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Best Sop Player


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Roland also marched with Dutch Boy in 1992 and 1993 I think. Not sure about 1992 though...

he also marched Bushwackers in 1995 and did a few high note riffs in the show but no full on solo's. Considering we were playing more classical pieces there really wasn't anything for him to solo on.

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WOW!!!!!!!

I am humbled, honored, grateful, shocked, and blown away!!!

A friend of mine told me about this forum and this thread, and I didn't believe it, so I signed up and came to check it out for myself.

I am Jeff Wilt and I was the Autumn Leaves and Johnny One Note soloist for the Bluecoats from 87-89. I want to thank the people who remembered me and mentioned my name amongst so many much more deserving soloists listed on these pages. The names bring back so many memories and spark wonderful emotions. In a total career of almost 20 years, I've gotten to meet and perform with some of the greatest.

Here is my list of those who inspired me and are much more worthy of a place on this thread than I could ever hope to be:

John "Screech" Arietano

Frank Ponzo

Richie Price

Jimmy Centerino

Kurt Hawkins

at the same time that I marched with the Coats there was a kid with the Madison Scouts named Morgan Larson. He was incredible.

The last thing I would like to say is a special thank you to Richie Price and Jimmy Centerino. They are the reasons I became a soprano player. My parents were huge Drum Corps fans, and they took my brother and I to shows all through our childhood. They wanted me to be a drummer. They even started me on lessons. Then I went to the Bucknell show in Lewisburg, PA in 1979 and I saw the Matadors. When I heard Richie and Jimmy, I looked my dad right in the eyes and said, "that is what I want to do!"

That night changed my life and I am forever indebted to those two men. For that reason, they will always, in my mind, be the two greatest soloists I've ever heard.

Jeff,

You deserve to be recognized, but I can't believe even you didn't mention one of your fellow soloists in Coats. I think this guy had great control and could go up the register very nicely. I'm talking about our soloist in Everything happens to me (86), one of the sextet sops in Autumn Leaves (87 & 88), and the sop in the Take Five (88) duet. His name is Steve Wyclaw and he's a #### good sop soloist. Even took a rifle to the head during the sextet in 1987 at finals and his note only wavered slightly as the rifle bounced against his helmet knocking it askew.

Edited by bluecoats88
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Jim Brady (Bayonne)

Jeff Kievit (Muchachos)

Larrie Dastrup (BD)

Mike Collins (BD)

Joey Pero (Empire)

Roland Garceau (Brigs/BD)

Chris Metzger (Madison)

Jim Centorino (Matadors)

Richie Price (Matadors)

Frank Dorittie (Sunrisers)

John Meehan (BD)

Freddy Bell (Kilties/Guardsmen)

Jeff Lynne (BD)

Adam Rapa (East Coast Jazz)

It is a pity that contemporary junior shows do not feature soloists the way they did way back when - I am sure there would be more recent names for the list!

Agreed. You could easily add John "Screech" Arietano to that famous list. Listen to the Sunrisers Spain on the 77 DCA. The guy injured small animals with that one.

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I think it was Jim Brady of the Bridgemen if he was the one who played solo in Pagliaci. I was always in shock when he hit that last high note and really could not believe that it was humanly possible. It was like he just played with our brains until "pop goes the ear drums".

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Best line player ever? ME (easy) ... no I'm serious

Best soloist ever ...... GOOD LUCK. There are far too many over way too many decades. Seriously lacking in the past 15 - 20 years except for a handful but that's the nature of the beast. This thread is moot.

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Best NFL team of all time, easy, Pittsburgh Steelers.

Best sop soloist of all time, tough, very tough. Although I would not argue against any of the names mentioned here. There should be a place at the top for them all.

Heck, there is. Bugler's Hall of Fame.

( and if anyone wants to argue the Steeler thing, 3 words, SIX - SUPER - BOWLS!)

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The screamin duets of Greg Mataruga & Tony Gambaro '84 AVANT GARDE

now, drum corps has no doubt seen hundreds of skilled sop players in its history... who are those that stick in your mind 20 or 30 (or even as recent as five) years later... i'm sure this has been the topic of discussion for years now, but there's no current thread for it, so why not get it out in the open.
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The Kiltie you mentioned is Tommy Meredith, 1975 soloist

_75ricktommy.jpg

Tommy on the right and Rick Hofert on the left.

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