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OAWB - AT STEP OFF with a California Drum Major Champion Roundtable image

OAWB - AT STEP OFF with a California Drum Major Champion Roundtable

On A Water Break
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Bonus Content At Step Off

Join us with our new Bonus Content. On A Water Break At Step Off. Host Jack Groudreau dives into all things parades from coast to coast and around the world. This episode Jack hosts a roundtable of Drum Majors who have all won the California State Championships.

Guests:

Chance McDonald - @drummajor_2018

Kaden cho - @kaden.cho

Zac Shi - @zac.shi

Keegan Mccoy - @keegiez

All from the @Americandmcorps

Listen to the main episode to keep up on everything going on in the marching arts with our hosts:

Jackie Brown - @spintronixguard

Stephen McCarrick - @stephenmccarick

Cindy Barry - @leandermomma

Nicole Younger - @o2bnpjs & @thecookoutcg

Trevor Bailey - @t_pain151

Trish O’Shea - @trishdish1002

Beth Beccone - @bether7189

Chris Rutt - @wildhornbrass1

Cynthia Bernard - @cynthiabern

Ashlee Amos - @famousamossss_

Theo Harrison - @harrisontheo07

Stephanie Click - @stephanieclick

Whitney Stone - @dancerwhit

Justin Surface - @J_dex07

Ashley Tran - @itsashleytran

Jack Goudreau - @goudreau_

Ricardo Robinson-Shinall - @ricardorrobinson

Callie Quire - @cnquire

Austin Hall - @Austin_hall10

Jose Montes - @joeymontes57

Music provided by leydamusic.com Follow him @josh.leyda

Avatars provided by @tch.makes.art

#marchingband #colorguard #dci #podcast #onawaterbreak  #parade #drummajor

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Transcript

Introduction of State Champions

00:00:04
Speaker
All right, welcome back everyone to another episode of Water Break at Step Off. This episode, we're shaking things up a little bit, bringing back four of our previous California Drum Major state champions in the L-pattern format into a roundtable discussion about their lives as parade drum majors and beyond. But first things first, let's get everyone in rank and file by the center, quick, march.
00:00:35
Speaker
All right, so today I've joined together all of our California drum major state champions. We have Chance McDonald, Keegan McCoy, Kaden Cho, and Zach Shee. Thank you everyone for being here. Yep, let's get around to the ballroom. So typically
00:00:52
Speaker
On our show, we usually give a single host 32 counts to explain their life. But since there are four of you, let's just go around and give the audience just a summary of your upbringing, your career in the marching arts, and where you are now. So let's start with Chance McDonald. Chance, let's open up the audience.

Drum Major Journeys

00:01:11
Speaker
Thank you so much for having me. I started band in middle school and I didn't start marching band until high school. Went over to Riverside King and my upbringing was really rough because I couldn't march and play at the same time so I got thrown into the American unit and then year by year I slowly moved up the block and then finally my senior year I became drum major. I started competing in the eye pattern world my sophomore year
00:01:39
Speaker
And then I didn't start L pattern until my senior year. OK, awesome. And where are you now? Right now I've graduated, went to RCC, then graduated from CBU, and I'm the band director at Diamond Valley Middle School. That's awesome. All right. All right. So now up next we have Keegan McCoy. Let's let's hear where you're from, Mr. NorCal. All right. Hi, my name is Keegan. I'm from Santa Cruz, California. I started band in fifth grade.
00:02:08
Speaker
And then I played trumpet all the way up until my senior year. I switched to euphonium. And then I played that at San Jose State for a year in the wind ensemble. And then I was drum major at Santa Cruz High School my senior year. I was the assistant my junior year. I started competing in L pattern competitions my sophomore year in high school and did it up until my senior year.
00:02:32
Speaker
And then in the marching arts, something else I do, I also do color guard. I've marched with the Santa Clara Vanguard. I've also marched with Carolina Crown. All right. Awesome. And where are you now? Oh, I'm also instructing at Santa Cruz High School. I'm the assistant director and I'm also their color instructor. So it's pretty cool. All right. Jumping back down to Southern California, we have Caden Cho. Hi, I'm Caden. I'm from Arcadia.
00:03:00
Speaker
And I did band, I think I started in fourth grade and I played clarinet. Then I did a middle school, we had a marching band middle school, so I did drum major in eighth grade. And then I went to high school, and then I was senior drum major at Arcadia at like, I want to say 2022, I think.
00:03:19
Speaker
So that's been the deal. I actually started drum major because of my sister. She was drum major, like, arcaded drum major a while ago. But she, like, inspired me or whatever. So I did that. And then right now, I'm studying at UCSD. I'm a first year. And yeah, that's just been the deal. Okay, awesome. Yeah, no. Just FYI, when he was an eighth grader, he was also a killer, by the way. I mean, like, yeah, anyway. Yeah, right. Okay.
00:03:50
Speaker
All right, so going finally to Zach Shee back up in Northern California. Hi, everyone. I'm from Stockton and similar to you guys, I joined band in the fifth grade. I played trombone and I still play trombone at my school's wind ensemble. I'm in my senior year and I am currently in the midst of the processes of applying to college and I'm waiting to hear back. We're just nearing that season now.
00:04:16
Speaker
I've been a drum major since my sophomore year of high school. And so this would be my third year being a drum major. I enjoy competing, meeting new drum majors across the state and just participating in music and leadership and that combined. Awesome.
00:04:39
Speaker
All right, so now that we've introduced everyone, I kind of wanted to just sort of lay the ground down for what is the drum major format for the competitive circuits that we've all competed in.

Understanding Competitions

00:04:50
Speaker
So we've competed in an L pattern. Would any one of our guests like to explain the layout of our L pattern? I'll do it. Why not?
00:05:00
Speaker
So I'm going to go back to like way traditional. The L pattern is a drum major in front of the band, taking the band down a parade route that would be in the shape of an L. So at some point you're going straight and then you signal the band to make a left hand turn. The band makes the left hand turn goes all the way down and then the drum major signals the band to turn around, go all the way back down that line and then make a right hand turn and come back down
00:05:30
Speaker
and then end the band that way. That was the super old way. And there was even a video of someone who brought their band to an L pattern competition. I think it was WDMA. It was a really cool video, but that was the tradition of it.
00:05:44
Speaker
And there are certain aspects of the L pattern that have specific names. So before you step off your band, you typically start with an opening flourish called an opener. And so that usually lasts 30 seconds long and you should be on your first step, your left foot. You should have called off your commands by that 30 seconds.
00:06:03
Speaker
Another facet on the final part as you take that right turn and you're on your final leg now You're bringing your band back. You are given the opportunity to salute the officer that is adjudicating you and so on that final leg That should be the apex of all your spinning moves and you should finally tuck into salute for a perfect six steps before the salute line and six steps after before breaking off then finishing by
00:06:29
Speaker
by halting and dismissing your ensemble. So that's just sort of the layout. Is there anything else that we're missing? All right, sweet. All right. I think it's important to also mention that the purpose of L-Patterns too is to give drum majors in their off-season. You know, they're typically done during the winter to give them a little bit of a place to kind of keep working on their skills and advancing them. So the point of the L-Pattern is to basically represent what it's like for a drum major to march down
00:06:55
Speaker
a typical parade street. What we've done with that is we've actually taken it and we've made it into like a more confined kind of space. So we made it into like an L shape versus just like a straight line. So it's a long L and then a short L and then it goes back. But yeah, that's kind of it. I forgot what else I should say.
00:07:20
Speaker
That's sort of the setup that we have here it's also important to sort of visualize that there's sort of two entities in california the northern california style in the southern california style the southern california style has definitely been always rooted the all americana
00:07:35
Speaker
military baton, extensive, I would say, style. Of course, there are maces down there, but it's always been a really sharp, traditional military focus to the look, as opposed to Northern California, where there is a little bit more of a creative factor, and there's a little bit more European influence to the style of uniforms. You'll see a lot more Scottish drum majors coming from Northern California than in Southern California. So recently, it's been really a pleasure to see Northern California and Southern California
00:08:03
Speaker
sort of combined together at the state championship. And this is really the stories that you're going to hear today really represent that meeting of Northern California and Southern California together. So let's jump into it now. So I kind of wanted to touch upon
00:08:19
Speaker
the first time you picked up the baton or mace, I want to hear about that moment and how did that

First Encounters with the Baton

00:08:25
Speaker
come to being? How did that moment sort of connect? Just a little deeper, because we got sort of a layover of when you started as a drum major, but what was that moment? We'll start with Chance again.
00:08:36
Speaker
So my first baton was not a military, it was a regimental. And yeah, it was cool. And because I was waiting for my baton to be ordered, so my instructor handed me the regimental, I'm like, oh my gosh, this is so cool.
00:08:51
Speaker
And all I could do was flourishes. So I was in the backyard. I probably did 100 flourishes a day in one direction. And I thought it was the coolest thing ever, because all I had was an image of my very first drum major. Her name was Leilani Johnson. And I remember walking down to the parade route, and I saw her doing her salute. And it was the coolest thing ever. And she was in the middle of a flourish. So I thought I looked just like her.
00:09:21
Speaker
When I couldn't take the regimental places, I would find sticks, I would find pipes or poles or whatever I could find. Our church, they had like these play poles. I don't even know what you would use them for, but I'd be in the church in the mirror just doing flourishes.
00:09:38
Speaker
just having that feeling of, oh my gosh, I'm on my way, that's what I felt. And it was really cool. Absolutely. Yeah, I know. I can relate to spinning a broomstick when I break my maces. All right. So for you, Keegan, I think I remember when you first picked up the mace, but I'd love to hear it from your perspective. Yeah. You think it was the end of my freshman year I started becoming interested in spinning.
00:10:05
Speaker
And yeah, I literally picked up anything and started spinning it before I even got a mace in my hand. I think before I even told anyone, I just started flourishing. I thought it would be kind of fun. I have so many videos on my phone or on my old iPad of me spinning, like watching myself spin. And like, oh my God, I was so bad. I was so bad to start. It was embarrassing. I looked back and I was like, oh my God.
00:10:26
Speaker
I can't believe that's me. But I actually showed this to some of my students because I thought it'd be kind of fun to like show them my progress. We're like, Oh my gosh, you're so good. And I'm just like, well, it took you know, the mountain, you didn't get to see me climb that mountain. But yeah, so that's kind of how I started. And then I expressed my interest in being a drum major, I got more into it. But I started my first for a while I started I didn't have an instructor, it was just me and then Jack, you came along and then
00:10:56
Speaker
The rest is history. The rest is history, right? All right, Cayden, what about you? So you have the family sort of, literally the baton of the family who's passed on to you. So let's hear about it.
00:11:08
Speaker
Yeah, so I want to say I've picked up my first baton in like third grade. It was like, I was so young. Because my sister was doing like, L patterns in middle school. And at that time, they're still doing WDMA.
00:11:26
Speaker
Yeah, so I saw my sister, and I was like, this is so cool. So I picked up a baton. It wasn't a signal, for sure, I remember. It was an American. It didn't have chords. I remember it was super beat up. But I was in the front yard just doing who knows what. I wasn't even doing proper tricks. I was just looking at my sister and trying to make the most out of what she was doing. That kind of looks right. So I think the first move I did was a steeple toss.
00:11:55
Speaker
But like, so cool. And then, yeah, so I was like, doing that for fun, like in elementary school. And then in middle school, like I got connected with, I don't know if you guys know, but Alan Takashi Riley teaches all the Arcadia students now. So he's great. Yeah. So that's kind of how I started. Okay. That's great. And finally, Zach, what was the first time you picked up the mace?
00:12:23
Speaker
My first time was also my Keegan end of my freshman year, where I picked up the mace. Actually, Jack, you dropped it off at my house. It was distance learning. We were on Zoom and...
00:12:37
Speaker
I skipped my class because you were over with a mace and you taught me how to beat time right in front of my front door. And that's a memory that I cherish because it have grown so much throughout the years. But I remember also, like many of you guys, starting with a broomstick is what I spun in the backyard and learning to
00:13:02
Speaker
get dafted to the weight of the mace in the beginning. That was probably the most. It's a funny story here. I remember so he had his basic moves down and he wanted to try a parallel, but he didn't know how to do a parallel. So he
00:13:17
Speaker
He was videotaping himself for video assignments, and I mean, probably one of the best just straight temple shots to the head with a mace on it. I still have the video. Anyway, okay guys, so thank you for sharing that first moment.
00:13:37
Speaker
So I know that the drum major role, sort of this two hemisphere sort of arena where you have sort of sure flourishing, which is a percentage of it, but really it is a foundation of leadership, right? And that's obviously something that we can all agree on.

Leadership Challenges and Growth

00:13:51
Speaker
So when you were stepping into that leadership role, what came naturally for you and which areas of the role were uncomfortable for you? So let's, let's go backwards. Zach, what really came natural to you and what was something that you really had to work on?
00:14:04
Speaker
So for me, I really got into drum majoring because of the leadership aspect. For me, I didn't know about spinning at all when Jack introduced my drum majoring to our band. It was mainly I wanted to be involved in the band in a way that's more than just playing my instrument. And so for the leadership part, I wanted to be involved and I wanted to
00:14:28
Speaker
I guess help out in a way where it means a little bit more than just contributing like everyone else. And so for me, the part of wanting to help out and kind of have that definition of being a servant leader, where you're helping out the band, you're doing what's needed of you. So for me, it's
00:14:49
Speaker
really the part of service came more natural to me, but I really had to get over this mountain as public speaking that, you know, a drum major needs to master. And so I was launched like straight into it as a sophomore. This is my first year on the high school campus. And as a assistant drum major at the time, I just watched my head drum major and observed and
00:15:17
Speaker
when he delegated certain tasks for me to talk to sections and the directors and stuff like that, that was my opportunity to improve. So for me, public speaking was a hurdle I overcame, and it's a valuable asset I have now. Absolutely. And what about you, Caden? What were those two sides of the coin, the thing that you had that came naturally and then the area of improvement that you filled in?
00:15:44
Speaker
Yeah so, oops. So I think contrary to Zach, I got into drum major solely for the spinning aspect and then it took me like high school to figure out like oh I also have to be a leader. And I think like for our school particularly we don't have like assistant drum majors so I didn't have like that experience before becoming drum major but we did have like section leaders so
00:16:10
Speaker
junior year I did do section leader and then I was like oh this is like so cool I like leading I think and I think when I jumped in senior year something that was hard for me was just being assertive with certain members like I'm not really the most assertive type I would say so I guess that was the hard part but then I think like
00:16:32
Speaker
something that came naturally, I would say like just connecting with the younger members, like making them feel welcomed and like not intimidated. That was like cool for me. Absolutely. Yeah. Awesome. And what about you Keegan? It's funny. I'm going to start by just saying like Zach has been saying a lot of stuff and I didn't realize how much we have in common. Like I feel like we haven't talked too much, but kind of similar to
00:16:57
Speaker
Almost kind of similar to Caden too. I really was interested in the spinning part, but also I've kind of known since elementary school that I wanted to be a teacher and an educator of some form.
00:17:06
Speaker
I didn't know what I wanted to be an educator for, but seeing that position and like seeing the spinning, I thought that was super cool. And then as I sort of got into that, I also started to like connect the dots and realize like, wait, like this is like the perfect position for me because I love spinning, I love flourishing, but I also love teaching and educating and also like, I don't know, being like someone who sets the example and also like does everything you're supposed to do. And also, I mean, like band was the biggest part of my life and still is honestly.
00:17:36
Speaker
It's kind of cool. But I feel like I was able to really take on that position because of how much I loved the program I was in. And I'm really protective of the group. I mean, I still teach there and everything. And I feel like that was the best way I could do my part. And it's kind of it. But yeah. And let's finish up with Chance's response.
00:18:00
Speaker
It's funny, the Northern California drum majors have something in common. Now I'm going to piggyback off of Caden. I'm glad Caden said it because I was trying to figure out a way to say it and Caden said it perfectly. I didn't get into it for the leadership position. I solely wanted to spin. I wanted to have the same impact that Leilani had on me just in a performance setting.
00:18:22
Speaker
So, when I got the leadership position, what came really naturally to me was just working hard, putting in a ton of hours of practice and encouraging my band to do that. And then after that, I had reflecting.
00:18:41
Speaker
with the leadership portion of it, I just knew I wanted to be different than the leaders who came before me. They were not very nice to the incoming freshmen. They were harsh on you if you weren't talented instead of helping you and uplifting you. So when I got that position, I'm like, you know what? I gotta do this differently. When someone needs my help, I'm not gonna put them down. I'm gonna help them to the best of my ability.
00:19:09
Speaker
Yeah, and those were my struggles and what came naturally for me. And it's interesting, just looking at the four of you guys, your journeys through this position is very, very unique. But there's obviously a very common golden thread of true service for others. And just hearing your individual stories, I think, for our listeners is really valuable because it's nice to hear.
00:19:35
Speaker
the things that aren't typically talked about, like when you're in the tunnel and you're gunning it to that position or you're leading your ensemble, these things obviously aren't talked about often. So being able to hear that perspective from you guys, I mean, it's worth its weight in gold. So let's put that aside. Let's talk about the competition aspect.

First Competition Horror Stories

00:19:53
Speaker
So we're going to start at the bookends.
00:19:55
Speaker
first competitions and then the championship run. All right. So I want to hear the horror story of everyone's first competition, because obviously everyone's first competition. I mean, like for me, it was terrible. Like it was so bad. Okay. Let's start with Keegan this time. Of course you're starting with me. I'm kidding. Um, I, oh my gosh. Was my first one San Mateo? I think so. Yeah. I think so.
00:20:24
Speaker
Uh, yeah, that was something. Um, yeah, I mean, it was, it wasn't bad. It was kind of cool. I remember my mom was in the stands. Um, I was super nervous. Like, you know, that feeling where there's like, like, it's like almost like you're like on a roller coaster, like that, like, Oh my gosh, I'm gonna throw up type of feeling. That was definitely what I was feeling. I remember, um, also like doing vocals full out was kind of scary, especially when like your judge was. I don't know. It was like first time being judged and walked around and standing inspection and everything. I was like, Oh my gosh.
00:20:54
Speaker
Um, but yeah, I remember after the performance, I was so hard on myself. I was like, I did so bad in that I dropped a, you know, I slipped or whatever happened. I don't remember. Actually, I think I did drop though. I definitely dropped. I got like out of step like three times and yeah. Oh yeah. I got out of step on my salute. But then, um, my mom said that, um, people in the stands were like, who is that? And I was like, there's no way that's crazy. Um, but yeah, it was kind of fun. That was the start of it. It was definitely hard for me. And then.
00:21:22
Speaker
All right, Chance, what was the first run? Let's tell it. So in quite honesty, my first one run was an eye pattern competition and it actually went really well. I got a penalty for, we used to do the slit penalties and
00:21:40
Speaker
And I got one or two slip penalties. It was funny, right before I went on, I told my instructor, I was like, I gotta pee so bad. And she's like, you're gonna go after, you got one person in front of you, and you know what? The best friends happen when you have to pee. And it was a pretty good run. But my first L pattern competition, which was my senior year, it was very messy.
00:22:03
Speaker
I remember watching the video and I was like, wow, that was bad. And I ended up forgetting portions of my routine. And I'm like, how did I forget those? I never forget my routines, but the L pattern is so much longer than an eye pattern and I ended up forgetting. So that was like the biggest change going from eye pattern to an L pattern. Oh, absolutely. And Caden, your first run, when was that? My first run was
00:22:33
Speaker
middle school and then it was at Bellflower I think and I remember okay the spinning and the marching aspect was fine but I brought two left shoes that day they were white so and then at that point Gabriel was competing too and his uniform only had black shoes I was like oh my god I'm screwed so I had no choice but to march with those two white left shoes which is like really funny because
00:23:02
Speaker
I remember the judge didn't say anything about it in the tape or in the paper, so I was like, okay. But honestly, that was the highlight. It was just I had two left shoes, my first competition, but yeah. And it was a good run? It was a good run, I would say, yeah. Okay, good. Okay, awesome. Sweet. All right, and let's finish up the Zach, your first run. So my first run was actually a parade competition, and it was the Foothill Band Review in downtown Pleasanton.
00:23:29
Speaker
And it's a massive street with lots of people on the ends and for not having done any competition or spinning in public in general, that was frightening. I had a run that day, like clean, but not very good, obviously. And then my first L pattern run was the following winter season. I mean, it was a mess. It was drops and out of steps.
00:23:59
Speaker
Whatever, but I remember it was just so fun that day because I met so many drum majors from different schools, different realms, and people with different stories, and it was just an amazing time. And that's what made me fell in love with L pattern. It's the people.
00:24:17
Speaker
All right. All right. Well, thank you for telling us about our first, our first chapter of our, uh, our story. What we're going to do right now is we're going to call the band to parade rest and then we'll be right on back to talk about each one of your championship runs. All right. Hey everyone, it's Jeremy and here are your announcements coming from the box.
00:24:46
Speaker
You want to drink up on a water break lost in translation with Cynthia Bernard. Uncover the glitz and glamour of twirlers with on a water break and rhinestones hosted by Lexi Duda. Get the insider scoop from the stands with on a water break from the stands with Cindy Berry, AKA Leander Mama, and join the band family in on a water break family style with Stephanie Click. Plus much, much more to come. Make sure to follow us on social media at on a water break for all the latest updates and bonus content.
00:25:16
Speaker
got something to share or a burning question, email us at onawaterbreakpodcastatgmail.com. So don't be the person that doesn't tell their friends about a water break. Make sure everyone stays hydrated. Okay field staff, take it away.
00:25:36
Speaker
All right. And we're back. Let's do everything in rank and file by the center. Quick. March. All right. So we are back with our four previous California drum major state champions. We just listened in about their first run in the L pattern format.

Championship Run Memories

00:25:52
Speaker
Now it's time to talk about the final run, the championship, the California championship run, the, the, the final. Golden arrow. All right.
00:26:05
Speaker
Who am I going to start off with this time? Okay. Let's start with chance. Let's hear, let's hear your, uh, your story, what it felt like to go through that final run and what was in, what was that head space like? And what do you remember about the day? Well, transferring over from eye pattern to L pattern, it was, L pattern was a lot less stressful. I don't know why it, I was not as nervous. I was a lot more calm, relaxed.
00:26:35
Speaker
And then, so the year 2018, up in Fresno, it was in this big ol' stadium and it was so cool getting to like rehearse out in the parking lot, warm up. I remember seeing you two, it was the first time the paths crossed and I was like, you look kind of weird. You're totally baton. And I'm like, you're with my base. It was like the first NorCal, SoCal crossover in like 30 years and we're just like,
00:27:00
Speaker
What the heck are you? Anyway, I think that was the first year they did a state championship, right? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, since like what, early 2000s. Yep, yep. It was it was such a cool experience. And I remembered
00:27:16
Speaker
my opener and then kind of blacked out in between and then I remembered the salute. I remember in the opener, I felt like I had almost dropped when I caught my waterfall. Something just fell off about it. I'm sorry, I remember thinking, okay, don't do that again. We're competing right now. Then the rest of it felt so smooth and cool and collected and I was just so relaxed. I get into the salute and I'm like, wow, this is the last one.
00:27:44
Speaker
this, this is the last time I'm competing. And because after high school, there's really, we are so unique in California to what we do. And there's really nothing after high school in California to do this except for teach or judge. And it was just very emotional knowing that that was the last time when I was like, let's just enjoy this, just have fun with it. And yeah, that's what I was feeling.
00:28:11
Speaker
Yeah, so I remember the 2018 state championship because it was still when there were separate divisions when they originally had mace division and they had military division. So I remember the military division went through and then I remember the sun literally just parked right 60 degrees to the beginning for the bases like oh gosh, here we go.
00:28:32
Speaker
I remember my final run as well too and that was awesome. It was a blast. I'm really happy now that they layered it over now to a single competitive division because it makes things more interesting and it pushes people. Let's see who I'm going to pick on next. Zach, let's hear about your run last year that won you the state championship.
00:28:56
Speaker
Yeah, so my run last year was down in Pasadena in the Pasadena City College. And I mean, for the whole, for the NorCal season beforehand, I was, I mean, it was a grind the whole season. And I, for the online competitions that I did before state championships, it was kind of more relaxed because I'm, you know, I'm not in such like a big hurry and doing the whole day types of competitions.
00:29:25
Speaker
And then I get to state, and I remember that day, gorgeous day.
00:29:33
Speaker
I just felt like it was gonna be a good run, and it was. So when I went up for my opener, my opener went okay. It wasn't my best opener, but it was pretty solid in that I knew I could get a good run with it. And then I did, my music was kind of slow, so I kind of was in my head the entire first leg. And then it turned, and then it was okay, because then I'd do my L, the actual L, and then I turned back for my salute. And this was where,
00:30:00
Speaker
the bulk of my hard part of my routine is. So I turn and then I have a parallel that I catch behind my back.
00:30:10
Speaker
And that was really the only move that I was thinking about for the whole run. And the music hit that cue, and so I tossed it. And then it was a little shaky on my footing. I had to shift my footing to catch it, but I did feel like I was able to get... Because when I wrecked it, I know if I can catch the one I toss or not.
00:30:32
Speaker
And then I'd crotch it. And then I realized, okay, that's, the run was pretty much in the bag. Um, I, at least I did what I could. And so I finished up the routine. Um, I halted and it was, I felt good. It was a good run. Um, I felt happy about going down to SoCal for that run. Um, and it was, it went well. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. All right, Keegan, let's hear your story. So a little backstory, cause this is the COVID year.
00:31:03
Speaker
We actually were hunting for the best location to film the last run-through. I remember, Jack. We went to a lot of different locations and we were trying to find one that would fit the vibe of the routine. Just to clear the air on this, Hayden and Keegan were like this the entire year. It was crazy nonstop.
00:31:26
Speaker
Open division was a nightmare and I would never I would never want to compete in that. But anyway, yeah, so she can continue with this Yeah, so we went to what's it called? The lowly gardens is that the place? We look like this like haunted mansion and anyway continue It was pretty fun. I Think for some reason like it just wasn't the right place. It was beautiful though. Like loved the location We filmed a few reps there, but it didn't really I don't know. I think I just like wasn't like just didn't feel right and then we went and
00:31:58
Speaker
Yeah, also, I mean, not to like jump around, but my routine changed for my last performance. And that was kind of fun, changed all the music, changed everything about it. It was kind of a weird process, but it was definitely kind of a group decision, which was fun.
00:32:18
Speaker
I'm facing out and trying to think about everything. It's been so long, y'all. It's been so long. So we filmed it at a church that I grew up going to. And I actually work at a coffee shop that's on the church property now. So it's kind of fun. I still see the place that I was like, oh, that's where I did my routine every day when I go to work. But yeah, I did my routine there, filmed a few reps. It was kind of fun getting to
00:32:44
Speaker
rep it a few times and like record it. I think that was definitely a luxury we had in 2021 was like getting those multiple reps. But also if you're a perfectionist, it kind of sucked because you were like every single time you're like, Oh my gosh, I have to do it again. I'm going to do it again. That wasn't good enough. And then you have to like watch each run and be like, which one was the best? And you're like, wait, which one did I slip in? Oh my gosh. It's just, it's, it was awful honestly. But you know, I kind of missed like the days where it was like, you just do it and it's done. But yeah, we found at the time I actually like we filmed a few and I didn't know which one was going to be the right one.
00:33:14
Speaker
but then I got home and I was watching all the reps and I watched one of them and at my salute as soon as I broke my salute in one of them the church bells rang and for some reason they like perfectly hit in the song and I was like I didn't even watch the rest of the run I was just like okay this is the one so I like I liked it and then I uploaded it and then I was like okay let's see what happens and I remember
00:33:41
Speaker
I remember we were like, oh my gosh, like, because we didn't think that we got it that I don't know, I thought I don't know why it's like, we didn't think we got like the right like, we didn't get like a really good run through. And then that one was the run through. And we were like, Oh, okay, I guess we did get a good one. So
00:33:55
Speaker
Yeah, that was kind of it. And that's the story. And, um, of course the 45

Innovative Routines

00:34:01
Speaker
inversion was introduced for the first time in the drum major world at that run. And that was, that was definitely a crazy moment. Oh yeah. Yeah, no, that was definitely the day that one of the NorCal signatures was made. So it was a, it was a cool, cool thing. Oh my gosh. One of my favorite memories is Daniel Arfaro. He sent me a video of the judges after the competition.
00:34:25
Speaker
like the room with like the TV and they kept replaying it and they're like whoa like freaking out like do it again record go back go back do it again whoa like he knew that the whole time like it was super funny but yeah I mean that was it was kind of funny to me that that was like such like a big thing because I mean in color guard catching a 45 behind your back it's
00:34:45
Speaker
Kind of not standard, but it's like, it's definitely like a more advanced skill, but it's kind of like, oh yeah, you just like do that. So putting that into the drum major world, it was just like, oh, now I'm gonna put it like in the frontal plane of the 45 and then just move my hand a little bit over and it's right there. And then everyone in the drum major world's like, I'm just like, that's kind of funny. But yeah, it's kind of funny how that like blew up and it was so crazy. 45 inversion.
00:35:09
Speaker
All right, and to finish it up, we have Caden's Symphony, the handwritten L pattern in every sense of the word. Caden, let's hear it. I think Champs was at Cristina Valley. Yeah. And funny thing about that one is that, like, my grandparents lived there and my cousins, so I don't know if my cousins would come, but my grandparents came, so it was, like, really cool. It was super cloudy that day, I remember. It was, like, cold and cloudy. It was.
00:35:37
Speaker
And I think I was nervous, but like, I wasn't shaking, shaking nervous. I don't know. I wasn't that. Yeah. I was like pretty cool. And then I did a routine and I remember like my left routine, like I had a, what's it called? The pomp spin pass and then you go over your head or whatever. And I didn't do it for some reason. So I was like, okay, whatever. And I just like improv something.
00:36:05
Speaker
Yeah, we did not know that we did not know Yeah, so without my official announcement I did not know my routine my left Other than that though, like I thought it was a really good run and then Yeah Yeah, it was like my I want to I want to hear about the music because I think that is so special. I mean like oh Yeah, so
00:36:35
Speaker
I wanna say I started writing it in fall season, I think. And literally, the first part is just like two, they're like, okay, I don't wanna get too theory theory. Go for it, go for it, go for it. They're like, it's literally a whole tonal part and you just like smoosh them together. It's like D flat and E flat and you just go boom, boom, boom. And you're like, it's all on quarter notes and then you just pedal it and it sounds like so pretty. And then I was like, okay, I'll do something off of that.
00:37:05
Speaker
I knew for sure I wanted to do like an ocean theme. I don't know. I'm like, I really like the ocean. I don't know. I just want to be like an Atlantis kind of thing. So like, in the beginning, you'll hear water. Oh, no. Yeah, you'll hear like water sounds like you're underground, like you're submerged in the water. And then like at the end, you'll hear like crashing waves because you're like out of the water and like you just explored Atlantis or whatever.
00:37:28
Speaker
That's awesome. So anyway, just from someone who was watching, when they announced it, I didn't realize that you wrote that entire piece of music yourself, right? You wrote it from beginning to end, right? Yeah. We recorded it, made this piece, and then made a routine to it. And that's obviously, I mean, that's never been done before. Never. That's amazing.
00:37:57
Speaker
Funny thing is I actually recorded it like in this room I am right now and the keyboard that I recorded on is like right behind me. So like I did all the instruments on that one keyboard and like, oh yeah, that was cool. Can I ask Kaden a question? Did you write it with the intention of using it for L pattern or did it kind of just happen? Oh, okay. That's a really good question.
00:38:22
Speaker
It just happened. I wrote the first part, which was going to be my opener. But then at that point, I was like, this is not for drum major. I'm just playing around. And I was like, wait a second. This would be so cool as an opener. So that's how it happened.
00:38:39
Speaker
Yeah, no, that's that's that's amazing. That's absolutely amazing So we're gonna finish up on some some fun questions some some quick Quick questions. All right. All right. So let's go down the list here. All right, your favorite move on the on your home equipment So let's start with you Zach. What's your favorite move?
00:38:58
Speaker
My favorite move has to be, I call it the Glandora toss, where it's a roundhouse waterfall toss, and then the hands go juxtaposed. I think it's been in every single routine I've done, parade and L pattern, since I've started. All right. Chance, what about you? The waterfall. And now, primarily, it's done in the right hand. If you watch the King Drum majors, they did it in the right hand.
00:39:27
Speaker
I told my kids, I'm like, you know what? We're gonna start doing the left hand. So the left hand waterfall, either adding both three hands or one free hand and having the clock motion, my absolute favorite bit of. All right. All right, Keegan, what about you on a mace? Ooh, honestly, my favorite move is actually on baton.
00:39:46
Speaker
Oh, okay. Okay. Go for it. I love some good finger rolls. I learned how to like infinite finger roll, where you flick it off the pinky and catch on the index finger. Like that was one that I love to do. It's like the Ohio State baton twirler one. But my favorite finger roll move is one where you do a full finger roll and then you go back over the other hands, but you extend your arm down and then you finish in a pinch grip at the bottom, like between your thumb and your index finger. And then you can go right up into your, it's like up and then around and then up. That's the one I really like to do. It's fun.
00:40:14
Speaker
Yeah. And so funny story about that is Keegan wanted a signal baton, but we didn't want like the average signal baton. So we ordered literally a miniature like toothpick mace from, um, from Moffat mace. We got it like, what was it? It was just like 40 inches, right? Or something like that. I forgot what it was. Exactly. I think it was 38, 38. And so basically we made a signature, like a miniature baton into a, into the signal and it worked like perfect. It worked. It was so great. Yeah.
00:40:41
Speaker
All right, and finally, Caden, what's your favorite move? It would have to be... I think it's something I made up. It was like, it's like your palm spin on a 45 with your right hand like below you, and then you go up, up, up, and you pass it to your left hand, and now your palm's spinning like right here. Oh my gosh. I did that. Okay, I was never able to figure out how y'all did it. It's like, it is so exposed. No, I did that. I remember I did it in like my sophomore routine, I think. But yeah, that's my favorite move.
00:41:11
Speaker
All right, all right. So now that we have favorite moves out of the way, what is being a parade drum age without having a favorite march? Keegan, what's your favorite march? Oh my gosh, I haven't, oh my god. Oh god, this changed it, hold on. I have like marches, I just got like march, you know like March Madness, like the John Philip Sousa thing, I put like the stickers on the back of my laptop just now. Let me look at some of these. I've got the Boisula Brigade, HM Jollies, Pathfinder, Panama, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Out of those,
00:41:41
Speaker
Boys Oliver Gates is pretty dang good. I like that one. I played it in high school. It's pretty fun. Pretty toasty, I'd have to say. All right, Chance. Oh, man. I love Dr. Collette Halsey's work. Marsh Miner is probably my top favorite.
00:41:58
Speaker
And with Stars and Stripes right next to it, I love Marsh Minor. It's this march in a minor key. So it was written for this guy, Benton Minor. He was a college professor down here. And all of his students who were in college won the Arcadia Band Review.
00:42:17
Speaker
They're called the Benton Boys. So the history behind the march is so cool. But Dr. Klette Halsey wrote it with hints of Army of the Nile embedded into it. It's just such a brilliant march. So yeah, that'd be it. Quite the Riverside King response. All right. Yeah. Zach, what's your favorite march? My favorite march is probably Shoesberry Fair.
00:42:45
Speaker
I just love the low brass feature. It's just so powerful. And I remember first hearing it when Diamond Bar played it like two or three years ago, and they just played it on the streets so dang well. And I was just like, I was shocked. I was like, wow, I didn't know low brass could sound like that.
00:43:04
Speaker
All right, and Kayden, what's your favorite march? Oh, I have like a top three. Okay, so I think in North. What's in third place? There's one that we did a long time ago. It's I wasn't I wasn't even born. No, I was born. I wasn't there. It's called Washington Grays.
00:43:24
Speaker
And then there's another one we did recently, March of the Woman Marines. That one's a little bit more popular. And then the one my sister did, March Grandiosa, I think. Yeah, those three are my favorite. All right. All right. So.
00:43:41
Speaker
With all these awesome concepts that we've been able to talk about, I can ask a better group of individuals this question.

Future of Drum Major Art Form

00:43:49
Speaker
Where do you see the drum major art form going in the future? Caden, I want us to start with you. Oh, where do you want to see the drum major art form go? That's a really, okay. I really want, I feel like this is already happening, but typically when you do parade,
00:44:07
Speaker
They, we don't do a lot of like tricky, like cool stuff. But yeah, like I just want to see in the future, like more people adding, because I know like people can do it, but I feel like it's just not as, it's a little bit taboo. Um, so I just want to see like people would do like the really cool tricks that they do in L patterns. I mean, it's already happening, but, um, I want to see that more. Absolutely. On the street. Absolutely. Yes. And, uh, so Keegan, what about you? Where do you want to see the drum major art form go? Ooh.
00:44:35
Speaker
I mean, obviously I'm someone who's like went from drum majoring to color guard. So it probably seems like I'd be someone who's going to be like, I want to see like more body quality and more like dancing on the street. No, I don't, um, I'm definitely not like that. I don't want to like the drum and just the boogie down the street or anything. So that would be kind of fun to watch. I mean, like if it was like a, uh, like an actual parade and not like a competitive parade, but that'd be really entertaining. I would, sorry, I'm going on a tangent. I would say I really want to see like,
00:45:02
Speaker
Oh, that's hard. I don't know. I want to see it evolve more with flourishing and see drum majors continue to add on to ideas that have been built from their past. But I also do want to see that foundation of what it means to be a drum major continuing through the aspect of leadership and really doing that, even on the street, through your body presence, your performance quality, your attitude, making sure that those things stay consistent, even if we do expand on those things, and making sure that it's always going to be execution. Yes, execution over content. Yeah. All right.
00:45:32
Speaker
Chance, where do you see the drum major art form going and where do you want to see it go? I am fearful that we could possibly start losing the specifically the parade aspect of it. We, oh my gosh Arcadia, used that street for 40 years and then all of a sudden it got moved streets and
00:45:59
Speaker
I keep bringing them up, but I'm still in contact with the Hazzies and Mr. Hazzie was telling me how we probably will never go back to that street, Baldwin Boulevard. And we've lost these great band reviews like the Western Band Review and all that stuff. And I'm just hopeful that we don't lose it. And I think, arguably,
00:46:21
Speaker
The drum majoring arts is what's keeping Parade alive. It's kind of enticing the directors to keep doing it, because they're going to have a few upset kids if they cancel for AIDS. And I don't want to lose the tradition behind it, because what our drum majoring is so unique that we don't move our bodies, yet we have this
00:46:47
Speaker
spinning around us and we can't even see what's going on. All we see is these swirls and this toss and the body's completely still. And I think that's what wows people so much is that we can stay still and not do that. So I hope it stays alive. And I hope we keep introducing these new tricks because we need to evolve while keeping the tradition. Absolutely. Right. And finally, Zach sheep.
00:47:15
Speaker
Where do you see the drum major art form going and what do you want to see happen to the art form? I see this drum major art form being so competitive and I love that because competition is what fosters these new ideas and these new tricks and new traditions even.
00:47:33
Speaker
What I've noticed is here in Northern California this season with the Schuylastic or the the majors division spinners, they are so dang good. Like it is so competitive and they they would have smoked the open class my first year. I mean it's just as we evolve more and we're returning from COVID, I feel like there's a spark that
00:47:58
Speaker
It's kind of lit. I haven't seen the world before COVID, but what I've seen after COVID is there's a spark that everyone wants to improve, that everyone wants to get better. And that competition is already, I'm seeing it already throughout the season, fostering these new moves and these new, you know, this new music ideas, these new changes of
00:48:22
Speaker
of, you know, forms and stuff like that. But I agree with Chances. I hope the tradition, which is one of the biggest contributors to this art form, is the history, the traditions, and the passed down, even like oral stories.
00:48:38
Speaker
And I hope that that will change or will stay. And I know that as the drum majors progress and move on, that is one thing that will stay constant is the traditions, the stories, because that's really what defines this art form, I feel like.
00:48:54
Speaker
But I feel like the competition that's only going to get more vigorous throughout these years, I hope that continues. That's what fosters this immense skill determination. And what's this art forms ultimately about? Absolutely. And I think there's an excellent middle ground that can be struck because I feel like we need that foundation as our guiding light because that is our foundation that we build everything off of. But I think there's opportunity to take
00:49:24
Speaker
performance to a different location through music. I think there's so much opportunity for storytelling through music through different parts of the L pattern, right? Like you can still have perfect posture and you should have perfect posture, but your music can be changing, right? And it should make sense and you should have signals for those changes, right? As dictated by your foundation, but you can tell a story through different
00:49:48
Speaker
different ideas through music. And I think that's a really cool space that hasn't been completely explored yet. So anyway, I just wanted to say thank you to the For Review.
00:49:58
Speaker
You are all just outstanding individuals. I'm so grateful to have met you through this art form and seeing the fire and passion for this activity burn bright in each one of you nonstop. I mean, that means the world to me. And I'm so grateful to have all of you guys as friends. I just wanted to plug you guys. Can they find you on Instagram chance or can they find
00:50:24
Speaker
And can any of our audience find you on Instagram? Yes, it is all lowercase. It's drum major underscore 2018. All right, drum major. All right, Kaden, where can they find you? Kaden.cho or selfless shame slug. My spot is on. Go check out his music. That's all right. And Zach, where can they find you? Instagram at Zach.she. And finally Keegan.
00:50:54
Speaker
You can find my Instagram. Keegan was Keegan McClough is taken. So it's Keegeez with a Z. So K-E-E-G-I-E-Z. Yep. Had that since middle school. Never changed it. Still want to change it, but for now, kick it out.
00:51:08
Speaker
All right, so to finish this off, let's call this band to dismissal. Band, you are dismissed. Make sure that you all listen into another episode of On a Water Break. In the next coming weeks, we'll be working with our entire host group on a variety of different marching arts topics. All right, thank you all again. Peace out.
00:51:37
Speaker
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. And until next time, thanks for tuning in.