Ben Wilt, Jun 5 2002
Newsgroups: rec.arts.marching.drumcorps
Subject: Re: Rochester Phoenix
This question was asked a while back on DCP by Lee Rudnicki and I will post my
reply to him:
Well Lee,
As one of the founding members of Phoenix, I think I can answer your question.Phoenix was organized in 1974. It was the
brainchild of Bill Mcgrath Sr., Member of the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame and recently deceased. The corps was originally
formed to do some local parades and drink some beer. Two young members, Donny Allen and David Martin (both members of the
Hall today) wrote the music. That summer we did some parades and standstills wearing T-shirts and bluejeans.
It was decided that winter to go to the field. We were fortunate enough to get Corky Fabrezio to write the charts and
Bill Mcgrath Jr. to arrange the percussion. They are both in the Hall of Fame also. Thinking back, who would have thought
all those guys would be in the Hall of Fame someday, WOW.
The summer of 75, we competed in the Red Carpet Association. We had 25 horns at our first show and we finished
second to the Hanover Lancers. That would be the last time Phoenix would loose a RCA show. By the time we went to the New
York American Legion Championships in late July, the hornline had grown to 36. We barely lost the title to the Rochester
Crusaders. We went on to win the RCA championships and had grown to 46 horns by then.
The following week we went to the DCA Prelims. We were the last corps to perform in the prelims, 15th. I remember being
on the starting line and watching the stands clear out. Everyone wanted to go get something to eat and get ready for the
finals. They probably would have left sooner, but Blessed Sac
was on before us and everyone wanted to see them make their entrance into DCA as a senior corps. As we were playing our
opening fanfare, the crowd stopped dead in their tracks and headed back to their seats. By the time we hit the push in
"Light my Fire", the stands were erupting with excitement. We finished 4th in the prelims, but more importantly,
we won the audience.
That evening as we were on the starting line, the sky opened up with a downpour that delayed the show 45 minutes. We
stood under the stands soaking wet and waited until the rain let up. By then the starch had been taken out of our sails. The
adrenaline was lost and we did a somewhat flat performance, which dropped us to 5th. It was still the best a first time
corps had ever done in the DCA Championships. It might well be a record that still stands today.
That winter the corps was boasting 76 horns, a monster drum line and an improved colorguard. Corky wrote a fabulous book,
which included Pines of Rome, Legend of the One Eyed Sailor and Ritual Fire Dance. The corps felt it was ready to set the
world on fire. DCA politics had something different in mind
for us.
I guess I can call a spade a spade after all these years. Anyone who saw us in 76 will surely tell you we got boned at
every DCA show we went to. We were consistently 5 points behind the Rochester Crusaders, but when we went to the New York
American Legion Championships with a different set of judges, we won the show, beating cru by 4. If you listen to both 75
and 76 recordings, you can tell 76 was a much better corps than 75. We ended up by taking 9th place at the DCA championships
and the crowd broke into a riot. Some of the corps members did some things that were inappropriate after the announcing of
the scores and we got a pretty bad reputation because of it. At the first three rehearsals that fall, we were lucky to
muster ten horns. We finally decided the corps was finished and we folded. Bill Mcgrath Jr. took the equipment and started a
junior corps called the Firebirds.
So, that is my story of one of the greatest senior corps to ever take the field. I only hope that the old politics of DCA
are history and the Renegades do not have to go through the same things as Phoenix. Always remember, entertaining the people
that pay to see you, is the most important thing. As
long as you make that priority #1, Renegades will be around for a long time. Good luck and I will be the LOUDEST one in the
stands.
Benny Wilt
In loving memory of Jimmy Lennon (Phoenix Director)
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Donny Allen, Jun 5 2002
Newsgroups: rec.arts.marching.drumcorps
Subject: Re: Rochester Phoenix
Something I've always wondered. What was the evolution of the Phoenix? asked Bill R.
Phoenix started in 1974 as a parade corps by Harvey Martin, Dave Kausch and Bill McGrath Sr., was involved as well...Jim
Lennon became corps director. Many of the performers were from the Crusaders at first but members from defunct junior corps
in the area including St. Joe's, Purple Lancers, Geneva Appleknockers, Magnificent Yankees, etc.
As the corps developed the horn line was taught by David Martin. The drum line was taught by Bill McGrath Jr. Corky
Fabrizio then became the brass arranger. More people joined and the corps looked toward competition, never really knowing
what to expect.
The corps was not the beginning of the Empire Statesmen...actually quite the opposite. Many of the members were not
exactly on Mr. Bruni's good side, thus it actually started as a grudge corps against the Crusaders...that were at that time
still managed by Mr. Bruni. The corps just got better and better, and the talent level was absurd.
The first season was an experience with mostly RCA shows, of which we only lost the first one to Hanover Lancers...I will
never forget that post contest critique. The rest of the season we smashed the competition, and continued to get better.
By DCA we were ready to compete with the big boys and took 4th in prelims, 5th in finals.
1976 was supposed to be a better year and started out that way. But just as fast as we grew , we began to decline after
seeing that DCA powers were not going to let us score as well as we thought we deserved. As members started to quit and
management problems surfaced the corps made it through the year knowing that the writing was on the wall.
Basically we folded after DCA.
Donny Allen
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