1 qt half and half

5 eggs

3 tbls vanilla

8 oz caramel syrup

2 cups sugar

dash of salt

1/4 gallon 1% milk

on stovetop combine half and half, sugar, caramel, vanilla, whisked eggs and salt.  heat it for 30 mins, do not bring to a boil.  cool in refrigerator for several hours.   add milk and blend in an ice cream mixer.

… during lunch at work.  Jim helped.

BOOM CHOCKA LOCKA!

Loren and Donna Luppes have graciously invited all Sunshine Tomorrow band members to a practice and hootnanny at their home in Decatur, IL during the Memorial Day Weekend. The grueling practice sessions are to prepare for a show at the South Hamilton High School (SHHS) Class of 1969’s Class Reunion on 27 June 2009 in Jewell, IA. The Decatur practice session will culmintate with a show for about 100 invited guests at the Luppes home/garage. The band will be performing the Number 1 hit of 1969: Sugar Sugar by the Ides of March.

The Kirkmont Mixed Quartet sang the National Anthem at the Dayton Dragons baseball game on May 6th, 2009. The quartet is Gail – bass, Amy – saprano, Pam Yri – alto, and John Jackson – tenor. They tried out at the Dayton Mall March 28, 2009 along with over 400 other try-out contenders, Only 70 selections were made for the Dragon’s home games. The crowd was very responsive to the quartet’s rendition of the Star Spangled Banner!

Click here to watch as Caylie Ann takes the Ribbon Festival by storm.

(Quicktime player required. Not recommended for low bandwidth connections.)

Click here to see the newest Vaubel virtuoso, Krista Grace, at the December 2008 Ribbon Festival.

(Quicktime player required. Not recommended for low bandwidth connections.)

Two members of The Sunshine Tomorrow band, Brian Holt and Gail Vaubel, played in Jewell Bowling Alley “Axis Lanes” on Friday 25 Jul 08 to a standing room only crowd. The gig was put together by Ray Burkhart of The Barefooted Surfinks to entertain the SHHS Class of 1968’s informal get together. Overall, it went quite well – fans Amy and Nancy said the band sounded great – solid and clean. Ray Burkhart, played bass and made the set list of tunes. Brian on drums, Gail on some leads but mostly rhythm guitar, Jane Toddy on keyboards and vocals and Todd S. on lead guitar (at Wed’s practice session). Gail used his Les Paul with a Vox Super Beatle and it sounded great. Todd was not available on Friday, so Jewell native Kevin Hanson filled in on Friday night. Jane Toddy’s husband Jeff played saxophone on three or four songs which accented those tunes and sounded excellent.

Brian and Gail took the lead on 8 songs: Love Potion #9, Long Tall Texan, Little Honda, Knock on Wood, Dream Dream Dream (w/Amy), Poor Little Fool, Wipeout, and Little Red Riding Hood. The band played maybe 24 – 30 songs. Ray also called an audible on Louie, Louie and Little Deuce Coupe which we did not practice on Weds night. Both went well, even the back up harmonies by Brian, Jane, and Gail. Amy Vaubel also sang one – Only You.

Both lead guitarists were extremely good and seasoned players. Kevin complemented the Sunshine Tomorrow for getting him into playing guitar back in the 60’s. Said he doesn’t sing but he makes up by knowing a bazillion licks. He’s played in lot of bands and lives in Clear Lake and works and plays at Surf Ballroom some. He now plays in Church Praise Band – opening for Points of Grace soon.

A member of SHHS Class of 1969 wants to know what dates are good for The Sunshine Tomorrow for their class reunion at Jewell Golf Course in 2009. I told him end of June worked good last year – maybe over 4 July? Stay tuned.

The Sunshine Tomorrow 60’s rock band performed on Jul 5th for the Class Reunion for Northeast Hamilton Class of 1968. A warm up/practice gig was performed on 4 Jul at Axis Lanes Bowling Alley bar on in Jewell, IA on 4 Jul 08. Both events were standing room only. A total of 35 60’s hits were performed on each night. Here is a picture of the band’s equipment. Much of the gear is vintage 60’s original.

Here is link to You Tube of Knock on Wood at the reunion:

The Sunshine Tomorrow members will take on Decatur, Il from 1 – 3 May 08. The weekend will culminate with a “Back to the 60’s” e-invitation only party at the Loren Luppes residence on Sat evening. The event will feature over 20 of The Sunshine Tomorrow’s renditions of those great songs from early rock’n roll through 1971. Brian V has had his 1966 Hofner Beatle bass re-strung and adjusted for that driving and powerful bass and rhythm. Loren has added a new red Nord keyboard to his already impressive arsenal to even more accurately capture those B3 and brass sounds. Brian Holt has been frequenting jam sessions during the winter at the Axis Lanes Bowling Ally in Jewell, IA to artfully hone his already precise and relentless pounding of the skins. Gail has had new life breathed into his Vox Super Beatle head with some new capacitors and power supply – doubtful anyone else will be louder. Selwyn will be vacationing in sunny Florida and will be missed by all but rejoins the group on June 20th in St Mary’s, KS.

The next public gig will be for the Northeast Hamilton Class of ’68 reunion at the Webster City, IA Golf and County Club on 5 Jul 2008. An impromptu 4 July event is in the final planning stages so keep checking this website for details.

June 29th and 30th, 2007 was “Back to the 60’s” at the Jewell Golf Course Clubhouse where the SHHS Class of 1967 held their 40th Class Reunion. Over 45 classmates attended along with an additional 150 spouses and Sunshine Tomorrow followers. The band played two sets of songs from the 60’s for a total of 30 songs. The event was recorded on video and a DVD is being produced. Pictures of the event are available on vaubel.net under GEV’s Photo Albums. The band members recovered after two days of rest – it took nearly every ounce of energy each musician could muster to put on the show. An additional performance is being planned for 2008 which should include a Battle of the Bands between the Sunshine Tomorrow and The Randys from Columbus, OH.