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DCI 2025 Wrap Up: OAWB Bonus – Correspondents Return with Finals Stories
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Your All-Access Pass to the Marching Arts.
A Podcast for Marching Arts Enthusiasts—On the Field, In the Stands & Behind the Scenes.
Drum Corps International 2025 is in the books — and our correspondents are back to break it all down. From Boston Crusaders to Bluecoats to Carolina Crown, this bonus OAWB episode dives into finals week highs, Allentown ovations, Rose Bowl hype, and the tour stories that defined the summer.
💬 Guests & Correspondents:
- Clara Bagwell — Boston Crusaders Front Ensemble (@_clara.01100010)
- Jack Hawkins — Boston Crusaders Guard (@ispinweapon)
- Omari Holaki — Carolina Crown (@omarimholaki)
- Davis Jay — Bluecoats Battery (@davis.jay)
👤 Host: Jackie Brown — @spintronixguard
🌟 Highlights
- Finals week reflections & returning home
- Boston vs. Bluecoats traditions + rivalries
- Allentown ovations & Crown prop challenges
- Jack’s unforgettable Heather Graham pep-talk story
- A rain-soaked Bluecoats standstill that turned magical
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💼 Sponsor
- Guard Closet → https://www.guardcloset.com | IG: @guardcloset
📬 Want to be a guest or suggest a topic?
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#DCI2025 #DrumCorps #MarchingBand #BostonCrusaders #Bluecoats #CarolinaCrown #ColorGuard #BandKids #MarchingArts #OnAWaterBreak
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Transcript
Introduction and Host Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey everyone, and welcome to this special episode of On A Water Break, the podcast where we talk about everything you and your friends are talking about at rehearsal on a water break. This week, I am hosting by myself, but I'm gonna be checking in with our DCI correspondents to see how they are acclimating back to life as civilians after an incredible tour. Adolph the Met and go. Welcome to On Water Bridge. The podcast where talk everything marching arts. Everyone, bring it in. It's time for a
Interview with Davis J: Post-Tour Life and Drumming
00:00:43
Speaker
water break. First, we're going to start off with our newest correspondent who joined a little bit late in the game, but as he joined from last year's world champions, the Bluecoats, we're going to go ahead and let that slide.
00:01:00
Speaker
Here's my interview with Davis J. Hey, guys. so this is Jackie here, and we are back with another one of our DCI correspondents. This time it's Jay who just got home from the blue coats. ah Davis. Hey.
00:01:14
Speaker
hey so yeah, I totally was like, Oh, no problem. It's Davis Jay. And yet I've been back and forth all season calling you Davis or calling you Jay. So I am glad to know now that you go by Davis. So how are you feeling today? How are you feeling being home?
00:01:30
Speaker
It's really great. It's good to be with the family after being away from them for three or four months or whatever. And it's nice to finally be able to relax a little bit. Are you doing anything to keep your chops up now that DCI World Championships is over?
00:01:44
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I'm sitting here a pad right next to my chair. So whenever I'm sitting in this chair, I'm probably drumming for the most part. Except for right now, I say.
00:01:56
Speaker
Well, drumming or talking about drumming, I feel like it all kind of is in the same wheelhouse. Yeah. Yeah. Preparing for the WGI season too. So that's kind of why. Where are you marching for WGI?
00:02:09
Speaker
Redline. It's in Michigan. World class group. Seeing some cool changes there. I'm excited to go back. Excellent. Excellent. So you were at Bluecoats and we didn't get to do the preseason chat with you. like I got to do with some of the others.
00:02:24
Speaker
How... um So how did it go about that you got involved with Bluecoats? Tell us about that sort of process. And was this your first year or are you a veteran member? How did that go?
00:02:37
Speaker
Yeah, so I'm a veteran. I marched in 24 and in this past season, obviously, and then next year will be my age out. So I got into Bluecoats because I discovered the activity back in 2019.
00:02:51
Speaker
where my family brought me to, I'm from Indiana, so they brought me to the drum corps finals in Indy back in 2019. And we didn't go see performances or anything, but I was just in the lots, just walking around, seeing all the drum lines and stuff. And I've always been a drummer.
00:03:09
Speaker
So I was walking around, they thought that I would think it would be cool. And was walking around watching all the drum lines and they were all cool. And I went up to the Bluecoats and just couldn't help but stay there. Like I, like before I was walking around and I was like, all these, all these groups are sweet. Like, I love this drum line thing. I want to do this. And then I saw the Bluecoats and I was like, that's the group that I want to do.
00:03:29
Speaker
It was the coolest thing I'd ever seen. Like they were having fun, but they were executing so well. And it was like just the way that they were vibing in that, in that warm up lot. I was like, yeah, that's the group that I want to do.
00:03:41
Speaker
So I started auditioning the next year. And so since 2020, I've been auditioning for the blue coats and I finally made it in 2024. That is some awesome persistence. And you didn't, did you march anywhere before blue coats?
00:03:55
Speaker
Nope, never other than red line for WGI, but that's little different. But still, i mean, you're working on your chops and making sure you're improving your technique constantly. yeah That's amazing. Do you feel like you're creating that experience now for future drummer children?
00:04:11
Speaker
I hope so. Yeah, I think that we are. There's a lot of like Like in the warmup lots and stuff, like there'll be fans that come up to see us and they'll like tell us how cool it is. And it's like, it's cool to see that. Cause it's like, that's what I was when I was, you know, watching blue cuts, 2019 in the, in the, in the warmup lot.
00:04:28
Speaker
And so it was like cool to see those kids now doing that to us. So. Awesome.
Memorable Performance: Boston Home Show
00:04:33
Speaker
So what sort of your favorite memory from this summer? You feel like just something that's going to like stick with you for the rest of your life. That's a good question.
00:04:45
Speaker
Yeah, there's a lot, but there's one that sticks out to me where in the moment it sucked a lot, but it was at the Boston home show. We were in, I forget what city, but it was around Boston, Massachusetts, and it got super rained out.
00:05:01
Speaker
But we still went and did a standstill performance and just played some like fun little tunes. And it was pouring rain and we were getting soaked and our drums kind of got ruined a little bit. And in the moment we were like, my gosh, it's so wet, especially like transitional.
00:05:16
Speaker
Like we were transitioning to to the stadium and it was like a 10 minute walk, just walking in the rain. But then we got to the the stadium and we started performing and it was the coolest thing ever. There was people there that didn't even know what drum pour was. They just like saw it was happening and they walked in.
00:05:31
Speaker
The crowd was full of people. We were just jamming out and the on the field. We didn't our show, obviously. but it was super fun in the moment. But then like walking back and forth between our bus and the stadium kind of sucked. But now that I look back, I'm like, okay, that was one of the coolest things that ever done.
00:05:50
Speaker
And that's like completely... like You're not going to recreate that. like It's just not going to happen quite like that ever again. Yeah. Yeah. It was that's something that I'll remember forever for sure.
00:06:02
Speaker
That's awesome. So logistically, what are some of the differences Like, what are some of the adjustments you guys make for weather whenever it comes to drum corps? Because I know like, so like when I marched, there was this seriously like, no, we're hardcore. It's raining. We don't care. We're going to get out there.
00:06:17
Speaker
And that wasn't always the smartest choice. So what are some of the adjustments that drum corps make whenever this sort of thing happens when there's weather? Most of the time it just happens in rehearsal.
00:06:31
Speaker
Very rarely does like a show get rained out or stormed out or anything. It does happen though. But in rehearsal, like for the blue coats, we, we, um, we do spring training in Ohio. So Ohio rains pretty much every day over spring training, which kind of, but every year for WGI.
00:06:49
Speaker
yeah Yeah. What we do when it rains is, at least for the drum line, because our drums, if they get wet, they'll start to rust and kind of warp and and get destroyed. So we can't really let the drums get wet too much.
00:07:03
Speaker
So we go and rehearse inside and we just do a standstill, like learning music or cleaning, stuff like that. And then for lightning, we have a medical team and they normally let us know what's going on with weather and stuff. So if there's lightning, we have to go seek shelter immediately for at least 30 minutes.
00:07:23
Speaker
And for when it's like extremely hot and everybody's like dying, we have to have a five minute break every 30 minutes or a 10 minute break every hour. I'm pretty sure it's how they do it.
00:07:36
Speaker
like a shade break and a water break and stuff. So they treat us pretty well in terms of like crazy weather conditions. And then obviously if there's ever like a crazy, like tornado warning, which we had one this summer, we just go inside and chill for a while because you can't really rehearse obviously.
00:07:55
Speaker
So do
Weather Challenges with Bluecoats
00:07:56
Speaker
you have, you get, you don't get tornadoes very much in Indiana, do you? No, not really. Was that a scary experience then getting to like having to be out there with tornado warning going on?
00:08:08
Speaker
It was for a minute. It was like, yeah, this is kind of scary because you would look outside and it was like super dark in the middle of the day. and you're like, oh, these clouds are of scary looking. But at the same time, it's fun. Like you're with all your friends and you're just like you're in drum corps and you finally get like a little bit of a break. You're like, OK, I get to just chill, even though there's some crazy stuff happening outside. I'm inside and I'm safe and I get to just relax for a bit.
00:08:31
Speaker
Yeah, I think that was one of yeah the top
Physical Preparation for Drum Corps
00:08:34
Speaker
videos that you sent in and we posted on our social media was whenever you guys were just chilling during that tornado, people were watching that video like crazy.
00:08:44
Speaker
That's funny. I don't remember where it was. I forget what state we were in, but it was, yeah, that was that was a crazy, that's another memory that I'll i'll remember for probably a while. Yep. I,
00:08:56
Speaker
I remember marching during a tornado and Nebraska, it was at the stadium in Nebraska, the corn Husker stadium. So yeah, that will stick with you forever. It's been a long time since I marched. So that memory will stick with you forever.
00:09:10
Speaker
So how was it this year being a vet for the first time versus last year as a rookie? What are some of the sort of differences in the experience just from having already had a season under your belt?
00:09:25
Speaker
These seasons were definitely different for me in terms of like my experience. So like in 24, was stressful as a first year member, but it was also really exciting. just because I was like, okay, I finally get to do the blue coats. But also it was like stressful because I'm like, don't really know what I'm getting into. I've never done drum corps before. Like, I don't know how hard this is going to be.
00:09:44
Speaker
And I've heard that it's really hard. And then I get to start doing it. And I'm like, yeah, this is really hard. And my body's like still like kind of getting acquainted with all the crazy stuff that you do.
00:09:55
Speaker
This year was a lot different, not only because I kind of like knew what to expect. So my body could handle it a lot better. And, but also just like the mental strength you need to be able to do drum corps. Like I kind of like figured out all the things that I need to um do to be able to handle that in 24. And then I was able to do it this year.
00:10:17
Speaker
And overall it was just like a much easier stress-free season not that there wasn't stressful times but like compared to 24 like 24 was the the most extreme emotions just because i like it was like the first time that i was away from my family and it was the first time that i was doing this insanely hard thing and then 25 was just like all right let's do it again lot easier for sure Knowing what to expect can definitely make it a lot easier. Did you do anything? i mean, I know you you say you played a lot and you and you you know you did winter drumline and so on.
00:10:55
Speaker
Is there anything that you did as far as like working out or like mindfulness exercises or anything like that to help prepare you for the season? Yeah, so 2024, they, for fun, a lot for the last few years, even before I started to do drum corps, and then I figured I should probably take it more seriously before the 2024 season. So I started to go like four or five times a week to kind of just build up the strength that I thought I needed.
00:11:26
Speaker
And it did help a lot. And then Bluecoats also, they do, I think they do Forte Athletics, where they just have like this preseason. strength training stuff that that they they do and it works a lot i did that but also like just doing your own like going to the gym and just do like walking on the treadmill or doing stairmaster or lifting weights or whatever it goes a long way the more you're consistent with it it definitely helps you especially for like pre-season because it it can take your body a lot of time to get used to the the strain that you put on it in drum corps like
00:12:01
Speaker
But if you're kind of putting that strain and like easing yourself into to the season,
Spring Training Routine and Social Life
00:12:06
Speaker
then you get to spring training and you're kind of just ready for it from the start. Are there any other fun or memorable stories that you want to share from your season?
00:12:15
Speaker
Kind of on the same topic, actually, we in spring training, we me and some of my friends on the snare line, not every night just because it's drum corps and it's hard, but as much as we had the motivation, we there was a gym in the field house that we would sometimes rehearse in at the college that we go or that we do spring training in.
00:12:39
Speaker
So at night after rehearsal, sometimes we'd go to the gym just to like lift weights for a little bit, just kind of for fun. And then we would, there's ah a gas station right next to the the campus. And we would always go to the gas station and get like a late night snack or drink or something.
00:12:54
Speaker
And that was kind of just like our nightly routine. That sounds like an excellent way to blow off steam, honestly, because I feel like going home and like trying just doing more more of the same, more playing and such, and more marching would be exhausting. And you don't really want to do anything else. But man, you could just lift weights and sort of let your mind go, that's that's great.
00:13:16
Speaker
Yeah, it was cool because in drum corps, it's so like... I'm just doing drum corps. And then it was cool. Like even just going to a gas station, it's like, oh, there's a little bit of freedom. Like I feel like I'm just normal life right now. So it's like, it takes you out of the moment for a little bit and gives you a little break from, from doing drum corps so much, you know?
00:13:34
Speaker
So what advice would you have for anybody else who really wants to join the Bluecoats like you wanted to, like who's just absolutely dead set? Like Bluecoats is my core specifically.
00:13:47
Speaker
Like what would be your advice to them moving forward? How how should they attack that?
Advice for Aspiring Bluecoats
00:13:53
Speaker
Sure. So the easiest answer is start auditioning as soon as you can, because it's a great experience. Like what I did, like I think my first audition, I was 15 for the Bluecoats. And obviously I went in, I wasn't like trying to make it or anything. I just went so I could learn like, like, how do you,
00:14:13
Speaker
do all the things that the blue cuts does and they do a great job at letting you know how to do all that so they set you up like a like a nice foundation to to keep building on so auditioning as soon as you can is really going to help because i think you can audition like i mean you can at least audition when you're 15 like i did but you can probably audition even younger than that so that's going to take you a long way especially like if you treat it as like a learning experience rather than like a stressful, like, Oh my gosh, I'm auditioning. I'm scared.
00:14:43
Speaker
You know, like it's, it's a really good experience. And all the membership in the blue coats are like, like they're, they're really outgoing and they're, they're going to do the, their best not to like intimidate you or anything, help you out throughout the, the audition process and stuff. So that's the, the best answer I can give is just put yourself out there. It can be scary because it's such a big step, but it's really fun once you do it.
00:15:09
Speaker
And that's what I did. That's awesome. Well, thank you so much, Davis. And I have enjoyed thoroughly getting to live vicariously through all of your social media posts.
00:15:20
Speaker
It's been really fun. And yeah, good luck with your age out next year and everything else. Thank you.
Interview with Omari Hulaki: Post-Tour Reflections
00:15:28
Speaker
Okay. Well, we're going to go over here because Davis promised to show me blue coat's name on the trophy from last year.
00:15:36
Speaker
We'll be right back after this.
00:15:47
Speaker
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00:16:02
Speaker
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00:16:16
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:16:40
Speaker
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00:16:53
Speaker
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00:17:09
Speaker
Now, you may have seen him guest hosting our podcast a number of times, and there is just something about Carolina Crown as a fan favorite.
00:17:22
Speaker
Stay tuned and listen to my check-in with Omari. Hey, Omari! It's so nice to see you back and off of tour. How has life been? Good.
00:17:32
Speaker
but Very slow compared to what I was doing before. Like, on tour, obviously, but Yeah, it's been fine. I've been doing a lot of reading, which has been fun.
00:17:44
Speaker
Usually, didn't read before to her, but I decided to pick it up because I have so much time before school starts. Nice. So you didn't have to like jump off the bus and like run right into band camp or anything like that?
00:17:57
Speaker
No. My university doesn't have a marching band. And then, as well, we don't start school until mid-September. So I've just been really bored.
00:18:09
Speaker
Just hanging out and hanging with your new roommates and everything. said something about moving out. You're like living in a new place now. and Yeah. So feel like at least right now I'm going to be living here and then come like breaks and stuff like that. Or if I decide like, oh, I can just go back to live with my parents and things are too expensive. I'll just do that.
00:18:32
Speaker
But yeah, try something new out with a few friends right now. That's great. do your friends know what a celebrity you are in the drum corps world? Yeah, they actually came to finals.
00:18:44
Speaker
So ah they were also making me feel very celebrity-like. That's amazing, though. How did it feel? like how How do you feel about your whole season in a nutshell? like Well, yeah, the season and itself was great.
00:18:59
Speaker
I loved performing that show. Like, especially towards the end when people were like, wait, hold on, the new ending? Like, people were going crazy for a new ending and whatnot. But yeah, that show was really hard.
00:19:11
Speaker
Especially because, like, we were moving it, like, playing on the move for a lot of it. And it's easier for, like, me personally, it's easier for me to, like, catch my breath while moving and doing choreo.
00:19:22
Speaker
When I have the horn on the face, like, i have to breathe a certain way. oh yeah. You know? Oh. Yeah, that was that was the only hard part of the show, but it got me really ripped towards the end. The only hard part was where you had to play and also march and do everything at the same time. That makes sense. That's perfect sense.
00:19:39
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, the rest of it, like, oh, no, the props. Oh, my God. The props were a nightmare. Just because the size or...
00:19:51
Speaker
Yeah, because they were just huge. And then also, we found out as we got to show sites that they didn't fit in most show sites. So we had to take them down and wheel them one way.
00:20:04
Speaker
Where at Nashville, actually, the pro stadium, we had to fully disassemble it. And fully reassemble it piece by piece on the field. And then go on. That was the one time we had to do that fully disassemble.
00:20:17
Speaker
Because the prop crew would get to the show site early. And then they would like build it up. And then that, yeah, that site, we had to fully disassemble it afterwards. There was another show where like we almost hit the power lines trying to transport our props.
00:20:32
Speaker
Oh my gosh, no. ah finals, it was weird. Like just finals week, it was weird because we had to like get to carry it in and what we call like ozempic mode. It's like we turn the pieces. So it's like it goes like this rather than that.
Challenges with Show Props
00:20:46
Speaker
And then, like, okay we had to take it to the East and then build it up in the end zone and then just push on. Yeah, those props were kind of devastating. Like, we kind of talked about some challenges. So what's some of your, like, favorite memories from this year? What just made you feel like an absolute boss on the field?
00:21:01
Speaker
um and The Island Town Regional. the I mean, that that crowd is usually very hard to please. That's what we say because it's like that crowd knows drum corps, you know?
00:21:12
Speaker
That's like – E-drumcore crowd. And they'll only cheer for what's, like, deserved to be cheered for. And we got pretty early standing ovation well because that was the night we had the new ending.
00:21:25
Speaker
And the ending before that was, like, people were saying that it wasn't great. So that new ending, and I don't think they were ready for it. So that was great just seeing, like, the wave of people stand up while I'm still, like, running across the field.
00:21:39
Speaker
I think another favorite memory was... I think it was after the show at War Memorial. There was like, there was like these two, these two young ladies that were like, they were just like, they had just started playing. i think one of them played trombone.
00:21:53
Speaker
They just started playing. And like, they were just talking about how, like how in awe they were of seeing how we moved on the field and whatnot. And I think a lot of, a lot of my favorite memories was from talking to people after shows where they're like Oh, when you guys did this and this and this, and I'm like, oh I forget that what we do is actually cool.
00:22:12
Speaker
And it's not just like, it's not just do this, rehearse, oh, rehearse this again, rehearse this again, do this again. Yeah, you can get a little disillusioned when you're on the road, especially if have like a whole bunch of like rehearsal days all in a row before you have another show again.
00:22:28
Speaker
Yeah, there was ah multiple points where it's like we'd have a show and then have a week with no show or like five days with no show and then we just like rehearse. Yeah, there was there was a few times where I was like, I got disconnected from how cool it is sometimes.
00:22:41
Speaker
So how did this year compare to last year for you
Comparing Seasons and Growth
00:22:46
Speaker
guys? Do you feel like it was like like harder work, easier, like more fun show, more serious show? What what do you feel like the comparison is like?
00:22:56
Speaker
In comparison last year, well, I mean, and Overall, we scored lower, but from, I guess, the things I can control, it was a lot harder visually of a show, which was, yeah, there was, as I mentioned before, we were moving like a lot. I think it was like eight minutes of our show. We were moving and playing as an ensemble.
00:23:18
Speaker
And then the brass book itself was a little bit easier than last year in comparison, but that also gave us the opportunity to achieve it better. Because, yeah, last year... And we also didn't have a brass feature this year.
00:23:31
Speaker
Because we were playing for so much time. We didn't have, like, a set-in, like, everyone cuts out just brass this year. Which, I honestly... Like, I was kind of a fan of it. Because I kind of just, like... If I could march 2010's DCI, I would.
00:23:45
Speaker
Just because, you know, they're moving and playing. So I'm kind of a fan of that. And not just, like, the standstill. Do something hard while you're standing still. Yeah. So, yeah, I...
00:23:57
Speaker
enjoyed performing this show a lot more than last year. You're able to kind of sit back and enjoy it though. Do you think also some of that though comes from experience? Like now you're more seasoned this season than you were last year.
00:24:12
Speaker
Yeah, I think so. Especially because, I mean, I'm saying a lot of these things in retrospect because if you had asked me last year, I would have said it's the best thing I've ever done. But yeah, definitely from experience.
00:24:24
Speaker
Yeah, I think you're very right. Definitely from experiences. Especially, like, a lot better experience. Even though the scores weren't exactly what we wanted, it was still really fun. And that's the thing. Like, scores aren't everything in this, you know? Like, like yeah, the scores are going to tell you who's, like, at the peak of their game, but it's it's going to change. It's not, you know, it was Blue Devils for a really long time, and then now it's it hasn't been the Blue Devils.
00:24:48
Speaker
So, you know, it that part rotates with everybody. But I think the individual experience and, like, what you're doing is is really, really valuable to the existence of the activity as a whole.
Commitment to Carolina Crown
00:25:02
Speaker
And it's great, especially because i'm just getting this much better. Like I'm getting so much better at my heart, you know, and like we do fundamentals every day. So like my fundamentals are as strong as they could ever be right now.
00:25:14
Speaker
yeah And yeah, I always, even last year i came away, i walked away from season last year and I was like, whoa, my fundamentals are just so much greater. So how many more years do you have left?
00:25:26
Speaker
I have one more. This next season is my age. Awesome time. and you're planning on going back to Crown or is that information yet to be divulged? No, Crown all the way. And that is the only place I have auditioned and I plan to stay there.
00:25:41
Speaker
I love that. It's so refreshing to me being somebody who came from a time when you had... alliances to your drum corps. People were just starting to go to different corps whenever I was marching, just starting to be a different corps each season.
00:25:58
Speaker
And now it seems like everybody just does that, which it has its merits, but it is refreshing to see somebody who's just like, no, this is my home. This is where I'm going to stay.
00:26:08
Speaker
Yeah. Also, I'd be leaving so many people behind. i wouldn't want to do that. It's true. It's true. You've got your whole family in there. Well, Omari, thank you so much for your contributions this summer. And definitely we're going to keep an eye on your career as you move on.
00:26:27
Speaker
We're going to head over to a commercial break now, but we'll be back just shortly to check in on a couple more of our DCI correspondents. So see you later. Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Amari. That was such a great experience you shared with us. And let me tell you guys something. It does not matter if you are marching a winning core or a finalist or a semi-finalist or whatever, or world-class or open-class, marching DCI is going to be the best experience of your young life. As someone who marched both open and world before they were called open and world,
00:27:05
Speaker
I can tell you, you're going to work hard. You're going have a great time. So if you are interested marching, make sure you get out there. After this break, we're going to be talking to more of our incredible DCI correspondents. So stick around.
00:27:21
Speaker
hi everyone. It's time for your travel tip of the week with me. I'm Beth with Peak Group Travel. When you start reviewing the calendar for the dates for your next performance tour, avoiding major holidays is strongly recommended.
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Speaker
Not only will you avoid longer lines at attractions, you could also save money by traveling during the off season. Don't forget to like and follow Peak Group Travel on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
00:27:46
Speaker
And be sure to email info at peakgrouptravel.com when you're ready to start planning your next performance tour. I'm Beth with Peak Group Travel and your travel tip of the week.
00:28:10
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:29:07
Speaker
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And be sure to visit peakgrouptravel.com today. You pick the date and we'll make it great.
Discussion with Clara and Jack from Boston Crusaders
00:29:24
Speaker
Hey guys, so I am sitting here with Clara and Jack from the Boston Crusaders. Hey guys. Hi. I'm so happy that you're here. First of all, I really appreciate you guys being our DCI correspondents for this summer because I know it is so much work to try and remember to like film stuff and like edit and put it, turn it in and all that all summer. But you guys were wrong stars. So how did it go? Tell me, tell me about your summer. How do you feel, especially after winning? my gosh.
00:29:56
Speaker
i It's pretty indescribable and it's still like, what was it? Six days ago. So it feels still ah hardly real. And it was like the heart. It's definitely the hardest season that I've done and the hardest show that I've done.
00:30:11
Speaker
it was just like, it just, I can't describe it. It's so hard to describe, like, How many times we put on a new closer and how many times we learn how much we learned and how fast we learned and how many times we learned and how frequently we would learn and how much we would change and how dynamic the rehearsal was. It was just all so exciting. And like we would.
00:30:37
Speaker
rehearse, make a change and put it on and then go perform it at the Rose Bowl. And people loved it. And then be excited about that performance for the whole night. And then we would go the next day and we would edit these couple of things and learn this couple of a few things really fast and clean it up and then perform that in another show in California. And it was just like watching people respond to how the show breathed and changed all summer was like my highlight.
00:31:07
Speaker
I love that you talk about it like it's like it's this living thing that's like growing and changing. That's amazing. Yeah, like what Jack was saying, like I never until finals week, I never performed the same show twice. Like there was something that was changed or added or taken out like between every single show.
00:31:24
Speaker
Like even the days where we had like three shows back to back, like there was something different in each one of those shows just because the show was like constantly instant changing. Mm hmm. that's That is incredible.
00:31:36
Speaker
like it oh It's like that mindset where like if you're at the top and you want to stay at the top, you have to keep structuring it. You can't settle with one.
00:31:47
Speaker
Because there's always something you can do to make something better. Nothing is ever perfect. So... Jackie, so you've you've marched other drum corps before coming to Boston. Clara, have you you were did you march before Boston somewhere else? I marched at Colts in 21 and 22, and I took the last two summers off.
00:32:05
Speaker
Okay. So my question is, what was different from both of your perspectives this season with Boston versus like your previous seasons with other drum corps. Like what can other drum corps like take from what you guys did and like, like use to their advantage to help them like push further?
00:32:26
Speaker
I would say difference that I, depends on what you value more as good or bad, but whatever. For Blue Stars, I think they, really like put emphasis on the like experience itself and like the season as a like memory or like making memories and like having experiences with your friends is like the priority there.
00:32:50
Speaker
And you can tell that they really like, strive for like the best show at Boston I can't explain like how I what I mean because I just like did it and it's just like in my brain but but like the family at Blue Stars was super strong and the Boston family is also super strong but like I can feel the value at Blue Stars being like The companionship versus the value at Boston being like excellence, which is also fulfilling. Like I got fulfillment out of how close I got with all my friends at Blue Stars and I got fulfillment out of like the success I got from Boston.
00:33:27
Speaker
So they're both very good things. It's just different. They approach things differently. Okay. Claire, what do you think? So when ah was at Colts, it was when Colts hadn't made finals since like, what, 2007 or something? Wow. It was a long time. Yeah. We were very like fighting to make into finals.
00:33:47
Speaker
And so like, we worked super hard, like insanely hard. We would, you know, and know Come back early from meal breaks, stay late, wake up early so we can unload the trucks, can get more rehearsal time kind of thing.
00:34:02
Speaker
I think at Boston, it's very much like everyone here is going to be good. And sometimes the extra a little bit of sleep or extra downtime is like worth it.
00:34:13
Speaker
Like finals week, there were several times where we were doing like perk ensemble and we would get held over by like a minute or so. And they would like give us back like 10, 15 minutes of time.
00:34:26
Speaker
They'd be like, oh, sorry. We like come to your lunch. Here's like extra time. It's like they' get extended breaks. And like at Colts it would have been like, oh yeah, we held you over, but it's because we were trying to make finals.
00:34:38
Speaker
And so come back early, you know? feel like Boston does ever like a really good job of giving us free time and space to breathe and really appreciated that.
00:34:49
Speaker
That's awesome, that work ethic of like like push physically harder, push further, versus like, okay, now we're going let you have that time to rest and rebuild yourself, and then we're going to go on push even further.
00:35:01
Speaker
feel like I could have used some of that whenever I was marching drum corps personally. Yeah. Yeah, I definitely... was surprised by that because I kind of thought going into it that like, because they were so high performing and the expectation was so high that like we would rehearse extra long and like we would get held over five minutes over and then come back right at the same time.
00:35:26
Speaker
Like, no, I just did not expect like Heather would frequently, if we got out like one or two minutes late, because we were working on finishing like a little project or something or making a change, she would have us come back at like, if we, if we were supposed to end at one and we ended up one Oh three, she would have us come back instead of at two and have us come back at like two 15.
00:35:48
Speaker
And I was like, very surprised by that. Or like if the walk from the food truck in the stadium to our indoor time, like if we were going from a stadium rehearsal, to lunch to an indoor rehearsal after that, she would like have us come back inside at two 20 instead of two, just cause like, which would end up benefiting how much we got done because no we weren't all just done eating and just came inside and stopped sweating for one second. And,
00:36:17
Speaker
wipe our sweat off our brow like it was less time rehearsing but it got more done because we were more ready to like yeah everyone's more motivated and locked in like i remember like after california tour because we had a bunch of shows and then we had like a beach day and we had an la day we had like all this free time we had like a laundry day here and i remember after california tour we're like want to rehearse Like I've heard people so
Favorite Performances and Audience Interaction
00:36:41
Speaker
long. I need a rehearsal day.
00:36:43
Speaker
It's like everybody wanted to rehearse. And that's like, and like, know. Everyone's like, Oh, I wish we had a free day at Boston. Like everybody was like, why don't we have more rehearsal days? I need rehearse. Yeah. It's like wants to get better, you know, especially with California tour.
00:36:57
Speaker
Oh yeah. Like we were all over California and like every two days to every other day was something that was, Oh yeah.
00:37:09
Speaker
Oh yeah. So what's just one of your favorite memories from tour? Something maybe that just stood out to you? The Rose Bowl performance, just the whole Rose Bowl day was such a hype.
00:37:22
Speaker
Like we got up, it's Rose Bowl day. Everyone rehearsed so hard and the vibe was just so high and we were all like building on each other. And then we get there and the venue is beautiful and the weather was nice.
00:37:35
Speaker
And The audience was like crazy. They were just, they they really, you could tell they were there to give us energy too. Like they weren't just there to watch us do something. It was like a back and forth thing.
00:37:52
Speaker
And the energy was great. That was like my favorite show of California, I think. Yeah, that was a good one. I think one of my favorite memories is we had a rehearsal day in, what's that high school called? It was Oswego, New York.
00:38:07
Speaker
Yeah, Oswego High School. We had our ensemble and the entire stands were filled with like people. And the band boosters like opened the concession stands, and like we set up at our merch booth.
00:38:21
Speaker
And it was like a whole event. And like we had our ensemble, and every like little tiny rep we would do, like the entire crowd would lose it. And like someone would give a compliment like from the box, and the crowd would just lose it.
00:38:33
Speaker
It was just like the most fun energy ever. and We finished our ensemble, and we like played our encore tunes for them. And it was like super sweet and fun. and remember like after We finished loading the truck and getting everything packed up.
00:38:49
Speaker
There were several high school percussionists and stuff that were coming up to the snares and people in the pit and they're taking pictures with us. They just signed their drum heads and stuff. And they're just so sweet. They're like, we're just here rehearsing, but we're inspiring all these other people.
00:39:03
Speaker
And all these people are just like, random Wednesday night, came over to the high school to watch all of us rehearse. And don't know, that was super cool and super special. Did you guys feel like celebrities?
00:39:15
Speaker
Oh yeah. Like I'm just Clara. I promise I'm not all that. just, I'm just Clara. I know. I was, I had so much energy that ensemble because like everything we did, they were like, yeah. Yeah.
00:39:31
Speaker
You're like sitting there, just, just a single, like right meltdown from the crowd. So what was the most challenging thing from the whole summer, you feel like?
Early Season Challenges
00:39:43
Speaker
Well, ah I... Sounds like there was a lot of challenges. The early season was really challenging because I have never learned so fast.
00:39:55
Speaker
We got the show done in two weeks. Oh, wow. That is the closer was obviously not done because that wasn't, that wasn't going to be the closer we started tour with. We learned the original interstellar closer at spring training and okay it wasn't fully filled with choreo, but if the, I don't know how how long the closer was. It was like two minutes and 30 seconds.
00:40:18
Speaker
Two minutes was full of choreo. And so we learned the show in two weeks. I was not expecting it to be like that. I don't know.
00:40:31
Speaker
I knew that was what it was going to be because I knew the schedule, but I just didn't expect it to feel so fast. And like we would learn something and it would like the window between learning and goodness expectation was really so slim.
00:40:48
Speaker
And like we would learn and it had to be ready fast and we had to know it and it was like in our bones and in our muscle memory well like right then because we just did not have time to mess around and because we were gonna as soon as we left or left castleton university we had the five days in boston of like parades and stuff so like it had to be done but when we left and that was really challenging and then tour started and it was like i finally was good at my show and like getting everything consistent and then they change everything right and everything would change and that was like stressful but once we got past spring training that like the spinning part of it kind of got less stressful and that was like the performance became easier and then like we left for tour and obviously tour is hard because you have to move everything you own every other day and you have to pick your life up and leave every other day or every day
00:41:53
Speaker
And you're away from home and you don't have any of the normal things you would lean on for help. You don't have your family, don't have your friends.
00:42:04
Speaker
And like, that's what gets you so close with people at drum corps is that you don't have what you normally would lean on. So you all have to lean on each other. But, um, I'm trying to think it was hard season. I don't know. I can't fully explain, but it's just like,
00:42:20
Speaker
You don't have the time to process things. You don't have the time to think and feel anything because you got rehearsal. You got from this change. You got to take this part out and put this new part in. You got to switch your drill. We switched a lot of drill spots all the time. And it was just like, you don't have time to think or feel. You just got to get back into rehearsal.
00:42:42
Speaker
Focus all the time. What about you, Clara? I can't think of like any specific like moments, but know there was like a span of like four days a few weeks ago where like everybody was angry.
00:42:57
Speaker
And I was like, why everybody always angry? And it was because we had like several nights where we didn't have like a whole lot of floor time. And so like everybody in the core was like running on very little sleep.
00:43:07
Speaker
And so everybody was like at each other's necks for like the span of four days. And I was like, can we please stop fighting? Everyone's so angry. And like this summer I was the only girl in the front ensemble and especially like, wait, you are the only girl on the front ensemble.
00:43:26
Speaker
The only girl in the front ensemble. And so yeah, initially, like, it was kind of hard to like connect with everybody else. Because everybody else was kind of like tiptoeing around me and was like afraid to like, be themselves around me because they're like, Oh, what if I say something wrong?
00:43:44
Speaker
And then it's kind of like hard to like, get in there. Because usually, you know, like all the pit girlies become friends and everyone's friends and it's super easy. I feel like that was kind of like an initial challenge. Like, where do I fit in and how do I like, like, I promise I'm cool.
00:43:59
Speaker
I'm not like always cool, but I'm at least a little bit cool. so that was kind of like a challenge at first. um And then every once in a while, like I said, everyone would just be angry. I'm like, can we just stop being angry? We just, we just calm down.
00:44:13
Speaker
I wonder how much of that was like, just like the masculine thing, because you're like a group of all, all men, yeah. Oh yeah. I definitely remember that.
00:44:25
Speaker
I don't remember when it was, but i remember there was just like one of the nights where The schedule just did not work and we left so much later than we went to and then we had a long by stop for no reason. The Bucky's by stop at the room. Yes. No one wanted to go to the by stop. I think it was like right when we started Texas, which is just optimal timing.
00:44:46
Speaker
So we, you know, no one wanted to go to the by stop. It was way longer than it needed to be and we didn't get enough sleep at that, which wasn't really anybody's fault. It was just logistically. It's what it was. Yeah.
00:44:57
Speaker
everyone was just not pleased and we were not doing the thing you're supposed to do where you bring each other up we were all like everyone was just complaining about everything everyone remember this day so clearly everyone was so angry about everything okay big one now when did you know were gonna win Never.
Championship Reflections and Rivalry
00:45:22
Speaker
Never. No. Never? Really? I thought at awards, we got, when we were sitting there, the Zingali, got the Ott, got the Sanford, Blue Coats got General Effect and Visual, I had no idea who was going win. No.
00:45:39
Speaker
Really? I was sitting there like, because I was like, I was replaying in my head. I was like, they're going to say, they're going say Boston second place. They're going to say Boston second place. Cause I didn't want to be let down. I was like expecting,
00:45:52
Speaker
but I was just like hope, I was really expecting something bad so I wouldn't be disappointed if it happened. But like, got to I truly had no... No. I was not sure at all.
00:46:03
Speaker
And there's that whole thing that everyone was saying. They're like, oh, whoever wins semis isn't going to win finals. And so when Blue Coast won semis, we're like, okay, we're up. But like, was just like a joke. Like we didn't, I had no idea. It was so close. Like it could have been either of us.
00:46:18
Speaker
um but It was really close. We won prelims. And then like right when we found out we didn't win semis, Dr. Viv, you know, she, um, our like our doctor there, she's, she ah c came up to me and she was like, they're just stirring the pot.
00:46:36
Speaker
And I was like, I was like, calm down. I was like, hold on. But she was like, they want everybody to be invested. They're stirring the pot. And I was like, I'm not going to buy into this, but maybe.
00:46:49
Speaker
You never go with those, you know, they really go for the drama. Yeah.
00:46:55
Speaker
I was like, I'm not going to ignore that, but not going to take that too seriously. i was like, maybe. And then we won. So... Was there ever a point during the summer where you where you felt like you could win? Like, oh, this is the show. This could happen.
00:47:10
Speaker
I remember after San Antonio. Like, we found out that we won San Antonio and everyone was just losing it. And we're, like, right next to, like, the pit's still loading. And we're, like, right next to, like, the Blue Coast truck. And so we're, like, we need be chill. We need to be cool. need to be cool. It's not a big deal. We're cool. But we're all just, like, screaming and freaking out. Like, this has never happened before.
00:47:31
Speaker
We've never done this before. Were you guys friends with the Bluecoats on tour whenever you saw them? Or was it like, was there rivalry behind the scenes too? Two of my best friends in the whole world are in the Blue Pit.
00:47:43
Speaker
So it was super nice seeing them all summer. But yeah yeah. We had, on. i think I think it was five. i either is I'm losing track. I think we had five girls from the Woodlands High School at Boston.
00:48:00
Speaker
at Boston Guard and who had just won in 2024 or 2025 WGI with departures. So they, but but six of those girls did drum corps and the one that didn't come to Boston went to blue coats and they were all best friends.
00:48:16
Speaker
So there was obviously some super lighthearted, fun rivalry between all of us. And we were all a friend group and it was like, Me and Mason, all of the Woodlands girls were all friends.
00:48:29
Speaker
So there was a friendly competition. It was not real though. I mean, we were like, we're going to get you next time, but it was a joke. It was all. yeah It was very friendly. sweet That's, that is so sweet. Well, congratulations again, you guys, this is amazing.
00:48:47
Speaker
Jack and Claire up from the Boston crusaders. We're going to send it back right now and we'll see you in a minute. So don't go anywhere. So what was one of your just absolute favorite memories that you have?
Inspirational Pep Talk and Rehearsal Boost
00:49:00
Speaker
There was this day that the whole guard, ah guess, woke up on the wrong side of the bed and we were all just not feeling it. We just did not feel like that will be my favorite like I woke up and I didn't have the like fire. I just was not doing very well.
00:49:21
Speaker
And we just all were kind of pooped. And Heather Graham pulled us all in and brought us all in real close. And she was like, come closer. I don't bite. And we are all getting a pep talk. And I was, I was just kind of, and she was like, guys, just catch your stuff.
00:49:38
Speaker
It's not that complicated. She was like, just do good. She was like, you guys are so good. Just catch your stuff. And we were all like,
00:49:50
Speaker
She's kind of right. And we all go back out on the field and have the best rehearsal of the season. Like, hands down. And it was so stupid because she was just like, do better.
00:50:02
Speaker
And we were like, oh. And then everybody's smacking everything. We're like, ha! And like, We're like, we tossed the seven before the big exchange around the drum feature in the opener. And we're like straight up, straight down, no feet moving, like smacking everything.
00:50:18
Speaker
And she's like, is this all I had to do this whole summer is tell you guys to be good? I didn't even have to do my job. She was like, I could have just told you to be good and it would have been easier than this. but Because all she said was just catch your stuff, just do good. And we were like, oh, yeah.
00:50:33
Speaker
And it was the best rehearsal of the whole season. And then you won the Zingalia Awards. And then we won. There you go.
00:50:48
Speaker
Oh my gosh, those are some great stories, you guys. It's amazing. One more time, I want to say congratulations to the Boston Crusaders, to Jack and c Clara specifically for winning the DCI World Championship this year.
00:51:02
Speaker
It was amazing to watch the whole adventure through the eyes of the performers posting on social media. What an experience. Thank you everybody for a great rehearsal this week. I hope you've all loved this bonus episode. Thank you to our DCI correspondents, not just for today, but for keeping in touch and sending us all of your content throughout the summer. So thank you to Davis J, Omari Hulaki, Jack Hawkins, and Clara.
00:51:31
Speaker
And Guys, I hope we get to do this again. has just been so amazing. And Zoe, thank you so much. I know we didn't get to do our wrap-up interview, but we are going to make sure everybody has all of your social media accounts so they can go and follow all of our DCI correspondents whenever they get the chance. They will also be tagged on all of their own content. So if you go to the On a Water Break ah Instagram or any of our social media, you should be able to find them as well. So if you have a good question or a good topic to talk about, email us at on a water break podcast at gmail.com. You can also find all of our social media at on a water break.
00:52:10
Speaker
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00:52:30
Speaker
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00:52:44
Speaker
And then, of course, make sure you subscribe, write us, review, share this episode with a friend, follow us on all of our social media, and we'll see you at the next rehearsal on a water break.
00:52:58
Speaker
The On a Water Break podcast was produced by Jeremy Williams and Christine Rehm. The intro and outro music was produced by Josh Lida. To learn more, visit LidaMusic.com.
00:53:10
Speaker
And until next time, thanks for tuning
00:53:17
Speaker
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