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OAWB with Varsity Performing Arts
90 Plays3 days ago
Jackie & Trevor go on a Water Break with Tyler Dieterich from Varsity Performing Arts to talk about their Pep Band Competition and share with you the tips and tricks to making your pep band stand out!
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Meet our Hosts
Jackie Brown - @spintronixguard
Stephen McCarrick - @stephenmccarick
Cindy Barry - @leandermomma
Nicole Younger - @o2bnpjs & @thecookoutcg
Trevor Bailey - @t_pain151
Trish O’Shea - @trishdish1002
Alicia Sharp -@aliciasharp215
Chris Rutt - @wildhornbrass1
Cynthia Bernard - @cynthiabern
Ashlee Amos - @famousamossss_
Theo Harrison - @harrisontheo07
Stephanie Click - @stephanieclick
Whitney Stone - @dancerwhit
Justin Surface - @J_dex07
Ashley Tran - @itsashleytran
Jack Goudreau - @goudreau_
Bill Woodward - @remoking100
Emily Nee - @tch.makes.art
Ricardo Robinson-Shinall - @ricardorrobinson
Austin Hall - @Austin_hall10
Jose Montes - @joeymontes57
Bobbey Biddle - @bobbeyboy107
Peyton Billhart - @peytonbrillhart
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Keywords: Marching arts podcast, Marching band podcast, Color guard podcast, Percussion podcast, Marching arts education, Marching arts community, drum major, flourish, tatu
Thank you also to @guardcloset
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Transcript
Introduction to Podcast & Topics
00:00:01
Speaker
Hey everyone, and welcome to On A Water Break, the podcast where we talk about everything you and your friends are talking about at rehearsal on a water break. This week, we go on a water break with the people behind the varsity pep band competition. Eight off the met and go.
Season Three Kickoff & New Segments
00:00:19
Speaker
Welcome to On A Water Break, the podcast where we talk everything marching arts,
00:00:29
Speaker
Everyone, bring it in.
History & Impact of Pep Bands
00:00:31
Speaker
It's time for a water break.
00:00:35
Speaker
Hey everyone, it is Jackie and we are deep into season three and already we have our first on-a-water break with bonus segments. You know, we talk about everything on a water break and pet bands are no different. So, pet bands have been a staple of college sports since the late 19th and early 20th centuries, originating as small groups of enthusiastic students playing to rally school spirit.
00:01:00
Speaker
Over time, these ensembles grew in size and prominence, often linked to marching bands and performing at football and basketball games. Also, volleyball games. That was the first time I ever saw a pep band in college. ah They play at pep rallies and community events.
Meet Trevor Bailey: Insights from a College Band Director
00:01:15
Speaker
Today, pep bands are a vital part of the game day atmosphere, energizing crowds of fight songs, pop tunes, and spontaneous cheers.
00:01:23
Speaker
In particular, college pep bands are diverse in size and style, reflecting the traditions of their institutions. They often serve as ambassadors for their schools, embodying school pride and uniting fans with the growth of college athletics and media exposure. Pep bands have become essential in creating the high energy environment that defines college sports, showcasing a blend of music, tradition, and spirited entertainment. Well, before we get to our wonderful pet band related guest. I'm going to introduce joining me on the sidelines this week is certainly someone familiar with pet bands. Our college band director host himself, Trevor Bailey. Hey, Jackie, how's it going? Oh, it's good. I haven't seen you in forever. How are you?
00:02:10
Speaker
It's been forever, my friend. I am doing well here um at Northwestern State in lovely Natchitoches, Louisiana. It is a little bit cool down here, which is probably not cold like in normal places because it's Louisiana, but but I'm doing well. We are in finals week here and I'm just excited about the upcoming end of the semester, but also the kickoff to the new semester where we'll be doing a lot of work with our pet bands here. So yeah.
00:02:39
Speaker
Can I ask you which sports do you guys do pep bands for? Yeah, absolutely. Here we do you know traditional pep band events for men's basketball, women's basketball. um A couple of weeks ago we did a volleyball pep band event.
00:02:55
Speaker
And then whatever your athletics department deems necessary and your students have time for, um ah they ask you to jump in and then to lend a helping hand and cheer on the team. I've been a part of the pep bands that have been at um adapted wheelchair basketball events, o baseball baseball ah one time, but I have a ah gymnastics band. That's when I was a graduate assistant with the SEC school um and at at Alabama. We had the gymnastics band there. that's cool And then even the tennis match, if you can believe it, Jackie. so I can't imagine. I played tennis in high school, and I can't imagine having a pet man for a tennis match. It was really wild. But hey, people love pet bands, so week we go where we are loved. That's awesome. Well, we know you have tons of tips and fun stories about the pet bands you've been a part of over the years. What is one thing you would want to say just right off the bat about pet bands in general, though?
00:03:55
Speaker
Yeah. I just, you know, we always want folks to, you know, cheer along with us, um, that to make sure that we're supportive of the students who are given their time and efforts, uh,
Meet Tyler Dietrich: Varsity's Role in Pep Band Competitions
00:04:05
Speaker
who are taking ah away time from their studies to go to like those boarding events and cheer on us, uh, an amazing student athletes. They're really working hard to who are out of good product at those events. And that, um,
00:04:18
Speaker
You don't need to use canned music all the time if you're a part of an athletics department. you Yeah, right there. Yeah, yeah that's ah that's the line. So show your appreciation by utilizing the groups. Show an appreciation for those hardworking students who have countless hours of rehearsal, um putting together the music folders um and their spirited tears for you, because it's definitely worth it. For sure. And I feel like the live music just makes it a whole different experience.
00:04:48
Speaker
Let's get to the reason that we are bringing you this on a water break with bonus episode this week. Uh, please welcome to the sidelines, the product development manager for varsity performing arts, Tyler, and I'm hoping I'm going to get your last name right. It's Dietrich Dietrich.
00:05:07
Speaker
Welcome Tyler. hello Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. So hopefully you have been prepped enough on this for your 32 count life story. Um, this is where you're going to tell your listeners everything about your entire life, but you're going to fit it all into 32. Okay. I will give you eight counts off the metronome to get you started. Are you ready? I'm ready.
00:05:36
Speaker
All right, so my name is Tyler Dietrich. I'm the varsity product development manager in our performing arts department. Prior to this, I was a band director for 11 years in the state of Tennessee. My performing experience was at Father Ryan High School. I then went to UT Knoxville with the pride of the Southland and I marched to Carolina Crown for three summers in 08, 10 and 11. Then I went into teaching with like Franklin High School was where I did my student teaching under David Adelit, went to Far East Tennessee with Cott County High School, Powell High School. And then I finished my teaching career at Independence High School. So where, why did you come up with this idea for this, um, so for this pep band competition? So varsity is doing this pep band competition. If you want to go ahead and give us kind of like a rundown of what's going on and how you came up with this and, and where, what's the background on that?
00:06:30
Speaker
Yeah, so about five years ago, Varsity got kind of into what was called GameDay Live. And so the cheerleading side of it is very familiar with their GameDay, and so is Dance Team. And then they wanted to add a live element to it, which included pet bands. And then kind of through the development of that, we really wanted to give, what do bands across the country all kind of do, other than the concert band side of things? What what is accessible for the most amount of bands? And then ties in the school spirit aspect that varsity kind of ah puts their kind of their hat on. And the biggest thing was pet band. And so how can we bring your traditions into a competitive environment in the middle school, high school, or college? How can we bring that into a competitive environment and let you showcase your school, your traditions, and your programs? And so that's kind of where the pet band came from. So what exactly is this competition going to be like? Is this like a virtual? Are we are we in person? Do we have people from all over the country? Are they traveling to this? Can you kind of like describe that aspect of it? So varsity offers regionals across the country. Um, and it kind of shifts and changes throughout the year, but you know, we usually have this big announcement of like the regionals are open and so there's regional events. Um, and then it all kind of culminates, uh, in February at the national school spirit championship where your cheer dance and bands all can kind of compete together.
00:07:55
Speaker
Each has their own kind of national championship they can win. And that's where the pep band division kind of comes in. And then there's even one section called our spirit division, which is everyone gets to compete together. Uh, and so the pep band division of that is, uh, you have like seven minutes and of like a time. And then five minutes of
Creativity & Engagement in Pep Band Performances
00:08:15
Speaker
that is your performance. So, you know, the on and off section. Then, uh, in that five minutes, you have three sections fight song.
00:08:24
Speaker
which is your fight song that your school has, kind of a pep tune section that elicits a crowd response and what that kind of thing. at think like um Think like just a small section that um that is like, you know, something that elicits you saying your school name or your Go Eagles or so something like that, or you can use your halftime show. You can use a little bit of your halftime show to kind of feature that and feature your band section.
00:08:51
Speaker
then you do your timeout section which is like a longer like if you think a full timeout at a basketball game is about a minute of of Music and then you can kind of do drum cadences features if you're like if you have a really awesome trombone section You can make them like let them do that like black and blue kind of a feel and kind of a thing But the name of the game is just crowd engagement So just you know engage the crowd make them cheer make them but Call out your name and call out your school and your colors and everything and it'll be great
00:09:22
Speaker
Hey, Tyler, I have a quick question for you about the event. um oh Are bands allowed to ah do like any movements, like a little, like, think, like, people are familiar with BLAST, who probably listens to this podcast. Is that a possibility, like doing like some kind of like little staging movement idea, or is it just a stationary competition? It's kind of open to interpretation, but we don't want full on drill. We want the choreo, like imagine that you're in the stands.
00:09:52
Speaker
But at the same time, like if you have like the trumpet section wants to be featured, even the drumline, you can pull them forward and let them kind of groove and jam and do their thing so that they're front and center and featured. But we don't, we're not going to, you're not going to be rewarded for complex drill and all of that stuff.
00:10:09
Speaker
Awesome. And can you have like little small like props, like, we like at the end of the tune, we can burst confetti or we can have signs and, you know, do like, can we do kind of like a little special knit, knit things there that kind of make us stand out like to the judges? Yeah, not confetti, but ah you can do signs and and flags and things like that. Any like rally towels, anything like that. There's like signs that kind of pull out and go back in, like any of that spirit raising kind of stuff. Palms if you want.
00:10:39
Speaker
Awesome. I was just thinking that like, you know, before my time here at Northwestern State, I was at Western Carolina University as assistant director. And then before that, I was at a private kind of like rural college where we had a really good pep band, Tyler. And like, I would love something like this, like years and years ago to where we could take what I would call like a very talented pep band out of kind of like that rural community and like going to one of these regional events and feature that talent. It's so great that this opportunity is now available for college and university pep bands as well as
00:11:17
Speaker
high school and middle school pep band, so bravo. Yeah, thank you. I love hearing about it, because I was always kind of jealous of the cheerleaders getting to do like all the school-spirited stuff. and you know we we didn't really have we i mean We had our pep band, but it wasn't there was no competitions for it. so i i mean okay So you guys are both amazing pep band experts. um I thought this might be smart to get some pep band tips.
00:11:43
Speaker
that might help bands with their competition. So what are what are your tips for pet bands? And lets let's start, Tyler, let's start with you. like What are some of your tips for pet bands to do well in this competition? And then we'll kind of relay it back and forth off of you and Trevor both. I think the biggest thing is is just look at your school and what traditions you already have. um The pep band division is designed not to put more on a band director's plate of designing and and having to create another show. It's more taking what you already do every Friday night or at a basketball game or a pep rally and just put it into like a nice little package that you can you can throw together and and you know just kind of raise the level of excellence that you would want and in a national stage and then you know put it out there for everyone to see. So just take what you already do and then just put it on a competitive environment.
00:12:33
Speaker
Yeah, that's that's great advice. and Another would thing that I would say it is helpful is to just making sure that you know your audience and in in regards to like the repertoire that you're you know selecting outside of like your traditional fight song and traditions, like those extended tunes. like you know You can be creative with them with those arrangements and making sure that you know you're presenting more like a potpourri of musical selections instead of maybe just one particular genre of music. um and and being on this national stage can can highlight the creativity of your particular pep band or your ensemble. So I think that's a great um opportunity ah to showcase that as well. Yeah. One more question off of like just my
00:13:22
Speaker
brain running through some of this stuff. I work at a really small school. So what are the sort of divisions like for this? is are Are they grouped by the size of their band or the size of their school?
Game Day Live: Enhancing School Spirit & Community
00:13:34
Speaker
Or like, are there different classes for different areas? Or is it just like everybody's thrown in the pot and just that's a dog fight? Yeah, so we cap it at 60 members, performers. um And so you You can't exceed that. um Most of our groups are anywhere from, you need to have at least five, but most of our groups are in that like 20 to 30 range. And then some groups, like let's say your band has 200 kids are taking kind of, they have to take a smaller section of that. So we're not throwing a band of 200 against a band of 30. We're saying, bring what you got and show us your traditions and and your school spirit.
00:14:11
Speaker
And so that's kind of the cool thing about it, especially when I was at Independence, we had a smaller program at first. And so it was nice that we weren't going up against the band of 200. We were kind of on a level playing field. And that's what we're kind of trying to shoot for. What is every band? How can they all compete on a national stage?
00:14:30
Speaker
Tyler Tyler's had 60 number that cap. Is that for um band instrumentalist cheer um'm like combined or is that just instrumentalists like within the actual varsity like that band? That's just the pet band division. Okay. In the, on the cheer side with the game day live and the dance side, that's capped at 40 members, mostly because they have the cheer mat out and it it gets pretty crowded. If you start getting two and then safety becomes comes a concern. Throwing people into crowds of other people. for yeah So tell us a little more about the game day live stuff. Yeah, so um five years ago it started and then I actually got to take independence there. We went four times. We got to, um you know, we were lucky enough to win three um three national championships with them and our cheer team. Nice. Thank you.
00:15:24
Speaker
Um, and so that's when I kind of grew really passionate about the game day live division because of how it affected our school spirit, but also how it affected our school. And so game day live is really just your cheer team and your band get to compete together. And then eventually it evolved into, you can do your dance in your band. And then starting next year, you can have all three out there at the same time competing. And so it's kind of the same thing as the pet band division, the different segments, but you just get to include your cheerleaders and your dancers in that as well.
00:15:55
Speaker
i I love this so much. This is this is great this is great for, you know, um especially at the college and university level, you know, we're always looking for opportunities. um to collaborate, you know, across campus, even within our spirit groups. But sometimes we don't get to unless it's the day of the event, you know, like because the schedules are so like misaligned, everybody have their own duties. But now you have the opportunity through this event, which is great to actually have true collaboration and travel together and to compete together and to be recognized as like a unified
00:16:28
Speaker
you know, um entity. And I think that's super, super cool. And it's that space really doesn't exist out there other than here, which, which is great. Yeah, it was really awesome seeing kind of our cheerleaders and our band members kind of grow in a relationship together and like competing together creates that bond. But then the year after we first started this, it was incredible to go to a game.
00:16:53
Speaker
and have the cheerleaders and the band really interacting with each other. And then the dance team want to be included in that and to just, they all kind of start working together without the adults in the room, you know, that they start wanting to do certain pep songs and they start asking for more. And it's not coming from the band kids. It's coming from the cheerleaders and the dancers in the student section because they all kind of start working together. And and that's what we call a culture changer. Like it changes the culture. It's great.
00:17:19
Speaker
Yeah. And then canned music's not wanted because they want to hear your band.
00:17:27
Speaker
All right. Well, we are going to go work on those stand tunes. So we'll be right back with our water we doing and the gushing goes. So get back on the field.
00:17:47
Speaker
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Memorable Stories & Guest Conductors
00:18:02
Speaker
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00:18:32
Speaker
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00:18:59
Speaker
And welcome back. One of the things that we miss that I totally want to make sure we get from you guys is the great pep band stories. I know each of you have just an absolutely great pep band story that you want to share. So let's start with Trevor. Oh, absolutely. Oh my gosh. Oh, so the the the craziest pep band story that I would have is Probably as a graduate assistant and at the University of Alabama my second year, I was in charge of the gymnastics pet man.
00:19:33
Speaker
Um, it was, it was very difficult to make everyone wanted to go up to the SEC gymnastics competition. You know, they filled up the arena with like, you know, seven to 8,000 people, every, whatever, every other Friday. And, um, sometimes they would have celebrities that, you know, a lot of these events and, uh, all these, uh, former football players came, you know, to get recognized at the event and they ended up jumping up and like,
00:20:00
Speaker
conducting like the band. They wanted to hear like a a familiar tune that wasn't really in the folder, but was in the folder for like a different event. So they kind of called it up themselves. And I'm just sitting there like, okay, I guess we can do this. so like I hope my students know this one.
00:20:17
Speaker
And thankfully we had no veterans and the in the group to work. Okay. Well, we have these celebrities who are awesome. And, you know, uh, who are in the NFL now, like calling up pep band tunes and the setting, I guess we're doing this. So, um, it was really, really cool to, to, to have those players, you know, remember those tunes or remember how to make it made them feel at their athletic events and how the the band was a vital part of their experience for them to want to come up there and relive those memories. So ah we we did our best to recreate those for them. And and and the crowd really responded you know to them and and really got pretty excited about those celebrities, those NFL players coming up and and engaging with our
00:21:05
Speaker
Um, pet band members. So that was probably the craziest story, having someone else call up a tune and and kick it off. I bet they really appreciated it too though, because I bet those football players were like feeling nostalgic and remembering their college football days. Absolutely. Absolutely. So that's my crazy story, Jackie. Tyler, what about you? Oh gosh.
00:21:29
Speaker
I think always my favorite was always like the you always see the photo with the guest conductors like the Peyton Manning is up conducting the pride. So we kind of started doing that at some schools where like the student section leader got to come up and do it. Oh, it's always so funny just seeing them like we let cheerleaders and dancers come up and and conduct because you know they're relying on the drum line mostly and the drum major is just kind of orchestrating. And so like they get to hear it just at that level is so different than them hearing it on the track where we are up in the bleachers and stuff. And so those are always fun and seeing their face and just their picture is just like always hilarious.
00:22:07
Speaker
I bet that helps with that sense of community we were talking about earlier too, just having that interaction. And there are some cheerleaders I remember from college who like attempted to climb the drum major ladder in the sands and change their mind like halfway up too. So I'm sure that's an experience. Yeah. I do that every week. That feeling doesn't change. That is not exclusive to drum cheerleaders.
00:22:33
Speaker
yeah coming down is worse. I'm sure I'm sure I always loved whenever like the drum majors would be up in the stands and I don't know if they do this at I feel like I've seen it at BOA and I've seen it at DCI too but like the drum majors are all in the stands and they have all the bands playing together or something and that that just seems so cool too like having such a wide range of covering the whole
Logistics & Collaboration in Band Performances
00:22:58
Speaker
stadium with music and gives me the feels. So Tyler, just to let our listeners get to know you a little bit better, there's a fun game I really like to play with all of our guests um whenever we have time to. And that's what part of the marching arts are you? So if you were part of a marching band or an indoor performing ensemble or a pet band, ah what part would you be? Oh, gosh.
00:23:28
Speaker
I think so when I student taught at Franklin High School, there was this, uh, this gentleman who was the logistics chair and this guy got everything done and down the road and planned it all. And he was incredible. Um, and so I think that is what I really love doing in this role is planning. And like, I love doing the budget side, but also just like getting it to elevate the kids experience and create those memorable experiences for kids.
00:23:54
Speaker
And that really came down to that dad. And so it'd be really, like, that's where I think I thrive a lot is just getting kids that memorable experience and trying to plan it for them. And then they just get to come and enjoy the time and enjoy the people. The band logistics coordinator. Yes. That, I feel like that would, that just falls on the band director in our small school. Yeah. Yeah. Trevor, do you have a band logistics coordinator?
00:24:23
Speaker
ah Yes, we have we have a couple. oh do They do really good work and they are well you know needed individuals and they make the train go down the track and oh my gosh, lifesavers, lifesaving people. that was yeah Whenever I was running a competitive indoor guard, that was one of the most stressful things for me because it was ah literally all on me, you know small town, small team, and I have to put everything in order.
00:24:53
Speaker
Yes. Yes, exactly. Now it's time for one of our favorite parts of the show, what are we doing? What are we doing? What are we doing? Trevor, do you want to kick this one off so Tyler can kind of get the flow of how we do what are we doing?
00:25:21
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. um yeah what are What are we doing about you know diversifying our pep band folders? like are we Are we playing the most recent music? or yeah Are we engaging every part of our ah pep band folder?
00:25:42
Speaker
Right now, i um i mean I'm taking a deep look into making sure that you know we have the most popular hooks. I go to the Billboard top 100s, making sure that you know we have a little bit of country representation. Then we got a little Beyonce in there. We got a little Travis Tripp. We got a little Land of a Thousand Dances, wherever it is.
00:26:02
Speaker
we're able to kind of you know turn that down and just be anything for anybody at at any particular time or whatever the have the pet ah whatever the athletic band needs at that particular time. So what are we doing? Are we ah are we going through our pet band folders to making sure that we have up to date and and and rev reverendent ah music that is relevant for today? So check it out. Yeah, definitely keep checking those out.
00:26:33
Speaker
ah Tyler, what are we doing? What are we doing to grow our footprint within the school? And how do we allow the collaboration in the community to kind of help us dictate and help us grow within our school culture? I worked with a lot of really great Big departments that allowed us to celebrate not only the football team, not only the basketball team, but we did a pep rally for the state champion wrestler one time. We were in talks to do the esports team. When they went off to state, we do a state send off for everyone. And so that meant we did it for cross country track, but also esports. um You know, what are we doing to help with that? And how can band programs with diversifying our pet folders, I think helps a lot.
00:27:18
Speaker
that Trevor mentioned of like playing tunes that they want to hear in and really growing our school spirit side of what we do. I love that. I don't have any pe pep band related. What are we doing? I am, I'm a color guard girl. What are we doing? eight No, I do have one. What are we doing? Not having a color guard section in the pep band. They are allowed in the pep band division. you can they but Can they go and like, you can spin and like do, do staging and such? Or is it just like, they have to stand there and do? Yeah, they can have flags. Those are allowed and they can, they can spin. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah. Okay. I am fully invested now.
00:28:04
Speaker
So now this is to all the schools that don't have color guards in their pet band. What are we doing? Not having color guard in the pet band because Could you imagine, you don't even have to do it go crazy with like funding and such. You just get up there with some school color flags and you know get everybody excited about it. like That's cool. That's awesome. You know what's cool about this? Not every school has the ability at the college or high school level to have a winter guard, right? Because the funding of that is so big. So now they have this extra outlet that they can participate in and be engaged with every member of their band and travel and compete and all this stuff. So it's another great opportunity. Another box chapter. Perfect. Well, and I love that like integrating, you know, we always talk about integration of the Color Guard with the band, integration of the Color Guard with the band. You know, the Color Guard is part of the band and there's so many schools out there who, you know, because Color Guard that goes off and does Winter Guard separately from the band in the spring semester, like they, they say, no, no, no, it's a different activity. We have to be different. We have to be separate. And it's like you really don't. It's just another section of the band.
00:29:18
Speaker
And I think maybe this this whole pep band competition is going to actually solidify that. I love it. I love it so much. And with with the way it's kind of structured is you can really focus on fundamental skills and growing those because that this because you're not having to design the and fit all of the the the sheets and the different divisions and things. You can really focus on fundamental rehearsal and then it's the performance becomes more fun because they are fundamentally sound.
00:29:43
Speaker
And then you can grow from there. How does that help your you know middle school guard grow or your high school guard grow in numbers? Yeah. I have a question. Hey, Tyler, we're talking about all these all these great things where you know we can take part in like, and this might be, you may have, we're going to bring this up later, Jackie. So sorry if I'm jumping the gun a little bit, but where can we like see the event?
00:30:05
Speaker
What can we, is it is it going to be broadcast and streamed? Can we see recordings of it, post recordings? Yeah. So varsity performing arts has their own website and it has all of our, the event guidelines are on there, the regionals that you're welcome to attend and and everything. It's also varsity TV is a great kind of avenue to kind of go and see what it kind of looks like. um This is the first year for pet band division. So we're getting together those videos and those things of the groups that chose to do it this year.
00:30:34
Speaker
um And we're coming up with ways to kind of show bands what it looks like and and what they did and then how can you adapt it to what you want to do. So yeah. Awesome. That's so cool. Another way to help grow too is with your drum line. Going back and doing it like the same thing with guard is also doing the same thing with your drum line too.
Upcoming Events & Excitement for the Future
00:30:55
Speaker
You can really focus on fundamental technique and and playing and then they're playing those pep tunes they play every Friday and every basketball game.
00:31:03
Speaker
And so it's no more work that you're having to do. It's now just you get to focus on, you know, on on the kids and giving them that really awesome experience. Love it. Great job, everyone. Set your equipment down. Go.
00:31:20
Speaker
All right. What do we want to gush and go on about? I feel like I've been gushing this whole episode. I'm so excited about this competition. So I'm going to start with my gush and go, I guess I'm so excited about this. I'm, I love to see the worlds of cheer and dance and band being brought together like this. Um, and I love to see more opportunities for diversifying the types of performances that we can have. Um, and the, and the types of competitions that we can go to for various size bands and skill levels of groups and things like that. So.
00:31:51
Speaker
That is what I'm gushing about because I'm so excited about that. So, Tyler, what would you like to gush and go on about today? I think one of the things that we are coming out with, starting it it opens up in like a week or so, is we have worked on what's called the celebration of bands event in Disney World. um And we are combining world class clinicians with amazing products and and bands all across the nation.
00:32:18
Speaker
to hopefully apply, and then they get selected to go and have this world-class experience at Disney, create awesome experiences, um learn from some of the top folks in the field, and then they also get to go to Disney and just enjoy all of that with their friends. So wait, how do they how do they compete for this? It's a competition? This is just and a special event that we're kind of putting on. um it's ah They just apply. if you Again, if Varsity Performing Arts website, it's called Celebration of Bands.
00:32:47
Speaker
Um, they go and apply, they have to go through the Disney process of an application just with varsity, um, submitting two videos, one of a parade and one of whatever they want, concert band, halftime show, all of that, that just kind of showcases who they are. And then if they get selected, uh, they get to meet other bands across the nation. Uh, we have three awesome clinicians with guard percussion and wins, uh, and they get to kind of learn from them for a couple, a couple hours. And then of awesome parade and Disney.
00:33:18
Speaker
Oh, it's so fun. I love Disney. I'm sending this whole episode to my band director as soon as we're done recording. I just so you awesomely you know this. Trevor, what would you like to gush and go on about? I've just got two quick things. The first one's obviously this. This is this is great that that that these new platforms are being created and given our students the opportunity to to shine um um under a different light.
00:33:43
Speaker
so um It's it's is great. that We talked about the collaboration part of it. We talked about the ability to you know you know build better relationships with people on your campus and take that on the road. that Those are all great things. And you get to go compete. like you know so Especially at the collegiate university level, you know some of our students ah who we recruit from high schools, they They always have, they still have that competitive spirit spirit yeah when they get to us. And this gives them an outlet to to take part in that competitor ah competitive um um setting um at the collegiate university level. So that's great there. The second thing I want to go and go about at the end of the semester is finally over. yeah that's a wonderful But it's time for them to go home. It's time for us to go home and recharge the battery. One thing I'm going to do is recharge the battery here next week.
00:34:39
Speaker
I have a drum chord camp with the mandarins starting year four with them um on their brass staff and follow by that. ah Going to Midwest convention in Chicago, the biggest gathering of musicians across the planet can meet in Chicago. Come say hey to us. it's Oh, I'll see you there. We'll be there. We'll be at Midwest. Go check them out. Midwest.
00:35:04
Speaker
And people can come and get information about your new pep band competition too. Absolutely. Yup. Hey, it's called Gush and Go, not Gush and Stay. Let's go.
00:35:17
Speaker
Thank you guys for a great rehearsal this week. Thank you so much, Trevor, for hosting with me today. It is always such a pleasure to see you and get to chat with you. Thank you, Tyler, for joining us this week. I hope you guys will come back.
00:35:31
Speaker
from Varsity and tell us how the competition season is going, um how things are going there. Tyler, if we wanted to follow on information about the competition, find it on social media or websites, where should our listeners go to? We're on Instagram Varsity Performing Arts and then our website kind of links has all the links and everything there too. So just Google Varsity Performing Arts. Awesome.
00:35:56
Speaker
One more thing, don't forget about our YouTube channel. It has many of our interviews coming out as full video editions. Subscribe, make sure you don't miss those. You get to see all of the mess behind me and hopefully see how it changes over the next few months as ah you know I finish remodeling my house.
00:36:15
Speaker
And of course, before you close out your podcast listening app, make sure you go subscribe, write us a review, share this with a friend, follow us on all of our social media at on a water break. And we'll see you at the next rehearsal on a water break.
00:36:31
Speaker
The Ona Water Break podcast was produced by Jeremy Williams and Christine Reams. The intro and outro music was produced by Josh Lida. To learn more, visit lidamusic.com. And until next time, thanks for tuning in.
00:36:50
Speaker
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