The Class of '69 Welcomes Back the Cellar Dwellers!
Sat, July 13, 2019 / 7 pm to Midnight
Harbor Links , Port Washington NY
The Story of the Cellar Dwellers: Part 1
On the day after Thanksgiving 1965 four Port Washington boys huddled in the basement of their drummer’s parents’ house with hopes of starting a band. Like millions of teenagers around the world, they had fallen under the spell of The Beatles, who, had made their earth-shattering debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. Armed with guitar, bass, organ, drums and a giant collective dream, the four boys set out that day to learn a few Beatles songs with hopes of someday performing them in front of an audience just like their mop-topped idols.
Since they were starting up in a basement, and knowing that the Beatles got their start in a sweaty, cavernous club in Liverpool, the boys decided to call themselves The Cellar Dwellers. The original band comprised Schreiber sophomores Doug Wood and Paul Brokaw, Schreiber, junior Paul Leary, and Manhasset High sophomore Steve Witherspoon on drums.

Between classes, homework, exams and after-school activities, the budding musicians practiced, and practiced, and practiced with tremendous enthusiasm, commitment and drive. Along the way, they discovered they had great camaraderie and a lot more talent than they initially thought. They felt ready to emerge from the basement. They decided they needed a manager to help them find a job, so they recruited good friend Butch Haude, a Schreiber junior, who quickly arranged the band’s first gig -- a dance at John Philip Sousa junior high school.   
“Butch was the coolest guy in the world and we wanted him involved with the band,” recalls Leary. “He couldn’t play an instrument, but he did get his license way before the rest of us. You can imagine how important that was!” 

Armed with a short list of popular tunes, the boys were a big hit at their first job at Sousa. Their repertoire quickly expanded to include the biggest radio hits of the day, as well as a few original compositions. Soon, the Cellar Dwellers were getting more offers to perform than they could fulfill. Not a weekend went by that the band wasn’t booked at a dance, party or private event at a range of venues in and around Port Washington. The reason for this popularity? They were good. Very good!  
Warm Regards,
The Paul D. Schreiber Class of 1969 Reunion Committee:
Schreiber Class of '69 Reunion | Email | Website