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Parade Tips Every Marching Band Needs: From Macy’s & Rose Parade to Mardi Gras and More
180 Plays7 days ago
Your All-Access Pass to the Marching Arts. A Podcast for Marching Arts Enthusiasts — On the Field, In the Stands & Behind the Scenes.
This week, we’re celebrating the world of parades—the traditions, the chaos, the unexpected moments, and the marching arts culture behind them. Jackie, Jack, Grantis, and Jeremy take a full tour through America’s most iconic parades, sharing stories from the street, expert opinions, and tips every band and guard should know before stepping off.
We dig into everything from national spectacles like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Rose Parade, and Mardi Gras to regional favorites including the Mummers Parade, Cherry Blossom Parade, Gatlinburg Midnight Parade, Bristol 4th of July, Lodi Grape Festival, Portland Grand Floral Parade, Detroit’s Thanksgiving traditions, the Hollywood Christmas Parade, and the highly competitive California parade circuit.
Whether you love parades for the pageantry, the community connection, or the pure unpredictability (yes—goats, llamas, feathers, wine fountains, and more), this episode has something for everyone.
What We Cover
- Why parades matter for school culture, community presence, and recruitment
- Parade memories that shaped each panelist
- The role of drum majors and block structure on a moving route
- What makes the Rose Parade turn so intimidating
- How Mardi Gras float builders create parade magic
- Why Philly’s Mummers Parade is still unmatched in personality
- What directors overlook: spacing, alignment, showmanship, and audience impact
- The difference between competitive parade judging and community performance
60-Second Tech Block
Jack Goudreau delivers a full breakdown of how to build a proper parade block, covering interval control, step-off technique, first-step mechanics, subdivision, and how body alignment affects sound and visual clarity.
Water We Doing?!
Jeremy questions why parade blocks cater to judges instead of the audience. Grantis talks about students who join band for connection, not competition. Jack calls out unsafe guard/band collisions and poor spacing on parade routes.
Gush & Go
The panel shares end-of-season highlights, life updates, creative inspiration, and their excitement for wrapping up Season 3 and stepping into Season 4.
This Week’s Panel
Jackie Brown — @spintronixguard Jackson Goudreau — @goudreau_ Grantis Peranda — @grantisimo_p Jeremy Williams — @guardcloset
Sponsors
Peak Group Travel — @peak.group.travel Guard Closet — @guardcloset
Find On A Water Break
Website: onawaterbreakpodcast.com Linktree: linktr.ee/onawaterbreak Email: onawaterbreakpodcast@gmail.com Be a Guest: form in our bio Follow us everywhere: @onawaterbreak
We’ll see you next rehearsal — On A Water Break.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Episode Theme
00:00:00
Speaker
hey everyone and welcome back 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're making it all about parades. We'll find out what made grantees and why Jack said... Your outward facing appearance to the general public and who you are and your identity as an ensemble is through that.
00:00:21
Speaker
All this and more in this week's episode of On A Water Break.
00:00:28
Speaker
mess and go. Welcome to On Water Bridge.
00:00:33
Speaker
Podcast where we talk everything marching arts. Everyone's singing. It's time for a water break.
Panel Introduction and Parade Excitement
00:00:45
Speaker
Hey everyone, it's Jackie. We have such a fun episode this week. Probably my favorite thing to talk about parades, love parades, ah all the Thanksgiving parades have now happened as of when this episode is airing. the Holiday parades are coming up and we have a panel today.
00:01:03
Speaker
who is all about things parade. But before we see who's on the sidelines this week, make sure you go and subscribe on your favorite listening app, write us review, share this with a friend. If you have a good question that you want to talk about, you can email us at on a water break podcast at gmail.com.
00:01:18
Speaker
Find us on social media and DM us if you want to be on the show. We also have a form at our link in bio. If you want to be a guest and fill that out at on a water break. So, who is on the sidelines this week? Hey, Jack!
00:01:33
Speaker
What is up, Jackie? Long time no see. have you been holding up? I know. i feel like this was probably the last topic that you and I talked about together last year. i know.
00:01:44
Speaker
Maybe it's not been quite that long. This is the... This is absolutely the perfect topic to talk about, right? So much going on in the area parade right now. So on the West Coast, we got our season wrapping up and then we have the advent of the Macy's Day Parade coming
Parade Season Overview and Macy's Day Parade
00:02:01
Speaker
through. And then we also have the ah other fun holiday parades that we're goingnna talk about today. So it's just been an absolute blast. And on all sides, for me, it's all about the drum majors. So all the drum majors are just getting off the ah the fall season and going into that winter season. So away we go. The the wheel turns, right? Grantees, what do you think about ah fall season this year?
00:02:20
Speaker
The fall season was great. i Definitely more on the side of watching it as an adjudicator, not so much as a coach this time, though I did get to choreograph. um And just kind of seeing it from that point of view of just seeing so many parades, bands coming through. I did like one of the two biggest competitions in California, which Yeah, just seeing like, I think at one competition, there was like 55 units that came through. so just seeing the sheer volume. Wow. I saw a lot of routines this year. So it was a really good season. That's amazing. And also we have Jeremy joining us today. Hi, Jeremy.
00:02:56
Speaker
Hi, we were going back and forth on who to bring on with us as the other possible parade person and I was like, well, i guess it kind has to be me. I am sort of the parade person on like the East Coast side of things. I was like, I really want to do this episode because I have lots of things to say, but I wasn't going to put myself on it. But yeah, kind of makes sense for me to be here. So yeah, I'm here. Happy to talk about parades. Love a parade. It's my favorite thing.
00:03:21
Speaker
Agree. I just feel like I'm like with my people this week in such a hardcore way because we just love parades so much. So my first question, though, just let's stack this up.
Importance of Parades in Community Culture
00:03:34
Speaker
Why? Why do we love parades so much? Why do you love parades so much? do we really I will be really honest and say, because I do think they're super important to the culture of the marching band in general, the culture of the school, the culture of the community, right? It's the time where the band itself goes out into the community and is really performing for the community. um It's not just... ah a competition thing, although it very much is and in lots of places. um
00:04:05
Speaker
But it really starts as the basis of celebrating a community and not, or celebrating holiday or celebrating something and not a competition or competitive thing is the reason, is the basis for it, I guess, right? And it's about entertainment. about introducing your activity or what you love to a general audience that would never, ever see something like this otherwise. I think it's great. It's like you get to sit there and have things pass by you that are cool and interesting. to change the channel. You don't have to do any of those things. It's just like, oh, look at that. Oh, next thing. Oh, look at that. Oh, next thing.
Parade Mistakes and Community Impact
00:04:40
Speaker
So I have lots of things that go wrong in parades. And you're not scrolling. Right, right. But I have lots of things that people do wrong in parades, but I'll save that for another time.
00:04:49
Speaker
Oh, yeah. No, no, that'll be for later. and That's gonna be a hard one to follow up. Because honestly, like the community aspect of it is what I would also say I love so much about parades. But Jack, what about you? What do you what do you love about parades?
00:05:02
Speaker
Okay, so I'm going to frame this in the the context of comparing parades to like a field show competition. I'm all about the competitive side of things. In my opinion, I think field shows are kind of like those novels, right? Like big novels that take a while, but a parade is kind of like a short story. So you get many short stories throughout the parade, much like what Jeremy was talking about. You get just such a a depth of what the community and what the tradition of that parade, of of what the parade community is like in that area with each parade that you go to. So I think that's what makes
Amusing Parade Stories
00:05:30
Speaker
it really special for me.
00:05:31
Speaker
I also love the fact that like you'll get a random thing in a parade that you're like, wait a minute. That exists? That's a thing? like What are you talking about? how like There was one parade. They're the Red Hot Mamas from Claire de Lune, Wisconsin or something like that. don't even know. and They were like old ladies. grocery carts or something and did like a whole high kick routine it was like insane if you've never seen the red hot mamas go look for that but like crazy things like that but pop up in a parade that you're like never expected and like shirt cannons you know getting like blasted with like shirts like oh yeah this hand all the candy ah all the candy yeah exactly
00:06:11
Speaker
I ah judged a parade here in San Francisco this year and Boudin, who had to mix the sourdough bread, they just came up and gave us big bags of sourdough bread and just like, oh, these are for the judges. They're not even competing, but they're like, hey, these are for the judges. I'm just like going home with this big old bag.
00:06:27
Speaker
So yeah, there's definitely, like Jack said, like the novel part of it, like there's some, you know, unique things that people have from their own units and also go along with Jeremy. Jeremy said, like you are the most public facing thing when you're in a parade as a marching band.
00:06:45
Speaker
So you can inspire kids to join marching bands because of your presence. That's the first time they might actually, the whole community. So it really should take a lot of effort and quality.
00:06:58
Speaker
Yeah. So that's the biggest thing that people might see your unit for. And so it's super important. Yeah. The T is that we get band directors who are like, oh, yeah, I don't really care about marching band. We're just going to do this concert thing. And we're just going to through these concert competitions and that. But they don't really the most important part of what Grantees was saying. Your outward facing appearance to the general public and who you are and your identity as an ensemble is through that. I think that commonly gets put to the side where it's like, hey, you want to you want to make sure that that is the that is the most immaculate thing about your band possible.
00:07:30
Speaker
Right. So that's the T for me. Yeah, we could get into a what are we doing, like wearing our mermaid costume in the holiday parade from our fall band show. That's a whole other separate what are we doing conversation because like we don't want to get into that. But the representation that you have as a school to build into the community is how you recruit those new members. like jack youdo Of course, the very first thing I never did was a parade. i was like, okay, and now I'm in marching band, right? like It's almost you will... probably be in a parade before you would be in a marching band. you You know what I mean? Like, if you think about like, even as a little kid, like pulling along in a wagon or, you know, something, there's always a parade of something like let's line up and be in a parade. Like you did that all day in school, like parade for one class to the next, you know?
00:08:21
Speaker
All right. Well, let's take this moment to preview some awesome
Episode Promotion and Bonus Content
00:08:25
Speaker
weekly episodes that we have and some bonus content that we've got going on right now on the podcast. So ah last week's episode with Christian Stefanos from Kenai Central Band from Alaska. Oh my gosh. Guys, clap for these Alaska kids coming all the way down here for Grand Nationals. Oh,
00:08:46
Speaker
And Taylor great back joined Trish and Ricardo to recap BOA and all that they did so many great things in that episode. And then of course, like I said, you know, Trish and Ricardo did their great interview.
00:09:01
Speaker
Uh, when they wrapped up BOA, they talked to, um, ah some great people who like are on TikTok and giving their opinions that way. So also don't forget that we have a special bonus episode that Jeremy and Ricardo did where they interviewed Latrice Royale. I'm still fangirling over that episode. It's kind of like a weird fever dream for me. was just like, how did that actually happen? It's real. So check that You have no idea. I mean, honestly, that show, talk about like things that inspire you to like do things, right? like That Hotel California show from Alliance of Miami that Latrice was in is just, yeah I'm going to say, most iconic indoor Winter Guard show, period, full stop, ever, probably ever will be, ever has been, you know all the things. So like just to know that and like got to hear the stories of like putting that show together and her involvement and all of that, That's what it was really good. It was really good. Fangirl hard, Fangirl hard.
00:10:02
Speaker
Yeah. Such great stories to love Latrice. Yes, definitely. we will continue getting into our first love of parades. Whenever we get back from this word from our sponsors.
00:10:18
Speaker
Yeah.
Parade Facts and Anecdotes
00:10:29
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:11:23
Speaker
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00:11:35
Speaker
Check us out at guardcloset.com or follow us on social media.
00:11:49
Speaker
Okay, let's get straight into the news.
00:12:08
Speaker
This week, our new segment is all about parades past and present all over the US, s all over the world. So we thought we would give you some interesting facts about some of the amazing parades across the country.
00:12:19
Speaker
And I think maybe we should just sort of do this as a round robin sort of thing. So if you have like a specific one you want to jump in on. Cool, but let's just sort of take turns introducing them. And um Jack, since you are wearing, it looks to me like you're wearing your Tournament of Roses Parade shirt. So do you want to introduce this one? Absolutely.
00:12:39
Speaker
Okay, absolutely. Let's start at the top of the mountain, shall we? So what we're going to do is we're going to talk about... I like I was like... All right, so we're starting with the Tournament of Roses Parade, the all-time California parade, seven miles of victory.
00:13:01
Speaker
You got in downtown Pasadena... in January, seven miles in the downtown Pasadena, full of audience, packed to the brim. And you go down, you get filmed by TV, and ah it's a heck of a parade. It was established in 1890. Obviously, one of the big parts about the Rose Parade, being called the Rose Parade, is all the floats are made out of flowers, seeds, spices, and other natural materials. And the cool part about marching in the Rose Parade is you get to see the process of them putting it together. So I marched with Pipes on Parade several years ago. And the entire process of building the floats and watching them do it was, I mean, it they're masterpieces, every one of them. And it's cool because you still see the families that have been there for 30, 40 years doing that every year. and so there's that heritage and there's that standard that's still living on, which is really cool. And some tea in 2022, float stalled mid route and caused one of the rare
00:13:58
Speaker
full stops of the Rose Parade in history. Like, never happened. They have that, they have that, that thing down to machine, this parade. One time, it halted. So, you know, I know. I'm really happy it wasn't with our group.
00:14:14
Speaker
We weren't the ones responsible. We got through that turn. By the way, there's a turn that you take before you get onto the camera. And that is, if remember correctly, it's like 115 degree turn. So it's like a really weird angle to be going down. But once you get past that, the cameras are right there to catch you. So the most, probably the most difficult part is the first few steps of that parade because you jump in and you turn immediately. So we practiced that turn. I don't know.
00:14:38
Speaker
probably three or four weeks straight before we got it. And I mean, it was, it was nasty. It was, it's a nasty little turn for that parade. So that's another fun fact. No, that, but at that parade is like that turn is like the a parade, right? Like like here that is like what the marching bands stress about inside out, upside down, like the but length. Okay. Yes. It's a long parade, but you think about how much pressure everybody feels. Literally. That's all they talk about is the turn. We worked on the turn today. We worked on the turn today. We're going on the turn. We're going to, it we're going to the roadway. We've got to work on the turn. We've got to work on the turn. That turn is intense.
00:15:12
Speaker
Oh, and the nice part about it too, though, is at the end of that seven mile parade, you have in and out carts as long as you can see. I mean, like they're everywhere. They have so many in and out carts just to feed all the performers. Cause after seven miles, everyone is just like, they need to carb load. Right. So, you know, that's the, that's one of my favorite parts of the parade is the orange is a WGI though. Very different.
00:15:32
Speaker
Yes. Very different. indeed I will say um with my experience at the Rose Parade, i was lucky enough to do a Vanguard in 2017 when they brought like a whole Vanguard over.
00:15:43
Speaker
We got to do the opening ceremony. So we woke up really early. We learned a routine as well as the parade routine, got to perform. And it was a dream of mine being a marching band person to do that parade. I'm so happy I got to do it, even though I wasn't in high school, but the core got to do it And I was a part of it.
00:15:59
Speaker
the Vanguard family. So I got to be a part of that. So if there's ever an opportunity for you to be in the Rose Parade, go do it. It might turn out to be something later when you're an adult, um but it is very special. So I'm very happy I got to do it within my marching career.
00:16:12
Speaker
And I will say, questions i have yet to do the Rose Parade. Were you with go alone? ah alone Alumni? Was it like the alumni Vanguard? Yeah, it was basically the alumni. It wasn't the alumni core, but it was like Vanguard for people that marched. It was like the alumni. I'm not if we called it alumni core, but yeah, it was definitely just like the Rose Parade Vanguard. But it wasn't just like exclusive to the current marching members, basically, is what I'm asking.
00:16:38
Speaker
Correct. Cause it was anybody that was a part of the Vanguard, like people in the winter guard were able to march people that had just done Vanguard cadets. Um, so yeah, anybody that wanted to go, um basically was a, was able, if they were, you know, ability cause it is seven miles. And by the end of it, it was so cold and foggy. I remember like, Oh, I needed, a jack but I was marching for so long that I was like, okay, I'm still warm. So I can still do this. But, and yeah, it was great. It was a great experience.
00:17:08
Speaker
That's a really big thing that I think that um a lot of parades use or starting to use maybe. And I will take credit for it over here in Philly. Well, not me specifically, but Tom Marcacci, who's done it a lot with taking world-class color guards or drum chords and getting them into openings and finales of parades and like really
Mummers Parade's Unique Flair
00:17:25
Speaker
big sort of spectacular ways, you know. um I think the Vanguard thing came out of that. I think there's other parades. Obviously, the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia is one that really uses it. AMP appears a lot in a lot of those things. um So one of the things that actually am upset with is that I have never been to the Rose Parade because my parade... On the East Coast side is the Mummers Parade, and that happens at the same time. And that is like a whole, I'm going to say i'm almost exact opposite of the Rose Parade in many ways, because I often think of the Rose para Parade as this like prestigious and everyone's wearing a tie and everyone has a collar. It's like this whole thing, right? Meanwhile, the Mummers is like...
00:18:11
Speaker
Kind of the drunken party that Billy gives, you know, like on New Year's Day. Like, that's just what we do You know, that the Mummers Parade, which started in 1901, you know, it's like four categories of in the parade. It's the wenches.
00:18:30
Speaker
It's the fan. I know it's the wenches. It's the fancies. It's the string bands. And it's the fancy brigades. So the, um, wenches generally are a group of people between 200 and i don't know, 300 that pay their $25. They get a crazy costume, crazy makeup and walk down the parade route being crazy, doing the mummers dance with umbrellas and whatever. They usually have some kind of weird theme attached to it, but not like a major one.
00:18:58
Speaker
Then they have like a fancy group, which is, I guess for lack of a better word, like smaller floats, they're like smaller groups, maybe no more than like 10 or so.
00:19:09
Speaker
um And they do little routines to recorded music out on the street. They usually have like one kind of like major prop that they will use to spin around like, it's a very sort of traditional feathers, very Mardi Gras and kind of in that sense. Um, but it's routine oriented. It's a presentation. Actually, we did an episode about the mummers several years ago, and had some experts on a couple of people like really talk about the history and where it came from. It's really cool. It's,
00:19:37
Speaker
It's purely Philly. Like I will say that like anybody that knows Philly, our motto is gritty for a reason. Like it is, it is UPS workers, FedEx workers, the plumbers, the electricians, like all the blue collar dudes come together, throw on sequence feathers, dance to a routine, either play banjos and saxophones or do it to inside to recorded music. I'm telling you, if you've never seen the Mummers Parade,
00:20:04
Speaker
go watch it. It is online. You can search for the performances. South Philly String Band is a really amazing one. There's the inside ones are really crazy. It's just a drunken great time.
00:20:17
Speaker
I need to come see this live because this is one of the few the few parades I have not been to. It's a lot. It's a lot when you're – because I would always work with the string bands. oh I've also worked with Fancies, and I've judged them as well. But it's crazy when you are there setting up to do this like you know competitive – you might be there at 3 a.m. You're like in it to win it, and everybody else is like, hey! hey, how are you? Like, you know, like running up to you, like offering you whatever. You're not going to, you know, but you know, the people that are in the parade, I will say, take it very seriously and do not like party really until like after, once it's after their new year's day is like January 2nd. And then they're like hooting and hollering and being crazy. It's an amazing time. You definitely should come to Philly and check it out.
00:21:03
Speaker
Well, you know what else is amazing time? Grantees, do you want to talk about the next one? Yeah, for sure. And I think this kind of goes along with that kind of like lively party type of style parade.
Vibrancy of Mardi Gras Parade
00:21:14
Speaker
And it's the Mardi Gras parade. And this takes place in like February, and March. um Of course, in New Orleans, Louisiana. And it was founded in 1872 is where we met.
00:21:28
Speaker
Oh, yes. And I was like, it was in New Orleans, but I haven't been it for the Margin Ross. That's where me and Jackie met in person in New Orleans for WGI i con. What year was that? I forgot what year that was. It was like right before COVID.
00:21:41
Speaker
Oh yes, that's right. That's very right. I'm so happy that i don't know. It was your first time going there, but that was mine. And it's, Oh yeah. It's, such a great conference convention um that was held there because they wanted to have a place where music was so vibrant and music is so lively.
00:22:00
Speaker
So I can only imagine that the Mardi Gras parade has so much jazz, so much live music. And it's definitely a parade that I want to go see one day. um And of course, get them beads. But um there is a really massive float. It's called the Cathedral Float.
00:22:14
Speaker
And it's been super, it's a signature for decades. So that, you know, Mardi Gras known for their masks, known for their liveliness. So this is definitely a parade that people should check out.
00:22:25
Speaker
The floats at Mardi Gras are unparalleled. i mean Again, as like the parade producer guy, you know, i do like the behind the scenes of parade stuff and the production of the floats out of Louisiana and the float builders that are there are just insane artisans. There's a museum you can go and walk around to like, look at how they're all built and made.
00:22:46
Speaker
um A lot of like the big floats that you will see, other parades, Macy's, Thanksgiving, Philadelphia, Chicago, a lot of them are from Mardi Gras and then just get you know sold or moved up to another parade once they're kind of like used and abused ah thoroughly in Mardi Gras. um There's a couple of float builders up here in the you know different parts of the country, but like that's a specialized skill that like lives in Louisiana like pretty exclusively.
00:23:18
Speaker
You know, that's also one of the few parades that can actually rival the Rose Parade in length because like those run from like seven to up to 10 miles. Even I've heard some of them are i've not a march in a Mardi Gras parade, but I've seen some and those kids are huffing it and they are exhausted. Once those bands get to the end of that parade, it's it's a lot. And they're playing solid because the streets of New Orleans are packed.
00:23:43
Speaker
It's just, they're playing the whole time that they're marching and it's like 10 miles of just, yeah. Yeah. Wild. Yeah. And you could think of the competitive band kids or the, or the drum corps kids like that are like, oh my God, it's seven minutes straight. Oh my God. Oh my God. Meanwhile, there like literal parade band kids that would not know what a competitive or drum corps is that could outplay them like but no but like nobody's business. You what mean? Just the sheer amount of volume for the sheer amount of time you have to do it.
00:24:12
Speaker
It's insane. What a place to go and have a parade, though. I mean, like, you got amazing food, some good drinks, and then you got a really good parade. Like, what what else what else is there to have? You know, it's great. Maybe some sites you've never seen before.
00:24:27
Speaker
True that. True that. So, up next on our list, we have coming in at... Yeah, can around March at Buckhannon, Buckhannon, we have in West Virginia, start the Strawberry Festival ah Grand Feature Parade, which was established in 1936. It is the Festival of Queens and their runner-ups.
00:24:52
Speaker
So ah basically, they're all in the parade. um And so one year, a float was sponsored in the Strawberry Festival Grand Parade ah by a local farmer who released a real strawberry scented mist into the crowd.
00:25:10
Speaker
And that's kind of extra. We love we love being extra in the parades, right? like That is definitely extra. It goes the extra vial. That is so extra. Yeah, that parade is interesting because they have a whole system of pageant for that festival, I believe. um That it is a big festival queen parade. All their runner-ups are like a part of it. But that parade also takes all of the, I believe it takes all of the first runner-ups.
00:25:38
Speaker
from all of the Miss America state pageants. So if you're not the winner, right? Because the winners used to, we'll talk about that maybe in a second, or I can bring it up now, used to participate in um a parade around Miss America time called the Show Us Your Shoes Parade.
00:25:55
Speaker
And that's like a big deal. It happened it used to happen in Atlantic City. It's always been Atlantic City for ah Miss America. And that parade, ah each state does a themed shoe that the contestants wear. And the entire time you ride down this route with all the cars that carry are the people on there, like, show us your shoes, show us your shoes. So they do the elaborate main does one with the lobster or it's the favorite football team or the baseball team or whatever that queen is interested in. That was the show us your shoes parade.
00:26:25
Speaker
for Miss America that the winners of each state. And then I think as sort of kind of became like a consolation for a little while, the first runner-ups would get to go to the Strawberry Festival parade and be like, you know, the bells of the Baltimore Strawberry Festival parade. So it was kind of like a little bonus for them. So it's cool. It's a very big parade. It's as country as West Virginia as probably can be, ah but it's amazing. And they love their beauty queens there for sure, for sure. I wonder if that like, so seeing that it was established in 1936, I wonder if that's like the precursor to having like homecoming parades and homecoming queens and candidates in the parades for high schools. Like that's kind of where they got the idea from. Like, let's throw them in the parade too.
00:27:12
Speaker
Everyone loves a parade. True that. Great. Do you want to talk about the next one? I can jump in this one too if you want. Because it's an East Coaster. April is the National Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington, D.C. Goes down Constitution Avenue. have not set up that particular parade ah because that particular parade 99% the time falls on...
00:27:35
Speaker
ah WGI weekend. So you either go to the cherry blossom parade or you go to WGI. You do not do both. It is based on the tradition um of the gifts of all the cherry blossoms from Japan that happened in 1912. And in 2023, there was an oversized animated panda float that went viral on social media.
00:27:55
Speaker
That would be one of the floats that one of our float builders probably up here in the lovely ah East Coast ah Shaw Floats has made. My mentor, Tom Marcacci, is one of the producers of the Cherry Blossom Parade and has been a million times. So it's a really beautiful parade. It is obviously based in the cherry blossoms. So it's very pink. It's very pink and blue.
00:28:17
Speaker
And it's lovely. I think I do remember a year or so, a couple years ago, cherry blossoms either had already bloomed and were already gone, because it's a very short window when the cherry blossoms actually bloom, and you can, like, sort of see them and be a part of it. I think they had already bloomed and were already gone, and then the parade happened, so it was kind of like, you know... not as exciting, but it is a really beautiful parade in terms of ah aesthetics, I guess, right? Because it is it's to honor the cherry blossom and that relationship with Japan, which I think is sort of interesting, right? Create a parade around a cherry blossom.
00:28:53
Speaker
Why not? Well, that kind of leads into next one in May. Up in Holland, Michigan, there is the Holland Tulip Time Volksparade. And I wanted to jump in on this one because we do a color guard clinic. Spintronics is a color guard clinic up there at West Ottawa High School in Holland. And it's just, it's so neat to see sort of like the, all of their culture, like their culture has a lot of like Dutch influence up there. But this parade was established in 1929. They are really well known for their pre-parade street sky scrubbing that they do. They actually like dress up in like full cultural Dutch garb.
00:29:34
Speaker
And then like... clean the streets to get it ready for the parade. And it's just kind of like this neat little thing. um In 2022, they broke their own record for the largest street scrubbing group. And that I imagine that probably only gets bigger as bigger.
00:29:51
Speaker
Each year.
Cherry Blossom Parade and Viral Moments
00:29:53
Speaker
But yeah, it's really, really cool to see how that culture, especially that culture coming from, you know, so far away and so long ago is still so prevalent there through their parade traditions.
00:30:07
Speaker
In Philadelphia, we pay the streets team to come in and clean the streets after the parade. They don't necessarily clean the streets before the parade. They do a quick little blow, which is very interesting that they clean the street for the parade. I find that really, I don't know. don't know. I'm like used to the cleaning up after the parade when all the confetti is there and all the candy has been thrown. Like who's doing the cleanup after the parade? I mean, maybe they do both. But they get all dressed up in costume to do it ahead of time.
00:30:40
Speaker
right They come in with just a little street sweeper F at the end and just blow it all away. I got it. Next up parade that we have is the 4th of July parade. And this one is the oldest Independence Day parade in the U.S. And that's the one Bristol, Rhode Island. I was lucky enough to be in that parade when I was marching scouts.
00:31:01
Speaker
And it's really, really cool because not only is it super old, started in 1785, but um people just know what drum corps is. So when you're down the street and you're... Oh, yeah. Up there they do. up there they do. They know. They know what drum corps is like. And some people have even been in drum corps. So they're like, oh, yeah, scouts are coming. Yeah. And then, like, even...
00:31:24
Speaker
Some women were like yelling at us, the color guard, like, yeah, yeah, toss it in the air, toss it in the air. And we're just like, okay, let's go. They're from Boston. They got to toss it in the air. gotta Toss it in the air. Yeah. um And, oh, yeah. And then they'll be like, are you thirsty? And they'll try to like squirt something in your mouth. And you're like, I don't know what this is but usually it's water. up It's just so fun. And like, they they have a tradition of doing red, white and blue stripe down the routes. It's been a long time tradition. And even for I don't still do this, but the Bristol Rhode Island show happens, you know, during Fourth of July. So I remember performing. And this was in 2011. I remember. And in the back of us was like, we're like fireworks going off.
00:32:05
Speaker
And the 2011 Scout Show, if you know what that is, it was really very patriotic type of a show. And it was just kind of like, oh, this is really cool. it's kind of doing it just for us. So overall, if you want to go see for the July celebration, definitely Bristol, Rhode Island, Fourth of July Parade.
00:32:19
Speaker
That, listen, again, being the parade guy, do love Fourth of July, white, and blue, up and down, inside and out, right? That's the color scheme. But hot, Hot.
00:32:30
Speaker
Hot. I know that Bristol, Rhode Island parade is generally hot and sweaty. We do the 4th of July parade that I've been doing for a really long time in Philadelphia. It goes through the historic area. Obviously this year going into 2026, it's going to be a very big parade, the 250th birthday of America. So this year, actually fun fact for everybody.
00:32:49
Speaker
This year's 4th of July parade in Philadelphia will actually be on the 3rd, mostly because they're also doing a parade in D.C. on the 4th. So the 3rd will kind of be like the historic, really big, and I'm going to say probably the biggest parade in America's history will happen in Philadelphia in 2026 because, well, it should be, right?
00:33:12
Speaker
But I, again, working on that parade with the parade producer, Todd, who is like really committed to getting at least and i think it's there parade is booked it's done there's a group from every single state in the union coming to the parade coming to philadelphia um you know obviously multiples from multiple states as well but he did work really hard to get every single you know so we do have like every miss america contest you know ah state title holders so that does like lock us in for every single state but
00:33:43
Speaker
It's a big parade and 2026 in general, obviously it's going to be a big year. I'm sure Bristol, Rhode Island parade ah is going to be huge. That's another reason why Philadelphia moved their parade to the third actually was to allow Bristol also to use some of the groups since Bristol and DC were all kind of like close and it's like the oldest one, obviously the nation's capital and the birthplace. We're all trying to kind of like share those groups together.
00:34:09
Speaker
right for those two or three days um i imagine there's going to be several bands and drum corps that are just going to fourth of july parade house down boots right like i know that groups of like for sure dci all age group groups now that do parades as fundraisers i mean that's a big mean drum corps like it's a fundraiser the fourth of july parade sent to be fundraisers where they're doing like three or four a day get on the bus go get off the bus get on the bus get off you're like back and forth and back and forth and drum corps marching bands can make a lot of money on the 4th of july just as it just doing parades also you know that that's a big deal i mean that's how it was when i was marching we like i remember blue stars we did the 4th of july we had like a day of two parades and then today have like four parades on the 4th and then like two parades the next day after that we were just like
00:34:57
Speaker
booking it for all the parades. And we and we we didn't have to drive very far because we were kind of in the Chicagoland area. And so it just kind of like was parade after parade after parade, you just go around to all these different places. And it was, it was fantastic.
00:35:10
Speaker
Speaking of 4th of July parades, up next we have the Gatlinburg Midnight Parade, which is basically renowned for being the first parade on the 4th of July every year. And the reason why is because they begin promptly at basically 12 midnight, 12.01, right? Okay.
00:35:29
Speaker
So they have that kind of fame. I know, right? That's crazy. I just can't imagine... They better have like their coffee, you know, coffee, eight o'clock coffee, 10 o'clock. And you know, that way we go for a parade. It's the cleanup though. Right. Again, that parade is going to be what?
00:35:45
Speaker
Two, three hours, maybe right. Tops. So you're over at like 3am. Yeah. Now what are we doing kids? Now what are we doing? So something interesting about um what's happened recently at that parade is in 2015, there was a giant float that had this huge feather on it and it literally just got ripped off in the wind. Right. And so since then it's kind of a local inside joke for all the float people, as well as the, all the returning members for this parade to mention the giant feather that just got like absolutely obliterated in the wind. So that's a, that's some fun little local lore from that parade.
00:36:18
Speaker
That is definitely something you have to think about when you're producing a parade or you're going to be in a parade is weather and the tie down of stuff and the wind of it all. And, you know, parades generally go rain or shine.
00:36:32
Speaker
They go rain or shine. It's a lot. We don't do lightning protocol. with you know liber something It is cold. It is wet. It is hot. It Parades are never like, oh, we just did a lovely, perfect little parade. You know, it's just, like it always has some sort of struggle. So like, you know, starting at midnight, I guess is the struggle for that parade. like Yeah. Yeah.
00:36:53
Speaker
But they do get a cool title that they are the first one every year. I think that's kind a fun idea.
Wine Fountain Incident at Lodi Grape Festival
00:36:58
Speaker
Coming up in August, we have the Lodi Grape Festival, which is up here in Northern California. It's connected to the 1934 festival that happened a while over back.
00:37:09
Speaker
And what's funny about this parade is that in 2022, float designs with a working wine fountain and it malfunctions. and sprayed wine on the route. So it's legendary. It's only only in the Lodi moment for the locals. And just a quick thing for Lodi and also in California, if you're listening to this and you want to come visit California for some wine, it don't only have to visit Napa Valley. You can also go to Lodi and there's place near here, Livermore. So grapes and wine are abundant here. So go ahead and check us out and go ahead and check out that Lodi parade.
00:37:43
Speaker
so i live like 10 minutes from lodine like my hometown and so yeah we heard about the entire wine incident here's my mom my mom loves going to the wineries uh in lodine she's also napa valley winery mom is old too like she's all for it totally invested uh and um yeah no lodine is just a really cool town because their downtown district is so cute and um You know, the community is really strong there.
00:38:10
Speaker
And, you know, if you are, if you're NorCal-er, definitely take some time in August to go check out either the Lodi Grape Festival Parade or the the band ah the band festival that happens in Lodi as well, too. We also have a band review there a few weeks before. And so, you know, a lot of cool stuff going on Lodi.
00:38:26
Speaker
Just to hit the Pacific Northwest a little bit, cold and rainy up there, and talk about bad weather for probably a parade. um The Portland Grand Floral Parade. um but Was part of the Rose Festival since 1930. Happens in September. i guess in 2018, farm goat escaped from the float staging area. Sounds totally relatable.
00:38:48
Speaker
Delaying the parade for a few minutes. And as told by the local news, I can totally relate to the random things that might be in a parade that go lost or...
00:38:59
Speaker
How many times on a radio, you know, I'm like, like yelling, where's the, where's star Wars? Where's, you know, where's the Wookiee or like, you know, we're missing, you the, the, the Chinese benevolent group where, you know, it's like the words that come out of your mouth when you're like trying to get people in a parade together probably is very strange. like the normal person, where's the goat?
00:39:22
Speaker
We lost the goat. i right Yeah, go, go. Cause this now moves us now that we're on the West coast. Yeah. I feel like Jack and Grante's are going to like educate the children on the California parade circuit.
00:39:38
Speaker
Okay. So in California, we don't play around with parades major competition. And we got hundreds of groups that are marching every year just for parade routine. Right. Yeah.
00:39:49
Speaker
So one of the big ones that just got finished down in Southern California is the Arcadia Festival of Bands, established in 1954. And boy, oh boy, does Arcadia High School, their marching band have a tradition of excellent ah performance arts, specifically in the area of parade, marching, and playing on the street. So ah one of the most...
00:40:09
Speaker
How do you describe it? One of the most prestigious bands down there right now, Diamond Bar High School. They're an amazing parade band. Rob Jett, one of ah the instructors that I interviewed a few years back on the program, he still teaches there.
00:40:21
Speaker
And their director, ah Steve Acciani, is retiring this year. So it's sort of an end of the era for... for the Aciani sort of era for Diamond Bar. So it's just been really cool to be able to see that band. They've won that sweepstakes nine times in a row.
California's Competitive Parade Scene
00:40:38
Speaker
So they've been a powerhouse for years. um So some interesting tea is... much They get hate like Avon does after winning BOA several times.
00:40:47
Speaker
Hey, you know, mean, but like the reality is though, like they are that good. that's Like no joke. Like they are like flawless in every sense of the word from drum major to the band to the color guard. I mean, it's just, it's, it's classy. It's really classy. And so in 2017, there was a really funny drum major moment and a drum major mace bounced off the pavement landed directly into a judge's lap.
00:41:08
Speaker
And, uh, you know, was that you? Was it you? No, god no. and Mostly. it was not I would not be here if that was a bit dramatic.
00:41:24
Speaker
hey hey Rule number one, you don't drop the mace. Never. That's rule number one. Never drop that. Most important thing. So anyway, you know, a lot of the experience in Southern California, um there's sort of a different flavor in Northern California. So it's a little bit, it's a little less all Americana and it has a little bit more of that European influence in regards to the looks of the band. So they, a lot of the band uniforms, a lot more old school, like, you know, bare skin or like kilted, right? Like, so there's some interesting variants in regards to the design of the band.
00:41:56
Speaker
bands. um But I mean, we've had our amazing Northern California band, Golden Valley, go down to the Arcadia Festival of Bands this year, and they actually scored top music for their division, which is, i mean, I think is really awesome. Round of applause to them for...
00:42:12
Speaker
Yeah, I know. So I think, ah yeah, Arcadia is a big one. We also have Riverside King, high school which is sort of like the the build-up to Arcadia, right? So that's sort of but the final final band review to make those final adjustments before you go into the championship. So, you know, Riverside King band reviews that either a weekend or two weekends beforehand. And again, that's all just that everyone making the small adjustments needed for a perfect run at Arcadia. And so on the other side...
00:42:37
Speaker
I mean, not to interrupt you, Jack, but like, I don't think the listeners probably fully grasp and it's so like normal, I think for you. And then that's why it's like, you know, it's a rattling off thing, but like the competitive circuit in California really is like any other field show sort of competitive circuit and that you're going against similar bands every weekend-ish? Is that a way to say it? Yeah, about every... I mean, it depends on which bands sign up for each review. But yeah, no, it's very common to have, like, you know, the the heavy hitters at the main band reviews are all the same, usually. And, you know, again, like, it's just as competitive as a field show. And a lot of the directors take it to that level of intensity as well, too, especially in Southern California. Grantees can talk about the NorCal side of things, though.
00:43:24
Speaker
We're both from NorCal, but I know he has an interesting perspective on the NorCal side. Yeah, for sure. Thank you, Jack. So our association that me and Jack have been brought up in is NCBA, Northern California Band Association. And to give the listeners a little bit more background of what that encompasses. So a parade, there is a band with the color guard and another drum line that has a parade Bach and they come down the street, but there's a certain amount of time that they can perform.
00:43:53
Speaker
Normal... Parade performance could be like two minutes to two and a half minutes long. So this is like a lot shorter than a full field show, but you kind of have to give all of those things in that short amount of time, your musicality, your general effects, you know, your color guard. We have a full panel of judges that are on judges stands. So they're like an elevated type of like platform.
00:44:17
Speaker
reevaluate these performances coming through and they're quick so you kind of have to encompass all that vocabulary all that composition all that excellence in the short amount of time so you get a full-fledged show a full-fledged you know theme ah maybe even the storyline come through And it's really cool from perspective and maybe an instructor because some of you were like, oh, it's just parade. It's like, no, this is competitive parade. you I akin it more to Winter Guard and the Color Guard perspective because of how short it is. And it's shorter than a Winter Guard show. And you still see kids like tossing sixes, bapping sabers, some even rolling on the ground. One group was on the ground doing spins. And like you see some very impressive stuff, not only...
00:45:01
Speaker
Is it outside in the elements, but on the hard concrete on the street, you see people wearing boots, old school, traditional. You so you see people wearing, um we we have a new show band division in our circuit. And one school did a flapper routine and it was so good. Everyone was like, we've never seen something like this. It's a new offering that we have here in Northern California. And I'm so about it. And the drum major, they're fantastic. I'm sure Jack can talk more about them just in press of things you don't really see anywhere else in the country, but you see it here in parade land. So I'm a big supporter of parade. I think it's, especially from the color guard perspective, it's smarter way to, you know, train your kids for a short amount of time so you can one later. But it's just, again, the most public facing thing. We have the Santa Cruz band review, which happened Santa Cruz, California, which has a big boardwalk and parade. It's like the one that was huge. And the kids afterwards, after they perform, they get to go hang out at the beach, they get to go on all the rides and there's a big award ceremony. So it's just another type of way of doing marching band. And it's a very fun way to do it as well.
00:46:04
Speaker
And it's a really good launching point. For example, for like, you know, the where I am now, like for like the competitive Scottish drum major and stuff, that was my launching point to get into the activity because each school has like a different theme. Like they have like a certain look to them. um So for example, the Santa Cruz band, they're like, they have like, like their drum majors are kilted drum major and they have like tartan robes and whatnot in their uniform. So that's a really cool building ground to still keep those different traditions of drum majoring alive through parade band, which is really fun in my opinion.
00:46:38
Speaker
And Santa Cruz, and and that's the school that I came from, we have bagpipes. Yes. We have bagpipe players that play in the band and they start. And I've seen people play violins in other bands. to People bring a little something different year. Oh, so you're telling us now it's BOA and you have to have one specialty instrument in order to compete in the parade band. Just like every BOA band.
00:47:00
Speaker
You do have to be unique because there's so many bands that come through. So like, what's that one thing or something is making bank be your drum major. It might be your color guard. It might something in uniform. I think I will say in berate that I love so much that we do that, that doesn't have be a way is we don't have props and I hope they don't come.
00:47:16
Speaker
That's too much, too much. We've got those big signs though. The big sign holder people that do all that. like if they We do. We have those, they're called shields and they're like like one letter that spell out the school name and we do tricks with them. We flip them around and that's something that's, you can really only see nowadays in California.
00:47:37
Speaker
So that, those are really cool shields ID units. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That
Thanksgiving Day Parades Discussion
00:47:41
Speaker
stuff's serious. Well, we have to get back over to the East Coast because this episode would have just is airing right after our major parades over here, which are the Thanksgiving Day parades. And I know Jackie's in on this one.
00:47:56
Speaker
I'm actually really, really sad right now because all of my friends are at the Macy's parade and they're all posting all over their social media, all of this stuff. And this is going to be my second year in a row missing it. And I've done the Macy's parade for like 15 years. Actually, yeah, for like 15 years. So it's been...
00:48:16
Speaker
It's been hard sitting on social media. I kind of have to stay off of Facebook, but the Macy's parade was started in 1924. It's only not happened twice in all of history. So the hundredth Macy's parade is going to be next year in 1926 or sorry, in 2026, right?
00:48:35
Speaker
They, one of the most famous things that they are known for is the balloons. They were added in 1927. Prior to the balloons, they actually had real live animals in the parade. So that was kind of something where they were like, let's, the animals are very unpredictable. We have goats getting out over here. and We've got lions that want to get out over here. we yeah it's So let's replace those. Yeah.
00:49:01
Speaker
So they were actually replaced with animal puppets that were filled with helium. And so those puppets, you know, over the years, they morphed and different things happened. And so they've, the balloons that you see today are sort of this feat of engineering. And the whole city is like designed around the fact that there are these balloons in the parades. All the streetlights can be swiveled. Everything can be moved out of the way so the balloons don't knock into them during the parade.
00:49:26
Speaker
It's huge. So sorry, I have like so much Macy's lore. It's crazy. I have like children's books that I read to my kids every year for Macy's. And I just Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. And the Macy's parade is my favorite parade. I won't take all the episode because we have previous episodes where we've done entirely on the Macy's parade. If anybody wants to go listen to those, or you can just DM me at Spintronics Guard and I will gush Macy's parade. Thanks to you for hours. Yeah.
00:49:52
Speaker
Oh, that Macy's parade. and That Macy's parade, that is like the pinnacle of all parades and everyone. It's like Macy's and Rose Parade, right? Like those are, you know, maybe Mardi Gras gets thrown in there.
00:50:04
Speaker
You know, just across the water for me a few hours is, ah you know, the Chicago Thanksgiving Parade, which is really exciting. Started in 1934.
00:50:15
Speaker
And, you know, it gets freezing here around this time. It's just's like the temperature is dropping. I'm in Michigan right now. um And, yeah, so it's like a balmy, balmy 39 degrees right now. And it's going to continue to drop no matter what.
00:50:30
Speaker
The people of Chicago are going to come out and they're going to be celebrating Thanksgiving together. It was reported in 2018 at this parade that there was a llama from a petting suit unit who joined a marching band for several blocks before being recovered. So speaking about the goat getting out, so do the llamas. Always check the llamas if you're running a parade. It might happen that An animal might join in in one of the ensembles.
00:50:56
Speaker
Jeremy, have you ever experienced ah the llama fest by any chance at any parade? No. I can honestly say I don't think I've ever had an animal escape in a parade. i i'd like There's been lost tractors. I've lost um i've lost entire marching bands before.
00:51:15
Speaker
Literally lost entire marching bands before. But not any sort of animals, no. It's on the checklist, though. um I, of course, again, Philly boy. ah Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade is a pretty big deal. It has been for a really long time. We actually get to claim that we are the oldest from Thanksgiving Day Parade because we were founded in 1920, of course, by a department store at the time, Gimbal's. um That's what Thanksgiving Day Parades were for, to usher in that holiday gift-giving season.
00:51:44
Speaker
It is known for its massive openings and finale productions. um They are a production parade. the The TV parade part of it is like a really big deal. um And fun fact about that parade, there was a breakdown of a float many, many years ago, even before the one fact that's on our sheet ah said. And it's the breaking down of that float This riverboat float lost one of its tires, which already is funny because it's the riverboat float losing one of its tires. The tire went rolling down the street in the parade, you know, as it was rolling down. And now every float in the city of Philadelphia has to be inspected. multiple, multiple times in order to be in a parade in Philadelphia because of that incident.
00:52:31
Speaker
Had we not had that incident, we would not have parade float regulations in Philadelphia. So that's that's that. That comes on the heels of, I can talk about this because it comes on the heels of the Magnificent Mile Parade in Chicago. That's usually the Saturday before Thanksgiving. and the only reason, again, why I know is because the producing team that has been doing Thanksgiving in Philly for years, has also been doing the Magnificent Mile Parade in Chicago, which is the lighting of the Magnificent Mile with Disney and all those characters and all that kind of stuff.
00:53:02
Speaker
They literally start producing that. They fly to Chicago on like Thursday or Friday before Thanksgiving, they do that parade Friday, Saturday, and Sunday fly back on Sunday, like flew back on this past Sunday and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, we'll be in the city of Philadelphia, like running rehearsals in front of the art museum for all that production of that, of that Thanksgiving day parade. So I think it's like pretty crazy. They do, but, uh,
00:53:27
Speaker
you know, takes us all the way up through kind of the holiday season. I know the other big holiday parade at Grantees and Jack, if you guys have ever been in it. I love watching it is the Hollywood Christmas parade in Los Angeles.
00:53:37
Speaker
Have you either one of you been in that? No, I've watched it though. YouTube. I know it's a big thing. Yeah. It's the celebrity one, right? It's like all the C list D list celebrities and maybe like one A list or rides by on like waves, you know, and someone's dressed as Santa Claus. It's very glitzy. It's very glitzy and glamorous. Yeah.
00:53:55
Speaker
Well, talking about Thanksgiving parades, I grew up in Detroit and we had the America's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is just as old as the Macy's Parade. And it was also started by another department store, Hudson's, which is not around anymore.
00:54:08
Speaker
The one thing that's really cool about them is they have these big heads, which are like Some are floats and some are like, they have like big head costumes and things like that too. And those are like this cultural tradition thing.
00:54:21
Speaker
And I don't know which came first because in Rio, when they do the carnival parade, They have this same sort of like big head puppet thing that they do down there.
00:54:34
Speaker
And it's that's really cultural to them, too. And I'm just kind of like now, like now that I've been there and seen that and, you know, grew up watching Detroit. It's like, man, which but who pulled from who here? I don't even know.
00:54:46
Speaker
You definitely know that America pulled from the other cultures. That's just what we do. But um you know what I mean? Like, that's what we do Here, we'll take that. Although I do think somewhat like a parade in general is a very American thing. yeah know what mean? The cultural aspects of it is what really comes from the rest of the world. And...
00:55:05
Speaker
Yeah, I'm not getting... There's obviously a million parades that go across the entire world.
Potential Episode on International Parades
00:55:10
Speaker
We talk about them in terms of Carnival and Mardi Gras and all those things in other countries, right?
00:55:15
Speaker
We'd be remiss if we didn't say there's a whole bunch of pride parades all across the country and all across the world as well, celebrating that culture. So the cultural parades are almost like a whole separate category unto themselves, right? Outside of like yeah holiday and these competitive ones, like those culture parades...
00:55:34
Speaker
That's like a whole other thing. And I know we have talked about parades. We have paraded it out. So maybe we need to do like an international parade episode that we can like dive into all of those. You what mean?
00:55:46
Speaker
I'm down with that. Well, ah we need to give our marching band some water before they all get lost. So let's go direct them where we're going and we'll be right back.
00:55:57
Speaker
Hi everyone, it's time for your travel tip of the week with me. I'm Beth with Peak Group Travel. When you start reviewing the calendar for the dates for your next performance tour, avoiding major holidays is strongly recommended.
00:56:10
Speaker
Not only will you avoid longer lines at attractions, you could also save money by traveling during the off season. Don't forget to like and follow Peak Group Travel on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. And be sure to email info at peakgrouptravel.com when you're ready to start planning your next performance tour.
00:56:30
Speaker
I'm Beth with Peak Group Travel and your travel tip of the week.
00:56:46
Speaker
Ready to elevate your travel game? Welcome to Peak Group Travel, the ultimate adventure creators. Whether you're planning an unforgettable class trip, a once in a lifetime parade experience for your marching band, or a choir tour full of memorable performance venues, Peak Group Travel handles it all so you can focus on making memories.
00:57:03
Speaker
From breathtaking international destinations to amazing adventures right here at home, Peak Group Travel customizes every journey to your vision. We're not just planners, we're your partners for the trip you want for your students.
00:57:16
Speaker
Our online registration portal makes managing your pre-trip experience smooth and convenient. We even collect your payments if you'd like. Picture it. Effortless planning, unmatched experiences, and smiles that last long after the journey ends.
00:57:30
Speaker
That's the Peak Group Travel difference. And if you choose to partner with Peak on your next tour, and you mentioned that you heard about us on the On a Water Break podcast, you'll earn a $100 trip credit. Discover why groups everywhere trust Peak Group Travel.
00:57:42
Speaker
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And be sure to visit peakgrouptravel.com today. You pick the date and we'll make it great.
00:58:00
Speaker
everybody. We are back. We have found our marching band. We had to get them out of the llama pen, but they're here now. It's time for 60 Second Tech 60 Second Tech Block.
00:58:21
Speaker
This is the segment where one of our hosts or guest clinicians is put on the spot to deliver a nonstop 60 second tech session on a topic that needs some serious attention after the last run. Our special tech this week has come prepared with three topics they think they can talk about for a full 60 seconds straight.
00:58:37
Speaker
No hesitation, no pauses, just pure technical gold. And this week, we're going to throw it over to you, Jack. So... You said your best topics were, one, building a proper parade block, two, what to bring on parade day, and three, what is the point of a drum major in the parade? So what do we think we need Jack to talk about for 60 seconds?
00:59:01
Speaker
I definitely have always wondered what the point of the drum major was in the parade, although I will not make Jack defend his honor, like who he is on a parade. Hey, I will, but I think so through drum major position, I would want to be thinking about the band. now or The best way think about this. No, no, keep going. Wait, wait, Okay, I'm going to string this together. The best way to look at this is how do you set up the proper parade block?
00:59:31
Speaker
Come on. There you There you go. I think I agree with that. Okay, so I think we should do the building a proper parade block because there are a lot of bands who don't know what they're doing. I'm just saying I judge judged some bands this year. They need some serious attention after that last parade.
00:59:50
Speaker
Grantees, you think? think so too. I think it would serve our community if we got some expert information on how to properly do a parade block.
Technical Advice for Parade Presentation
00:59:59
Speaker
Jack's the man. right, let's go. Okay, I think we can do that.
01:00:03
Speaker
So topic one, building proper parade block. Are you good on that, Jack? Oh yeah, it's my bread and butter. Let's do this. Grantis, can you pull up a 60 second timer on your phone?
01:00:15
Speaker
Yes, I got it right here. Cue him Grantis. Five, six, seven, eight, go. Okay, so basically when you're setting up a proper parade block, the most important thing is defining your interval and the spacing from the beginning, right? So basically we're gonna start with our files, which are basically going backwards. That should be equal distance. Now, once you get your files taken care of, you want to go with your ranks, which are to your sides and that spacing should be perfect too.
01:00:40
Speaker
So once you finish that initial setup, then you're ready to take your first step. So you need to work before taking that first step, however, on the initiation into that first step, defining what the length of the first step is, where in space our body is compared to our lower body. And also what happens to the body after that first step, because being still versus being in motion are very two different things. So really defining that for your ensemble from the beginnings and training them to knowing what is that step size and what our body should look like in space as we're moving forward is important. Once you're on the move, it's really important to subdivide one and two, the and beats in between, because those are your motions in space. That's how you create a solid moving parade block.
01:01:23
Speaker
sixty
01:01:32
Speaker
You mean you're supposed to teach them how to march when you're doing the, they shouldn't just casually walk in however they want to. Well, okay, let's, before we even get to marching, learn how to stand still. Learning how to stand still is a very important thing to do.
01:01:49
Speaker
That's, it's kind of important. Cause that's, again, the judges are looking the first and last thing you do. And the first thing that they see of you is you standing still. And that needs to be perfect. So. That happens in parades, Jack. Why would we care about what we look like in a parade? Even if we're not competing, why would we care what we look like in a parade?
01:02:07
Speaker
It's almost like you're being everyone's looking at you and the community around you is going to be looking at you for seven miles and they'll remember your name and also the product you're putting out and the reputation of your school. Wow.
01:02:19
Speaker
Shocker. but It's more important than the band competition, kids. It's more important than the band competition. What you look like in a parade is more important than what you look like in a band competition. Sorry. Love you all.
01:02:32
Speaker
but sure I feel like this is a really good segue, Jeremy, for what are we doing? So hopefully somebody just got the tough advice that they needed. What are doing?
01:02:49
Speaker
What are we doing? So this is the part of the show where we let loose a little bit or maybe a lot. This is your chance to rant about something in the marching arts that just doesn't make sense. So maybe it's a tradition that needs to go. Maybe it's a habit that performers can't seem to break. Maybe it's something that makes you think, why are we even doing this? Or why haven't we started doing this yet? So whatever it is, this is your moment to call it out. So Jeremy, do you want to get something off your chest first? Yeah.
01:03:16
Speaker
Actually, I will get off my chest because mine might be a little controversial and I want Jack and Grante's Parade Judges Extraordinaire to maybe educate me because I do have my opinion
Impact of Parade Music on Audience Experience
01:03:27
Speaker
about this. So what are we doing?
01:03:31
Speaker
building a parade block musically that isn't for the viewer, right? Okay, so hear me out, right? So as a viewer of a parade, I'm on the side and the music is moving past me, right?
01:03:47
Speaker
Well, what I get, especially with those big giant bands, like a big university band or something, is like, you'll get either all the flutes and clarinets at the front or all the trumpets and all the brass at the front. And then, well, the color guard way way, way, way at the front, right? Flags way, way at the front, then brass, then usually percussion in the middle, then all the woodwinds, and then maybe you've got some flags or something in the back, maybe do some big tall things.
01:04:10
Speaker
So what I end up hearing is the trumpet part, then the drumline part, then the flute part, right? As it's moving past me. So... What are we doing, maybe this is the way to ask it, to ensure that as a viewer, i get to appreciate the full breadth of that performance versus individual moments.
01:04:31
Speaker
yeah I agree with you. I think from a competitive standpoint in a peer, it's like you're performing for the judges mostly because those are the people that are scoring you. But I 100% agree with you. It should be 360.
01:04:44
Speaker
At any point, at anybody ah on the side of the street should be able to see your performance and get it. But it shouldn't just be like on one spot. It shouldn't be just down the street. It shouldn't just be the judges. Like I fully believe in that. It's it's a show for the public.
01:04:59
Speaker
the public should be able to see you at any angle. And some of the best bands, the best bands in NorCal and in SoCal understand placement of ensemble is the most important part in winning because you need to have a balanced sound from the beginning of the parade route all the way to the end. And there are bands that kill themselves right in front of the judges stand because they decide to put the bass drummer right next to the judges. And all you hear is doom, doom, doom, doom. And you're done. You just lost like 30% of your music right there because, again, it's such a short competition for competitive-wise. You just lost 30% of your routine and all the impact from that, right? So I completely agree. And I think that's a master's level thing is being able to adjust a block and –
01:05:43
Speaker
based on how it's sounding and you can get like a night and day difference if you adjust your block accordingly. And I would say from the visual standpoint too, like having the color guard like intermixed in one of the amazing things that Tom Markachi did with Washington Township High School. This is like back in the at the Rose Parade.
01:06:00
Speaker
He actually was the first person to make a band be covered in florals. Right. So all All the Shacos, all of the, like, everybody was covered in florals, head to toe. Well, I mean, not head to toe, but like, you know, they were there. But one of the things he also did was took this giant color guard of like 50 or something, right? And interspersed them throughout the band. They had two simple red swing flags.
01:06:23
Speaker
Boom, boom. That's all they did. was It wasn't crazy. It wasn't all this stuff, but it kept a visual thing throughout the entire length of the band. And they had, like, the pit kids in the back were carrying big, tall flags in the back, so it, like, ended with something big. you know I mean? was like a float that ends with something really big in the back. I think that's the best.
01:06:42
Speaker
I'm done. Very, very visual. Grantees, what are we doing? um I'm just going to bring this up because... it's kind of off topic, but it can be applicable to any season. What are we doing?
01:06:57
Speaker
Not being mindful that not every kid in your ensemble is there to be competitive. I just finished, you know, doing something else that wasn't marching band related. I was on a Frisbee team here in San Francisco and I joined literally do make friends.
01:07:13
Speaker
And it made me realize that, you know, when I was coaching, some kids just joined color guard because they just wanted to make new friends. They weren't really so interested in spinning. And that is a cool thing. And they got to learn something new and be performing and, know,
01:07:26
Speaker
I got to be and you know in competitions with other people in Frisbee team, but um i was like I took it back and was like, you know what, I'm just here just to meet people and you know being encouraging because for some kids they don't know anything and they're learning their instrument or the flag, how to spin it for the first time.
01:07:43
Speaker
That's really important. So be really mindful to all the instructors out there. Be really mindful. Your students might be there just for the social aspect. and in encourage them, be positive to them because you never know, they might really like it and they'll they'll come back.
01:07:56
Speaker
So that really taught me to you know be mindful of that aspect of why we enjoy the activity. It could be for many reasons. You saw parade go down the street, you wanted it to do it, or because needed a buddy.
01:08:08
Speaker
And so that's what I got from this season. I hope that can translate into winter. That's beautiful. Jack, what are we doing? What are we doing? having bands crash into color guards in a parade zone in Northern California. So this year, grantees can relate.
01:08:26
Speaker
We saw so many guards who just wanted to juice their routines with crazy stuff. And like, sure, some of them were able to do it, but literally they came like an inch away from the band and the drum major was getting crushed on the band. And that's kind of like where I take insult is if you're pushing the drum majors step size down, you're impacting their score as well too. So what, What are we doing about designing a routine that focuses on being able to have those impact moments, but not hurting the ensemble? And also that is honestly, like I describe it, maintains the line of sight of the band to the point where we're not like 20 miles down the route compared to our band, or we're not up against the band, like crushing into their- spac in Oh, spacing and a parade, the nemesis of every parade, the stop and go and the space. Oh God, yes. You just got measure it. You got to get the roller. You literally got to get that measurement roller and be like, this is 150 feet every time you're going to be here. Cause like the band has a specific, that's why step size and knowing your step size is important. Cause you can mathematically figure that out then. Right. So that's simple, simple calculus stuff. But ah yeah, no, that's one of the, one of my gripes from the season. I don't know if grantee's, what do you think? I know you were judging the color guards this year.
01:09:38
Speaker
Oh yeah, there's definitely some collisions and I can't help myself but say in my tape, I'm like, oh, looking at the, oh, oh, oh, watch out, watch out. Like, it's just, it's jarring. So please make sure that your students rehearse, you know, the actual step size and, you know, what they need to do to improvise to get out of the way.
01:09:57
Speaker
Great job, everyone. your equipment down. Touch and go.
01:10:02
Speaker
All right, we got that off our chest. Let's get into our gush and goes. So this is your chance to shout out something awesome happening in your life, marching band or not. So maybe you're excited about a performance, a student success, big life event, something cool you want to brag about. There's no negativity here. It is just pure unfiltered hype.
01:10:20
Speaker
So Grantees, since you closed off the list, you want to start off with the first tier? Sure. I'm a big proponent of like, I love marching band and it's been such a big part of my life, but also give your time to not do marching band stuff and go live in reality. I've really enjoyed my time living here in San Francisco. I've been here for six months now and just making new friends and going out and seeing all the, because it does give you back. Like I saw Dua Lipa a few weeks ago, and i've I've gone to like raves and concerts and DJs and stuff, and it gives me inspiration for shows that I might want to do later. So make sure you give yourself time to recharge and, you know, be a part of the rest of the world.
01:10:58
Speaker
The rest of the world. What is that? I'll go next. I'll go next. I'll go should go next. um and rest of the world though I'm going gush and go specifically about this season of On a Water Break. This is wrapping up kind of our third season. This is the last episode kind of fully with panel and all that kind of stuff. We have like two more episodes that we'll be doing before the end of the year. And then we'll begin season four.
01:11:25
Speaker
the first, uh, first Friday in, in 2026. So we've got some really exciting things coming up for the end of this year and stuff we're already working on for next year.
Student Achievement in Parade Competitions
01:11:34
Speaker
So I just want to gush and go about that. Super excited.
01:11:37
Speaker
Yay. Thank you all also for being a part of it. And then I'll wrap this up. Yeah. but My gush and go is going to be for my sophomore student at Franklin of Elk Grove High School. um He ah took on one of the major seniors in the parade route this year, and he was able to get away with first place after taking. So he was kind of cruising second, third place all season.
01:12:05
Speaker
And before his last review, he changed up his routine to make sure that he basically took the judge's commentary then built upon it. And he was able to successfully get the championship drum major um change replacement for TOC. So it was really cool. really cool welcome Hey,
01:12:24
Speaker
it's called Gush Go, not Gush and Stay. Let's go.
01:12:32
Speaker
Thank you guys for a great rehearsal this week. Thank you everybody who has spent time with us today. Jack, Grantees, and Jeremy.
Listener Engagement and Contact Information
01:12:41
Speaker
If you have a good question or a good topic to talk about, email us at onawaterbreakpodcast at gmail.com or you can find us on our social media at onawaterbreak and DM us. If you want to be on the show, go ahead and fill out our form at our link in bio.
01:12:56
Speaker
i We'll have you on as a guest. We love, love, love having guests on our podcast. So check that out on our social media, or you can always just take out your phone, make a little video, send it to us, and you may see us on a future episode.
01:13:10
Speaker
ah Can you tell, can you guys tell us where to find you? So Jack Grantice, where do you have your social media? Where should our followers listen to you at? People can um email me, grantissimoproductions at gmail.com or eat look at my website there, grantissimoproductions.com. I'm also available to choreograph, even though I'm not doing so much marching band, but I also judge as well. Got a couple slots in winter.
01:13:34
Speaker
I can reach out to me or do a clinic or a workshop. I can still be available for that. Just find me on Facebook, at Jack Goudreau, or you could have me at Instagram, just Goudreau underscore, and, you know, reach out.
Subscription and Review Encouragement
01:13:47
Speaker
I'm Guard Closet, Upside Down, Inside Out. yeah and We know where Jeremy's at. And then of course I'm at Spintronics Guard, so you can hop over and follow me there.
01:13:59
Speaker
One more thing, don't forget, we have a YouTube channel, so go subscribe to On A Water Break podcast. Also, before you close out your podcast listening app, subscribe to us, 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.
Podcast Production Credits
01:14:18
Speaker
The On a 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.
01:14:29
Speaker
And until next time, thanks for tuning