both for submitting!
I just discovered that one of the original links - Corps Nicknames - had somehow been removed during housekeeping at some point and I never noticed it. It's now back online, linked from the Sun Stories page.
Okay - I have contracted with a different formsite to make an "all in one" contact form - replacing the 3 I had with the previous morons. It's up and working, from the lower menu.
Could be, then again maybe not. As usual, asking alumni to submit news for publishing here is close to a lost cause, as it has been the case since the origination of the site. Except for a select few - nothing much is heard. Some (you know who you are) would say it's me ... others (myself included) could infer a basic lack of interest. "People move on with their lives and leave behind activities of 20 or more years ago" is one explanation I've heard via emails. Emails from a few describe disappointment (?) with successive management groups dismissing their contributions to the Sunrisers and their refusal to even discuss the corps. Whatever the reason, this site cannot function as intended without a fairly steady flow of input from the alumni. I can't make stuff up, and I am running out of ideas with which to inspire participation. Requests to submit stories or suggestions yield nothing. I guess the future of this site will be determined by alumni responses to these posts, since my domain registration expires and is up for renewal in November. It's in your hands, folks. The number of hits the site gets would suggest there is interest out there. Why there is no response to my asking for input is another story I cannot explain.
I guess the question of the day I have is - will Sun take the field in 2009, or will this be a repeat of 2008? I have heard basically nothing about the corps for at least 3 months, and since closing the Alumni Forum on ProBoards am not in contact with anyone who used to frequent the forum except for a fellow few in the "under the bus" category. Life goes on, regardless. Occasional forays to Drum Corps Planet - home of the "Barney" element of drum corps - have shown nothing at all relative to Suns re-appearence on the field of competition. No posts, no nothing. Curious, in light of the Sunrisers.com site listing a schedule of appearences. In addition, I have seen no mention of Sun in the DCA class roster. I would assume, based on size alone, that Sun would have declared Class "A" once again - yet it is not listed by DCA. Disappointing to say the least. I would hope that Sun does field a corps in competition this year, because the lessons of the past have shown that few corps survive more than one inactive season, and that would be a shame and blot on the Sunriser legacy of excellence. I imagine that I might get a few email responses to this from certain people within the organization, assuming they are not among those whose email addresses are in my "block sender" list, but that's okay. Life goes on.
I have permanently removed the forms I created for Contact and Story Submissions. The service I used - based in Romania, for God's sake, is non-responsive and trash. I don't need them and have cancelled my account with them. If you need to contact me to make a suggestion, ask a question, or submit a story for our Sun Story pages - please use my email link.
In connection with Danny's funeral, his mom has asked for friends of Danny's from the Cabs and Sunrisers to act as pallbearers for his funeral on Wednesday. If you are interested and available, please contact Dennis Saccente as soon as possible so the funeral director can be advised. Dennis can be reached at 631-888-2631 (Home) or 516-680-3255 (Cell).
I just received news from Tony White that Danny Dayman, (color guard 1964-68, drum line 1969-70) passed away Saturday night May 2, after a brief illness. At the time of his death, Danny was in the VA hospice suffering from cancer. I didn't know Danny well, but it's still thought-provoking to see so many alumni my own age leaving us. I'm sure we crossed paths many times without ever knowing, since Danny also played with the Farmingdale Vanguards - who I competed against when I played with the Bellmore Thunderstreaks way back when. Danny also played with the Cabs after his stint with the Sunrisers. Funeral arrangements are as follows: My personal as well as the condolences of the entire Sunrisers family go out to Danny's mom and many friends.
I've completed the first installment of the new "Alumni Today" page - which will focus on what individual members of the Sun family are currently involved in, be it still in Drum Corps, or other projects. The first installment is an interview with Glenn Kubacki by Steve Vickers of Drum Corps World, conducted in 2005 and used with Steves gracious permission. I am trying to put more of these together and will post as available.
Finally got the results of this prestigious contest on Drum Corps Planet (which I hate, but that's another story) after badgering people for weeks. Distinguished alumn Frank Dorritie scrounged them up somewhere and posted. A decent representation of Sunrisers aquitted themselves quite well this year. Congrats to all the participants no matter what their final score - it's a pretty big deal to even make the cut in a contest of that caliber! It's also great to see Cookie - who has to be one of the most under-rated Sunriser soloists ever - playing again with his usual class.
Speaking of the Buglers Hall of Fame and the I&E show - I'd be remiss if I didn't mention and congratulate two more Sunrisers on their induction into the very prestigious group this June. Steve Buglino and Ray Fallon will join fellow Sunrisers Billy Hightower, Frank Dorritie, John "Screech" Arietano, Frank Ponzo, Ted "Father of the Contra-Bass" Sasso, and Ritchee Price on the rolls of the Hall of Fame. Congratulations, Steve and Ray! A well deserved honor.
Thanks to Glenn Krug for his story submission! Glen's page and story is posted and ready. Thanks, Glen!
Trying not to bite off more than I can handle here, but some projects being worked on are a new Videos page, which wil consist of as many videos of Sun performances as I can acquire; adding a substantial number of new pictures to the picture pages; and a sort of "where are they now" page, consisting of alumni members who are now with other organizations in some capacity - playing, teaching, writing, etc. I am presently gathering this info on my own and with the help ofa few other alumni members. This will no doubt requiire a new page of its own, and will likely be the last of the previously mentioned projects I get to. If you'd like to be included in this project - let me know via email or the contact form what you've been up to since you left Sun! Stay tuned.
Sorry for the delay on this - I was in the hospital again for a few days and without my files. At any rate, I have finally completed revamping the pictures pages - now accessible from the Pictures Menu. I have still not had time to add new pictures i have archived, but will do that asap. Assuming I get any new pics from alumni - they will be placed according to existing themed pages - or if necessary new pages will be added for clarity.
Doing some filler work while working on the pictures pages, I have temporarily removed the "Files Bin" page. This will be replaced by a page linked to my file server, on which there will be many more files available for download. I have also added a new page, "DCA History", which is a really interesting piece written by Tom Peashy for DCP. Sun is prominently mentioned in the piece. Hope those who have never had the opportunity to read it before enjoy it.
I'd like to ask any alumnus who has videos of Sunriser performances saved in .WMV or .FLV formats to email them to me for inclusion on the Videos page I'm working on. I have a few on my YouTube channel, but others I'm missing will be a problem linking to - I'd rather embed them on the page which requires that I have them on my channel. I'm sure the rest of the alumni would appreciate having all available videos at one location, as I'm trying to do with music MP3 files. I don't know if it has ever been acknowledged before, but the majority of the MP3 files I have on the site were provided by the one and only Bob Murphy, for which I am in his debt. A lot of members have written how much they enjoy listening to those files. The credit for them being here belongs to Bob.
It took a while longer than I'd have liked, but all of the thumbnails have now been converted and reloaded - so the existing picture pages now display properly with the blue previous background removed. Now I have to rebuild the new pages and menu.
I am continuing work on the pictures pages today. I have decided to restructure the pictures into separate pages according to content due to the number of pics involved and the approximately 200 new pics that need to be added. Firststep is regenerating new thumbnails for existing pics to change the blue background to white (many done yesterday), then create thumbnails for all the new pics and from there recoding the existing and new pages. This is going to take some time, so bear with me, please. The only time you might have a momentary problems is when I am sending pics to my server. I will not put the new pages online until late hours, so that should be a problem for anyone.
I've added 5 more complete shows to the "Sounds" page today. Included are: Hope you enjoy these additions. All the years listed have full shows available. If there is one in particular you'd like to have online, just email me. Eventually ALL shows listed will be available.
The Buglers Hall of Fame is proud to announce the third annual North American Championship for Individual and Ensemble Brass and Percussion, Mixed Ensembles, Mini-Corps and Alumni Corps. The show is being co-sponsored by Dynasty and Kanstul Musical Instruments and will take place Saturday, March 28, 2009 at the Germania Schwaben Hall, 416 Horace Street, Bridgeport, Ct. Start time is 1 pm. Among Sunriser alumni in the individuals part of the event will be: Frank Dorritie, Frank Ponzo, Ritchie Price, John "Cookie" Kamerdin, Glenn Kubacki, and Jason Chin. Sunriser alumni will be heavily represented among the following exhibition corps: Golden Eagles Mini Corps, St Rita’s Brassmen Alumni Corps, Sky Alumni, and the Selden Cadets Alumni. If you can possibly make the show to cheer on all the Sunriser alumni, please do so!
I've learned that Arthur J. Sacktig - father of Alumnus/Staff member Jeff Sacktig - passed away last week at age 80. Mr. Sacktig was also the grandfather of Sunriser Alumns Ryan and Sean Breslin. Mr. Sacktig lay in repose at: Our condolences to Jeff, Ryan, and Sean.
It seems like the only news I hear about lately is bad news. I have just been informed that George J. Knoebel, Laurel (Knobel) Murphy's dad, passed away peacefully at his home in Oakdale. He is to waked at: Viewing hours are: Funeral service: Laurel was, as most of you know, part of the Sunrisers first ever all girl Guard. Most sincere condolences to Laurel and Bob and their family at this sad time. George's family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Long Island Sunrisers Drum & Bugle Corps.
As I've said too many times already - this site needs news to remain viable. The only way I have of keeping others abreast of what is going on with members is if you let me know so I can post it - this has been sadly lacking for a while now. I used to get clues to events from the old ProBoards forum, but since that is gone and I do not participate in the new forum that avenue is not open to me. I need to hear from you, folks. Anything you have that may be of interest ... send it along to get it posted. Please.
I am currently working on a large number of new photos to be added to the site. Bear with me while I work at editing and coding the new stuff - I'm not sure if I will need to make another new page or manage to get these added to an existing page. Should be soon.
For a number of years Dr Katherine Albrecht has been a dedicated watchdog on privacy concerns, including RFID, Spy chips, grocery membership cards, Real ID, NAIS, etc. Respected and well known, she also writes for NewsWithViews.com. Recently I heard her on Rule of Law Radio mentioning Ix.Quick search engine. Dr Albrecht has become their U.S. Media Relations person. I tried it and have been using Ix.Quick for my search engine. You may be interested in using it, also. Unlike Google, which monitors and collects info, etc. for others and records your IP number, Ix.Quick does not! You may be surprised to learn what other search engines are actually doing regarding YOUR privacy! Help spread the word! Remember: by using Ix.Quick search engine you are halting your search information and IP address from being recorded thus keeping busy bodies at bay. Try it HERE
I've been advised this afternoon by another alumni that a new forum has been setup from the Competing Corps website, although I haven't been advised of this directly. That being the case, I will drop my consideration of starting another forum of my own, as mentioned in a previous post last week.
For those alumni who might not be aware of it, our distinguished alumnus Frank Dorritie has been writing a regular column on Drum Corps Planet for a while now. As is usual with Frank, his pieces are always extraordinarily well written and informative. He lately has taken to collaborating with Fleetwood Records (remember them, old timers?) in producing an AUDIO Podcast version of his articles entitled "Off The Record, with Frank Dorritie", featuring music from old Fleetwood albums to illustrate various themes. As an aside, alumnus Glenn Kubacki is the man responsible for remastering the Fleetwood catalog of vinyls to digital format that helped make this possible. Well ... Frank has just posted his latest on DCP, and it's an amazing tribute to the soloists from our youth playing the old 1 valve, G/D and later 1 valve/rotary horns of the day. Just amazing. I remember listening to so many of those guys as a beginner in 1960. You simply MUST go over to DCP (no account is required except to post) and catch Frank doing what he does "second best" - the first best being playing a horn. FRANKS DCP LINK
I have just learned that long time marching and staff member Ray Fallon lost his brother - James Patrick Fallon Jr. - to a heart attack last week. Service and internment was in upstate NY last week. I'm sure messages of condolence would be appreciated. Ray has been through a lot lately and could probably use some support from his Sun family My personal sincere condolences to Ray on his loss.
Just wanted to let everyone know that as of today (3-8-09), I have removed myself from day to day operation of the Sunrisers Alumni Forum, hosted at ProBoards. The reasons for this are many, and I won't go into them here. Suffice it to say that after 5 years as administrator, it's time for new blood over there, and for me to move on. I will concentrate entirely on this site now. Being that I no longer have another way of gathering interesting items for this site - I hope you will continue to forward items of interest, personal stories, or other items of a personal nature directly to me via my email or the contact form on the left menu. I need your input, as always, to keep this site viable. Thanks!
The design change is now completed. Left to do is add the new Sun Videos page code and add a bunch of pictures to the Sun Pictures page.
As you can see, I have begun to change the design of the website in response to some (valid) complaints that the white text on the blue background was somewhat difficult to view without blurring out. I guess our eyes are aging as well as our bodies! I had considered doing this for a while, actually, because my eyes are in the same condition as many others. One cataract repaired with an implant - another with cataracts that will need surgery this year. So ... the change begins. A few pages have already been done and others will follow as time allows, keeping in mind that there are 77 (yes - 77) pages of code here with 16 separate stylesheets controlling how they look. ALL stylesheets have to be edited, with all HTML files somewhat less so. So it's not going to happen over night - but it will happen. Stay tuned, and let me know your impressions. Feedback is always appreciated.
I'm very sad to pass along information I received just now from Billy that his mom passed on February 18th after bravely battling bone cancer. I have no further details at this time. My personal most sincere condolences to Billy and his family at this terrible time for them.
No - I'm not asking for donations! Never have - never will - so get that out of your head. I'm asking a simple question, and depending on how you answer you can help support this website to continue in this financial climate. The question is this ... do you read books? Do you buy music online - either CD/DVD style or digital? If you answered YES to either of these, all I ask you to do the next time you want to buy is to use my menu link to Amazon.Com as a portal. If you do that and buy something - I will get 2% of the sale price from Amazon as an affiliate. That's all it takes. You buy something you were going to buy anyway, and I get a donation out of it to help finance the increasing costs of hosting and my domain costs. Thank you!
To make it even easier for you Jokers to submit a story for the "Our Sun Stories" page, I have created a new form for you to do so. No email, no composition on a word processor ... just fill in the form and I get it - your story gets added! Could not be easier, so hop to it and get those stories and anecdotes in. Just click the link on the left, right under the Contact Form link.
We have gotten an influx of people who are neither Alumnus nor current members of the Corps on both the Alumni Forum and to me using the Contact Form under the menu. Suffice it to say, I am happy to hear comments from people about the Sunrisers and/or individual members from years past. Unfortunately, the Forum is not the place for non-members and Alumnus to be, as is pointed out. To help with this, I have created a new GuestBook feature for the website here so people who were not members of the corps can make whatever comments they like or attempt to contact members/Alumnus. Please keep in mind that this GuestBook is for non-members/alumnus of the Sunrisers ONLY.
Bill Stalzer submitted a short anecdote from the 68 Nationals. It's on Bill's page.
I guess it's easiest to simply paste in this sad news I just received from Gene Bennett a few minutes ago... It is with deep regret and sorrow that I inform you that former Sunriser Bobby "Soupy" Cephus passed away last weekend. Most recently, Bobby resided in the Atlanta, GA area. Information that I have received to date, indicated that his remains were being shipped to the New Jersey area for services.
UPDATE: Details received.. Home Going Services for BOBBY CEPHUS
The inimitable Bill Costello offered me some corrections to the Sun History page from the beginning of the corps. To my great embarrassment, I had completly forgotten to add them to the site when I was dealing with some personal issues last year. They are now posted. My apologies to Bill - who probably thinks I'm a dick for not getting his work on for you.
Another story added to Doug Grunn's page today
Another 2 stories from Lenny Haring added to his page on the Sun Stories pages.
A new page with two stories from Lenny Haring added tonight. Remember the "Shacker" sign?
A hilarious rookie trial story from Bobby Burle added. Look for Bobby's page.
Jack Alexandros story page grows with two new short stories added. Hey - if Jack can do is - so can you. So write a story and click the "Submit Story" button on the menu already!
On the same subject, Mike Clougher now has his own story page, with two stories to start off.
Something new for Alumni! I have added a new "Advertisements" form on the menu, in which any alumnus can post an ad for his business or to sell personal goods he/she might want to get rid of. Only stuff in good condition or better, please! So if you own your own business, you are free to fill out the form and I will get it on a new page asap. There is NO CHARGE for this service. However - it would be nice (hint, hint) if you donated a piece of any profits you might make from fellow alumni to the competing corps. Nothing specific suggested, mind you ... but it would be a nice gesture.
More pics online now from Alex White
Jack Alexandro has contributed another story for the "Tales of Stan" page.
Tony White just forwarded 21 pics from Neal Van Deusen, now up on the Sun Pictures page.
Added an anecdote from Michelle Monturo to the Our Sun Stories page on the "Tales of Stan" page. First one using the new Story Submissions application!
Added a pic from Kevin Carraher to the Crazy Eights pics. It's included at the end Michelle Monturo's pics. Thanks, Kevin
I have just added another group of pics from the Crazy 8 racket to the Sun Pictures page. Included are 71 pics from Michelle Monturo, and 91 pics from Tony White.
The first of pics sent to me by attendees has now been posted on the Sun Pictures page. A group of 30 from Dania Cabrera, and another 10 from Milt Fitzgerald. Milt also has a movie file of everyone ending the night singing "Battle Hymn."
Sorry to report that 80's alumnus Frank Maley has lost his mom, Catherine Maley. Arrangement are as follows: Waked at: Joseph P. Clavin Sons, Inc. Funeral: Our Lady of Angels Our condolences go out to Frank and the entire Maley family.
Thanks to Mike Clougher starting a thread on the Forum regarding a classic Sunriser incident, I have added a new page to the "Our Sun Stories" pages... The "Ski Mask Cadets"
It seems to be an almost daily occurrance, considering we are all getting older. John Clougher's mother in law passed last night. To Ann, John, Robbie and all of the Clougher family, our most sincere condolences for your loss. You are in our prayers. Arrangements are: Sunday 8/3 2-4PM and 7-9PM Wake Fucillo & Warren Funeral Home 205 South Main Street Manville, New Jersey 08835 Phone: (908)725-1763 Funeral Mass 8/4 9AM Sacred Heart Church, Main St, Manville NJ followed by burial at Sacred Heart Cem. River Rd (Main St.) Hillsborough NJ
Linda Shoemaker passed along a few pics from 1983 that have been added to the Pics Page. Thanks, Linda!
Riley, Mary C. (nee Higgins) On July 15, 2008. Beloved wife of John J., devoted and adored mother of John J. Jr. (Margaret), James J. (Karen), Thomas P. and Kevin S., daughters Regina Shirk (Drew) and Bridget Riley (William Edelman), grandmother to Molly, Keira, Megan, Greta and Liam. Mary was a true Christian lady loved by all. She will be sadly missed by not only her family but by all with whom she came in contact. Relatives, friends are invited to her Concelebrated Funeral Mass Fri. July 18, 2008 10 A.M. in Holy Name Church, East Berks St. and Gaul St. Int. Holy Cross Cemetary. Viewing on Thurs.Eve. from 7 to 9 P.M. in DINAN FUNERAL HOME, 1921-23 Spring Garden St., Phila., 215-563-3655. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in her name to the above named church. The sympathies of the Sunrisers Alumni go to John and his family at this time.
Dave China and the Sunrisers Board of Directors have announced that The Sunrisers Drum & Bugle Corps is returning to Long Island - the site of the glory years. The announcement as released follows: The SUN Rises in the East Special Update, May 23 2008 The time has come. For real After almost 25 years on the "mainland" our beloved Sunrisers Drum and Bugle Corps is now happily set to pack up, head east and return to the place where it all started back in the mid 50's - Long Island NY. "The Long Island Sunrisers" . There's a kind of warm and comforting sound to it , huh. The past season's Sunriser Corps, the 2007 DCA Class A Champions, is the most recent success story in the long list of proud Sunrisers Corps which brought national acclaim to the organization. The unrivaled 1968 American Legion Nationals win, the corps’s very first Drum Corps Associates win in 1977 and the powerhouse that grew from there, resulting in the 1978, 82, 83, 87, and 88 titles, the formidable 1989, 1996 and 1997 editions – and then the rebirth in 2007 - ALL of this proud history and its associated memories will now return to the location of its origin: Long Island, NY. Already the buzz is out there. Many have been ready for some time now to welcome the Blue-and-Orange back after a long, long time away so the time is right. We’re sincerely hoping to reunite with all our old friends, rallying around the corps at this special time, at a very special point in our history. Much needs to be done in a short amount of time and we hope we can count on you for your support. Stay tuned for more info as we announce our specific choice of location on the island.
Services are as follows: Funeral Mass on Sat. 5/24 @ 10am Billy's Home address is: The deepest sympathies of myself and all the Sunriser family goes out to Billy and his family at this time.
It is my sad duty to report to all of you that Bob Murphy's mom Mildred passed away Tuesday afternoon. So many of the older members of the Sunrisers new both of Bob's folks, and share his loss. Mildred Murphy will be waked at... Hours: Mass will be served at St Francis De Sales Roman Catholic Church (The church is on South Ocean Avenue, 1/4mi. south of the railroad tracks.) My personal condolences to Bob at this terrible time. I'm sure you will all join me in sending Bob our thoughts and prayers.
I put a new page on the "Our Sun Stories" link that I somehow have ovewrlooked during my recent (and continuing) health issue, that being a page of "tributes" as it were to the legendary Marty "Stan" Roche, "Mr. LOUD". Also, thanks to alumnus John Devlin, I have added a few pics of Tom "Bunyon" McCarthy in competition alongside the one and only John "Screech" Arietano, and thanks this time to the redoubtable Frank Dorrittie for a few pics he sent to me from the 80's. They can be found on the "Sun Pics" page from the main menu.
The Sunrisers mourn the loss of yet another friend. I learned today that French Horn player extraordinaire Dennis Plante has passed away. Dennis passed away at home in Rhode Island of a respiratory disease, way too young still to leave us. Dennis was a fixture of the early 80's French Horn section and also played lead soprano for a time. He is a member of the Sunrisers Hall of Fame Class of 2002, and will be missed by his legion of friends among the Sunrisers organization for his dedication, which included driving all the way from Rhode Island to rehearsals, good nature, and friendliness. Rest in Peace, Dennis. A Dennis Tribute page is HERE. Email me to add your thoughts.
As you all are aware, this past saturday night was the occasion of Sun's "Lucky Sevens" racket in Levitown. For those who may not be regular visitors of the Alumni Forum, I thought I'd take a few to let everyone know how things went! I think it would be fair to say the event was a roaring success. Speaking personally, of course, but the impression I got from everyone was they had a great time, the food was great (especially the roast beef and roasted potatoes! yum!), and the rendition of our classic "Battle Hymn (more on this in a bit) was probably the best I personally have ever heard. So what happened? Who was there? Who wasn't! I can't begin to list everyone in attendance, but there were alumnus from 4 decades present, including many I only knew through the Forum and never had the chance to meet in person - such as Patty Bauer and her husband Chris, Dawn Marie (sorry I missed your last name), Danny Burushkin, and others too numerous to list. Attendees I knew but hadn't seen in maybe 35 years, like Nat Mazyk, were there, as well as many like Gene Bennett who I haven't seen in 5 or 6 years. Great to see all the fellow "old farts" from the 60's - though too many of us are now physically "challenged" in one way or another! It was great to spend time again with Nat, Tony & Donna White, and legendary Solo-Sop Bob Murphy and wife (and Sun Alumnus) Laurel. The music. Ahhh... the music! Tom Willms led all in a very spirited "Battle Hymn" near the end of the night (for some). Members from 4 decades of Sun, together as one in voice, in what Bob Murphy noted was sung in 6 part harmony! Almost a spiritual experience. Even the guys from the post serving dinner applauded vigorously. Gary Williams then fired up the old Animal Bus and led us into members personal songs, starting with Nat Mazyk, who was in attendance. Eating. Drinking, eating some more. (How many pieces of cake did you actually eat, Nat?) And then such Sun classics as "IYM". Got a little rowdy:) I can only try to imagine what the VFW members in the bar next door were thinking while all this was going on! Dave China was in charge of Media, and was running videos of the championship years on a wall from his laptop. Uber cool! Gary Williams speechified well deserved kudos to Larry V, Billy D, and Stan (yes - of course Stan was there!) for their help in making winners out of an inexperienced and young corps last year. As it happened, I - along with Patty and Chris, Gary, Ray, and who knows who else were hiding in the bar - wound up closing the joint at around 3:00AM and forgot the clocks went ahead and it was actually 4:00AM! Latest I've been out for some time, and I felt it Sunday for sure. All in all ... a terrific night, and I was glad I managed to make it. But let me tell you ... drinking diet soda at a Sun racket really SUCKS! If anyone else has any personal recollections of the event they'd like to share - feel free to email me! Next event coming up will be the Alumni picnic sometime in June. Mark your calendars (I promise more lead time will be forthcoming for that event) and be sure to join us!
It is my sad duty to inform my fellow alumni that we have lost another of our Founding Members. On January 11, 2008, original Sunriser Sal Cutino passed away. I'm trying to get a picture of Sal to post here, but wanted to get the word out asap. Sal's son Mike and I marched together as Lead Sopranos in the Bellmore Thunderstreaks back in 1963/64 before I joined the Sunrisers. My personal condolences to Mike and his family - as well as that of the Competing Corps and all alumni are extended. The details I have so far are:
There are now 50 pictures of the annual Sunrisers banquet - held this past Saturday, November 24 - posted on the Sun Pictures page. My thanks to alumnus Milt Fitzgerald for both taking the pics and then sending them on to me so I can post them for all to see. I hope to have quite a few more soon.
Alumnus Jaime Bartushak sent along a Christmas picture of himself with his family - wife LeeAnn, daughter Catherine, and son Jake. Great looking family, Jaime! 
2007 Drum Corps Associates Class "A" World Champions - the Sunrisers!Congratulations to the competing corps for one of the most memorable comebacks in drum corps history. From picking up the pieces of the corps to building a new Board of Directors, this years Sunrisers have done themselves and the Alumni proud by winning 4 major captions tonight in Rochester, NY at the Drum Corps Associates World Championships! Final score was an outstanding 83.998. Following the blow by blow description of the Finals, it was obvious the crowd knew something special was happening with a small but dynamic hornline blowing the doors off the place in a clean, well executed performance. Be proud - be loud! The Drumline reminded many of the "Wall of Sound" drumline from 83 with an equally outstanding performance, and the Guard capped it all off with what all acknowledged to be a superior performance. The Caption results: Class A High Brass - Sunrisers On behalf of the Alumni, WELL DONE and congratulations on a superlative job tonight. You've worked incredibly hard this year and deserve every moment of your glory. To the Board of Directors ... what can be said but "Thank You" for stepping up to the plate and giving these youngsters hope, and the chance they needed to fulfill their legacy. To "retired" Sunrisers Meiko Hedling, Larry Visconti (Drum guy!), Marty "Stan" Roche, John Clougher, Billy DiPaolo, Danzan "Danny" Buruschkin ... no words can express my personal admiration for the job you did by stepping into the hornline and leading by example. And not to forget Ray Yenshaw - stepping in when needed as Assistant DM. Great job all! Lastly, to the younger members of the Sunrisers, who accomplished something nobody thought you had a chance in hell of doing ... THANK YOU for bringing all the good feelings back to the Alumni. You stuck it out, stuck with Sun because you are true Sunrisers when others packed it in for greener pastures (they thought). Now you have something nobody can ever take away from you for the rest of your lives ... you are World Champions! Was it worth it? You bet your butt!Pictures will soon be posted, along with some of the commentary from the Press Booth during the show.
I have just been informed by Sun alum Patty (Cicchino) Bauer that her dad has lost his battle with cancer and passed away peacefully Monday night. The sincere condolences of the Sunriser alumni and entire organization go out to Patty at this sad time.
The sincere condolences of the entire alumni and competing corps go out to Robyn (Forbes) Guillen on the loss of her dad Adam M. Forbes early in the morning of July 27. Robyn is a Sun alumni (95-97-Pit; 98-Sop) and wife of Brass Coordinator/Show Coordinator Rich Guillen. Our continuing thoughts and prayers are with Sun alum Fran Haring and critically ill wife Barbara - who thankfully is making a slow but sure recovery from a major stroke a few weeks ago.
The Sunrisers have lost yet another longtime member in May. We are saddened to learn that original Sunriser member Don Trayer (no picture available) passed away on May 17 in Margate, Florida. Don played cymbals "back in the day" - meaning the 50's and early 60's. My apologies for the delay in posting this information - I have been pre-occupied lately and misplaced the notification. The sympathies of the entire Sunrisers organization go out to Dons family.
The Sunrisers organization mourns the loss of yet another alumnus. On May 29, 2007, drumline stalwart Steven "Wayne" Ford left the field of competition for the last time. Wayne passed suddenly of a heart attack at the too young age of 57. He was a tireless supporter of the alumni and the competing corps and will be remembered fondly for his dedication to the corps. He will indeed be missed. The deepest sympathies of the Sunrisers and Sunrisers Alumni go out to Waynes family.
The entire Sunrisers organization was shocked and saddened to learn of the sudden passing of one of it's greats. On January 4, 2007, Tom "Bunyon" McCarthy succumbed to cancer, only 2 short weeks after its diagnosis. A superb soprano soloist, Tom was with Sun from 1972-1980 and was the featured soloist in "Evergreen", among others. The deepest sympathies of the Sunrisers and Sunrisers Alumni go out to Toms wife and family and his many friends, students, and admirers.
I'd like to thank those alumni who have responded by email to my request for your personal story. Hopefully I'll get many more responses over the coming weeks. We all have memories that should be shared and valued - let's keep them here for all to see and enjoy. Thanks for being a part of it. Please feel free to email me any photos you might have from your days with the Sunrisers so I can post them on the NEW Pictures and Media pages! We are also trying to get a better response to organizing a "true" Sunrisers Alumni Association to help support the competing corps. Unlike the times many of us marched, it is horrendously expensive to field a corps these days. The Sunrisers still have one of the cheapest membership fees around, but that also means they have less money available for equipment and travel to contests. So if you are interested in participating ... please contact Jack Alexandro for details. Let's give these young Jokers a hand as they push for another DCA championship with a new Director, new instructors/caption heads, and Board of Directors! |
Copyright 2006-09 Sunrisers Drum and Bugle Corps Alumni
Bruce J. Emmott, Webmaster
All rights reserved
We lose yet another alumnus