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Cal...i...for...nia, here I come...
| USN FLEET TRAINING CENTER HEADQUARTERS |
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| SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA |
After
enlisting at Philadelphia, PA... I flew to sunny San Diego, CA for basic training at the Naval Training Center (NTC)... what a beautiful place. I stood watches in the NTC Headquarters Building. Nice that the NTC Foundation is planning a revival of the NTC base for a business center. Great place to do Boot Camp!
After basic training... I
was assigned to the US Navy School of Music at Anacostia, Washington DC. The SOM at Anacostia has since moved to Little Creek VA and was renamed the Armed Forces School of Music. While at the Receiving Station I stood Cordon Duty for President
J. F. Kennedy, and played some gigs at the Bolling AFB Officers Club, the Andrews AFB O' Club, and the USO downtown DC,
where I accidently pushed the piano off of the stage. Keys flew everywhere over the dancefloor. HA - what
a gig! Bob Hores also took a few of us to Abart's in DC, heard Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Horace Silver...
very cool! Had a lot of good nights at the Corner House in Anacostia! Ate many bags of those little hamburgers
at the Little Tavern up by the bridge.
After leaving the Note Factory, I was
assigned to COMCARDIV FOUR for sea duty with Unit Band #194... cruised on the Forrestal, Hawk, Rosie & Shang...
and played gigs all over the Mediterranean, Caribbean and South America; hitched a brief ride and highlined from the
Kenneth D. Baily, a tin can... Spent a day on the Enterprise relieving their Flag in the Med, and a day or two on the HMS Hermes with their band in the Med, a very nice experience with the Limey's, grog, etc. Heard Gene Krupa at Birdland when
the Forrestal pulled into New York for a few days. U.B. #194 played a big band gig there at the Waldorf-Astoria - AFM
members picketed us. Had some tense times during the Cuban Missle Crisis, and President Trujillo's assassination in 1961 and our Dominican Republic Operations surrounding it.
Spent some time on several stateside shore stations while
on sea duty, like NOB - home port for the Forrestal at that
time, played some gigs at the O'Club; Mayport - home port
for the Rosie and Shang, played some gigs at the CPO Club; Portsmouth - while Forrestal was in the yard, attended a Drumming
Out Ceremony at the Marine Barracks; Roosevelt Roads - (which has since closed) while waiting on
the Kenneth D. Bailey to give me and the Admiral a ride out to our carrier (because we missed departure), spend some
time on their beautiful beach; Dam Neck - for some surface plotting training; Gitmo - there a few times for ORI, carquals and other reasons
while on Kitty Hawk, Forrestal, Shang and Rosie; and NAS Alemeda - (which has since closed) while on the Kitty Hawk.
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After Commander Carrier Division
Four, I went to Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT) & Supreme Allied Command Atlantic (SACLANT) in
Norfolk. I think CINCLANTFLT changed its name to Commander, Atlantic Fleet, and again to US Fleet Forces Command. Are they crazy, or what? I don't get it! But at any rate, the CINCLANTFLT
band is now called The United States Atlantic Fleet Band. I played with two combos in Tidewater while at CINCLANTFLT,
one was a Navy group, and one was a civvy group, and we got a lot of unofficial Navy gigs, like the NAS Oceana Commissioned
Officers Club, the Breezy Point O' Club, and other local spots like the VFW near Oceana, and the VFW at Ocean View.
Our marching band played Colors
every morning at SacLant Headquarters, and a bugler was sent to play Taps at the end of the day . . . the SACLANT (Supreme Allied Commander-Atlantic), is now called
the Allied Command Transformation. I wonder who makes up these names, and why they keep changing them?
| SacLant Headquarters, Norfolk VA |
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| NATO Colors - I stood many times on that site! |
| US Atlantic Fleet Band, Norfolk |
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Present and former Navy musicians
can participate in annual reunions by joining the Navy Musicians Association (NMA), and receive their newsletter.
Other Military Music Websites:
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Hey! THIS is not NAVY music!
| Bill Wolford & Steve Poorman |
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| Lock Haven BPOE - Elks Lodge - 6/14/2006 |
| Steve Poorman & Ken Poorman |
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| Battle of the X's |
Drummer here was Mike Romaneski, and Tom Bower on Guitar.
Battle of
the Hammond X-66 & X-77! Steve Poorman charity organ concert series.
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| Robbie's Band |
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| Clinton Country Club |
Bob Long, Ken Poorman & Zane "Jim" Chapman - Robbie's Band
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After playing with Navy bands, I played with my brother Steve,
Killer Kane Kombo, Bob Long's Robbie's Band, Rich Hull's Monarchs, had my own combo for a while, and occasionally
with The Mickey Greenberg Orchestra. Also sat in with Donnie Dorey's The Dukes occasionally, and with The Bennie
Matthews Band. Going way back, with the Teen Tones - ha!
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The Poorman Brothers still at it!
| Ken's Personal Website |
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Some more music stuff . . .
Gordon Taylor, USN Retired, is currently the Assistant Director of the Repasz Band (1985-present).
Gordon relocated to Williamsport, Pennsylvania in 1980 following his retirement from
the U.S. Navy where he had served as an Instructor at the U.S. Navy School of Music and performed with the U.S. Navy
Jazz Band. He was Director of the Commander Amphibious Forces Atlantic Fleet Band, which was featured on a Presidential
People-to-People Tour and performed for numerous heads of state. A very talented saxophonist and jazz musician, Gordon
is frequently featured as a soloist with the Repasz Band. He also performs with the Bobby McCreary Big Band and in pit
orchestras for musicals performed throughout the area.
poorman, ken poorman, steve poorman, lock haven pa, castanea, renovo, norristown,
jeffersonville, lock haven high, flemington, website, websites, web design, knights of columbus, bpoe, moose, vets, american
legion, university, lock haven university, wacc, penn college, psu, penn state, villanova, temple, west chester, navy, music,
jazz, piper, aircraft, aviation, hammermill, mill hall, elks, king of prussia, bridgeport, saint francis of assisi, st. francis,
ettorre 13662, 4th degree, gabel design, mvm consultants, chicks tavern, chick's tavern, beerer real estate and insurance,
harleysville, verizon, claims, managed care, risk management, insurance, vienna, manassas, arlington, altoona, baker, masons,
masonic, blue lodge, catholic, jersey shore, williamsport, avis, woolrich, dunnstown, dunstable, lockport, genealogy, keyboard,
piano, organ, bugle, bugles, corps
| Email Ken |
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| Websites by |
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| Ken Poorman |
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