81 Drummers House

[Ted Stalnecker]

How many of you remember the drummer & Syracause House? Many stories there... Dose anyone have any pictures from those nights that are hard to remember :)

[Steve Aleman--the kid]

unfortunately, I don't have any pics of the drum house in Teaneck, NJ....I remember hearing about Merle falling off the roof while Keith and a few others watched in amazement and awe and at how he didn't get hurt...a wild and crazy time!

[Brian Wilkie]

Remember pulling the front porch off the house and moving it to the back? Also - 3 words...Acapulco Stair Diving. The huge crater in the kitchen floor...Ripping all the doors off the hinges and.....The Room. lol

[Ted Stalnecker]

I was not at the last going away party before 2nd tour. We all went back home to restock for tour but we did come back to get our things the days tour left and I could not beleive what I saw!!! Good the old parents waited outside

[Patrick Zampetti]

Yes, Merle was doing something on the roof. Perhaps he was fiddling.

There was a little room at the top of the stairs that I have fond memories of. Please understand that the 81 Drum House would not have been possible but for the outstanding performance and comittment to excellence of the 1980 Drum House (aka "Cockaroacha Hilton"). Dave Helms (aka "Dave Powel") factored in prominently at both locations and his performance, most notably, his dishwashing technique (which relied heavily on the proximity of the dish-strewn kitchen table to the open window) has somehow been overlooked by the DCI HOF board. I must also point out that as a design professional, I felt it my duty to point out the wood rot, mold, and water leaks in the basement to the real estate agent and 2 potential buyers as I escorted them, stepping over the sleeping quad line, on a tour of the premesis, . Thus, we were able to continue our habitation of the structure.

[Brian Wilkie]

Merle...with someone else.

[David Helms]

Somehow I forget the "powel" reference but do remember been labeled "momma" by Pete Castellano........if Tom A's student could have seen us peel him off the roof .......ahhh the bloody mattress in the basement.....memories!

[Patrick Zampetti]

Dave "Powel" was the person who signed up for the all of the utility services; phone, electric, etc. Not sure if he paid any of these bills but, hey, to each his own. Pete would come running in the front hall yelling "Mr. Powel, Mr. Powel, the phone bill is here".

[Michael DeAngelis]

Ricky Miles and myself crawled out of a bedroom window with a boom box and sat on the roof for a while. Other people came and went but from what I remember we were the last ones off the roof too. After experiencing the grandeur of a late afternoon in Teaneck NJ - it was really great stuff - I was in the right frame of mind to experience R U S H with a full ear. The batteries started dying on the boom box and the tape speed was warbling so we reluctantly climbed back in. It was enough though … “Snakes and Arrows” is a great album!


DATE IS: May, 10, 2008 RS1052


Rush “Snakes and Arrows Live” #18 on Rolling Stone Magazine Top 40 Albums

[Patrick Zampetti]

Acapulco Stair Diving...not for the squeamish. The only thing more frightening than ASD was tandem ASD. Brian, you never hear of Drew doing any of these crazy things do you? Rookie talent, mini corps, mower affairs, locking kids in storage rooms for the night, Wildwood (the Woodstock of drum corps)....anything like this going on in today's corps?

ps: legend has it that Cabs and Sky used to surf on hotel doors in Wildwood.

[Brian Wilkie]

None of this goes on anymore. They have no "stories" as we do because the world became far more cynical and hyper-litigious soon after our era passed. As a result, drum corps (and other youth activities) had to become sanitized to survive. And there is no senior corps now as we all knew it years ago. "All-age" drum corps means junior corps-aged kids who can't afford (money or time) to march junior corps. And all-age is far more like HS marching band now because of the sanitizing as well.

Last week, just for fun, we did a show of hands in the Cabs hornline for anyone born before 1981. NOT fun...2 people. Average age in the Cabs is about 23 overall by my guess. So the good old days, will simply get older and not be replaced....sigh.

[Steve Aleman--the kid]

ahh..such fond memories of that place...I remember cooking spaghetti for the first time in that scary looking kitchen...somehow it all ended up in the trash can next to that blood stained mattress in the basement....lol

does anyone remember cutting the jungle grass before we left for 2nd tour? :)

[Ted Stalnecker]

Can we make a roll call of the residents of that prestigious hotel. I'll start and everyone else fill in who I miss.
Upstairs right
Ray ?
Rich Armstrong
?
upstairs left frt
Gary Braddly
Keith
Merle
Miles ?

Reading Room
Pete
Mark
Ted
Tom

Downstairs front right
Dave Helms
Pete

Downstairs left - Syracause connection please fill in the names

I know I left a bunch out please chime in