DPEmerald Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 As a drummer, I am partial to Ballard......freaking brilliant writing and awesome performance. Walter did a nice soprano solo in Close to You :) They had three very good soprano solos and from what I was told, all three were played by different people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted June 30, 2013 Author Share Posted June 30, 2013 They had three very good soprano solos and from what I was told, all three were played by different people. Hope you can follow along. I believe the solos leading up to concert and the second concert solo were by Jim Centorino. The first concert solo was by the sop second from the left side since you can see his spot. The solo heading to the FL does not sound like JC, so it may be the third solosist or the first soloist during the concert. This will be on the final exam! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purenjoyment Posted September 3, 2013 Share Posted September 3, 2013 Loved that year by Boston. Plus our marching band played the same concert music,arranged by Ed Denon as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LancerLegend Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Hope you can follow along. I believe the solos leading up to concert and the second concert solo were by Jim Centorino. The first concert solo was by the sop second from the left side since you can see his spot. The solo heading to the FL does not sound like JC, so it may be the third solosist or the first soloist during the concert. This will be on the final exam! JC was the typical featured soloist, but I am 100% certain of the soloist in Close to You - I know him personally. He's originally from Pittsfield, MA. He used to thumb for a ride from Pittsfield and back home so he could march with BAC. I cannot imagine allowing my son to thumb on the MA Turnpike - over 140 miles each way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPEmerald Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Hope you can follow along. I believe the solos leading up to concert and the second concert solo were by Jim Centorino. The first concert solo was by the sop second from the left side since you can see his spot. The solo heading to the FL does not sound like JC, so it may be the third solosist or the first soloist during the concert. This will be on the final exam! Neal Smith asked one of the soloists from 71 (Stempkowski) who said Dick Brackett played into concert solo, Stemy played concert solo and Walter played exit solo. 2-7 had 3 sop solosts in 71 as well. Just goes to show you the talent all those corps had. Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geneva Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 I always felt that year's show was the culmination of Boston's old school insanely difficult lead soprano books. An interesting comparison to 27th in 1971 who played a middle register book which gave them this blockbuster consistent sound. Boston's lead books were exciting and daring, but very difficult to be consistent on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bsader Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 (edited) Boston also played Boris in '79 an arrangement I'm more partial to as compared to '71 though I do like both arrangements. We ended up coming in 12th in G.E. horns that year with only 25 Brass players. I also agree that the degree of difficulty of Boston's lead soprano book did negatively effect their shows especially with so much being written in the upper register. For instance playing the main theme from Vikings starting on a high D-E-F is not realistic. It's funny in that I still have a difficult time admitting to this because as a lead player in Boston we always equated playing in the upper register with our tough guy persona. Probably one of the main reason's we did not make finals in '78. If we had '79's show in '78 then we make the finals standing on our heads. Edited September 2, 2014 by Bsader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfallon Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Boston also played Boris in '79 an arrangement I'm more partial to as compared to '71 though I do like both arrangements. We ended up coming in 12th in G.E. horns that year with only 25 Brass players. I also agree that the degree of difficulty of Boston's lead soprano book did negatively effect their shows especially with so much being written in the upper register. For instance playing the main theme from Vikings starting on a high D-E-F is not realistic. It's funny in that I still have a difficult time admitting to this because as a lead player in Boston we always equated playing in the upper register with our tough guy persona. Probably one of the main reason's we did not make finals in '78. If we had '79's show in '78 then we make the finals standing on our heads. I think you're correct on all counts, but I also think that "Vikings" has one of the most exciting, crowd pleasing endings ever, anywhere. The Senior corps played that chart in 1998 or so, and tore the place up, and not only as a memory of bye-gone days. But man, you needed a lead line and a half. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bsader Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 "Vikings" is actually one of my favorite pieces of music that the Crusader's performed. It was an intense piece and a piece that helped teach me to be one of those Sopranos and one half. You had to be with such a small brass line. The Crusader's played it in 1973 and I think '69 before that . In 73 they had only 17 Brass players one of them being my older brother. He marched with me in a "B" corp the year before but now he was a Crusader sitting in our shared bedroom trying his best to burn through "Vikings." I had a year to wait and then joined at the end of '73 at age 14. Anyways, I never performed the piece in a show but did play it a few times during the transition from '73 to '74. The Crusader's had a ritual in the years I marched of 3 Soprano's putting the Corp to bed by playing the "Calls" to Vikings. I should actually point out that this was an attempt to put the Crusader's to bed. No one could really get us to do what we didn't want to do, even members of our own corp, but the calls did at least have a somewhat soothing effect and got us to at least start thinking of putting the beers down and make our way towards our musty old sleeping bags. I had the honor a few times of being a member of this Vikings trio but for the most part it was Mike Coulson, Larry Lacey and Bill Vallee who got the honors. Peter "Stack" Cassidy replaced Coulson when he aged out. I mention the names because I assume your familiar with them Mr. Fallon. I believe all 4 of those guys marched in '77 along with myself and 5 other lead's who were equally as good or pretty #### close to being as good as those 5. The problem was, and we knew it, was that a style of arrangement had been handed down from the sixties and this style featured the Crusader lead line playing beyond even our capabilities and with 40 brass. The saying that "God created heaven and earth out of nothing and sometimes that nothing shows through" comes to mind. But in our case It wasn't the nothing showing through it was definitely something and that something wasn't good. The show was beyond us and we just didn't have enough brass to cover up what was going to be the inevitable somethings. We were great in the "arc formation" but when you add a visual show that in '77 came in 2nd place in content (degree of difficulty) in the D.C.I. prelims just behind SCV, and ahead of the Blue Devils and Phantom. We were fried at the end of the year. We weren't about to admit it and even now I find it difficult but we were fried. How brutal were those shows in '77 and '78. I didn't march in 1976 but instead took my senior year in High School off and played sports. Hockey and football. High school football practices actually start the summer before the school year. These practices are referred to as double sessions in that you have a morning practice then go home for lunch and then your back for the afternoon practice. These practices are almost exclusively about running and running and running while wearing your "full" football gear. At the end of that summer and just before the school year they had whats called a weigh in which they record your height and weight for the football program. I was 5'-9" and weighed 149 lbs. When I got back from the Crusader's tour in 1978 my sister, who marched from '68 to '70, took one look at me and exclaimed "What did they do to you." I immediately went to the scale to weigh myself. I weighed 142 lbs. I had lost 7 lbs that I really couldn't afford to lose playing bugle band with the Boston Crusader's. I had the time of my life but it was tough. I suppose if they fed us it would have helped somewhat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Thunder Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 (edited) Boston's '77 DCI prelim performance in Boulder was one heck of an exciting ride! All of us in the stands were knocked over. You mentioned the '73 corps. I once had a girlfriend who "inherited" a BAC jacket (not a uniform jacket) from '73 DCI prelims in Whitewater. It was abandoned during the day, and she picked it up. She probably still has it. She was a member of the Bellevue (WA) Sentinels, who finished 4 spots below BAC in the standings. I know Peter Cassidy was hit by a car (I believe). His story was all over the drum corps media at the time. Do you know whatever happened to him? Edited September 2, 2014 by Northern Thunder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.