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WGI Housing Policy + AI Show Design Debate | Water Break Weekly
172 Plays18 days ago
marching band • color guard • WGI • marching arts
“WGI just announced that they’re… a new housing policy for world championships starting in twenty twenty seven season.”
“what are we doing over relying on AI to do our shows and do our uniforms?”
YOUR ALL-ACCESS PASS TO THE MARCHING ARTS.
THIS WEEK ON ON A WATER BREAK:
Joey, Jeremy, and Emily talk marching arts news, WGI updates, and what’s happening across the activity.
SEGMENTS IN THIS EPISODE
• News
• 60-Second Tech Block (Jeremy Denzer): “taking your first show commentary and turning it into a plan.”
• Water We Doing?!
• Gush & Go
THIS WEEK’S PANEL
• Joey Montes III — @marchingbymontes
• Jeremy Denzer — @jeremydenzer
• Emily Nee — @tch.makes.art
SPONSORED BY
• Guard Closet — @guardcloset — https://www.guardcloset.com/
FIND ON A WATER BREAK
Website: https://www.onawaterbreak.com/
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/onawaterbreak
Be a guest: https://forms.gle/7GcpYZLfY8Uo54pp9
Email: onawaterbreakpodcast@gmail.com
#OnAWaterBreak #MarchingArts #WGI #ColorGuard #MarchingBand
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Transcript
Introduction & Podcast Overview
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 on a water break. I'm Joey, and joining me today is Jeremy Denzer.
00:00:11
Speaker
This is the podcast, of course, so where we talk all things marching arts. And if you're new here, don't forget to like and subscribe and
Jeremy's Off-Season Insights
00:00:18
Speaker
follow us. And if you have a hot take or story, send it through the link in our bio so you can be featured on the next show.
00:00:27
Speaker
Eight off the mat and go. Welcome to On a Water Break. The podcast where we talk everything marching arts. Everyone, bring it in.
00:00:40
Speaker
It's time for a water break. Okay. Jeremy, how you been, man? I've been good. I've been enjoying the off-season and yeah yeah taking some time to not do Colleguard for a couple weeks. Yeah.
00:00:58
Speaker
Yeah. between seasons I'm excited to get
Preview of Upcoming Segments
00:01:00
Speaker
back. in Yeah. You were saying right before we were recording that this is like your last weekend and then it's, it's just go, go, go until April, straight, straight out it' until April, every single weekend. So the life we live, you know, these are, these are the, we, we used to pray for times like this, right? We used to hope for dreams like ten times like this. ah Well, I'm really excited to get to talk with you today and Emily, how are you today?
00:01:25
Speaker
I am doing pretty great. I am used to be a recurring host and then life got in the way, so but here I am again stepping in as a talking person and I'm also your AP today. I push your buttons, as in I push the buttons. Emily found out that she was going to be on the podcast o about seven minutes ago. So we're really excited to have her on the water break. um Check in my friends, to our first two episodes. The first one, Dalton's got a great 60-second tech block every single...
00:01:56
Speaker
Every second, all 60 of them is worth watching. So just go check that out. Episode two's got ah a DCI all age change and a discussion about all those things that happened at the big meeting in Indy. So go check that out. And then also be on the lookout for our first quick sip with Trish. um That'll be coming out pretty soon. So y'all, I'm really excited. But the first thing we got to do before we get into anything is let's we got to talk about
HBCU Band Cultural Exhibition
00:02:22
Speaker
the news. So let's get into it.
00:02:26
Speaker
Okay.
00:02:42
Speaker
you An HBCU band and an HBCU culture is being highlighted at an art museum in Delaware. Delaware Public Media works with aspiring high school journalists across the state through their youth media program, Generation Voice. This school year... They featured work produced by Polytech High School student Christian Parson, including the story on a Biggs Museum exhibition focused on Delaware State University's marching band. Really, really important stuff. Really great to just have some representation in this space. And for those of you that are aware of these kinds of things and into the HPC world, the Battle of Bands is actually happening in my neck of the woods this coming Saturday.
00:03:25
Speaker
um I have my first judging gig, so Jeremy gets his last weekend off. I'm my first weekend on this weekend, and um I'm kind of hoping that the snow kind of makes some things happen because I would love to see the Battle the Bands there in Charlotte. But this is really cool here in Delaware, just getting some representation and people getting getting a ah little bit of an in-depth read on the approaching storm, as they're called there at Delaware State University.
00:03:55
Speaker
Jeremy, do you got to like h vcu bands i've never It's a world I'm i'm not familiar with. what I mean, it's it's pageant it's um it's pageantry arts just like anything else. I think what what they see more is the showmanship side. And I think it's the style of what's what's clean and what's ah what's appropriate. So I think more like pop music and things like, was the audience truly affected? And are you are they jumping up and dancing? you know and like' you know We talk about general effect a lot. And what is general effect more than audience engagement?
00:04:29
Speaker
You know, these these HBCU bands just kill it. Like what these what these young performers, and sometimes old performers are doing, like full backbends and playing like what we would consider 16 forte, you know, like. Yeah, check this out. Yeah.
00:04:46
Speaker
Oh yeah. Check out, check out, uh, North Carolina A&T. They're pretty great. Um, and they, I mean, obviously tons there in the Alabama, Mississippi, George's. Um, but yeah, um, I think they're streaming the one in Charlotte and I'll find more information. I'll, I'll send it to you, Emily, and we'll, we'll make things happen. Uh, do you have a, uh, story you'd like to talk about Jeremy?
WGI Housing Policy Discussion
00:05:06
Speaker
Sure. So WGI just announced that they're interested new housing policy for World Championships starting in the 2027 season, but they released it right away. um so basically what they're doing is um they're they're requiring groups now attend that attend World Championships to use the WGI housing service for their overnight accommodations.
00:05:28
Speaker
They're intending it to simplifying the housing process for directors, provide consistent travel support, and ensure safe and appropriate overnight accommodations for all members. um So yeah they're saying it's going to provide travel agency, travel agents that are 24-7 to help in emergencies, help alleviate room issues, unexpected travel disruptions. um It's a big change for some groups. I know a lot of groups that have gone for a long time are you are used to booking their own hotels, handling it themselves. Now they're going to have to use WGI's travel services to book their housing going forward.
00:06:02
Speaker
yeah how how do you how do you How does the panel feel about about this rule? I've seen a lot of buzz for and against this policy on on social media. like Where do you guys lay on in in this right now?
00:06:15
Speaker
i mean I think that anything that can be done to make members safe is is a good thing. that's That's my opinion. I understand some people yeah are or not for it, but and anything that can make the member experience safer and better is a good thing in my opinion. you Yeah, I think we all have heard horror stories of, oh, we don't have a bus.
00:06:42
Speaker
The bus company jumped out. Oh, our hotel's actually overbooked, and now we have to figure out, we have to scramble, and now we're at the the shoddy, you know, holes in the wall.
00:06:53
Speaker
you know, blank in, you know? um So I think, i think any, anything that sets up a, Hey, this is a process on where to get hotels. And here's a, here's a special, I'm sure, cause I'm sure if WGI is going to say you have to stay in these things, there's a set, there's are now a discounted price. Yeah. You know, and so kind of what the article talked about is that the yeah WGI has hotels that they that they work with for group rates for, you Yeah, for group bookings. So, yeah, I've had the experience with him of sitting on a plane next to the president of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce and the city of Dayton does everything they can to make sure the championships go off smoothly. like it's ah It's a big deal for them.
00:07:38
Speaker
Yeah. it's It's the biggest weekend of the year for it for the city of Dayton. So, yeah. Yeah, i I think anybody that feels like, oh, this is a overstep of you have to do our thing. I think just like, just do a little bit more research, check into what the purpose is and understand that everybody that's involved with with all of these things,
00:07:59
Speaker
they're all thinking of the best student experience. Yes. You know, and so if your kids are safe in a hotel and not, you know, a campgrounds where anybody can jump out of the cabin at any time, there's no separation. And now what could be happening? Now kids are in canoes at four zero in the morning, you know, that removes that situation already out of the space. You know, why not keep the kids safe? Emily, do you have any thoughts?
Impact of Con Selmer's Closure
00:08:23
Speaker
You know, I have to be really honest, I am so out of the loop when it comes to this sort of thing. I'm sorry, it's because I don't work in this field.
00:08:34
Speaker
All good. i i just i feel feel like any way you approach it, as long as you keeping the priority, which is student safety, do what you got to do. I laugh a little bit because when I marched at WGI, we slept in the band room in Miami High School.
00:08:55
Speaker
Yeah. And, and I think something else to note is BOA has been doing this for quite some time. Yes. so You know, so it's not, it's not a foreign, just out of the blue idea.
00:09:06
Speaker
Um, but we'll let, uh, we'll let people continue to debate their, their feelings on it. Uh, Emily, do you have a story you'd like to share? Yes, i do There has been some upcoming changes at the Con Selmer production facilities. If you don't know what that is, check your band instruments. If you've ever existed in like a 10-foot radius around a marching band, you probably have something owned by Con Selmer. So...
00:09:31
Speaker
uh consulmer often describes itself as the largest manufacturer of band and orchestra instruments in the united states has just announced to close its manufacturing plant in east lake on or around june 30th of this year the and that's a pretty big deal because that's basically going to concentrate production to one to one brass factory and one percussion factory. So literally one facility is going to be making like a huge chunk of the band instruments.
00:10:05
Speaker
So I don't know how that's gonna work, honestly. Yeah, it's it's kind of scary when you think about the ah the monster task it takes to build an instrument with the right kind of flexion or lack of flexion in the metal and making that consistent over time. It it takes, I mean, i so I'm an independent rep with BAC instruments out of Kansas City, Missouri, and i got I had the ability opportunity to tour the factory in December on my way home for Christmas and watching how long it takes to make it a flat piece of metal with no curvature to a rounded lacquer. Like it takes time. And if they're trying to just spin these out, I worry about the quality, but I also know companies like this, if they're going to make a move, it's either,
00:10:59
Speaker
you know, for financial reasons and keeping costs low in production, or they found there's and there's a new technology, you know, and it's, it's making, making the bells easier. It's making rounding out and then tampering the metal easier and more proficient. So I'm curious to see, is it that, or is it, did we just save tons of money?
00:11:18
Speaker
I guess that remains to be seen. There was a critique I saw in the article where they were kind of like, are you doing this to save money? So I really hope they're wrong. But, you know, I wouldn't be surprised in this day and age where everything we're trying to be more efficient with things. But it's like at what point are we sacrificing efficiency for quality? Yeah.
00:11:39
Speaker
Yeah. and i mean, when it comes to when it comes to, you know, competitions like we perform in that little bit of difference could be the difference. You know, we look at these percussion scores, we look at the DCI scores it's like point one. Oh, that's a tie. i mean, could it come down to did you have a quality instrument or did you have an instrument that has, you know, different temperaments?
00:12:01
Speaker
That's true. I mean, as fun as those multicolored you know trumpets are on Amazon for like $50, I wouldn't. i wouldn't you know You probably know what I'm talking about. That was probably one of your first instruments in middle school before your parents decided to trust you with an actual instrument.
00:12:20
Speaker
Yeah. Look, we all know what we're talking about. yeah i think i think every band director that's listening to the podcast right now knows a student that is like, yep, that's so-and-so's instrument. If I could find a way to get them something else, you know.
00:12:34
Speaker
And it's it's a shame that possibly Con Summer is going to move that way. But... i'm I'm the kind of guy like, let's see what happens. Let's give it a year. Let's see what these instruments look like. you know And then you know just like anything else that's happening in the world, I think time you know makes history
Guard Closet's Innovations
00:12:51
Speaker
clear. you know And so whatever the motive was, we're going to see we're going to see the result of those actions here pretty soon.
00:12:59
Speaker
um yeah i love that sweet well we're gonna take a little commercial break and when we come back uh we're gonna throw a 60 second tech block on somebody so emily how funny would it be we're gonna we'll talk to you improv an episode last minute anyway to the commercial break im this is what happens when you improv an episode last minute anyway to the commercial break
00:13:50
Speaker
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Guard Closet was founded as a consignment shop in 2000. Since then, it has grown to become your one-stop shop for the marching arts. Do you need consignment uniforms and flags for your color guard, marching band, or drum line?
00:14:06
Speaker
We have thousands of sets of consignments in stock and ready to ship. Do you need show design and custom choreography? Our designers have years of experience in the marching arts. Do you need to sell your items and clear out your storage areas?
00:14:20
Speaker
We take in more than 600 sets of consignments each year and return hundreds of thousands of dollars to our consignors for their sales. Do you need to have your students order shoes, gloves, and other equipment?
00:14:32
Speaker
We can set up a microsite for easy student ordering of a wide variety of items. Do you need custom costumes or flags? We can help get you great designs from our team through top vendors like Show Day Designs.
00:14:44
Speaker
Have you listened to our podcast on a water break? Weekly episodes and bonus content keep you entertained and informed with what's going on in the marching arts. For over 25 years, Guard Closet has been here to help.
00:14:57
Speaker
Check us out at guardcloset.com or follow us on social media. So before we even even move on to the 60 second tech blog, let me just say that this podcast is getting crazy because I sat and just watched the same ad that y'all just watched and listened to in real time. And I was not expecting that. I was so ready to just take a break, have a sip of my soda and move on. But wow, we are getting fancy.
60-Second Tech Block Preview
00:15:22
Speaker
Go team. Go team!
00:15:25
Speaker
That was so cool. All right. I don't know. I i but hope there's a way to like go back and watch the video when it switched to the, because we did the, just so y'all know, they did it did the fade out music and then the ad started. And I jawed to the ground, just, we're doing this.
00:15:43
Speaker
Anyway, pretty pretty pretty cool. We're this we're killing it. let's Let's make it happen. Okay, everyone, sorry. It's time for a sound. ah look It's time for a 60-second tech block. Here we go.
00:16:00
Speaker
60-second tech block! That will also never get old. I'm glad that stuck through season four. Season four? Oh, my gosh. yeah Anyway. or for work Dude, we're killing it. We got shirts. This is a segment where one of our hosts or guest clinicians is put on the spot to deliver a nonstop 60-second tech block on a topic that needs some serious attention after the last run. Our special tech this week. I'm not going to do it, Emily. I couldn't do it. All right.
00:16:34
Speaker
But Jeremy, we're going to throw, I'm going to let you give us three topics and we're going to pick one of them. right. And we'll let you give a full 60 seconds straight. No hesitation, no pauses, just pure technical gold.
00:16:47
Speaker
Are you ready? i am. I'm ready. All right, which, what three
Handling Judges' Feedback
00:16:52
Speaker
you got? What are you going to do? Wait, hold on, hold on. I'm not ready yet. I have the timer. Oh, all right. i I came with two.
00:16:59
Speaker
I came with two. Okay. First one is, um yeah, we're heading into the into the show season for the, for the like, for the 2026 season. um How do you, how do as an instructor, do you pass the perfect show bag?
00:17:14
Speaker
and The second one is um one as as somebody who judges all of the country and also as as a designer and a teacher, yeah how do you listen to your judges commentary and what you hear a critique and make a rehearsal plan after that first show? Hmm.
00:17:34
Speaker
Hmm.
00:17:36
Speaker
A show bag is nice, but i we we just did ah a conversation about how to get prepared for your first critique. So maybe a great a great a great second one would be, what do you do with that information?
00:17:51
Speaker
i'm I'm going to go number two. Let's do number two. Emily, any vibes on this? What was number two again? Also, um take taking taking your your first show commentary and turning it into a plan. Yeah.
00:18:05
Speaker
I'm going to go number two. i think i think that... oh Majority rules. Let's do it. All right. here we go. Let me do the script because I'm a good host. I can do things like this.
00:18:21
Speaker
Is everybody ready? Yes. I have the timer. So Emily's got the timer. i Jeremy, I think you've done this before. Emily's going to click play. You got 60 seconds on your mark.
00:18:32
Speaker
Get set. Go. So the first thing you remember as you as you listen to the to the commentary you get from the judges is that this is their first read of your program that you've been working on for months. So you know your design process, you know your vision, you know your plan.
00:18:47
Speaker
Don't take every single comment as something that you must change or you must address. I know as a young instructor, I made a big mistake many times of going coming out of the first show, going to that first first rehearsal and rewriting everything.
00:18:59
Speaker
Don't do that. It's the first read of your show and they may catch things you are not aware of, but they also are gonna catch things that you probably already knew that needed to be she addressed. yeah You know your design plan best, you know your students best.
00:19:12
Speaker
Some things are still a work in progress at this point in the season. If you receive negative commentary about something you really loved in your show, ask for clarity during that critique. Negative negative design or effect commentary may also just be due to early performance, early season performance issues and not an inherent design flaw. Don't take it as as a don't take everything as ah as a as a nick negative of your design. yeah when it could be speed performance.
00:19:37
Speaker
once you Once you have that, I'm gonna run over it for a few seconds. yeah' big Once you have that have have that that list, that that feedback, make a list, prioritize what you need to address.
00:19:50
Speaker
What's the most important? What's the second most important? Don't try to do everything in a three-hour rehearsal block. it Sixty seconds headlock.
00:20:04
Speaker
Yes. little over, we're going to call it 60.1. All right. We're going to, yeah, I'm, I'm the timing judge and I forgot to put the buttons down. Okay. One last comment.
00:20:18
Speaker
go If you truly believe in something from your design, don't rush to rewrite it. Get a few reads of your program. Let it sit a few weeks and see if it if you get consistent feedback on it, then maybe look at it. But if you truly believe in it as as the designer,
00:20:35
Speaker
Stick with it and get get a get a few more reads. see Yeah, give it time. Absolutely. Jeremy, that was incredible. I i love that. I think i think the the you're you're so i part of it is you put you've put so much time. you know You know the whole story. You know so many different versions of the story. you know yeah So when somebody comes in and goes, I don't get it ah Of course, your first reaction is going to be, how don't you get it?
00:21:01
Speaker
But you've been in the conversation, you know, like you said, months at a time. Part of something that I do with my staffs is they they're not allowed to go into critique until they listen to the the feedback. And they said, here's the things they harped on, things they said well about, things I'm confused about.
00:21:19
Speaker
These are the questions going to ask, you know, because you can't just so many times like here in my area, they they just run in and they're like, yeah, i didn't get a chance. So what do you got? What are we going to do with this? cruchi Go home. Go listen to the time. When they come and sit down. I agree.
00:21:37
Speaker
What am I going to do? I'm not going to. As a judge, it's it's frustrating when somebody doesn't come in prepared. Yeah. So, you know, so we we kind of break it down. If it's not enough, if there's literally not enough time. Like you're one of the last independent groups and you're jumping right into I'm listening to Viz. You're listening to music. You're listening to da da da. Everybody has their job. You speak at the table, but everybody has their sheet. I know the pros, the cons and the what's, you know, what did they say? What was that about? What do you mean by that? You know, because you you have to go in with a plan. It's it's not a it's not a there's not a trick. You're not going to get more points and critique, but you're going to get you're going to get more understanding if you come in there ready with questions and yes, and understanding of where the judges are coming from. You know, they're trying to step in your shoes. You got to step in those a little bit, you know.
00:22:27
Speaker
That's so true. I love that. We got to make this, we should make this 120 second tech block on things like this. There's a lot of info to share. We should do a quick sip about it because, ugh.
00:22:40
Speaker
I know, or, you know, Jeremy, bonus episode. There we go. Let's do it. I love it. I love talking. i love talking judge critique stuff because I really feel, you know, people can do a great job of designing something, but it's that last piece. If you can't take somebody else's information, that's giving you the points.
00:22:57
Speaker
Like, how are you going to get help it's a team. And I think that's something too, is like, I have, I've seen a lot of instructors be like, well, the judges don't get our show. Don't say that, that, that changed that, that, that, that puts some kind of jeopardy on the whole system. We are all a team. The judges want you to score higher next week as well. Like let them help you open your heart, you know, let go that ego a little bit and just listen. And maybe, maybe they don't know anything. Maybe it's their first time judging, but Just cause it's their first time doesn't mean that, you know, little Jimmy doesn't need to be 14 steps away from the rest of the ensemble. And we just missed it. Cause we're focusing on, you know, Kim that can't stand with her feet together. You know, like you, but we miss stuff. let' Let's just talk. Another good thing too, is as ah as an instructor, I was thinking for me, it's if you're, if you're have to do rewrites of things that you've been working on for the last three months, you make sure that you talk to the students, tell them, yeah.
00:23:54
Speaker
what the feedback was, why you're making the change. Yeah. Cause they've also invested months of their time into this, into the program. Yeah. And if you come in, into that next rehearsal and you're like, we're going to rewrite the last minute and a half of the show. Yep.
00:24:08
Speaker
yep That's something. Yeah. get Get their buy-in because like, yeah they've worked really hard. Yeah. And if you're going to take take all the work they've done and basically redo it, there needs to be a why I, I will say that's something I'm bad at. Like, um, I'll just end low high school last year. we went to our first show and we got a score that we weren't happy with. Um, and it was definitely a readability, readability issue and an understanding of what we were trying to do. So we simplified, we opened spacing. We, you know, we had people do less and so that they can, they can achieve more, you know? yeah Um,
00:24:44
Speaker
And the next show, I mean, it jumped up. And there was obviously like, oh, ah you want us to look here. We see that now. We you know do this. And i I realized halfway through that day, it was a nine-hour day. Halfway through that day, we went to lunch. And I was like, I don't think the kids know that we're changing it. I think they think we're adding.
00:25:02
Speaker
Because I just heard them say, I think they just made the show three minutes longer. And so I had to come back and be like, hey, guys this is actually movement two now. This is your new movement two. And they were like brains blown. And like the rest of the day, they were just trying to figure out how to piece together. And had I told them before, I think we would have been fine.
00:25:19
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. yeah Yeah. So, you know, I took that one. And so this year, this year, we I got a new laptop and now I can write while I'm in front of them so I can edit stuff and put it on UDB and send it over there. So now their show has changed like 13 times and their first day time learning drill was yesterday morning. So like now they're used to things changing and, you know, like, oh, are you're not going to be able to make that. Let's make it easier. Let's bring that in two more steps.
00:25:46
Speaker
Let's call it a day. You know, you're going to make the next step fine. ah That was a good 60 second tech block.
Teamwork vs. Ego in Marching Arts
00:25:52
Speaker
I loved that. Okay, here we go. but Hopefully someone out there got the tech advice they needed and we're going to move on. Okay. That was all. I loved, I loved every moment of that. And I, obviously we could sit here, Jeremy and talk oh ken talk days for it. and This is the episode to do it. Cause it's just the three of us, but we let's switch it up.
00:26:13
Speaker
What are we doing?
00:26:22
Speaker
What are we doing? Let's, let's see. What do, what are we doing? You got it? What are we doing? Here we go. Let's do this. 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 doesn't make sense. um Do either of you want to go first?
00:26:42
Speaker
Yeah. what What are we doing not figuring out the scheduling for Dayton right now? um Right now there's the independent classes have grown tremendously, which is amazing.
00:26:53
Speaker
But yeah, but there's, you know, eight groups on the independent open class wait list for championships right now, yeah which is insane that there's, you know, that the cap is 40 and there's 48 groups that want to go to Dayton yeah in open class. That's it's it's great, but yeah.
00:27:11
Speaker
These are groups that signed up early. I mean, they signed up October, November timeframe. It wasn't like they waited until two weeks ago to sign up. Yeah. And they've been sitting on a wait list. Yeah.
00:27:23
Speaker
There's two prelim sites. We're talking about adding probably another, what, 40 minutes on each site. How do we figure that out? Because these groups are trying to plan their seasons. Yeah, absolutely. And the money. How do you plan travel if you don't know if you're going to be able to go? Yeah.
00:27:39
Speaker
Yeah. Now i'm I'm with you on this. Yeah. i I, I didn't know there were that many, uh, that you're saying that's guard right now. Yeah. On the guard side and yeah. On any open class on the eight pendant side, there's, there's a giant wait list. Yeah.
00:27:53
Speaker
Um, and there was the same in a, they recently just released all the A guards and put them in, put them into the prelims, but the open guards are still sitting in ah on a wait list. And that's, it's, it's, it's incredible that we've grown to this, that,
00:28:05
Speaker
on the independent side, the classes have grown so big. You're right. It's incredible that we're this big, but what are we doing to service and, and, and, and you know, give these young people what they i deserve is kind of a strong word, but what are what are we doing to give them what they're working for?
00:28:22
Speaker
You know, what they signed up for. Cause we know every independent director knows how hard it is to have your ish together in October when signup happens. yeah how do You they got the money, you got the time, you know what you're gonna you know that you can go already in October. There's a lot of independent groups that don't even understand you know how many kids they're going to even service or provide for it in January. you know like That's crazy. That's why what are we doing is how do we get that wait list released? Yeah. i well
00:28:53
Speaker
And I'll say on the percussion and and wind side, also a big wait list there for a little bit. The winds had a big wait list. And then i think with a moving to a different site that all got figured out and fine. Now it's not that easy with the guard because they're already all over the city, all over the state. how i yeah But what can we do to add? like you Like so true. What can we do to add 40 minutes? You know, yeah.
00:29:18
Speaker
So WGI, you're not doing anything wrong, but what can we do? Like, what do you need from us? what can we as As a performer, i even if I had to go on at 630 in the morning, it'd be better than not going on at all.
00:29:30
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. i think I think as long as we can stay within the the sound ordinances and all that jazz, like let's let's let them let's let them tag it to in in front of one of the early Browns and be the first one on in the in the last round or so You know, like shift everybody up.
00:29:46
Speaker
It's okay. Just a chance, the the chance to perform up there is, is some people's just, that's enough for a lot of people is I got to perform in Ohio. It doesn't even have to be Dayton anymore. You know, this has grown to be so big that people just want to be involved. Um, Emily, do you have a, uh, what are we doing? Yes, I am going to rearrange our thing. So I am in center. Wow. Okay. I hope I don't attract the wrong kind of haters for saying this, but what are we doing over relying on AI to do our shows and do our uniforms?
00:30:21
Speaker
yeah Yeah. Yeah. 100%. stopped using a company two falls ago. because I sent them a hand-drawn, like and and Procreate, used a bunch of brushes, made it look kind of how everyone wanted-esque. And then I sent them that and said, hey, can you either digitize this or recreate it for digital art to go on these back panels?
00:30:47
Speaker
And what we got was AI bridges going into water. i Sorry, hold on. And the proof we got was the proof that I sent.
00:30:59
Speaker
They said, yeah, we're going to make this. And I said, approved. And then we got we got AI art. I won't say the company. We're not there yet, but... the The way they handled it afterward also didn't make it right. And I think if you're going to do something like that and somebody challenges you and says, no, I want real art, you as a company should provide that real art or say, hey, we can't do that. You're going to have have somebody else create the art. At least those two things. But don't send me AI art that I did not approve. And, you know, I think i think it's tough because because it definitely, for those people that don't have the budget to pay for artists, they can get things on the floor.
00:31:43
Speaker
And it's it works. Kinda, right? think the thing with AI, think the thing with AI is that quality, know, we will be the judges of quality. Is that art quality art or does that look like AI art? Does it look fake? Does it look unrealistic? Are there bridges going into water? You know, like that doesn't make any sense. There's no bridges going into water. think if you're going to use it, be like,
00:32:14
Speaker
you better have your prompt. Like, that better be a paragraph or you're going to get something that people are going to know, you know? Yeah, because we're also in the in the season, in the time of the year when everybody's releasing their show announcements.
00:32:25
Speaker
and i and And I see them every day and a lot of them are like, oh that's just... Somebody just typed the name of their show into chat GBT. And but yep and so like, like us, we get to go, we get to look at it and we know we see it at the value of what it is, which is a, maybe a hundred dollars a year app. If you pay for the prime, whatever, you know?
00:32:49
Speaker
That looks like a hundred dollar art to me, you know? And then you usually like, I'll give a shout out to one of my friends, Micaiah Barnett does a lot of art for me out of Arkansas. His art is so beautiful. there's so nice texture and layer and nuance to what what what he creates. And I love, every time he makes a uniform for me, it's it's gorgeous.
00:33:09
Speaker
I order a uniform through him, through that company. And it, again, just AR everything. And it's not him. And I knew it wasn't him, you know, like we are going to be able to tell, and the audience is going to be able to tell, and the judges are going to be able to tell. So if you're going to use AI art, just be aware that your prompt better be real good. It doesn't replace all the work it takes to create beautiful art. Mm-hmm.
00:33:34
Speaker
um I'll do my what are we doing. Mine's, I don't know. i think I think we've kind of talked about, you know, in the judging space and maybe even in this AI stuff, just what kind of person you're going to be. Like, what what are we doing keeping your ego ah between you and the students? in our success i You know, know, this is a team...
00:33:55
Speaker
but this is ah This is a team activity. I think the biggest team activity. I talk a lot about like, you know, the football team has 50 kids on it, but how many play on Friday? how many of you know How many of you know every one of those football kids' names?
00:34:09
Speaker
and How many of those football players know each other's names? I know they don't because they rehearse. They rehearse they practice in different spaces because they do different things. I can understand that. But 100 band kids are going to perform every Friday and maybe 20 of the football players are going to perform. that We are a bigger team. So I think as as instructors, as directors, as professionals, though the way you – work with your fellow people will go farther than you creating a name for yourself because you're this
00:34:44
Speaker
You know, nobody cares. I will remember, oh, it was so fun working with buh-buh-buh. We created this one thing and he was so helpful in buh-buh-buh. I did this and we created this, you know, we, with the students, the staff, the, the organization created something. It's not, nobody's, nobody's a one person organization. Yes. Um, I like your ego. yeah And like you said, when you, when you, when you come into a critique situation,
00:35:12
Speaker
I could just, I mean. you could yeah You know the second they sit down, it's the weight of the. Yeah. Yeah. We got your score. I'm like, okay, well, I can't change it now. like and And I think I always try to tell people, like, the first thing is, like, people that sign up, like I sign up to be a judge because I love Color Guard.
00:35:30
Speaker
Not because I want to be like, you're bad, you're bad. No, yeah i'm i'm on you i'm on your I'm on your team. Like I'm on your side. I want you i want you to do well. yeah Yeah. I think that's one of the biggest, you not myths, but like kind of clouds over the judging spaces, you know, or the lies, the the fallacies, what have you is we we are on your side. As judges, we want you to succeed. yeah And we don't take points away. we give them. There's only one judge that can take points away and they have the iPad at the front of the floor and tell you to go.
00:36:00
Speaker
And yeah everybody else wants to give you all the points. We do this because we're your biggest fans. Yes. yeah We want to see your kids succeed. We want this to be the best show you've ever put on and we want to help, you know? um Yeah. That's my, what are we doing is what are we doing? Keeping ego in this. We're working with kids.
00:36:17
Speaker
you can't You can't be the best kid
Celebrating Achievements & Positivity
00:36:21
Speaker
worker. You know you can be part of the best team. you know That's fun to say. Obviously, like when you're young, you think it's you against the world. And the the longer I've got been in this activity, I'm realizing that all of the people that were telling me that I was bad at what I was doing weren't actually saying I was bad. They were trying to help me fix things in shows or fix things in my processes. And I was just so young and ego-driven that I thought that they were against me. God, I wish I could take my 20s back in and be a better designer for it. But here we are.
00:36:54
Speaker
um Now that we got all that off our chest, let's get into some gush and goes. Great job, everyone. Set your equipment down. Gush and go.
00:37:06
Speaker
Welcome to Gush and Go. This is the chance to shout out something awesome happening in your life, marching arts related or not. no negativity here, just pure unfiltered hype. Jeremy, do you got anything anything to gush and go about? Sure. ah yeah so a lot of people that know me know that yeah i'm I'm a judge, I'm a director, I'm a designer, but I'm also, I'm the director of a very unique and special group called Spectator Independent World, which is...
00:37:32
Speaker
We're 20 people from all over the world, all over the the United States and Canada, we come together and we'd love to spectate Color Guard. So I'm excited that the season's going to start. Yeah. we are We are signed up for Dayton with with our 20 members and we are ready to go. we have our housing set. we We have our housing set. We have we have our banquet booked.
00:37:51
Speaker
We are ready to go. yeah How do you, so from all over the the place, how do you guys rehearse? we we we We have Zoom meetings where we practice clapping. yeah Yeah. I love it. That's exciting. Emily, do you got anything that should go about? ha ha ha ah Well, I'm not sure if this is was already covered, but the Pride Band Alliance got invited to March in the 2027 Rose Parade. I wonder, i I'm guessing that we'll probably do an episode around that on ah Pride. Please don't leave me out of that one. I want to talk about because my contingent was invited.
00:38:27
Speaker
how How do you sign up how do you How do you get involved in this? like So I think each individual band group got their own separate sign up. And I think if I'm remembering this correctly, your individual organization will talk to you about it. They'll send you a sign up and then some other, like the greater Pride Band Alliance is going to compile all the list of names. They're going to go as one big like inter-country band, I think.
00:38:55
Speaker
Very good, very interesting. i would I'm the founder of the New England Pride Color Guard. my outs i would yeah I'm like, how do we how do we get how do you sign up? but you know i lady I'm waiting for their there there to be a a pride band at like Macy's or something like that. I know, wouldn't that be so cool?
00:39:12
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, you can others there's there's there's there's ah a process of steps for you to sign up to be part of the Macy's parade. i just i wonder I wonder what they're looking for in terms of something like that. And obviously it's gotta to be the right it's got to be the right group because... We all know, especially with things that are going on in the world right now, everything that we do has to be so together, you know? um But that's cool. I dig that. um Yeah. All right. Who's next?
00:39:42
Speaker
Me. I'll go next. My Gus should I'm just, man, I'm happy to be alive. I'm happy to be doing band for a living. I just got off of a two and a half week vacation where I didn't have my phone at all and I didn't do any band. I didn't do any work. I just sat and let my brain kind of rest and now I've been just going and I love it. I love what I do for a living. in um I love the people I get to work with and... um I mean, like the auto water break stuff has been so cool. The chat is just so fun and it's cool to get all the inside
Closing Remarks & Community Engagement
00:40:16
Speaker
scoops of things. If y'all want to know what's going on in the marching arts, come join the podcast. um
00:40:21
Speaker
I, yeah dude, it's just been loving life and like just professionally things like this year shows are just coming together easier. I'm just having a good time. And I really feel like it has everything to do with learning over the past few years that,
00:40:36
Speaker
teamwork really does make the dream work and so I ah I'm just my the teams I get to work with these days are just just so fun and we make it happen hey it's called gush and go not gush and stay let's go
00:40:58
Speaker
Okay. I do think that one's rude though. I do think, I do think that one's a little mean, ah but we're, work we're going to work on it. jeremy I didn't create this. I'll work. Jeremy, if I ever learned to text back, I'm, I'm coming at you. Got a question or a good topic to talk about. Send us your, what are we doing? Send us your gush and go. Send us your news stories on Instagram. Send us an email, send it on Facebook. If you got pigeons, I'm sure Jeremy loves to have animals around his house. So send him a pigeon. You might even see yourself featured on a few future episode. Check out the link in our bio to submit using our form.
00:41:38
Speaker
um Thanks for a great rehearsal this week, everybody. Thank you to thank you for spending time with us today. um Jeremy, do you have do you have anything um to say before we dip?
00:41:50
Speaker
No, this is exciting. i'm I'm excited to be part of the full-time podcast team. Yeah, it'll it'll be us every every every week. Hopefully with some more friends. yeah Yes, we'll we'll we'll bring in some more friends. I think i think we're going to pull in some Stephanie Click and ante and ah Saber Turner. we' We'll come through at a couple of weeks. and Well, we'll have a grand old time, but it's, this is just going to be my, my one place and in a week to just sit and, and talk all the beautiful things that are, that are banned in pageantry arts. So heck yeah.
00:42:24
Speaker
Emily, you got anything or Jeremy, did you have anything else? I'm so sorry. i go say and one One other thing is just here for all the, all the, all the instructors out there that are putting those last final touches on your things. Now's the time to shine.
00:42:35
Speaker
Tell your kids, this is, this is what it's all about. performance yeah yeah this is what you've been working yeah we we we as the fans are excited to see you and see what you've been putting together so oh yeah emily Thank you for letting me join so last minute. and I'm sitting here having a conversation while I'm pushing the buttons to make this flow as smoothly as possible.
00:43:00
Speaker
I think, honestly, I think you killed it. And I think you're going to do this every week now. So I'll only get better. What you say? a Teamwork makes the dream work. Absolutely. We're all doing this together. This is my first time too. I miss tons of cues, but you're going to edit it to make me look like a boss. And I appreciate that. um Teamwork makes the dream work. I'm not editing. I'm the button pusher. I think that goes to a different team. That is way more skilled. I think we get team t-shirts and it says teamwork makes the dream work. I'm on this page right now.
00:43:28
Speaker
Okay. um Yeah, I'm there. So this was so fun. Y'all... Keep joining. Keep keep listening. We're going to make it happen, and maybe you'll join the crew one day too. One more thing. Don't forget, we have a YouTube channel now, so go and subscribe and tell us. ah Go see us there and tell us what you think about us. Honestly, I hate the sound of my voice. Tell me that, and tell me that I say nice things or I'll cry. Also, before you lose out ah close out of your podcast listening app, go subscribe, write us a review, share this with friends and your dogs, follow us on social media and on a water break, and we'll see you at the next rehearsal.
00:44:01
Speaker
on a water break. Thank you all. This was fun. Yay. Episode three. We did
00:44:11
Speaker
it. The on a water break podcast was produced by Jeremy Williams and Christine Ream. The intro and outro music was produced by Josh Lida. To learn more, visit LidaMusic.com.
00:44:23
Speaker
And until next time, thanks for tuning